Help me pick some cans that will be almost exclusively for movies

Viper87227

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Jun 2, 2004
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I've had a great many different pairs of headphones over the years, but with all of them I formed my opinions on them solely on music listening. ve owned A700's, which weren't at all missed, and HD600's which were good, but a bit lifeless. I've had several Grado's, all of which I loved. But a few years ago I reached a point where I had to pick one jack-of-all-trades headphone, and I settled with the D2000, which I absolutely love.

Well, lately I've been doing a lot of late night movie watching, and the D2000 just doesn't seem to be as pleasing to me in that area. The bass isn't very boomy, something that I strongly prefer with music, but with movies it just feels like something is missing. They also aren't exactly what I would call comfortable. They are tolerable, but they could be better. So, I'm looking to get my D2000 back into my office where they belong, and a new pair of cans out in the living room.

I'll be driving them with my receiver, a Sony STRDH720. It's a low-end modern receiver, but it should drive any headphones well enough. As I said, movies are really my only concern. Some gaming will be done with them on also, but movies is what I care about. They will never be used for music. That is simply not a concern to me.

The things that are of highest concern are boomy bass, soundstage, a clear and warm sound (I hate, hate, hate when things sound muddy), and comfort. I've got nowhere I can go listen to stuff, so I sort of just have to guess at what the best pair will be. My max price is right around $200.

I've been considering the A900X, but they scare me. I never liked my A700. Again though, I only used them for music, and they didn't fit my tastes. I don't remember their sound signature well enough to say if they would be appropriate for music. I do remember them being comfortable though. On the contrary, I LOVED the brief time I spent with a pair of AD900s. They were a pure delight. I've been eyeing a pair of those, as well as the AD700X. Same with the AT's though, they scare me. I recall them not being very bassy. They were great for music, I don't know how they will be for movies.

Past Audio-Technica, we start moving towards headphones I've never had the change to hear any variant of. Ages ago I got to listed to a pair of DT770's (Magnetik's, actually ;)) but it was so very long ago that I really don't at all remember what they sounded like. But I've been considering them, or a DT990 Pro. The DT990 Pro being open appeals to me, but I don't know if thats going to come at the cost of bass. If someone could compare these two headphones, that would be great.


I've also got an opportunity to pick up either a HiFiMan HE-300 or a BRAINWAVZ HM5. I can't find a whole ton of information on either pair, though. The HE-300 is appealing on the outside. Velour pads and open. And from what I can find, they do seem to have deep bass, and decent soundstage. I also see some complaints of comfort. I really need something that's comfortable for ~2 hours at a time, and occasionally with glasses (I do enjoy 3D from time to time). There also seems to be a lot of inconstancy here. Some people seem to think they are great, others say to avoid like hell. From what I can gather, there have been several revisions, the earlier of which were not nearly as good, especially with mids. I'd also be very grateful if anyone who owned these could weigh in.

If there are any other suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them.
 
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If the D2000 isn't boomy enough in the bass area you are doing it wrong. Listen to a flat response ANYTHING for an hour and then go back to the D2000s and you will be disgusted with the amount of bass they put out.

I'm not really kidding, there's not a lot of room to go past the D2Ks and that leaves you with Darth Beyers, DT 770s and potentially the Ultrasone Pro 900s.

The AD series Audio Technica are the furthest thing from what you describe because they have a serious dearth of bass; the A series is sort of close as they have an expansive soundstage and a very warm signature but you definitely have to EQ them to be bass monsters and they really don't have the response to keep from becoming muddy. The DT 770 is definitely the only thing in your price range that would show you any gains for bass and they have a decently large soundstage, the DT 990s are "bass monsters" in a sense but they're still open so they aren't going to give the same effect you seem to be looking for and they have very strong highs which can easily be too much for a lot of people (the Ultrasone Pro 900 suffers from this even worse but has FAR more bass).

The HE-300 is far too neutral based on your stated tastes as is the HM5. My personal opinion is that you need to step back from the D2000 temporarily because you would be AMAZED at what a difference listening to something else for awhile does to your brain. When I listen to my Q701s for long periods and then pick up my D7000 or Darth Beyers it takes more than 30 minutes before I can even begin to enjoy the bass because it's so drastically different.
 
If the D2000 isn't boomy enough in the bass area you are doing it wrong. Listen to a flat response ANYTHING for an hour and then go back to the D2000s and you will be disgusted with the amount of bass they put out.

I'm not really kidding, there's not a lot of room to go past the D2Ks and that leaves you with Darth Beyers, DT 770s and potentially the Ultrasone Pro 900s.

