Cans! (Headphone thread inspired by Dolly Parton)

Good golly Miss Molly, I can't believe I have missed the previous posts here in Cans world since the beginning of the year.... have not been here in PA as much as I used to, as work, capchas, health, considering moving, life, etc..... keeps getting in the way.

AEProgman wrote: Good golly Miss Molly, I can't believe I have missed the previous posts here in Cans world since the beginning of the year.... have not been here in PA as much as I used to, as work, capchas, health, considering moving, life, etc..... keeps getting in the way. Anyway, David, glad to see you still hanging around, and holy bananas indeed what an impressive list of Cans to have been through.  I have not boned up on the HE500 to know what they offer, but can only imagine higher fidelity than the 400s.  The HD700s sound lustful!!  Speaking of lust, love the Dolly costume!  Nick, I see you are still at the top of your audiophile game!  Do those headphone cables really make a noticeable difference? And welcome Noni to the wonderful world of Hifimans along with the rest.

Hi Jim
I hope the health issue is over with. The rest of the stuff that constitutes life tends to flow much easier when one is functioning properly.
Oh believe you me the he500 is out of this world! I don’t see myself selling it unless someone wants to fork out a thousand bucks and a tiger. Then I’ll reconsider.
The hd700 is an awesome headphone but is has lost it’s place in the apartment to my new Q701. Truth be told I prefer my Hifiman but do so need a summercan to use when the weather is behaving like it is atm. 25 degrees and blue skies going on two months now and nothing seems to change. Here in Denmark that is unusual to say the least - more like impropable to the absolute max. The hd700 while light still sports pads that get too hot for me...which isn’t a problem with the AKGs velour. The Q701 is also lighter so yeah the little guy in the upstairs cockpit took a decision.

Nahh these days I find myself contempt with what I have. The only thing I see myself purchasing in the near future would be some open planar in-ears like the Audeze iSines or the Monoprice copycat M300. Get that liquidy planar sound in a small portable package.

Congrats on 35yrs of slavery LOL......Go with the Senns bro

^ My thought also.  I have test drove noise-cancelling Bose before and was impressed. The Senns reviews indicate they are not as good as the Bose in that category, but the sound quality was much better.

Hi Jim. I see you made the right decision! I would have gone with the Sennheiser as well, although I really really prefer the build quality and design of B&O.
Never owned a wireless one before but have tried them on many occasions at work. I work with autists and there are a few who genuinely can't live without headphones and their favourite 'insert extremely annoying Disney-like cartoonish muzak'. Heh...
They don't sound halfbad and I love the freedom that comes without the wire. Only two things stopping me from getting some: 1) I am not a fan of having yet another thing that relies on power in order to work 2) I have waaay too many headphones as it is
Inspires by Simon, and pretty much half the freakin music lovin world, I got my hands on a brand new (used? Nahh but sold as one) hd600 and it sounds absolute amazing right now with Between's Electric Silence. In fact every album I have in my collection made from before ca 1985 sounds brilliant through these cans. Some newer electronica and other such genres that have elements of deeeeeep bass will sound great out of them but not outstanding like fx with a planar headphone that renders bass so effortlessly and true - especially those deeeeep notes from the bottom of the well.
Inspired by Uwe who swears by the AKG K240, a can he's used since the 70s I believe, I got one of those too! Well it was the mark 2 version without the gold on the cups which annoyed me slightly but then again I got free velour cushions to boot so who's complaining...but yeah anyway I fully understand why Uwe moves these things because you can pretty luch take everything I just said about the hd600 and apply it to the k240. Alright they're more flimsy and fit more losely on your head, but it also ads a bit of comfort. They're slightly less detailed than the hd600 but the stage is bigger.
Then I bought the Ultrasone pro2900 because I genuinely regretted having sold off my hfi2400. I missed that completely different sensation and ultimately once you settle in: beautiful space of music. It stops feeling like a headphone and more like you're in a room of music a la my Hifiman...but different hah! No surprise there. Dynamic and planar headphones always sound very different even if the tuning is identical. That is certainly my experience.
What more? Errrm.... oh yeah inspired by Jim's encounter with the Beyerdynamic dt990 and finding one dirt-cheap...well I just couldn't help myself. Probably one of the biggest surprises! This phone makes EVERYTHING sound great! Do you have old classical concerts that normally sound like faeces? No worries get the dt990. Same goes for old crappy blues/punk/folk/whathaveyou - this can will transform your trash into sonic honey....and it's not like it does it by rolling off the treble or offering less detail. Having owned the dt880 (twice!) I'd say it has about the same level of clarity and detail, but the dt880 literally punishes badly recorded/produced music. The dt990 doesn't. Aand it also works a charm with new music becasue of it's wonderful bass. I think it's a steal at the current used-prices. What 5-70 bucks for this kind of sound quality? Literally insane. It's not even expensive from new.

I forgot about my closed commuting can: the Ultrasone hfi-780. Mmmm. Sounds brilliant with just about everything..except for the first The Smiths album. So strange because I can put similar sounding/produced albums on and they sound great. Maybe the headphone is just objecting to The Smiths in general? I know folks like that in the real world. I can relate though, Morrisey is perhaps the whiniest whiner of all whiners even beating out Thom Yorke and Mark Hollis by several leagues.

