A Headphone Hunting Review

DeeSquared said:
I'll add a little more to the mix, no pun intended, in the hopes it helps someone else. I didn't care much for either the Sony MDR-7506 or Audio Technica MTH-40x that we had laying around the house. So I took a chance with the new Sennheiser HD 560S and not only did they sound sound much better than the Sonys or the ATs they are much more comfortable as well. I know they're marketed as consumer oriented "audiophile" cans, but I like what I hear.
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Agreed about the Sony headphones. Very limited in the lower mids. No girth to the sound. Narrow sound stage. Unpleasant high end. Quite boxy for me.
 
DeeSquared said:
I'll add a little more to the mix, no pun intended, in the hopes it helps someone else. I didn't care much for either the Sony MDR-7506 or Audio Technica MTH-40x that we had laying around the house. So I took a chance with the new Sennheiser HD 560S and not only did they sound sound much better than the Sonys or the ATs they are much more comfortable as well. I know they're marketed as consumer oriented "audiophile" cans, but I like what I hear.
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PdotCdot said:
Agreed about the Sony headphones. Very limited in the lower mids. No girth to the sound. Narrow sound stage. Unpleasant high end. Quite boxy for me.
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I also had the MDR-7506 and Audio Technica MTH-40x laying around when I got my FM3. I fully agree with the above. The Sony's, to me, seem to shortchange the low end and hype the treble (to the point that it's shrill). They do have clarity, but are not much fun for playing through. The MTH-40x, I found to have a soft, flabby low end and not much detail. The Blue Mo-Fi (Mix-Fi) were a huge upgrade (I needed closed back phones) and I'm very happy with them. I'm just playing through them, not mixing, but overall, they match pretty well what I hear from the Atomic CLR Neo MkII. A bit more rounded on the high end, but basically pretty faithful.
 
FullThrottle said:
I also had the MDR-7506 and Audio Technica MTH-40x laying around when I got my FM3. I fully agree with the above. The Sony's, to me, seem to shortchange the low end and hype the treble (to the point that it's shrill). They do have clarity, but are not much fun for playing through. The MTH-40x, I found to have a soft, flabby low end and not much detail. The Blue Mo-Fi (Mix-Fi) were a huge upgrade (I needed closed back phones) and I'm very happy with them. I'm just playing through them, not mixing, but overall, they match pretty well what I hear from the Atomic CLR Neo MkII. A bit more rounded on the high end, but basically pretty faithful.
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Couldn't resist and found a set of Mo-Fi online. Should have them with me tomorrow. I will update the list in the first post with those
 
PdotCdot said:
Couldn't resist and found a set of Mo-Fi online. Should have them with me tomorrow. I will update the list in the first post with those
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Mine slay. Interested to hear your reaction when you get them.
 
Rex said:
Mine slay. Interested to hear your reaction when you get them.
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Will update as soon as I have a day with them and fresh set of ears to compare them to the 598. BTW, saw your response to the other thread about volume and FM3 best setup. Clearly a misunderstanding, and quite possibly my fault for lack of clarity.
 
PdotCdot said:
Will update as soon as I have a day with them and fresh set of ears to compare them to the 598.
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Interesting. I have a pair of 555s. To my ears, they have a similar voice and translate well to the Mo-Fi.


PdotCdot said:
BTW, saw your response to the other thread about volume and FM3 best setup. Clearly a misunderstanding, and quite possibly my fault for lack of clarity.
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Eh, sh*t happens. :)
 
I found a very useful plugin for headphones from Waves. The Abbey Road Studio 3 plugin + Nx Head Tracker...The combination of both of these and the included EQ Correction for my Beyerdynamic 800 Pro 250 ohm Headphones (in Nx Head Tracker) make the headphones sound much more realistic/live and "in the room" for me, No need for room treatment, since the Abbey Road Studio 3 plugin puts me into one of the greatest studios on the planet. For $129, this solves my headphone issues.

