Greggo
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2008
- Posts
- 373
- Likes
- 105
Well, I would say not quite as bright as a Grado, but still bright and bright in a different kind of way. I am still struggling to get a handle on these, and struggling to be able to listen to headphones in general and zero in on what I am hearing and describe it effectively. I am finding it a bit more difficult to identify and articulate the differences between headphones and headphone components than I am with stereo systems and loudspeakers.
I have a pair of Grado RS225e that are reasonably well broken in at this point and there are qualities that I certainly like about them, but a few downsides that I can't get past. They aren't just bright, they have a very clear balance that shines a consistent light on everything from the midrange on up. They have some nice articulate bass, but they are still just plain thin sounding to me, lacking in body and not able to flow music very smoothly. That is on a good day. On a bad day, with the wrong music, they just become harsh and fatiguing way too easily for me. Add in the ridiculous cable and funny feeling ear pads and I just don't see myself hanging on to them much longer.
The PERF880 are bright as well, but in a different way, in a less consistent way. I don't feel that everything is over lit, just some parts of the upper spectrum and sometimes it adds a nice sense of detail and sometimes it just feels like a bit too much. I am still hopeful that they keep moving in the right direction with more time, but I am not sure I will get there. I do like them much more than the Grado set I have, but they also have some flaws that leave me concerned about long term ownership and satisfaction. As I have mentioned before, they do remind me of studio monitors, older school genelecs to be specific. While there is more body across the board as compared to the Grado, and punchier and deeper bass, there is on occasion a bit of congestion that creeps into things. Sometimes that congestion sounds like low bass distortion to me, like the PERF880 sometimes tries to bite off just a bit more than it can chew. Other times it sounds more like they just have trouble keeping their composure as they move from bass to upper bass to mids. It reminds me a little bit of my ATH-M50xBL, how they can have such a great sound until you push them a little bit and then they show some signs of strain well before the SPLs are truly strenuous in level. I do think the PERF880 are clearly superior to the M50x, but I also think they give up some smoothness to the SRH-1540 (memory from a meet) or the Spirit Pro (own them and listen to them often). I wish they could provide just a bit smoother sound across the board. And for me, this is most noticeable on female vocals. This is just one guy's opinion of course, so take it with a big grain of salt, but I don't think the PERF880 would be my choice for vocals, period. The bass, midrange, and treble detail all combine for great instrumental performance. Marcus Miller stuff sounds good to me, bringing out the punch and metallic edge of plucked bass strings, the bite in brass instruments, and highlighting the differences between every drum and cymbal and accessory in a full drum kit. Again, a lot like a studio monitor in terms of general detail and highlights that all seem to bring a great sense of clarity and specificity, but not like a good hifi system in terms of vocal smoothness and micro detail.
I do think I can hear the S-Logic at work, and it tempts me to give the Sig Pro a try at some point to see if that would really do it for me. The PERF880 are performing well enough to not leave me with buyers remorse in any way. But they can get a bit spitty sounding, and I do find myself wishing they could take some of the bass warmth that they have and add the same sense of warmth to upper bass and mids, and then smooth out everything from mid through high treble. These will probably stick around for a while, but a big factor there is also the velour pads I switched to. These have become incredibly comfortable for me. And unfortunately as much as I do like them, they aren't enough to prevent me from continuing to look around and see what I might be missing.
I have a pair of Grado RS225e that are reasonably well broken in at this point and there are qualities that I certainly like about them, but a few downsides that I can't get past. They aren't just bright, they have a very clear balance that shines a consistent light on everything from the midrange on up. They have some nice articulate bass, but they are still just plain thin sounding to me, lacking in body and not able to flow music very smoothly. That is on a good day. On a bad day, with the wrong music, they just become harsh and fatiguing way too easily for me. Add in the ridiculous cable and funny feeling ear pads and I just don't see myself hanging on to them much longer.
The PERF880 are bright as well, but in a different way, in a less consistent way. I don't feel that everything is over lit, just some parts of the upper spectrum and sometimes it adds a nice sense of detail and sometimes it just feels like a bit too much. I am still hopeful that they keep moving in the right direction with more time, but I am not sure I will get there. I do like them much more than the Grado set I have, but they also have some flaws that leave me concerned about long term ownership and satisfaction. As I have mentioned before, they do remind me of studio monitors, older school genelecs to be specific. While there is more body across the board as compared to the Grado, and punchier and deeper bass, there is on occasion a bit of congestion that creeps into things. Sometimes that congestion sounds like low bass distortion to me, like the PERF880 sometimes tries to bite off just a bit more than it can chew. Other times it sounds more like they just have trouble keeping their composure as they move from bass to upper bass to mids. It reminds me a little bit of my ATH-M50xBL, how they can have such a great sound until you push them a little bit and then they show some signs of strain well before the SPLs are truly strenuous in level. I do think the PERF880 are clearly superior to the M50x, but I also think they give up some smoothness to the SRH-1540 (memory from a meet) or the Spirit Pro (own them and listen to them often). I wish they could provide just a bit smoother sound across the board. And for me, this is most noticeable on female vocals. This is just one guy's opinion of course, so take it with a big grain of salt, but I don't think the PERF880 would be my choice for vocals, period. The bass, midrange, and treble detail all combine for great instrumental performance. Marcus Miller stuff sounds good to me, bringing out the punch and metallic edge of plucked bass strings, the bite in brass instruments, and highlighting the differences between every drum and cymbal and accessory in a full drum kit. Again, a lot like a studio monitor in terms of general detail and highlights that all seem to bring a great sense of clarity and specificity, but not like a good hifi system in terms of vocal smoothness and micro detail.
I do think I can hear the S-Logic at work, and it tempts me to give the Sig Pro a try at some point to see if that would really do it for me. The PERF880 are performing well enough to not leave me with buyers remorse in any way. But they can get a bit spitty sounding, and I do find myself wishing they could take some of the bass warmth that they have and add the same sense of warmth to upper bass and mids, and then smooth out everything from mid through high treble. These will probably stick around for a while, but a big factor there is also the velour pads I switched to. These have become incredibly comfortable for me. And unfortunately as much as I do like them, they aren't enough to prevent me from continuing to look around and see what I might be missing.
