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Solo SRGII Question

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Graham Slee View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 6:43pm
AKG K240 Studio (don't laugh) isn't far off the HD250II. The HD600 isn't all that bad but the lows are a bit like warm water - but you can get used to that - and is far better than the HD800 IMO. All Grado's play great, but with a Solo ULDE though (or a Raytheon dual 741 opamp... no I don't use them, but the original Grado amp did). Just my personal preferences.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 7:09pm
I don't like the HD800 family. Find the sound a bit 'pretentious' for my tastes.

I've only had AKG K240 MKII (55ohms), nice tone and don't offend my ears. Could happily live with them, pretty much forever. Which K240 variant do you have, Graham?

HD600's are decent. But still prefer the more liquid mids of the 650.

S.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote capetownwatches Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 7:15pm
I'm not laughing - I own a K240S and it's a joke how good it can be for almost no money. I bought mine off a sound engineer who'd used it on a job for 2 hours from brand new, for half of retail... Big smile

BTW, you do realise that popular opinion would have your head for admitting that you prefer the HD600 over the HD800? I know because I do too.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 7:15pm
HD250II - Well balanced sound for a completely closed  headphone assuming like-new pleather pads are on it. Bass extends very deep and clear, aspects of the midrange are lower in level (slightly scooped out) but neutral without peaks, treble is clear and critical but not harsh or emphasized. Rhythmic and musical. High tonal accuracy. Putting HD540II thick velvet pads on it makes it sound closer to a HD540II (surprise surprise). Slimmer worn pleather pads lead to potential boominess and overpowering bass weight. Lightweight.

HD540II - Well balanced sound. Neutral and transparent like the HD250. Best sound achieved with thick unstitched velvet pads to optimise stereo image position. Bass scales neutrally but lacks weight and authority although it is still present and audible and never boomy. Midrange is beautiful; really well balanced and clear with great presence, not recessed like the HD250. Highs are detailed and clear. Very musically engaging sound with high tonal accuracy. Slim velvet pads reduce stereo image size and alter sound balance in a way where the treble can be elevated to a slightly fatiguing level due to close ear proximity. Lightweight and very comfortable. Open back headphone. Putting sealed pleather pads on it significantly spoils the sound balance and stereo image.

HD560II - Sound is almost identical to HD540II but stereo image is more distant, slightly confined or out of natural position. Very enjoyable with high tonal accuracy. Lightweight.

HD800 - Incredible effortless resolution of detail and sound dynamics even at very low volume; highlight of the headphone. High sensitivity. Good bass weight without emphasis. Some music seemed slightly out of focus so slightly boring/uninteresting and unnatural at times, something phase related, I think. Critical treble. Neutral sound with high tonal accuracy. Didn't experience brightness or fatigue but could believe treble could tend towards harshness with bright music. Large and quite heavy. Very long and large cable. Huge black coffin box.

AKG K1000 - Neutral sound balance with some slight elevation in the entire midbass to upper bass region. Doesn't affect tonal accuracy however. Great sound dynamics, very musical and extremely spatial stereo image. Makes all the previous headphones sound unnatural in direct comparison. Low sensitivity and requires a lot of power to drive. High tonal accuracy. Lightweight. High resolution comes from the even frequency emphasis and completely open design of the earspeakers more than from the microdynamic ability of the driver. Much detail is obtained with full amplification however, but not microscopicly revealing like HD 800. Look stupid wearing them.

MySphere 3.1 - Low impedance and high sensitivity so easy to drive. Have a resistive cable to convert them to higher impedance if required. Completely modular and simple construction. Extremely open and highly transparent sound. Bass weight is extraordinary. Midbass elevation from K1000 is completely gone; MySphere is flat as a pancake. K1000 sounds a bit coloured in direct comparison. Everything is so pure and evenly expressed. Very resolving without fatigue. Extreme precision of tonal accuracy, rhythmically engaging. No earpads or temple pads; headband distributes weight over head well. Smaller driver size than K1000 so drivers move less air. Volume has to be higher than with K1000 to achieve the same dynamics and is more critical of head position as a result.


Edited by Ash - 11 Jul 2019 at 8:13pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Richardl60 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 7:42pm
ash I agree headphones won't be subject to the room and location issues of speakers but can't believe any serious speaker manufacturer or designer would deliberately design peaks in to a device to accommodate off axis listening or most users would set out to listen off axis though this may happen by accident. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 7:59pm
Speaker designers like Mark Fenlon, for example, have a difficult task; to produce a driver with a sound that will please as many end users as possible. Physics and  versatility of use means that compromises have to be made. Mark said in a recent video that in his latest mono-suspension MS full-range drivers (no spider), he would not sacrifice usable frequency bandwidth for dB SPL flatness. He stated that a particularly flat response might not always be a good idea, especially if the application involves off-axis listening. Also, the designer cannot know, for sure, the acoustic characteristics of the listening room and enclosure that the driver will end up being used in. Loading the driver in different ways will affect its response so it's a bit of a guessing game.

Edited by Ash - 11 Jul 2019 at 8:09pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Pwog Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Jul 2019 at 8:23pm
Originally posted by Graham Slee Graham Slee wrote:

AKG K240 Studio (don't laugh) isn't far off the HD250II. The HD600 isn't all that bad but the lows are a bit like warm water - but you can get used to that - and is far better than the HD800 IMO. All Grado's play great, but with a Solo ULDE though (or a Raytheon dual 741 opamp... no I don't use them, but the original Grado amp did). Just my personal preferences.


I'm going to throw this out there, but I haven't used headphones in decades! I have a pair of AKG K240 Monitors (600 ohm). Do you or anyone else have experience with them?
Paul
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