[CDBacklash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hurryup /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only good deal is the AD700 at $68.

L-O-L

 

[pyrokid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hurryup /img/forum/go_quote.gif The only good deal is the AD700 at $68.

well, you wouldn't know, would you?


and, (now, this is almost completely FWIR, and assuming $180 or so is affordable and you can't use an amp, and that you have no problem buying used.)
AT: ad700
beyerdynamic: dt48
grado: sr60, sr225
ultrasone: hfi 780
sennheiser: felt removed hd555
denon: d1001

 

[lucky]

Quote:

Originally Posted by themanbeast /img/forum/go_quote.gif That was kinda the point I was making I do definitely prefer my K701 now that I have an amp that can back it well. But looking for something that will not "Break the bank" kind of disqualifies it. Some other favs of mine that I can/have used without having to go out and get expensive amplification: HD595 AD700 Portapros ER6i SR80 all of those IMO are great bang for the buck. I'll probably get some flack for the HD595 being on there, but w/e

Agreed, except for the HD595--not because I think it's a bad phone, but because it's identical to the HD555, which costs half as much. My shortlist of sub-$100 full-sized phones is as follows:

AD700
AD500
RX700
RX900
HD555
SR60
SR80
MS1

These, to me, represent the best bargains out there.

 

[doping panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif Still does. Probably always will. Being into more expensive stuff does not change the fact that AD700 is absolutely astonishing for under $100.

It's a good buy for under $100, but not absolutely astonishing. I've gotten bonafide high end cans for under $100 in the K500 and the HD580.

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif Stax headphones require special amps and do not work with conventional headphone amps. Saying that you can get them for $300 is therefore misleading, since that is for the phones only.

The SRD-7/SB is a transformer box to hook up to a speaker amp. Any cheap speaker amp will do. I had mine hooked up to a Sonic Impact T-Amp and it destroyed the HD580 and K500 out of the Compass. Of course, they'll sound better with a great amp, but even with that t-amp the Stax rig will probably sound better than just about any dynamic rig under $1000.

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif The flagship AKG is the K701, and that is nowhere near as good as the AD700 (I know because I have owned both), so how could the K501 possibly be better?

Don't assume that just because a model number is higher that it is necessarily better or that anything made by a company sounds the same. The K501 and the K701 are different beasts and there are many who love the K501 who dislike the K701. The AD700 is not bad for the money, but it won't have the tonal coherence, resolution, or the absolutely world class mids of the K501.

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif Edit: I just checked on ebay, and the Lambdas are $650 (for just the phones.) Are you quoting used prices? If so, that is just silly since you are comparing against phones that others have quoted new.

It's not silly at all. A $100 headphone is a $100 headphone, used or new. If you have the option of a used headphone at $100 that is much better than another new headphone at $100, why wouldn't you take it assuming that they have both correspond to your personal tastes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucky /img/forum/go_quote.gif As someone else who also owned both the AD700 and K701, I'd take the former over the latter any day. The argument that you need to spend $500 to make a $300 phone sound "better" than a $100 phone merely indicates how underwhelming so many expensive phones are.

How many expensive phones have you heard with a proper source and proper amplification? It's not merely an issue of a $300 phone just barely sounding better, but absolutely destroying the $100 phone in terms of resolution. Whether or not the sound signature is to your liking is another issue entirely which seemed to be the case when you compared your unamped K701 to your equally unamped, but much easier to drive AD700. Also, thanks for ruining another potentially helpful thread for newbies with your garbage. Now, go back to your pathetic masturbatory posting if you wish. I'm done with this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by charliex /img/forum/go_quote.gif Whoa - did I precipitate this by starting this thread? Thanks to all for your replies - been a great help.

It's not your fault in any way. The thread could have been and should have been a helpful source of information for newbies despite the nebulousness of "affordable best" due to personal tolerances on spending money. You can't help it if a troll takes a dump on your thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif Some people have big egos that cause them to imagine that they have higher standards than the rest of us, certainly. Unfortunately, these tend to be the same people who cannot hear and appreciate fantastic sound in an affordable product. Instead, they artificially set a cutoff price and deem everything below it unworthy. Too bad, because the AD700 is a real diamond at a cubic zirconium price.

How many people have you seen actually deem anything below a certain price point unworthy? Most people on this forum appreciate good sound at affordable prices. I'm certain practically everyone would rather have the HD800, a top class dac, and a top class amp for under $500, but things don't work out that way.

Quote:

Originally Posted by paaj /img/forum/go_quote.gif so... this AD700 thing... is it 'best ever' or 'best for the little money it costs' ?

More the later for new purchases outside of a modded Ortho, but that takes effort on the user's part. Used, it starts to become a gray area since that depends on how good of a deal you can get.

At any rate, without contributing a list for myself I'd be doing nothing, but just thread crappy myself so here it goes.

Sennheiser: HD580
AKG: K50x
Beyerdynamic: DT48
Denon: Modded D2000
Audio-Technica: AD700
Stax: Normal Bias Lambda and SRD-7/SB

 

[hurryup]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyrokid /img/forum/go_quote.gif well, you wouldn't know, would you? and, (now, this is almost completely FWIR, and assuming $180 or so is affordable and you can't use an amp, and that you have no problem buying used.) AT: ad700 beyerdynamic: dt48 grado: sr60, sr225 ultrasone: hfi 780 sennheiser: felt removed hd555 denon: d1001

Thats FWIR. From all the praise the AD700s have been getting on Head Fi at $100 or more, then it's a pretty safe bet to assume the AD700s are a good deal at $68, isn't it?

