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Upgraded to HD1 Yesterday

Dec 20, 2017 at 4:30 AM Post #17 of 28
RockStar2005 said:
Hi 85,

So what came of your venture into Hi-Res Dylan/Van Morrison/The Band? How did Last Waltz sound on the HD1s? Let me know!

Speaking of the HD1s.........the other night I decided to finally give them a try, and the ivory-colored one came in today! Initial thoughts: Excellent comfort (vs. my Meze 99 Classics), excellent sound quality, great premium looks, etc. Comfort-wise they remind me of the Sony MDR-1As, which although not the best sounding HPs I've ever owned, they were the MOST comfortable......and I feel the HD1s actually match them there, if not at the very least being a CLOSE second. What's amazing is both you and a reviewer on Amazon both stated these don't need to be EQ'd, and from my initial listening session I might agree with you both on this! I still need to do a side-by-side comparison with my 99 Cs, but I was impressed with how regardless of the type of song I played (i.e. more bass/less bass, more treble/less treble etc), the HD1s seemed to always sort of "adjust" to the sound of the song.

Anyway, I will post back more soon, but these are very promising HPs for sure! I love how portable they are too, including that they fold in.
Click to expand...

Sorry about the delay. I thought I had responded a day or two ago. Regardless, things have changed since then.

I ran into quite a few small hurdles before I had the opportunity to listen to Hi-Res Flac. After some patience and trouble shooting, I was finally able listen to The Last Waltz in Hi-Res with the HD1s and Chord Mojo. My initial reaction was disappointment. I am not sure what I had anticipated, but whatever it was, my experience was a bummer. I thought about the time, effort, research, and MONEY, I put into all of this and recognized a subtle improvement in quality that probably would have been missed had I not been “actively listening.”
I reflected on this and concluded that whatever I had imagined the experience would be was more that sound. Yesterday, I decided to keep it simple and give the last waltz another go. It’s, without a doubt, the best sounding audio I’ve listened to. I was getting in my own way. It was such a different experience than the first listen. It was thrilling and deep. There was a connectedness that had not been there before. I hope I’m making sense. For me, and I think others alike, this is about much more than sound.
I think I’ll take take your advice and slowly build a HiRes Library ($). I’d love to get some suggestions of “must haves” (albums or tracks). It seems like we have a similar taste in music. I really appreciate your patience and kindness. It has been extraordinarily helpful.
I think it’s so cool you got the HD1s btw. And that you Enjoy them is even cooler. Now I’m interested in hearing the 99 classics :-) I loved the HD1 review. I think your content willl assist many others. Take care.
 
Dec 20, 2017 at 3:52 PM Post #18 of 28
Notanaudiophile85 said:
Sorry about the delay. I thought I had responded a day or two ago. Regardless, things have changed since then.

I ran into quite a few small hurdles before I had the opportunity to listen to Hi-Res Flac. After some patience and trouble shooting, I was finally able listen to The Last Waltz in Hi-Res with the HD1s and Chord Mojo. My initial reaction was disappointment. I am not sure what I had anticipated, but whatever it was, my experience was a bummer. I thought about the time, effort, research, and MONEY, I put into all of this and recognized a subtle improvement in quality that probably would have been missed had I not been “actively listening.”
I reflected on this and concluded that whatever I had imagined the experience would be was more that sound. Yesterday, I decided to keep it simple and give the last waltz another go. It’s, without a doubt, the best sounding audio I’ve listened to. I was getting in my own way. It was such a different experience than the first listen. It was thrilling and deep. There was a connectedness that had not been there before. I hope I’m making sense. For me, and I think others alike, this is about much more than sound.
I think I’ll take take your advice and slowly build a HiRes Library ($). I’d love to get some suggestions of “must haves” (albums or tracks). It seems like we have a similar taste in music. I really appreciate your patience and kindness. It has been extraordinarily helpful.
I think it’s so cool you got the HD1s btw. And that you Enjoy them is even cooler. Now I’m interested in hearing the 99 classics :) I loved the HD1 review. I think your content willl assist many others. Take care.
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No big deal. I sometimes do that too. lol

Wow that's awesome! Yeah Hi-Res def changed me too. I definitely enjoy listening to music more now than I ever did before. Sometimes you have to that though. Drop it then come back to it later. That's why when I audition new HPs I always have at least 2-3 sessions over like a week before I decide. One night you might be distracted and not catching things, etc.

