what is your favorite headphone and why?

[lan]

My fav is AKG K1000 for a number of reasons.

Dynamics. It keeps things lively. That brings it one step closer to reality.

Speed. The attack is very fast. This goes hand in hand with dynamics. Guitars and percussions are awesome.

Soundstage. I enjoy the way it cuts through sounds like a knife making sonic delineation easy. This is important to me because I don't like a 2D wall of sound.

 

[cosmopragma]

My favorite for crappy or sibilant recordings is the AKG K 240 S.
My favorite for classical is the Stax 3030 combo or sometimes the Senn HD 600.
My favorite for anything else is the Grado RS1.

 

[Asterix]

I've never tried AKG, Grado, Stax, etc. but I've tried all the Sennheisers and I've loved my HD580's for many years until I got my HD650's which are a big improvement over that... putting me in audio heaven for who knows how many years to come.

The kind of amp you use, however, is an important component of the sound as well, especially with the 650's. You have to find the right synergy between phones and amp.

 

[Duncan]

I'm going to say a headphone that only a few would understand (from my point of view at least

)

Sony MDR-CD1700...

...It is quite simply the best headphone that i've ever heard with a HT setup... I'm still remorseful for letting them go (I've let three pairs slip through my hands!)... The Grado RS1 is great for music, but the CD1700 just seemed to be that bit better, more involving, more fun with HT...

 

[kunwar]

For anything at all - Alessandro MS Pro
For classical - toss up between 501 and MS Pro

Remember these are at home
Portable would be HD-25 andETY 4S Both have their strengths

 

[lini]

My real favourite is the K240S. Except being somewhat picky on amps and not presenting a huge soundstage, this moderately priced AKG does most things right, but hardly ever anything wrong with my music. Asked for my fav in price/performance, both the DT531 and the DT440 would rival the K240S, though - however, as the real king in that category, I'd in fact have to name the Creative HQ-1300. Compared to what it already does for ~ 25 Euro, the performance of most of my more expensive headphones looks somewhat poor.

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[commando]

A900s, because they're well ballanced, closed, and good value. The value of my sound card (EMU 1212) or the amp (ppa) isn't as good - i'm considering downgrading at least one of them some time.

 

[TrevorNetwork]

Definitely my pair of ATH-W2002.

 

[KtoEto]

I switch among K501, HD595 and ATH clip ons depending on kind of music, mood and comfort.
I don't have a favourite yet.

 

[Jasper994]

Shure E5:

- They sound awesome!!!

<---My face looks like this (in a good way) on a regular basis with the E5.

- They're very comfortable.

- They have amazing bass without ever being bloated.

- They're very musical.

 

[JaZZ]

HD 650. I have tried and have a lot of other headphones, including a few electrostats, but no other comes close in terms of coherence, neutrality, smoothness, clarity, transparency, dynamics and organicalness in such a favorable mixture in my setup.

 

[S_Dedalus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duncan I'm going to say a headphone that only a few would understand (from my point of view at least ) Sony MDR-CD1700... ...It is quite simply the best headphone that i've ever heard with a HT setup... I'm still remorseful for letting them go (I've let three pairs slip through my hands!)... The Grado RS1 is great for music, but the CD1700 just seemed to be that bit better, more involving, more fun with HT...

This is similar to how I feel about my beyer's, movies and games just sound incredible with them.

 

[BrokenEnglish]

hm... dt880... most probably because i had no chance to listen to the hd650? and no... i will not fill in that gap in the nearer future...

 

[sacd lover]

HD 650. I have tried and have a lot of other headphones, including a few electrostats, but no other comes close in terms of coherence, neutrality, smoothness, clarity, transparency, dynamics and organicalness in such a favorable mixture in my setup.

What he said.

The sennheiser 650 does everything very well.

 

[Earwax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyfrenchman27 KSC75. It feels like I'm not listening to *anything* and it sounds wonderful when properly amped with a 75 ohm adapter.

I agree, they're sooo light and comfortable and really show their stuff when amped.