The AD series Audio Technica are the furthest thing from what you describe because they have a serious dearth of bass; the A series is sort of close as they have an expansive soundstage and a very warm signature but you definitely have to EQ them to be bass monsters and they really don't have the response to keep from becoming muddy. The DT 770 is definitely the only thing in your price range that would show you any gains for bass and they have a decently large soundstage, the DT 990s are "bass monsters" in a sense but they're still open so they aren't going to give the same effect you seem to be looking for and they have very strong highs which can easily be too much for a lot of people (the Ultrasone Pro 900 suffers from this even worse but has FAR more bass).

The HE-300 is far too neutral based on your stated tastes as is the HM5. My personal opinion is that you need to step back from the D2000 temporarily because you would be AMAZED at what a difference listening to something else for awhile does to your brain. When I listen to my Q701s for long periods and then pick up my D7000 or Darth Beyers it takes more than 30 minutes before I can even begin to enjoy the bass because it's so drastically different.

The biggest reason I am looking to replace the Denon's is so that I can have a separate set of headphones in my office for music and living room for movies. So, stepping away in an effort to appreciate them isn't really the answer. Truthfully, I do love these headphones, and I don't particularly have a problem with them. But I suppose with movies, that is the once scenario where I really want deep, deep bass. I want to feel it. So maybe it's DT770 or 990. Strong highs aren't a turnoff for me (at least with music, but I cannot imagine it would be bothersome in movies. The MS-2 is one of my all time favorite headphones, a set I'd regard as being rather bright). I generally associate open cans with better soundstand, so I'd assume the 990 wins there. But I don't know for certain, and I also don't know how much bass that would cost. It's a shame I can't demo these somewhere.
 
The biggest reason I am looking to replace the Denon's is so that I can have a separate set of headphones in my office for music and living room for movies. So, stepping away in an effort to appreciate them isn't really the answer. Truthfully, I do love these headphones, and I don't particularly have a problem with them. But I suppose with movies, that is the once scenario where I really want deep, deep bass. I want to feel it. So maybe it's DT770 or 990. Strong highs aren't a turnoff for me (at least with music, but I cannot imagine it would be bothersome in movies. The MS-2 is one of my all time favorite headphones, a set I'd regard as being rather bright). I generally associate open cans with better soundstand, so I'd assume the 990 wins there. But I don't know for certain, and I also don't know how much bass that would cost. It's a shame I can't demo these somewhere.

The 770s have one of the widest soundstages for headphones period. It's actually pretty dramatic when you compare it to most headphones. If you have a pair of Grados or Allessandros around try modifying them or at least changing the pads. The MS-2 is equivalent to the SR325is I have and modifying them changed the bass on a level of several magnitudes without adversely affecting the midrange much at all.

pIgH5.jpg


My SR325is even look like MS-2s without their buttons! At the basic level modifying Grados is as simple as it gets. To increase the bass you yank the drivers out of the cups and poke holes in the back of the driver; you can A:B test it by doing one hole at a time on one driver leaving the other as a reference and you can even reverse it by covering the holes again with felt. When you're ready to step it up you can liberate the drivers from the plastic rings that hold them in the cups and then get a nice pair of wood cups from Martin Custom Audio at the low end or something more affordable like Turbulent Labs.

The above still applies if you're talking about an MS-1 or SR-60/80/125/225. I think the Allessandros use a slightly different driver than the Grados but both the MS-1 and MS-2 use the same driver as well as each of the Grados sharing drivers from the 60 to the 325. This means you can pick up a pair of SR-60s on the cheap and mod them without fear. I got a pair on [H] for $35 shipped that even came with two pair of HD414 pads for $35 shipped and I modified the drivers and am now just waiting to eventually buy a set of wood cups for my 325s and then give the aluminum cups to the 60s.

If you can't find what you're looking for in the DT 770 or modifying your Grados then I think your best bet is to save up and invest in a pair of Darth Beyers used. You can see my v3 Koa wood Darths in that pic as well :D
 
If I had a Grado, I'd just use those in my office ;). That might be the route I take anyway, I haven't quite decided yet. I think I may try and snag a used 770 if I can. Thanks for your input.
 
Get a 'sofa shaker'. That will give you tactile feedback on the bass without disturbing others with much sound. Most headphones give ample bass but it feels lacking because you miss the tactile feedback of actual bass.
 
Darth Beyers or the unmodded DT770 have more bass than the denon. Maybe an Ultrasone 900 or the Sony MDR-XB1000 if you really want to get down on it.
 
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