closed cans!

[CD44hi]

Suggestions for closed headphones Please~?

I am looking for "airy*" sounding closed cans to use at work. I have heard the A900, 950LTD and did not quite like'em. I owned the L3K and liked them, but those are somewhat out of budget for this project.

W5000 are maybe a possibility (although the last time I heard them was so long ago that my recollection may be completely wrong....).

Any other closed cans that should be considered? Suggestions and comments are sought and most welcomed! Thanks!

*by this I mean clean highs and sweet midrange

[deepak]

Other than the L3000, I liked the AKG K340. Though I found them a bit lacking for low to medium level listening. The bass heavy version were a bit better, but they still wanted to be cranked.

[Salt Peanuts]

I like K271 with velour pads. Unlike some other "closed" cans, they do actually block sound coming in and going out. They're bit hard to drive, though. Also, if you are looking for bass quantity, I'd look elsewhere.

[slwiser]

I had to go with the Ultrasone Edition 9s. Cheaper alternative is the ATH-ESW9. These are very different but both are very enjoyable.

[JBLoudG20]

K271s

[CD44hi]

OK, Thanks!

I guess forgot to mention that currently available would be better, as vintage comes with a premium and not as easy to get a hold to.

from your suggestions:

K340 - but these are really hard to drive, IIRC? Also may not be easily available? I am willing to try though, if I can get a hold of a pair... so I'll look into these for sure.

K271 - never heard these, so this I will look into for sure as well.

Edition 9s - I used to have, many moons ago a pair of Ultrasone trackmaster 750 and really disliked the sound. So I think I'll pass on them...

ATH-ESW9 - I'll look into these as well, but wouldn't the W5000 be a better option? just wondering having only heard the W5000....

Thanks for the suggestions guys and will definitely look into the closed AKGs. I had overlooked this cans.

[Smeggy]

I really liked the sound of the W5000 and would like a set myself. Sadly I haven't heard many closed phones of late.

[humanflyz]

W5000s are really airy as far as closed cans go, but then again, they don't isolate all that much, and they definitely leak.

Also, FWIW, the W5000s have the AT house sound, which to me means a slightly biting upper midrange that got fatiguing over time. I hear it to some extent in almost every AT headphone I've heard (L3000s excluded), but that might not bother you.

AKG K271S with velour pads: I like them because they actually isolate, but even with velour pads they never got comfortable for me because my big ears made sure that they never became fully circumaural. Plus you need some serious power to make them sing.

Denon D5000: This one has a slightly "u" shaped frequency response, meaning mids are a tad recessed in comparison to the bass and highs. I would not use them for critical listening, but for casual listening they are good enough. But again, they don't isolate that much and definite leaks.

Those are my closed headphone experiences. The best I've had is the L3000s, but they are out of your budget.

[Fing]

The D5000 is not a bad work headphone. I am constantly comparing it to the L3000 I also have here at work and though I prefer the tonality of the L3000, the Denons do have a more emphasised upper and lower register as mentioned earlier.

This results in a slightly more spacious sound and is good, especially with bass-heavy music.

My D5000 is modded with Dynamat in the earcups, around the drivers and inside the earpad frame to tighten up the bass.

[CD44hi]

Yeah, you guys are right, the denons should be a worthy consideration. The precluding issue for me (and it's why I was not considering them) is that the last time I heard them, they had a weird presentation. Sort of a pronounced 3 blob presentation. A "sombrero" head-stage if you wish. I agree with the tonal balance issue, but it was not unbearable...

However, IIRC their sound had tons of good midrange and the sound had good pace.

I'll definitely give'em a listen again.

[grawk]

Yeah, you guys are right, the denons should be a worthy consideration. The precluding issue for me (and it's why I was not considering them) is that the last time I heard them, they had a weird presentation. Sort of a pronounced 3 blob presentation. A "sombrero" head-stage if you wish. I agree with the tonal balance issue, but it was not unbearable...

However, IIRC their sound had tons of good midrange and the sound had good pace.

I'll definitely give'em a listen again.

Build quality is what stops me from even contemplating the denons. When every pair present at the dc july meet last year, that indicated to me they weren't really durable enough.

[CD44hi]

Build quality is what stops me from even contemplating the denons. When every pair present at the dc july meet last year, that indicated to me they weren't really durable enough.

oh yeah, I remember the stories of the falling screws on the earcup attachment....

[krrm]

A lot of things can be said about Beyer DT 770 and airy is not among the first words I would use. But I have used them for work for about 2 years now and I find them good for that kind of service.

They are build like a tank, have great isolation and I find them rather comfortable.

I got the '03 PRO 80 ohm version, and they can easily be driven by a laptop. In fact a friend of mine used his 250 ohm with an IPod Nano (but not very loud )

[Dusty Chalk]

The W5000 can actually sound good if you get a decent fit, however I found that impossible.

You kind of lost me with the A950Ltd comment -- what is it that you didn't like about them?

I think the Denon's would be a good choice, if you can keep them together. I do not think that the DT770 is a good choice, as much as I love them myself. I agree with the "built like a tank" comment, though. They're sort of the other end of the spectrum from the Denon's, in that regard. I've abused the snot out of my first (600 ohm) pair, and they still work fine, with zero repairs. And the only reason I got another was for the impedance.

