General sound types by Manufacturer??

eclein · « **on:** 10 Mar 2012, 02:17 am »

It looks like this might have been asked by me before, not 100% sure but you guys that have heard a bunch of headphones from different companies, can you post some general sound qualities.
Like Beyerdynamics are most often bass heavy, thin on low end, sibilant in a few cases.....what to expect in general from company to company.

I want to try some new phones and some direction as to who sounds like what would be greatly appreciated. IEM's not so much but typical full size type headphones.. AT, Beyer, Sennheiser, KRK, Ultrasone, Shure, etc.......
Thanks...it will be great to have a reference point for new folks and older folks like myself to have a starting point.

SteveFord · « **Reply #1 on:** 10 Mar 2012, 02:46 am »

Crystal clear, large soundstage, certainly not bass heavy, more like speakers than headphones - Stax.

eclein · « **Reply #2 on:** 10 Mar 2012, 11:26 am »

and really pricey right?? Thanks Steve that's what I'm looking for, anybody with Audio Technica phones care to elaborate?
If I could get these for starters:
Beyerdynamic

Sennheiser

Audio Technica

Shure

Ultrasone

hibuckhobby · « **Reply #3 on:** 10 Mar 2012, 01:15 pm »

I have hd 598's and the hd650's. The 598's have slightly tighter bass, but do not go quite as deep. The 650's are more detailed, but in a laid back, easy to listen to, sort of way. The 598's pair very well with my old Headroom Supreme amp. The crossfeed circuit changes more than it does on the newer amps and the bass and midbass is alot of fun! Both have good width to the soundstage, with the 650 having more depth, especially when driven by tubes.
Hibuck....

charmerci · « **Reply #4 on:** 10 Mar 2012, 06:51 pm »

It's hard to pigeon-hole the larger companies, Sennheiser, Shure, etc., into having a house sound. For example, AKG has been making the 141 and the 240 since the 80's (or earlier?) in addition to a lot of newer models since then. They have a large range of models that need to appeal to a large consumer base at a wide range of prices. The smaller companies, like Grado can probably more easily be classified in a certain in-house sound.

slwiser · « **Reply #5 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 01:19 am »

I have owned or listen to all these below and this is only my take on them, YMMV....I say your mileage will vary.

Sennheiser:

Auditioned the HD650 which has a soundstage when balanced that is to extended and still a little laid back but much better presence than single ended. Actually their a little better for me to listen to single ended overall. I would say this headphone may be over damped.

I now owned the HD800 which has a wonderful sound. I can listen and hear everything at volumes that are very moderate. Once I heard these I had to have a new amp that fit them and got the SPL Phonitor. They have a beautiful soundstage as is (single ended) with great tone and speed. This headphone is not overly damped or under-damped. I also sold my Ultrasone Edition 9 after getting the HD800.

Audio Technica
I like the house sound of Audio Technica. I call it emotional some would call it loose or under-damped but this is a great sound with the right amp. I use the Yamamoto HA-02 with the AT headphones and this is a great match. I have had the W1000, W5000 and still have the ESW10JPN. I sold the W1000 to get the W5000 and sold the W5000 to move to the UE9s. At one time I owned two UE9s.

Ultrasone
This headphone is either loved or hated probably more because of the Ultrasone pushing something called "S-Logic™ Natural Surround Sound and Ultra Low Emission technologies" both of which are probably more market hype in an attempt to make them unique to the public. With the right amp these are also had a very emotional presentation but this may be due a higher distortion relative to other headphones... But for some reason I enjoyed the sound for years before getting the HD800 which made my UE9 sound sick to me at that point. I also had a pair of Pro 2750(?) I think and enjoyed them before the UE9s. But now I think I have learned a bit more about sound and think these to actually be muddy with a high distortion level.

Stax
What was already said...The Stax headphone is much more train sensitive than any of the others except maybe the HD800. These are very revealing so you need to consider what you will be feeding the Stax headphone very carefully. Junk in, junk out..great music in and you will be highly rewarded. I sold my KGSS and SR-007 because I wanted to focus on my portable setup but took in the HD800 as partial payment and have not looked back. To me I enjoy my HD800 setup a bit more than the setup I had for the Stax...Personal preferences are what is to be remembered here...

