[Suntory_Times]

Headphpones that get a lot of hype that I don't like that usually get a lot of praise are as follows:

AKG701
Beyerdynamic Dt990
Alessandro MS-Pro

 

[3X0]

Shure E4c, Sennheiser HD555/595, Sennheiser HD280 Pro, AKG K81DJ

To a lesser extent than the above, the Audio Technica ATH-ES7, Audio Technica A900, Equation Audio RP-21, Denon D1000, Sennheiser HD25-1 (II)

 

[Wilashort]

Yes, they are bright; but that depend too of the source utilized and amp.
They are bright but not so strident in the treble as the grados SR325i.
They are bright but have a lot of sparkle that make a lot of sounds in that frecuency to sound lifelike. Have you forget the sing of the birds, the splash of water, the glass breaking/crassing, the sound of the metals (swords hitting with another...; the sound of the chains when they are movement), etc. All of they sound lifelike. The mids too (not as much as the highs), and the bass is the best (Deep, textured, detailed, extended, strongh, tight), together with the highs (very extended, detailed, with much sparkle), is of a great quality.

(For sonq)
For the price that i pay for them of $245 (including shipping ) + cost of importation to my country. I don't think that they are overrared or overpriced (can be if they now are more expensive than that.), compared with another $400-$45000 (not price list...) headphones, that really aren't...
Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Listen DT990 '05 if you want to hear a headphone that really is bright. Grados wont even touch that in treble sharpness.

Hey, have you owned or listened the DT990s?, which version?
In what they sound mudded...?.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sonq /img/forum/go_quote.gif For reasons that may range from wrong system matching to my own bias/over-expectation, GS1000, DT990 & K701 just didn't live up to all the hype. The GS1000 is just so bright and tonally thin, the DT990 is all muddy and coloured, and the K701 is sterile and boring....these are miles away from RAL cabled HD650 or stock PS-1....

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaron313 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Most Grado headphones are overrated. They are too damn bright, and are the most fatiguing headphones I've heard. They do guitars well, and the bass can be great. But they are still HIGHLY flawed. Far from bad, but overrated nonetheless.

"HIGHLY" flawed? How so exactly?

Judging by your comments, you obviously don't have much/any head time with the higher end Grados.

 

[aaron313]

Quote:

Originally Posted by subtle /img/forum/go_quote.gif "HIGHLY" flawed? How so exactly? Judging by your comments, you obviously don't have much/any head time with the higher end Grados.

I owned the 325i for a year, and it is the most fatiguing headphone I have ever used. Is that "high end" enough? The RS1 was great for blues guitar, but still too bright. The GS1K was sibilant. The PS-1 had WAY too much bass.

I don't need much time with a headphone to tell if it suits me. For my tastes they are flawed because of the upper frequency spike. Honestly, does John Grado have deficient hearing in that region? Guitars and bass they do fantastically, often better than almost any other headphone.

 

[skeptic]

Etymotic er-6i's are totally overrated. I actually far prefer the Bose Triport IE's (/puts on flame suit).

On a positive note, I'm thrilled to see that in 52 pages of this thread, there has not been a single negative report on the dt880's [at least assuming the thread search function is working properly]. Opinions certainly vary on the 880's sound signature, and I know I'm begging for it by posting this, but as an 880 fan, it's good to see that that no one, thus far, has added them to this list.

 

[troymadison]

The DT880 is really overrated

 

[Punnisher]

On a long enough timeline, The survival rate for all headphones drops to zero.

 

[3X0]

Oh, and the DT770-80 sounds positively gross.

It's like a venereal disease in headphone form.

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaron313 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I owned the 325i for a year, and it is the most fatiguing headphone I have ever used. Is that "high end" enough? The RS1 was great for blues guitar, but still too bright. The GS1K was sibilant. The PS-1 had WAY too much bass. I don't need much time with a headphone to tell if it suits me. For my tastes they are flawed because of the upper frequency spike. Honestly, does John Grado have deficient hearing in that region? Guitars and bass they do fantastically, often better than almost any other headphone.

