SkitZ0
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2011
- Posts
- 290
- Likes
- 18
I originally came to Head-Fi for advice on what should be my next headphones to replace my pair of Audio Technica MT40fs due to the fact that I simply don't have anything that can deliver enough power to those headphones (this being my thread ---> http://www.head-fi.org/forum/newestpost/561551), and a couple of users suggested I try out a pair of these.
And what an amazing month of music it has been! Seriously, thank you to those that suggested these to me. I'm actually listening to them now as I'm writing this review.
Right out of the package, the first thing I noticed when I turned these all the way up is they have BASS! Would these satisfy your basshead? I would say yes, assuming they don't just want to hear bass...if that were the case, go waste your money on Beats. What really impressed me with these headphones is the clarity is still there, even with the bass. The best example I can give you is the song "Fifths" by Deadmau5. As amazing as the bass is in that song, I can still hear everything else that's going on. Maybe the faintest noises will be drowned out by the bass (it's very possible), but I can't hear a difference between these and my MT40fs. One thing I DO notice between the two is the MT40fs sound to be more of a "flat" pair of cans versus these, which seem like they were just made for the genre of music I listen to (House, Trance, Dubstep, & Hardstyle are my main genres). In other words, the Audio Technica's (granted I don't have anything that can fully power them) were literally my first pair of headphones I would consider flat; that is, what you heard is exactly what your music was giving you (making you realize your favorite song is of a horrible mp3 128 bitrate quality). Nothing more, nothing less.
But to give a better comparison of what I mean by how clear there are, I'll compare these to the JBL Reference 410 headphones, which are noise-canceling headphones (i.e. VERY uncomfortable) and were the first high-quality headphones I ever had. In the song Wassup (Crooker's Remix) by Diplo & Rye Rye, towards the end of the song would be a melody along with the bassline. The JBL's heavy-hitting bass completely covered up the melodies.....so much that I didn't even know they were there 'til I purchased another pair of headphones. Not with these, though. Again, it's a nice blend for a basshead that still cares about the music. While I bought these mainly for my Electronic songs, these actually sound amazing for rock and rap. I haven't heard a pair of headphones that make Top Back by T.I. sound as good as it does on a decent car stereo. The beginning of "Got Yourself a Gun" by Nas is something you just have to hear through these headphones, along with "Generation Kick & Bass" by Showtek. My favorite songs got even better thanks to these headphones.
Besides the sound, another thing I actually like is how they came with a carrying case and they fold. It's nice to now have a place to put my headphones while I'm in class. The cord isn't too long to the point where you wouldn't carry them around thanks to a good portion of it being coiled. These terminate into a 1/8" plug with a 1/4" screw-on adapter. The funny thing is, the screw-on is actually so good, I thought I ordered the wrong pair of headphones when I first opened them because of the adapter being screwed on. If I were to walk around with the adapter, you could fool people into thinking you had a pair of stereo/DJ headphones. The pads are also replaceable in case they become worn out or you simply don't like them.
But there are things I don't like. For one, the sound-leakage is actually pretty bad for being closed cans. My old Sennheiser HD205's were worse, but these are actually very loud....loud enough that anyone in an elevator will clearly hear what you're listening to, and anyone within a few seats (I'd say at most two seats away) from a lecture class in any direction. It's not a big deal to me since I'm always blasting music and couldn't care less about who hears it 'n who doesn't, but for those that are in a formal environment/care about leakage, don't blast these cans. You'll protect your ears anyway. Another thing that bothers me is these headphones are actually a bit uncomfortable after wearing them a long time. Quick adjustments solve the issue, but it would've been nice if they were more like my MT40fs, which half the time I forget I have on.
Overall, I'm in love with these headphones. I can overlook the brief discomfort & sound-leakage issues because of how much I love how these headphones bring the bass I really wanted along with the clarity. They're not like my previous phones since those are more flat, but then again, that's not why I bought them. If you're into Electronic music (these seemed to be in love with that genre), and want a pair of cans that are both bass-heavy and are still clear, I recommend you buy these.......now.....no, I mean right now.
EDIT:
I recently converted all of my library from MP3 format to Apple Lossless format, which not only increased the library size to 50GB, but it REALLY made the headphones shine. Everything I loved about these headphones just got amplified. Not only are my songs louder and cleaner, but there's even more bass in a lot of my tracks. This also fixed my issue in the lower comments about how it sounded like my music was coming through only one side. I can still tell, but it's no where near as bad as it used to be....at all. As a matter of fact, the only reason I caught it is I thought about it while typing this. On top of doing so, the amazing volume on my Macbook carried to my iPod, so I don't lose a noticeable amount of sound and quality when switching from the two. So for those that would like to convert their files (i don't know if this works for PC), give Max for Mac a try. It'll convert to Ogg, Apple Lossless, and even FLAC. I'm glad I took the time to convert them all. I've fallen in love with these even more.
