FRFR Headphones

[adew]

Another Blue Mo-fi user here. Yes, they sound great. Used in active mode there is a very pleasing fullness to the sound and a detail in the mids, which is nice. So far, patches tweaked when using them translate pretty well to my CLRs, but I'm not sure one could say that they are really FRFR. Whether their sound really justifies the price premium, I'm not sure.

 

[electronpirate]

But for me, the Blue Mofi gets more use now than anything else.
Yek pretty much nailed the reasons why. The onboard amps are very powerful and useful for me in the studio working alongside loud live amps and cabs. They're also the business on a flight.

This might have clinched it for me.

I've been researching Headphones for a bit, and like *someone* said, it is flat out dizzying with all the information and opinionated views of these things. In the next few months (unless the housing market changes and I can actually buy a reasonably priced house...yeah, Denver's brutal right now), I'll be in some form of Condo, where my roaring CLR's will be tested for (dreaded) low volume performance.

I have been looking at:

-AKG Q/K 701 (Quincy Jones sig, and Standard).
-Beyer Dynamic DT 880 (32 OHM).
-Sennheiser HD 380 Pro

Many of those mentioned here are WAY out of price range for what I want to spend (Audeze...WOW.) The AKG and Beyer were in the lead to start out with, but reading reviews about the 'open' nature of them threw me off. That may produce a more natural sound, but I want to avoid sonic 'bleed' from external sources, and so I can listen to them in a room without everyone else hearing 'American Idiot' blaring.

I've also noticed that these are right on the cusp of needing a headphone amp to get the most out of them. While that's not out of the question at some point (hey, there are some COOL looking tube 12AU7 ones...tube itch scratched), I would not want that to be a necessity. This thread came along just at the right time, and I hadn't considered the Blue Mo-Fi. This seems to handle all of my concerns very handily.

Yeah, $350 is more than I want to pay, but the last one's I purchased were somewhere in the 2005 range, so it's not an expense that comes around often.

Did I mention I love this board?

R

 

[Ravdave]

"but I want to avoid sonic 'bleed' from external sources, and so I can listen to them in a room without everyone else hearing 'American Idiot' blaring."

I know you were considering the more expensive Beyerdynamic DT880, but I would say that Beyerdynamic DT770 have been ok for me, and are a comfy closed back design that has low sound leakage from them. If you can I'd suggest going somewhere to audition a selection of headphones within your budget range, then go for the one that suits you best.

 

[aleclee]

I tried the Mo-Fi's at NAMM and they were quite impressive. Even so, I'm very happy with my DT880s, particularly since open backed cans are generally better for my purpose.

 

[∞Fractals]

OK, I've been through the BDT770 and the BDT880s ... all returned; now off to try the Blue Mo-Fi's - let's hope those work for me.

Wanted to try the Focal Pros, but I have large ears and don't like on-ear headphones (#1 complaint is poor on-ear fit). My experience with Focal speakers elements is outstanding, but headphones have to be comfortable (which the Beyerdynamics were super comfy - but I just couldn't stand the sound of them.)

Funny enough and quite surprising, I have some 1st Gen Beats (from Andre himself) and while the bass response is far too over exaggerated, they sound better than the Beyerdynamics by far - so I'm thinking that the MO-Fi will be closer to those with the internal amp/headroom.

Man, this headphone thing i s harder than I expected; perhaps because today's music sucks so bad with .mpg encoding. I've owned so many pairs including some electrostatic Stax that I wish I had never sold.

 

[electronpirate]

I love my Mo-Fi's. Mind you'll have to do some 'burn in' before they really come alive. But after a few months, they sound great. Very comfortable.

I don't use the extra bass setting...well, ever, but I pretty much live in the middle setting. Very balanced.

 

[chucma]

OK, I've been through the BDT770 and the BDT880s ... all returned; now off to try the Blue Mo-Fi's - let's hope those work for me.

I have the 770's and have been thinking seriously about getting the Blue MoFi's so would love to hear you thoughts in comparison with them. I'm a little surprised you didn't like the 880's cos the general reviews have been that they are very good, flat sounding cans.

 

[∞Fractals]

<snip>. I'm a little surprised you didn't like the 880's cos the general reviews have been that they are very good, flat sounding cans.

Me too ... was totally bummed. Not much better than the 770s. No headroom in them, no depth (to me) even with a headphone amp. Super comfortable however ... looking forward to Mo-Fi set.

 

[∞Fractals]

I love my Mo-Fi's. Mind you'll have to do some 'burn in' before they really come alive. But after a few months, they sound great. Very comfortable.

I don't use the extra bass setting...well, ever, but I pretty much live in the middle setting. Very balanced.

Mo-Fi's will do fine - quite pleased. Keepers! Winner winner chicken dinner.

Honestly, so much better for me than the others. (I was ready to keep plowing ahead until I found a pair.)

Now I have to get used to headphones for quiet time jamming - so much different than real cabs and thus, have to turn cabs back "on" in patches - not quite used to that sound (or picking/dialing in cabs/IRs ... another can of worms).

Too many choices for a "real" cab user and the sound is sometimes just not "right" - I mean I read about people picking cabs/IRs and whatnot (watched DD's video on cabs, so I realize they are "tunable" ... ), but more choices in a sea of so many.

Middle setting is right there. Rechargeable battery is a nice feature, albeit the micro-usb plug is super tight. A bit large at first glance, but I have a big head/ears and would prefer larger earcups over smaller.

 

[POB]

As an aside, I'm nearly at the end of a 14 day trial with Waves Virtual Mix Room: http://www.waves.com/plugins/nx#introducing-nx-virtual-mix-room

I've been using it with my HD600s and it's a pretty impressive add-on for headphones. If you don't have or can't use monitors, then this really helps to put you in a virtual room. I think you could get a decent mix using this. I have Equator D5 speakers and I can almost fool myself into thinking they're on when this is engaged.