[FFab]

hi all, i am going to buy a new pair of cans. I think that for my taste the ultrasone hfi 580 should have the right sound signature, as it seems it have forward mids almost like grato and also good bass.
Now i wan't to ask u what other cans could i consider, even more expensive and even hi impedence (i'm not caring about portability), but with the same sound signature.
Thank u

 

[FFab]

up up still waiting for some help

 

[Levaix]

I don't know if I would characterize ANY Ultrasones as having forward mids... The 580's are pretty bad in particular. I'm not sure who told you that. I hear the 680's are the most neutral of the HFI line. If you don't want closed back, a lot of people seem to like the 2400's as well.

 

[Sekka]

SoundMAGIC HP100, check out some of the reviews.
 

 

[FFab]

Quote:

I don't know if I would characterize ANY Ultrasones as having forward mids... The 580's are pretty bad in particular. I'm not sure who told you that. I hear the 680's are the most neutral of the HFI line. If you don't want closed back, a lot of people seem to like the 2400's as well.

I read about forward mids in some thread on the net, and as u can see from the freq responce
 
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=393&graphID[]=1973
 
it's quite close to grado sr60  with a little bit more subbas.
I already have the sr60 and i like it's mid, but in my hopinion it lack a little bit of "fullness" in low frequency. I also have a beyer dt990 that is very rich in low frequency but the mids are too recessed for me.
So i'm looking for some cans like grado but with a more rich and full sound. Can u suggest me some headphone?

 

[FFab]

Quote:

SoundMAGIC HP100, check out some of the reviews.
 

I'm reading something, thank you. Do u listen them? are they close to grado for the mids in your hopinon?

 

[zardak]

Let me inform you. I was in the headphone store auditioning the Grado 125i, 225i and 325i yesterday, and comparing them closely with the HFI-580, i spent one and a half hours doing it.
The HFI-580 does not, i repeat, does not have strikingly obvious forward mids, maybe just a tiny bit, but not very prevalent as a defining sonic characteristic, plus they have an overall darkish tone to them for some reason, despite sounding balanced all over, however, they definitely have recessed upper-mids, which probably contributes to the overall darkish tone of the 580, but i will say that even though initially they sound fine and dandy and clear to some extent, eventually you will crave to have the upper mids back in the picture, it's inevitable.
 
But i can happily tell you that the Grado 125i is around the same price and has overall attributes very close to the 580 and with a sound-signature which is very similar but without the recessed upper-mids, also the Grado 125i is not so heavy in the bass department, but the bass still sounds more than adequate, not underdone like the Shure 840, and they have a great overall sound.
 
Believe me, you cannot go wrong with the Grado 125i, especially at that price. The 225i is a bit more transparent than the 125i from the mids to the highs and this attribute is apparent in the 225i compared to the 125i, so the overall sound of the 225i is a bit more clarity and definition in the highs, maybe a tad too much actually, so the 225i does not make the 125i sound inferior to any significant extent.
 
If i could only buy one headphone and to a budget, the Grado 125i would be it. And as  a bonus, with the Grado headphones you can use two types of ear-cushion, one which covers them 'flat' acrooss the face of the driver, and one that sits around the outside rim of the ear-phone cup and leaves the driver open (but it still has fine mesh over it of course), and as a result (Just like the headphone salesman said to me) you essentially get two different headphones for the price of one, and i can confirm that each ear-cushion does indeed allow the driver to display a different overall tone, both of which sound pleasing to me, but surely you will probably end-up liking one more than the other, so anyhow you can't go wrong.
 
You are in an enviable position from my point of view. I've already wasted $1500 buying headphones which i eventually didn't like, an so it's taken me that much money to arrive at a good headphone, which i am for the most part very happy with. But it sounds like you are just starting-out so to speak, and thus good advice like this from me will save you money and time and energy. Cheers.

 

[Tsujigiri]

I do not think the Grado 125's would be a good choice for you, OP.

 

[FFab]

thank for u answers. I don't know how better is the sr125 from the sr60 that i already have. Because what i'm looking for is same forwad mids of my grado but much refined and much bass and "full" sound. Maybe i'm not good in explaining what i'm looking for.
I'm also thinking about a used rs1 (thats the maximum i can do with my budget) but i'm not shure it will fit my needs. What do u think about this?
 

 

[Tsujigiri]

Do you mean you want something that isn't as fatiguing as the Grado sound signature? If you're looking for full mids and a little extra bass the Sennheiser HD650 is a good option. But the bass boost is very slight. I'm not sure if you're looking for basshead headphones or headphones that have slightly more bass than neutral.

 

[FFab]

Quote:

Do you mean you want something that isn't as fatiguing as the Grado sound signature? If you're looking for full mids and a little extra bass the Sennheiser HD650 is a good option. But the bass boost is very slight. I'm not sure if you're looking for basshead headphones or headphones that have slightly more bass than neutral.

