[dakanao]

Hifiman is known for terrible QC. My pair, fairly recently issued (january-ish) sounds quite amicable. They aren't perfect...I can hear things missing at low volume, but I've never heard a pair of headphones I don't fault for not being perfectly realistic. They sound fine, nearly true, at higher volume, but they don't reproduce the right frequency balance at low volume...not that I should expect them to, but I'd rather not go deaf.

They're great, as far as headphones go, but I've heard enough live music to know when something isn't quite perfect.

The bass was actually fine with both pairs of mine. Honestly the first HE-400i were quite amazing when I think back about them, very open speaker like sound. I sold them because I needed the funds to repair my laptop at that time, and the 2nd time I bought the HE-400i back, horrible..

 

[bagwell359]

Throwbacks from the 70's:

Senn 414 - bass anyone? Not here.

These Koss's (forget name) about $50 - sponge earpads, mombo clamping force, crap sound

Original K-240's - used them to adjust my tonearm VTA, magnified highs, plastic midrange - not totally awful, but far from correct.

 

[Dreamnine]

Some low end Philips on-ear Bluetooth ones. Sound was muffled and crackly - saying that, they were very cheap.

 

[AthenaZephyrian]

The bass was actually fine with both pairs of mine. Honestly the first HE-400i were quite amazing when I think back about them, very open speaker like sound. I sold them because I needed the funds to repair my laptop at that time, and the 2nd time I bought the HE-400i back, horrible..

Yeah, the bass is totally fine. The mids just lack the slightest bit of bite on most tracks, but it may have to do with my absurd production quality standards. They only ever sound right to me on meticulously mastered FLAC tracks.

 

[Homoerected]

I can list the ones that I use for tracking professionally and why you should not buy them for tracking.

Ultrasone Pro 650 - Ear piercer, metallic middy sibilance generator sold them immediately. Reason of tinnitus after 10 mins.

Shure SE215 - Don't have any idea why are they selling as stage monitors with that boominess and lack of resolution.

Sennheiser HD380 Pro - Hollow but accented mids, interesting notches at bass frequencies which is destroying the body, selling as monitoring pairs completely not accurate.

And some daily failures

Macaw T1000 Bluetooth something - music was swimming in miserable mud

 

[RobertSM]

Sony MDR-V700. These are from my pro audio days. Really bad!

 

[SilverEars]

Recently I posted that Massdrop X Fostex TH-X0 is one of the worst headphone regarded here for audiophiles. Audio Technica M40X which was recommended over the M50X for some weird reason by couple of Headfi'ers, and it was muddy sounding, and kept me from trying other Audio Technica products.

It's true, Beats has too much bass at times. Studio 3 wireless has too much upper-bass warmth. Should be avoided if looking for coherent cans.

I generally dislike Audeze planars. Their upper-mids are sucked out, and I don't understand why they keep tuning it that way! Also, they are over-priced. Their LCD-3 isn't even that resolving and when it first came out, I'm sure it was hyped like a mofo. I'm sure with Audeze, people sees the headphone, not hear it. iSines you had to EQ without the cipher cable. What a horrible experience. Without EQ, the mids (of course with Audeze) sounded off. Only thing I got out of it was learning to EQ.

As for portable stuff, crappy BT headphone at Best Buy. Sounds bad, the low-end stuff like Skullcandy, etc.. Amazon's #1 BT iems are crappy sounding. I can pretty much predict those $20 - 30 BT iems are crappy sounding.

As for iems, Tia Forte is flippin overpriced, and Spiral Ear SE5U should not be #1 (or anywhere close). Seriously, prices need to come down.

You know the original JH Layla hype? Overpriced crap.

Shures, also overpriced per performance.

I really disliked HD800's treble spike. Do I dislike that headphone with a passion! As you can see, tonality is very important to me. Audio devices should foremost be balanced.

So, learn to avoid the hype, do a bit of research, figure out if reviews are fake or not, and have patience my friends. Peace out!

