[jwbrent]

I received my RH-5Ma headphones today and was pleasantly surprised by the build quality given their low price. They seem sturdily made, even the cable seemed a bit better than what you'd expect other than the nickel plated plug. I also noticed they are made in Japan, not in China as I had expected. I hooked them up to my iPod touch and listened to them and they are a bit bright out of the box so I'll let them cook for awhile.

All in all, as long as the highs mellow which I'm sure they will, I'm happy with this budget find. I'll report on their sound quality once I get 100 or more hours on them...

 

[ludoo]

Strange, as they have lots of bass especially deep bass and treble is not really prominent. Can you try them on another source too?

 

[mfaughn]

Surprises me too. I initially found the highs lacking extension. As they burn in I think it is getting a bit better but that also may be that I have been listening to Sextetts lately (which also lack extended highs). I wouldn't have called them bright or shrill in a million years. I guess it is possible that there would be variation between production runs of the drivers....??? but if left and right are sounding the same it wouldn't be variation within production runs.

 

[ludoo]

I just finished recabling mines which got back today from antonyfirst who had them on loan for a while. Recabling these is a super easy job, the small PCB that connects the cables with the driver coils makes it almost impossible to break them, and opening them is a snap (once you find out you need to rotate the cups, thanks mfaughn!). Very nice design.

I used SPC cable as it's what I had lying around, and it makes them slightly brighter as expected. Which might be exactly what they need. Will listen to them in the next few days and report back.

 

[ludoo]

Finally found some time to listen to them with the y1 and Super Simple 6DJ8 (7DJ8 in my case) amp, and I have to say they sound really great. The SPC recable cured the (very) small bass bloat they had stock, and brought out the treble a bit without damaging the deep bass which is one of the nicer things they have. They also look nicer with the new blue sleeved cable.

Will post a pic as soon as I manage to steal my wife's digital camera.

 

[chinesekiwi]

mmm....

How do these compare the the Sennheiser HD555 out of curiosity?

 

[ourfpshero]

got one yesterday from ebay. its the older version rh-5m. no "a". looks identical but has a 1/4" plug. very nice for its size and price. nothing this size has its range for sure. sound is very monitor-ish, which is to say balanced and neutral but with more range than old monitor cans, especially in the highs. bass does not have the oomph and depth of larger cans like the denon d2000 and such, bit thats expected. not much soundstage for gaming, works decently though with dolby headphone.
these are a great lower cost choice for home studio type work, competing with the audio technica ath-m40fs in that regard

 

[Seidhepriest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mfaughn /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wanna buy some d1001's? I already found them a kinda boring but reasonably competent and their comfort was a big plus. Yeehaw. I may actually be DONE looking for portable cans that make me happy.

Now that sounds like serious competition for the Denon and AKG portables (read: closed and isolating).

 

[robert1325]

Do any of you know how these will compare with the two popular JVCs ? The Yamahas are performing admirably with most music genres but I wonder whether I could get more soundstage with the JVCs. What I am worried about is that their signature won't satisfy as much as the Yamaha which is just the way I like it. ( Smooth and full)

Perhaps I should go for open headphones rather than closed , something like the Goldring dr150, they're fairly inexpensive. Ah , I don't know anymore! They're probably all too close in sound quality to justify purchase. Maybe I should be content with what I have and get more music.

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robert1325 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Perhaps I should go for open headphones rather than closed , something like the Goldring dr150, they're fairly inexpensive. Ah , I don't know anymore! They're probably all too close in sound quality to justify purchase. Maybe I should be content with what I have and get more music.

Maybe try a pair of Grado SR-60 or iGrados? I absolutely love my Igrados with the SPC recable.

 

[robert1325]

Do you think they or a MS-1 would complement the Yamahas nicely?

 

[ludoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robert1325 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Do you think they or a MS-1 would complement the Yamahas nicely?

Probably, yes. I love the Grado sound, even though I would not want them as my only phones.

Another, slightly more complex option (they require some modding) if you have sufficient amplification, is to get an old Yamaha orthodynamic: think the rh5ma with a huge speed and detail boost, a flatter frequency and sweeter sounding mids. An old hp50 or hp3 can be found for less than 50 (euros, dollars) with a bit of patience: my best hp3 cost 39 euros, and my other pair 20.

 

[Acix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ourfpshero /img/forum/go_quote.gif got one yesterday from ebay. its the older version rh-5m. no "a". looks identical but has a 1/4" plug. very nice for its size and price. nothing this size has its range for sure. sound is very monitor-ish, which is to say balanced and neutral but with more range than old monitor cans, especially in the highs. bass does not have the oomph and depth of larger cans like the denon d2000 and such, bit thats expected. not much soundstage for gaming, works decently though with dolby headphone. these are a great lower cost choice for home studio type work, competing with the audio technica ath-m40fs in that regard

They are not so old, I start to use them around 91-92 as a studio monitor and DJ hps. I remember them a little dark with nice deep bass, maybe the Mogami or SPC recable will do the trick.

 

[robert1325]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludoo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Probably, yes. I love the Grado sound, even though I would not want them as my only phones. 20.

Thanks for the responses, I am actually quite satisfied with how they sound and am afraid to throw away money on something I may not use . I will one day purchase a pair of Alessandro's but I have a feeling that they won't surpass the Rh5-ma much across the board. Those Orthos look interesting all the same but I would have to look out for them regularly !

 

[Palpatine]

Interesting reading. I wouldn't mind listening to these actually.