[aragornmustdie]

Koss ESP950- my first electrostats listening experience

HD600- I didn't know Sennheiser makes good headphones

 

[nullstring]

hmmmmmm

well, my original stepping stone:
DealExtreme: $3.62 In-Ear Stereo Earbuds (3.5mm Metallic Red)
this things are pretty bad, but I was really surprised when I hear how much better they were than my ipod earbuds.

When I got my D1001's I was -completely- underwhelmed. I didn't think they sounded any better than the $5 earbuds I got from dealextreme.
I don't know if they burned in or what, but eventually I was in love with them.

I was expecting my vintage DT880's to be mediocre at best... but they are not.. not one bit.
I feel like I need to get a better amp so I can hear them really sing.

 

[myk7000]

supremely surprised by the d2000 and h800

truly surprised (in the disappointing way) with the sa500 and the e4c.

 

[n3rdling]

AKG240 - Didn't expect anything out of this and it blew me away with the Zana. When I was told the price I couldn't believe it. Tonality was fantastic in particular. One of the few dynamics I'd consider owning.

Beyer DT48 - I read all kinds of hype about this HP here for a while and finally got to hear them. Really a terrible headphone. Did almost everything wrong for me. Midrange tonality was about the worst I've ever heard, detail was average at best for a dynamic (isolation does not equal detail, people), frequency extension poor, and no soundstage/imaging to speak of. They're almost 100 years old and they sound like it.

 

[hifidk]

JH13 Pro: I always thought that IEM could never get to a full-sized headphone territory. I believe this is the first IEM to do that.

 

[Tordenskjold]

Grado SR 125 (living in europe hard to find) I didn´t expect much: it was ugy and uncomfortable and quite expensive. But the sound when playing Testaments "live in London" - holy ****. It has many flaws - on the other hand it has this... kinda specific, distinct sound that simply rocks. Give those things the right music and they will blow your ass away.

 

[jjsoviet]

HD 238. So detailed and has a pretty good soundstage, almost my HD 555, without the bulk.

 

[oqvist]

Positive probably the GMP 450.

negative markl D5000 tightly followed by the HD 650 didn´t meet my expectations. Though I was at least warned about the HD 650 traits from in here.

 

[ear8dmg]

Probably Goldring DR50. I was amazed that such a cheap headphone could be so clean and detailed. It also surprised me because, for a cheap 32 ohm headphone, performance was significantly improved with better amplification.

They're down to £10 now on ebay. I'm almost tempted to get another pair.

 

[Benaiir]

HD650 paired with an RSA B52. I was amazed my PX100 could come so close to it.

 

[niranhopper]

The Shure E4C. When i bought them, i was totally disappointed. It was painful to wear them and did not offer any clarity. after a few months of usage, they sounded remarkably good and were practical for frequent travel. This headphone suprised me the most.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benaiir /img/forum/go_quote.gif HD650 paired with an RSA B52. I was amazed my PX100 could come so close to it.

I can see this thread going down a very familiar hill, very fast.

 

[bergman2]

modded dixie cups and 50 lb test really blew me away

 

[ford2]

Nova 40's about 28 years ago,never realised that a headphone could sound so good,well before a headphone amp was thought of, and head-fi for that matter.
Plug them into a avr and they can still rock,got to love those 8 ohm drivers.

 

[paulb09]

My surprise wasn't actually on performance, but rather how with so little information I had managed to buy the AKG K601 which pretty much exactly fit the kind of sound I thought I wanted over the HD497