My impressions of various £50~200 headphones: MDR-10RC, X2HR, DT770, Roland RH-A-30, HD598 + others.
Sorry if this appears to be an aimless post with zero point, but I thought I'd just give my long term impressions of various headphones that I've used throughout the many years I've been into audio listening and production. All of them are around the £50-200 range so nothing here is earth shattering in price, and the main reason why I've yet to really spend a lot on "the one" for me is simply because I just don't really know exactly what I want yet. I've switched between liking headphones and wanting to get rid of them in a space of a day because a quirk or "issue" props up during work or listening.
Sony MDR-10RC
One of the first headphones I used a lot was actually the Sony MDR-10RC headphones, mainly because I was able to grab them for super cheap a couple years back when I was a broke student - like £25 new. They're on-ear and were really easy to carry around, and the sound was surprisingly good. Yeah, it has that overly inflated bass response, and since the design of the headphones couldn't create a great seal around my ears it mostly just meant that it all felt really mushed together, it wasn't very punchy or deep. The treble and low mid range had some dips creating a bit of a darker sound in a few tracks (and especially noticable on waveforms and synths), but hey! For the price I paid I really cannot complain at all - they were put through hell for years and have basically evaporated at this point - it's really loose fitting and the earcups are beyond destroyed. Also, replacement earpads will cost me as much as what I paid for the entire thing!
Audio Technica M50x
I got these as a recommendation from a friend from university, I demo'd his pair with a quick track that was on my workstation at the time and they sounded like enhanced versions of the MDR-10RC, so I got them as I was already used to the bassy sound but now the extra treble made things sound more sparkly - cool!
When I got my pair and demo'd a lot more of the tracks I typically listen to, I did enjoy that the treble was far more pronounced but I didn't like the bass or mids as much as I thought I would. It's a similar problem to the 10RC, but with an even more closed in and intense sound (due to the pads and grip?), and the biggest issue of them all likely because of that - they were so painful. My ears wanted to fall off after an hour of using them.
I paid more than 4x the price compared to my MDR-10RC and I found myself not wanting to use them due to the lack of comfort so in the end I just decided to return them. I don't think they were exactly bad sounding at all and they do sound better than the 10RC - it was mostly the comfort that ruined it for me.
Beyer DT770 80ohm
These headphones are interesting. I got them shortly after the M50x and my honest first impressions was that I didn't like the bass after being used to the 10RC/M50. Also, everything sounded quite harsh and sibilant (especially on flutes and voice), but I decided that I'm absolutely sticking with these as they were incredibly comfortable and they didn't have that fatiguing boomy, closed in sound that made a lot of songs a bit uncomfortable to listen to - especially if the producers decide to crank the bass way too much already in the mix!
What's really funny is that within a week of using them all of a sudden the bass felt way stronger - too strong! - it was actually offputting and made me look into EQ software for my interface to get back to what I was used to.
I "balanced" it to reduce the sibilance and lower the bass to make it more flat sounding and stuck with that for months and gradually enjoyed the sound far more and more until I couldn't have it any other way, at least... I thought I did, until I realized that for the last couple weeks the bloody EQ program wasn't even working as I plugged the interface in another USB port at some point. It was then I realized that I just need to get used to things more as opposed to messing with them for weeks on end - in all, the DT770's sound great. They definitely can be sibilant but I don't mind that at all, and I'd say that the bass is slightly emphasized and the mids are good but certainly not aggressive. I actually still have these to this day.
Sennheiser HD598
My first open headphones. To cut straight to the point, I liked them a lot except for that emphasized high-bass that made a lot of low frequency instruments sound strangely resonsant. It threw me off a lot when working with audio and some songs that had an emphasis on punchy, mid-forward bass sounded like they were playing in a small, reflective room. At first I thought it was just revealing a bad mix but I had that "damn it" moment when taking a few projects into a studio with a good monitoring system - what sounded punchy just sounded boxy on the headphones, and balancing sound with the HD598 made me reduce the low mids too much to compensate, it was a frustrating thing. I liked everything else about it but that one problem kept bothering me too much that I sold them and went back to the DT770.
Shame, because the sound stage? Nice! Comfort? Excellent! And it had detachable cables!