 

[George Taylor]

Going purely by how much they cost, Beyerdynamic T90, 1st edition. I own the DT 770 80 ohm & the 1990s, and love them both for what they are. But the T90s were just way too ear piercing with their treble. Fortunately (I guess) one of the drivers died shortly after I bought them, so I was able to return them under warranty.

 

[drews]

Noble Dulce Bass. There are many better earphones that cost less than the restocking fee on these...

 

[SilverEars]

Noble Dulce Bass. There are many better earphones that cost less than the restocking fee on these...

I was glad somebody let me tried the Kaiser Encore. It's didn't sound as expensive as priced. Just overpriced. You know, this just provides me with insight into the quality of the stuff the company puts out.

You know the thing is, some people get all jazzied up when they get the really expensive stuff. Well, you will soon figure out the value once you hear it enough.

Oh yes, and the review on the webite said it was terrific. Bullshiit... Who does he think I am, a sucker? Do reviewers think we won't remember their reviews?

 

[Brahmsian]

I generally dislike Audeze planars. Their upper-mids are sucked out, and I don't understand why they keep tuning it that way! Also, they are over-priced. Their LCD-3 isn't even that resolving and when it first came out, I'm sure it was hyped like a mofo. I'm sure with Audeze, people sees the headphone, not hear it.

I really disliked HD800's treble spike. Do I dislike that headphone with a passion! As you can see, tonality is very important to me. Audio devices should foremost be balanced.

So, learn to avoid the hype, do a bit of research, figure out if reviews are fake or not, and have patience my friends. Peace out!

Audeze planars and the Senn HD800 both have good reputations. You have to consider what kind of music you listen to. The HD800 is supposed to be one of the best classical music headphones out there. There is also a mod that takes care of the spike. I also hear they are amp picky.

 

[PointyFox]

It's interesting that most of the headphones being discussed in the thread "worst headphones you've ever heard" cost greater than $1000.
The worst for me would probably be the no-name earbuds I got out of a vending machine or the ones I got for free with an advertisement for a bank on their container.

 

[Rhamnetin]

It's interesting that most of the headphones being discussed in the thread "worst headphones you've ever heard" cost greater than $1000.
The worst for me would probably be the no-name earbuds I got out of a vending machine or the ones I got for free with an advertisement for a bank on their container.

I think the Audio Technica ATH-W1000Z sounds worse than the free ear buds I get on generic flights.

 

[KcMsterpce]

I ordered Sennheiser HD598 from Amazon. When they arrived, they didn't look or "feel" right. The earpads were like bad shag carpet, they felt lighter, and the plastic was very creaky and weak.
I thought maybe it was a new version of their design. I put on "Purple Rain" through the AK120. Once I put them on my head, they had none of the comfort of the previous 598s I tried.
The song sounded terrible.
Knockoff HD598 was pretty bad.

Other losers include the cheap buds I pick up at a gas station/mini-mart when I don't remember to bring my own. Yikes. Apple earbuds are almost as bad. I have no idea how people can use those things.

 

[Kukuk]

Not counting the low-end, store-bought garbage, I'd have to go with the M50x. They're not 100% flawed: their bass and treble is fine, though their imaging and soundstage are unexceptional.

The thing that really detracts from them are their mids. They're just abhorrent. Why the hell do both the upper and lower mids need to be recessed? Who finds that acceptable? It makes them sound as though the whole mid range is set back. Why did this pass the tuning process? Why do professionals even use them?

And the price. For $150+ it's completely unacceptable. It wouldn't be fine for a sub-$50. Something like the Koss KSC-75s and PortaPros are vastly superior. And then the competition at this price: you can get proper mid-fi headphones. DT770 Pro 80s crush them in every single way. If you need something neutral for this price the AKG K612 Pros exist. If you need something portable get the HD25. If you just need everything the M50x does the V6 is available for half the price. If you want a step up from the V6 there's the Ultrasone HFI-580.

It's just a stupid headphone that I don't understand why it exists, or why it has such a huge following.