I owned the HD 700 for a bit, for me it had a bit more bass than the AKG K712 I was comparing to at home, a little better imaging/directionality with my surround DSPs, but it had an obvious scoop in the upper mids (like female vocals) and despite the moderate impedance (and modest voltage requirements for sheer volume SPL) it definitely sounded best with a large current supply. Money got tight shortly after, and I ended up keeping the AKG and selling my second-ever Sennheiser (first being the folding on-ear PX100)
I pick on the DT 880 a bit because I owned it for a time, and I got to borrow Dekoni’s DT 1990 for a few months after shooting a pad swap video for them (the DT 1990 definitely improved on the DT 990 where I wanted it to: less hard glaring treble), but I forgot that the T1 had angled drivers. I’d give it (or the current version) a look if I could spend some time with it on a couple amps. When I had the DT 880, I only had a Turtle Beach DSS and a hybrid tube amp, it was better on the $200 tube amp but not enough for me to like it… now I’ve got more gear than I honestly know what to do with
@kman1211 What was your favorite Audeze?
It’s tricky because ears “EQ” the sound more and more as frequencies extend closer to the extremes of bass and treble, and age-related hearing loss affects the delicate treble-sensing little hairs in the cochlea first…
… but at the same time, making more use of the contours of the outer ear (auricle) is also mechanically more similar to how we naturally hear speakers and the environment of life than most headphones. So as long as the FR tuning isn’t wildly extreme, it might sound more realistic than most headphones.
I’ll add the expectation that the grell OAE1 is probably sensitive to placement too. Not as much as closed headphones with a big driver, but it will probably be a good idea to play around to find a sweet spot.
I pick on the DT 880 a bit because I owned it for a time, and I got to borrow Dekoni’s DT 1990 for a few months after shooting a pad swap video for them (the DT 1990 definitely improved on the DT 990 where I wanted it to: less hard glaring treble), but I forgot that the T1 had angled drivers. I’d give it (or the current version) a look if I could spend some time with it on a couple amps. When I had the DT 880, I only had a Turtle Beach DSS and a hybrid tube amp, it was better on the $200 tube amp but not enough for me to like it… now I’ve got more gear than I honestly know what to do with
@kman1211 What was your favorite Audeze?
It’s tricky because ears “EQ” the sound more and more as frequencies extend closer to the extremes of bass and treble, and age-related hearing loss affects the delicate treble-sensing little hairs in the cochlea first…
… but at the same time, making more use of the contours of the outer ear (auricle) is also mechanically more similar to how we naturally hear speakers and the environment of life than most headphones. So as long as the FR tuning isn’t wildly extreme, it might sound more realistic than most headphones.
I’ll add the expectation that the grell OAE1 is probably sensitive to placement too. Not as much as closed headphones with a big driver, but it will probably be a good idea to play around to find a sweet spot.
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