CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS

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Author Topic: Brief Impressions of a Headroom treasure chest  (Read 7261 times)

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Anaxilus.

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Brief Impressions of a Headroom treasure chest
« on: August 15, 2012, 12:39:13 AM »

Impressions done with Super 7 SE/XLR and BHA-1 balanced in high gain on every phone when possible

(My own standard of value applied)

K701
Softer edges, weaker imaging than HD800
More natural SS
Weaker bass impact than HD800
Nasally mids
Some treble upper mid harshness/distortion?
$220 phone

 
HD650
Even softer imaging than K701, warm and fuzzy
Wider SS than K701. Less than HD800
Not very resolving
Lacks precision
Slight veil, lack of clarity
Non fatiguing signature
Too warm?
$170 phone

 
SRH1440
Holy crap shouty vocals!  Upper mid/mid 2khz spike?
Vocals are waaay off, crying/shouting
Weak bass compared to even k701, perhaps similar impact but far less defined or clear
Accentuated w/ screaming mids are unacceptable!
I don't what the treble is doing, the mids hurt too much to keep listening.
This the most murderous assault on my senses since the worst Pro900 I heard in San Diego.
Is it FR or distortion or BOTH?
Can't do any more, less than 2 minutes.
MUST BE USED FOR NEAR SILENT OPERATION!
$80 phone

 
SRH1840
Beautiful phone; weird clunky toy feel
Odd ergonomics, no cup swivel?!
Mids still a little shouty, not 1440 levels
Bass reminds me of SA5000 but w/o the detail, impact or precision
K701 bass is better quality and more balanced
This is not impressive at all for the price, definitively mid-fi or worse
What happened to the Shure mids?!?
Snares sound recessed.
Mid/low bass recessed combined w/ slight treble tilt fakes clarity, but what you hear leftover is just wrong
I think the distortion issue is real.
Sounds like a less messed up 1440, is that enough?
K701 is smoother, more refined, just as detailed w/ fuller body
$200 phone

 
T1
Better than K701
Enjoyable mid-bass, slightly forward sounding
Poorly resolved low end
Less bright than other T1s
Also less refined than a few other T1s
Decent clarity but not up to better standards
Other than mid bass, kind of uninteresting w/ well recorded music, poor microdynamics
Prefers lesser recorded pop and rock w/ more noise and ditortion on this sample
$250-$350 phone depending on model.

 
HE400
Balanced mids
Just enough treble
Good, relatively clean quality bass; better than HE500s I recall
Impact a little soft and fuzzy
No trouble listening through any tracks
$200-$300 phone based on model (this is the best HE400 I've heard out of 3 variants)
Hmm....I'm still listening 8 songs later....

 
HE6
Good dynamics
Great clarity
Refined signature
Bright, fatiguing especially when louder
A little light, soft in the low end but good resolution(both S7 and BHA-1)
$400-$450 depending on your ability to drive/synergize them.

 
LCD3
LOL!!
Bloated low end
Top half overly shelved
Jumbled mids, no control, no micro dynamics (this is w/ Julio Iglesias ffs)
Smooth
$250 for this particular one.
$550 at it's best; depreciates rapidly

 
TH900 (#250)
Think these are fresh out of the box, unused
Kind of visually stunning when fresh
Egg Protein pads smell like Lexus interior
Very sensitive
Very smooth, clear
Mids recessed
Bass boomy but in a more refined non-Beats way (hell it's just too much)
Treble sparkles nicely, more refined than Denons
Might need to let them stretch their legs a bit
$350-$500 depending on your aesthetic needs

 
HE400 wins overall!  :)p1
Biggest Loser - Shure 1440  poo


Edit 8/14 - added 1440 to dungheap
« Last Edit: August 15, 2012, 02:23:37 AM by Analixus »
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donunus

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Re: Brief Impressions of a Headroom treasure chest
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2012, 01:10:28 AM »

HE400
Balanced mids
Just enough treble
Good, relatively clean quality bass; better than HE500s I recall
Impact a little soft and fuzzy
No trouble listening through any tracks
$200-$300 phone based on model (this is the best HE400 I've heard out of 3 variants)
Hmm....I'm still listening 8 songs later....


Is this good one one of the later ones? or do you prefer the older more laid back ones? I've only tried one of the older ones by the way when they still had intermittent wire connections
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TMRaven

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Re: Brief Impressions of a Headroom treasure chest
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2012, 01:11:23 AM »

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Anaxilus.

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Re: Brief Impressions of a Headroom treasure chest
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2012, 01:43:51 AM »

Is this good one one of the later ones? or do you prefer the older more laid back ones? I've only tried one of the older ones by the way when they still had intermittent wire connections


How do you tell?


Edited my bass impressions for the TH900
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TMRaven

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Re: Brief Impressions of a Headroom treasure chest
« Reply #4 on: August 15, 2012, 01:53:13 AM »

Older HE-400 has black plastic encasing its drivers.  New one has white plastic.  Older HE-400 is terminated in 1/4 and has a 1/8 adapter.  Newer ones are terminated in 1/8 and have 1/4 adapter.

Newer HE-400s are supposedly more bright and neutral than older ones.
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Anaxilus.

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Re: Brief Impressions of a Headroom treasure chest
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2012, 02:02:20 AM »

This is 1/8" w/ white grille.  I presume newer.
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Hands

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Re: Brief Impressions of a Headroom treasure chest
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2012, 02:47:28 AM »

$80 for the SRH1440 sounds too high based on how you described them. ;)
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PelPix

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Re: Brief Impressions of a Headroom treasure chest
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2012, 02:55:35 AM »

I found the HD650 much faster and more detailed than the k701, and much, much more treble presence than the k701 too.  Their mid presentation couldn't be more different, though.  The k701 has this huge nasally hump in the upper mids and lower treble, whereas the HD650 sounds like it has the Grand Canyon in this area

This gives the HD650 a really odd sound signature.  It's really bright-sounding everywhere but in the mids, which sound dark.  It's an odd can, but a real pleasure to listen to.  It's my personal favorite on the list.
HE400 is a definite runner-up, but they're kinda grainy-sounding.  I also don't hear this "veil" everyone is talking about on my HD650.  They're somewhat bass-light, very precise and it doesn't leak into the mids at all.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2012, 03:11:12 AM by PelPix »
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Anaxilus.

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Re: Brief Impressions of a Headroom treasure chest
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2012, 03:11:22 AM »

Your HD650 doesn't sound anything like the one I have in front of me.  Bright/Bass light/Fast/Precise?  Maybe the first two had something to do w/ the other two?  Could be variation or degradation on this demo unit.  I did hear a really good HD650 from a Burson once, nothing like the other 3 HD650s I've heard which sound like the one I have atm.  If I could hear that same HD650 signature again it would surpass the HE400 but not by too much.  This one sounds darn good. 
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PelPix

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Re: Brief Impressions of a Headroom treasure chest
« Reply #9 on: August 15, 2012, 03:28:33 AM »

It's way more picky about amps than even people say it is.  I've heard this thing sound like everything.  I've heard it slow and thumping, off-beat and manic, and even brittle.
It pairs best with glarey SS amps that measure too well to sound good.  Try it with The Wire or an O2 or something.

Also, is your HD650's driver silver or black?  Look through the back grille
« Last Edit: August 15, 2012, 05:02:28 AM by PelPix »
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