[Nacmy]

Sennheiser IE 80 S. Sure they may sound weak with the stock cables but with a pricier cable such as my copper one the sound becomes strong and steep in terms of value. A real S type headphone. Slick, striking, dark and in tune with Existence Theory industrial spatial music. Certainly on par with the IE8 which is what I wanted.

 

[Jingle525]

I owned a pair of Rudistor Chroma MD1 years ago. They were pretty amazing, but no one really talks about it lately

 

[TWerk]

Sivga SV0021. Really fun sounding wooden closed back for $100.

I prefer it to the Fostex headphones at 1/3rd the price.

Pads are amazing too.

 

[ColSaulTigh]

I thought it would interesting to hear people's opinions on Headphones that they feel are under rated. I recently picked up a pair of V-Moda crossfade 2 at a bargain price not expecting them to be anything special. I hooked them up and they sounded very bassy and dull. My EQ came into play. After a couple of days comparing and adjusting them to match my Reference HP'S (AKG K1000) these HP'S are golden. I proceded to a/b test with my other HP'S and the V-Modas trounced all over most of them in every category straight from my phone.. I was floored. The details, speed, Frequency range and clarity was far superior. These things hit harder and cleaner than anything I've ever heard even from my smart phone.
Some of the competitors of the a/b test are listed below. Sample music amazon HD files . Rock, Progressive rock, R&B, Country, Reggae and pop.
Classical music was not tested but they seem to handle all genre's well.

Akg K1000 has a bit more clarity, better mids and sound stage but can't compete in the sub bass or hard hitting drums.
No EQ. Driven by Luxman R-113 speaker terminals.

AKG K340 holds it's own. Has better imaging and sound stage but needs plenty of Eq and gets a bit fatiguing after a while.
EQ'd driven by Luxman R-113 HP output

Hifiman HE-400i has slightly better sound stage but that's about all I could give it. No competition
Slight EQ driven from Loxjie D30

Sennheiser HD58X no competition at all. Details are not even close.
No EQ driven from Loxjie D30


Sennheiser HD-598. Great sound stage and imaging. Again details and clarity fall way short.
Slight EQ driven from Loxjie D30

Philips X2hr. No competition.
AKG K240 No competition.

Now if you're an Audiophile purest and don't touch the tone controls I suggest you stay far away from the V-Modas. But if you want to hear Audiophile sound straight from your phone or portable device I highly recommend giving them a try with eq adjustments they are Outstanding! Build quality is excellent. Very Portable and Bluetooth is available when desired. They just may be my favorite HP. Sample of eq settings used from my smart phone below. The default pop music setting is very close to what I use.

I have a set in storage somewhere. Packed them away when I moved from Washington to Florida. Haven't unpacked them yet. I remember them being very thick and tight (and not in a drunk-girl-at-the-bar-at-2am kinda way)...

 

[lugnut]

In my book the iBasso SR2 is the most underrated headphone I've heard and heard about.

This X 100

I have the iBasso SR1 and with the perforated ear pads, sound very good, my overall favorite out 6 other HP'S I have and out the ones I have owned over the last 10 years or so. I have not got to hear the SR2 yet, would love to.

 

[Davidzak64]

I have a set in storage somewhere. Packed them away when I moved from Washington to Florida. Haven't unpacked them yet. I remember them being very thick and tight (and not in a drunk-girl-at-the-bar-at-2am kinda way)...

Lol. Lucky you. Florida's great. Lived there most of my life. Great Governor.
The M-100 is basically the same as the crossfire 2. Drums are fast and tight, Bass is top tier. I hope you get a chance to experience them again for the first time equalized to another level. I can't put them down.
I noticed that you own quite a few Gourmet HP'S. I would be interested in a comparison of how the V-Modas stack up after equalizer is applied.

 

[Davidzak64]

Pics are welcome.

 

[DivineCurrent]

That's really interesting about the V-Moda. I'm actually not surprised since according to innerfidelity measurements at least, the bass is clean and very low distortion. Those open back headphone often struggle very much with sub bass. Even some of my IEMs have cleaner sub-bass than my Focal Clear MG and HE-500. Speaking of which, my underated headphone, or IEM in this case, is the old Klipsch X10. Stock tuning is alright, but it can be substantially improved with EQ, to the point where it competes with and beats some over ear headphones in my opinion.

 

[Davidzak64]

That's really interesting about the V-Moda. I'm actually not surprised since according to innerfidelity measurements at least, the bass is clean and very low distortion. Those open back headphone often struggle very much with sub bass. Even some of my IEMs have cleaner sub-bass than my Focal Clear MG and HE-500. Speaking of which, my underated headphone, or IEM in this case, is the old Klipsch X10. Stock tuning is alright, but it can be substantially improved with EQ, to the point where it competes with and beats some over ear headphones in my opinion.

Received these Crossfade wireless today. They sound just as good as the 2 series and M100.
Huge bang for the buck!

 

[inthere]

Sonically nothing to me even remotely comes close to the Audeze Mobius in that price range. Nothing.

 

[cjc]

Now discontinued ESS-422H with the famous Heil Tweeter. With a little EQ this underated model sounds wonderful.

 

[F208Frank]

I feel the LCD4 is bit under rated for modern times, it is a great headphone that was quite amazing for its time.

 

[BournePerfect]

Ath--AWKT

 

[HIIMNEW]

Maybe not underrated per se, but i think the D8000 and D8000 pro are pretty underrepresented considering how many people have good things to say about them

 

[Kwsizer]

Sennheiser HD300 pro: all that the V-Moda wished to be, but fell short of.