From: tonyb@juliet.ll.mit.edu ( Tony Berke )
Newsgroups: rec.audio.high-end
Subject: Re: "Ultimate" Headphones
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 92 11:08:40 EDT
Organization: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
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Cc: tonyb
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Originator: tjk@csd4.csd.uwm.edu


bower@pecan.cns.udel.edu (Tyson Bower) writes:

>I know I'll be flogged by the Sennheiser and B&O owners out there
>for saying this, but in my opinion, the best headphones for the money
>are Sony MDR-V6's.

Well, I won't flog you.  I own a pair of MDR-V6's myself, and I also feel
that they are a very good value.  I use them to monitor live recordings
sessions, and while their isolation isn't as good as some other 'phones
I've used, it is pretty good compared to most consumer headphone designs.


>(Oops.  I said "best headphones for the money."  This was supposed to be a
>money-is-no-object deal.  Well, in honesty, I could say I would still
>buy the Sonys even if I did have a 20k stereo budget.)

Depending on exactly what you mean by this paragraph, I think I might
take issue with it's wisdom.  You see, I *do* own $20K worth of audio
equipment, and yes, I do own a pair of MDR-V6's, so from that standpoint
I can't argue.  On the other hand, I also own a pair of Stax Lambda's.
If I had no need for headphones with isolation from outside noises
(and vice-versa), there is no way I'd ever bother listening to the V6's.
The sonic differences between the two are not at all subtle, and none of
them are in the Sonys' favor.

The Stax setup has terrific bass, an outrageously extended high end,
amazing midrange articulation, transparency, detail, smoothness, lack
of grit, glare, listening fatigue, and just about every other positive
attribute ever used in a subjective review anywhere.  Objectively, the
are very flat, have very low distortion, and play quite loudly.

The large Stax units are also very comfortable, despite their bulk.
This comfort stems from a suspension design that distributes the weight
of the 'phones across a large suede strap that sits on your head.  This
strap is independant of a metal band that provides the main structure to
the headphones.  The end effect is that nothing is squashing against your
skull with any amount of pressure at all.

There are two disadvantages to the Stax units that bother me a bit, but
may or may not be an issue to someone else:

1)  They need connection to a power amp (unless you spend *really* big
money and buy one of the models that comes with its own amp).  Since my
systems are always bi- (or more) amped, this means that I need to leave
an extra amp kicking around to run the headphones from.  The Stax are
sufficiently revealing that this extra amp shouldn't be some 30 watt
Kenwood you bought from a truckload sale for $100, either.  I know this
from experience -- it was painful to listen to!

2) At home, the lack of isolation from the outside to the inside isn't
much of a problem, but the reverse situation sure is!  I tend to listen
a bit too loudly, and the huge diaphragms of the Stax pump *lots* of sound
out to anyone nearby.  It limits their utility a bit.

3) (special bonus disadvantage) My system gets repatched a lot, since it
does double-duty as part of my post-production system for live recordings.
The Stax are not useful for debugging cabling errors and such, as they
can't be conveniently patched into various unit's headphone jacks.

Most people will only find objection #2 to be of any serious consequence.
Problem #1 can be true of almost any headphone -- if you're trying to get
world-class performance, the headphone jacks on most equipment are never
going to provide it.  The way around this is a dedicated headphone amp
of some sort.  With the Stax, the option to avoid the added expense
is removed.

As a final anti-Stax note, I've read a number of reviews (and postings on
the net) by people  that have compared the Grado Signature Series
headhpones to the most expensive Stax models, and the Grado's have come
out well in the competition.  I've never managed to find anywhere to listen
to the damn things, but I'm impressed with what I've read about both their
sound and their mechanical construction.  As an added bonus, the Grados
are relatively modest investments compared to the upper-model Stax units.

Happy listening,

Tony Berke (tonyb@juliet.ll.mit.edu)



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