UpscaleBlight
Member
Here are my thoughts on some popular $500-$1,000 headphones.
I first purchased a pair of Sony MDR V6 to play late at night with my AX8 and Digitech Jamman Stereo about 1 year ago. Upgrading to these Sony studio headphones from Apple earbuds was a true audio revelation to me. So now I thought if I increased my headphone budget by 10x I could experience another 'wow' moment. This was not the case. After sampling a number of more expensive headphones recently, I did not discover any truly breathtaking, amazing upgrade. Of course, listening to many nice headphones every day for two weeks has spoiled me to the point I can never go back, but what I want to communicate is that Sony MDRV6 hold their own with much more expensive headphones. The major difference between the Sony MDR-V6 and the more expensive models was really the high end. When I listen to the V6 now, they sound shrill and narrow with piercing highs. The Audeze EL-8 also suffer from uncomfortable highs at times, in my opinion. But everyone's ears are different and the forward highs on these pairs could be interpreted as 'clarity' or 'definition.' I was used to the crisp highs from the V6 and that was the reason I could not love the Blue Ella. The Blue headphones seemed like the treble frequencies had been rolled off in a strange way. Really digging into the strings playing some bluesy jazz runs on the neck pickup of a Strat was not as satisfying on the Ella headphones whether or not its built-in amp was on. On the other headphones you could really hear the detail of picking heavily and other little things like hearing a string grind on the fret when you're vibrato-ing a note to keep it alive after it's died out.
In the end, I chose to buy the Sony MDR Z7. The power chords were too epic. Yes I wish I had a bit more clarity and definition when using the clean, Super Reverb type tones, but these were the pair that consistently made me smile and nod my head while listening to both the AX8 and MP3s. You could use these headphones for mixing, they are very detailed, but just be aware that the bass frequencies will be exaggerated. The Z7 typically retail for $700 but it isn't too hard to find them for around $500 new, online.
Listening Notes
Blue Ella - Super detailed, super defined. You will hear parts of songs you never have before and each individual layer of a song is more pronounced. Instruments will sound like they are being played live. But despite the fact you can hear every detail of the music, the high end seems rolled off somehow. Clean sounds from the AX8 can sound a bit dull because of this effect. They are bulky, and felt heavy on my head. I wore these to my office job and got a lot of unwanted attention. There is an amp/bass booster switch that works pretty well, but it introduces a boominess to many MP3s.
Sony MDR Z7 - more full, lush sound than the other headphones which often sounded 'clinical'. drop tuned power chords are epic. Fuller, better more musical sounding bass compared to the planar magnetic headphones. boomy sounding at times. Tied for most comfortable with EL-8.
Audeze EL8 - (closed back) extremely detailed. hard to say if more definition than blue ella. More bass than Sine. Bright, sometimes harsh. Audio sounds further away than on the Z7. The high end exhibits the exact opposite problem of Blue Ella, some of its highs can be sharp and piercing. With most songs/AX8 patches I would call these headphones 'articulate' but occasionally the highs were too forward and sharp for me.
Oppo PM3 - very crisp, well separated layers. Highs can sound shrill. These are another pair where you really hear music differently. Using a saw synth patch I really heard its buzzy texture and clarity which I was totally missing with the MDR v6. 'Congested' sounding at times. 3rd best bass after #1 Z7 and #2 Blue. Bass seems a hair more powerful than EL8 but very similar.
Audeze Sine- almost as detailed as the Blue Ella. very defined bass but more "shallow" overall sound due to a weaker bass that hangs a bit in the background. Power chords aren't super epic sounding, but Super Reverb type tones are epic with so much detail. These are the #2 least 'clinical' sounding and pleasantly musical sounding after Sony z7. The volume on these was super quiet coming out of my JamMan Stereo (50 ohm, 87.5mw per channel) which was a bummer. It was designed for use with smartphones so sounds great on my iPhone SE though. If my late night jam rig could deliver sufficient volume to these I might've gone with them and saved some money over the Sony Z7 instead. Depends what kind of bass you like. Bass sounds on the Sine are defined yet subtle. Bass on the Z7 is in your face and rich. The headphone pads of the Sine press directly on your ears, not surrounding them, so these are the least comfortable pair.
So no single headphone will be perfect for everything, even if your budget is $500-$1,000. The Ella was incredibly detailed, but the treble sounded rolled off to me. Oppo was usually incredibly clear and musical, but sometimes sounded "congested" and made distortion patches sound too buzzy. The Z7 has amazing bass, but that sounded boomy on many songs. Audeze Sine sounded amazing but were uncomfortable and could not achieve sufficient volume using my looper pedal. An audio salesman told me his wealthy customers use different headphones for different musical genres. I would have said that was totally outrageous until I performed this test.
