The ultimate closed isolating headphones (reduce)

M50x is your ultimate closed set?

 

hifiman edition s? dunno they are closed or not...

 

Meh to alphadogs. Sold mine (before the price collapse thankfully) after picking up a used pair of ES10's for 1/3 the cost that sound substantially better. Audio Technicas don't get a lot of praise around here, but among the limited truly closed options out there, ES10's are dynamic, clear, extremely light, isolate well and have surprisingly hard hitting deep bass response thanks to the 53mm drivers.

ljokerl describes them very well here: http://theheadphonelist.com/headphone-review/audio-technica-ath-es10/

 

how about the ATHMSR7? i heard it in tokyo... a bit on the bright side... but nothing too harmful either.

 

No love for the Audio Technica W or Art monitor series?

I guess the amount of noise isolation is directly related to how good the seal is, or maybe how big of a head you have.

 

MrSpeakers Mad Dogs/Alpha Dogs, LFFs Enigma, Ultrasone Signature DJs. Even the Kennerton Magisters I'm trying provide very good isolation and leakage control.

 

DT 770M drummer cans so you can bash away.

 

The MSR7 in my opinion only provides average at best isolation, likely due to a small port each cup has. I love their sound but yes they can be a tad bright.

 

Me too, although I would say it's my ultimate closed portable set. Not class-leading in any way, but no glaring issues either. At the same time, if I couldn't care less about portablity, and I had more $$$ to spend, I would go with one of the MrSpeakers or ZMF cans, maybe the TH-X00 depending on how much isolation I needed.

 

The Paradox/Slant from LFF is the best all around closed-back headphone that exists.

f**k you,.... you're an idiot,......Sorry, if you disagree

 

I keep getting conflicting information about this. I've been told the Blackwood has better Isolation, is this not so?

 

Depends on what I'm looking for. Based on the time I had with them they have usurped the B&W P7 for a closed full-sized portable usage headphone for me. I like the Blackwood more, but I wouldn't use them publicly.

They aren't getting love because they don't isolate very well.

 

From my experience they isolate as much as the TH-600, so basically not at all.

MSR7 seem good technically, but there was something about the mid range that I didn't like.

Anyone like the HD-25-ii?

 

I would take the M50x over the MSR7, I find the MSR7 a bit grainy and thin in the mid/upper mids.

 

I heard Darin Fong's pair at the San Diego Head-fi meet and it had an issue. There was a buzzing noise in the left or right cup whenever the music got louder or there was more bass. I'm not sure if it could have just been a hair or if the driver was failing. Other than that they sounded good.

I compared them to the Alpha Dogs and found them to be very comparable in performance, the Alpha Dog edged them out in separation cause the cup size. I don't get why the Alpha Dogs get little love around here.. hell I just compared them to the TH-X00 and still found the Alpha Dogs have a much better midrange and tighter bass. The upper frequencies on the TH-X00 were still a bit bright for my taste, but definitely had more extension and "air" around the highs. Forget about isolation with the TH-X00.. they leak sound in and out.

Maybe because I use a Norne aftermarket cable with them? Does that cause unicorn fairies to suddenly fix Dan's "suspect" tuning that everyone seems to complain about? I actually had my pair measured at Dan's factory and he even traded out my original Alpha Dogs which had a horrid paint job (too much paint thickness in bass port) for a brand new one.

Talk about customer service! Free "$600" headphone in exchange for my old one.

 

I liked some aspects of my alpha dogs, but at the end of the day, when compared to other decent headphones, deep bass response sounds muted and anemic (not tight like hd800's), and the trebles remained a little peaky even after ordering up and experimenting with "doggie treats" at length.

Hd800s certainly are not known for having earth shaking bass, but the back and forth comparison between them and alpha dogs makes for a stark contrast, both in terms of extension at reasonable volume and clarity. For fans of K701's, I could see that the alphas might provide lasting satisfaction, but my ultimate realization was that my hd800's, hd650's, dt880's, and even my cheapie diymod t50rp's all had much better low end, which, although rarely discussed in terms of genre, matters in classical and jazz as much as it does in hiphop and pop, when it comes to setting up the foundation of a chord or properly manifesting a walking bass line. Getting a cheap used pair of es10's was the nail in the coffin of my alphas.

I am glad Dan ultimately provided Wasmoh with a pair that make him happy, but it kind of sounds like that initial pair never should have shipped to begin with if the bass was being impacted by excess paint in the ports.

 

One more suggestion in direction of MSR-7.
I have had these for a month now and love'm. They are definently a little bright, but in sum less than HD800. Brightness is allocated differently.
Best closed cans I've heard thus far, I'm sure there are better/different ones around, but for 200$, not so sure.
Isolation is about average, weak in lows but good enough in highs and speech range.
These scale! Listening right now through Yggs --> EC 2A3 and don't miss HD800 that much.
Word of caution! I'm dynamic range and resolution nut. Some orthos like PM-3 might suit others better.

 

If isolation is concerned, it's customs or bust. Otherwise what Dr. Findley said.