CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS

  • December 31, 2015, 12:20:19 PM
  • Welcome, Guest
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: 1 ... 4 5 6 7 8 [9] 10 11 12 13 14 ... 24

Author Topic: Five Worst Pieces of Audio Gear You've Heard (Members Only)  (Read 30464 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Armaegis

  • Uphill, both ways
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +76/-3
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 883
  • metallurgist, rocket scientist, swing dancer
Re: Five Worst Pieces of Audio Gear You've Heard (Members Only)
« Reply #80 on: November 24, 2014, 08:38:46 PM »
I also started this hobby with the SR80. At the time, I'd never heard any better so I thought it was fantastic. Sorta like how the new kids these days go from earbuds to Beats and think it's the bee's knees.
Logged
Do you think there may be an acoustic leak from the jack hole? ~Tyll Hertsens

Not sure if I like stuffing one hole or both holes. Tending toward one hole since both holes seems kinda ghey ~Purrin

Claritas

  • strong in his convictions
  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +4200/-3162
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 495
  • Bachhead
Re: Five Worst Pieces of Audio Gear You've Heard (Members Only)
« Reply #81 on: November 24, 2014, 09:13:45 PM »
Quote from: postjack on November 24, 2014, 07:52:45 PM
Off topic but anyone reading this actually like any Grado?

Joe Grado obviously.

John Grados: SR80/225, RS1. GS1k can work for chamber music. Haven't heard PS1k yet; FR looks like GS drivers in metal housing. Not much difference between the originals and the i series. I still have a woodied modded SR80i lying round for when I'm moody.

No Jonathan Grado e series so far.  :gross:
« Last Edit: November 26, 2014, 09:09:06 AM by Claritas »
Logged

postjack

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Powder Monkey
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +7/-0
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 41
Re: Five Worst Pieces of Audio Gear You've Heard (Members Only)
« Reply #82 on: November 25, 2014, 12:57:51 AM »
Its been so long since I've heard an HP1000, I did love it when I owned it. But I was so terrified of it breaking, with the only dubious avenue of repair being sending it in to Joe, I ended up selling it.
Logged

Marvey

  • The Man For His Time And Place
  • Master
  • Pirate
  • *****
  • Brownie Points: +555/-33
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6698
  • Captain Plankton and MOT: Eddie Current
Re: Five Worst Pieces of Audio Gear You've Heard (Members Only)
« Reply #83 on: November 25, 2014, 01:17:32 AM »
I like the RS-2 with some pad tweaks. Everyone seems to forget about that one.
Logged

ader

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +25/-1
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 197
Re: Five Worst Pieces of Audio Gear You've Heard (Members Only)
« Reply #84 on: November 25, 2014, 01:46:58 AM »
Kinda just listing the first things that come to mind...

Klipsch Mode M40's: These are dual driver headphones where the tweeter is extremely sibilant and the bass driver is extremely slow and veiled sounding.

Burson HA160D: I've made posts along the lines of "eh, it's not that bad" before and I might still stand by that, but it's completely unremarkable at its price and old hype level.

Wyred4Sound DAC-2: Initially I couldn't hear too great a difference between it and the DAC inside the HA160D (which is pretty troubling given the price difference), but then I used an external USB->SPDIF and it got significantly better, though still not that great, really.  I don't understand why a $1,500 DAC would have an awful (and buggy) USB module powered off the computer's bus.

HD700: Glaring at times, dull otherwise iirc.  I listened to a couple of Talking Heads tracks with them at a meet and really didn't enjoy them at all.  Maverick Ronin played some animu music through them and felt more positively about them afterward, though, so maybe I was just listening to the wrong genre.

Grado GR10's:  I've referred to them as "interesting" before and still stand by that, but I don't regret selling them one bit. They sound like you have a bad insert even when you get a good one, which was difficult to do with the stock tips for me.  Or maybe I never actually achieved a good insert?  The crazy FR graphs of it I've seen here and elsewhere make me think I heard them at their best, though. 



Logged

wnmnkh

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +18/-3
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 172
Re: Five Worst Pieces of Audio Gear You've Heard (Members Only)
« Reply #85 on: November 25, 2014, 02:02:08 AM »
Even older John Gradoes weren't that great.

Only John/Joseph Grado headphones worth for money are entry models (SR-60, 80) and PS-500. Rest of them are not-so-decent to absolute trash compared to other companies' models. PS-1 is good if you can get it, but it is way too boomy. Joe Grado headphones with HP1000 drivers (HP-1, 2, 3 and very early SR and RS series) are the best.

That said, everyone should pay some attention to Alessandro flavors. While sound a bit more boring, the sound itself is quite balanced for extended listening unlike normal Grado headphones.

So far here are my Grado recommendation after I heard pretty much every single Grado made in existence except HF-1 and that mythical wireless one (it became the base for PS-1 as far as I know)

SR-60
PS-500
Any Grado with HP1000
Alessandro series
Logged

Anaxilus

  • Phallus Belligerantus Analmorticus
  • Pirate
  • **
  • Brownie Points: +65535/-65535
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3493
  • TRS jacks must die
    • The Claw
Re: Five Worst Pieces of Audio Gear You've Heard (Members Only)
« Reply #86 on: November 25, 2014, 06:24:16 AM »
Quote from: postjack on November 24, 2014, 07:52:45 PM
Interesting all the distaste for Grado in this thread. Trust me, I understand, but the RS-1 was the first "high end" can I heard, the first time I've experienced midrange like that. Brought me to the real understanding that the midrange is where music lives. Having said that, I have bought and subsequently sold the RS1 in various iterations five times, so its never managed to stick around in my rig.

Off topic but anyone reading this actually like any Grado?

I have a cherished HP1000 I am never selling.  Alessandro MS-1 was one of my first entry level phones, liked it for the $$.
Logged
"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." - Lao Tzu

"The Claw is our master. The Claw chooses who will go or who will stay." - The LGM Community

"You're like a dull knife, just ain't cuttin'. Talking loud, saying nothing." - James Brown

CEE TEE

  • Master controller of all scores
  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +98/-338
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 839
  • Need More Time To Loaf Around
Re: Five Worst Pieces of Audio Gear You've Heard (Members Only)
« Reply #87 on: November 25, 2014, 07:35:40 AM »
I keep looking for reasons to re-purchase the Alessandro MS-1.  That $99 phone/experience is the reason I am on these forums.  Maybe better as a memory?
Logged
sound soft harmonics rich bile rich rhyme

Eric_C

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +13/-0
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 230
Re: Five Worst Pieces of Audio Gear You've Heard (Members Only)
« Reply #88 on: November 25, 2014, 10:00:21 AM »
CEE TEE: probably.
Nostalgia is unassailable--might as well keep it that way.
Logged

GoldfishX

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Powder Monkey
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +6/-0
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 70
Re: Five Worst Pieces of Audio Gear You've Heard (Members Only)
« Reply #89 on: November 25, 2014, 06:44:43 PM »
I still keep my SR-80 around. In that price range, it's hard to beat. Tbh, I didn't feel the PS500 was enough of an upgrade to be worth the price when I tried them.
Logged
Main: Sony HAP-S1 -> (working on HP amp) -> HD800/HD600

Work: DX50 (lineout, Rockbox firmware) -> Schiit Lyr (1980's Voshkod Rockets -> Mad Dog

"Don't believe the hype, believe the results"
Pages: 1 ... 4 5 6 7 8 [9] 10 11 12 13 14 ... 24
« previous next »