[milkpowder]

Sit back and relax, this one's going to take a lot of words.

Just got back from an afternoon of pure bliss. This is my second time listening to Duggeh's gear and let me tell you that this has been one of my most enjoyable headphone experiences, ever. There were just the two of us, so the amount and quality of listening we had in the three-four hour period was simply superb.

We had the following headphones: Jecklin Float Electrostatic Headphone, Precide Ergo AMT, Sennheiser HE60, Stax O2 and the TakeT H2. I mainly listened to the last three, but had brief listens to the Jecklin and Precide.

TakeT H2: I must say these have the most incredible bass extension out of all the headphone I have ever heard. The bass is mind blowingly powerful, yet not fatiguing in any way. To put it into perspective of other headphones, there's at least another octave or two of bass compared to the HE60 and is the best bass since the DT770-80 Pro. I simply cannot put my amazement into words. The H2 enabled me to rediscover a lot of the music I thought I knew well. For example, Dire Straits Brother in Arms sounded so much richer and sonically fufilling with the extra bass extension. The presentation of the midrange is more similar to the HE60 than the O2: intimate, sweet. The instruments/performers are placed slightly further away than on the HE60, but not quite as distant as the O2. Soundstage depth/size-wise, it is between the HE60 (intimate, narrow) and O2 (wide, more diffuse).

As amazing as the H2 are, they are not without drawbacks. Compared to the HE60 and O2, I would describe the sound as slightly on the dark side. The highs don't really have the same sparkle as the electrostats. I'm tempted to say that the treble doesn't quite extend as well as the other two. This is particularly evident for violin music. Nevertheless, the H2 really performed spectacularly when I played some solo Bach partitas through them. The most important thing being that although the sound wasn't as sparkly, it didn't sound dull at all. It was still very realistic and true to life.

Now the biggest issue I had with the H2 was when I played some complex orchestral music through them, such as the last movements of Shostakovich Violin Concerto No.1 and Symphony No.5. The bass slightly overpowers the rest of the sound spectrum. General classical music just doesn't require such strong bass. The cellos and double basses end up dominating the sound just a more than my ears can handle. As a result I would prefer the O2 and HE60 to the H2 for classical music.

When we switched to pop, rock and just about any non-classical/concert-hall-recorded-ambient music, the H2 simply took my breath away. I got so much deep, resonant, punchy bass it's ridiculously addictive and enjoyable to listen to. The amazing thing is, the bass is extremely well controlled and never muddy-sounding. For pop, rock, trance, club music, I would choose the H2 as the clear winner. There's simply no headphone which I've sampled that can combine such powerful bass with decent clarity and treble. (I haven't tried the L3000, PS-1s, but from other headphones I've heard, the H2 is no slouch) This brings me onto my next point.

Overall detail is superb. Nearly all the microdetails of the violin's super-nuanced sound is reproduced, albeit not with the same clarity, accuracy and realism of the HE60. For solo violin, I wouldn't mind using the H2 as my only headphone. However, I would definitely pick up the HE60 or O2 instead when in comes to orchestral music. There's just too much bass for that sort of music. Nevertheless, it's probably something that I could potentially get used to given more listening time. I really want a pair of H2s... I cannot stress how insanely incredible they are for bassy music... Love is in the air... I wonder how long Duggeh will have them for? I'll hopefully have another good listen at the UK meet if they're still around.


Sennheiser HE60: By far the brightest and most intimate sounding of the three. The sound is in-your-face. All the details and nuances are presented with the utmost precision. Having owned these for a few weeks, I'm still stunned at the amount of clarity. Some might find the presentation too intimate and lacking in soundstage, especially when you have been listening to a pair of O2 for a while. This can become a slight problem when it comes to ambient, jazz-house style jazz and vocal music. Take Norah Jones for example: Her voice is reproduced rather intensely, but having listened to the O2, one might prefer the more relaxed sound. I really don't need to listen to Norah Jones' every enunciation and saliva sound. Of course, it's still quite enjoyable, but maybe the O2's presentation is more realistic.

The bass is a real problem for rock and certain organ music. Having heard the H2, the HE60 just won't cut it anymore. I'm severely missing the solid, impactful bass of the H2 when I play rock tracks. There's something lacking! Yes, the frequency balance is much more natural and guitars sound more like guitars, but who the hell cares? I just want to rock away and the HE60 can't do it.

