Welcome! So nice of you to jump in with your first post offering to spend time to A/B…great group here
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No problem, happy to be here and i have alot of fun listening and switching between hp’s. It so hard to be happy with one set, when there are so many different characters to each speaker and pad type. Once i thought i was looking for that perfect pair, but now i relisise there is so much to enjoy from which each different pair can present.
Welcome and thank you so much for that offer. It is incredibly kind of you. The only two I am not familiar with is the Nighthawks and the b8’s. The b8’s may be worth getting just for the price to play with. I haven’t heard the k702’s either but I did own a k712 for a while which I really liked and may get again.
I’m actually talking to a guy who has a pair of the v3 he-560’s I may take a gamble on. The only problem I have with that is some people claim the v2 and v3 sound different than the wooden ones.
If it helps I can share the headphones I own to rule out things? I hope this place keeps this atmosphere. I’m actually enjoying the recommendations and opinions I have gotten while not seeing some form of back and forth happening.
Its no trouble at all, i really enjoy swapping between hp’s.
The nighthawks are a very unique beast, they have a very in your face bass sound to them for me, but in a very enjoyable way.
For me when i put them on it sounds similar to when you put sea shells on your ears, but you forget that as soon as you start to play music.
I really loved the nighthawks when i first got them but i just find them fatiguing and they have somthing very special about them so its hard to let them go.
Still comparing right now between the B8 and he560 and with the tracks i have been listening too they are very close.
These are the differences so far:
The low end on the b8 is slightly more on top than the he560, the bass is more present and the kick drum has the punch on both but the b8 has more body to it.
The highs on the he560 are more on the top than the b8 and gives more air to the sound, but there is not anything missing from the b8. When i put the angled pads on the b8 this gave more air, but reduced the low end and spaces evrything out alot. I am not sure which pads i prefer yet as they do things very differently.
I also have more pads on there way.
The mids are very even between them both, i would say the low mids are a bit muddy on the he560 compared to the b8.
Personaly i would not bother with the k702’s unless you want lots of highs and hardly any low end. They have very good sound stage though. (I need to try pad swapping these to see if i can breath new life into them).
If you could give me some examples of tracks you listen too, i can see what differences poke out between them. I listen to a wide range of music.
I also remeber reading that there is a difference between he560’s, the pair i have are the wooden ones that came with the wooden box and anoying screw in cable. I said screw you to that cable and modded them to take the jack cable instead.
I hope this is helpful, if you do decide to get the b8’s and dont like them i would not mind purchasing them from you. I was planning on buying a second pair to have with different pads, so it would make my life a little easier as i pad swap to compare the differences.
I was very surprised at how the b8’s sound for the price, maybe it is because they have berillium drivers.
I have read that if you have a small head the b8’s do not fit very well.
Also the stock pads have a muddy sound the low mids mush with the low end.
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If the b8’s are using the same headband as the m570 which it looks like I will definitely have a problem. Even with the thin pads they barely have pressure and on the smallest setting it is almost too low on my head. My main desires for wanting the 560 or something similar is the bass it reproduces and not necessarily the quantity of it. The timbre and cleanness of the sound is just as important. They made my 6xx and t1 sound like they had more grain. The t1 even sounded artificial afterwards.
The reason the bass impressed me so much was how low it could go while still maintaining texture so you could differentiate between changes even when they are below 40hz giving every level of bass regardless of how deep it is a completely unique identifiable sound. I am definitely going to look in to a pair of nighthawks for bass though. I enjoy headphones that give a unique experience and I own more than a few headphones that have problems only because those rare times the have that special moment. lol
Has anyone had any experience with the Sony MDR-Z7? I don’t imaging that to have an aggressive sound but a clean fun sound wouldn’t be a bad thing.
I heard the Sony house sound is more dark.
The more i hear about it i think the Sundara might be close sounding to the HE560. its also a great headphone in its own right
I would say the nighthawks bass is very impressive, but not so much in the low low end.
I need to dust off the he400, remeber them having crazy low end. But they are uncomfortable to wear.
If you could give me an example of a track with that low end detail, i can see which pair have similar detail.
I am off to bed now though.
I was interested in those sony’s too, i have always wanted to get a pair of sony’s.
