A Headphone Comparison: HD800 vs HD650 vs Paradox Slant vs LCD-X vs DT250 vs DT880

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Arnotts, Apr 7, 2016.

  1. Arnotts

    Arnotts New

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    I'm sure most of you have your own opinions about these headphones. I typed this up after realizing that my collection was growing too big and that I had to do some culling. Typing out my thoughts felt like the easiest way to decide which headphones I wanted to keep and which ones I wanted to sell.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    I'll eventually check out OJ's cork mod and Sorrodje's SDR mod with the HD800's. I might even get them individually calibrated by Sonarworks, along with the mods. I also need to try some dynamat on the HD650's (if anyone has some spare that they'd be willing to send over, please PM me).

    Hopefully this is useful to some of you, even if it's just to see how your opinions may differ from mine ;)
     
  2. Sherlocked

    Sherlocked New

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    Great comparisons. Enjoyed the read very much.

    Interested to see which ones you ultimately decide to keep in your stable and which ones are going up for sale.
     
  3. Impulse

    Impulse Friend

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    Nice comparo, I wish my note taking was that neat... :p
     
  4. SteelCannon

    SteelCannon Friend

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    Remind me to sit next to you for the standardized audiophile test :)
     
  5. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    What? LCD-X having smoother treble than HD650? If by that you mean a huge valley in the lower treble/upper mids region than be my guest!

    Anyhow, great comparison, although I wished the second page used the same size lettering as the first for clarity. We all know the HD650 are good but the others should have bigger lettering :p
     
  6. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

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    This is a good idea to get mind right about something.
    HD800 can have good deal of that thinness removed with some tubes.
     
  7. MarcoGV

    MarcoGV Acquaintance

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    Thank you. Could you please give more details about the classical track you used? In particular, which Canon? I also wonder whether you could add some comments on the performance of these headphones on specific genres.
     
  8. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
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    Did you notice the horrific channel imbalances present in every DT 250 250?
     
  9. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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  10. MarcoGV

    MarcoGV Acquaintance

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    Psalmanazar, my DT250-250 does not have a horrific channel imbalance, or at least one I can detect by ear. Please do not assume that my hearing is so bad that I cannot detect a horrific channel imbalance.
     
  11. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
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    Every pair of DT 250 has horrific 5 db or so channel imbalances due to the cable connecting on just one side causing differing internal cup shapes and pressure in the not very well made housing. Also most have bass hiss and were made from a broken/defective plastic injection mold. There have zero quality control. Whether you notice or not is another thing but it drove me nuts.
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2016
  12. MarcoGV

    MarcoGV Acquaintance

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    Psalmanazar, you must have had a very bad experience, and I am sorry that it drove you nuts. There is no need to generalize to "every pair." I have just listened to mine in mono. They are very well balanced. Peace.
     
  13. Arnotts

    Arnotts New

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    By the LCD-X's having smooth treble, I meant more in terms of the detail in the treble region being smoothed over. I definitely wouldn't say that the LCD-X's have smoother treble than the HD650's in terms of frequency response. The HD650's are very highly resolving headphones when fed from a high quality source and given suitable amplification - the details will pour out into your ears. The details aren't harsh or bright and they're still smooth sounding in terms of how easy they are to listen to, but I wouldn't call the HD650's smoothed over like I would with the LCD-X's. It's quite surprising how such an expensive pair of "studio" headphones can skip over the deep, subtle details. The real strength of the LCD-X's lies in how easy they are to get sounding good imo, but they don't scale all that much.

    Definitely! I really should have mentioned this in my notes, but I initially didn't intend to post these up anywhere. Tube wetness will help alleviate some of the HD800's dry/clinical/thin sound for sure.

    I thoroughly appreciate classical music but I'm ashamed to say that I don't listen to very much of it. The track I used is from from the album The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and David Parry.

    For the most part I'd say that the headphones that I like the most are my favourites across all genres of music in general.