Yeah that's a concert too. I may buy it one day, but I only really want certain songs from it not the whole thing.

I think b/c you're hearing more details + listening on better equipment it all adds up to a higher level of enjoyment.

Yeah, slowly. lol Yeah sure man, very glad to help!! And happy you're taking to it so well too!

I'm taking a look at my Hi-Res collection, and I have everything from singles to SEVERAL albums from all the following artists as of the present time:

Alice in Chains*, Band of Horses, Beck, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, Bush, Carly Simon, Cat Stevens, Counting Crows, Cream, CCR, Daft Punk, Declan McKenna, Derek and the Dominos (aka Eric Clapton), Elton John, Elvis Presley, Eric Clapton, Faces (Rod Stewart), Fitz and the Tantrums, Fleetwood Mac, Foghat, Foster the People,

Garbage, Gary Clark Jr., George Harrison*, Gin Blossoms, Goo Goo Dolls, Gordon Lightfoot, Green Day, Guardians of the Galaxy Soundtrack Vol. 1, Harry Nilsson, Heart, Highly Suspect, Hozier, Interpol, Jackson Browne, James Bond Themes (Adele "Skyfall"), Jeff Buckley, John Lennon, Journey, Led Zeppelin, Lenny Kravitz, Linda Ronstadt, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marvin Gaye, Metallica, Michael Jackson, My Morning Jacket, Neil Diamond, Nirvana, Norah Jones, Otis Redding, Paul McCartney/Wings, Pearl Jam, Phil Collins, Queen, Queens of the Stone Age, R.E.M.

Rage Against The Machine, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rick James, Rod Stewart, Ryan Adams, Sam Cooke, Simon & Garfunkel, Smokey Robinson, Soundgarden, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Wonder, STP, Temple of the Dog, The Band, The Beach Boys, The Doors, The Eagles, The National, The Pretenders, The Righteous Brothers, The Rolling Stones, The Shins, The Smashing Pumpkins, The Velvet Underground, The Who, Tom Petty/Heartbreakers, U2, Van Halen, Van Morrison, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Wolf Parade, X Ambassadors

* - Albums I got that were Hi-Res digitized vinyl albums. Very hard to find.

Yes I am VERY happy with the HD1s! I hope to keep them for a VERY long time too. I'm elated that you liked my review and that you replied/commented on it as well. Yes I hope others will benefit from it as well. You should check out both headphones. I think if you use the custom EQ I had on the Meze or HD1 they're both fantastic! The Meze is arguably nicer looking since there's no plastic or glue used on/in it AT ALL. Some will prefer the sound of one over the other, so might as well try both out I guess. The Meze has the stained walnut ear cups too which are sweet.

One other thing..................I'm currently evaluating whether or not Mastered for iTunes (MFiT) albums which are available on the iTunes Store use the same master and also sound as good (or not) vs. regular Hi-Res. These are albums Apple gets which are ALSO in Hi-Res (aka, 24-bit) which they themselves further master before releasing. They are all clearly marked on the iTunes Store. I just downloaded 2 MFiT cuts which I ALSO have in regular Hi-Res. I will be posting a final verdict on my new thread soon. Check it out (subscribe and follow). IF they sound as good or better, than it would be much cheaper to buy MFiT albums if available b/c Hi-Res albums tend to be 1 1/2 - 2 times the price (or more).
 
