Headphones

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Does a head phone carrying the name of a grime artist do a good job with orchestral music?

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Does a head phone carrying the name of a grime artist do a good job with orchestral music?

Since it's designed to handle heavy sub-bass, it's got a very rich sound. Lots of headroom.

That said, I don't listen to a lot of orchestral music these days...

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Never mind...

[A24 4,331]

If it's like the Beats, then OMG, we got a basshead in our midst.

Alex

[Sharkissimo 1,973]

Yep, you've clocked me...

[Hlao-roo 389]

That said, I don't listen to a lot of orchestral music these days...

Who does?

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

People probably don't know this but the Sennheiser Momentum (300 Euro) is turning the world upside down with its spectacular sound:

http://en-de.sennheiser.com/over-ear-headphone-momentum-stereo

Just picked a pair of these up, our company has a sweet deal with Sennheiser. Got 'em at an effective half price, not including tax and shipping.

Will chime back with my thoughts in two weeks when I get em and listen to some Jay-Dub.

[A24 4,331]

I already know one thing about them: You need to have small ears!

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Looking forward to your thoughts, Blume.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Nice to have a good set of buds again. The last cheap Sennheisters I bought made the midtones sound like a mush of blandness.

Music has come alive again!

[Trent B 337]

Nice to have a good set of buds again. The last cheap Sennheisters I bought made the midtones sound like a mush of blandness.

Music has come alive again!

What kind did you get?

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The Monster Gratitude!

Quite big for buds, and rather garish and ugly, but they sound good.

[Trent B 337]

Hmm, okay well as long as you're happy with them.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

You dont like?

[King Mark 3,631]

People probably don't know this but the Sennheiser Momentum (300 Euro) is turning the world upside down with its spectacular sound:

http://en-de.sennheiser.com/over-ear-headphone-momentum-stereo

Just picked a pair of these up, our company has a sweet deal with Sennheiser. Got 'em at an effective half price, not including tax and shipping.

Will chime back with my thoughts in two weeks when I get em and listen to some Jay-Dub.

I spent some time listening to a pair at the headphone shop

Generally nice balanced sound. I could hear a frequency dip somewhere (slightly pinched sound), but I think they are above average

[A24 4,331]

Might be due to the fact that they are closed headphones. They never sound as broad or airy as open ones.

Alex

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I've been listening to the Sennheiser Momentums (circum-aurals, not the new on-ears) for around a week now.

They're very fun and laid back headphones. The high frequency is rolled off quite a bit, so you don't get that sparkly squeaky mosquitoes buzzing in your ears with the ultra-high strings and trumpets. It's a little weird at first, but it makes for a very smooth sound that's not grating or tiring over a couple of hours.

They basically have no sound stage, so you feel like you're the conductor, right up there in the orchestra. As opposed to seated in the audience. Which I don't like. I like to hear some separation and some air in my music.

These are fun phones. Not much resolution. Not much detail. So not analytical. A great test of that for me is being able to clearly hear the subtle clicks in the first 20 seconds or so of Giacchino's original "Star Trek" theme (the first track on the normal and expanded albums). You almost miss them with these.

They sound really good. For $200, I think they're worth it. The build quality is awesome. The case that comes with them is bulky but awesome. The leather on the earpads is BUTTTTERRRRRRRR SMOOOOOOOTH. Workmanship is all around excellent. If you buy the fuckers in Europe you get a 5 year warranty. In the US only two years. Screw that.

The detachable cable is nice. You get a short one and a long one that you can attach. The headphone buttons are only on the long one and only work with iOS/Mac devices. The cables all around are nice. The kevlar material they use around them transmits NO SOUND. You could grate them with steel wool and you wouldn't hear it in your ear cups.

One note: I think my ears vary in size by .01 mm. And they are just big enough for the cups to fit around. The problem is one ear is .01 mm bigger, so the cups don't fit perfectly around. When I first put the headphones on I thought the right cup was malfunctioning and had lower sound. I checked both with a decibel-o-meter, and they checked out. So I did some fit checks, and it was the fit. Every time I put them on, I have to make sure I tuck my right ear in, or the right cup won't fit perfectly and I leak sound and it throws the whole thing off.

