swt61 Posted January 2, 2009 Report Posted January 2, 2009 Well I've yet to receive my Klipsch Image X10 IEMs, but I'll hazzard a guess anyway, as I don't use IEMs much at any rate. AKG K1000 Senn. HD 580 Modded Klipsch Image X10 Wow, that was much easier than previous posts in these threads. This minimalist thing has it's advantages. Duggeh, We need a new ranking from you since receiving the K1000.
Duggeh Posted January 2, 2009 Report Posted January 2, 2009 1) Omega 2 1) Taket H2 1) K1000 1) Ergo AMT 1) Orthodome #3 There you go old boy.
Dreadhead Posted January 2, 2009 Report Posted January 2, 2009 Corrected: 1)Sennheiser HD650 (because I like how the feel more and that's it) 2)Denon AH-D5000 NA) Sony MDR-SA5000 (they sound like poo when forced to be flat) NA) Etymotic ER-4s (no binaural head) Uncorrected: 1) Etymotic ER-4s 2) Sony MDR-SA5000 (soon to be sold) 3) Denon AH-D5000 (modded) 4) Sennheiser HD650 There you go, you silly so and so
lauri_hoefs Posted January 3, 2009 Report Posted January 3, 2009 DT 880 Pro (05) >> MDR-7506 >> HD555 >> K340 >> MDR-CD780 >> Porta Pro >> various earbuds To explain this rating a bit: The Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro is a perfect combination of lovely sound and comfort. None of the dynamic phones it is usually compared with (HD650, K701 etc) are as balanced and pleasing in my opinion, they just seem to be a perfect fit to my ears I rate the Sony MDR-7506 quite high as it's the pair of headphones that I use most of the whole bunch as I spend a lot of time travelling by trains and busses. It's easy to drive with any portable source, it's foldable and offers decent enough isolation from outside noise. The AKG K340 was actually a bit of a disappointment, it's usually highly regarded and I actually liked it when I first heard it. Now, maybe I got a bad pair when I finally was able to get one, or maybe the lack of phones to compare the K340 where I heard them earlier made them sound better than they really are. The Sony MDR-CD780 are easy to drive and really, really comfortable. The KOSS Porta Pro still remains one of my favourite portable phones, even after trying through several similar phones that are usually graded higher. Sorry for a long post, but a had a feeling that I needed to explain myself a bit. It just somehow seems that liking/disliking the K340 or lower-grade Sonys is usually kind of a red flag on headphone forums
Dusty Chalk Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 DT 880 Pro (05) >> MDR-7506 >> HD555 >> K340 >> MDR-CD780 >> Porta Pro >> various earbuds To explain this rating a bit: The Beyerdynamic DT 880 Pro is a perfect combination of lovely sound and comfort. None of the dynamic phones it is usually compared with (HD650, K701 etc) are as balanced and pleasing in my opinion, they just seem to be a perfect fit to my ears I rate the Sony MDR-7506 quite high as it's the pair of headphones that I use most of the whole bunch as I spend a lot of time travelling by trains and busses. It's easy to drive with any portable source, it's foldable and offers decent enough isolation from outside noise. The AKG K340 was actually a bit of a disappointment, it's usually highly regarded and I actually liked it when I first heard it. Now, maybe I got a bad pair when I finally was able to get one, or maybe the lack of phones to compare the K340 where I heard them earlier made them sound better than they really are. The Sony MDR-CD780 are easy to drive and really, really comfortable. The KOSS Porta Pro still remains one of my favourite portable phones, even after trying through several similar phones that are usually graded higher. Sorry for a long post, but a had a feeling that I needed to explain myself a bit. It just somehow seems that liking/disliking the K340 or lower-grade Sonys is usually kind of a red flag on headphone forums Welcome to head-case, sorry about your thin skin. Hurray for another DT880 and Sony MDR-7506/-V6 lover!
swt61 Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 I'll add that I've heard a few really shitty sounding K340s. I think that due to the age of the headphones, how they've been cared for has a lot to do with the quality of sound.
cetoole Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 I'll add that I've heard a few really shitty sounding K340s. I think that due to the age of the headphones, how they've been cared for has a lot to do with the quality of sound. Any guesses what is causing this? Dying electret element maybe?