Dec 20, 2017 at 5:58 PM Post #19 of 28
RockStar2005 said:
Yes I am VERY happy with the HD1s! I hope to keep them for a VERY long time too. I'm elated that you liked my review and that you replied/commented on it as well. Yes I hope others will benefit from it as well. You should check out both headphones. I think if you use the custom EQ I had on the Meze or HD1 they're both fantastic! The Meze is arguably nicer looking since there's no plastic or glue used on/in it AT ALL. Some will prefer the sound of one over the other, so might as well try both out I guess. The Meze has the stained walnut ear cups too which are sweet.

One other thing..................I'm currently evaluating whether or not Mastered for iTunes (MFiT) albums which are available on the iTunes Store use the same master and also sound as good (or not) vs. regular Hi-Res. These are albums Apple gets which are ALSO in Hi-Res (aka, 24-bit) which they themselves further master before releasing. They are all clearly marked on the iTunes Store. I just downloaded 2 MFiT cuts which I ALSO have in regular Hi-Res. I will be posting a final verdict on my new thread soon. Check it out (subscribe and follow). IF they sound as good or better, than it would be much cheaper to buy MFiT albums if available b/c Hi-Res albums tend to be 1 1/2 - 2 times the price (or more).
Click to expand...
Just curious if you have the wireless HD1 or the wired version? I got a pair of wireless noise canceling HD1 for the wife for Christmas and was just wondering about how good the Bluetooth was on them. I heard the Momentum 2 a few years ago and thought they were good but was curious if you had the wireless version. You are right on the Meze 99 Classics and a custom eq for them they take to eq better than about any headphone I have but I don’t use too much eq on most of them but they turn into a totally different headphone with one of the eq curves I found on the Meze thread.
 
Dec 20, 2017 at 7:48 PM Post #20 of 28
buke9 said:
Just curious if you have the wireless HD1 or the wired version? I got a pair of wireless noise canceling HD1 for the wife for Christmas and was just wondering about how good the Bluetooth was on them. I heard the Momentum 2 a few years ago and thought they were good but was curious if you had the wireless version. You are right on the Meze 99 Classics and a custom eq for them they take to eq better than about any headphone I have but I don’t use too much eq on most of them but they turn into a totally different headphone with one of the eq curves I found on the Meze thread.
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hey buke,

I got the wired HD1. Until I am fully convinced that wireless sound is AS GOOD as wired, I will continue to only get wired HPs. lol I think it's coming soon though. We're getting closer and closer every year.

That's cool. Yeah I wouldn't know, but I'm sure you could ask around on here, or just check out the reviews by Googling it.

Yeah the Momentum 2 and the HD1 both have the EXACT SAME sound signature which I'm sure applies to both the wired & wireless versions. I kinda wanted to get the M2 in Brown actually but then I read the HD1 was a slightly more comfortable version of the M2, so I decided to go with the HD1 in Ivory instead. I may not have liked the Brown as much in person, b/c I DEF LOVE the Ivory-colored one, but who knows? lol

YES!! I'm glad you agree with me on that. As mentioned in my Meze review, when I first got them and compared them to my former AKG K551s, they had so much potential but just didn't sound all that great out of the box. But after creating and applying my own custom EQ, it made a WORLD of difference! The really odd thing is that same EQ I applied to the Meze I also just applied to the HD1, and it sounds even better now, so I'm just gonna use that! lol I tried a custom EQ I made just for the HD1, and it was good too, but it still wasn't as good on several test songs as the Meze custom EQ was. Tonight I need to compare the custom Meze EQ I had with the Brainwavz sheepskin leather non-angled ear pads to the one with the stock Meze ear pads and see which one sounds better. ONLY difference is in the treble region really. One I mention in my HD1 review is the B/W one. If the EQ for the stock pads is better, I will update my HD1 review, but if not, then I won't.

