[atothex]

Hello all. I've been lurking here for the past couple months, agonizing over my next purchase. I've never bought any expensive audio equipment, and I figure quality headphones would be the cheapest entry point.

I love Jgonino's stickied headphone guide, but maybe it'd make more sense to divide the available headphones into tiers, instead of by price points. For instance, shouldn't the DT880 be with the K701 and HD650 despite being cheaper? Of course, such a division would require a general consensus on sound quality and such, so hopefully the more knowledgeable members of this forum can help me out. Would it be possible to lump every type of head/earphone together in 1 big list? I haven't read up on the EIMs or buds, so I have no idea where they should go. Let's give this a shot.

Tier 1:
AKG K1000
Audio-Technica L3000
Denon D5000
Denon D5000 Markl mod
Grado HP-2
Grado PS-1
Sennheiser HE90
Sennheiser HE60
Sony R10
Sony Qualias
Stax 4070
Stax Omega
Stax Omega 2
Ultrasone Edition 7
Ultrasone Edition 9

Tier 2:
Audio-Technica W5000
Audio-Technica AD2000
Grado GS-1000
Grado RS-1
Grado RS-2
JVC/Victor DX1000
Sennheiser HD650 Recabled
Stax SR-404
Stax SR-Lambda Signature
Stax SR-Lambda Pro
Stax SR-Lambda

Tier 3:
AKG K501
AKG K601
AKG K701
Audio-Technica W1000
Audio-Technica ESW9
Beyerdynamic DT880
Beyerdynamic DT990
Darth Beyer
Denon D2000
Grado 325i
Sennheiser HD580
Sennheiser HD600
Sennheiser HD650
Sony SA5000
Stax SR-303
Stax SR-202
Stax SR-X/MK3 Pro
Stax SR-Gamma Pro
Ultrasone HFI780
Ultrasone Proline 750
Ultrasone Proline 2500

Tier 4:
Audio-Technica A900
Beyerdynamic DT770
Bose Triport AE
Sennheiser HD595
Sennheiser HD25-II
Stax SR-X/MK3
Stax SR-Gamma
Stax SR-5

Tier 5:
AKG K81DJ
Grado SR60
Grado SR80
Sennheiser HD280
Yuin PK2

Tier 6:
Koss KSC75
Koss Portapro
Sennheiser PMX100

Ok, so I got lazy toward the lower tiers; I truthfully haven't really read up on them enough. This list is clearly nowhere near completion. I hope this illustrates the some of my logic, and I REALLY hope people would comment and contribute to proper tiering and placement. For instance, where would the Sony CD3000 go? Where do the earbuds and canals go?

Thanks for reading.

 

[mace2]

I think this is a great idea--though I am a 'beginner' at this stuff.
Whereabouts would the Grado sr225 go?

Looking forward to seeing how this thread turns out.

 

[fordgtlover]

Hmmm... consensus on Head-fi?

If you have a look at the rank your headphones thread, you will see that some people rate cans like the AD2000 above all others. Markl sold his R10 as a result of his preference for the D5000. The K701 is often loved or hated. While many will put the K501 above the K701. Some argue that there is a significant difference between teh Denon D2000 and D5000, other suggest it is a very marginal difference.

Tiering in this manner is so subjective. I guess that leads us to why Jgonino's is by price point - at least we can tend to agree on the price points.

 

[M0T0XGUY]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordgtlover /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmmm... consensus on Head-fi? If you have a look at the rank your headphones thread, you will see that some people rate cans like the AD2000 above all others. Markl sold his R10 as a result of his preference for the D5000. The K701 is often loved or hated. While many will put the K501 above the K701. Some argue that there is a significant difference between teh Denon D2000 and D5000, other suggest it is a very marginal difference. Tiering in this manner is so subjective. I guess that leads us to why Jgonino's is by price point - at least we can tend to agree on the price points.

Indeed - I like the basic premise of the OP's idea, but the general consensus concerning sound quality remains that there is no general consensus; thus it's nearly impossible to assign a generic tier number to each and every headphone.

 

[Duggeh]

Those headphones which some think belong in tier 1 and others in 2 could go into 1.5? With those who are of the tier 1 persuasion snearing at the inferior amps of those of the tier 2 persuasion?

I can certainly think of a few that I think belong in certain places.

An interesting idea though, the creation of a sort of headphone league tables. Perhaps we could even have competitions with promotions and relegations?

 

[John E Woven]

Great idea. Although personal opinions matter, this is pretty close.

 

[TSi]

LIke everyone else said, this is an amazing area in terms of an idea, but then the cans are all each to their own preferences... and may brg in a seperate "tier" or even a whole different list!

I love Jgonino's thread, but then it should be updated a little more often.

 

[shasty]

I strongly disagree that k501 and k601 are placed in tier 4 with the cans like 595's and a900's.

 

[shasty]

I'd also like see more lower-tiered cans like ES7, K81DJ, Porta-Pros K240S, etc etc.

 

[Duggeh]

At that level shasty, you really cannot break things up as neatly. Certainly not with sonics as the principle consideration. The "bottom" tiers will end up with hundreds of entries.

 

[Oya?]

HD25's looking pretty lonely where it is now.

On a more serious note, I noticed dynamics and electrostatics have been mixed in. The electrostatics use of energizer amps would really, really complicate the tiering.

Just to add to what others have said, you could reasonably tier lower end / mid-range phones, based on mostly technical and build qualities, but at the higher ends you'd be fighting with subjective opinions.

 

[atothex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shasty /img/forum/go_quote.gif I strongly disagree that k501 and k601 are placed in tier 4 with the cans like 595's and a900's.

Where should they go, then?

I basically agree with everyone's comments so far. I realize this is a very difficult concept to implement, but let's give it our best shot, anyway.

BTW should I have more tiers? Less tiers?

 

[atothex]

BTW, I didn't include any phones that I haven't read much about. That's why this list is so incomplete. I have no idea where to put a lot of them.

 

[Sr.Burns]

Good topic. Every guide is useful for beginners.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Why does everything have to be shoved into a hierarchy? When you factor in amplification (critical to headphone performance) and how music and sources play in, the possibilities approach the infinite.

I'm not trying to slam the OP, it's just that trying to nail this down will produce 20 pages of comments, ruffled feathers and no conclusion.

Personally, I like the appreciation threads for each particular model. That way you can see what groups of owners think, what they listen to and what gear they use with it. That gives a fuller idea of what each, individual, headphone is capable of. That's useful.