Sony MDR-71 in ear or Sennheisser HD497?

[jealousy never dies 0]

Where can I get the Senn HD497 phones? It's not in the "Headphone Prices locally " thread. Could someone add it in?

 

Btw, issit portable?

Edited July 26, 2003 by jealousy never dies

[Mackie 0]

if both were of the same price at $100, the MDR 71 will not be worth it. I have MDR 70 and had to mod it to make it sound decent. But still, not worth $100 but maybe half the price.

What mods did U undertake on the EX70/71, evil-zen?

[Blues 0]

senn hd497 from hungbros. If I still remember correctly, around 100 dollars.

[adhoc 0]

you see, IMO the hd497 is not really what i would call portable- it doesnt fold. and to me it's stiff plastic headband is not tough enough for me to throw it into my bag and not worry about breakage. yes, the sound is good, but portability suffers seriously. secondly, they include a 3(!)m long cable. what the heck are you going to do with a 3m long cable while using a portable?!

 

the mdr-ex71 is what i would call portable, but the (IMO) awful sound (bloated cass, recessed mids and screechy highs) will make your preferred (vocal heavy) music sound terrible and the lack of a suitable (hard) carrying case provided (it's rather fragile and that small tiny 'case' that can only accomodate buds and felt bag doesnt count IMO) also limits it's suitability for you. it's expensive for the sound quality.

 

the px100 (or 200) come wih a HARD carrying case that is approx. (LxBxH) 12cmx5cmx4cm that is tough, so i dont need to worry about throwing it anywhere. add this to the fact that the sound is better than the mx71 (IMO) and cheaper than the hd497 by ~$30 (while it's sound quality aproaches it) makes it (IMO again ) the best solution for you. it looks cool too.

 

alternatively you can (and should) consider the koss lineup.

Edited July 26, 2003 by adhoc

[Blues 0]

if you want to get px100 can also consider px200, which is closed. Though I don't think it will block that much noise also due to its supra aural shape.But surely it will serve better than its open backed brother.

I heard the px200... not bad for the price though I still prefer my koss ksc-35 over anything in <100 range

[adhoc 0]

px100 - lighter air-ier and more detailed sound. well balanced. clear and deep bass. excellent mid-highs. slightly better soundstaging than px200.

 

px200 - much darker, slightly muddier sound than px100. deeps and powerful (note not clear) basss- tons of impact (for their size). very very slightly recessed mids (due to increased bass IMO). clear highs (note NOT mid-highs). a typical closed phone IMO.

 

both suit different genres of music well.

 

px100 - vocal-based music (eg jazz), classical, vocal rock.

 

pc200 - dark trance, pop, heavy metal/industrial, anything beat heavy.

 

for a supraaural phone, the px200s isolate reasonably well. well enough that, say conversation, becomes unintelligable. probably due to the snug fit and plastic leather construction.

 

the px100 doesnt isolate as well. in addition, anyone sitting next to you can hear your music on the px100. guess it's a tradeoff for the slightly more comfortable sound. both come with a 2 year warranty.

Edited July 26, 2003 by adhoc

[Blues 0]

hm I would've guessed so. Anything open will usually sound better than closed because it has greater and more airy sound. but the good thing abt closed is that it has more bass.

But for portable, I don't think you would want to hear the noises on bus or mrt, thus closed headphone is more advisable

[har28 0]

I just purchased the EX71 for $65 at SLS

I would say it has decent sound and best of all I love the size

I've had a hd497 and hd495 before... even though they may sound better

indoors, but when u use it ourdoors especially inside a bus, the detailed

sound would not be tat obvious. Moreover it leaks sound, disturbing people

I've auditioned the ER-4 and ER-6 at Hung Bros.

and even though they provide better sound than the ex71, I believe the $200++

price difference is not worth it

the ER4 is not comfortable

[Blues 0]

OT a little, har28, the er-4 has to be seasoned in order to fit comfortably. When I had the ety er4p it wasn't comfortable but the evil-zen's 4s with me right now is very very comfortable.

[adhoc 0]

har28, break in the ex71 by playing vocal and bass heavy music for a day nonstop.

 

i found that that toned down somewhat the flabby bass and hence opened up the upper mids somewhat.

[evil-zen 0]

if both were of the same price at $100, the MDR 71 will not be worth it. I have MDR 70 and had to mod it to make it sound decent. But still, not worth $100 but maybe half the price.

What mods did U undertake on the EX70/71, evil-zen?

Mackie, these mods were taken from headfi/headwize forums.

 

there are 3 holes on the silver back. It is recommended that the holes behind is sealed up to reduce the bass somewhat. I tried black tape but they kept falling off so in the end i resorted using UHU glue to seal it permanently. it is transparent and looks nicer from far.

 

EX 70 also suffers from excessive treble. Remove the black tips, remove the white piece of paper (with a hole in the middle). Insert foam into the enlarged hole until treble levels are reduced to your liking.

 

Therefore, these mods reduced the treble and bass, bringing out the midrange. Original EX70 without mods sound absolutely horrible.

[wilbee 0]

Yeah, checked the px100, 200 and 250.

 

Would consider them over the hd497.

 

Heard the 497 (borrowed) for 2 hrs and heck, its really really pretty good for $109 i think.

 

 

[Mackie 0]

Mackie, these mods were taken from headfi/headwize forums.

 

there are 3 holes on the silver back. It is recommended that the holes behind is sealed up to reduce the bass somewhat. I tried black tape but they kept falling off so in the end i resorted using UHU glue to seal it permanently. it is transparent and looks nicer from far.

 

EX 70 also suffers from excessive treble. Remove the black tips, remove the white piece of paper (with a hole in the middle). Insert foam into the enlarged hole until treble levels are reduced to your liking.

 

Therefore, these mods reduced the treble and bass, bringing out the midrange. Original EX70 without mods sound absolutely horrible.

Thanks dude! I will try these mods. As for the foam in question, do U mean the sponge material similar to those slip-on for ear buds?

 

Despite the general consensus, I don't find the stock EX70 that horrible with my Panasonic SL-CT790 pcdp but absolutely so with JazPiper MP3 player. Maybe my ears are numb when commuting on the train?!

[evil-zen 0]

hmmm i'm not sure what kind of foam either. i used cushioning foam that I found at home, sponge material should work as well too. Well since you are the tweaker around here, you might want to try both and see which is the best.

 

Well, few years back when I compared unmodded EX70 to sony 888, i found that it has way bloated bass. Ya and I am quite sensitive to the kind of bass I like. The EX70 is now my portable earphone for transport since it offers a little isolation. You might want to search around headfi for more details as i'm not exactly sure if there are any improvements to this mod.

[mychew 0]

would prefer closed type to open type cans...i need isolation from noise...i normally won't use it for portable...hm...my HD 202, for portable, it's still not a good choice...maybe for it price it's considered an entry level cans...but for me, although cheap but can't just use it for portable mainly of that reason. i would suggest to use hd 202 at home..i like to have it on while my roommate is not in and listen to music i like while lying on my bed and sleep in the world of music