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Rank Your Headphones


Nanoha

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GS1000

W5000

MS2 Good for portable use around the house with an SR71 and iPod. Actually good anytime.

HD25-1. Very adaptable portable can. Not to everyone's taste I expect

MS1

E4C

ATH-A900 Work gear

E3C

K81DJ Horrible head clamping torture device.

DT770 Never owned any. Just listen to some now and again to remind myself why I don't buy them.

cheers

Simon

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Currently stuck in a holiday house in the middle of nowhere in Denmark, here goes:

With stuff I own in bold:

Tier 1: L3000 (balanced stock cable)

Tier 2: HD650 (balanced stock cable) = K701 > K1000 > RS1 >>>> Qualia (I strongly dislike the way they completely fuck over tonality)

Tier 3: ESW9 (work rig) > DT880 > SR80

Tier 4: Super.Fi 5 Pro (portable rig) > SR80

Tier 5: HD495 (don't laugh, my first real phones)

The rest is stuff I've owned or loaned for an extended period but didn't like for one reason or the other. I would place the GS1000 as Tier 2 and R10 as Tier 1 a smidgeon behind the L3000.

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I haven't heard any of the really top-tier phones, unfortunately, but the ones I've owned I'd rank them something like this:

Balanced HD650 >>> W11JPN >>> Balanced RS1 >>> W10VTG and DX1000

HD650 SE >>> D5000 >>> HD6580 >>> K701

Edition 9 (never got these to fit, found them to be boomy/tizzy and exerted a massive and relentless pressure on my ears)

best,

k

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  • 1 month later...

I"ll take a stab at it:

RS1 -> K501 -> K601 = SR225 -> DT880 -> SE530 -> HD580 = PK2 -> PK3 -> KSC75 -> Marshmallows -> any number of stock earbuds

I know the low ranking of the HD580 will raise a few eyebrows ... but it is the only headphone I have plugged in and instantly hated. Gave it 30 days honest listen before giving it the boot.

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Right now I use the HD600s pretty much all the time in preference to the HD650s. I'm going to hold on to both until I get the GS-1 and see how they each like that.

This probably opens me up for an ass-kicking, but I also feel the Enigma Apex cable makes a big difference with the 600s, particularly in terms of bass reproduction. Sort of takes them in the direction of the 650s, while retaining the greater urgency/immediacy the 600s have stock. Forgive my inadequate powers of description, please.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...

It has been over a year since an update from me and my exploration of Stax:

Stax SR-007 MkII > Ultrasone Edition 9 > ATH-ESW10JPN >> ATH-W5000 > Stax SRX-1 > Stax SR-Gamma > ATH-ESW9 > Proline 2500 >> UE Triple Fi > W1000 > A900LTD >> ANC7 > ER4 > DT880 >>> HD495 > HP890

Tiers would be broken by multiple ">" and Stax ranking depends greatly on the right amplification.

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Why not?

Modded Yamaha HP-1, modded Yamaha HP-50A and YH-3, modded Fostex T20 (v2, x2), HD580 (HD600 grills) and MB Quart QP400, then K701, Pioneer SE-700, and stock Realistic Pro30 all together.

This is purely on the basis of sound, overall including stuff like comfort would look a bit different. Hell, the dynamics might even have a fighting chance!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Of what I currently have:

HD650 > DT880 > AD700 > V6 > PX100 > HD485

I started with the HD485 (paid what I later discovered was a ridiculous price from a local dealer) some time ago and thought they sounded just great - And indeed they did, compared to my Logitech 2.1 system.

The PX100s were my second pair of reasonably nice headphones, I bought them the day before I left for a month's tour of Germany. Glad I did, I fell in love with their tonal characteristics.

Next came the HD650s, as I figured that since I loved Sennheiser's sound so far, why not head for the top? At this time I was starting to read more of the other place, and discovered that maybe my onboard sound wasn't all it was cracked up to be.

Ended up with my Solo and DAC1 some months later, and fell in love with what I had once again. The HD485s were my least favourite of the three, they seem to have somewhat bloated bass for my tastes - Whereas the HD650s control their bass wonderfully.

The V6 came next, it was a birthday gift from a friend who ordered one pair, but received two. Not a huge fan of it, as it's kind of uncomfortable. Sounds fine, certainly one of the better buys in its price class.

The AD700 and DT880 are only a few months old. I bought them because I wanted to venture out from my predominantly Sennheiser leanings. I'd have a nice Austrian/German trifecta if I'd managed to snag a K601 when Headroom had their sale, but alas I missed it.

The DT880 deserves its reputation as a remarkably flat 'phone, but it's too anemic in terms of bass for me. The AD700 is fine, but I find it doesn't do anything spectacularly well - Hence why it's in the middle of the pack.

Eventually I hope to sell off the AD700, HD485. The PX100s are nice travel companions, especially as I now have a laptop and the XM5.

Also, this is my first post! Been reading some older posts and it's nice to see some honesty, versus the other place.

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HD650 > DT880 > AD700 > V6 > PX100 > HD485

I was out today, picking up some overpriced breakout adapters from Best Buy for a friend, and while there I checked out the audio section. Boy, do I regret that.

Threw on the unknown circumaural Bose headphones, they sounded... not terrible. The bass wasn't bloated and overpowering, mids weren't recessed. I was quite shocked. Has the massive criticism really been undeserved? I asked if I could hook my PX100s up. Sales droid says sure. Same song's still playing, I swap the headphones and come to a horrid realization: They've got a heavy-handed equalizer going. It ruined the frequency response of the PX100s. Anemic bass, overblown mids, screeching treble. The former is really saying something, as the PX100s have a hell of a bass hump.

They turned the frequency response into a perfect line, like this guy's hat: :asshat:. The folded up PX100 drivers plus the raised headband "eyebrows" making for a perfect "disappointed" face.

Thusly, I adopt the tier-based system. Everything I Own >>>>>> iPod Earbuds = Bose Circumaural Monstrosities.

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Bleh, I now have so many friggin phones here I can't even think.

My newest ranking is

1- everything I like

2- everything I don't like.

That was way easier. It's like every time I put one of my phones on I'm all like, woah, man. This is like, soo cool, these phones rock. Then I put on another set and it's like, these phones are like sooo cool. Then I put on another set and it's like......

Yeah, my phones are all fucking awesome! Like, totally.

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Bleh, I now have so many friggin phones here I can't even think.

My newest ranking is

1- everything I like

2- everything I hold no strong feelings for either way

3- everything I don't like.

That was way easier. It's like every time I put one of my phones on I'm all like, woah, man. This is like, soo cool, these phones rock. Then I put on another set and it's like, these phones are like sooo cool. Then I put on another set and it's like......

Yeah, my phones are all fucking awesome! Like, totally.

FTFY.

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