jonathanjong
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2008
- Posts
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- 12
I was thinking this might be a fun exercise, much like the "flaws" thread. Here goes:
Sennheiser HD201: Sounds great for the price, clear but lacks bass, surprisingly difficult to drive, isolates well. Can be uncomfy after a while.
Sennheiser PX100: Sounds great for the price, warm, leaks a little (but not much).
Sennheiser PX200: Sounds terrible, boomy bass, muddy mids, difficult to achieve seal.
Sennheiser HD25 1 II: Great bass, smooth but slightly undetailed highs, great isolation, ugly as sin. Starts of uncomfy, but after a while it's great.
Sennheiser HD595: Was not impressed. Anemic bass, decent but not awesome soundstage, recessed mids despite allegedly being Sennheiser's more forward high end cans.
Sennheiser HD580: Mellow, wide soundstage; very pleasing. Slightly veiled unless amped.
Sennheiser CX300: Isolates very well, microphonic, bloated bass (but this works well in noisy conditions). Prefer C351 (below).
Sennheiser CX500: Was not impressed. Same sound sig. as CX300, didn't think it was worth the price hike.
Sennheiser CX95: Same sound sig. as CX300 and CX500, but everything sounds cleaner and better controlled. CX95 > CX500. Prefer C551 over both.
Sennheiser MX90 VC: I liked the twist-to-fit thing, would've been very good for running were it not for the volume control. Doesn't isolate well, unsurprisingly. Sound decent, but it's overpriced.
AKG K26P: Isolates very well, fit is sturdy, seal easily achieved, bloated bass, muddy mids. For the price, an excellent portable closed set.
AKG K181: Painful to wear...I forget the sound. Oops.
AKG K601: Deeper, punchier bass than K701. Smaller soundstage. Hard to drive.
AKG K701: Awesome soundstage, crystal clarity, sparkling highs, anemic (perhaps accurate?
) bass.
Denon AH-D2000: Very comfortable, though slightly heavy. Much like D1001 but better in all respects; wider soundstage, equally revealing and detailed, slightly sibilant top end, sometimes boomy low end (albeit very satisfying with fast beat music).
Denon AH-D1001: Surprisingly wide soundstage for closed headphones, revealing, warm, thumping bass (not as well controlled as HD25, though), very enjoyable. Super comfortable. Poor man's Bose...sort of.
Denon AH-C351: Better mids and highs, less bass, less microphonics, less isolation than CX300. Stock tips suck.
Denon AH-C551: Bassy, but in a good way, very well-built (to last!), not very isolating. Stock tips suck, free case rocks.
Audio Technica ESW10JPN: Much the same as ESW9, just slightly better in every way.
Audio Technica ESW9: Bass as low and well-controlled as HD25, perhaps a bit more reserved, better highs than HD25, mids a bit more recessed, but not such that they're too laid back. Delicious mids, though. Uncomfy first few days, but great after. Beautiful.
Audio Technica ANC7: Active noise cancellation is OK, focussed on the low frequencies. Sounded clearer and more details than Bose QC3, but a little on the bass-weak side.
Audio Technica SQ5: Cheap looking, very comfy, sound great for the price. Very enjoyable.
Alessandro MS-1: Wasn't impressed, actually. Didn't think it was better than SR80; perhaps disappointed after hype.
Alessandro MS-2: I liked the SR325i so much, that I bought an MS-2 too. Not as exciting as the SR325i, more neutral, perfect for people who find SR325i too harsh.
Grado SR3251: Very exciting, fast; bright, but with a solid low end; I didn't find the highs harsh, but some do. Awesome for rock.
Grado SR80: A little heavy for its size, uncomfortable with bowls, great for rock, very clear, a touch on the warm side, narrow soundstage.
iGrado: Not much worse than SR80, narrower soundstage, still heavy, might be a bit large for a neckband can. Pretty.
Shure SE110: Wasn't impressed. Anemic, even after a good seal. Without, general lack of bass. PITA to put on, though once a seal is achieved, isolation is superb.
Shure SE210: Ditto.
Shure SRH840: Very comfortable, but heavy; very good value for money; neutral, but with satisfying low end. Pretty impressive soundstage for a closed headphone, but not as wide as D2000.
Etymotic ER-6i: Surprisingly wide soundstage for something that goes into ears (but it's still not great, really). Very clear, very detailed. Bass-weak. Great sound for the price. Not very amenable for over-ear wearing.
Altec Lansing iM716: Wasn't impressed, after ER-6i. Significant improvement in the bass dept., but cable is very microphonic, wasn't amenable for over-ear wearing, and the pod is a cumbersome pain.
Apple Dual Driver IEMs: Was pleasantly surprised. Good, well-controlled bass, but not enough for bass-heads. Very clear and detailed, but less to than ER-6i. Smoother than ER-6i, though. Very microphonic, very comfortable, but difficult to achieve good seal and fit.
Koss KSC75: Surprisingly wide soundstage (better than iGrado), clear and detailed (not much worse than iGrado), bright (a bit too much for me, even after burn in). Definitely prefer iGrado, so these aren't the SR60 killers they are sometimes toted as. Also prefer PX100, but that's a sound sig pref., I think. I like them warm.
Bose Triport In-Ears: Very comfy, surprisingly easy to achieve good seal (despite odd shape), very isolating. Enjoyable, smooth, warm, but lacks detail. Slightly over-priced at $100, but I'd pay up to $70 for these.
Bose QC3: Excellent active noise cancellation, across wide range of frequencies (not just low!). Similar sound sig. to above, but fuller, warmer. Doesn't work without ANC.
