Head-Fi: Battle Of The Flagships (50+ Headphones Compared)

saisunil · « **on:** 27 Nov 2012, 07:45 pm »

Interesting ...
One person's very logical view ...
http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-50-headphones-compared

eclein · « **Reply #1 on:** 27 Nov 2012, 08:15 pm »

Thanks Sunil! This is well done I think myself, thanks for posting.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #2 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 12:32 am »

Wow, this is a stellar review. I unaware the Beyer T1 was this good.
This review is miles above the reviews of commercial magazines where one pay for read a unreliable, full of cliches statements.
Thanks for sharing Saisunil.

Noseyears · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 02:35 am »

Indeed, i enjoyed reading this wall of text with useful information. Been eyeing the headphones for my next upgrade.

ajzepp · « **Reply #4 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 03:37 am »

One of the most thorough, fair, interesting reviews I've ever read. I had a few PM exchanges with the guy on head-fi and he really seems to be a guy with very few biases. He just loves headphones and audio and he put a ton of effort into all that. Really great read.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #5 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 04:07 am »

True, this extensive analysis will serve as a reference guide of headphones for many years.
All phones fans are in debt with David Mahler. Great work indeed.

Ern Dog · « **Reply #6 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 06:51 am »

Wow! Excellent read. Thanks for posting this link.

Guy 13 · « **Reply #7 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 08:43 am »

Quote from: saisunil on 27 Nov 2012, 07:45 pm

Interesting ...
One person's very logical view ...
http://www.head-fi.org/t/634201/battle-of-the-flagships-50-headphones-compared

Hi saisunil and all Audio Circle members.
Thanks saisunil, we need more unbiased review like this one.
Now, I can buy my dream HD-650 headphones with peace of mind.

Guy 13

JohnR · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 09:58 am »

He owns all those headphones!?! Holy cow...

(I'M back down to one pair

)

Guy 13 · « **Reply #9 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 10:41 am »

Hi all Audio Circle members.

I'm also down to one pair and no amplifier to drive them other than an iPod !

Holly smoke, that's not what I call an audiophile set up.

Guy 13

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #10 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 10:56 am »

I surprised he dont own the Jecklin Float, maybe it is too vintage.
But I see he own two 1989 R10 with paper cone to glorious organic harmonics.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #11 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 11:35 am »

Quote from: Guy 13 on 28 Nov 2012, 10:41 am

Hi all Audio Circle members.

I'm also down to one pair and no amplifier to drive them other than an iPod !

Holly smoke, that's not what I call an audiophile set up.

Guy 13

I liked the HD650 review, he mention the HD650 is ''too smooth'' as a weakness.
This is a bless to me, as I own many bad sound vintage CDs.
I thought the AKG K1000 had a better sound quality, in the final podium section it is not on top.

saisunil · « **Reply #12 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 03:49 pm »

My all time favorite is akg701 re-cabled with moon audio cable ... Gary Dodd stole it from me

Before cabling 701 were an average pair of phones ... About the same level as senn 600 or 650 ... After re-cabling it goes from anemic to full of life.

Same can be said of most other phones ... The cable holds them back.

Grados probably benefit the least from re-cabling as the cables are chosen to voice the phone ... In a way it is a good thing - you do not have to upgrade the cable to get the most out of your grados.

Senn 600 and 650 easily benefit from an after market cable. I once had an uber expensive cable multiple times the price of 600 and it sound much better but still the head-stage was too narrow for me ... The point being that heaving a bigger headstage is a higher priority for me than perhaps some people.

It goes without saying that there is no perfect headphone. You have to choose what is right for you based on your listening preferences and priorities of attributes that you are looking fo,r that would fit in your budget and match your system.

Comfort should be on top for headphone listening ... An attribute that is perhaps loosely parallel to WAF in the speaker world.

I think this review is the best baseline available in the headphone world.
We can deviate and draw our own conclusions that would be different from these ...

In the end there are gems to be found in all the lines ... Senn, Beyer and hifiman have good reasons to be proud.

Cheers

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #13 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 04:07 pm »

The Dodd site not mention this phone cable.
Do you know the price for 4 ft or 1,2 M??
Thanks

saisunil · « **Reply #14 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 04:11 pm »

Re-cabling phones is whole another world - moon audio has good ones.
http://stefanaudioart.com/ this guy is original designer of Senn phones ...

Gary Dodd just has my phones on a long term loan

Goosepond · « **Reply #15 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 07:00 pm »

Lots and lots of choices for sure. I had already bought a good used pair of Senn 650's as my 1st attempt at headphones. I was looking for a good preamp for my speaker system and ended up buying a nice PS Audio pre from someone on Head-Fi. What sealed the deal for me was he said he had been using the pre with his 650's. The pre had a headphone jack on the front panel but what he did was cabled the 650's with XLR's and plugged them into the XLR's on the back of the pre.

So I ended up buying (paid more than I did for the used 650's) a nice set of balanced headphone cables with female ends and used the pre as a big headphone amp. Worked very nicely.

Gene

toocool4 · « **Reply #16 on:** 28 Nov 2012, 07:28 pm »

I red this article a while ago as I am always on Head-fi, it makes a very interesting read.

The only one I disagree on is the Ultrasone Edition 10, this has got to be the worst headphone I have ever heard at that price.

Check this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L34S4Tt1EuQ

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #17 on:** 29 Nov 2012, 10:31 am »

Very jocose video, Tyll is a funny guy.
That is what happens when people buy without listening the product.
One thing is sure this E10 phone is very ugly and over priced.
Thanks Tyll for your expense, it was not in vain.

Guy 13 · « **Reply #18 on:** 29 Nov 2012, 11:03 am »

Quote from: FULLRANGEMAN on 29 Nov 2012, 10:31 am

Very jocose video, Tyll is a funny guy.
That is what happens when people buy without listening the product.
One thing is sure this E10 phone is very ugly and over priced.
Thanks Tyll for your expense, it was not in vain.

Hi FULLRANGEMAN and all Audio Circle members.
Believe me or not, a few years back, during my very long stay in Vietnam
(Now going on my 18th years almost non stop…)
I wanted to open a small audio shop selling audio stuff
and I was (Pre) granted the exclusive distributorship for Ultrasone in Vietnam.
But when I saw the prices, the minimum quantity per order
and read the not so good reviews,
I changed my mind
and told them that I was sick and could not start my business.
Not all German audio products are created equal.
I also watched that video
and as bad as the Ultrasone sounded,
I think the man is exagerating,
look as if he's gona die... (LOL)

Guy 13

toocool4 · « **Reply #19 on:** 29 Nov 2012, 12:07 pm »

Quote from: Guy 13 on 29 Nov 2012, 11:03 am

I also watched that video
and as bad as the Ultrasone sounded,
I think the man is exagerating,
look as if he's gona die... (LOL)

Guy 13

Not an exaggeration, I find the review very true. At that price you would look the same too.

When I heard the headphones I could not believe my ears. I find the Edition 8 a much better headphones, a bit too bassy but better than the Edition 10.