I first purchased a pair of Sony MDR V6 to play late at night with my AX8 and Digitech Jamman Stereo about 1 year ago. Upgrading to these Sony studio headphones from Apple earbuds was a true audio revelation to me. So now I thought if I increased my headphone budget by 10x I could experience another 'wow' moment. This was not the case. After sampling a number of more expensive headphones recently, I did not discover any truly breathtaking, amazing upgrade. Of course, listening to many nice headphones every day for two weeks has spoiled me to the point I can never go back, but what I want to communicate is that Sony MDRV6 hold their own with much more expensive headphones. The major difference between the Sony MDR-V6 and the more expensive models was really the high end. When I listen to the V6 now, they sound shrill and narrow with piercing highs. The Audeze EL-8 also suffer from uncomfortable highs at times, in my opinion. But everyone's ears are different and the forward highs on these pairs could be interpreted as 'clarity' or 'definition.' I was used to the crisp highs from the V6 and that was the reason I could not love the Blue Ella. The Blue headphones seemed like the treble frequencies had been rolled off in a strange way. Really digging into the strings playing some bluesy jazz runs on the neck pickup of a Strat was not as satisfying on the Ella headphones whether or not its built-in amp was on. On the other headphones you could really hear the detail of picking heavily and other little things like hearing a string grind on the fret when you're vibrato-ing a note to keep it alive after it's died out.
In the end, I chose to buy the Sony MDR Z7. The power chords were too epic. Yes I wish I had a bit more clarity and definition when using the clean, Super Reverb type tones, but these were the pair that consistently made me smile and nod my head while listening to both the AX8 and MP3s. You could use these headphones for mixing, they are very detailed, but just be aware that the bass frequencies will be exaggerated. The Z7 typically retail for $700 but it isn't too hard to find them for around $500 new, online.
Listening Notes
Blue Ella - Super detailed, super defined. You will hear parts of songs you never have before and each individual layer of a song is more pronounced. Instruments will sound like they are being played live. But despite the fact you can hear every detail of the music, the high end seems rolled off somehow. Clean sounds from the AX8 can sound a bit dull because of this effect. They are bulky, and felt heavy on my head. I wore these to my office job and got a lot of unwanted attention. There is an amp/bass booster switch that works pretty well, but it introduces a boominess to many MP3s.
Sony MDR Z7 - more full, lush sound than the other headphones which often sounded 'clinical'. drop tuned power chords are epic. Fuller, better more musical sounding bass compared to the planar magnetic headphones. boomy sounding at times. Tied for most comfortable with EL-8.
Audeze EL8 - (closed back) extremely detailed. hard to say if more definition than blue ella. More bass than Sine. Bright, sometimes harsh. Audio sounds further away than on the Z7. The high end exhibits the exact opposite problem of Blue Ella, some of its highs can be sharp and piercing. With most songs/AX8 patches I would call these headphones 'articulate' but occasionally the highs were too forward and sharp for me.
Oppo PM3 - very crisp, well separated layers. Highs can sound shrill. These are another pair where you really hear music differently. Using a saw synth patch I really heard its buzzy texture and clarity which I was totally missing with the MDR v6. 'Congested' sounding at times. 3rd best bass after #1 Z7 and #2 Blue. Bass seems a hair more powerful than EL8 but very similar.
Audeze Sine- almost as detailed as the Blue Ella. very defined bass but more "shallow" overall sound due to a weaker bass that hangs a bit in the background. Power chords aren't super epic sounding, but Super Reverb type tones are epic with so much detail. These are the #2 least 'clinical' sounding and pleasantly musical sounding after Sony z7. The volume on these was super quiet coming out of my JamMan Stereo (50 ohm, 87.5mw per channel) which was a bummer. It was designed for use with smartphones so sounds great on my iPhone SE though. If my late night jam rig could deliver sufficient volume to these I might've gone with them and saved some money over the Sony Z7 instead. Depends what kind of bass you like. Bass sounds on the Sine are defined yet subtle. Bass on the Z7 is in your face and rich. The headphone pads of the Sine press directly on your ears, not surrounding them, so these are the least comfortable pair.
So no single headphone will be perfect for everything, even if your budget is $500-$1,000. The Ella was incredibly detailed, but the treble sounded rolled off to me. Oppo was usually incredibly clear and musical, but sometimes sounded "congested" and made distortion patches sound too buzzy. The Z7 has amazing bass, but that sounded boomy on many songs. Audeze Sine sounded amazing but were uncomfortable and could not achieve sufficient volume using my looper pedal. An audio salesman told me his wealthy customers use different headphones for different musical genres. I would have said that was totally outrageous until I performed this test.
