Here's a focused, objective and proffesional review of... some headphones.
I've had Sennheiser HD 595 for about 2 decades. I tend to like more natural sounding gear so I've been quite happy with them, except that I felt they sounded just a little boring. Recently I decided to try something new. After some reasearch I thought I might enjoy the sound of some Beyerdynamic 770s or 880s, but ran across Superlux HD 330 and since they're so cheap I decided to try those first. I also read Amir's review of Sony MDR-ZX110 and got really curious. To explore/rule out the amplifier dimension I also got a Fiio BTR13. Here's what I found.
I was blown away by the sound of of the HD 330s on the BTR13. Tight, punchy bass, bright (which tend to like, though these are a bit too bright). I got some Aliexpress Beyerdynamic-like earpads which made them super comfortable and tamed the bass and treble just about the right amount. Unfortunately they quickly developed some distortion in the right driver, on songs with pronounced bass. Apparently this isn't uncommon.
I tried the ZX110s on the BTR13. Not impressed, about what you'd expect from something like this. I tried Amir's PEQ settings and... wow. Very clear sounding. Tight bass (though obviously doesn't go very low). Really enjoyable to listen to, I kept wanting to listen more. Some sounds are very realistic, I get the feeling that they're coming from someone or something next to me.
Finally, I plugged the HD 595s into the BTR13. For the first time I heard very pleasing bass from them. Altogether they sounded like completely different headphones. Clearly better than the HD 330s and ZX110s. I did some reading and apparently the headphone amplifier on the Steinberg UR22 (which I was using before) is crap. All this time these headphones were wasted. Yes, headphone amplifiers do matter, who would've thought.
I've spent more time listening to all 3 headphones. Moving past the initial impression the HD 330s aren't that great. They have better soundstage than the HD 595s, and they can be fun, but they're all over the place, too muddy. Some songs sound alright.
The ZX110s? They still sound really, really good. I still enjoy listening to them (the HD 330s not so much). W... TF! How can these £10 headphones sound this good? They're much closer to the HD 595s than the HD 330s.
I guess I learned a few lessons. Good gear doesn't have to be expensive, or you get diminishing returns. Just avoid the bad stuff (though maybe some Superlux HPs may be alright, especially with mods or eq). Amplifiers do matter (though again, maybe it's just about avoiding the bad stuff).
I've had Sennheiser HD 595 for about 2 decades. I tend to like more natural sounding gear so I've been quite happy with them, except that I felt they sounded just a little boring. Recently I decided to try something new. After some reasearch I thought I might enjoy the sound of some Beyerdynamic 770s or 880s, but ran across Superlux HD 330 and since they're so cheap I decided to try those first. I also read Amir's review of Sony MDR-ZX110 and got really curious. To explore/rule out the amplifier dimension I also got a Fiio BTR13. Here's what I found.
I was blown away by the sound of of the HD 330s on the BTR13. Tight, punchy bass, bright (which tend to like, though these are a bit too bright). I got some Aliexpress Beyerdynamic-like earpads which made them super comfortable and tamed the bass and treble just about the right amount. Unfortunately they quickly developed some distortion in the right driver, on songs with pronounced bass. Apparently this isn't uncommon.
I tried the ZX110s on the BTR13. Not impressed, about what you'd expect from something like this. I tried Amir's PEQ settings and... wow. Very clear sounding. Tight bass (though obviously doesn't go very low). Really enjoyable to listen to, I kept wanting to listen more. Some sounds are very realistic, I get the feeling that they're coming from someone or something next to me.
Finally, I plugged the HD 595s into the BTR13. For the first time I heard very pleasing bass from them. Altogether they sounded like completely different headphones. Clearly better than the HD 330s and ZX110s. I did some reading and apparently the headphone amplifier on the Steinberg UR22 (which I was using before) is crap. All this time these headphones were wasted. Yes, headphone amplifiers do matter, who would've thought.
I've spent more time listening to all 3 headphones. Moving past the initial impression the HD 330s aren't that great. They have better soundstage than the HD 595s, and they can be fun, but they're all over the place, too muddy. Some songs sound alright.
The ZX110s? They still sound really, really good. I still enjoy listening to them (the HD 330s not so much). W... TF! How can these £10 headphones sound this good? They're much closer to the HD 595s than the HD 330s.
I guess I learned a few lessons. Good gear doesn't have to be expensive, or you get diminishing returns. Just avoid the bad stuff (though maybe some Superlux HPs may be alright, especially with mods or eq). Amplifiers do matter (though again, maybe it's just about avoiding the bad stuff).