Hope this helps....

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #6 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 01:47 am »

Great post SLWISER, thanks for sharing yours first hand impressions,

Do you think the HD800 can substitutes/replace a good loudspeakers?? (In sound quality)

eclein · « **Reply #7 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 01:50 am »

Thanks folks, excellent stuff. I just recently got some Audio Technica ATH-T200 phones from Amazon for less then $50 and they sound good, not great but good and Its the kind of sound that I feel will change with break in time. Are AT known for lenghtly break in periods??

I ask because they are probably the ingle most comfortable headphones I've worn, light, good isolation, built well with budget materials and after a 12 hour breakin time between actual listening sessions I noticed a great deal of change for the better. How much longer do I give them before I decide the sound is the sound!!! I'm not sending them back because as they are now they are keepers in my collection but I still think they will break in more.........maybe I should stop analyzing the sound and just Listen to it!!!
I forget sometimes that that's the reason I bought them...LOL...

slwiser · « **Reply #8 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 02:10 am »

Quote from: FULLRANGEMAN on 11 Mar 2012, 01:47 am

Great post SLWISER, thanks for sharing yours first hand impressions,
Do you think the HD800 can substitutes/replace a good loudspeakers?? (In sound quality)

I think these two things are different enough to not be replacements for each other. I use headphones because those around me do not enjoy music in the same manner as I do. I always picked closed phones because I did not want to disturb others around me. But with only open phone I have is the HD800 and I can listen to it very well in the same room as my wife without impacting what she is doing with most of my music. That is music that is not overly compressed. Overly compressed music is LOUD...even with the HD800 an disturbing those around me as well being very grating on the ears when listening.

Another thing is that for the same quality of sound I would have to spend much more on a speaker system than I would ever be willing to do. I can play with headphones and components much more easily than if I were purchasing equipment for a speaker setup. I am not that rich to have an equal speaker system as the SPL Phonitor and HD800 with my Lavry DA10 dac.

Most things do require some time to work into their long term sound. Some change very little and some appear to change a lot. And I have experienced that some may get worst before getting better.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #9 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 02:40 am »

SLWISER> Thanks for reply pal. So I suspect even the HD800 yet sound as a ''headphone'', what to do!
Cheers

slwiser · « **Reply #10 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 02:55 am »

Quote from: FULLRANGEMAN on 11 Mar 2012, 02:40 am

SLWISER> Thanks for reply pal. So I suspect even the HD800 yet sound as a ''headphone'', what to do!
Cheers

If at all possible audition them somewhere, maybe at a meet. Meets are happening all over the world all the time, even mini-meetings occur. You just have to keep a watch out for them. Head-fi would be the best place to keep and eye for meets. I see your a little south of me here in the US but go to Head-Fi and start a thread asking for any others that may be near you, you may be surprised.

I have not checked out these threads but this is what I have done. Searched at Head-fi on Brazil under the sub-forum for meetings and get these this link:

Sorry but the link I keep posting keeps getting change at the other end for some reason so I deleted it. Just do the search as I noted and i get nine threads.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #11 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 03:00 am »

OK, Thanks for the tip.

slwiser · « **Reply #12 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 03:07 am »

Check out this video of a meet in your area. I found this as one of the links on Head-fi.

http://youtu.be/zfACT67AEWU?hd=1

Just watching this video and it is really well done. The background music is tops..for you-tube that is.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #13 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 03:30 am »

Thanks for the link. These guys are salesmen from various shops.