I am slightly disappointed... Why, oh why does the HE60 have to lack bass extension? I don't think you really know what is missing from the HE60 until you actually hear what's missing on another headphone. Then again, the HE60 has the H2 narrowly beaten for clarity and mids/highs extension. It really comes down to music preferences: I think Duggeh prefers the H2 to the HE60 due his mainly rock/pop taste. I'm more classical.

It might be just me, but the HE60 sound better out of my 006t than Duggeh's 717. The increased midrange warmth is somewhat noticeable. I also think that the HE60 sound somewhat harsher and more percussive on the 717.

I'm in love with my HE60, but I'm faced with a sexy alternative, albeit for completely different musical genres. I swear I'd listen to more rock/pop if I got the H2 (cannot afford them at all). That said, most of my listening is still classical music, so as amazing as the H2 are, the HE60 are here to stay. If the HE60 got some of the O2's soundstage and bass, they would be the absolute perfect classical headphone. Likewise, if the O2 got some of the HE60's intimacy and incredibly accurate instrument timbral reproduction, they would be the perfect classical headphone.


Stax SR-007: In retrospect, I wasn't as impressed as I had anticipated, but nonetheless very happy with the sound. Soundstage was the widest of the three, but for the classical music which I played through them, it just wasn't as involving as the HE60 or even the H2 despite sounding more balanced than the latter. I somewhat preferred the HE60 and H2's more direct, intimate sound for classical. The HE60 reproduction of instruments is more realistic than the SR-007, but lacked the same sort of bass quantity (at no loss of quality). Hence, I would probably pick up the SR-007 if I wished to shake my head and rock out.

Jazz sounded magical on the O2: My goodness did the Ultrasone jazz track impress me. The ambience of the performance was captured with greater realism than the HE60. It was simply great. I guess this one is tie between the O2 and the HE60. Again, it comes down to individual preferences.

I admittedly didn't get enough listening time with them so they will be the first headphones on my head when Duggeh and I next meet.


The bottom line is this:
If you like bass and listen to rock/pop, then the H2 is the headphone to get. Forget about the HE60 because once you listen to the H2, there's no going back.

If you listen to ambient jazz and vocals, might I recommend the O2 for its wider soundstage and more relaxed, diffused sound. They're also great for classical.

If you prefer a more intimate presentation which combines superb realism and clarity and will to a lot of classical, then the HE60 is the best. The HE60 can rock, just not as well as the other two.


Hypothetically speaking, if I were to get an additional pair of headphones, it would be the H2. The O2 is great, but I already have the HE60. The HE60 can rock, just not as well as the O2 and the H2. However, the H2 rock even better than the O2, which means that it would be utterly pointless to get the O2. You may argue and say that the O2 are better than the HE60 for jazz, but the HE60 performs well enough that it doesn't really matter.

Of course, I would love to be able to own all three

I've gone on for far too long. I've probably contradicted myself in numerous places, but I'm too lazy to go and proof-read it. Please ask for clarifications instead

PS: quick notes on the Float and Ergo.

For my listening tastes and from what I heard in those brief moments, they're not quite up there with the HE60, H2 and O2. The AMTs sound good, but am I right in saying they sound slightly muffled compared to the HE60 and O2? The bass is not as visceral and seems to be slightly lost in the mids. I will really need some dedicated listening time with them to get a good grasp of the sound. As of now, I'm not too impressed by them.

The Float was great! I really liked the sound! They're no HE60 or O2, but the bass is more audible than the AMT's. Again, more listening would've been great.


Notice I haven't gone into the aesthetic qualities of the headphones. Who the hell cares? Fine, the AMT don't look that nice, but neither do the HE60s.


Too lazy to write anymore......

 

[Duggeh]

I'm not entirely certain if a whole thread is merited for such an event but power to you. Hearing the HE60 was interesting but finally opening up my new speakers was the best bit.

 

[krmathis]

Seems like you had a small enjoyable meeting!
Can't wait to hear you guys take on the HE60 vs. H2 vs. O2.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm not entirely certain if a whole thread is merited for such an event but power to you. Hearing the HE60 was interesting but finally opening up my new speakers was the best bit.

Dude, it is definitely worth its own thread. The H2 were incredible!

Speakers, well, beat everything. I'd rather listen to your Quads than any of the headphones.

