DoomzDayz Posted January 7, 2008 Report Posted January 7, 2008 i need some cans with good soundstage. other needs: -neutral -natural -detailed, high resolution -transparent/good transients with great sounding drums -prat -would like it to be closed (PL750?) but is not a necessity if it really does limit the soundstage and other needs -price (HD580?) these would be paired with either a CK-K3 amp or SOHA amp with a GE 6680 tube and maybe jisbos (would this be enough?) OR i can try to get into entry level STAX. from what i've heard, the new series(303, 202) are more neutral, more airy/soundstage, but maybe a bit of a high mid emphasis compared to the Lambdas and SR-X/MK3. where would i look for these? i can't read yahoo japan auctions, ebay sucks, and audiogon has nothing. I want direct drive amplification, i don't have a speaker amp that isn't attached to a pair of speakers available, because these will be used when the house speakers are in use.. which is most of the time. other than that, it comes down to mainly the dt880 and k701. from what i've heard, k701 which don't seem to be as extended in the highs, less bass, less detailed, but have a warmer midrange, larger soundstage, look stupider, and are faster ( http://www.stereomojo.com/REVIEWS.htm ). and for the dt880's, i've heard mixed things about the 2005 version. if i go stax (might be taking a trip to asia in the summer), perhaps ill go with a hd580 or something to keep me busy. on a side note, may get back into gaming and i hear dt880's are spectacular for that, though i would like something closed again because it can get pretty hectic around here in college. you know, naked girls and the like.
Duggeh Posted January 7, 2008 Report Posted January 7, 2008 The naked girl level at St Andrews university is obviously far too low.
boomana Posted January 7, 2008 Report Posted January 7, 2008 Poor guy wants headphone advice, posts a fairly detailed request for help, and all you guys see is the last line on naked girls. Not knowing your amp choices, I got nothing specific for you. I like the 701s, but didn't like them until I heard them recabled and balanced, though I had agile_one's single-ended recabled pair for a few weeks and they sounded really good, with fuller bass than I expected from previous listening, out of my SP Extreme. The 880s are brutal in the treble to my ears, but if you're not sensitive that way, they might be okay for what you want.
ojnihs Posted January 7, 2008 Report Posted January 7, 2008 Poor guy wants headphone advice, posts a fairly detailed request for help, and all you guys see is the last line on naked girls.
aerius Posted January 8, 2008 Report Posted January 8, 2008 Poor guy wants headphone advice, posts a fairly detailed request for help, and all you guys see is the last line on naked girls. What was the question again? I got the naked chicks part but I seem to have missed something important in the process... Ok, seriously now. I have a burning hatred for the Beyer 880 (painfully bright, harsh, and sibilant) so it's gone, I dislike the K701 as well (more bland than vanilla ice cream) so it's gone too, meaning the Stax wins by default. Even the entry level Stax 2020 which I heard years ago can match the 880 & K701 in terms of detail, and I find it's more neutral than both, ie. doesn't bore me to death or make my ears bleed. It won't play loud and dynamics are kinda meh, but I suspect that's more the fault of the cheap wallwart powered amp box than anything else. I'm not exactly satisfied with the Stax either, but at least it doesn't outright piss me off like the 880 & K701. That's basically what I meant when I said "win by default".
dc Posted January 8, 2008 Report Posted January 8, 2008 I don't know about neutral, that's a hard one as each person has a different expectation of what "neutral" is as for the amps, well the CK2III is probably the one you want to go with if you're keen on "neutrality"/ personally i think both the K701 and DT880 are great phones but the stax has it in terms of detail and dynamics.
tkam Posted January 8, 2008 Report Posted January 8, 2008 Based on what DoomDayz is looking for I think Stax might be the best option. They're going to eclipse the 701 and 880 in the detail, prat, transparency departments pretty damn easily. However I see your mention of drums, if your one that really likes to "feel" the kick of drums then you might want to shy away from the Stax. Don't get me wrong Stax can do bass very well, but they lack the visceral bass that you get with dynamic phones.
postjack Posted January 8, 2008 Report Posted January 8, 2008 Don't get me wrong Stax can do bass very well, but they lack the visceral bass that you get with dynamic phones. Hate to contradict you tkizzle, but the bass I hear coming out of my Lambdas is some of the most visceral I've heard from headphones. I can't speak for the current Stax line up though.
Dusty Chalk Posted January 8, 2008 Report Posted January 8, 2008 Poor guy wants headphone advice, posts a fairly detailed request for help, and all you guys see is the last line on naked girls.Yup, pretty much. No, seriously -- I don't know shit about soundstage on headphones, that's why I didn't post thatwise, but the day/night/week/month is still young -- I'm sure someone with actual knowledge will come along and post eventually, I didn't mean to derail the entire thread, thought it'd be more like a free bump. I've always liked the separation on my HP-2's, and separation is one component of good soundstage, but that was well out of the specified pricerange. Ditto most Stax's and R10's.
catscratch Posted January 8, 2008 Report Posted January 8, 2008 I didn't get much visceral bass out of the SR-404, but out of the SR-003 there was plenty of thump. 'Stats can do tactile bass, but I don't think the current Lambda lineup is all that great at it. I never heard any of the vintage ones so I can't comment. I don't think the SR-303/404 are all that neutral; there is an upper midrange peak that gives certain instruments and voices a thin, brittle, and slightly electric quality. However, in terms of speed, detail, soundstage, and PRaT (when well driven), they're very good. If it wasn't for the midrange issues I probably would have still kept mine and liked it a lot. Tubes helped, but didn't eliminate the problem entirely. I've read about contact enhancers and various other tweaks that supposedly help, but I didn't experiment with them. No experience with DT880 or K701 whatsoever over here.
spritzer Posted January 8, 2008 Report Posted January 8, 2008 Hate to contradict you tkizzle, but the bass I hear coming out of my Lambdas is some of the most visceral I've heard from headphones. I can't speak for the current Stax line up though. That is the excelent normal bias SR-Lambda bass you are talking about. The SRD-7 is also helping along in the bass department.
Shiki Posted January 8, 2008 Report Posted January 8, 2008 where would i look for these? You can get Stax headphones from www.pricejapan.com.
philodox Posted January 8, 2008 Report Posted January 8, 2008 Did someone say naked girls? Go for Stax I guess... those others you mentioned suck. Welcome to Headcase btw.
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