[naurispunk]

 
I wanted to make this thread for a long time (at least for 3 days now). And I couldn't find similar one so here we go:
 
Different brands have different sounds (everyone who has Grados will know). So my question is this: Which headphones represent the best qualities of each brand (or series) for least amount of money. For Grados i suppose those will be SR60. I'm curious about others (especially Sennheiser - is it 555 with mods?, also Denon, Ultrasone, Beyerdynamic...)
 
my motivation for this thread lies in fact that 2 weeks ago I bought used AKG240 (not MKII the 2007 model) and I love them so much that I almost imidiatly decided that if I ever decide to become a serious headphone nerd and buy meself a big amp and a pair of expensive headphones (I say a pair because im nowhere near rich enough to buy more than one... well im not rich enough to buy one, not now anyway) I'll definetly buy something from AKG. After a while though I started to wonder if there are other reasonably priced heaphones from another brand that could change my mind.
 
 
Results so far (2011.05.31) Numbers represent people who think that that model is the one people should start with if they want to know the best qualities about that particular brand or series before they purchare higher end model.

 

[macrocheesium]

Less than a week ago: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/555552/brands-sound-signature

 

[LugBug1]

for Grado, I'd say it was the 225
 
Denon, d2000
 
Sennheiser, probably the new 598 (but was 595) 
 
Audio Technica, obviously! the M50
 
 
Should have labelled thread "Best bang for Buck"  It's good idea for a thread though!
 

 

[naurispunk]

Quote:

for Grado, I'd say it was the 225
 

Might be an obvious question but isn't 225i a better choice (I only ask because I think i stands for improved )
 

 

[naurispunk]

Yes I missed that one.
 
Quote:

Less than a week ago: http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/555552/brands-sound-signature

 

 

[macrocheesium]

 
Quote:

Might be an obvious question but isn't 225i a better choice (I only ask because I think i stands for improved )
 

I don't know if it stands for anything, but the "i" is an improved version.

 

[LizardKing1]

Sorry to ruin your romance with the K240, but I think most people would agree that the AKG champion is the K701, and not just because it's their most expensive model (if you exclude the K702, which is the same with a detachable cable), but because it offers a level of detail comparable to headphones 5x it's price.

 

[naurispunk]

Quote:

Sorry to ruin your romance with the K240, but I think most people would agree that the AKG champion is the K701, and not just because it's their most expensive model (if you exclude the K702, which is the same with a detachable cable), but because it offers a level of detail comparable to headphones 5x it's price.

You hardly ruined it.
 
Yes 701 is the king. But it way too expensive for someone who is trying out different brands. Also I was comparing them to other headphones i own like Ad-700, xd-53, mdr 7506 and those stupid Grado 80i.
 

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

Might be an obvious question but isn't 225i a better choice (I only ask because I think i stands for improved )
 

Yeah defo, just meant the 225 (and i) in general, I've got the 225i and its a fab choice and not too far away in sq to my RS1i and considering thats a third of the price.... 
 

 

[wind016]

Quote:

 
 
Audio Technica, obviously! the M50
 

 

Strangely as popular and good as the M50 is, I don't think its sound represents the more expensive Audio Technica headphones, which would be the W-series or AD-series. The M50 has it's own thing going on for the better but I haven't tried the PRO700 series. I plan to try the PRO700MK2 eventually which seems like a nice headphone.
 
I think the cheapest way to get a taste of the W-series would be to buy used discontinued ATH headphones. However, the woodies even sound really different, varying from the lush W10VTG to the bright W1000, but they maintain more or less a similar balance of midrange.

 

[naurispunk]

Quote:

Strangely as popular and good as the M50 is, I don't think its sound represents the more expensive Audio Technica headphones, which would be the W-series or AD-series. The M50 has it's own thing going on for the better but I haven't tried the PRO700 series. I plan to try the PRO700MK2 eventually which seems like a nice headphone.
 
I think the cheapest way to get a taste of the W-series would be to buy used discontinued ATH headphones. However, the woodies even sound really different, varying from the lush W10VTG to the bright W1000, but they maintain more or less a similar balance of midrange.

Which one of the Audio Technica's W-series headphones ( http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/index.php?title=Audio-Technica_Wood_Models_-_ATH-W_Series ) in your opinion is the most affordable (but still gives taste of what the more expensive ones can offer)? Is it W1000 then?
 

 

[LizardKing1]

Quote:

You hardly ruined it.
 
Yes 701 is the king. But it way too expensive for someone who is trying out different brands. Also I was comparing them to other headphones i own like Ad-700, xd-53, mdr 7506 and those stupid Grado 80i.
 

My bad, I didn't notice the general price =)

 

[wind016]

Quote:

Which one of the Audio Technica's W-series headphones ( http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/index.php?title=Audio-Technica_Wood_Models_-_ATH-W_Series ) in your opinion is the most affordable (but still gives taste of what the more expensive ones can offer)? Is it W1000 then?
 

Most of the W-series don't go lower than $300 even when used, except for the W1000 sometimes. The W1000 is the cheapest out of all the W-series headphones but it will probably give many polarizing impressions. It is probably the brightest sounding W-series headphone; think AKG K701 with fuller midrange and fuller low mids. If you like the W1000, chances are, you will like the more expensive W headphones such as the W2002 which is quite similar. If you don't like the W1000, it doesn't mean you won't like the more expensive models because there are much warmer sounding models. My time with the W1000 was a love-hate relationship. I loved them at first, but then the brightness got on my nerves. If you can tolerate the AKG K701, the W1000 should be easy to listen. However, I hated the AKG K701 first and could not bare to listen to them.
 
Probably the W10VTG would be the best choice which can be had around $300 which is supposedly very musical.
 
 

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Sorry to ruin your romance with the K240, but I think most people would agree that the AKG champion is the K701, and not just because it's their most expensive model (if you exclude the K702, which is the same with a detachable cable), but because it offers a level of detail comparable to headphones 5x it's price.

The K701 is definitely not everyone's favorite AKG.

 

[Chris_Himself]

WHOA WHOA WHOA
 
The K501 to anybody who knows it, is hands down better than all the others in it's name. I've heard it and it was leagues ahead of the 701, I just don't understand what happened between the two. Sadly I like the K240 more than I like the K701. It was my first good headphone and it's still one of my favorites. The 701 matched with the wrong music, source/amp, can be an absolute nightmare. They can be the greatest if you figured all that out, but honestly hardly anybody gets it right on their first try. That coupled with the ridiculous amount of burn-in they require to sound proper means I'm never going back tot hem. The 501's could be powered by a portable amp and you'd be just dandy.
 
I honestly think Grado's entry should be the SR-60. I mean it's most people's starting point, that or the 80's but they more or less sound the same with tiny bits improved to it, but the SR-60 DOES in fact sound like 80 percent of an RS-1. 
 
Sennheiser's HD 555 got me into the brand. I think it's fairly accurate of what they can do.
 
Denon anything is good. I love their IEM's. cans, and I like how they look too. Their receivers are top notch for simple home entertainment setups as well.