BWV988
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2010
- Posts
- 22
- Likes
- 10
I'm wondering if others here can offer comments on a recent eBay interaction (it did not progress to a transaction!) of mine. Seller had an apparently low-hours AKG K 500 on offer, and I messaged him initially to ask about shipping charges to my location. Happy with his response, I wrote back asking if he would do me the favor of listening to 30 seconds or so of a track (sent as a youtube link) to make sure there was no rattle from either of the drivers when exposed to sub-bass. I did this because I have bought, or almost bought, other headphones with such a rattle, and I wanted to eliminate the possiblity of getting another pair with such an issue before bidding. (BTW, I know that one is not going to get a good idea of the fidelity of a pair of headphones from the sound from a youtube video. I know this particular piece will reliably indicate the presence of a "rattle" in every case, however, and is useful for that limited purpose, even in its youtube version. Easier to just send the youtube link than to try to send a file via eBay's messaging system.)
In response, he simply said that strong bass makes the K50Xs rattle, and that I'm better off with the Beyers I already own which have better bass response than those AKGs. He did not mention listening to the youtube track at all. Now, it may have been a language thing (English was not his first language), but I understand something fairly specific by the word "rattle," which is not synonymous with "distort," and which I, with my limited experience, have personally only ever heard with headphones that had some physical issue (whether a hair, dust, or actual destruction of the driver).
I responded that I'm happy with my Beyers for bass-heavy material, but that most of what I listen to on headphones at home these days has very little if any bass, and I am looking for another pair with a better midrange (for mainly vocal music) than I feel I am able to get from the Beyers. He did not respond, and so I did not bid.
I am wondering, first, if his answering my specific request (whether a specific track makes the headphones you are offering rattle) with a general answer (all these headphones rattle with bass-heavy music), and the fact that he did not answer my repeat of the request, makes him and the condition of the headphones he is selling suspect to others here. I know I would have listened to, and reported back on, a track I received the youtube link for if I was selling a pair of headphones purportedly in mint condition. Would you also be suspicious to receive the response that I did?
More importantly, I am wondering if there is any truth to his statement that all K50Xs rattle with heavy bass? I am aware that they are bass-shy phones, but that they "rattle"?? "Distort," perhaps, but I would be surprised to learn that they all rattle when they can't handle the bass thrown at them. I am still in the market for these, so I would like the expert opinions of those who own, or have owned, these AKGs as something to refer to the next time I approach a seller with my request to give their 50Xs a spin with the youtube link I send them.
Thanks!!
In response, he simply said that strong bass makes the K50Xs rattle, and that I'm better off with the Beyers I already own which have better bass response than those AKGs. He did not mention listening to the youtube track at all. Now, it may have been a language thing (English was not his first language), but I understand something fairly specific by the word "rattle," which is not synonymous with "distort," and which I, with my limited experience, have personally only ever heard with headphones that had some physical issue (whether a hair, dust, or actual destruction of the driver).
I responded that I'm happy with my Beyers for bass-heavy material, but that most of what I listen to on headphones at home these days has very little if any bass, and I am looking for another pair with a better midrange (for mainly vocal music) than I feel I am able to get from the Beyers. He did not respond, and so I did not bid.
I am wondering, first, if his answering my specific request (whether a specific track makes the headphones you are offering rattle) with a general answer (all these headphones rattle with bass-heavy music), and the fact that he did not answer my repeat of the request, makes him and the condition of the headphones he is selling suspect to others here. I know I would have listened to, and reported back on, a track I received the youtube link for if I was selling a pair of headphones purportedly in mint condition. Would you also be suspicious to receive the response that I did?
More importantly, I am wondering if there is any truth to his statement that all K50Xs rattle with heavy bass? I am aware that they are bass-shy phones, but that they "rattle"?? "Distort," perhaps, but I would be surprised to learn that they all rattle when they can't handle the bass thrown at them. I am still in the market for these, so I would like the expert opinions of those who own, or have owned, these AKGs as something to refer to the next time I approach a seller with my request to give their 50Xs a spin with the youtube link I send them.
Thanks!!