I was very impressed by how great the HD1s sounded just out of the box w/o any EQ'ing though. The first several test songs I tried them out on actually sounded so good I started thinking I didn't need to EQ (and for the most part you really don't, but I'm picky LOL), but after a few more I started thinking I should. The 99 Cs' sound signature and the HD1s' is actually pretty similar from the frequency response charts I've seen for both HPs, but kind of in the mid and esp the treble it's different to some degree. So that might be why the Meze EQ sounds so good on it, though I don't know why the HD1 EQ I came up with couldn't compete. But whatever. I'm just happy I got the sound I wanted now. lol :L3000:
 
Dec 20, 2017 at 8:34 PM Post #21 of 28
Thanks for the reply I was just curious if you had the wireless versions. My wife is not a real headphone person but I wanted to get something good for her but was curious if you have tried the wireless. Well after Christmas I’ll know what they sound like on Bluetooth and wired but was wanting a little affirmation if I made the right choice is all. I agree with wired for now as you do but it is getting better.
 
Dec 20, 2017 at 9:58 PM Post #22 of 28
buke9 said:
Thanks for the reply I was just curious if you had the wireless versions. My wife is not a real headphone person but I wanted to get something good for her but was curious if you have tried the wireless. Well after Christmas I’ll know what they sound like on Bluetooth and wired but was wanting a little affirmation if I made the right choice is all. I agree with wired for now as you do but it is getting better.
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Sure NP.

Something tells me it's gonna be ALLRIGHT lol....................................
 
Jan 15, 2018 at 4:01 PM Post #24 of 28
Notanaudiophile85 said:
I purchased a pair of M50x over a month ago. While I appreciated the quality of sound for the price I paid ($150), I wasn’t wowed by them. I’ve found it to be challenging to purchase an item so subjective without having the ability to try them out first. My choice of headphone depended heavily on the reviews I’ve read on this site. From what I remember of the reviews I had read for the M50x, they provided an accurate description, for the most part, of my experience with the M50x.
After a couple of weeks with the M50x, I decided to spend the extra cash and buy the headphones I had originally decided on, the Sennheiser HD1. The guys at the shop allowed me to return the M50x for store credit and ordered a pair of the HD1. I picked them up yesterday and I love them. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so excited to listen to music. I’ve missed this feeling and am glad to have it back. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences on this forum. It’s been helpful.
Also, I’d be interested in attending a meetup. I live in Maryland. If anyone knows of any threads that may help me to locate an event around my area I’d appreciate it. Thanks a lot.
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Hey Not,

What are the ear cups made from? I think it's plastic but not sure. Definitely doesn't look like metal, esp when I tap on it with my fingernail.
 
Nov 29, 2018 at 2:48 PM Post #27 of 28
I also just purchased a pair of HD1's (wireless) I've owned several Sennheisers. They are the over the ear version, but I've been finding them to be quite tight on my head (my head isn't too big, I've found all hats fit fine, ect.) Did you need some time for them to loosen up? I still have a chance to return them (10 days) and I've only used them for about 4-5 hours total, I'm just concerned that they are going to put too much pressure on my ears. Also found it odd that unlike my HD598s they don't truely go completely around my ear
 
Nov 30, 2018 at 10:52 AM Post #28 of 28
Overall, the HD1s are comfortable for me. They are also the first pair of over-ear headphones I ever purchased. prior to that I owned on-ears and used them for years. So even though the HD1 cups didn't encase my entire ear, they covered more of the ear than the on-ears I previously owned. It sounds like part of what is happening in your case is the opposite of what I experienced. By switching from HD598s to HD1s, you've given the ear room. Hear is a quote from a relevant post by 2Wheelfan comparing ear pad measurments:
"Sennheiser Momentum:
Width: 34mm
Height: 52mm

Senneheiser HD598 HD555:
Width:40mm
Height:70mm"

My HD1s have not loosened and I've used them for some time now. Although, I have since purchased HD 630VBs. I think the way they fit over my ears is what most people would want out of of an over-ear fit. My ears are completely untouched, and I love that about them. It has made me realize how much more comfortable the HD1s could be. I'd hate to see you keep a pair of headphones that don't fit comfortably. I plan to look for larger replacement ear pads for the HD1s, but from what I've read on this site, I'm not sure they exist. I'd like to know what decision you end up making. Please keep me posted.

Relevant thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/siz...-measurements-for-over-ear-headphones.653032/
 
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