Headphone journey.

Ricku

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I thought it would be useful for other people to hear my impressions and read my recent journey of headphones.

A few years back I started this with a pair of Shure e4c. These were great, they broke and I got a replacement SE310 through Shure.

From there I bought myself (roughly 2008) some Sennheiser HD650 and a Graham Slee Amp. I continued to upgrade by getting the PSU-1 power supply for the amp. I also introduced a Cambridge Audio DacMagic.

I also around this time purchased my Astro Mixamp and Audio Technica ATH-AD700 for gaming which I absolutely love and still put many hours in to.

For a while I was pretty happy. Something started to bother me and it turns out it was the HD650 'veil'. I purchased (2010 ish?) some Beyerdynamic DT990 and AKG K702 for comparison purposes. One had a flat response, the other more of a v 'fun' sound signature.

To my tastes, the DT990 was a bit harsh in the treble and they had to be sold. I actually preferred the AKG K702 to the HD650. So the HD650 was sold. And I was left with a 'cold' headphone running through a solid state amp.

It was around this time I bought some Sennheiser IE8 and ACS Custom Tips, which I still have and enjoy to this day.

In 2011 I purchased my home cinema setup which is detailed here.

Basically I decided that a subwoofer was more important than my headphone amp and dac. I decided to sell my Graham Slee Solo and DacMagic to help fun my BK Monolith. I am still happy with this decision and wouldn't change it.

For quite a while I was running my K702 straight out of my laptop or my new receiver (Marantz SR7005).

In September 2013 I landed my first proper job and had to move down to London. As I was going to be in an office environment I had to use a closed headphone. I didn't have the funds available to keep my AKGs and also have a pair of quality closed back cans, so my AKGs were sold.

After doing a lot of reading I purchased some V-Moda M100s as I thought I would go down a different route to the AKG and get a really fun sounding headphone. I did really enjoy them, but my biggest issue is that they weren't comfortable enough. The earpads were far too small. These had to be returned.

I did some more research and came across the Denon D2000, but these were discontinued and were replaced by the AH-D600. I decided to purchase these as they were reduced to £200 and I actually loved them. They were a fun sounding headphone that was extremely comfortable. I was sold.

Fast forward to today and I'm once again unsettled. I did some more reading in to headphones and decided to demo the NAD HP50. These were fantastic but they were a little small and uncomfortable.

So I went on a bit of a spree auditioning headphones (contains very succinct summaries) :

Sennheiser Momentum Over Ear (sounded great, too small for my ears)
Ultrasone Pro (a variety of models) (sounded quite dark to my ears, just wasn't to my preference)
PSB M4U2 (very similar to the NAD HP50) (sounded very good, not quite as good as the NAD)
NAD HP50 (sounded fantastic, small ear cups, uncomfortable headband)
B&W P7 (powerful bass, recessed mids, sparkling highs. - didn't sound refined enough)
Audio Technica ath-m50 (just generally wasn't overly impressed with these)
B&O H6 (generally not impressed)
AKG K550 (excellent, reminds me of my K702, just bass light)
AKG K545 (I thought this might have been the winner, it's basically a K550 + Bass. But it just seemed a bit thin and uninvolving)
AKG K845BT (identical to the K545 just has bluetooth which was nice)
Sony MDR-1 (enjoyable, forward mids but ultimately I found my Denon AH-D600 more engaging)
KEF M500 (These were on ear, I want over ear)

I've managed to get a pair of V-Moda M100 with the XL pads for about £130 inc shipping from the states, so I'll give them another demo.

I have also got a pair of Shure SRH1540 headphones arriving tomorrow on a 2 week demo from Richer Sounds.

From what I'm aware, there's not an awful lot more available to listen to. I would love to listen:

Mr Speakers Alpha Dogs
Audeze lcd-xc (although these are astronomically out of my price range.)
Fostex TH-600 / TH-900 (These are basically the new range that the Denons should have been)

Apart from that I'm not really sure what else is available to me. The headphones have to be sealed due to an office environment.

I guess I'll listen to the Shures for a couple of weeks and reassess.
 
If you ever journey to Surrey then Custom-Cables stock entire Audeze range - and if i happen to be free I can bring my TH900 along as they do not sell Fostex. I am local to that area.

With that said TH900 do not clamp and you will get background noise. Depends how much isolation you need. Not sure about leakage as I listen in bedroom away from others so maybe Google that
 
That's a very kind offer Steven. I'm busy for the next few weekends but I'll try and get down there when I can. I'm really interested to hear the Fostex too.

So I've had the Shure SRH-1540 since Friday. I've put about 20 hours of burn in through them as well as listening hours. I haven't managed to do much critical listening yet as I've been busy, although I've put quite a few hours on them in the office since Monday.

In a nutshell, they're much better than my Denon AH-D600. They're far more balanced / neutral although they have a slightly emphasised bass and treble, but just enough to give them more enjoyment. They're more detailed than the Denons and have a tighter and more controller bass. Just a general pleasure to listen to. The Denons have a large soundstage, but I think the Shures beat it in that department too.
They're ludicrously comfortable, even for my massive head.

I've got a few more headphones that I will be listening to over the next few weeks and I'll continue to post my impressions as it might be helpful for someone.
 

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