dalethorn

I'd recommend a DT48A with E version ear pads over even the Grado RS1, more detailed and no distortion. doesn't sound closed in even though its a closed can due to it's transparency. Headstage is true as in the recording, no gimmicks, just accurate.

This makes sense, because the DT-48A has a nearly ideal signature from the mids on up - not distant like most of the better Sennheisers, not forward like the Grados, not bright like Senns or Grados, and not dark either. Just a lean, clean, perfect pitch on music. Quite a bargain for the price too.

I was describing to someone a little while ago, the sound of a Skullcandy headphone I heard last week. I have a jazz track with mass crescendos of horns in several places, which the DT-48A reproduces so cleanly you can practically hear the sparkles of light reflecting off of the horns. With the Skullcandy, the horns sounded like someone crashing into a bunch of garbage cans in an alley, all covered by a big heavy blanket. Hard to believe, unless you hear it yourself.

Dalethorn, are you comparing both running from the same rig? I've only heard Grados from the Prestige line but they have a very small soundstage, and are not very revealing.

The Senn 800 and Grado PS-500 are very different, and running from the same amps the 800 is the winner in soundstage, but no hugely - the PS-500 is good for a small headphone, although it's pricey. It's the overall clarity and smoothness of the 500 that impresses after a lot of listening. I don't have the lower Grados to compare with, but I do have some other detailed and revealing headphones - the Shure 940 and Beyer DT-48A, and the PS-500 compares favorably to those, but again, I do believe it costs more to get comparable performance.

hi there, i am new to this any advise on which to get first? like entry level turn tables, where to get them? which amps to use? basically i just wanted to know what i need to listen to LP's? sorry really noob but after reading this forum i got hooked.. oh and i listen with my headphones. thanks

I would recommend joining Facebook and connecting to Todd the Vinyl Junkie, and Jerry Raskin's Needle Doctor, and maybe asking a few questions and reading. Also two great sources for analog and vinyl are Stereophile and The Absolute Sound, which you can subscribe to electronic editions.

most definitely. but grados do very well on mids and highs

If you take the PS-500 and reduce the small bass hump around 100 hz a little, the bass sounds very much like the Senn HD-800. I have not heard the other Grados.

This is very correct with really good equipment and even with equipment that does not quite approach high end. I think the human is the biggest variable.....it is with me depending on how I feel I hear things differently at times and it makes it hard to know whether one is better than another. Bottom line find something you enjoy and live with it...until you find something else later that you enjoy better while it may not be better you may have changed over a period of time to enjoy something else. New is not always better but the newness may present itself as better after living with one type of sound for a while.

Very true, this. I'd like to add one tip, something I kind of discovered just recently. If you're able to listen really late at night, like 2 or 3 in the morning, sometimes that can be the quietest time of the 24-hour day, and also might be when you are most relaxed and able to tune in on detail in the music. And I'm finding I really enjoy that time a lot, when I can do it (work does not usually permit).

I have heard that the Stax SR-009 has gone through some minor revisions already, which might make existing owners who paid big $$$ for them a little bit nervous. So if Edifier can stabilize production and assure buyers that they are getting a stable product, that would help the Stax brand.

listened to the Harbeth at the recent ISSE, well they were the best sounding at the show imho.

Listen more, I'm not even letting one day pass by without music, be it through my 9x2 full range drivers with incorporated subs for precision sub bass or from my headphone collection.

If there were one loudspeaker I could listen to today it would be the Audience 2+2 that has no crossovers.

The page is dated 2009. The items on the page are also out of date. I went to the English page and there is nothing - no press release, no news, no nothing.

hi, May I ask how does Shure940 compares with Sennheisier HD 25-1-II

Jeff

The HD-25-1-II falls off in the bass, based on the large Measurements PDF at Innerfidelity dot com. Check the December Update posting. The HD-25-1-II is not a completely neutral headphone like the Shure 940, and it is an earpad headphone which will not have the comfort of the 940. But the HD-25 is made for DJ's I think (not sure), which the Shure is not.

Much actually depends on the listeners' personal tastes.

The funny thing about personal taste is, as soon as I decide that the colorations in headphone A sound best with certain music tracks, then I switch to other music tracks and headphone B sounds better with those tracks.

Update to DT-48A review: The initial description I made of the bass response was similar to the DT-48E's bass, which by all rights should be identical. But when running from iPod Touch or iPod Touch connected to amp, the DT-48A has significantly better bass, which I assume is due to the low 5 ohm impedance, since I don't see any other factors. They both use identical oval earpads of 2011 vintage.