You may also want to look at the Koss Pro 4AAAT -- I just read a review of them in this issue of UHF magazine* that made them sound promising. It's also well within your budget. I intend to get a pair to try out on my mother.

* It appears that the second half of the review is written in a combination of Latin and gibberish.

[slwiser]

I know that Ultrasone headphones are not much appreciated around there but I just got a pair of the new HFI-780s today. I like the "S-Logic" thing and of course I like the Edition 9. Well I think these could be a low priced UE9 if my evaluation is anything. I am really surprised in how good these sound out of the box. But again I enjoy any headphone that is on my head at the time so I am not really apparently a very critical evaluator.

So if you get the chance please take a listen and tell me what you think. Most of you don't have much of an issue doing this as I can tell.

Actually I am really enjoying what I am hearing out of these...these could be call baby UE9s as far as I am concern. They have much of the same sound feel to me.

They do qualify for this thread since they are closed and for 200$ US they represent a great buy.

[CD44hi]

how would you compare them to the trackmaster 650? [provided you've heard them of course] That is the only ultrasone can I've owned. I felt those sounded really compressed and the highs were really, really rolled. But like I said, been that the only i have heard for an extended period in my system, then it may not be representative of the new breed of ultrasone? Maybe?

I know that Ultrasone headphones are not much appreciated around there but I just got a pair of the new HFI-780s today. I like the "S-Logic" thing and of course I like the Edition 9. Well I think these could be a low priced UE9 if my evaluation is anything. I am really surprised in how good these sound out of the box. But again I enjoy any headphone that is on my head at the time so I am not really apparently a very critical evaluator.

So if you get the chance please take a listen and tell me what you think. Most of you don't have much of an issue doing this as I can tell.

Actually I am really enjoying what I am hearing out of these...these could be call baby UE9s as far as I am concern. They have much of the same sound feel to me.

They do qualify for this thread since they are closed and for 200$ US they represent a great buy.

[CD44hi]

the A950ltd sounded rolled on the highs. However, I heard them not on my system, and just for about 5 min.... but that was enough

The W5000 can actually sound good if you get a decent fit, however I found that impossible.

You kind of lost me with the A950Ltd comment -- what is it that you didn't like about them?

I think the Denon's would be a good choice, if you can keep them together. I do not think that the DT770 is a good choice, as much as I love them myself. I agree with the "built like a tank" comment, though. They're sort of the other end of the spectrum from the Denon's, in that regard. I've abused the snot out of my first (600 ohm) pair, and they still work fine, with zero repairs. And the only reason I got another was for the impedance.

You may also want to look at the Koss Pro 4AAAT -- I just read a review of them in this issue of UHF magazine* that made them sound promising. It's also well within your budget. I intend to get a pair to try out on my mother.

* It appears that the second half of the review is written in a combination of Latin and gibberish.

[Dusty Chalk]

the A950ltd sounded rolled on the highs. However, I heard them not on my system, and just for about 5 min.... but that was enough

You wanna hear them again? I'm listening to them out of the Supra. I mean, they're not K501/K1000/R10/Qualia airy, but I don't think anything in your price range is going to be. I find them to be almost Leatherhead-airy.

Another thought: Ety's? I'm not sure I could stand them for 8-ish hours a day every day, though.

[Smeggy]

I love the sound of my Etys, but I can only wear them for short periods these days, they make my ears itch.

[CD44hi]

Sure Dusty, I'd be up for listening to them again.

For IEMs I am set, have the ue10pros, they are very good, but they actually isolate too much, believe it or not. I can't hear almost any sound from the surroundings. This has its benefits on its own, but not for my work set up.

So I am looking for certain isolation (and leakage limitation), but also be able to be aware of the surroundings

Yeah, I wish I could be hauling around my qualias to work. They are not worth the risk (too fragile) for a daily commute routine.

[slwiser]

how would you compare them to the trackmaster 650? [provided you've heard them of course] That is the only ultrasone can I've owned. I felt those sounded really compressed and the highs were really, really rolled. But like I said, been that the only i have heard for an extended period in my system, then it may not be representative of the new breed of ultrasone? Maybe?

I am sorry have not heard those. I have the UE9 and love it. I have had the Proline 2500 and enjoyed those. I would say the HFI-780 is scary close to the UE9 in sound profile. I just wonder how it will sound after a proper period. These are detailed while being smooth. The sound image width is very wide. The bass is very satisfying to me. The highs in my view are not rolled off. Did you get a chance to check out the frequency curve comparison between the UE9 and these:

So take it for what my view is worth. I tend to enjoy anything I am listening to at the time. But I did take them over to my UE9 for a quike compare and they hold up well for being 200$ headphones.

[CD44hi]

Thanks for the info slwiser. I'll keep my eyes open for them and give em a listen.

[The Monkey]

I always come back to the HD 25-1. Not a sexy headphone, but it gets the job done.

[catscratch]

The K340 isn't really all that closed, it's more of a semi-open design. It isolates a little bit but it leaks sound everywhere. I also have never been able to get a pair to fit properly without having to hold the damn thing in place, making it useless for anything other than sitting and listening. Sonically, K340s tend to vary a lot from pair to pair. I prefer bass-light pairs, matched up with warm(er) tube amps.

What about the Stax 4070? Never heard one but heard good things about it. Seems to be a candidate for future FOTM on That Other Forum.

[Dusty Chalk]

I think it's beyond the price range of the current discussion.