lauri_hoefs Posted January 4, 2009 Report Posted January 4, 2009 I'll add that I've heard a few really shitty sounding K340s. I think that due to the age of the headphones, how they've been cared for has a lot to do with the quality of sound. Yeah, it's really strange mine sound that bad considering they are exactly the same version as the others I heard... Mine are of one of the bass light variants. And they are actually a well kept and little used pair. But there's just this weird ringing echoy sound with the mids / lower highs thats unbearable with some music... Welcome to head-case, sorry about your thin skin. Well, my skin really ain't that thin, I just want to spare this thread from the usual several-page-long arguments about the phones I mentioned Now to actually give some input that's on the original topic : the headphones listed earlier, and again below with PX100 added, were all driven by Little Dot Mk III, Onkyo TX-SR506 and Pioneer PD-7700 headphone outs. Portable source was iPod 2nd gen. nano. DT 880 Pro (05) >> MDR-7506 >> HD555 >> K340 >> MDR-CD780 >> Porta Pro >> PX100 >> various earbuds
swt61 Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 Any guesses what is causing this? Dying electret element maybe? Yeah I guess that would have to be the cause. What prompts the electret in some to wear out earlier than others I can only attribute to abuse.
lauri_hoefs Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 Yeah I guess that would have to be the cause. What prompts the electret in some to wear out earlier than others I can only attribute to abuse. Well, it seems that my problem with the K340 was actually caused either by bad internal wiring or by something obstructing the movement of the electret diaphragm. I noticed a slight channel inbalance in the phones and decided to open them up. There was no visible damage to the wiring, and everything seemed to be in order. But before i put them back together I decided to clean them and move the wires a little to see that they were properly connected. And that really made a world of difference: the echoing is gone, the soundstage is natural. Overall the sound is quite nice now, with some sibilance though. All this means that I'll have to rewise the ranking a bit, moving the K340 a couple of positions higher. DT 880 Pro (05) >> K340 >> MDR-7506 >> HD555 >> MDR-CD780 >> Porta Pro >> PX100 >> various earbuds
spritzer Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 Electrets can (in theory at least) have the same problem as electrostatics where a charge of the wrong polarity sits on the film and impedes its movement. Sony thought it was a large enough problem to design semi conductive driver housings to prevent it from happening.
guzziguy Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 <snip> And that really made a world of difference: the echoing is gone, the soundstage is natural. Overall the sound is quite nice now, with some sibilance though. All this means that I'll have to rewise the ranking a bit, moving the K340 a couple of positions higher. DT 880 Pro (05) >> K340 >> MDR-7506 >> HD555 >> MDR-CD780 >> Porta Pro >> PX100 >> various earbuds I've never hear a sibilant K340 and I'm ultra-sensitive to sibilant treble. What are you using to drive your K340? They are extremely difficult to drive and take an amp that can provide a large amount of both current and voltage to their best.
mypasswordis Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 My current ranking (sadly): 1. Stax Lambda 2. Fostex T40 (needs more modding, though) 3. Everything else The smart thing to do would be to just sell everything else, buy a Koss ESP950 and call it quits. My T50RPv2 still needs more modding, too, though. And my Fostex T20. And my Stax SR-5NB. And pretty much every other headphone I have. And the headphones I have coming in. Why can't companies just make headphones right from the start?
grawk Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 The esp950 is only truely good if you invest in a good amp
Dreadhead Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 The esp950 is only truely good if you invest in a good amp it better be.....
swt61 Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 I prefer Marc's esp950 to his 007 MkI through his BH.
Torpedo Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 I prefer Marc's esp950 to his 007 MkI through his BH. Does his BH feed different bias to the Koss than for the Stax?
spritzer Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 Does his BH feed different bias to the Koss than for the Stax? It has a variable bias supply so yes. All of the Headamp units also have a variable bias but you have to adjust it on the PSU board.
swt61 Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 He runs the bias higher than the normal Koss recommendation, memory wants me to say 650, but not sure if that's corrrect. The higher bias is a KG discovery that makes a big difference.
spritzer Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 Last I heard the sweet spot was around 620v but the crazy bugger may have pushed them even further...
Torpedo Posted January 5, 2009 Report Posted January 5, 2009 So you need to open the PS and change the bias for the Koss or for the Stax depending on which ones you prefer to use... not very handy, but better than not having selectable bias nonetheless.
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