It's a 1 second adjustment, so it won't kill me. Great phones, definitely a great sound, really shine on Goldsmith's late 90s recordings (those are very sparkly, so this tempers them with the rolled down highs, making them sound sublime. US Marshals in particular sounds fantastic on the Momentums).

For the record this is my current headphone line up. Yes I'm a maniac, but they all have very different sounds (not to mention uses) that makes them worth keeping around depending on mood. And yes, the Momentum is different enough to warrant keeping in the line up:

AKG K702

Denon AH-D2000

Sennheiser HD 25-1 II

Sennheiser MX980

Koss PortaPro

Apple Earpods

And now the Momentums.

If looks mean nothing to you, and great sounds do, the HD 25-1 II's are sublime. They have the same level of noise isolation (passive-cancellation) as the momentums, which is SUPERB mind you, but much more detailed sound and an ever bigger soundstage.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I never knew you had a freak ear!

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

Me neither!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

I bet the wife knew...

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

I've been listening to the Sennheiser Momentums (circum-aurals, not the new on-ears) for around a week now.

They're very fun and laid back headphones. The high frequency is rolled off quite a bit, so you don't get that sparkly squeaky mosquitoes buzzing in your ears with the ultra-high strings and trumpets. It's a little weird at first, but it makes for a very smooth sound that's not grating or tiring over a couple of hours.

They basically have no sound stage, so you feel like you're the conductor, right up there in the orchestra. As opposed to seated in the audience. Which I don't like. I like to hear some separation and some air in my music.

These are fun phones. Not much resolution. Not much detail. So not analytical. A great test of that for me is being able to clearly hear the subtle clicks in the first 20 seconds or so of Giacchino's original "Star Trek" theme (the first track on the normal and expanded albums). You almost miss them with these.

They sound really good. For $200, I think they're worth it. The build quality is awesome. The case that comes with them is bulky but awesome. The leather on the earpads is BUTTTTERRRRRRRR SMOOOOOOOTH. Workmanship is all around excellent. If you buy the fuckers in Europe you get a 5 year warranty. In the US only two years. Screw that.

The detachable cable is nice. You get a short one and a long one that you can attach. The headphone buttons are only on the long one and only work with iOS/Mac devices. The cables all around are nice. The kevlar material they use around them transmits NO SOUND. You could grate them with steel wool and you wouldn't hear it in your ear cups.

One note: I think my ears vary in size by .01 mm. And they are just big enough for the cups to fit around. The problem is one ear is .01 mm bigger, so the cups don't fit perfectly around. When I first put the headphones on I thought the right cup was malfunctioning and had lower sound. I checked both with a decibel-o-meter, and they checked out. So I did some fit checks, and it was the fit. Every time I put them on, I have to make sure I tuck my right ear in, or the right cup won't fit perfectly and I leak sound and it throws the whole thing off.

It's a 1 second adjustment, so it won't kill me. Great phones, definitely a great sound, really shine on Goldsmith's late 90s recordings (those are very sparkly, so this tempers them with the rolled down highs, making them sound sublime. US Marshals in particular sounds fantastic on the Momentums).

For the record this is my current headphone line up. Yes I'm a maniac, but they all have very different sounds (not to mention uses) that makes them worth keeping around depending on mood. And yes, the Momentum is different enough to warrant keeping in the line up:

AKG K702

Denon AH-D2000

Sennheiser HD 25-1 II

Sennheiser MX980

Koss PortaPro

Apple Earpods

And now the Momentums.

If looks mean nothing to you, and great sounds do, the HD 25-1 II's are sublime. They have the same level of noise isolation (passive-cancellation) as the momentums, which is SUPERB mind you, but much more detailed sound and an ever bigger soundstage.

Damn. I'm in the market for new headphones (my trusty Sennheiser pair is on its last leg), and this has made it apparent that I have to think much harder about what to get.

[Bespin 8,481]

Recently bought one of these. For the home it's ideal, but because there is no isolation I can't use them in the bus.

Excellent audio quality, comfortable and not too expensive.

Sennheiser PX 100-II

For the bus, I'm still looking for a good in-ear model...

[Trent B 337]

I guess people don't pay attention to my posts... but I still stand by the V-Moda Octave earbuds. They are the best for noise cancellation and have GREAT sound to them for film scores.

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

1) They're discontinued.

