draacor
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2012
- Posts
- 46
- Likes
- 11
This is kind of a weird comparison in the sense that all the headphones i tested today are kind of for purposes but hey thats all the high end cans Best Buy had out for testing. I had bought the Sony MDR-1A and they are on the way so i went to best buy to see what they had and hopefully had the ones i bought. Lo and behold they did but not in their headphone section but in their TV section next to the other high end stuff. Funny how even Best Buy doesnt consider beats or bose high end, hats off to you Best Buy.
Anyway I was super excited they had the MDR1A's because i was eager to see how they sounded and felt. So without further ado i figured id give you all my thoughts on the above selection. Keep in mind i was not looking for an analytical pair of cans. I am in the market for just a fun pair with some decent bass.
Sony MDR1A - holy smokes of all the ones i tried these were BY FAR the most comfortable. It was like wearing pillows on my ears. The other thing I noticed right away was the weight, they weigh hardly anything at all. In fact they are so light i was almost afraid i would break them. It doesnt mean they are not well built just felt kind of fragile. Once I put them on i listened to whatever tunes they had to demo. I noticed that there was nothing that screamed out at me as a negative it just felt right. It felt like the most mellow pair of cans you could get. If you came home from a hard days work and just wanted to kick back to some tunes i feel these are those cans. A lot of people complain that the bass is a little muddy and uncontrolled and I agree IF you were looking at it analytically but if you were just listening and not caring about specifics these are great.
VModa M100 - Ok so these I was super curious about because when i was shopping these were the other ones i was considering. I wouldnt exactly call myself a bass head but i do like some bass and felt these had more punchy bass than the MDR1A. It felt more controlled. That being said i did feel the treble was just about high enough to be annoying to me. It depended on the tracks but sometimes it sounded just a little shrill. And most importantly these were not as comfy as the MDR1A. Not even close. They were not bad per say but i had to put them on just right so my ears didnt touch the pads and i did feel that the drivers were pressed right up to my ears. Also to add the soundtstage was not as good as the MDR1A.
Senheiser HD558 - I'm not sure why Best Buy had these even here because they didn't even stand a chance. The sound stage was more priminent but honestly it didnt do it any favors. Everything felt muted and distant. Was not a fun pair of headphones at all. They were comfortable but still to me not as comfy as the MDR1A and the sound was just not even close.
Senheiser Momentum 2.0 - Ok wow so these headphones. These are a good hundred dollars more than any of the others i mentioned and to me the comfort is just ok. I had to tuck my ears into the cups as the cups are pretty small, but other than that comfort is ok. Sound though surprised me and not in a good way. They didnt sound bad but honestly they just were devoid of any excitement at all. I imagine they are more analytical or do better with an amp but as it stood with the testing I did, they were a strong third place to the vmoda and the sonys.
Bottom line - I spent an hour at Best Buy getting lost into the tunes with both the vmoda 100 and the MDR1A, and in the end I am very very happy i chose the MDR1A. To me the comfort is enough to where the more muted treble is worth it. Vmoda's to my ears sounded slightly better but did have less of a soundstage than the MDR1A, but that comfort ultimately won me over. I mean how can comfort not be a factor? Whats the point of amazing headphones if you can't wear them more than 30 minutes at a time.
Anyway these were just my thoughts and maybe they will help someone out deciding or maybe not.
Anyway I was super excited they had the MDR1A's because i was eager to see how they sounded and felt. So without further ado i figured id give you all my thoughts on the above selection. Keep in mind i was not looking for an analytical pair of cans. I am in the market for just a fun pair with some decent bass.
Sony MDR1A - holy smokes of all the ones i tried these were BY FAR the most comfortable. It was like wearing pillows on my ears. The other thing I noticed right away was the weight, they weigh hardly anything at all. In fact they are so light i was almost afraid i would break them. It doesnt mean they are not well built just felt kind of fragile. Once I put them on i listened to whatever tunes they had to demo. I noticed that there was nothing that screamed out at me as a negative it just felt right. It felt like the most mellow pair of cans you could get. If you came home from a hard days work and just wanted to kick back to some tunes i feel these are those cans. A lot of people complain that the bass is a little muddy and uncontrolled and I agree IF you were looking at it analytically but if you were just listening and not caring about specifics these are great.
VModa M100 - Ok so these I was super curious about because when i was shopping these were the other ones i was considering. I wouldnt exactly call myself a bass head but i do like some bass and felt these had more punchy bass than the MDR1A. It felt more controlled. That being said i did feel the treble was just about high enough to be annoying to me. It depended on the tracks but sometimes it sounded just a little shrill. And most importantly these were not as comfy as the MDR1A. Not even close. They were not bad per say but i had to put them on just right so my ears didnt touch the pads and i did feel that the drivers were pressed right up to my ears. Also to add the soundtstage was not as good as the MDR1A.
Senheiser HD558 - I'm not sure why Best Buy had these even here because they didn't even stand a chance. The sound stage was more priminent but honestly it didnt do it any favors. Everything felt muted and distant. Was not a fun pair of headphones at all. They were comfortable but still to me not as comfy as the MDR1A and the sound was just not even close.
Senheiser Momentum 2.0 - Ok wow so these headphones. These are a good hundred dollars more than any of the others i mentioned and to me the comfort is just ok. I had to tuck my ears into the cups as the cups are pretty small, but other than that comfort is ok. Sound though surprised me and not in a good way. They didnt sound bad but honestly they just were devoid of any excitement at all. I imagine they are more analytical or do better with an amp but as it stood with the testing I did, they were a strong third place to the vmoda and the sonys.
Bottom line - I spent an hour at Best Buy getting lost into the tunes with both the vmoda 100 and the MDR1A, and in the end I am very very happy i chose the MDR1A. To me the comfort is enough to where the more muted treble is worth it. Vmoda's to my ears sounded slightly better but did have less of a soundstage than the MDR1A, but that comfort ultimately won me over. I mean how can comfort not be a factor? Whats the point of amazing headphones if you can't wear them more than 30 minutes at a time.
Anyway these were just my thoughts and maybe they will help someone out deciding or maybe not.