Anyway, I was tempted to leave my impressions of the H2 at: "Like bass? Passionate about rock? Get a pair of H2." Anyway, I hope I get over this initial period of hype. It may not be hype afterall. If I listened to as much rock as you did Doug, I'd definitely get a pair of H2s

One more thing: I bet if I spent more time with the O2, I'd fall in love with them too. This is something I'll be doing next time.

 

[Carl]

From the description they sound like improved Sigma Pros, which isn't a bad thing at all. If you want to do a SP vs H2 comparison I'm happy to lend mine out to you.

 

[krmathis]

From the description it seems like H2 is a serious competitor to the Omega II as the best sounding in-production headphone!
I bet it won't take long until the first Head-Fi'er buy one...

 

[milkpowder]

Probably. Duggeh is right in saying that the H2 are world class. There's no doubt about that.

There's also no doubt that Duggeh's impressions will be different. Having met him one-on-one this time, I've got to know him much better. He listens in a different manner to me due to his different music preferences. What I find important may be much less so to him.

We've kinda agreed that the H2 has the most speaker-like bass and possibly presentation out of the headphones we've both heard. Given the choice, we'd both prefer to listen to music on speakers than headphones. Headphones do have their strong points, but there's just something about speakers that allow us to more easily listen to the music itself and not the equipment.

Even though the H2 is less than idea for classical music with the exception of organ music, it really excelled at solo violin works. I have yet to try them with solo piano or chamber music, but I suspect that as long as the music doesn't involve some immense bass instrument, the H2 would sound great.

I'm also glad that the HE60 has survived through this tough test. I was very afraid that after hearing the H2 and O2, I'd regret my purchase. On the contrary, I've grown to appreciate the HE60 even more because it can do stuff that neither the O2 nor H2 can achieve.


EDIT: I wonder what PS-1 and L3000 users will think of the H2. I have a feeling that my lack of experience may mislead some people.

 

[Tachikoma]

Quote:

If the HE60 got some of the O2's soundstage and bass, they would be the absolute perfect classical headphone. Likewise, if the O2 got some of the HE60's intimacy and incredibly accurate instrument timbral reproduction, they would be the perfect classical headphone.

Transplant the HE60's drivers into an Omega II housing? <_< I'm thinking of doing something like this.

 

[Duggeh]

Theres not a chance they would fit imo.

 

[mrarroyo]

Glad you all had a great time. How about posting some pictures?

 

[Thelonious Monk]

edit: brain fart.

 

[milkpowder]

Isn't the bass rolloff of the HE60 due to the stiff diaphragm? Hence even if the HE60 drivers did fit inside the O2, the bass rolloff still wouldn't be fixed.

mrarroyo, I think Duggeh took a couple pictures. I'm sure he'll post them if you beg him

 

[Duggeh]

Phew, finally I've got a chance to post something a little more substantial than off the cuff remarks. Who'd have thought that I'd have been so busy until 2am? So many records to spin, so many gins to drink!

I took 2 pictures, which for the satisfaction of all, I publish unedited. Id have taken more, but I was too busy either hating my useless cameras rubbish batteries or listening to the HE60, 00o0o0o0o new headphone for ye olde Doug ears.

Click here for full size picture.

From top to bottom: Ergo AMT, Stax Omega 2, Sennheiser HE60 and TakeT H2. There's one headphone out of sight.

There it is, Duderuuds Jecklin Float Electrostatic, which for a very short while longer I am still babysitting. Most fetching pose there Jonathan. (I didn't give him any time to deJecklinate himself)

Johnathans trip here was fraught with (mis)adventure. There was a train derailed or broken down or something near Ladybank, so all the train traffic to Leuchars fro the south was having to go all the way up to Dundee, then buses from Dundee were bringing people back down into Fife. Damn British rail and its long and protracted torture since Dr Beeching! Anyhoo! Eventually we managed to secure ourselves back at my abode.

I was keen for Jonathan to have a listen to the H2 and I was interested in the HE60, although with a UK meet coming soon I didn't feel a great pressure to try and squeeze anything out of my impressions as I'll have opportunity in the future to hear ti at greater leisure. We only had a few hours today, which is an undesirable set of circumstances, but the H" is only with me for loan and it may not be with me long enough to make it to the meet.

Jonathan has already commended ont he H2 and I agree with most of what he has to say, this is the new king of bass, and possibly a contender for the title of current production king. Lets look at it this way, theres only 3 headphones in production at the minute which are at the flagship end. The Stax Omega 2, the Grado GS1000, the Ultrazone Edition 9, which has been recieving no end of praise recently and can seem to do no wrong, very unlike the GS1000 which divides listeners to say the least. The H2 I feel is more than worthy of joining this selection. We have here, what until recently, was an unknown quantity, and I was eager for Jonathan to listen to them because I did not want to be the only voice which was proclaiming the coming of a new messiah. I will be providing detailed comment in the future, but the H2 is, for me, a hugely significant product.

