which headpones?

[HockeyFan12]

1 minute ago, Dan Wake said:

thx for reply, I know that high "ohm" headphones need more power but I do not understand if other than that they sounds also better and how much better. I mean is it like resolution? for example 32 ohm = 640x480 and 600 ohm = 4K?

The difference is virtually unnoticeable from what I understand and is completely, wildly overshadowed by model-to-model differences. Many of the best headphones are around 50ohm I think. I have heard that within the same model, the 32ohm Beyerdynamics might be the weaker performers, a little less refined but again, maybe a 5% difference at most. It's nothing to worry about except that you won't drive your HD800s that loudly out of your MacBook and will want an amp.

[jcs]

Wow no dice at Guitar Center or Sam Ash for mid to high end headphones in Hollywood (must be ordered). ATH-M50x had an entire end cap- clearly most popular at GC.

Amazom sampling it is then

[HockeyFan12]

14 minutes ago, jcs said:

Wow no dice at Guitar Center or Sam Ash for mid to high end headphones in Hollywood (must be ordered). ATH-M50x had an entire end cap- clearly most popular at GC.

Amazom sampling it is then

Tomorrow in DTLA there's going to be an event with every headphone you can imagine, but I think it's $20 at the door. Not too bad a drive from Hollywood, either. Where I'm going to try the HE-1.  

[jcs]

3 hours ago, HockeyFan12 said:

Tomorrow in DTLA there's going to be an event with every headphone you can imagine, but I think it's $20 at the door. Not too bad a drive from Hollywood, either. Where I'm going to try the HE-1.  

What's the event? $20 to listen to $55,000 headphones isn't a bad deal.

[tomekk]

7 hours ago, HockeyFan12 said:

I've tried all that but am struggling mightily to find an EQ that works. The tube amp/electrostat combo is quite satisfying for me, though everyone I've demoed it for prefers bass-heavy heaphones, be they Sennheiser, AKG, or Beats. I agree the Koss are bass-light, but less so than lambdas. I have actually noticed the greatest user satisfaction with Beats.

I use Spotify premium on a Mac and there's no software EQ. The third party EQ software I've tried isn't compatible with a USB DAC on the Mac, only the built in sound card. I've taken a look at frequency response plots for various headphones (and yes, tried multiple lambas and know they vary a lot). I know I like like my Koss ESP950 more than I like most Lambdas, but in comparing the frequency response curve to the notoriously dark Omega 2s (007) you can zoom in on the bass (not so much sub-bass, which seems more seal-dependent) region and see an emphasis there that runs counter to Koss's mid-centric frequency response. If I had the money, I would simply get the O2s and a top of the line tube amp (IMO electrostats need some tubiness to thicken them up), but that would run nearly $10,000 and, as I said, I didn't ask for this hobby, just listenable pleasing music. Some days I wish I shared the taste of those who are happy with Beats, but I was cursed with a particular weird preference (thick warm bass, even slightly distorted with even order distortion from a tube amp, and infinitely detailed transparent mids without any treble sibilance).

What EQ do you use? I have had no luck with EQs (as above, they are not compatible with USB DACs, also I notice digital bass distortion immediately if I boost it even 1db). I could switch to Apple Music to get the iTunes EQ or buy a cheap DAC or hardware EQ with bass boost, but I quite love my (relatively high performing) DAC.

I am going to try the AKGs. I've heard so many raves about them. It would be nice to sell all this gear and just have one thing I liked lol, particularly something less expensive than my current multi-thousand-dollar rig.

What Stax do you currently use and like? The Koss are so close to perfect but I suppose they are not quite top of the line, but they do punch above their class imo, just beautiful mids without a hint of sibilance. 

I'm using equalify for windows to EQ in spotify. I've got vintage Lambdas Signature. They're 30 years old and still going strong (changed pads)! They're not perfect and are similar to newer, non L (minus pricetag) lambdas.  

[HockeyFan12]

4 hours ago, jcs said:

What's the event? $20 to listen to $55,000 headphones isn't a bad deal.

CanJam socal. I think spots are filled up this year for the HE-1 demo, but they should have them next year I'm guessing. (Plus nearly every other high end headphone.) I hope I don't like any of them too much! I'll let you know how I like them.

4 hours ago, tomekk said:

I'm using equalify for windows to EQ in spotify. I've got vintage Lambdas Signature. They're 30 years old and still going strong (changed pads)! They're not perfect and are similar to newer, non L (minus pricetag) lambdas.  

