Headphones

[71 dB]

I found a player for OSX with crossfeed: Vox

http://voxapp.didgeroo.com/

Seems to be a nice little player! There's three presets for crossfeed: Default, Chu Moy and Jan Meier.

[max]

From the pictures I've seen alone, you have a beautiful country there. Whereabout do you live?

The province with the most "Valhalla" scenery namely British Columbia on the Lower Mainland - Vancouver, Burnaby, etc. However, I can't say I like it anymore with the big city congestion, over population. When I came approximately 30 years ago it was a much smaller city with a big village kind of ambiance. Obviously that wasn't going to last! But no question! The majesty of the land in almost all directions is staggering and even now I'm not or ever will get completely used to it! When compared to music it would remind me of Wagner's Ring.

Scarpia ~

I'm considering these as a possible "final" upgrade to whatever I get now. Compared to what I currently have the Samson is my first choice but definitely contemplating another purchase within a year. I have to upgrade my amp as well so that too will add to expenditures. It's one step at a time for now.

I realize the K/Q 701 are a different animal both in power requirements and sound. My ears are past their prime so what I like about the AKG's is that they boast an extremely clear sound, one without padding so to speak. I think as one's ears get more muffled a straight edge delineated sound is preferable to the sensual warm kind seemingly inherent in the Senns.

I can't do it with the Samson and for the price it wouldn't be critical but if I'm going to spend $250 to $400, I'll want to try them out first regardless of all the accolades. The one thing I'm not fond of regarding the AKG's is the exceptionally long preconditioning time they "supposedly" require. 300 to 1000 hours to really make them sing? Well if anywhere near as good as reported, I can live with it! But still it seems weird. The Senns don't require anywhere near that long! I've heard it said that play-in time is bunk. What you're really doing is preconditioning your ears. I thing it's 50% of both.

Thanks for the link!

[Mirror Image]

The province with the most "Valhalla" scenery namely British Columbia on the Lower Mainland - Vancouver, Burnaby, etc. However, I can't say I like it anymore with the big city congestion, over population. When I came approximately 30 years ago it was a much smaller city with a big village kind of ambiance. Obviously that wasn't going to last! But no question! The majesty of the land in almost all directions is staggering and even now I'm not or ever will get completely used to it! When compared to music it would remind me of Wagner's Ring.

Ah, yes, British Columbia. I long to visit there some day. In fact, BC would be one of the places I would love to live in if I were to move to Canada, which may very well happen one day, but there's something that attracts me to Ontario and Quebec. Obviously, I would have to learn to speak good French to live anywhere in Quebec, so this thought is kind of daunting to me, whereas Ontario I don't have to learn another language.

[Brian]

Ah, yes, British Columbia. I long to visit there some day. In fact, BC would be one of the places I would love to live in if I were to move to Canada, which may very well happen one day, but there's something that attracts me to Ontario and Quebec. Obviously, I would have to learn to speak good French to live anywhere in Quebec, so this thought is kind of daunting to me, whereas Ontario I don't have to learn another language.

Vancouver left an indelible impression on me. I've been a lot of places in the decade since, but it may still be one of my five favorite cities in the world. London (#1; others unranked), Antwerp, Istanbul, Sydney, Vancouver. Yep.

[xochitl]

is BC much different from western Washington state?

i live in eastern WA and whenever we cross the Cascades it's awesome after awesome sight

[KeithW]

Ah, yes, British Columbia. I long to visit there some day. In fact, BC would be one of the places I would love to live in if I were to move to Canada, which may very well happen one day, but there's something that attracts me to Ontario and Quebec. Obviously, I would have to learn to speak good French to live anywhere in Quebec, so this thought is kind of daunting to me, whereas Ontario I don't have to learn another language.

Interesting, and off-thread. I'm a Brit with passable French. I visited Quebec City - loved it - truly.  But my French was useless. They speak with a distinctive accent. Not a problem, John, but pick your lessons carefully

My other Canadian trip was to Ontario. My French didn't factor!

[DavidW]

I think you'll be hard pressed to find a better headphone for the price range. In fact, I would wager that these sound just as good, if not better, than many of the $1,000 headphones that seem to clutter the market.

This is exactly why I de-rec'd head-fi was for posts like this.  You've heard almost no headphones and yet feel qualified to make this kind of broad, sweeping assertion.  I've probably listened to ten times the number of headphones that you have, and I wouldn't feel qualified to make a broad, sweeping assertion like that!  I find it unlikely that those headphones are even the best in their price range let alone the best sub-$1k cans.

The semi-open design in the Samson's automatically don't allow it to have a soundstage as open as other headphones.  They also allow for the possibility of more resonances which color the sound.  It also means that they won't isolate as well as closed headphones.  Meaning that they are neither as good as open headphones, nor as good as closed headphones.  I've never heard semi-open headphones that sounded great, I doubt this will be the exception.

