The headphone-oholics are going against everything I know

[Wafflesomd]

If you're willing to spend a little extra, the MDR-CD900st are my favorite hands down.

I tried the following headphones.

AKG301
AKG501
AKG601
AKG701
MDR-7506/V6
DT770/880

All pretty good, some even discontinued. The CD900st is what I've settled with.

 

[lsiberian]

Sony MDR-7506 or sony V-6 thats it for me........

I was thinking the same thing myself.

 

[strube]

Thanks for the recommendations guys.

I wasn't so much believing the Head-Fi guys as being totally baffled at their strange beliefs. Normally, I don't judge people based on their religion, but if it is their audio religion and it makes no sense, then...well...nevermind.

I apparently bought the Denons during Amazon's Christmas return policy so I can return them up until January 10th. Since I am in thesis hell right now, I won't be doing anything until these 18 hour days of writing and revising crap are over in a few weeks.

I would like to try the MDR-7506's and save some cash, but I have huge Dumbo-style ears so I am a little worried about the fit...any of you suffer from a similar malady who can comment on the comfort? I obviously can't handle it if the pads are too small to go around my ears...

 

[MinusTheBear]

A headphone from Audio Technica might work well for comfort for somone with big ears. They have some closed models. The AD700 that I have are the most comfortable headphones that I have ever worn. The pads are huge btw, very similar to what Sensi posted.

 

[strube]

A headphone from Audio Technica might work well for comfort for somone with big ears. The AD700 that I have are the most comortable headphones that I have worn. The pads are huge btw.

I looked at those but I have to have a closed-back as these are for an office environment - these are the ones from Audio Technica I was looking at:

ATH-A700

If I have doubts about the fit from the Sony, I will probably consider those or the pro version of the DT770 (just because it is $50 bucks cheaper and I don't really care about the pro-look at all, in fact, I might even prefer it).

 

[Wafflesomd]

The DT770's and pretty much anything from AKG will fit over large ears.

Whatever you do, don't get Grado's. Those things sound terrible. Why they are so popular, I will never know.

 

[strube]

No worries. I was probably going to be right in the brands you were recommending.

The AKG's I was thinking about were these:

http://www.akg.com/personal/K_272_HD,pcatid,8,pid,79,_psmand,1.html
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=cart_accessories&A=details&Q=&sku=559720&is=REG

The automute feature on the 271 is cool, but seems like just another thing to fail - but they are less spendy...

It's hard to decide. Maybe I will just flip a coin or two.

 

[MinusTheBear]

The DT770's and pretty much anything from AKG will fit over large ears.

Whatever you do, don't get Grado's. Those things sound terrible. Why they are so popular, I will never know.

I don't think Grado has any closed designs. None that I know of atleast.

 

[Wafflesomd]

I really like thjose AKG's. I've never seen that model.

I might want to try those out.

 

[strube]

I really like thjose AKG's. I've never seen that model.

I might want to try those out.

I am pretty sure I like the AKG 271 MKII the best of the choices I have at the moment: they are cheaper than some, come with both velour and leatherette pads, and the automute function is pretty neat - and if that part of it ever breaks, I can probably figure out how to bypass it...

Of course, as I have mentioned, I waffle a lot. Obviously.

 

[strube]

I am pretty sure I like the AKG 271 MKII the best of the choices I have at the moment: they are cheaper than some, come with both velour and leatherette pads, and the automute function is pretty neat - and if that part of it ever breaks, I can probably figure out how to bypass it...

Of course, as I have mentioned, I waffle a lot. Obviously.

Actually, that was the verdict. I ordered the AKG K271 MKII from JR Computer Music World (they have a 30 day return policy if needed, whereas B&H was only 15 days). They were $195, and I might get 5% cashback from Bing, but I never really count on that if it doesn't go through. Anyway, I will let you guys know the verdict. I will likely return the Denons as soon as the others arrive, perhaps after a bit of heated comparison.

 

[WmAx]

The 271 Studio is nice. The Sony CD900ST has a far more neutral sounding mid-range, however. But the Sony sounds more natural/neutral than most phones regardless of cost, period. The treble on the CD900ST is a bit subdued though, and that can bother some people.

-Chris

 

[strube]

The 271 Studio is nice. The Sony CD900ST has a far more neutral sounding mid-range, however. But the Sony sounds more natural/neutral than most phones regardless of cost, period. The treble on the CD900ST is a bit subdued though, and that can bother some people.

-Chris

I really was about to save some money and go with the MDR-7506 (I wasn't terribly interested in the Japanese importing), however, I was quite concerned about comfort issues considering my disproportionately large ears. They are kind of like two DirectTV dishes attached to my head, so I wanted to go with something that had very large ear cups. I will gladly return the AKGs as I intend to do with the Denon if I am not satisfied with the sound. Hooray for 30 day return policies.