I love the vintage normal bias lambdas. Haven't tried the signature but I bet I'd love them too (or even if not then it's just a matter of taste). I find the modern lambdas a bit more sibilant, and I like the Koss a lot, more than the lambdas I've tried by a bit but not much better than the best of them. I think the Stax Omega 2 would be my favorite but it is too expensive for me by quite a bit.

[jcs]

1 hour ago, HockeyFan12 said:

CanJam socal. I think spots are filled up this year for the HE-1 demo, but they should have them next year I'm guessing. (Plus nearly every other high end headphone.) I hope I don't like any of them too much! I'll let you know how I like them.

Cool, I see Audeze and Stax will be there, some VR / 3D audio gear too, I'll stop by and check it out.

Steve gets it right, lol:

 

[jcs]

Thanks @HockeyFan12 for the tip on CanJam SoCal- very cool event! Being able to audition so many headphones in one place is incredibly useful. I was even able to sneak in a listen to the $55k Sennheiser HE-1's! I ended up buying a pair of headphones I would never have purchased had I not heard them in person.

[HockeyFan12]

Just now, jcs said:

Thanks @HockeyFan12 for the tip on CanJam SoCal- very cool event! Being able to audition so many headphones in one place is incredibly useful. I was even able to sneak in a listen to the $55k Sennheiser HE-1's! I ended up buying a pair of headphones I would never have purchased had I not heard them in person.

Jealous! I ended up having to stay home and do work.

What did you buy? How did the top tier models (and Stax) stack up?

[jcs]

7 minutes ago, HockeyFan12 said:

Jealous! I ended up having to stay home and do work.

What did you buy? How did the top tier models (and Stax) stack up?

Bummer, however your tip paid off, have lots to report! I'm writing everything up to share on a few sites and will probably do a video review later this week once they arrive (ordered online). I'm planning to get one or two more brands for different uses, will discuss everything in the write up (I did get to try the Koss ESP950 electrostatics too).

[HockeyFan12]

17 minutes ago, jcs said:

Bummer, however your tip paid off, have lots to report! I'm writing everything up to share on a few sites and will probably do a video review later this week once they arrive (ordered online). I'm planning to get one or two more brands for different uses, will discuss everything in the write up (I did get to try the Koss ESP950 electrostatics too).

Cool! Yeah I wish I had made it. Terrible timing, was talking with a client and missed my appointment by ten minutes. I really wish I had made it...

What did you like most? How did you like the Koss and HE-1s at least?

[jcs]

1 minute ago, HockeyFan12 said:

Cool! Yeah I wish I had made it. Terrible timing, was talking with a client and missed my appointment by ten minutes. I really wish I had made it...

What did you like most? How did you like the Koss and HE-1s at least?

Putting it all in the blog post- will post here shortly once I get out of here and finish it  

[jcs]

Here's what I learned at CanJam 2017: https://brightland.com/w/the-best-headphones/

Such a great idea and nice meeting people and trying gear in person!

[jcs]

The Focal Listen's arrived today and are excellent, a very nice upgrade from the ATH-M50 (until I get to know them better, will still check mixes on the M50s). https://www.amazon.com/Focal-Listen-Closed-Over-Ear-Headphones/dp/B01H2NDPZY/

They work well directly into the iPhone and are stellar with the DAC and headphone amp in the Sound Devices USBPre2 (they don't include a 1/4" adapter if your DAC/amp requires one + the cable's a little short; ordered an extension). Super isolating, almost like active noise cancelling headphones. For mixing this means you can work at very low volumes and hear amazing detail, saving your hearing long term. Listened to Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon and Animals today for the first time in years, incredible! I'll post more after a few days of use.

[HockeyFan12]

Great write up! The Focals (the high end ones especially) are apparently groundbreaking so far as dynamic headphones go and I hear the smaller set is good for the money, too. I'm sure it beats both the M50X and the DT1350s I recently upgraded to for work (which are great, too) and definitely the 7506. Wish I could have made it! Should have driven over sooner, was finishing up work for a client after meeting with a friend in Hollywood/Silver Lake and missed my appointment then had to rush back to send out some work. :/

If you're looking for a cheap set of Lambdas I'm probably selling my SR-3030 kit (SRM-313 and SR-303) for around $500 some time soon. I barely used them. I find the treble too aggressive for my taste, but they're really excellent if you like detail and sparkle. I mean, they're freaking amazing, but I listen very very very loud and by some miracle have very sensitive high frequency hearing still, so I prefer a more subdued sound signature when listening through entire albums. 

