What Headphones are you folks using?

I had Sennheiser HD700.... for 1 day. Now HD 650. Pretty happy.

 

I like the Grado RSi for most of my music. They are warm and personal, and works fine with both head-amp tubes and SS amp. They are not as analytical as HD800 or GS10000, both which I considered - but they are the best for my taste.

If you want the best analytical and refined sound - I probably would have gone for the HD800, but I don't like to listen to music on these phones ( probably much better for music production)

 

Shure 210 IEMs, Sony MDR EX 500 IEMs, AT M-30s and Monoprice DJ headphones which I use more than all the others combined. I have a pair of AT M50s I never use.

 

Oppo PM-1 planar magnetic.
When I first switched from my Sennheiser HD 650's to the PM-1 I was a bit under whelmed, expecting more for the money, but once they'd had the recommended 100hrs or so burn in period I now think that they sound superb. Excellent build quality too.

 

Using Stax Lambda pro w/ SRM-1 MkII amp. Great stuff!

 

IEM's: Shure SE215, SE535LTD, SE846, Etymotic er4s, er4p
portable: Sennheiser PX200II
home: Grado SR225i, Sennheiser 650, Audeze LDC-X

 

Same. It's a faithful, long term relationship.

 

Had a pair of the Omega II mk 1 and sold them in favour of keeping the Stax Sigma/404. The latter sounded more - how can I put it - involving, and the midrange was absolutely right That Blue Hawaii Special Edition is an object of lust, however. Or the Kevin Gilmore Stax SRM-T2 revamp.

 

IMHO, Sennheiser are very detailed and refined head phones. Just like Hegel and other quality brands with high build and sound quality, there is really nothing to point out. Still, they just don't sound as good as Grado. Just like Hegel amps, they are very analytical - but not very musical (IMHO). I would have recommended Sennheiser to a music producer that needs the most neutral sound for a record (they ones I know already own Sennheiser for this purpose), but here is no way that I would have listening to these phones for a long time, enjoying my music collection.

I would recommend anyone to benchmark Grado and Sennheiser for one hour or two if possible, and you may understand my point of view. That said, Sennheiser is probably the cheapest way to grip and understand how a high end stereo would/should sound like if they are matched with a proper amplifier.

 

I have a pair of HD600s for home use, and HD25s for the harsher outside world.
The former are much nicer, of course, but I don't take them out.

 

Grado

 

I agree with this for many phones. I own AKG k340s and even if I thought they sounded the best, I would not recommend them; they are simply too heavy. My AKG k501 phones are extremely comfortable. They are light and fit nicely over the ears. I can wear them for most than an hour comfortably.

 

LCD3 mostly with a Woo 22 amp. Beyer T1 when I want a change of pace (or watch a movie or something on my laptop).

 

Primarily Grado SR-325i

 

I have HD 800,650 and 600.
The 800s are most analytical
All are very comfortable
I also have HD25II they are brilliant for isolation
All Senny cans have spare parts available and are well made
My choices are 800 and 650,the latter more out of head and warmer.
The former is the best.

 

WW. I could not agree more with you about the HD-800 and the K 702. I have the HD-800 and the K 701 which have been modified by ALO Audio using a Jena Labs hand made cable. If someone asked me to compare my HD-800's to my K 701's before they were modified I would use your exact words.

I do, however, have the exact opposite opinion to you when it comes to cable upgrades for headphones. The K 701's do not have a removable cable so when ALPO offered a cable up grade it was really more of a modification because I had to send the headphone to them and they added the handmade a Jena Labs for my 701's. The modification took most of the rough edges out of the 701's and opened up the dynamics. I still think of them as my "rock 'n roll" headphones, but they are so much improved over the stock headphone.

When it comes to the HD-800 we are dealing with what I consider a true reference transducer. In my setup I need a 20 foot cable on my headphones so I had a comfort factor that drove me to change the stock cable. I started with the basic Cardas headphone cable for the HD-800 because it is what I use on my now twelve year old HD-600's. This cable made a noticeable improvement in the sound stage and the neutrality of the sound, but it was not an "Oh Wow!" improvement. Then about a year ago (IIRC) Cardas introduced a new headphone cable call Clear which is based on their top-of-the-line speaker cable.

http://www.cardas.com/clear_headphone_cable.php

It is not cheap (especially for 20 feet ), but since I was already using a Woo Audio WA5 LE with full upgrades I took the plunge for the Clear cable. It is a true "Oh Wow" upgrade. As much as I thought the HD-800 was a great reference headphone without the Clear cable, the Clear cable made me realize how much I had been missing in detail, dynamics and bass authority.

FWIW to anyone on this thread, I will probably offer the basic 20 foot Cardas cable for the HD-800 that I have in the classifieds for half of what it cost me. As I said above it is a very good cable and an improvement over the stock cable.

 

I need a new pair for "out there" myself!

 

AKG K240 (Sextette)

 

Audeze LDC-X, is like night and day from the Sennheiser HD 650's that I had before.

 

Quite a big fan of the HD650 Sesnns myself. It's just an easy listen and not bad to drive from any source. Not as technical as a HD800. Just nice.

 

Oppo just started taking orders for the the PM-2 today. My order is in and I should receive it in about 10-14 days.

 

Post again once they've arrived and you've had a good listen to them and let us know what you think.
I'll be interested in hearing the new PM-2 pads with my PM-1's to hear what difference they make to the sound signature. Currently prefer the velour pads over the leather ones.

 

Do you mean Audeze THAT bad ?

 

Those planars are heavy though.
The Sennys aren't

 

My Yamaha HP-1 Orthodynamic phones sound fine but are too heavy.