First full size cans recommendation
- Thread starter BrianZ
- Start date
Gotcha beat. I owned (still do) my Yamaha component/Advent speaker stereo system since 1979, it was replaced by my current system in 2009.GreatDane said:I have owned my tube headphone amp / preamp since 2005!!!
I have conquered upgraditis!!!
When my current system dies in 2039, I hope to roll over, shit my diapers one last time, and die. Audio shopping is so brutal.
GreatDane
Well-Known Member
Botch said:Gotcha beat. I owned (still do) my Yamaha component/Advent speaker stereo system since 1979, it was replaced by my current system in 2009.GreatDane said:I have owned my tube headphone amp / preamp since 2005!!!
I have conquered upgraditis!!!
When my current system dies in 2039, I hope to roll over, shit my diapers one last time, and die. Audio shopping is so brutal.
Hey old man, you only prove you're a cheap bastard.
bscene-buttred: :happy-smileygiantred:
This is a headphone related topic . OK? :angry-tappingfoot:
:eusa-whistle:
GreatDane
Well-Known Member
BrianZ said:GreatDane said:I have owned my tube headphone amp / preamp since 2005!!!
I have conquered upgraditis!!!
Who conquered who exactly?
I see your point. :doh:
Here's my list of previously owned headphones and (mostly) headphone only amps:
HEADPHONES / IEMS
JVC HA-DX1000
JVC HA-RX900
Sennheiser HD 650
Sennheiser HD 25-1 II
Sennheiser PX-100
Grado 325i
AKG K240S
AKG K240M
Beyerdynamic DT-880(2003)
V3 Darth Beyer( Beyerdynamic DT-770)
STAX SRS-005A
IEMs---
Head-Direct RE2
Head-Direct RE0
Etymotic ER6
Monster Turbine Pro Copper
Shure E4Pro
AMPS
Little Dot DAC_II
PreSonus Central Station ( a "pro" unit but has a headphone amp) - great unit
HeadAmp Gilmore Lite w/ DPS
portable amps--
RSA P-51 Mustang
RSA SR-71A Black Bird
HeadAmp Pico #54 (w/DAC)
HeadAmp Pico Slim LE #114
HeadAmp AE-2
Fiio E5
iBasso T4
Meier Porta Corda-MkIII-USB
Xin SuperMini IV
HeadRoom Micro Amp (2006 DM) {twice}
PA2v2
Audiotrak imAMP
GreatDane
Well-Known Member
haha did you dust off that cassette deck for the pic? I gave away my 2 Onkyo Integra decks from 1983. I do have a Yamaha tuner that I bought around 1986...and a Sony VCR that I paid $600 for around 1987.
Oh I almost forgot that my first CDP was a Yamaha in 1985- $300.
Oh I almost forgot that my first CDP was a Yamaha in 1985- $300.
GreatDane said:
All that gear is still in hibernation and functions properly. The pics do not include a Yamaha CD player ($700.00) which was purchased 1 year after the initial gear was bought (1981). The speakers purchased with the gear were JBL L112, which shit the bed long ago.
Rope
BrianZ
Active Member
ok so i received the ZX700's and i don't get it all. my high hopes were completely dashed. no lows, no life, just completely flat to me. and not flat in a good reference monitor sorta way, but 2 dimensional and frankly cheap. the only good thing i can say is i appreciated the smoother rolled off highs. i thought my ears leaned more into the audiophile range, but maybe not if these sound good to folks. (sorry to any ZX700 fans. not trying to be a dick, just being honest.)
sooooooo, now that i've bashed some of people's favorite phones (sorry), is there anything else i should try? i'll say the M50's are firmly in the lead so far. overall they are truly fun to listen to, but i can't help but wonder what my budget needs to be to eliminate the M50's peaks and valleys while still having an equally detailed and inspiring presentation. $200? $500? others at the top of joker's list are the V-Moda M80 and the Senn HD25-1 II. if the Senn had the classic Senn sound i'd be tempted, but from the (mostly very positive) reviews i'm pretty sure they're too bright for me. and the V-Moda's just seem kinda weird and probably designed for club beats, altho honestly the descriptions of their sound profile have my interest. i dunno, anyone wanna share their thoughts on these two? feel free to throw out some others too.
i gotta say in my lower moments it's even crossed my mind to cut my losses and just get a set of the PX 100 v2 & be done with it.
on a positive note, this really has been amazingly fun as i haven't really listened to headphones in a long time. maybe not ever in fact. previously i've just used phones when my mains or desktops where too loud (like at night or something). i don't know if this is just a pretty nice class of competitors i've been auditioning, but my eyes have been opened - all of the above revealed details in my recordings i've never heard before and it's really exciting. the mechanisms of pianos & saxes, breathing, little vocal flaws - it's amazing! (i swear on this one sax solo i even heard the gurgling of saliva that gathered in the bottom of the bell.) anyway, it makes for a very intimate experience. i will definitely make a point of listening to headphones for their own sake much more in the future.
sooooooo, now that i've bashed some of people's favorite phones (sorry
), is there anything else i should try? i'll say the M50's are firmly in the lead so far. overall they are truly fun to listen to, but i can't help but wonder what my budget needs to be to eliminate the M50's peaks and valleys while still having an equally detailed and inspiring presentation. $200? $500? others at the top of joker's list are the V-Moda M80 and the Senn HD25-1 II. if the Senn had the classic Senn sound i'd be tempted, but from the (mostly very positive) reviews i'm pretty sure they're too bright for me. and the V-Moda's just seem kinda weird and probably designed for club beats, altho honestly the descriptions of their sound profile have my interest. i dunno, anyone wanna share their thoughts on these two? feel free to throw out some others too.i gotta say in my lower moments it's even crossed my mind to cut my losses and just get a set of the PX 100 v2 & be done with it.
