I sort of want a pair of good closed phones

[cetoole]

What do these (T50rp's) sound like out of the box? Worth playing with for cheap closed phones, or are the mods transforming?

It has been quite a while, but I didn't like them nearly as much. Mods are transforming, but they are probably worth playing with. In the stock housing though, I have preferred the older Fostex, T20v2 and T40v1.

[HeadphoneAddict]

The Shure SRH840 that I tried at CanJam had better frequency balance than a stock D2000, and they don't have the recessed mids of the D2000. So, if you only need something to hold you off till the Thunderpants are done, I would pick the Shure.

I will add that the stock D7000 are a little better than the D2000/D5000, but they still have the recessed mids and the family resemblence in sound is still there. I've heard modded D2000 and modded D5000, and the modded D7000 are by far a better headphone than the others. I would not keep a stock D7000 for the long term, but the modded ones are a different story. They were not as good as the R10 in a side by side comparison last summer, but they were not embarrassed by the R10 either. The R10 had richer fuller more vibrant mids, and stronger bass. While the R10 bass also seemed a little boomy sometimes, I still preferred the R10.

[Shahrose]

The Shure SRH840 sound kind of like a closed version of the HD650 in terms of tonal balance, but in terms of SQ, they're significantly lower. I tried to like them, but eventually sold them and decided that I could live without a closed headphone. I wouldn't bother with any of the low-end closed cans if I were you.

[dreamwhisper]

I will add that the stock D7000 are a little better than the D2000/D5000, but they still have the recessed mids and the family resemblence in sound is still there. I've heard modded D2000 and modded D5000, and the modded D7000 are by far a better headphone than the others. I would not keep a stock D7000 for the long term, but the modded ones are a different story. They were not as good as the R10 in a side by side comparison last summer, but they were not embarrassed by the R10 either. The R10 had richer fuller more vibrant mids, and stronger bass. While the R10 bass also seemed a little boomy sometimes, I still preferred the R10.

A fair bit of inference here, but if the R10's and maybe Q10's are the dynamics that to some compete with the O2,

Seriously, the D7000 would have to be a revelation from God compared to the D5000's

A REVELATION OF GAWDD!

[Elephas]

They were not as good as the R10 in a side by side comparison last summer, but they were not embarrassed by the R10 either.

Dude, he's talking about some comparison from last summer. As in almost a year ago.

I'm constantly amazed by some people talking about how this or that headphone sounds based on their experiences a month, three months, six months or even more incredible, a year plus ago.

IMHO, the best way to describe how a headphone sounds is when you're actually listening to it, in real-time. Next best thing is within a few hours of listening, then a day or a few days after. But longer than that? Not very doable for me at least.

[wrecked_porsche]

I dunno, man. I have a mediumish head I think (7 3/8 with full-on mop) and W5000s work fine for me.

I consider myself to have a medium~ish sized head too (around ~23 inches circumference), and I find that there is a slight gap at the top of the earcups. I had to mess around with stuffing the ear pads a little to get a perfect seal. Too much stuffing and I got a cavernous sound, too little and some of the bass impact as well as texture was gone. I messed around with the earpads/headband over the course of a few days and when I finally got the perfect fit, the W5k did sound quite nice indeed.

[jpelg]

have you considered K1000s and rohypnol?

[morphsci]

I'm constantly amazed at how so many phones HPA listens to that have "recessed mids". It seems so consistent that my hypothesis is that the listener's receivers have low sensitivity in the mids.

[Pars]

x2

The AKG K271MKII is my choice, you can also consider K240MKII which is bassier than K271

I own the SRH840s and I also have a pair of AKG K271s w/velour pads (essentially the same as the MKIIs). I prefer the AKGs to the Shures as being more neutral, particularly on classical. The Shure's are fun phones, but they are a bit steely on upper strings and have a bass hump.

I'd like to hear the thunderpants sometime.

[luvdunhill]

It seems so consistent that my hypothesis is that the listener's receivers have low sensitivity in the mids.

ya

[Dreadhead]

4070...?

X2

[dBel84]

Update: There will indeed be thunder in my pants

a little late to the party but I can whole heartedly seccond the TP's. Quite mighty and will give most any headphone a run. They have the speed and space of the the R10 but much more body and bass accuracy ( could be foggy memory as inferred above ) . Most all of my headphones are closed and again most all are ortho. The stock T50rp never quite cut it for me - brilliant mids and top end but I could not coax decent bass out of them.

Vintage - although not officially closed, most all the vintage ortho's are semi closed ( the T40 is the exception ) and leak not a lot. Personally, any one of them will offer superb listening BUT they are mostly supraaural which is not for all. My top headphones are woodies , they just seem to respond very nicely to a ported enclosure with good damping.

so my vote for a can while waiting for the TP is a "cheap" ortho as this will get you into the ortho groove ..dB

T10 - Yamaha HP50 / YH2 - etc

[rogue]

I can't believe anyone mentioned CD3000's. Horrific sibilance, I had a nasty headache after about 30 min of listening. They also leak a fair amount of sound, killing the whole premise of closedness.