Chromisdesigns · « **Reply #14 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 05:28 am »

Quote from: FULLRANGEMAN on 11 Mar 2012, 02:40 am

SLWISER> Thanks for reply pal. So I suspect even the HD800 yet sound as a ''headphone'', what to do!
Cheers

For less "headphone" sound, try a Headroom amp with their proprietary cross-feed signal processing. I have an older "Home Headroom" and Sennheiser HD600's and the sound is phenomenal. I always run it in "processor mode" as I don't like the "hole in your head" effect from straight phones either.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #15 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 07:21 am »

Well, speaker manufacturers for whom this is precedent, be they active (like Meridian) or passive (like Vandersteen) should be in your sights, to name a few, IMO. Sorry, but I can't imagine headphones. But, if I had to, STAX, baby.

saisunil · « **Reply #16 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 12:22 pm »

Senn and Grados sit on two extremes, except their flagships Senns (HD800 / 700):
- Senns are laid back
- Grados are aggressive (great for rock)

- AT: I had a couple of ATs - they sounded good to me - but they are not top shelf (their bass is either over/under ripe)

- Beyers: They are super comfortable - generally light in bass

- Stax: I prefer their lower end / mid-range offerings - very open / spacious / speaker like - Omega 007 with their tube amp (I had them for a couple of months for a review) - there was something missing - apparently their own amp holds them back - they need top shelf amp to really come to life ...

- Shure - I have a couple of their offerings - they are surprisingly good, slightly rolled off on top, nice bass, very good mids - no particularly offensive coloration, easy to live with - I have their IEMs 425s - love them - transparent and slightly on the warm side ... 840 /940 - very good mid-tier offerings

AKG: Very neutral, I had their recabled 701s (two of them) give them juice and they sang - their hung out with top tier cans ...

Hifiman: Affordable high end ... transparent, dynamic, excellent - of course they need very high power amp

Audeze: Wow is the word! You don't even need a tube amp to experience tubey goodness ... warm, lush, musical, luxurious, draws you into music like nothing else - don't even have to worry about recabling, it gets better with more powerful and refined amp but they will sing regardless of amp ....

Cheers

eclein · « **Reply #17 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 06:53 pm »

This is a great thread and exactly what I was hoping for, now we have a reference point when we start getting the "I wanna try something new" fever!!! Thanks guys!

slwiser · « **Reply #18 on:** 11 Mar 2012, 10:00 pm »

The best way to make the headphone sound like a speaker setup (monitor for mastering) is to get the SPL Phonitor or Controller (?). The Phonitor is the amp that I have for my HD800. The Controller is an add-on to any amp that you may prefer that has the controls of the Phonitor that provides the adjustments that have to be heard to be believed.

Those that master using the headphone and the Phonitor say that they can get the imaging identical to their mastering speakers for mastering using their headphones away from their primary studio.

The sound that I hear is all around me; in front, behind, above as if I am in the middle of the performers. I love the immersion of sound that I experience with this setup.

In very simplistic terms it is an advanced cross-feed but it does so much more. Speaker angle adjustment from 15 degrees to 75, center channel level adjustment the center gets a bit louder when crossing the left and right and other features. Google "SPL Phonitor" and read about this amp.

BTW, I forget to provide feedback concerning the Beyerdynamic headphones. To me there is really no set sound they are all over the place and each headphone needs to be heard for what they have to offer. The DT770 are base monsters and somewhat thick. The DT880 are for detail and somewhat thin. The portable DT1350 that have I consider it to me my mini-HD800 being wired balanced with HD25 velour pads.

I have owned several other ATH and Ultrasone headphones which were of lower levels of performance from those noted in post above.

ajzepp · « **Reply #19 on:** 12 Mar 2012, 03:33 am »

The SPL Phonitor is definitely out of my price range, but I will attest to the value of crossfeed. My Meier Jazz amp has a crossfeed option, which is just a little taste of what the SPL Phonitor can do, but while it is very subtle on the Jazz I feel it's definitely a more natural presentation. So even though I wouldn't personally drop 2 large on the Phonitor, I can see why it's so highly regarded.

I will also second what SLWiser said about the Beyer DT880s. I didn't like them as much as my Grado 325s because of exactly what he said. They were very detailed but the overall presentation was a tad thin. I prefer a slightly brighter headphone with a more robust midrange, which is why I sent back the 880s and am in the process of ordering some T1s to go with the Grados. I did find the 880s to be pretty balanced overall, though, so they will be great cans for whoever that quality appeals to. They were also amazingly comfortable...I was addicted to both their build quality and comfort. I wore them for many hours listening to movies, music, and tv shows and I could have slept with them on because of the comfort. I'm hoping the T1s are equally solid in those areas (comfort and build quality).