[jcs]

Thanks! Yeah it's fun discovering new gear and finding it amazing. When it comes to audio, it motivates us to get out the 'old' music and listen again. And you hear things you never heard before, hear and understand lyrics which now have totally different meaning, so cool. Not quite ready to get CDs out and re-encode them as FLAC yet lol (think I encoded everything at max bitrate (AAC/MP3) back when I encoded all the CDs). Doing a shoot tomorrow, will use the new Focal Listen's when editing.

I just ordered the Stax 3100 kit from Japan ($700). That's a great deal for your 313/303. Might be interested- how old is it?

[HockeyFan12]

12 hours ago, jcs said:

Thanks! Yeah it's fun discovering new gear and finding it amazing. When it comes to audio, it motivates us to get out the 'old' music and listen again. And you hear things you never heard before, hear and understand lyrics which now have totally different meaning, so cool. Not quite ready to get CDs out and re-encode them as FLAC yet lol (think I encoded everything at max bitrate (AAC/MP3) back when I encoded all the CDs). Doing a shoot tomorrow, will use the new Focal Listen's when editing.

I just ordered the Stax 3100 kit from Japan ($700). That's a great deal for your 313/303. Might be interested- how old is it?

Nice! Sounds like you don't need a set now, though! The SR3030 is like 15-20 years old I think, has a bigger, better amp and is compatible with new models and old models (like the awesome Lambda Normal bias from like the 1970s, which sound particularly amazing) but I think the newer generation has a better sound signature than the SR-303 (less colored, less etched/sibilant treble) so you should be set already! The SR-303 measures better, flatter response and better bass, but to my ears it has too much treble at loud volumes (by a few db, these are all world class), which the L300 should fix and I think that's a worthwhile trade off. Be careful with voltages, though. The amp will have a standard ac connector but may be wired to run at 100v, not 110v so you might need to buy a transformer or to re-wire your amp (which is what I had done, I think it's super easy but be careful for high voltages as the bias voltage is almost 600v, actually over 600v on the Koss, and there will be big capacitors in the amp, I think there are guides online).

If I had the money ($2k or so, which isn't even that much in the world of hi-fi) I would get the L700 and an old used tube amp. Sounds like you already have a good DAC, but that can make a world of difference if you don't. I'm not sure electrostats make good monitors, though, I just use my less expensive headphones for video, and in theory you'd want to use speakers of course. But for listening I really love them. I have my pair hooked up to the headphone out on my PS4's controller and and I like to watch movies on the projector with the electrostats, so crisp, it's great.

[jcs]

6 hours ago, HockeyFan12 said:

Be careful with voltages, though. The amp will have a standard ac connector but may be wired to run at 100v, not 110v so you might need to buy a transformer or to re-wire your amp (which is what I had done, I think it's super easy but be careful for high voltages as the bias voltage is almost 600v, actually over 600v on the Koss, and there will be big capacitors in the amp, I think there are guides online).

The 252S uses a 12v adapter, found a few online which are supposed to work with it. The seller recommended a 100v to 110/120v converter, so I got that for now.

Thanks for the Stax info, sounds like you're not ready to part with yours yet

[Shirozina]

I have a small collection of cans; Sony DMR 7506, Sen HD25-2, AKG 701 and Grado SR80. If I want to listen to music I'll grab the Grado's as they are sweet sounding but not very accurate - classic Hi-Fi vs sound production choice. If I was forced into mixing with headphones I'd choose the 7506's - no they may not be the sweetest sounding or most detailed but like studio monitors if the mix sounds good on these it's a good mix. For recording in the field the HD25's are unbeatable but not particularly because of the sound but because the split headband means they don't slip off your head when you look down at the field recorder and they are tough and comfortable to wear for long periods. Bought the AKG's on a whim but the best thing I can say about them is they sound inoffensive. I know there are some fantastic sounding cans out there but for mixing and sound production this isn't actualy that useful. NX10 monitors became studio essentials not because they sounded good but because only a good sound mix worked on them and it ruthlessly revealed poor production - if your mix sounded good on these it would sound good on anything. I'd think you need the same from cans and the 7506's do this as well which is why 1000's of audio pro's still use and trust them.