Roland RH-300
I got these cheap and I'm a bit of a Roland hardware mark so I couldn't resist. Anyway, you can have a look at them and realize they're basically just Audio Technica M50's but with a few different things here and there, and it does change the sound quite considerably. Compared to the M50x I'd say that the RH-300 has less boomy bass but far more recessed treble and more forward mids, so you pretty much just get a flatter, darker sounding version of the M50. Are they bad? Nope, I actually enjoy the sound! They work wonders with a few tracks, especially a lot of indie rock where you want that close, in-your-face punchy sound. However, I can't use them much because just like the M50x, they make me ears want to fall off and run away after about an hour of use. I've bought some replacement pads of different materials but it just makes them sound worse.
Philips Fidelio X2HR
To prevent me from turning into a closed-back-only club after selling my HD598, I got these. I like them... I think. I'm actually not too sure anymore and I don't even know how to explain it properly. It's almost as though you're listening to music from a couple steps away from a speaker than you're expected to? All of the sound is there, there's nothing obviously wrong or harshly imbalanced, but it's almost as though you're hearing some kind of distant, reflective resonance at all times that makes a lot of the sound bleed into each other that messes with the attack and presence of a lot of instruments in a song. It's really nitpicky, I know, and what I'm talking about is not noticable unless you compare it with other sound sources. The build quality is great, the comfort is fantastic and I think they look really cool.
I'm not entirely sure what to think of them at the moment, or if I'll keep using them. I gave them multiple weeks and... I'm still unsure.
Roland RH-A30
Again, they look like they were based off the M50's, but these ones are open-backs and built a little nicer than the RH-300. Hey, you ask, why would you buy this when they destroy your ears? Well, this one is slightly bigger and actually has these nice, fat velour pads! They don't ruin my ears!
I've only had these for a few weeks now and if I was to describe the sound I'd say it's not as distant or blurry as the X2HR, it has more treble than the RH-300 but it isn't piercing, it's not as bassy or sibilant as the DT770 but if there's one thing that's clear, it's that the mids are very forward and can be quite aggressive. They make my X2HR's sound mid-scooped. It seems to be mostly flat with a very slight push in the low mids and 10k range. It makes snare drums, electric guitars, vocals and flutes stand out a lot. The soundstage isn't as distant as the HD598 but it isn't closed in either. Build quality is not as good at the X2HR, they make creaky noises if you move a lot, and it has no detachable cable which sucks, but I took a chance on these and I'm pretty surprised at how much I'm enjoying them, which also makes me realize that I'm someone that seems to prefer more mids and treble compared to bass in their headphones, which was quite a reversal from when my journal started.
I don't know if anyone read all of that, but I hope my rambling brought any kind of interest to you if I did take up your time. Just for a bonus, I'll post my uh, taste in songs that I demo headphones with. At least, the ones that I can even find online!
Sword of Justice - Beyond the Darkness
Metal warning - loud! Super aggressive mid-focused guitars, punchy lows, bright female vocals and sharp synths/harpsichords. This song can easily sound wrong if you have headphones that boost bass, scoop the mids or mess with the treble too much. The X2HR brings out the sub bass too much, makes the harpsichord sound blurred and takes the vocals back a little, the DT770 sounds great and is the least fatiguing to listen to and the while the RH-A30 sounds very balanced, the forward mids can make the song sound very aggressive.
Chirinuruwowaka - Milk-iro no Touge
Very sharp sounding mids on this song and a lot of frequencies in that "boxy" bass range due to the bass tone and percussion. Some headphones that dial back the mids make the vocals and guitars sound mushed together since they're mixed so close. The HD598 made the drums and bass sound way too resonant and boxy. The DT770 and RH-A30 sound best.
What?! Okay, depending on the headphones, if they lack detail in the low mids or have rollercoaster treble, it can make the vocals feel like they're vieled back and too bright while the other instruments just overtake her. The song sounds badly balanced on the X2HR, a bit too thin on the DT770 but sounds pretty good on the HD598 and RH-A30.
It's a very percussive song with a deep bass, lots of atmospheric pads and a flute lead. The X2HR brings out the bass but it actually sounds quite nice at first as it doesn't take much away from the lead... the only problem is after the 1:00 mark, it just sounds a little too V shaped as it's emphasizing the thumping bass and leads too much. The DT770 and RH-A30 sound completely fine here.
Well, uh, that was an afternoon while waiting for a phone call sorted. Thanks!
Posted Jan 13, 2022, 3:40 PM UTC
Found a fellow Doujin Music enjoyer.