Headphone testing

[julian2002]

Hi i'm after a new set of decent headphones for use at work. they have to be closed back or i'll be bludgeoned to death by my colleagues.

i have a shortlist which currently consists of..

Ultrasone proline 750

dennon dh2000

and not much else.

i like the looks and ethos behind the ultrasones but they definitely seem to be a love 'em or loath 'em product.

so the questions...

anyone know of anywhere i can get to hear a pair of either of these headphones within 30 odd miles of milton keynes. don;t really want to go much further but could do i suppose.

also any other suggestions to go on the shortlist... no open or semi-open designs - under £200 quid, comfy to wear for hours on end and good for mainly fast electronica and a bit of industrial / rock. angry music makes me work faster.

ta muchly.

 

[SergeAuckland]

julian2002 wrote:

Hi i'm after a new set of decent headphones for use at work. they have to be closed back or i'll be bludgeoned to death by my colleagues.i have a shortlist which currently consists of..

Ultrasone proline 750

dennon dh2000

and not much else.

i like the looks and ethos behind the ultrasones but they definitely seem to be a love 'em or loath 'em product.

so the questions...

anyone know of anywhere i can get to hear a pair of either of these headphones within 30 odd miles of milton keynes. don;t really want to go much further but could do i suppose.

also any other suggestions to go on the shortlist... no open or semi-open designs - under £200 quid, comfy to wear for hours on end and good for mainly fast electronica and a bit of industrial / rock. angry music makes me work faster.

ta muchly.

I have a pair of AKG K270 (now seemingly replaced by the K272HD) Very happy with them, comfortable for long periods (10 hour flights are no problem) and provide decent sound reduction both in and out.

S.

 

[mubeen1983]

You should try AKG 271S? Satisfies all your criteria. I own one and its cracking value for money. Sounds superb, detailed and crisp clear. It appears to be bass shy at first but its because bass is not boomy and is very well defined. Its very comfortable and light too!

And its probably one of the VERY FEW closed back headphones which dont have any coloration in midrange due to resonance. It sounds like an open back headphone.

 

[Mart]

Check out this review thread by Geordie.

Our resident headphone guy

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/view_topic.php?id=156&forum_id=7

 

[adamus]

are you amplifying? if not the denons will be the way forward.

 

[Geordie]

I didnt like the K271S.

I also didnt like the Proline 2500 (open version of the 750) - it had an artificial sound and muffled mids IMO.

Personally I would try and audition the Beyerdynamic DT150s as they are very underrated headphones, if you can live with the looks. I believe Sid & Coke has a pair (if he is on this forum not sure). Maybe ask him about them.

Also worth a try are the Beyerdynamic DT250 (get the 250 ohm version) or the Beyerdynamic DT770 (get the 80 ohm version). The latter have very big bass.

Personally I think Beyerdynamic make by far and away the best closed headphones for the money and you'll have quite a bit of change for coke and hookers.

 

[adamus]

dt770's have great bass..... if amplified.

if not they have loose bass.

 

[Geordie]

Thats why I suggest the 80 ohm version as its easier to drive, and also reportedly sounds more balanced anyway than the 250 ohm version.

 

[julian2002]

well i've tried a bunch of senheisers (px100, some mid range ones i can;t remember the names of and the 650's - although they were open back but i thought i'd give em a go anyway) and they all seem to have the same big bloaty bass. so theyare out.

i now need to find somewhere that doesn't just lob senn's at you when you ask for headphones.

don;t really want to buy blind and sell if i don;t like em but this does seem to be the way i'll have to do it.

is there a good headphone shop in the smoke somewhere or perhaps brum? where i can try some before i buy?

 

[julian2002]

well i did my usual thing and brainsnapped and bought something without listening to it first - mainly cos it seemed impossible to get a listen without buying.

my new headphones are therefore....

ultrasone pro 750

much to the probable disgust of the geordie

so far they've lived up to my expectations - they sound very different to the sennheisers and akg's i've tried. very fast, punchy, deep and controlled bass, and good separation. the top end is a little tizzy but nowhere near as bad as internet hyperbole would have you believe and i understand this eases with run in. it's also not quite as expansive as i was thinking but again this could be down to run in. i was expecting to hear very recessed mids but to my ears they are fine - vocals are clear and easy to pick out.

the main thing though is that they have got my foot tapping again wit the occasional head bob so they must be doing something right.

one thing - these are the 'updated' pro versions not the proline ones (and i got them for the price of the now discontinued prolines too). again the interwebz are rife with speculation about the changes and how they effect sound quality. ahh well i'm happy for now so now the wait for the savings to build up enough for a head amp....

 

[Geordie]

As long as you're happy thats the main thing.

Do those ones have the S-Logic drivers? If so placement is very important, so experiment.

Enjoy

 

[julian2002]

yeah they have the s-logic driver placement. to be honest i'm expecting it not to make too much difference but have experimented with placement a little and it makes a tiny difference but not night and day - i'm guessing it'll either loosen up with break in or be nothing more than a marketing gimmick.