Cans! (Headphone thread inspired by Dolly Parton)

AEProgman wrote: Guldbamsen wrote: I have a sickness...I now have 8 again...    As part of Nick's definition, perhaps a healthy obsession?  Here are some of the albums I like to test drive or set a baseline with new headphones on.   Queen - Night at the Opera Dave Brubeck - Time Out Budgie - Bandolier Royal Philharmonic Orchestra - Prokofiev's Romeo & Juliet PFM - Storia di un Minuto ELP - Brain Salad Surgery (Toccata will go from so delicately quiet to an assault on the ears) Something by Zeppelin or early Black Sabbath Dave, now I am thinking about those damn Beyerdynamic DT990s again.  Did you get the Pro version? Thinking about going DAC on my laptop tonight, I have not done that in quite awhile.  Nothing expensive, just a Soundblaster E1 that I got cheap a few years ago.  Mostly got it for the stand alone headphone amp which it does an OK job of, but the DAC out of the computer it does a really nice job with its software control panel with a good number of options to play with.

Funny how that goes Nick. If I were to do a list today I would most likely opt for different albums...and perhaps include the real title of that Dzyan album that I always seem to misremember the name of: Time Machine and/or the 1975 masterpiece Electric Silence both of which render acoustic instruments in a highly infatuating manner per my ears:)

I indeed got the pro version Jim - though a special edition in all black and with a straight 3 m cable. Those piggy tails really grind my gears...but then again I tend to move around when I listen to music and those cables get caught on chairs and tables...and suddenly you're without headphones!!! Tadahh! Any normal music fan out there, sitting down for the session, will most likely not give a damn about this.

Oh yeah...um...I've found my holy grail of dynamic headphones! It's called the S4 from a Slovenian company named Ollo. The frequency response is flat! Like pancake flat. I've never seen or heard anything similar in cans....and I thought neutral meant boring sound!
Not at all! What neutrality actually provides you with is heaps of detail - detail I think is masked in coloured cans ie certain boosted areas masks other small frequensies to the human ear. Sounds mad...but only until you listen to the Ollo.
It is without a doubt the most naturally detailed headphone I've ever tried....and it does hip hop and similar heavy bass genres brilliantly as well. Mostly becaue it is neutral and if the mix is bassy then the Ollo will play it...and it reaches looow too. Other supposedly neutral cans often boost the mids and highs in order to better locate mistakes in the mix..which then in turn masks the bass and makes it sound less than neutral in quantity. Again this all becomes very apparent when you listen to the S4.

Arrghh nuts! I need to sell some cans so I can justify buying this wonderful Slovenian creature.

Edith: I think those Beyer cans are the dt250 Jim.

Edited by Guldbamsen - November 10 2018 at 04:05

i read in other thread 702 r like puring nougat in your ear canal but i also heard hifi400i r good also

Happy Holidays fellow Canmates!

Prog-Hifi wrote: I'm looking for another good pair of cans. Akg 702 are on sale hifiman 400i are lil more. I currently own pair of sennheisers 598 hd ivory ,Which of those 2 is better upgrade. I listen to alot of current prog vs 70s prog. in flac I own fiio m7 dap ,With no amp my 598s dirve perfect. Which of those 2 would drive better without amp ? On fiio m7 for my lossless needs?

Hi there!
Personally I’d stay away from the AKG. It needs a lot of juice to sound its best ie a powerful amp is needed. Not so much with the Hifiman...but then again if you’re not going to biy an amp, I’d much rather go for the he400s, which can be driven by an iPhone.

Also, the K702 is like the hd800 which means that it favours the higher frequencies with a somewhat relentless peak somewhere around 7k. Add that to any recording that isn’t properly produced and you effectively get a VERY rough ride.
The AKG points out bad production.

Edited by Guldbamsen - January 07 2019 at 00:44

Guldbamsen wrote: Oh and happy new year to all can aficionados in the Dolly den! Maybe an inventory count is due? Or maybe not...this dane is still as barking mad as per usual. Arhh what the hell: Sennheiser HD58X Jubilee Sennheiser HD580 (the original HD600!) Hifiman HE500 Ollo S4 Ollo S4R (closedback) AKG K7XX AudioTechnica ATH-R70X Ultrasone HFI-15g KRK KNS8400 AKG Q701 Yup 10...but the Q701 is for sale Anyway I’ve promised myself to lay off the can purchasing for a while. This is getting ridiculous. The plan is to play around with these for as long as I possibly can...and then sell off a couple or three depending on what I arrive at.

Have you considered growing a couple of extra heads David?

EDIT: Proof of my senility, if any was needed, is that I cracked the same joke back on page two of this thread

Edited by Mascodagama - January 07 2019 at 08:45

^ It's when you have ten headphone amps as well that you should really start to worry...then you will need six turntables, two CD players, a tuner and a tape deck to keep them all busy...

Still dithering and failing to buy myself some Hifimans. I became traumatised after finding a nice pair at a good price on eBay then I forgot to bid and some other b*****d bought them! But still looking out for a deal. Then there's also the fact that I'm spending a ridiculous amount of money on CDs.

God forbid I should ever get back into vinyl, I will have to sell my family.

Edited by Mascodagama - January 07 2019 at 14:07

Much to my own surprise I am selling the HD58X
Weird as it actually is the best one I’ve heard of Sennheiser’s 6 series....but I also have the Audio Technica ath-r70x which sounds uncannily (hoho) like it...but with more air and it only weighs a little over 200 grams.
I don’t wan’t to own two headphones that sound so close to each other....aaaand I am keeping the hd580 precision simply because it is the most comfortable fullsize can I’ve ever tried, so I still have a little Sennheiser magic left.
When it sells along with the q701 I will effectively be down to 8 again!

Edited by Guldbamsen - January 15 2019 at 05:24

I have thought about that but I think I’m done now....(feels that way)

The audio technica will stay with me for a long time. They sound brilliant, reach loooow (unlike many an openback), have a sense of air and openness about them as well as taking comfort to the next level.

Btw Jim: if you at some point need to change the pads on your he400s, then I’d go for the focus pads that Hifiman makes. They’re semi pleather semi velour - although the parts touching your ears are velour...anyway what they effectively accomplish is that they make the headphone reach loooow without changing anything else about the sound. My friend tried it with his and I was really taken aback of just how well it works.