It all makes sense now. A little more research, prior to purchase, would have alerted you to the 325i's reputation for extreme brightness. And no, that model does not qualify as "high end" IMO.

I agree with you that the current RS-1 can be a bit bright, however the vintage models do not suffer from that quality. I owned a pair for almost seven years, gold lettering and brown headband, prior to upgrading to the PS-1. They are difficult to source though. I couldn't disagree with you more on the notion that the PS-1's have too much bass. It is the perfect amount and quality IMO, this is of course assuming they are being used with bowl pads. I owned them for over two years and sold them off last month to work on my speaker rig. I recently borrowed another head-fiers HP2's, for a period of three weeks, and they are spectacular. In the end though, my personal tastes still sided with the PS-1. The HP2's do everything perfectly but are slightly too neutral for my liking. I have yet to hear the GS1000.

If you don't feel that you need much time with a headphone to tell if it suits you, then...well...that explains quite a bit. You haven't experienced sibilant and fatiguing until you've strapped on a pair of Sony CD3000's.

 

[MaZa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aaron313 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I owned the 325i for a year, and it is the most fatiguing headphone I have ever used. Is that "high end" enough? The RS1 was great for blues guitar, but still too bright. The GS1K was sibilant. The PS-1 had WAY too much bass. I don't need much time with a headphone to tell if it suits me. For my tastes they are flawed because of the upper frequency spike. Honestly, does John Grado have deficient hearing in that region? Guitars and bass they do fantastically, often better than almost any other headphone.

Question, have you tried SR225?

 

[aaron313]

Quote:

Originally Posted by subtle /img/forum/go_quote.gif It all makes sense now. A little more research, prior to purchase, would have alerted you to the 325i's reputation for extreme brightness. And no, that model does not qualify as "high end" IMO. I agree with you that the current RS-1 can be a bit bright, however the vintage models do not suffer from that quality. I owned a pair for almost seven years, gold lettering and brown headband, prior to upgrading to the PS-1. They are difficult to source though. I couldn't disagree with you more on the notion that the PS-1's have too much bass. It is the perfect amount and quality IMO, this is of course assuming they are being used with bowl pads. I owned them for over two years and sold them off last month to work on my speaker rig. I recently borrowed another head-fiers HP2's, for a period of three weeks, and they are spectacular. In the end though, my personal tastes still sided with the PS-1. The HP2's do everything perfectly but are slightly too neutral for my liking. I have yet to hear the GS1000. If you don't feel that you need much time with a headphone to tell if it suits you, then...well...that explains quite a bit. You haven't experienced sibilant and fatiguing until you've strapped on a pair of Sony CD3000's.

Well, I purchased the 325i about eight months before I found this place, so I wasn't informed of its highs. I had heard good things about the 225, and figured the 325i would scale nicely. Well, it does, except for the horrendous highs. I was once a member of the public that just purchased based on gut instinct and naivety, but now I do tremendous amounts of research. Buy Bose, live and learn, etc., and you end up with Stax in the end.

EDIT: I should say that I now do not need much time with a headphone to tell if it suits me. In the past, my reference headphones were not good, so what I now see as flaws were somewhat masked by the vast improvements in other aspects.

 

[aaron313]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaZa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Question, have you tried SR225?

I believe so, but what I did own for several days was the HF-1. It was still too bright, but was much more pleasurable than other Grados.

The problem I had with Grados is that when I tried to transition from the HD650 to SR60, I couldn't help but cringe. The contrast was just too much for me. Still, I have to credit Grados with getting me into audio.

 

[Suntory_Times]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Akabeth /img/forum/go_quote.gif /lol... Tell you guys what... Teh iBuds will pummel every last headphone in this hobby out of the window I'm being dead serious! *runs........*

Grabs a ppitch fork and light his torch.

 

[sonq]

The latest 990. I don't know if muddy is the best way to describe the 990 but the bass was overwhelming and coloring the midrange compared to the 880 and 325i on the same rig.