HE-500

Pretty much what you said. "Fuzzy" at parts. Also murky / one-note bass. Can be slow and too forgiving if underpowered. Throw in a speaker power amp, we start to hear really good transient response, articulation, and grip. These things will take a lot of power. Can be dark or even sometimes slightly sibilant depending upon amp and source (this is a good thing, at least it responds to upstream gear). Too heavy. Horrible comfort.

Tonal balance is very good, upper mids (a few db laid back) are good; maybe a few db too much around 9-10k if there is any criticism. Lacks air. Actually all headphones except the e-stats lack air to me. Slightly Closed-in. Not resolving. The jerg pads bring out a better sense of space and air. Also brings up the upper mids slightly for an more neutralish presentation.

HD-600

Lacks sub/low bass extension.  Slightly too much in upper registers of female voice is really my only complaint (it depends on pad wear.) I would probably EQ 3-5k down a few db. While I'm at it, I'd push a wide swath centered around 150Hz a few db down too. Decently resolving, that is better than the HE-500 with a good amp. As you said, more open the HE-500, but nothing special. Consistent timbre - no funky fuzzy stuff - which I feel is the strength of this can.

Paradox

UERM / "studio monitor" neutralish. Slightly hot around 8-10kHz. Rubbery / dead bass quality (T50RP driver limitation). Low bass lacks impact and power sustain. Will extend down low though. From mids on up, very clean and resolving. Good air. Good openness for a closed headphone.

Slants

Like Paradox but with HE-500 tonality. Little bit extra overall bass and warmth. No hotness in mid-treble. My favorite of the four. Deeper staging too.

Wait for the upcoming HE-400i and HE-560.  They might be promising.

The Paradox is pretty damn neutral. Mid-bass is among the best I've heard, deep bass not so much. Mids are excellent, upper mids and treble less so, I think that may be the T50 limiting it there. You'll never fool yourself into thinking your listening to a Stax in terms of treble refinement. Soundstage for a closed can is very good, though it does have a "dog bone" quality to it - that is the stage considerable narrows in the middle. Vocals are very in your head, where as instruments panned to the left and right have some depth. Ultimately, the Pdox wasn't quite what I was looking for, so I let my pair go. I prefer a slight bass emphasis and slightly soft/sweet treble, and the Pdox doesn't do that. It's just flat.

I'm surprised at all the K550 recommendations, from what I understand it is very box of chocolates, and can have some buzz saw spikes. I'd probably be more inclined to look at a Spirit Pro/Classic, HP50, or even a DT250-250.

I'm curious about the Slant and very curious about the Enigma, but from what I gather the original Pdox is the most neutral of the three?

Quote from: Maxvla on March 02, 2014, 05:47:49 PM

It looks like the Spirit Pro is physically identical to the Spirit One I tried. There was considerable clamp, so much so I couldn't wear it for more than an hour before my ears started hurting since I wear glasses.

The Spirit Pro is not identical. It's larger overall, as are the cups, and there is definitely less clamping force as a result.

I second the recommendation for the Spirit Pro. It's one of the more neutrally voiced headphones on the market right now.

Is there anything else you would recommend, even from those headphones already mentioned?

The Paradox is pretty damn neutral. Mid-bass is among the best I've heard, deep bass not so much. Mids are excellent, upper mids and treble less so, I think that may be the T50 limiting it there. You'll never fool yourself into thinking your listening to a Stax in terms of treble refinement. Soundstage for a closed can is very good, though it does have a "dog bone" quality to it - that is the stage considerable narrows in the middle. Vocals are very in your head, where as instruments panned to the left and right have some depth. Ultimately, the Pdox wasn't quite what I was looking for, so I let my pair go. I prefer a slight bass emphasis and slightly soft/sweet treble, and the Pdox doesn't do that. It's just flat.

Thank you for the post... So what are your favourite headphones at the moment?

Whoops, ninja'd while I was editing my post. I added a few more recommendations to the post up there before you responded.

The Abyss and Jecklin Float QA are my current reference headphones. You mentioned bass performance in another thread. No headphone I've heard has better lower-end response than the Abyss. It comes closest to speakers (without the obvious physical power that a big woofer has).

Thank you very much for recommendations... Pricewise, Abyss and Jecklin are out of my range. Slant... Well if someone in Europe would be willing to sell his/her pair, it would be much easier.

Have you heard Nad Viso HP50? If yes, do you find them similar enough to Spirit Pro? Viso HP50 are easier to purchase here...