I wish we had a multi-band eq adjustment in the Axe Fx III for the Headphone output...but if I want to use headphones now, I just fire up my Macbook Pro w/StudioLive and the Nx Head Tracker w/the Headphones plugged into my Presonus StudioLive 16r Rack Mixer!
 
yyz67 said:
I either am scared of or have GAS for your headphones.
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I use K240 Studios (not the MKII version). I actually tried DT770 250 ohm and the Mo-Fis recently, but neither had the midrange character of the K240s to me. I loved the bass of the Mo-Fis but the character and 3D feel was gone. The DT770 250 ohm had absolutely no bass at all through the AxeFX, which was very weird (I know the AxeFX can drive high ohm headphones just fine), but also no real character, just a lot of high end definition; judging from reading more reviews after the fact, the lower ohm versions apparently reproduce bass more with greater strength. Two of my go-to tracks to test are Roundabout by Yes and Mr. Roboto by Styx, both of which tend to have the perfect level of feel, character and frequency balance to me, audio-wise.
 
Douglas Costa said:
I just ordered an AKG K371, based on raving reviews.

I hope my presets translates well to other sources.
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I'm curious about those, but I think I realized I'd be more interested in open backs in the future for myself. I think the soundstage aspect was really hitting me for the closed backs I tried. Hope these work out well for you!
 
State of Epicicity said:
I'm curious about those, but I think I realized I'd be more interested in open backs in the future for myself. I think the soundstage aspect was really hitting me for the closed backs I tried. Hope these work out well for you!
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I have a semi-open K240 MKII, but my wife is complaining that it leaks too much sound, so I really need closed back cans, and according to Rtings, K371 leaks very little and have a mostly neutral sound.

I almost bought an ATH M50x.
 
The HD280 was my first headphone. Super disappointing. I learned I hated closed headphones from it, and they are dull to listen to. I think I’m just going to give my pair away on CL.

I’m considering the HD600, 650, and 6xx. Anyone have thoughts on those for practice/mixing? I’m inclined to go with the 600 based on research but it is a bit more than the 6xx.
 
I have a pair of the Sennheiser HD 650 headphones, and they're my go-to for 90% of what I listen to on the AF3 and FM3. They're pretty amazing.

My Audio-Technica ATH-M40x are another 5%. They were my primary pair but I got tired of the low end and switched to the HD 650 and never switched back.

I attached a GEQ block that equalizes both based on:

Sennheiser HD 650 (sample 2)
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x (sample 1)

My Shure SE535 have an amazing sound and are my primary music and movie 'phones that I occasionally use for checking presets. The GEQ block is based on:

Shure SE535
 

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Douglas Costa said:
I just ordered an AKG K371, based on raving reviews.

I hope my presets translates well to other sources.
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I picked up a pair last week and am very impressed. I’ve had posts elsewhere noting I’ve tried probably 20 pairs of headphones and these are the most balanced. Not too bright and not too bassy. Easy to drive. I returned my Shure 840, KRK 8400, and will likely keep the K371 over the K553 Pro.
 
Jarick said:
I picked up a pair last week and am very impressed. I’ve had posts elsewhere noting I’ve tried probably 20 pairs of headphones and these are the most balanced. Not too bright and not too bassy. Easy to drive. I returned my Shure 840, KRK 8400, and will likely keep the K371 over the K553 Pro.
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Thank you!

It's just what I needed, a closed back headphone with a balanced sound signature.

What about the leakage, are they really good?
 
I'm curious if anyone here has an opinion on Hifiman's headphones? Was considering trying the 5XX from drop.
 
RB2021 said:
I'm curious if anyone here has an opinion on Hifiman's headphones? Was considering trying the 5XX from drop.
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I was looking at Drop stuff too, but when I googled that company in general, I just saw a lot of reviews about abysmal customer service, and it totally made me want to stay away. I don't know.
 
Douglas Costa said:
Thank you!

It's just what I needed, a closed back headphone with a balanced sound signature.

What about the leakage, are they really good?
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Pretty good, the clamp is a little strong first day but improved. The ear pads seal fairly well. It's not the most muffled but definitely good for guitar.

I had the Blue headphones for a minute and they were really heavy and uncomfortable and sounded really collapsed and small.
 
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