I predict that the sound and build quality on the AKGs will exceed the Denon. I can only listen to the Denon cans without some major EQ for about 2 minutes before I can no longer handle the boomy bass...

 

[mibson]

So I bought Denon AH-D2000 closed back headphones because my ears told me they were highly displeased with having the Shure SE420s crammed in them for 12 hours a day.

Needless to say, the sound quality kind of sucks, despite all the reviews to the contrary. I guess everyone who wrote a review seems to enjoy ultra-boomy bass. I was going to send them back but the guys at a scary and unfamiliar forum do this mod to them and all of the issues I have go away (and it makes sense). Fortunately, I already have all of the stuff and certainly the skills, so if I decide I am not worried about warranty voidage, I think I will do it.

Then I was reading this thread. Are these people serious? The amplification recommendation is sensible, fine, and dandy (though I don't ever intend to buy a $550 headphone amplifier...), but after post 14 things start to go south for my brain. They are talking about doing a $135 cable replacement mod and letting the phones burn-in for 450 hours (they even talk about letting new cables have break-in time somewhere, which I know to be ridiculous )...

I am not buying it yet. Headphones are speakers too so they are just spouting B.S., right? Or am I missing something subtle and judging these headphone-oholics too harshly?

I had those headphones, they do take forever to break in; I just ran them on a portable cd player for days and days 24 hrs a day for two weeks. Anyway Grado Labs headphones are my favorite...

 

[MinusTheBear]

I had those headphones, they do take forever to break in; I just ran them on a portable cd player for days and days 24 hrs a day for two weeks. Anyway Grado Labs headphones are my favorite...

There should be no inherent need or benefit to "breaking in"/"burning in" a pair of headphones. This is just purely subjective nonsense to state that the sound characteristics of a headphone can change that dramatically after a certain amount of hours of use through mechanical change occuring in the driver. On the other hand a more rational and scientific explantion about how the "boomy" charactercstics of said headphone can get better over time is through the idea of psychoacoustics and the study on the subjective nature of human perception of sound(s)/psychological and the idea of the listener getting accustomed to that specific sound signature over a period time which is all too often confused with a mechanical change occuring. A boomy sounding headphone will always sound boomy.

 

[djreef]

Sony MDR-7506 or sony V-6 thats it for me........

I have a pair of MDR-V6's and I can't stand them. The ear pieces have long since rotted away (not built for crap), and the sound was shrill to the point of distraction. I'd seriously look elsewhere.

DJ

 

[MinusTheBear]

I have a pair of MDR-V6's and I can't stand them. The ear pieces have long since rotted away (not built for crap), and the sound was shrill to the point of distraction. I'd seriously look elsewhere.

DJ

What did you replace them with?

 

[djreef]

What did you replace them with?

Nothing. I mean, I've got a pair of cheapy Senheiser walkabout headphones for my iPod, walkman, etc, but I don't really dig on the cans.

You may want to check my sig for a clue as to why. I have my own dedicated man cave, which happens to be separated from the house by an external walkway, and since the house is located in the middle of the woods, annoying the folks around me with output really isn't an issue.

My suggestion would be to buy a bunch of phones and try them out with your rig - then send back the ones you don't like. It would be a PIA, but these days, how else would you be able to audition potential candidates. I mean, it's not like there's brick and mortar anymore that you could try them all out at (not unless you live in NYC). I'm thinking that would be the only way to really know.

DJ

 

[lsiberian]

There should be no inherent need or benefit to "breaking in"/"burning in" a pair of headphones. This is just purely subjective nonsense to state that the sound characteristics of a headphone can change that dramatically after a certain amount of hours of use through mechanical change occuring in the driver. On the other hand a more rational and scientific explantion about how the "boomy" charactercstics of said headphone can get better over time is through the idea of psychoacoustics and the study on the subjective nature of human perception of sound(s)/psychological and the idea of the listener getting accustomed to that specific sound signature over a period time which is all too often confused with a mechanical change occuring. A boomy sounding headphone will always sound boomy.

My headphones took a while to adjust too. Headphones aren't like speakers because they actually go on the head and touch the body. So that part takes some time to adjust to. The sound was immaculate out of the box though.

 

[MinusTheBear]

Comfort definitely takes some adjustment period with new headphones. With on ear headphones like Grado/Alessandro I find get more comfortable after they are worn for a while and the oils in your skin soften the padding and tweaking the headband. Same thing goes switching to a different design (circumaural)- different feel. If I have used open style headphones for a period of time putting on closed headphones bothers me and it takes an adjustment period to get used to them again. Going from a closed to open style on the other hand does not bother me.