All of the modern(!) DT-48 series are contenders for best, if they are equipped and driven identically. For example, there are postings still being made about DT-48's of ancient vintage that are no longer available, and some postings fail to specify the earpads used, which make a huge difference in the sound.

My current DT-48A 2011 edition has much better bass than my 2011 edition DT-48E, and there's only one reasonable explanation since I don't think Beyer maintains two production lines for a headphone that sells 10 units per year. The impedances are 5 and 25 ohms, and when driven from amps that are very sensitive to that difference, the result is a difference in bass response (using identical earpads).

I know what you mean.

I listen mainly to acoustic jazz, chamber and vocals, so reproducing the mid range realistically is most important for me; hence my choice of Harbeth speakers. Anyway, as you pointed out, the cost of reproducing full range accurately will be insane for most.

Harbeth are really, really good.

I'm actually referring more to a preference for speaker over headphone system.

Beyond personal preference, sometimes good phones or speakers can sound mediocre due to system mismatch.

I always preferred speakers over headphones, until I found out what really deep bass sounds like. Lots of people have misperceptions about deep bass. If you've ever been in one of those large churches like Riverside in New York etc., and the organist plays a 20 hz tone with the 32 ft. pipe, that's deep bass, and it feels like the Earth is moving. You can't get that in the house unless you have speakers that can reproduce that tone with sufficient power (very few can), but most important, if you don't have at least a 25 foot dimension in the room and no large open doors or windows, plus very rigid walls, you won't get it anyway.

So when I found out how much that was going to cost me (about $100,000 USD), I gave up and got headphones that could reproduce that tone, for less than 1/100 the money.

That's a very good observation too, about system mismatches.

I would expect the treble rolloff to be very fatiguing. I can live with slightly less bass if I have to, but a dull high end is headache-inducing, straining to hear details that aren't coming through.

I waited for the HD800, thinking the very open soundstage with the warmth of a decent tube amp will get me nearer to my Harbeth...good as it is, I still prefer to listen to my speaker system.

The interesting thing about the HD-800 is that several people I know who own it don't use it much (including me), and nobody seems to know why. It sounds great and has a very good test record, but after using it awhile I gravitate toward other headphones. Currently I have the Shure 940, which sounds like the HD-800, and I don't use the Shure 940 much either. I also have the Beyer DT-48A and Grado PS-500, both very excellent headphones, and I use those a lot.

where got time

Before I got the new DT-48A, I did feel like I had a good amount of time to listen, but now I feel like I'm very short on time, because I'm staying up until 4 am every day listening to this fabulous headphone and don't want to go to bed.

anyone seen the house of marley headphones????

Not in person, but Innerfidelity has a detailed review.

http://dalethorn.com/Photos/Leica_X1/Headp...t48_Collage.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X49t8jMfufQ&feature=feedu

The first URL is to my updated photo collage of the DT-48 series. Most of those headphones are not mine.

The second URL is to an informal video I did of the new DT-48A.

Wow - it changed just that quick.

Which part by Marcus? I remembered that its wholly yours.

Unless it just changed now, it says Marcus under the headline, and "about Marcus" at the end. The other reviews say Dale and about Dale.

Dale, the review is up !!

DT48A Review by Dale Thorn

It's the first one of my reviews that's by Marcus, top and bottom. I also added a comment about the latest tests.

I don't see it yet on Headfonics.

It's been 2 days, so one or 2 more days should do.

I've asked Beyerdynamic Singapore about the DT48 and they said they don't carry them, lol. Not for consumers, so what are we Dale? The DT48 is better than their T1, rofl.

Well, when the picture review is finally up at Headfonics, we need to get them the link so they can link their page to it and start taking orders. The modding opportunities alone could be a goldmine for someone.

Hi All-

I just read the review for the beyerdynamic DT 48's and I was pleaseantly surprised. I have just started working with the company( today is my 10th day here ) and I have to say it is becoming apparent that we have some real great product here! Coming to work is a positive experience when I see posts like this and it makes my job all the more worthwhile. I knew I lucked out when I got offered the opportunity to work here and knowing that our products are so well regarded in the industry makes it all the better. Thanks to Dale for your positive review and interest in our products!

PS- I love the song list in your review, I'm gonna have to borrow it to add to my MP3 list!

Good thought - we tend to rave about the equipment here, but it's the music that counts the most.