 

[jonathanjong]

In my limited experience, best bang for the buck:

Grado/Alessandro: SR325i (heard iGrado, SR80, MS-1, SR325i, RS-2)
Denon: D1001 (heard D301, D1001, D2000)

I heard K601 is good value from the AKG lineup, as is HD600 from Sennheiser's. AD700 does seem to win in the AT lineup, though many people have found a worthwhile upgrade in AD900.

And a note on the acrimonious debate: People who think that it's silly buying a $300 amp to make a $200 headphone sound a little better are out of place here. This is not to say they should leave, but they should respect that many of the people who congregate here are exactly the kinds of loonies who'd do that. Over a dozen headphones and 3 portable amps later, I'm happy to be one of the loonies.

PS: No one likes to be called silly. And lucky, intoart, this is precisely what you're doing. Maybe we are silly to break out banks for the last 10%, but we've chosen to dabble in this silliness. We're happy in our silliness. Now, unless you have a good argument for why we ought not continue in this silliness (an ethical objection, perhaps, but you know how difficult those are to mount), shush.

 

[rds]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonathanjong /img/forum/go_quote.gif And a note on the acrimonious debate: People who think that it's silly buying a $300 amp to make a $200 headphone sound a little better are out of place here. This is not to say they should leave, but they should respect that many of the people who congregate here are exactly the kinds of loonies who'd do that. Over a dozen headphones and 3 portable amps later, I'm happy to be one of the loonies. PS: No one likes to be called silly. And lucky, intoart, this is precisely what you're doing. Maybe we are silly to break out banks for the last 10%, but we've chosen to dabble in this silliness. We're happy in our silliness. Now, unless you have a good argument for why we ought not continue in this silliness (an ethical objection, perhaps, but you know how difficult those are to mount), shush.

I think this deserves an encore.

Let's try to have a more friendly and open-minded discussion.

 

[charliex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rds /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think this deserves an encore. Let's try to have a more friendly and open-minded discussion.

[size=medium]Touché[/size]

 

[paaj]

Dismissing HD600/650/K701 because the 'need an amp' is just silly. The HD650 works fine out of an 0404USB, which costs only $200. That would make a $500 setup, still 'affordable' in my book. (if you are actually interested in good sound...)
I'd be surprised if the K701 sounded as horrible in such a setup as is being said here, but I'll check that out for myself some time later.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by paaj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dismissing HD600/650/K701 because the 'need an amp' is just silly. The HD650 works fine out of an 0404USB, which costs only $200. That would make a $500 setup, still 'affordable' in my book. (if you are actually interested in good sound...) I'd be surprised if the K701 sounded as horrible in such a setup as is being said here, but I'll check that out for myself some time later.

My strong suspicion is that you are in for a major surprise with the 701s. Keen to hear how that experiment turns out.

 

[intoart]

Quote:

Originally Posted by moonboy403 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The SR-Lambda + Adaptor combo that I mentioned includes a headphone (SR-Lambda) and the amp (adaptor). I bought mine for $300 and sold it at the same price, so you should read up before you try to ridicule someone for misleading people.

In that case, you got an incredible, once in a lifetime deal. Telling others to expect the same deal is misleading. As I said, there is only one pair of Lambdas on ebay, and they are $650 for the phones only. That is the typical price.

The only reasonable comparisons are between new products at prices that are routinely available to everyone. Unusual bargains are not an acceptable benchmark.

 

[lucky]

I don't understand this pathological drive to describe the K501 as a $100 headphone and various Stax rigs as $300 gear; they aren't. It's like telling someone they can find savings accounts with 15% APR if they look around for a good deal. Such options are few and far between for most people, and it's disingenuous to state otherwise.

 

[moonboy403]

Quote:

Originally Posted by intoart /img/forum/go_quote.gif In that case, you got an incredible, once in a lifetime deal. Telling others to expect the same deal is misleading. As I said, there is only one pair of Lambdas on ebay, and they are $650 for the phones only. That is the typical price. The only reasonable comparisons are between new products at prices that are routinely available to everyone. Unusual bargains are not an acceptable benchmark.

If you know anything about the SR-Lambdas, you would know that's the usual going price.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucky /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't understand this pathological drive to describe the K501 as a $100 headphone and various Stax rigs as $300 gear; they aren't. It's like telling someone they can find savings accounts with 15% APR if they look around for a good deal. Such options are few and far between for most people, and it's disingenuous to state otherwise.

They do come up from time to time in the FS forum, especially the K501($150ish), while the SR-Lambda combos are more rare($300ish). People who have heard them know what a bargain they are. Not everyone has to recommend the RX700 or the AD700.

 

[CDBacklash]

how are you liking your 880s, moonboy?

 

[moonboy403]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDBacklash /img/forum/go_quote.gif how are you liking your 880s, moonboy?

The Dt880/250ohms is on the dry side but is still very enjoyable. It's very dynamic with good detail retrieval and imaging although the soundstage tends to be a little flat. I would also say that the DT880's a little bright(at least when pair with my current amp).