    A pair of headphones like the LCD-X's can be considered excellent for electronic music because its shortcomings (such as not being very resolving of micro detail) don't matter all that much when it comes to synthesized sounds. In addition, its strengths (such as high quality, powerful bass and a three dimensional soundstage) take electronic music to the next level. But then a pair of headphones like the Paradox Slants improves on the LCD-X's in almost every single way, making them easily better for acoustic music and even better for electronic music, too.

    Thank you, I'm very glad to read that you got some use out of it :).

    Ultimately I've kept the Paradox Slants, HD800's, HD650's and DT250's. My favourite headphones are the Paradox Slants. I keep the HD800's and HD650's in rotation as well, because they all offer something a little different.

    It's definitely possible. Some of the issues I had with the DT250's could be down to imbalances between the drivers or other quality control issues at Beyer. Interestingly enough, when reading a Sound on Sound article about the Sonarworks EQ plugin, I came across this information regarding the Sony MDR-7506:

    "Interestingly, too, significant differences were visible between the responses of the left and right earcups. I assumed that this was down to random manufacturing variations, but was surprised to see that similar differences were present in the averaged response for this model. Sonarworks say the consistent asymmetry is almost certainly down to the presence of a cable entry on the left cup."

    This could definitely apply to the Beyer's, as well.

    Having said that, I very much enjoy the DT250's for what they are - cheap, rugged closed back headphones that provide a smoother, relatively neutral sound. They won't blow too many minds and they probably won't satisfy picky audiophiles who are looking to use them as their main pair of headphones. But they do their job without much cost or much fuss :)

    I use the EQ in linear phase mode. I feel that I can hear the difference in the naturalness of the sound when using the other modes. Linear phase mode adds the most latency, but that doesn't bother me when listening to music from my media player.
     
    Last edited: Apr 8, 2016
  14. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    That's what I meant by the valley. All LCDs have that valley. Even Tyll, a lover of warm phones, have removed them from the innerfidelit wall of fame in favor of brighter but better phones like the hd800.
     
    Last edited: Apr 7, 2016
  15. songmic

    songmic Gear cycler East Asia edition

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    I found the LCD-X sibilant and harsh.
     
  16. murphythecat

    murphythecat GRU-powered uniformed trumpkin

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    I'm surprised you use LP, as min phase is supposedly more natural sounding. Ive been reading about the matter and from what I gather, most pro will tell you that they will use LP EQ only when really necessary as it introduce ringing and unnnaturlness as Linear phase does not occur in nature. it can only happen digitally. analog EQ are always min phase.

    I guess ill have to spend more time with LP. but I so far prefer min phase setting because i indeed find it less crisp and more natural then the overly clarity and ultimately unnatural tighness. or maybe im dreaming al of this lol
     
    Last edited: Apr 8, 2016
  17. Jun

    Jun Friend

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    @Arnotts

    I see that Mat Zo test track. I didn't expect to find a Mat Zo fan in an audiophile forum. I was into Mat Zo back before I was a serious audiophile. His old stuff is gold but a few tracks sound compressed but he would mix in some accoustic stuff in the middle that just blows your mind.
     
  18. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    Now this is the type of comparisons I like. Direct & to the point.

    Anyone heard both the Slants & any of the other T50RP headphone mods, Alpha Dog/ZMF?

    Do the sound signatures differ greatly?
     
  19. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    There's a reason no closed HP has replaced the Paradox and now the slants in my collection. Others have done one or two things well, but nothing is as consistent as the Paradox line for me.
     
  20. FlySweep

    FlySweep Friend

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    Yep.. I'm a big BIG fan of the Slants.. a more true ortho progression of the HD650 (than the LCD-2r2), IMO. I've owned it twice (I think).. and actually need a closed (ortho) can. Luis worked some god damn magic with that T50RP driver... it deserves some good, powerful amplification, too. Probably gonna throw up a want ad for one. How does the Omni MKII stack up to the Slants?
     

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