[12thgear]

1. Apple In-Ear Headphones with Remote and Mic (dual driver): I got these as a "lifestyle headphone" for my iPhone as Apple has never, ever made a speaker or headphone that I considered good. But I wanted some noise blocking and the remote/mic. They were surprisingly not bad out of the box. With some Comply foam eartips they are very comfy, very quiet, and sound very good.

2. Ultrasone HFI-680: Ultrasone seems to be a polarizing brand and I find some of their marketing claims to be "questionable" to put it politely. Plus, the 680 isn't nearly as popular as other models. I found them on sale and gave them a shot. I'm very pleased. Pretty balanced overall, with deep, punchy bass, solid mids, and smooth highs. They don't create a surround effect, but they do sound open.

 

[john53]

My hd 600 when I bought the x can v8.My sony A.V reciever which i was using before that made them sounded muffled and the treble was harsh.

Hd 800.I was expecting it to be sibilant,but i found no problem with sibilance.And very good,open,precise,effortless,detailed and musical sound.

Koss ksc 75.At first i was dissapointed,but after i found the right positioning on the ears,it sounded good enough for the price.

K 601.Really nice sound.

Negative:Sony 7509hd:Very unatural sound...
and basically,all the closed phones i've tried till now sounded very weird to my ears(i'm not talking about R10,d7000 etc which i've never tried...)

 

[krmathis]

The K240 Sextett.
Had read a lot positive about them, but still were a little blown away when I received and listened to my pair. Not K1000 level, but still really nice!

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n3rdling /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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.

People must love terrible since they been in production for nearly 60 yrs, & used in research facilities.

They are polarizing headphones. I will give you that. & do a lot wrong in the 'audiophile' sense..

 

[AP3X]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acix /img/forum/go_quote.gif X3 the K702 sounds amazing! and the HD-650 was my biggest disappointed.

Exactly the same way I felt about the 701/2 and the HD-650.

 

[buggalugs]

DT48 - so incredibly poor and yet still much vaunted by a couple of guys who post ad nauseam around here.

 

[DC5Zilla]

Most suprised in positive way: GS1000i. I've heard that they have recessed mids, boomy bass, and shrill highs. But in reality, I thought they were the best headphone I've heard to date with great soundstage, separation, tight and punchy bass, with mellow mids. Most comfortable headphone too... even edges out the stax sr-404

Most suprised in negative way: RS-1i. veeery uncomfy, too much colored, felt everything smudged IMO

 

[koven]

AD700.

After all the reviews/hype, I had to try it out.

Long short story, I thought they were horrible for music.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DC5Zilla /img/forum/go_quote.gif Most suprised in positive way: GS1000i. I've heard that they have recessed mids, boomy bass, and shrill highs. But in reality, I thought they were the best headphone I've heard to date with great soundstage, separation, tight and punchy bass, with mellow mids. Most comfortable headphone too... even edges out the stax sr-404 Most suprised in negative way: RS-1i. veeery uncomfy, too much colored, felt everything smudged IMO

Again, its SO hard to make a decision on a pair of Grados without a decent audition, because everyone has different ears, but I also have to come back to the issue of burn-in. Whether its 50 or 100 hours, I'd like to know that the headphones I am listening to have at least 'x' hours on them : it *might* cut down on some of the 'they change after x hours !' responses. While I can handle the treble on the 325is, I am currently giving them 14 hours a day from my integrated, simply to be able to get over that 'hey, you need to break them in !' hump. From 50 hours on, I will put any differences between my opinion of these cans and others opinions as 'different music/ears/preferences'. Anything straight from the box is premature, IMO.

 

[userlander]

Easily the ksc75s, followed closely by PK3. Such great sounds out of both for ridiculously low prices!

 

[spencexxx]

AKG K280 Parabolic...between what I paid and the tiny drivers, I was pleased by the bass and soundstage.

 

[rhfactor1]

Even though I had read many great reviews in "Head-Fi", "Headphone.com", etc. I was blown away after proper "burn-in" the first time I critically listened to my Denon D1001's, not enough "o's" in smoooooth to describe the sound. To me they don't seem to add or subtract in any audio frequency from great recorded music. Also sound great non-equalized from my son's Creative Zen mp3 player.

Greatest disappointment are the Beyerdynamic DTX-900's (purchased after rave review from one of U.K.'s highly regarded audio magazines'). Have countless hours of burn-in and music listening time, they sound like the worst $20 headphones you could purchase (Yuck). My JVC's "Flats" that I purchased for $9 sound 10 times better. Happy Listening.

 

[RedBull]

ESW9, it sounds unexpectedly good, straight from my humble Cowon D2 player.

 

[robm321]

Stax Lambda. This headphone was a sound signature that blew me away at first. I had already heard the O2 which sounds technically good at first then gets boring on me. But the Lambda was addicting. If they would make a O2 level Lambda.

Ultimately after buying them, I found myself with the same issue that I've had with all stats. They don't make me want to keep listening. They don't engage me like dynamics.

For those that like the stat sound, you might find the Lambda pretty amazing considering it's price.

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by buggalugs /img/forum/go_quote.gif DT48 - so incredibly poor and yet still much vaunted by a couple of guys who post ad nauseam around here.

Cause me, Erik, & a few others just love awful sounding music. It just makes us happy & tingly inside.