However, I've never liked a Sony can apart from the R10's, so I may be a bit biased

[Dusty Chalk]

Or maybe you just don't like bright cans. I won't argue that they're bright, but I don't think they're inherently sibilant.

[Voltron]

My CD3000 or T1 (on loan).

I wasn't whistling Dixie here, this was an offer.

[deepak]

I can't believe anyone mentioned CD3000's. Horrific sibilance, I had a nasty headache after about 30 min of listening. They also leak a fair amount of sound, killing the whole premise of closedness.

However, I've never liked a Sony can apart from the R10's, so I may be a bit biased

Shhhhh there is quite a CD3000 following here I couldn't sell mine fast enough.

[HeadphoneAddict]

I'm constantly amazed at how so many phones HPA listens to that have "recessed mids". It seems so consistent that my hypothesis is that the listener's receivers have low sensitivity in the mids.

I guess it's a good thing that I don't think the mids are recessed on the R10, L3000, HD800, K1000, HE-5, HD600, HD650, K702, Edition 9, ATH-A900, W5000, W11R, ESW10JPN, RS-1, HF-2, RS-2, MS-1, SR-60, O2 Mk2, HE60, Jade, SR-003, ESP-950, Gamma Pro (stock or woodied), SR-5NB, SR-Lambda, and more.

I do feel there are some recessed mids in the HF-1 (bowls), D2000-7000, Proline 2500, Darth Beyer V3, SR-Lambda pro, and UE11Pro. I think the O2 Mk1 can have recessed mids depending on the amp, and I heard mildly recessed on the GES and BHSE, but they sounded more forward on WES and ZDT/SRD-7 Pro.

I spent 20 minutes changing and deleting and retyping my SRH840/D7000 post, because on one hand you guys have taught me it's not a good idea to post here, and on the other hand I just wanted to be help out. Go figure. I posted similar thoughts a year ago about my comparison.

[deepak]

I guess it's a good thing that I don't think the mids are recessed on the R10, L3000, HD800, K1000, HE-5, HD600, HD650, K702, Edition 9, ATH-A900, W5000, W11R, ESW10JPN, RS-1, HF-2, RS-2, MS-1, SR-60, O2 Mk2, HE60, Jade, SR-003, ESP-950, Gamma Pro (stock or woodied), SR-5NB, SR-Lambda, and more.

I do feel there are some recessed mids in the HF-1 (bowls), D2000-7000, Proline 2500, Darth Beyer V3, SR-Lambda pro, and UE11Pro. I think the O2 Mk1 can have recessed mids depending on the amp, and I heard mildly recessed on the GES and BHSE, but they sounded more forward on WES and ZDT/SRD-7 Pro.

I spent 20 minutes changing and deleting and retyping my SRH840/D7000 post, because on one hand you guys have taught me it's not a good idea to post here, and on the other hand I just wanted to be help out. Go figure. I posted similar thoughts a year ago about my comparison.

What are the mids like on the CD3000

That's a lot of headphones

[HeadphoneAddict]

What are the mids like on the CD3000

That's a lot of headphones

This is what I should post in response - "yeah, the CD3000 mids reminded me a lot of the nasal-honky mids of the W5000 and W11R, which are not recessed and take some time to get used to." Then I should stop there.

I had a much longer post but I chickened out about posting more. Sorry, but I guess the training is working...

[wrecked_porsche]

When I owned the CD3000, I found that the sibilance was dependent on the source and amp. The sibilance drove me nuts as I am extremely sensitive to sibilance, however when I switched from the ibasso D1(stupid crap shit) to the pico as source, the sibilance was as good as gone.

If your source/amp/recordings has sibilance... then good luck.

Well, at least the sibilance on the CD3k is not as bad as the DT990. The DT990 had a metallic~ish sheen to the highs in addition to the sibilance.

[Torpedo]

x2 The CD3000 are sibilant depending on the source and amp you use. Overall I find them less sibilant and more correct than D5000 (I can't stand the DT). I loved the CD3000 with a tube amp prototype I tried here, really wonderful, gorgeous midrange and a lot of weight in the bass. With the Gilmore Reference they sound more than acceptable for me. Hadn't I phones that I like better like the O2, R10 or PS1 I could live with them quite happily.

[rogue]

To be fair, my source/amp was on the craptacular side when I owned them, so that probably didn't help However, I doubt I would have enjoyed them with the gear I have now.

I think the main point that I was getting at is, for closed phones, the CD3k's really leak a fair amount of sound, so they may not be the best choice for someone not wanting to disturb others.

I believe the Denon's are also fairly leaky, although I don't recall how much due to my brief exposure with them.

[Torpedo]

Both leak about the same, but haven't compared matching volume and using a SPL meter.

[morphsci]

^^^ The D2000s do leak a fair bit.

[wrecked_porsche]

Yup, I agree too, the Denons and the CD3k do leak about the same amount.