[Ra97oR]

I don't know what the fastest headphone is,
but to me the headphones that sound the fastest
are made by Grado Labs.

Take a listen to their 325is's for example; I'd be interested in your thoughts about them.

Err no, that is just bright not fast. Looking for high speed headphone and speed alone is just shouting STAX. If you get a pair of AD2000 or worse yet SA5000, K701 without a decent amp, prepare for the worst that it will sound terrible.

Nothing fast have struggled on my STAX or Audio Technica setup, DT150 and TF10 just couldn't catch up.

 

[R-Audiohead]

 
Quote:

electrostatic need its own amp, right? are there any dynamic ones that can achieve this quality?
 

 

This is just speaking subjectively,
 
But the CharterOak SP-1 or German Maestro GMP 450 PRO are the fastest dynamic headphones I have heard.
 
I'm not the only user to have said this.
 
There is some evidence that the SP-1 and GMP450 PRO might have some **slight** differences, but very subtle at most.
 
Tough to drive (for a dynamic), but I really find them quick and detailed... such a nimble athletic sound.  If you get the chance to try them, I think they're worth your time to check out.

 

[zazex]

 
Quote:

Err no, that is just bright not fast. Looking for high speed headphone and speed alone is just shouting STAX. If you get a pair of AD2000 or worse yet SA5000, K701 without a decent amp, prepare for the worst that it will sound terrible.
Nothing fast have struggled on my STAX or Audio Technica setup, DT150 and TF10 just couldn't catch up.

 
"Just bright" is overly dismissive; they're not ten dollar Coby's.
 
BTW, what are you using for your speed measurements?
 
 

 

[a_recording]

I cannot really speak to the Stax, or other orthodynamics / planar magnetics. I have the SA3000 and the AD2000 and I can say that they are both have fantastic transient performance with my O2 amp. I would say that the SA3000 is the faster of the two, but the stock sound of the Sony is a little harder to live with. 
 
I would have imagined though that the very fastest sound you could possibly get would be out of something like a single balanced armature IEM, since we are talking about movements of an incredibly small mass. Whether the sound is to your preference is another matter.

 

[telecaster]

Stax SR009

 

[Ra97oR]

"Just bright" is overly dismissive; they're not ten dollar Coby's.

BTW, what are you using for your speed measurements?

They are just very bright and nothing special to my ears. Try Grados PS1, that is something different, but 325is is not. Personal experience, don't take it that seriously.

 

[Ra97oR]

I cannot really speak to the Stax, or other orthodynamics / planar magnetics. I have the SA3000 and the AD2000 and I can say that they are both have fantastic transient performance with my O2 amp. I would say that the SA3000 is the faster of the two, but the stock sound of the Sony is a little harder to live with. 

I would have imagined though that the very fastest sound you could possibly get would be out of something like a single balanced armature IEM, since we are talking about movements of an incredibly small mass. Whether the sound is to your preference is another matter.

Electrostatic headphone's diaphragm is something that is even lighter, with push and pull setup and more air being move it sounds a lot faster than something like ER4S.

 

[a_recording]

 
Quote:

Electrostatic headphone's diaphragm is something that is even lighter, with push and pull setup and more air being move it sounds a lot faster than something like ER4S.

 
I would have thought Balanced Armatures are inherently push-pull, since its a single pole balanced between opposite magnetic fields? 
 
Compare this for instance, and this is just based on measurements:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/StaxSR009.pdf
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/FinalAudioHeavenS.pdf
 
Square wave performance and impulse response appear to be superior (closer to the original waveform) on the BA set. The STAX seems to overshoot quite a bit more, which would probably contribute towards a fast 'edge' to the sound.
 
(On these measurements the SA5k puts in a rather miserable performance. So it may be difficult to separate what *sounds* fast with what actually is resolving the transients appropriately.)
 

 

[Ra97oR]

THD, or just distortions also plays a big role on hearing how fast a headphone is. Normally lower distortion over the audible section will give an impression of effortless presentation of the music, also sadly even his graph doesn't direct translate to real world performance even with the depth of the measurements.

 

[a_recording]

 
Quote:

THD, or just over distortings also plays a big role on hearing how fast a headphone is. Normally lower distortion over the audible section will give an impression of effortless presentation of the music, also sadly even his graph doesn't direct translate to real world performance even with the depth of the measurements.

 
Yep. All I can say is that I would love to hear the SR009 one day...

 

[Focker]

Apparently Ra97or has cornered the market on opinions of what is or isn't "fast", but nonetheless, I'll throw out a vote for the Beyerdynamic T1s. No clue what would be considered the fastest headphone out there, but the T1 is easily the fastest headphone I have heard and/or own. Supposedly the Tesla driver is very light and efficient, and it sure sounds great to my ears. Although the presentation is obviously different between speakers and headphones, I tend to really appreciate some of the sonic qualities that are inherent to my Magnepans. I can certainly understand why Zazex mentioned the Grados. I have the 325s and the 80s, and much like my Magnpans they just allow the music to take on a very organic and unencumbered quality. They seem less like transducers are more like transporters that take you to the venue of the performance. That's why so many of us who appreciate Grados get excited over live albums. I think measurements are a valuable tool in this hobby, and I'm always interested to further my knowledge and understanding of them, but the judge and jury will always be the two funny looking things attached to the sides of my head. All I know is that Maggies, Grados, and the Beyer T1s sure sound darn good to me.

 

[Ra97oR]

Apparently Ra97or has cornered the market on opinions of what is or isn't "fast", but nonetheless, I'll throw out a vote for the Beyerdynamic T1s. No clue what would be considered the fastest headphone out there, but the T1 is easily the fastest headphone I have heard and/or own. Supposedly the Tesla driver is very light and efficient, and it sure sounds great to my ears. Although the presentation is obviously different between speakers and headphones, I tend to really appreciate some of the sonic qualities that are inherent to my Magnepans. I can certainly understand why Zazex mentioned the Grados. I have the 325s and the 80s, and much like my Magnpans they just allow the music to take on a very organic and unencumbered quality. They seem less like transducers are more like transporters that take you to the venue of the performance. That's why so many of us who appreciate Grados get excited over live albums. I think measurements are a valuable tool in this hobby, and I'm always interested to further my knowledge and understanding of them, but the judge and jury will always be the two funny looking things attached to the sides of my head. All I know is that Maggies, Grados, and the Beyer T1s sure sound darn good to me.

T1 is sure a fast sounding one too. Along with Ultrasone Edition 8 as well, last time I plugged an Edition 8 into my HA5000... So much speed.

 

[lovleylady]

How do we define speed in a headphone? Cheers!

 

[eugenius]

Speed is clarity (low distortion) in the bass and sub-bass range coupled with good transient response.

 

[Focker]

 
Quote:

How do we define speed in a headphone? Cheers!

 
This is probably a lousy example, but have you ever seen the classic clip from that old "I Love Lucy" show where she's working in the candy factory? As the individual pieces of candy go by on the conveyor belt, Lucy has to keep up the pace in order to do her job. Think of the candy as the music and Lucy as the driver in your headphones. The faster she is, the better able she is at doing her job on each individual chocolate without allowing it to impair in any way her ability to do the same quality job on each additional candy that goes by. She is physically able to keep up with the pace. If she starts to fall off the pace and can't recover in between each chocolate, then the performance suffers and each chocolate is not completely and wholly addressed.
 
Never mind...listen to Eugenius lol