And what an amazing month of music it has been! Seriously, thank you to those that suggested these to me. I'm actually listening to them now as I'm writing this review.
Right out of the package, the first thing I noticed when I turned these all the way up is they have BASS! Would these satisfy your basshead? I would say yes, assuming they don't just want to hear bass...if that were the case, go waste your money on Beats. What really impressed me with these headphones is the clarity is still there, even with the bass. The best example I can give you is the song "Fifths" by Deadmau5. As amazing as the bass is in that song, I can still hear everything else that's going on. Maybe the faintest noises will be drowned out by the bass (it's very possible), but I can't hear a difference between these and my MT40fs. One thing I DO notice between the two is the MT40fs sound to be more of a "flat" pair of cans versus these, which seem like they were just made for the genre of music I listen to (House, Trance, Dubstep, & Hardstyle are my main genres). In other words, the Audio Technica's (granted I don't have anything that can fully power them) were literally my first pair of headphones I would consider flat; that is, what you heard is exactly what your music was giving you (making you realize your favorite song is of a horrible mp3 128 bitrate quality). Nothing more, nothing less.
But to give a better comparison of what I mean by how clear there are, I'll compare these to the JBL Reference 410 headphones, which are noise-canceling headphones (i.e. VERY uncomfortable) and were the first high-quality headphones I ever had. In the song Wassup (Crooker's Remix) by Diplo & Rye Rye, towards the end of the song would be a melody along with the bassline. The JBL's heavy-hitting bass completely covered up the melodies.....so much that I didn't even know they were there 'til I purchased another pair of headphones. Not with these, though. Again, it's a nice blend for a basshead that still cares about the music. While I bought these mainly for my Electronic songs, these actually sound amazing for rock and rap. I haven't heard a pair of headphones that make Top Back by T.I. sound as good as it does on a decent car stereo. The beginning of "Got Yourself a Gun" by Nas is something you just have to hear through these headphones, along with "Generation Kick & Bass" by Showtek. My favorite songs got even better thanks to these headphones.
Besides the sound, another thing I actually like is how they came with a carrying case and they fold. It's nice to now have a place to put my headphones while I'm in class. The cord isn't too long to the point where you wouldn't carry them around thanks to a good portion of it being coiled. These terminate into a 1/8" plug with a 1/4" screw-on adapter. The funny thing is, the screw-on is actually so good, I thought I ordered the wrong pair of headphones when I first opened them because of the adapter being screwed on. If I were to walk around with the adapter, you could fool people into thinking you had a pair of stereo/DJ headphones. The pads are also replaceable in case they become worn out or you simply don't like them.
But there are things I don't like. For one, the sound-leakage is actually pretty bad for being closed cans. My old Sennheiser HD205's were worse, but these are actually very loud....loud enough that anyone in an elevator will clearly hear what you're listening to, and anyone within a few seats (I'd say at most two seats away) from a lecture class in any direction. It's not a big deal to me since I'm always blasting music and couldn't care less about who hears it 'n who doesn't, but for those that are in a formal environment/care about leakage, don't blast these cans. You'll protect your ears anyway. Another thing that bothers me is these headphones are actually a bit uncomfortable after wearing them a long time. Quick adjustments solve the issue, but it would've been nice if they were more like my MT40fs, which half the time I forget I have on.
Overall, I'm in love with these headphones. I can overlook the brief discomfort & sound-leakage issues because of how much I love how these headphones bring the bass I really wanted along with the clarity. They're not like my previous phones since those are more flat, but then again, that's not why I bought them. If you're into Electronic music (these seemed to be in love with that genre), and want a pair of cans that are both bass-heavy and are still clear, I recommend you buy these.......now.....no, I mean right now.
EDIT:
I recently converted all of my library from MP3 format to Apple Lossless format, which not only increased the library size to 50GB, but it REALLY made the headphones shine. Everything I loved about these headphones just got amplified. Not only are my songs louder and cleaner, but there's even more bass in a lot of my tracks. This also fixed my issue in the lower comments about how it sounded like my music was coming through only one side. I can still tell, but it's no where near as bad as it used to be....at all. As a matter of fact, the only reason I caught it is I thought about it while typing this. On top of doing so, the amazing volume on my Macbook carried to my iPod, so I don't lose a noticeable amount of sound and quality when switching from the two. So for those that would like to convert their files (i don't know if this works for PC), give Max for Mac a try. It'll convert to Ogg, Apple Lossless, and even FLAC. I'm glad I took the time to convert them all. I've fallen in love with these even more.