Cans! (Headphone thread inspired by Dolly Parton)

AEProgman wrote: Nice opening of a thread, perhaps these are Dolly's favorite... My current headphones of choice (and budget) are Audio Technica ATH-M40X for home use (very satisfied with them as they are neutral so I can hear the way it was recorded and then adjust the equalizer if want it to sound more this way or that).   For on the go, I have an on ear Sennheiser PX100-II, has that classic Sennheiser sound but light weight, they are open back also.  I find myself listening to these at home more now.  I never really liked the in ear buds even though the M6-Pro by MeElectronics studio monitor buds I have sound quite good, just prefer on or over the ear style cans. Been thinking about an open back set of cans and those Hifiman HE-400s look awesome!  Also want to get the classic Senns HD280s just because..... My first experience with good cans was when I was a youngling and got a pair of Koss Pro 4aa headphones, damn were they awesome!  Edgar Winter's - They Only Come Out at Night album was full of sounds that I had not heard before, damn Frakenstein was a monster on those cans via a junky 8-track no less... PS-may have to suffer many times through captcha since I am posting a photo.

Thanks Jim - I quite like the Dolly pic as well. Methinks she'd be a great little mascot to have pop up throughout this thread.

I did follow your headphone journey on the the other thread, which partly was why I took the plunge myself.
Heh...I was actually thinking about buying those Koss at the time. They were a little over 100$ and come with a lifetime guaranty.

I'm still looking around and your insight is much appreciated as always. Since I'm searching for open-back headphones I've stumbled on several AKG models but I have ruled all of them out because I read that they are hard to drive. But now I think that buying a DAC or an amp would really be worth it so I'll look into those K712s.

Just thought of another way to get near the sound of the K712 pros without having to dish out 350 bucks. Be warned though. This will involve tinkering.
Get the K701s instead. They're about a 120$ methinks. Now a lot of people complain about the lack of bass in these (myself included) and maybe that isn't that strange seeing as the bassport is sealed up by this annoying little plastic sticker. It's not even a part of the headphone design to begin with - meaning some smo actually put it there to 'doctor' the sound. Idiocy if you ask me...aaaaaaanyway it is very easy to open up the headphone cups and remove the sticker and whambamthankyoumam you now got an open headphone that sounds like it should cost at least twice the money (I secretly suspect AKG are well aware of this little conundrum which is why their pricier 700 series come in new and exciting colours....to lead you away from the fact that they only really left out a plastic sticker to upgrade the sound probably more to it than that but I heard the modded 701s and they sound truly wondrous.).
Here's a link to the mod (all you need is a screwdriver): https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/reversible-akg-k701-bass-mod.660408/

^ That's cool, especially for the price. I always found the elastic band of the headphones quite unconfortable though, which is basically all the AKG brand.

Edited by Meltdowner - September 21 2017 at 07:48

They pretty much cost the same these days plus minus 30$. At least if you go by thomann.
I've actually had a chance to a/b test them not long ago and find them both brilliant in each their own way. Hd650 is a little warmer tuned.
I know Simon (Mascodagama) owns both and is damn well pleased with them.

Ever considered a pair of planar magnetic Samuel?

One thing though, which was something I was fairly surprised by, none of these cans have any soundstage to them - at least not by open headphone standards.

Edited by Guldbamsen - September 21 2017 at 08:18

The HD600 are only 11€ cheaper on Thomann and I like my music a little warmer 

Darious wrote: I'm still with my trusty, over-ear, reference AKG-K550 headphones. Pity they don't have any detachable cable, as I would like to experiment a bit, once in a while, with different wires. But, on the other hand, the already supplied cable is indeed very good. I am considering getting open-back headphones too (i.e. AKG K702), for those longer, undisturbed auditions at night, with better ear ventilation. What I found decisive when using headphones though, is the headphone amplifier. It would be perfect to utilise a separate, stand-alone box with some independent power supply (i.e. Rupert Neve design with Russ Andrews power supply), but there also are very nice headphone amplifiers already built into integrated amplifiers. I first used my K550 with Marantz PM6005 integrated, and the outcome was poor, to say the least. Then I connected them AKGs to Cyrus high quality built-in headphone amplifier and suddenly I had totally different set of cans in use. Different in a positive way. I also sometimes use my K550 connected to Red Dragonfly (the USB headphone amplifier from Audioquest), also with excellent results. I read a lot of good feedback on planar Oppos and HiFiMans, but I mainly use floorstanding loudspeakers for listening to music, rather than headphones, and when using headphones - those K550s are still pretty, pretty good, thus I don't feel quite inclined to replace them yet.

I've only listened to the massdrop version of those AKGs - K553 I believe their called - and they were very good and indeed display that traditional AKG sound where especially the mids sound heavenly. I imagine the 550s are pretty close in sound signature.
One thing Darious seeing as you yourself brought up the amp question; if you do go ahead and invest in a pair of K701/2 (they're basically the same only the 702 comes in grey and with a detachable cable) you will need a proper amp do drive them. That goes for most of the open backs I've tried, they do tend to need a bit more juice than the closed ones.

If you're interested in planars, that don't break the bank, I'd definitely look into Monoprice. Chinese company that has set out to make high end audio gear that both sounds brilliant but also is affordable.
These two come highly recommended from yours truly (the M560 is without a doubt one of the best bangs for ya buck you can get headphone-wise imo and an extremely cheap entry into planars):
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=16051

This is the M1060 (the big brother): https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=16050



Edited by Guldbamsen - September 22 2017 at 04:29

What??!?! That is cheating
No one ever tries on a pair of Hifimans before purchasing, that is unheard of! But yeah be sure to drop by and test out a couple of cans. I guarantee you will be able to hear a big difference between your old Sennheisers and a planar model.

I have heard about Magnepan speakers before, but I have honestly never made the connection. Thanks for connecting dots.

Seeing as you only got 2 headphones I think it'd be quite safe to maybe buy a pair of used Hifimans over whatever trustworthy media you've got in your neck of the woods I currently own the Denon AH-D600 (closed but with a HUGE sound that rivals openbacks. Listening to music through these is like an event), the Hifiman HE400 (like being there), the AKG K701 (icy clear elegance that goes oh so well with folk and RPI), the AKG Y50 (great sound on the go plus the fact they're yellow) plus two iems: one for sports and one for everyday use.
Yes I have a problem
Nahh I just like to have the ability to change my listening experience according to my mood and some cans really do sound better for certain genres of music.
I do plan on selling my Y50s though as I don't fancy the on-ear approach. Too clampy and too little noisecancelling for outdoors usage, which is where they belong imo. Listening to music at home should preferably be with a nice comfortable set of over ears (fully engulfed thank you!) or by way of speakers. I don't get on-ears for that purpose which also is why I don't get a brand like Grado. Huge WW2 like design and nondetachable wire - meaning stay home baby - and then they give you on-ears?
Sorta like attending a great restaurant but you have to sit on lego.