Those earmuffs look like they'll get hot and sweaty in no time.  The cheap headband looks like it will be vice-like.  I've seen better designs.  Also the over the ears approach to the headphones make it not the best choice for those looking for portable options.  That automatically means that headphone can't be the default best choice for all people.

No offense, I just need to stamp out this kind of ignorant fan boy nonsense when I see it.

Anyway my point is that it's hard to find truly neutral headphones on a budget.  Either the bass will be too pronounced, the treble will or both or one or the other will be recessed.  The mids (most important for classical) are treated poorly on most sub-$100 headphones.  In general headphones are designed to sound pleasing and not accurate.  Even studio monitors are commonly overly bassy.  I doubt that you've found the perfect headphone, I have a feeling that if I put down money on those cans I will find that they sound colored, have poor bass reproduction or have recessed mids.

[DavidW]

I have been wondering that myth also but without hearing a modified 558 I can't debunk it.

I would be interested in seeing your take on it either way.  But I understand you not paying money just to take out the foam and compare the two.  I think that the magnetic coils are subtly different between the two headphones, which is not what common wisdom says.  It's a subtle difference but I think enough to make the 59x headphone sound just a bit more refined.

[Mirror Image]

This is exactly why I de-rec'd head-fi was for posts like this.  You've heard almost no headphones and yet feel qualified to make this kind of broad, sweeping assertion.  I've probably listened to ten times the number of headphones that you have, and I wouldn't feel qualified to make a broad, sweeping assertion like that!  I find it unlikely that those headphones are even the best in their price range let alone the best sub-$1k cans.

The semi-open design in the Samson's automatically don't allow it to have a soundstage as open as other headphones.  They also allow for the possibility of more resonances which color the sound.  It also means that they won't isolate as well as closed headphones.  Meaning that they are neither as good as open headphones, nor as good as closed headphones.  I've never heard semi-open headphones that sounded great, I doubt this will be the exception.

Those earmuffs look like they'll get hot and sweaty in no time.  The cheap headband looks like it will be vice-like.  I've seen better designs.  Also the over the ears approach to the headphones make it not the best choice for those looking for portable options.  That automatically means that headphone can't be the default best choice for all people.

No offense, I just need to stamp out this kind of ignorant fan boy nonsense when I see it.

Anyway my point is that it's hard to find truly neutral headphones on a budget.  Either the bass will be too pronounced, the treble will or both or one or the other will be recessed.  The mids (most important for classical) are treated poorly on most sub-$100 headphones.  In general headphones are designed to sound pleasing and not accurate.  Even studio monitors are commonly overly bassy.  I doubt that you've found the perfect headphone, I have a feeling that if I put down money on those cans I will find that they sound colored, have poor bass reproduction or have recessed mids.

David, how do you know what I've heard and what I haven't heard? Making this assumption alone cancels out the rest of your post IMHO. I really don't know what has gotten into you, but since you've moved to SC, you've been nothing but a jerk to me for no good reason.

[Brian]

Reading David's post, I knew it would offend you, but I thought it was totally fair. If you like your pair of headphones, they satisfy you, and you don't see a need to buy any others, that's one thing, but don't tell people it's the best headphone in the price range unless you know that.

I mean, there's no need for it. If people read your post and see you really like them, that's good enough, right? Why try comparing them to 30 kinds of headphones you haven't heard?

[Kontrapunctus]

For the last word in clarity, transient response, imaging, lack of coloration, and just uttter realism, Stax electrostatic 'phones are hard to beat--pricey, though! Here's a picture of mine:

[Mirror Image]

Reading David's post, I knew it would offend you, but I thought it was totally fair. If you like your pair of headphones, they satisfy you, and you don't see a need to buy any others, that's one thing, but don't tell people it's the best headphone in the price range unless you know that.

I mean, there's no need for it. If people read your post and see you really like them, that's good enough, right? Why try comparing them to 30 kinds of headphones you haven't heard?

But did you read mine, Brian?

Here's what I wrote:

This is certainly great to hear you've gone with the Samson SR850s. You can't beat these headphones. Believe it or not, I'm in the market for another pair of headphones too. AKG and Sennheiser are both headphones I've come to enjoy. For traveling, I still take my Sennheiser PX100s with me. They're not the best headphones in the world, but they do sound quite good and these things have taken quite a beating, especially in 2008 when I took a trip to New Orleans. Anyway, the Samsons sound great and they came highly recommended to my Dad who bought a pair for himself first and then a pair for me for my birthday (also received a fantastic headphone amplifier, an Audio-Technica AT-HA20, that day). I think you'll be hard pressed to find a better headphone for the price range. In fact, I would wager that these sound just as good, if not better, than many of the $1,000 headphones that seem to clutter the market. I could never justify paying this much money for a pair of headphones. Anyway, please report back to this thread once you have received these Samsons and listened to them.

