Hey everyone,
I’ve been a head-fi member (and headwize before that) for a while, but don’t post much because headphones are a second-order thing for me. Most of my listening to canned music for pleasure takes place on loudspeakers supported by multiple subwoofers. Got back into headphones recently because of my experiences with the AKG K550 (see infra), and found this forum through the Meridian Explorer thread. Very interested in spending more time with the data here. Certainly much more interesting than reading about how much “air” or “tight bass” one attained by rewiring a set of headphones.
My music tastes run the gamut. Electronica, Classical/Romantic/Atonal, classic rock, hip-hop, 1990s grunge, jazz, chick-with-guitar…not so much country, but basically everything else. Most listened to album this week is Atoms for Peace’s “Amok,” because it’s the most recent one I’ve bought. Last concert I attended was a local brass band, last Friday.
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Currently owned headphones:
Senn 580 – bought new in the mid or late 1990s, updated with new pads and headband pad in 2010. My reference for midrange tonality when I design or assemble (I’m an untalented woodworker, so always outsource the “build” part) loudspeakers. I never saw a need to “upgrade” to the 600, especially since that model’s headband clamps so tightly on my head as to be abjectly uncomfortable. Never seen a 650, and not that interested in it. Only drawback to the 580 is the wire issue, though they may have fixed it because from the 1990s until 2007 or so I used to buy a new cord every other year to replace a broken one, but I’ve had the same one on since 2007..
Denon D2000 – perhaps not the most neutral, but I really enjoy listening to them, and at home pick them up more often than my other headphones. Well, not now, as I’m currently waiting for a new nut/washer/screw for that idiotically-designed unipivot.
Fostex T50rp – I wish I had the time to mod them, or give them more attention. But I currently don’t, and they don’t look like the kinds of things I’d like to be wearing when a senior partner comes to my office to ask me about a pending matter. Only “mod” I’ve done is replace the stock cable with one for four bucks from Newegg, because the ¼” plug + adapter is ungainly on all of my gear.
AKG K550 – these are the things that made me start reading headphone fora again. I bought them for two reasons. First, I wanted closed, isolating cans that looked good. Second, I assumed that, because they were Harman, they would incorporate all of the good research done by Toole, Olive, Welti, etc. Also, being half-Austrian and a former resident of Vienna, I liked the idea of an “Austrian” brand. Even though the only AKG cans I'd heard to that point, the K1000's, were a massive disappointment to me. Should’ve done my homework, because they’re kind of awful. I got a very bad seal with them at first, but with some foam weatherstripping under the bottom-back of the pads the bass is OK. Overall, they’re actually borderline tolerable with the EQ in the Audyssey amp iPhone app. The splashy, clangy, unpleasantly overbearing treble is tamed well by the EQ.
ADDIEM – IMO, one of the most underrated pieces of audio kit out there. I recently sent my spare pair to Tyll for measurement – I forgot them on a trip once, and bought new ones at an airport, so now I have two pairs - and they came out about how I expected. Not the best if you like it LOUD, but musically very satisfying up to and slightly above Shostakovich-7-from-midfloor-in-the-Musikverein SPL. That is to say, my experience agrees with Tylls measurements more than his commentary. Perhaps my usage of the Comply tips – shoulda sent a set, but didn’t – vs. the stock tips (don’t seal well for me, and aren’t that comfortable) has something to do with our different impressions.
Ety ER-4S
– not sure if I threw these out. They broke, and I replaced them with the Altec im716 that sounds to me just like an ER-4 with a switch to go from “S” to “P.”
Altec im716 - I stopped using these entirely after I bought and heard the ADDIEMs, to be honest. The ADDIEMs are better in every material way.
Senn PMX100. Current workout headphones. They sound a bit more uneven in the upper mids than the venerable Koss KSC-35, but there’s more bass drive, and that makes them better workout aids.
Koss KSC-75 on KSC-35 earclips. I used to buy a new set of these things every year or so, because the drivers would go bad from sweat and/or hair. (I used them as workout aids, or in the days of my old Ety ER-4s when I lived in Europe, as U-Bahn headphones when I needed a new set of filters.) Fortunately, I never broke my ’35 earclips, so I would mod ‘50s to fit the ’35 clips, and then when the ’75 came out it just snapped on. When I bought the Senn PMX100s, I stopped buying Kosses. My PMX100s have lasted three or four years so far. I have needed one set of replacement pads in that time.
Visang R-02. I recently (i.e. yesterday, with shipping scheduled tomorrow – love Amazon Prime!) bought these to see if I could tolerate this kind of thing (as opposed to full-sized headphones) at work. My sole reason for doing so was
Dr. Earl Geddes’ review on Amazon/ If not, new indoor gym headphones I guess. Unless they suck.
Other headphone kit:
HeadRoom Total AirHead mk. 1.5 (ca. 1999 or 2000; the wedge shaped one that takes two AA batteries) - does all I need a headphone amp to do, sonically: enough grunt, low source impedance, low noise, crossfeed. It’s also compact, and it was cheap. Only serious demerit is that it looks like a cheap plastic toy. Which is why I really only use it when flying.
HeadRoom Micro with Home electronics module (2007): Bigger (and the PS is bigger than the amp!) but very nice looking. It’s clearly more powerful than the TAH – I know that because I blew a pair of headphones with it, not because of normal listening. Looks good on my desk, and works well as long as the volume’s not too low.
HeadRoom Portable Micro Amp. Why? Because I’m lazy, and didn’t want to cart an amp from home to the office and back. Yeah, that’s easily worth a couple hundred bucks to me.
Haven’t “branched out” to other brands because the crossfeed is the most important thing to my enjoyment of headphones an amp can provide, and honestly audio electronics are totally unexciting to me. I’ve done enough level matched subjective same/different subjective listening tests where a Nelson Pass-designed Adcom amp could not be distinguished from a Classe, or that same Nelson Pass-designed Adcom amp couldn’t be distinguished from a Denon AVR, or a cheap Samsung DVD player couldn’t be distinguished from a mighty Meridian 508.20 factory upgraded to 508.24 spec, even though everyone agreed there were differences in sighted listening in all cases, that I basically view audio electronics as interchangeable commodity parts, unless they are incompetently designed or broken. Except for intentional signal processing, such as crossfeed in headphone amps or room correction (I favor Trinnov and ARC ) in home processors..
