AKG Q/K 701/702 vs M-100
M-100 has much more bass (extension and presence), laid-back midrange, less treble extension, much more closed soundstage that sounds deeper than wide; better for music genres with electronically-produced sounds
Q/K 701/702 has more peaky treble that sounds artificial at times, 3D soundstage that seems HUGE (though this should be a no-brainer considering it's an open-back); better for music genres with real instruments
2 different headphones for 2 different purposes; I can't wait for my K 701 to come through the mail!
*BTW I did in fact find the Q 701 to be slightly warmer than the K 702 and the treble wasn't quite as sharp; some people say the Quincy Jones button is the reason for the sound difference, others say it's a small foam piece within the earcups, the world may never know XD*
Fostex T50RP - MrSpeakers Mad Dogs (DogPad earpads) and Mayflower (Shure earpads) vs M-100
M-100 has more bass (extension and presence) than Mad Dogs, less treble extension, mids were about the same in terms of presentation, M-100's midrange sounded better tonally
Mad Dogs seemed more balanced, midrange tonality seemed kind of off to my ears especially the upper-midrange (female vocals, violins, etc.), treble sounded a bit canny or artificial, wider soundstage compared to both the M-100 and the Mayflower; I should also say that the Mad Dogs had a TON of noise isolation. I put them on and the background noise was pretty much gone...amazing
Mayflower's midrange sounded better tonally than Mad Dogs to my ears, but the highs were pretty harsh
I actually prefer the M-100's over the Mad Dogs because the Mad Dogs had that odd tonality to it, but it wasn't bad-sounding by any means. The Mayflower was too harsh for me, but it sounded pretty good with rock music.
Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro vs M-100
M-100 had about the same amount of bass as the level 4 (full bass) Custom One Pro, much better-sounding tonally, better treble extension and shimmer, better instrument separation
Custom One Pro on level 1 (leanest bass) had a wider soundstage but not as good instrument separation, more forward midrange, HUGE form factor compared to the M-100
Overall, I like the M-100 much more than the Custom One Pro because of its instrument separation, detail, and more natural-sounding midrange
Ultrasone PRO900 vs M-100
There is no comparison, the M-100 destroys the PRO900 in every way possible except for bass punch (I even found the M-100's more comfortable surprisingly enough); I literally could NOT listen to the PRO900 for more than 1 minute because it was so harsh and sibilant (I couldn't even enjoy Lindsey Stirling :'( ). The PRO900's earpads were really large for my head...similar to the HD800 (my face is being swallowed by the velour earpads!).
Sony XB500 vs M-100
M-100 hands down has way more detail, better treble extension and shimmer, better tonality in the midrange, and cleaner, tight bass
The XB500 has a comfort level leagues better than the M-100 on the other hand due to its pillow-like earpads and very light mass
Overall, I like the M-100 for its sound, XB500 for its comfort
Mainly for the HD650 vs M-100 (even though it's not the same rig)
M-100 has much more bass (extension and presence), smaller soundstage (again, it's being compared to an open-back headphone), less instrument separation, less treble extension, laid-back midrange, more sparkly treble that sounds artificial in comparison
Four words for the HD650: silky smooth, warm, relaxing
The HD650 sounds really good. There is nothing about it that jumps out at you though, so it's a very relaxing headphone to listen to. Even though the M-100 has less of everything but sparkle compared to the HD650, I prefer the M-100, as I've said before, because I find the HD650 to be too warm for my tastes. That plus it sounds kind of boring to me. I do like the more forward midrange on the other hand.
Denon AH-D2000 vs M-100
I didn't get a lot of time with the D2000 since I had to leave shortly after, but from what I briefely noted, the M-100 has much more bass presence, less treble extension and sounded a bit artificial, laid-back midrange, and a much smaller soundstage. Despite this, the D2000 sounded a bit dry and boring to my ears; I wasn't too impressed with it apart from the large soundstage and more forward midrange.
AKG K550 vs M-100
M-100 has much more bass presence, laid-back midrange, less treble extension, better comfort
The K550 sounds somewhat similar to the SRH940 in that it's an analytical headphone (sharp, fast, reveals lots of details) and has a forward midrange that sounds more tonally accurate to me, but it has a much better bass response in terms of extension and quality and has less harsh treble
Overall, again, 2 different headphones for 2 different purposes. If you like one, your probably won't like the other (similar to the SRH940 as well). I can't really recommend the K550 though as you should really try it before buying it. I just COULD NOT get a good seal on it...I literally had to push the earcups into my head since the bottom of the earpad would not get a good seal what-so-ever (there was always a gap between my head and the earpad). I don't think AKG designed the K550 to conform to a human head, seriously (I wasn't the only one with fitting problems at the meet). Fit aside, I actually really like the K550's sound.
I wonder how it would pair with ZO2.1 as ZO2.1 tends to have more lower-mid presence than ZO2.3 which would be perfect for M100.
Its what I'm mainly worrying about, as I listen to this stuff more than trance a lot of the time for in bed and such