^ LOL David, its a disease!  Down to 6 with 1 one the way.  I am only up to 4, 5 if you count my MEE M6 Pro earbuds which I rarely use anymore, not that they are bad sounding, just can't get used to earbuds.

Edited by AEProgman - September 14 2018 at 19:17

^ Don't think I  could ever be a 'one headphone' guy again... :)    Closed backs with a big soundstage!?!?!  Unheard of, Ultrasones sound like they are the real S_ _t!

AEProgman wrote: Good golly Miss Molly, I can't believe I have missed the previous posts here in Cans world since the beginning of the year.... have not been here in PA as much as I used to, as work, capchas, health, considering moving, life, etc..... keeps getting in the way. Anyway, David, glad to see you still hanging around, and holy bananas indeed what an impressive list of Cans to have been through.  I have not boned up on the HE500 to know what they offer, but can only imagine higher fidelity than the 400s.  The HD700s sound lustful!!  Speaking of lust, love the Dolly costume!  Nick, I see you are still at the top of your audiophile game!  Do those headphone cables really make a noticeable difference? And welcome Noni to the wonderful world of Hifimans along with the rest.

Hello kind Jim.

Cables in the audio world are a touchy subject but with my experience and research they absolutely can make a difference. Most complain and say there is no scientific facts or background to say cables do in fact prove the quality of sound. If you think about it right down to the purity of the type of copper or silver you have in that cable or even the geometry layout to reduce electromagnetic fields or inductance, cables surely can bolster the signal strength or communication between all of your system synergy parts.
Remember. The better your equipment is the more demanding it is. Cables matter!

One more thing. My apologies for the late response. It has been one hell of a year for me.

progbethyname wrote: Well, i absolutely love this post. Dave, i am so apologetic right now... Feel terrible it has taken me this long to respond to your wonderful audio musings. Gorilla glass? You are goddam right ( as walter white would say) Buddy. You are definitely playing the field with the many headphone tryouts you lend your sweet little danish ears to. The only thing i will say. Those He600's will get beat if you keep going at the rate you are. Once you get into 2000$ + for headphone price tags you'll wanna cry sweet mama cause my god man it is serious territory for one's ear canal. Save the coin. Get used gear. I did for johnny gorilla glass, then pull the trigger. Dave, you are there now. You have heard the differences real audio gear can make. As your friend i can only say... You are not done yet. You will want more just as i do. Now i want the Chord hugo M scaler for the qutest dac i am currently envying. Nothing says i love you more to my ear drums than 1000000 taps!! Just look up Rob Watts. He is on the cutting edge of Dac technology. Bye for now. Have to fly but i will talk to you soon. Keep at it! It is the best hobby in the world. I really dig and share your enthusiasm.

Well pheeew is all I have to say. I saw the pricetag and thought I’d gotten it wrong, but no sure this can costs the same as a used car. Glad you found one used.

I have played around with dacs a couple of times already as I’ve mentioned previously in this thread. More power to you if you feel it can enhance your listening, but I have still to hear a DAC that sounds different of better than my Aune X1. I recently had a Schiit Yggdrassil to play around with for a week and it yielded the same result in that I couldn’t hear any differences between it and my Aune.
Oh well I am actually rather pleased by the result as the moniis can be used far more usefully ie albums and headphones

Guldbamsen wrote: progbethyname wrote: Well, i absolutely love this post. Dave, i am so apologetic right now... Feel terrible it has taken me this long to respond to your wonderful audio musings. Gorilla glass? You are goddam right ( as walter white would say) Buddy. You are definitely playing the field with the many headphone tryouts you lend your sweet little danish ears to. The only thing i will say. Those He600's will get beat if you keep going at the rate you are. Once you get into 2000$ + for headphone price tags you'll wanna cry sweet mama cause my god man it is serious territory for one's ear canal. Save the coin. Get used gear. I did for johnny gorilla glass, then pull the trigger. Dave, you are there now. You have heard the differences real audio gear can make. As your friend i can only say... You are not done yet. You will want more just as i do. Now i want the Chord hugo M scaler for the qutest dac i am currently envying. Nothing says i love you more to my ear drums than 1000000 taps!! Just look up Rob Watts. He is on the cutting edge of Dac technology. Bye for now. Have to fly but i will talk to you soon. Keep at it! It is the best hobby in the world. I really dig and share your enthusiasm. Well pheeew is all I have to say. I saw the pricetag and thought I’d gotten it wrong, but no sure this can costs the same as a used car. Glad you found one used. I have played around with dacs a couple of times already as I’ve mentioned previously in this thread. More power to you if you feel it can enhance your listening, but I have still to hear a DAC that sounds different of better than my Aune X1. I recently had a Schiit Yggdrassil to play around with for a week and it yielded the same result in that I couldn’t hear any differences between it and my Aune. Oh well I am actually rather pleased by the result as the moniis can be used far more usefully ie albums and headphones