[Tordenskjold]

Curse you, Head-fi... there it is, the wish for something better.

 
I own a pair of HD25s which so far have been really rewarding, but i find them somewhat lacking in mid- to high-range. They sound...somewhat muffled, veiled, I lack the vocabulary to describe it. I like the K701, but do not need that big a headstage and want a tighter, more controlled bass. Imagine a hybrid of these two and you propably get my ideal headphone. I looked around and read, but so far had no luck. I live in europe, so please refrain from advising Grado. (They're ridiculously overpriced here.) Perhaps the DT990 or 880? I looked around at Headroom and compared the graphs, but I don't think they mean that much. Nevertheless: 
 

 
What i think to be the source of my discomfort is that bulge at perhaps 8.000Hz (right over the M). Anything up to 300€ (415USD) is fine, no preferences if open, closed or in between. For metal and to a part Jazz the HD25 is really, really good, but when listening to classics I find it lacking. No explicit vocals are to be found in what I listen to, except perhaps clasical Opera, so no priority there I never enjoyed people singing, found it annoying.
 
If anyone knows the HD25's strength and has an Idea how to get rid of its flaws - please post.
 
Edit: Woops, forgot something. No amp except a Cmoy is at hand. If i would have to buy sth. that would limit the price-range. I drive the HD25 from the PF and a fatality-X-FI, which works fine. 

 

[joelpearce]

The DT990 won't give you that tight, controlled bass that you want, but the 880 might.

 

[Tordenskjold]

Yes, but what about the heights? I tried the HD600 once and found it to be lacking the same way, though to a lesser degree, the HD25 does. The K701 and perhaps even the K601 would be fine - if they had a deep end worth mentioning.
 
Edit: Audio-Techinca ATH-AD900 perhaps? They seem to have the punchy, precise bass and a fairly good highrange.  

 

[GiovanniP]

Quote:

Yes, but what about the heights? I tried the HD600 once and found it to be lacking the same way, though to a lesser degree, the HD25 does. The K701 and perhaps even the K601 would be fine - if they had a deep end worth mentioning.
 
Edit: Audio-Techinca ATH-AD900 perhaps? They seem to have the punchy, precise bass and a fairly good highrange.  

 
Have you tried the K701 out of a good, capable amp, with a nice source?
Their bass goes amazingly deep, it's tight and controlled, and you can definitely listen it.
It's of course not a bass heavy phone, more of a realistic one, but in my experience there is no bottom end missing.
 
OP, you should really try a K701 with a good system (including an amp and source that match nicely with the K701 characteristics, actually a cmoy could be sufficient, at gain 2 with 2 9v batteries in series, but choose a dark source preferably, a bright one wouldn't match it nicely), otherwise the DT880 is a nice option but be careful because there are a lot of headphones in that series, and all sound different (or so they say, I don't have experience with all of the DT880, only with the 600 ohm pro)

 

[Tordenskjold]

Quote:

Quote:

Yes, but what about the heights? I tried the HD600 once and found it to be lacking the same way, though to a lesser degree, the HD25 does. The K701 and perhaps even the K601 would be fine - if they had a deep end worth mentioning.
 
Edit: Audio-Techinca ATH-AD900 perhaps? They seem to have the punchy, precise bass and a fairly good highrange.  

 
Have you tried the K701 out of a good, capable amp, with a nice source?
Their bass goes amazingly deep, it's tight and controlled, and you can definitely listen it.
It's of course not a bass heavy phone, more of a realistic one, but in my experience there is no bottom end missing.
 
OP, you should really try a K701 with a good system (including an amp and source that match nicely with the K701 characteristics, actually a cmoy could be sufficient, at gain 2 with 2 9v batteries in series, but choose a dark source preferably, a bright one wouldn't match it nicely), otherwise the DT880 is a nice option but be careful because there are a lot of headphones in that series, and all sound different (or so they say, I don't have experience with all of the DT880, only with the 600 ohm pro)

Tried them from the pre-out of a medium-range old kenwood-fullsize and the Penguin Caffeine Amp ( http://www.penguinamp.com/The-Caffeine-Amp:::2008.html ). The thing was in use for  appr. a year, so if burn-in exists it was done. I missed the kick of the HD25 tremendously, the control and power. Coincidentally the thing belonged to a  relative and he was talking about getting a Lehmann-Audio Rhinelander, perhaps I should wait and test later again. Unfortunately I lack the finances to buy something like that together with new headphones and found the K701 not to my liking. 
 
Any experience on the Beyer-phones? Edit: searched and read. DT990-Pros seem to fit the bill nicely, looking  for confirmation not: Is DT990-Pro the way? Am I a basshead for enjoying the HD25? Damn you, head-fi, why can't I be happy with my HD25s??