The HE60 I didnt actualyl spend terribly much time with, however what struck me about it was that it was eerily like an electrostatic incarnation of the HD600. Not the HD650. It was very upfront and tight in its presentation, it sounded a lot more like it wanted to rock out than the Omega 2, but giving it rock music, it just didnt seem to sing. A most curious situation. I agree with Jonathan that it was just stunning for violin. However I disagree with him because I preferred the Omega 2 and the H2 for the same piece (Shostakovich Violin Concerto No.1 - Finale) the sound, to my ears, was simply more engaging, possibly because of the greater strength in the lower registers. However, I ALSO found the Ergo AMT more engaging and it does not have the same level of low level presence. I put my slight indecision and indifference ont he HE60 overall to two things. First, an insufficient period spent with their sound, as I said, I was multi shuffling for the whole time. Second, I didn't actually spend my time listening critically to the sound. I was mostly just going with the flow, listening to music, not analysing it.

The TakeT is the clear winner, during this brief session in one respect. Comfort. The HE60 has the traditional Senn clamp and the Omega 2, even though I've had it over a year now, still takes me several minutes on any session, to get just right on my head. That more position than comfort, but I waver in my terminology after 4 large gin and russcians.

What have I just typed? What have I just failed to mention? I'm not sure, but I look forward greatly to a much less hasty days listening in a few weeks.

As a PS, The SRM-717 sounding a little less than the 006t, may have been due to having the HE60 and the Omega 2 plugged in at the same time. Next time we should investigate the sonic effects of loud differences.

As a final note. Given the equipment we were dealing with, we were doing NONE of them any favours with my sources. An Audigy 2 and an Ortofon OM10 are simply not worthy. Such is the imbalance than many suffer suppose.

A great afternoon though. That extra loud speaker session with the Organ music, I was grinning like an idiot when the walls seemed to be shaking.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif Isn't the bass rolloff of the HE60 due to the stiff diaphragm? Hence even if the HE60 drivers did fit inside the O2, the bass rolloff still wouldn't be fixed. mrarroyo, I think Duggeh took a couple pictures. I'm sure he'll post them if you beg him

It's a combination of a stiff diaphragm, too little diaphragm/stator distance and less then optimal housing design. It's the same with the He90 but they manage a bit deeper bass due to stiffer stators and larger drivers. I'd more interested to put the SR-007 drivers in a He90 like housing and see how they would sound. I'm working on some SR-007 like driver that will be a drop in replacement (well as much as I can) for the HD6x0 so that should be interesting. It's still a ways off though.

I agree with Duggeh on the sources and amps and the SR-007 will suffer the most. Even using some copper cables will turn them into a black hole of muddy bass.

 

[milkpowder]

I really liked the Jecklin Floats (looks and sound), though not enough to purchase a pair. They reminded me of the K701 and SR-404 in terms of presentation. The highs and lows are fairly well balanced.

Ah yes, the H2 is probably more engaging than the HE60, but for the Shostakovich, I would rather have a more realistic frequency response. Maybe the O2 manages to strike a balance between the two. My ears will need more time. I need to listen exclusively to the O2 for an extend period of time just to get used to the different sound. Coming from the HE60, the O2 sound vastly different in various ways.

The Senn clamp is definitely a problem for those with fairly large heads. I have a very slim head and still I can feel the clamping force. There's no doubt it must've been torture for Duggeh

The O2 is much looser and hence IMO much more comfortable. The pads are also softer.

The H2 is quite odd in its design. I'll let Duggeh brief on on the specifics when he releases his review of them, but just for the sake of information, the H2 are highly adjustable, both for headband width and earspeaker vertical position through the headband pad adjustments. The positioning of the earspeakers don't have a profound effect on the sound, although the bass does definitely leak away a bit if you pull the bottom bit (according to Duggeh, where the bulk of the bass is produced) of earspeaker away from you. Your ears directly articulate with the inner grille. The beige leather pads are too thin and small to provide anything more than minimal padding. Compared to the Ergo AMT, the H2 is very light. Iirc, it is at least as light as the HE60, if not lighter.