Do you believe in golden samples for headphones?

I recently acquired a used PS500 on fleabay “as parts”. They just needed new pads. I’ve been critical of Grado’s missing bass in the past. This particular set sounds pretty close to my TH900 in most normal rock music. That just ain’t right. These things sound great, if a tad bright at times on some songs. I bought them because of nostalgia, and got way more than I paid for. They seem like a “Golden Sample”.

 

Golden sample = horrible QC.

That said unless you've got really interesting ear shape I'm surprised that you're hearing close to TH900 levels of bass from a PS500. I've heard both and despite the Grado bowls being almost circumaurals for me (small ears, same reason I dislike IEMs), the PS500 rolled off sharply after the midbass. Besides the fact that the Fostexes have a MASSIVE bass bulge, I've just not heard a Grado with bass quality comparable to even the HP-3 (which I'd say is distinctly below the TH900 and maybe the original HD800).

 

Some brands (Audeze) it seems like you're basically buying videogame lootboxes in physical form hoping you nab a good pair. That reputation for variance is what turned me off buying them despite liking the pair I tried.

Id say it varies by brand and by pricepoint, but inconsistencies is indicative of a less than stellar QC process.

Pads can also have quite dramatic effects on sound - see the Elears with Clear vs stock pads. So don't count out what replacing pads can do.

 

What's your sample size?Once at canjam I heard two LCD-4s, one dark and veiled, the other far more balanced, amping was somewhat the same. I wouldn't say the better one was a golden sample unless I would have heard 5 to 10 units to be sure.

 

I agree with you. I’ve had a PS500e before, as well as GH1, PS1000, and the SR125. None of them sound like this. It is serialized in the upper 3,000’s.

Now the TH900 does have deeper and more authoritative bass, but the PS500 I have is at least comparable. I find that I reach for it over the TH900, and Senn/MD HD58X more and more.

 

No experience with the MD x Senn 58X or the GH cans, but for a PS500 to have comparable bass quality to the TH900 is remarkable, to say the least. Any chance you'd be willing to get extra ears on them because I'm curious what the flapjacks is going on.

Are you using Grado pads or other sets?

 

I’ve used the stock bowl pads, and the larger pads like the ones on the ps1000.

I’d love to get them measured, I have no tools to do so.

 

Honestly, if you're extremely cheap you can literally just download an app for your phone and use the built-in mic for quick and dirty measurements. An external mic hooked up to a proper rig would be far more useful, but if you're just doing this for kicks and are on a tight budget this should work well enough. This is what I did before I invested in a cheap USB microphone that I promptly broke (shh I know I'm clumsy).

Just make sure to get a realistic seal for more accurate measurements. I had some scrap vegetable tanned leather that I padded with some leftover foam to simulate the side of my head. Still was a flat plate with no pinna interactions and I'm pretty sure the texture of the leather might have affected the results, as would the density of the foam used etc etc, but since I was just taking quick measurements to compare some gear I had lying around and mess with mods it served my purposes well enough.

Pretty much broke and busy with school stuff so not gonna be playing with measurement rigs any time soon, but I plan to save up for a EARS once I pay off this one amp I want to buy. IIRC their QC has improved lately, and its as good as you're gonna get short of making your own RANDY or whatever its name was

Edit:
It may be worth mentioning that my last phone was a Moto Z Play, which has the mic mounted to the face of the phone instead of along the sides. My current phone is a Samsung S9 and the mic isn't positioned nearly as conveniently for measurements, so I've put a pause on measurements and all until I can get a not-poop external mic

Also some edits to correct effed up spelling + grammar. Hate typing on my phone but the cat's using the laptop.