2) If you're in the market for sub-$20 in-ear buds, these (Monoprice 8320) can't be beat. $11 USD.

[Bespin 8,481]

Thanks for the suggestion Blume, I will check that!

[Trent B 337]

They are discontinued but search ebay or Amazon Marketplace if you can find them for about $30-45 get em' they are WORTH IT.

[King Mark 3,631]

Still not regretting buying the Grado GS1000i . They are astonishingly good and they really blow away every other headphone I've heard. They are like a fine tuned musical instrument by themselves. The most striking thing about the sound is the incredibly rich bass tones that leaves the midrange and treble aerated and crystal clear, something I have not heard in any other model. And I actually do hear things in recordings I've never heard before. I do a lot more music listening on my PC now.

[A24 4,331]

It appears B&W (P5) has some competition now:

[Dixon Hill 4,234]

Using a pair of standard Sony on-ear phones until my new Sennheisers get here. Good grief, I had forgotten what it was like to have absolutely zero impression of "space" when listening to music.

[Bespin 8,481]

Ordered two pairs of Monoprice 8320 last week. Should arrive this week...

[King Mark 3,631]

I tried demos of Ultimate Ears 6000's

Sounded pretty good for 200$. Better than the Momentums

[Bespin 8,481]

I've received my Monoprice 8320.

After breaking them with pink noise for 24h, the voices are a bit better, but the treble is still too harsh.

Not so much isolation, for the bus they are OK but not more.

But hey, for 7 $...

Will look for these for Christmas : Philips Citiscape Downtown.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Is Pink Noise an indie band from San Francisco?

[Bespin 8,481]

Is Pink Noise an indie band from San Francisco?

[BLUMENKOHL 1,068]

I've received my Monoprice 8320.

After breaking them with pink noise for 24h, the voices are a bit better, but the treble is still too harsh.

Not so much isolation, for the bus they are OK but not more.

But hey, for 7 $...

Will look for these for Christmas : Philips Citiscape Downtown.

Try getting some foam tips instead of rubber/silicone.

The foam will expand and improve isolation and should tame the highs.

[Trent B 337]

I ended up losing the right fitting for my earbuds the other day. I was gonna look online to see about getting them again. Surprised they weren't available via Amazon Marketplace. There is one listed on ebay but the seller wanted to much for em'.. luckily my dad had an almost identical size fitting so I used it.

[Trent B 337]

Well not last night but the night before I ended up listening to music to help me sleep that night. Something must have happened during the night and snagged the left earbud. Well it will only work if I fiddle with it. With that it means it would go out fairly quickly so I got a pair of Sony earbuds from Wally World (Walmart) that were $28.

Amazon lists them cheaper but with shipping I don't think they would have been very much less.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-DREX12IPW-Earbuds-Remote-White/dp/B004QOA952/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1383665667&sr=8-4&keywords=Sony+DR-EX12iP

Overall they don't sound bad at all.

[Bespin 8,481]

Well for me the era of cheap earbuds will come to and end soon, after many, many, many, and more, years of good services :-)

A good website to help you make your choice :

http://www.digitalversus.com/headphones.html

[Trent B 337]

I'm out of town until next week on the 23rd (back home in Vegas) and have been gone since Monday. Anyways as we were driving in we stopped at a Love's gas station just outside of Vegas. I saw these earbuds that they have there for $40.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y60/BigT1981/Earbuds-1.jpg

So I bought them to check em' out and I got to say that they're A LOT more comfortable and sound better than the Sony earbuds I recently bought. In fact they are better than the V-Moda earbuds I had.

I had both earbuds in earlier when my friend and I were out and about and he likes to have the stereo in his truck up a bit on the loud side. Anyways, I didn't really hear the radio all that much and ended up taking a cat nap as a result even though I'm super tired right now.....but ya they're good.

The sound quality for them is real good and even a bit better than the V-Moda Octave that I had.

[Bespin 8,481]

Just received my new Citiscape Downtown headphones... but but but... that's a heandphone compatible for iphones and Android, and I need and adapter to plug it to my mp3 player.

I tried an old Y 3.5 adapter that I have since more than 20 years... and that's work.

My question is... what's the difference between that old kind of Y adapter and the Separators they sold specially for that today?

Are they exactly the same?

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

So who can recommend the Sennheiser Momentum? Money no object.

