Headphone demo in HMV

[colinB]

Waiting for some friends on saturday night i popped into HMV in piccadilly for a late night mooch and found a headphone bar just like the one in the Apple stores. The difference is you can test your own mp3 player which is a nice touch.
Anyway, i tested the Dr beats range, very noisy and wild. No way would i pay that sort of money. Then i tested some nice looking Audio Technica 50 quid jobbies which actually had a nice balance but had a lot of sibilance.
Then i tried the Denon AHD5000s. A good price at £200 down form 269. The clarity and space on these was amazing but emphasis was on the upper freqs ( sounded like my Grados but much better.)
The last pair i tried was the Sennheiser HD 25s. A very closed in sound but great dynamics and punch. Not one for home listening perhaps but great for music on the move.

[StanleyB]

Then i tried the Denon AHD5000s. A good price at £200 down form 269. The clarity and space on these was amazing but emphasis was on the upper freqs ( sounded like my Grados but much better.)
The Denon has very good and deep bass, but you do need a high current output stage to get the drive units produce that bass. If you had a portable music player it might not have the ability to churn out a lot of juice low down (excuse the apparent sexual innuendo).

[Mothman]

Did a similar excercise in HMV myself the other week and also thought the Dr beats stuff awfull, no wonder I see so may pairs for sale on Gumtree.
I like Senheisser SP25Hd's a lot, I have pair of the BA ones that got sold of cheap when they scrapped Concorde and use them as my daily commute cans.
I also have a pair of these http://shop.frogbeats.com/fischer-audio-fa-004 which I find to be almost as good but for a lot less bucks, though not sure I'd go near the limited edition white version:lol:. Can't remember trying the Denons you mentioned and so will have to give them a sample next time I'm in there.

[colinB]

I have some ultimate ears triple fi 10s which sound great but i dont like them for home listening. Im thinking of those Denons now :eyebrows:

[colinB]

The denon phone was a ADH 2000s , sorry.

[technobear]

The denon phone was a ADH 2000s , sorry.

Don't worry. We already worked that out from the price you quoted :)

I use Sony MDR-EX500LPS in-ear phones. I like them well enough with my Sansa Clip+. They are quite strong in the bass although this does depend on how well you wedge them into your ears and a little closed in at the treble end but overall for music on the move on buses and trains I like them. They are more efficient than all the others I tried including some which claimed higher efficiency.

When I want to hear what's going on around me, I use Koss Sporta Pro on-ear phones. Considering their low price, these are quite surprising and give a nice open sound with punchy bass that still goes fairly deep although not as deep as the in-ear phones. They are fairly efficient too and work fine with the Sansa Clip+.

I wouldn't bother with anything under 100 quid for listening at home though. I also wouldn't bother with an MP3 player for listening at home. Horses for courses.

[colinB]

I was surprised how good a headphone out can sound on a ipod touch with well matched headphones.

[Pete The Cat]

The denon phone was a ADH 2000s , sorry.

No apology required for these cans. They are the DBs IMHO :)

Pete

[Giubanix]

No apology required for these cans. They are the DBs IMHO :)

Pete

Just bought a pair of the D2000s from HMV today. I was slightly worried that they might have a bit too much bass for my liking, but they're absolutely spot on so far. Been testing a bit of everything from baroque to classical and rock and they sound great with a GS Novo headphone amp.

Now I can congratulate myself on saving £100 by buying yet another thing that I didn't really need. :D

[Pete The Cat]

Not that other peoples' opinions should decide one's judgment but I've never read a review of the Denons that's anything less than fervently positive. I like my Senn 600s and Beyer 990 Pros but the Denons are a cut above in every department. I reckon you're looking at £500-plus before you can better them.

Pete

[Wakefield Turntables]

Well done HMV for at least trying to stay open and cater for music lovers. :clapclapclap: They have had to sell the live music venue section of the business to extend credit from banks until 2013 but they are actually going to post a profit this year despite a £19m loss last year. IS THE WORM TURNING :scratch:

[RichB]

Hey chaps, rather than start a new thread can any of you who've tested heaphones recently perhaps suggest a good model of headphone for my mrs? She's a designer and uses bog standard ipod ones when she's working, she recently said she fancied a pair or over ear ones to cut out the chit-chat from her colleagues when she's working....

Obviously as a member of this forum i wouldnt just let her have any old rubbish or the fashionable Dr dre beats stuff and wondered whats the best of them out there for under £50 as she's got a birthday soon... They'd need to be quality and have high WAF (obviously), which rules out my studio issue Beyer Dynamics which i've only ever used with a mixing desk. She's quite petite so i guess the more compact the better.

All suggestions welcomed.

[Wakefield Turntables]

Apologies for thread crapping :sorry:

[technobear]

Superlux HD681

Superlux HD668B

Koss PRO4/AAT

[morris_minor]

Talking about Denon cans, I treated myself recently to some AH-D7000s. With my Graham Slee Solo Ultra Linear h'phone amp these are to die for. Bass like nothing I've ever heard (from 'phones) and great presentation up the frequency range too. The make my HD650s seem very polite . . . .

[RichB]

Superlux HD681

Superlux HD668B

Koss PRO4/AAT

Cheers Chris, I'll be looking into those further. I'm not familair with either the Koss or Superlux brands but they seem to be well thought of from the initial reviews I've seen.