Re: Headphones - what did Dave get?
A week ago I just got a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50 and like them very much. I can compare them with the Denon AH-D2000 which I have had for a year and have become my favorite headphones. The Denons have a flatter response and sound more clear to my ears than any of the other headphones I have used, including Sony MDR7506, Sennheiser HD280, Sennheiser HD600 (very nice but open back and not quite as flat in the highs), Sennheiser HD25-II, Ultrasone HFI680, and AKG K240 MkII. For isolation I prefer the Etymotic Research ER4PT with custom earmolds, although the bass sounds somewhat attenuated on those and being in-ears they are less convenient. After a week of listening to the ATH-M50 on CDs and music I recorded live, I narrowly prefer the Denons for a slightly more musical bass, which Dave Rat found to be very low distortion down to 20 Hz on his oscilloscope. The ATH-M50, which is available for less than half the price I paid for the Denons, is a very close second to my ears. Of course all these comparisons are subjective as perceived by my 61 year old hearing-damaged ears, and I have not yet had a chance to use the ATH-M50s out at a gig, so those are the limitations of my review here. I also would note that the ATH-M50 looks to have a very good build quality, has either coiled or straight cord (I prefer coiled), is foldable, comes with additonal velour ear pads, has much smaller ear cups than the Denons (but still fits my relatively large ears ok), and is a couple dB less sensitive than the Denons. I have stopped taking the Denons to gigs, they are no longer available and I like them so much and don't want them to walk away.