It definitely is a great headphone but it reminded me more of the 400i then the 560. It’s been a while since I listened to them but I remember them sounding bigger than the 400i yet maintained the smooth characteristic of the 400i. They are great headphones no matter what though.
@WretchedToad
I apologize for the potential assault on your ears but I don’t know many better examples of deep sub bass than Pop Smoke. One example would be Gatti. With the 560 there is no point where the level in the bass dips or looses pressure. When the bass moves from side to side it is less a change in position and more of a wall of pressure being pushed through your head. There’s other parts where the bass seems like it is pushing and pulling sound out of your ears like I remember from my audiobahns back in the day. All the changes are much more dramatic than what I get with something like the 400i. Mind you all that is done without losing any separation, detail or being elevated.
Again, I apologize for this example but this is the most noticeable to me. The first time I heard this song was on the 560 but no other headphone I own does it any sort of justice. It’s Shotta Flow 5 by NLE Choppa. It should not have hints of distortion which the majority of my cans show and should not have points lacking authority except for the point where the bass completely stops. With the 400i I get what sounds like hints of distortion at certain points when the bass is hitting but when using the 560 that hint of distortion was actually very quick rumbles in the bass while it is punching. The song no longer sounded like it was poorly recorded or had any issue.
I will leave the examples at that for now. I don’t want you to suffer too much. lol
By some weird chance I happened to be near a place that offered curb side pickup and had the “updated version” so I grabbed a set of Sundara’s. I was hoping I was remembering them wrong but unfortunately I wasn’t. Side by side with the 400i you can tell they are related to the point it’s almost unsettling considering a 400i can be found for under $180 new and I paid roughly $317 after tax for the Sundara. The 560 in comparison sounds like a different companies house sound. Chances are I will end up keeping them though. Their soundstage seems to be a little unique and gives a somewhat unique experience.
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Interesting. that was not my experience. i had the sundara and it was the first headphone that made me cry. The 4XX i didnt like at all. i found it dull and unimpressive. quite a contrast. it is a 160$ headphone vs a 350$ really a 500$ headphone though. But the dt770, dt880 are also a 160$ headphones and they kill the 4XX imo. also the Helios is only 20$ more at 180$ and kills all of them imo lol.
I wonder if the 400i and 4xx is more different than some think. Going back and forth I get a very similar presentation and they even share the same peak in the treble with the Sundara having possibly slightly recessed mids by comparison. Saying that there are some noticeable improvements and in no way am I trying to imply they are equal. I’m just saying to me the Sundara sounds like they wanted to make an improved 400i. I have never owned a dt770 but had a dt880 and still have a modded dt990. There’s no denying those are insanely capable headphones at the price even with their problems. It took a long time for me to finally get the treble tamed on my dt990’s to an enjoyable level without messing up the other frequencies but since doing so I use them very often.
How did you tame the treble?
The paper is a paper towel and as weird as it sounds the brand matters. For me that fibrous Viva stuff worked best. I can’t remember the exact type of felt I used in the cup but that mattered as well. I will have to dig around and see if I still have the package. Keeping the hole so the driver was still uncovered was important. If I didn’t do that I lost clarity and imaging. The felt did pull the sound stage in a bit but mostly only in the mids and lower. Highs still seem to reach out and be locatable in their space. I can’t remember how much of a difference it made on the bass. If I remember it made it tighter but may have reduced quantity. I recall that being hard to tell though.
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My preference is opposite to yours. For some reason, I like the 4XX more vs the 770.
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Same here. 100% in the 4XX camp. All the low-tier beyers sound thin in comparison imo. They also lack bass and speed. Then again, they aren’t as muffled/veiled.
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Yeah i like V shaped headphones now. the 4xx is more neutral i think
I don’t think I have ever heard anyone say the 990 lacked bass before. I definitely recall pain but don’t remember ever thinking any of them sounded thin. Then again it’s been a while for the 880’s and I haven’t heard my 990’s stock in a couple years. I do remember being impressed by what the 880’s offered for the price though.
@WretchedToad is $250 a good deal for the old lquid wood Nighthawks? I have an offer for one at that price but finding consistent info seems to be tough with those.
I think that would be pretty fair if they were in great shape with all original accessories.