 


No, that's not what i want to say

for me sound signature of Grado is not fatiguing. I could listen the grados for hours without problem. The point is that in my opinion they lack of something when i compare them to my dt990. The sound of the grado lack a little bit of resolution, of bass impact, and of mmm i don't know how to explain, but it's like the sound of the beyer is more "full and rich". By the way i like the forwading mids and hi of grado, and i hate the recessed mid of beyer. So i'm looking for a pair of headphone close to grado signature but that could fix this missing points.
Aboud the sennheiser hd650 i never listen it, but i read in many post that it's a "dark headphone" maybe because hi are a little bit recessed (i don't know) so i'm worried it's not the headphone i'm looking for.

 

[Levaix]

Quote:

I read about forward mids in some thread on the net, and as u can see from the freq responce
 
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=393&graphID[]=1973
 
it's quite close to grado sr60  with a little bit more subbas.
I already have the sr60 and i like it's mid, but in my hopinion it lack a little bit of "fullness" in low frequency. I also have a beyer dt990 that is very rich in low frequency but the mids are too recessed for me.
So i'm looking for some cans like grado but with a more rich and full sound. Can u suggest me some headphone?

I'm still thinking HFI 680 might be it. Or maybe 780 if you want a little extra sparkle. I mean, you could try the 580's, who knows, you may love them. They are fairly dark, though, and the bass is pretty huge. Either of the steps up would tame the bass a little bit, but by no means are they bass light.

I'm ashamed to say I haven't heard any Grados yet, but I have the feeling I would like them. Grado and Ultrasone owners seem to have this thing with torturing their ears' tolerances. 

 

[Brooko]

FFab
 
If you can demo them - try the Shure SRH840.  I've tried the SR60i (actually tried all the lower end SR series Grados, own the SR325i (fwj), and used to own the SRH840)
 
Here's a graph that'll illustrate my point .....
 

 
See the bump from about between 1-3 KHz ........ it's there on both the SR60 and also the Shure SRH840 - missing on the DT990.  The Shures have a nice forwardness about their mid-range - great for vocals and stringed instruments.  Similar peak in the highs - although the SR60 have a touch more clarity.  SRH840 has a lot more mid-bass - can get a bit loose at times - but from what you described tonally, the SRH840 should fit the bill.
 
I know an above poster discounted the Shures altogether - but he's the same guy that said the Shure's base is underdone compared to the SR125i ........ the 125is actually have far less bass than the SR60.
 
Do yourself a favour and see if you can find a store to demo them (the Shures)

 

[zardak]

Load of crap. I demoed the Shure 840 and the 125i side by side. Forget those graphs, there are many more things involved in producing the end result. Why do you think the Sennheiser HD 600 and 650 sound dark despite being flat on a graph? Being flat on a graph doesn't guarantee anything, and certainly doesn't tell you 'how' the headphone is gonna sound. Sennheiser don't know how to design headphones, that's why. I've never heard a single Sennheiser headphone ever that has hit the mark with transparency, accuracy, and perfect bass extension, there is always some fault that can be found with a Sennheiser headphone, none of them ever sound quite right.
 
The sound you have explained, what you are looking for, is the Grado 125i, it definitely sounds better than the 60i, it's a totally different beast and after all is said and done it is very pleasing tonally. The Grado 125i is not a bass extended headphone, meaning that it does not produce the deepest lows around the 30-60hz range, which i confirmed for myself, but very few songs have that sort of bass anyway; but if money was no object, then yes, the Grado 325i is a step up from the 125i and has great balanced tone, the Grado 325i combines the good points of the 125i and the 225i into one.
 
The Shure 840 has a bit of a wonky mid to upper range, it sounds a bit skewed despite being clear and  transparent, and it certainly doesn't have the bass this guy is talking about, when listening to the Shure 840 it is 'immediately apparent' that it lacks the ability to project the lower bass frequencies. The Shure 840 sounds pleasing initially until you put it under close inspection, and then ah ohhh... "Housten, we have a problem."
 
Forget Shure, forget the Ultrasone 580. The Grado 125i has a very good sound (at the price), but if money is no issue, then the 325i is definitely a step up, overall it is a great headphone, very nice, a good all-round sound with clarity and class to boot.
 
However, you might be forgetting that to a large extent it's the headphone amp that affects the outcome as well, and currently, i am using the Audio Technica ATH-M50 with the brand spanking new FiiO E12, and that combination simply rocks when you want a solid bass while still having translucent clean mids and highs. The transformation of the sound after plugging in the FiiO E12 is quite astounding, so don't forget that. 

 

[Brooko]

Like I said FFab - the graphs don't lie.  I'll leave you to decide.  If you get the chance to demo the SRH840 for yourself - you'll see.
 
Here's the SR60, SR125 and the SRH840.  From you original post you were asking for similar forward mid range - but with more bass.  As you can clearly see - the SR125i is not that headphone.
 

 
And Zardak - this is your post from the locked thread isn't it .....
 
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by zardak 

Man, you're way off the mark, and there's some old-fashioned fanboys in here who just won't let go of the past, they stick with classics that are not really classics, the Audio technica ATH-M50 is crap ... If you want an alternative, which is also top-notch, the Ultrasone HFI-580, i'm not playing games here man, i have both of these because i kept upgrading my headphones inching ever closer to perfection, these two are as close as you'll get, believe me, not Sennheiser not Grado not nothing can match these two, they are the Bomb.

 
So with the E12 - the M50 suddenly becomes magical?  must be quite an amp ........ or ........