on a positive note, this really has been amazingly fun as i haven't really listened to headphones in a long time. maybe not ever in fact. previously i've just used phones when my mains or desktops where too loud (like at night or something). i don't know if this is just a pretty nice class of competitors i've been auditioning, but my eyes have been opened - all of the above revealed details in my recordings i've never heard before and it's really exciting. the mechanisms of pianos & saxes, breathing, little vocal flaws - it's amazing! (i swear on this one sax solo i even heard the gurgling of saliva that gathered in the bottom of the bell.) anyway, it makes for a very intimate experience. i will definitely make a point of listening to headphones for their own sake much more in the future.
My favorite full size headphone is the AKG K701, though I usually recommend the Q version which has stronger bass. But for less than $100 I am convinced the Sony MDR 7605 is the best you can get. While I agree the midrange and treble are not as smooth as higher end headphones, they are astonishingly accurate and you can hear everything in the recording witg amazing clarity. I find most affordable headphones too muddy and details in recordings are lost when using them.
BrianZ
Active Member
Flint said:
such is my life. i'm starting to think no headphones might be better for me than an affordable set i don't love, then save up and/or sell some stuff until i can satisfy the balance sheet. i'm definitely gonna seriously consider the K/Q 701's. i mean $250 is really not all that bad if they hit my sweet spot. gonna have to find someplace that carries them tho as it's starting to get silly wasting all this money on return shipping.
BrianZ
Active Member
ok so i've lived with the M50's for a few days now, including a couple walks around the city, and i hate to be fickle but i'm kinda loving them now and i'm definitely keeping them. it's just a very fun, full and engaging sound. yes, i could do without the omnipresent low rumble and a slightly smoother top end would be nice but i don't think i'm gonna do any better without doubling price and probably also the size & weight. of course i'll keep an eye open in case something else promising crosses my path but i'm happy enough with these to call off the full-on hunt. thanks so much to all for your help , folks!
incidentally one of my walks took me past a Radio Shack and i remembered that someone said they stock the V-Moda M-80's so i stopped in and was able to quickly A/B them with the M50's. boy i gotta say the M-80's are VERY nice sounding. very balanced and very musical all across the spectrum to my ears. if i could deal with the on-ear design it would have been a really tough decision as their signature seemed to addressed some of the issues i have with the M50's. but i'm really digging the fully closed-in experience of circumaural. anyway i am officially joining the ranks of M-80 fans and i highly recommend them to anyone wanting a smaller on-ear set.
incidentally one of my walks took me past a Radio Shack and i remembered that someone said they stock the V-Moda M-80's so i stopped in and was able to quickly A/B them with the M50's. boy i gotta say the M-80's are VERY nice sounding. very balanced and very musical all across the spectrum to my ears. if i could deal with the on-ear design it would have been a really tough decision as their signature seemed to addressed some of the issues i have with the M50's. but i'm really digging the fully closed-in experience of circumaural. anyway i am officially joining the ranks of M-80 fans and i highly recommend them to anyone wanting a smaller on-ear set.
BrianZ
Active Member
ok forget that last post, lol. after a little while longer i started to get bothered by the recessed mids. many vocal frequencies were just not up front enough and guitars & other mid range instruments were just a little too hollowed out.
so i did a bunch more reading and didn't come up with anything promising in the $200 or less category. instead i decided to give the V-Moda M80's a real try and see if the sound improvements might be worth giving up my over ear requirement. in short, they did . . . and in spades. all my mids came back. they have similar lows as the M50's, though maybe not quite as extended and with more of a focus in the mid bass range. they less bright than the M50's too - in fact at first i was a little concerned that the M80's were maybe not bright enough. but after a few weeks that concern is mostly gone. i don't know if they got brighter after break-in or my ears got used to them but they are just about right now. some recordings could definitely use a bit of treble help but by and large it's right where i would have them. overall i still agree with my initial assessment: these are quite well balanced and natural.
they only downside is that the M80's isolation isn't as good as the M50's, but that was to be expected. walking around outside or on public transit i would have to turn up a little louder than i would like to achieve total immersion, but instead i choose to save my ears and just deal with some incoming sound distractions. and wind noise makes it that much worse due to those bass vents. but despite all this i still i prefer them - they sound that good! the easier portability is actually a bigger plus then i would have guessed too.
so i did a bunch more reading and didn't come up with anything promising in the $200 or less category. instead i decided to give the V-Moda M80's a real try and see if the sound improvements might be worth giving up my over ear requirement. in short, they did . . . and in spades. all my mids came back. they have similar lows as the M50's, though maybe not quite as extended and with more of a focus in the mid bass range. they less bright than the M50's too - in fact at first i was a little concerned that the M80's were maybe not bright enough. but after a few weeks that concern is mostly gone. i don't know if they got brighter after break-in or my ears got used to them but they are just about right now. some recordings could definitely use a bit of treble help but by and large it's right where i would have them. overall i still agree with my initial assessment: these are quite well balanced and natural.
they only downside is that the M80's isolation isn't as good as the M50's, but that was to be expected. walking around outside or on public transit i would have to turn up a little louder than i would like to achieve total immersion, but instead i choose to save my ears and just deal with some incoming sound distractions. and wind noise makes it that much worse due to those bass vents. but despite all this i still i prefer them - they sound that good! the easier portability is actually a bigger plus then i would have guessed too.