Where in this paragraph did I write that the Samsons were "the best" in their price range? Do you know how much these headphones even cost, Brian? They're $60 headphones. There's absolutely NOTHING wrong with somebody praising something they're proud of and enjoy. The bottom line is simple: I didn't deserve that post from Dave. I've done nothing wrong here. Dave could have used a little more tact. I've been wrong a lot and I always apologize if I've been called out on it, but now that the shoe is on the other foot, I'm still the bad guy, so, inevitably, I can't win.

P.S. My Dad has quite a collection of headphones that he has acquired over the years (he was in the audio/video production business for 25 years). I have listened to a lot of headphones. Everything from Bose, Sennheiser, Sony, AKG, Beyerdynamic, among others, so I'm not some "ignorant fanboy."

[DavidW]

I apologize if you thought that I was describing you as an ignorant fanboy.  You misread my post, I described your post as ignorant fanboy nonsense.  I attacked the content of your post and not you as a person MI.  Please don't feel put upon.  I don't want people taking out their wallet based solely on your gushing review of your favorite headphones.  FYI briefly surveying headphones is not the same thing as owning and living with headphones.  It takes a while to really get to know the sound qualities of your gear.

[max]

This is to report on the Samson SR850 as promised. Not to make a long story just to say these headphones are excellent and for the price beyond expectation. I can't imagine even audiophile headphones much exceeding these in clarity. By report the Samson impressed a lot of people. One thing that was pointed out was that the treble sounded a little harsh not without justification. Playing them in more will likely mellow those upper registers a bit but if you apply a cheap headphone amp like the fiio E6 the treble becomes noticeably smoother and overall amazingly full. Strange to say with a $60.00 headphone and a $20.00 amp I feel I already have one foot in audiophile land. If these ever broke, regardless of what else I have, I'd get them instantly replaced.

Another thing these headphones make clear at least for me, is the steep incline in the cost of diminishing returns for any additional improvement which isn't to say that such cost can't be justified. Certain types of music just sound better on one than the other regardless of how good either is.

I never heard of Samson headphones before MI mentioned it. I'm happy he did and thank him for pointing them out!

[Mirror Image]

This is to report on the Samson SR850 as promised. Not to make a long story just to say these headphones are excellent and for the price beyond expectation. I can't imagine even audiophile headphones much exceeding these in clarity. By report the Samson impressed a lot of people. One thing that was pointed out was that the treble sounded a little harsh not without justification. Playing them in more will likely mellow those upper registers a bit but if you apply a cheap headphone amp like the fiio E6 the treble becomes noticeably smoother and overall amazingly full. Strange to say with a $60.00 headphone and a $20.00 amp I feel I already have one foot in audiophile land. If these ever broke, regardless of what else I have, I'd get them instantly replaced.

Another thing these headphones make clear at least for me, is the steep incline in the cost of diminishing returns for any additional improvement which isn't to say that such cost can't be justified. Certain types of music just sound better on one than the other regardless of how good either is.

I never heard of Samson headphones before MI mentioned it. I'm happy he did and thank him for pointing them out!

This is excellent news! I'm really glad you're enjoying them. Trust me when I say they sound even better after burn-in. My praise for these headphones wasn't "fanboy gushing," it was pure, honest feedback and enthusiasm for the product. Like you, I use a headphone amplifier. I own a Audio-Technica HA20 which sounds fantastic, especially with these Samsons. Anyway, I'm happy to hear you have been enjoying them.

[Coopmv]

I only use earphones when I'm the go, and headphones when I'm in the office (speakers at home).  I don't like having earphones crammed into my ears for long amounts of time.

btw I ultimately enjoy the Grado's more than those Senn's but sometimes those Grado's are insanely bright, and the Senn's are too gassy.  The true great sound lies at a higher price point but more than I should spend to just listen with my iphone.

All I can say is people who habitually cram earphones into their ears will make those makers of hearing aids real happy ...

[Mirror Image]

Max, wherever you may be, I hope you're still enjoying those Samson headphones.

[DavidRoss]

All I can say is people who habitually cram earphones into their ears will make those makers of hearing aids real happy ...

Is there a factual basis for claiming that earbuds damage hearing more than alternatives?

[ElliotViola]

Sennheiser CX-300 II. Great bass response, really nice rounded sound. Not too expensive as well, got them on sale from HMV (R.I.P) for about £15 reduced from £39.99..

[mahler10th]

Sennheiser CX-300 II. Great bass response, really nice rounded sound. Not too expensive as well, got them on sale from HMV (R.I.P) for about £15 reduced from £39.99..

SHIT!  I'm off to HMV tomorrow to scour the shelves for this.  Only 15 quid?

***STAMPEDES OUT OF THE ROOM***