Hope I didn't miss anything important...
Sennheiser HD201: Sounds great for the price, clear but lacks bass, surprisingly difficult to drive, isolates well. Can be uncomfy after a while.
Sennheiser PX100: Sounds great for the price, warm, leaks a little (but not much).
Sennheiser PX200: Sounds terrible, boomy bass, muddy mids, difficult to achieve seal.
Sennheiser HD25 1 II: Great bass, smooth but slightly undetailed highs, great isolation, ugly as sin. Starts of uncomfy, but after a while it's great.
Sennheiser HD595: Was not impressed. Anemic bass, decent but not awesome soundstage, recessed mids despite allegedly being Sennheiser's more forward high end cans.
Sennheiser HD580: Mellow, wide soundstage; very pleasing. Slightly veiled unless amped.
Sennheiser CX300: Isolates very well, microphonic, bloated bass (but this works well in noisy conditions). Prefer C351 (below).
Sennheiser CX500: Was not impressed. Same sound sig. as CX300, didn't think it was worth the price hike.
Sennheiser CX95: Same sound sig. as CX300 and CX500, but everything sounds cleaner and better controlled. CX95 > CX500. Prefer C551 over both.
Sennheiser MX90 VC: I liked the twist-to-fit thing, would've been very good for running were it not for the volume control. Doesn't isolate well, unsurprisingly. Sound decent, but it's overpriced.
AKG K26P: Isolates very well, fit is sturdy, seal easily achieved, bloated bass, muddy mids. For the price, an excellent portable closed set.
AKG K181: Painful to wear...I forget the sound. Oops.
AKG K601: Deeper, punchier bass than K701. Smaller soundstage. Hard to drive.
AKG K701: Awesome soundstage, crystal clarity, sparkling highs, anemic (perhaps accurate?
) bass.Denon AH-D2000: Very comfortable, though slightly heavy. Much like D1001 but better in all respects; wider soundstage, equally revealing and detailed, slightly sibilant top end, sometimes boomy low end (albeit very satisfying with fast beat music).
Denon AH-D1001: Surprisingly wide soundstage for closed headphones, revealing, warm, thumping bass (not as well controlled as HD25, though), very enjoyable. Super comfortable. Poor man's Bose...sort of.
Denon AH-C351: Better mids and highs, less bass, less microphonics, less isolation than CX300. Stock tips suck.
Denon AH-C551: Bassy, but in a good way, very well-built (to last!), not very isolating. Stock tips suck, free case rocks.
Audio Technica ESW10JPN: Much the same as ESW9, just slightly better in every way.
Audio Technica ESW9: Bass as low and well-controlled as HD25, perhaps a bit more reserved, better highs than HD25, mids a bit more recessed, but not such that they're too laid back. Delicious mids, though. Uncomfy first few days, but great after. Beautiful.
Audio Technica ANC7: Active noise cancellation is OK, focussed on the low frequencies. Sounded clearer and more details than Bose QC3, but a little on the bass-weak side.
Audio Technica SQ5: Cheap looking, very comfy, sound great for the price. Very enjoyable.
Alessandro MS-1: Wasn't impressed, actually. Didn't think it was better than SR80; perhaps disappointed after hype.
Alessandro MS-2: I liked the SR325i so much, that I bought an MS-2 too. Not as exciting as the SR325i, more neutral, perfect for people who find SR325i too harsh.
Grado SR3251: Very exciting, fast; bright, but with a solid low end; I didn't find the highs harsh, but some do. Awesome for rock.
Grado SR80: A little heavy for its size, uncomfortable with bowls, great for rock, very clear, a touch on the warm side, narrow soundstage.
iGrado: Not much worse than SR80, narrower soundstage, still heavy, might be a bit large for a neckband can. Pretty.
Shure SE110: Wasn't impressed. Anemic, even after a good seal. Without, general lack of bass. PITA to put on, though once a seal is achieved, isolation is superb.
Shure SE210: Ditto.
Shure SRH840: Very comfortable, but heavy; very good value for money; neutral, but with satisfying low end. Pretty impressive soundstage for a closed headphone, but not as wide as D2000.
Etymotic ER-6i: Surprisingly wide soundstage for something that goes into ears (but it's still not great, really). Very clear, very detailed. Bass-weak. Great sound for the price. Not very amenable for over-ear wearing.
Altec Lansing iM716: Wasn't impressed, after ER-6i. Significant improvement in the bass dept., but cable is very microphonic, wasn't amenable for over-ear wearing, and the pod is a cumbersome pain.
Apple Dual Driver IEMs: Was pleasantly surprised. Good, well-controlled bass, but not enough for bass-heads. Very clear and detailed, but less to than ER-6i. Smoother than ER-6i, though. Very microphonic, very comfortable, but difficult to achieve good seal and fit.
Koss KSC75: Surprisingly wide soundstage (better than iGrado), clear and detailed (not much worse than iGrado), bright (a bit too much for me, even after burn in). Definitely prefer iGrado, so these aren't the SR60 killers they are sometimes toted as. Also prefer PX100, but that's a sound sig pref., I think. I like them warm.
Bose Triport In-Ears: Very comfy, surprisingly easy to achieve good seal (despite odd shape), very isolating. Enjoyable, smooth, warm, but lacks detail. Slightly over-priced at $100, but I'd pay up to $70 for these.
Bose QC3: Excellent active noise cancellation, across wide range of frequencies (not just low!). Similar sound sig. to above, but fuller, warmer. Doesn't work without ANC.
Hope I didn't miss anything important...