[Bespin 8,481]

So who can recommend the Sennheiser Momentum? Money no object.

Digitalversus.com give them Five stars...

http://www.digitalversus.com/headphones/sennheiser-momentum-p15287/test.html

[A24 4,331]

I've heard it's not their best but it's more suitable for streetwear than their better ones.

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Not interested in playing music on the street. What are their better products?

[King Mark 3,631]

I heard them, Momentums are all right I guess, but the similar priced HD598's are better

The only Sennheisers I really liked are the HD800's. which have a similar but slightly less lush sound than my GradoGS1000i's. They both have a full range sound I haven't heard in anything cheaper. If you'd spend 800$ on the HD650's for example, I'd recommend going all the way and getting the HD800's

You did say money no object. I find having a definive pair for the next 20 years is better than upgrading every few years

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Thanks! I'll check out the HD800. Hopefully local retailers stock them so I can give them a proper test drive.

[King Mark 3,631]

The only thing is that they are hard to drive and won't play very loud out of an ipod

[Unlucky Bastard 7,782]

Don't worry. I'm not planning to use my new pair for a mobile device anyway. Is a Yamaha A-S700 sufficient to give it some power?

[King Mark 3,631]

It should for the amp , but you'd definitely need a small headphone DAC/Amp to play on your PC. When I tried the HD800's at the store I brought my Fioo amp for my ipod and I had to crank it at max power to get a loud enough sound.

I picked the Grado GS1000i over the HD800 not only because they sounded better to me, but also they don't require extra power for the amping (though I have a DAC anyways). So I'm not flat out recommending the Seinheisers, I'm just reporting which model sounded the best from that company. But at this price range and quality it becomes a matter of personal preference, and reviews are split as to which ones sounds the best out of the 2

But for sure these 2 headphones are better than what's been mentioned in this thread(other Seinheisers, Sony V-6, AKG K-701...)

[King Mark 3,631]

Now that I'm very familiar with the sound of the Grado GS1000i, I've been going to audio stores to test other super high end headphones . Those places have let me sit in quiet place and listen for as long as want with my own music.

Last year I tried the Seinheiser HD-800 and found them a bit too bright and thin for my taste, although the music reproduction and detail is close to perfect. It also needs a super powerful amp.

Recently I tried:

Grado PS1000 (2000$). The top of the line Grado model above the GS1000i. The sound is a bit more bassy and "flat" than the GS . It's very heavy (it's made of a heavy metal alloy) and hurt my head after 1/2 hour. I'd still pick the GS over it, there's a richness in the sound (from the wood body?) that can't be reproduced in the PS model which sounded a bit "boring" to me by comparison.

Audeze LCD-3(2000$). Very dark and bassy and everything sounds confined like in a small room, lacks detail for orchestral muslc. I didn't like it AT ALL.

Stax SR-007 (3000$+dedicated amp) Electrostatic. I guess this could be a "reference sound" to some.The sound is extremely flat and neutral and there is no discernible flaw. There's no denying it's great but I still wasn't "blown away" .I was expecting a lot more from this one. , but again it didn't bring out the emotions in the music and I felt like I needed to EQ something. I rank it slightly above the Seinheiser HD-800.

Next week I will try the HiFiMan HE-560 Planar Magnetic Headphones.

Rating so far (my preference). **1-4 are very close in overall sound quality and I think the one to pick depends on personal tastes**

1)Grado GS1000i :Close to perfect. On bad recordings or mixing the treble can get harsh and you have to turn down the volume (very seldom happens).To me this model add the most emotional impact to the music. String instruments are the best I've ever heard.

2)Grado PS1000 :More bassy and flat but less airy treble and less overall richness of sound than GS, especially that richness in the strings.

3)Stax_ SR-007 : Nothing really wrong with it but a bit boring. Probably the one that reproduces the music "exactly" as it is on the c.d. But at this price you want to be blown away and I wasn't (I was really expecting them to sound more rich than the Grados but they didn't).

4)Seinheiser HD-800: Bright and bit thin sound but just as clear and detailed as the others above

5)AKG 701. Sounds good until you hear the ones above, but still neutral and accurate.

6)Audeze LCD-3: Dark and deep bass but lacks detail. Maybe it's good for specific types of music.