Submitted by Shannon on 5th July, 05:42PM


Source : My DVD player, hook up to a Art Dio, being used as a DAC sample rate 88.2kHz, I used the X-PSU as the power supply for the DAC.

Cables : my MIT 330 CVT to connect my amp to my DAC and a Monster Digital Cable to connect my DAC to my DVD player. Sorry about the monster, but that's all I had I tried some normal cables, but that sound no better than the Monster, and they were just RCA IC, not digital.

Amp : Grado RA-1 (I decided to use this instead of the X-cans since it is much more neutral)

Headphones : Sony MDR-CD1700, Grado HP-2, Sennheiser HD600, AKG K501, Grado SR-60.

CDs : Stereophile Test CD 1, Birgit Nilsson – Sings Wagner : Opera Arias


I will ranked the headphones, from best to worst (relatively speaking, of course). I will add comments as to why they were ranked as such.

Comfort level :

1. Sony MDR-CD1700
2. AKG K501
3. Sennheiser HD600
4. Grado HP-2
5. Grado SR-60

The Sony's redefine the term comfy, they are super comfy! They felt like two fluffy pillows on your ears. The headphone headband gives you a very secure fit, they can get a bit warm, however. The AKG's come second, they feel loose and light and the cups cover your full ears. The pads are no where near as comfy as the Sonys, Sennheiser, or Grados (comfy) however. The Sennheiser HD600 come in 3rd, only because they have the vice grip of death, but they have the 2nd most comfy pads. The HP-2 have the Grado comfy pads with the hole cut in the middle. Since they are all metal they are a bit heavier than most headphones, but they still feel light, but not when compared to the rest of these cans. But, no death grip here, that's for sure. The comfy ear pads are more comfy than the AKGs or the Grado Bowl pads. The 60's are very light, but, they have the Bowl pads on, which while they sound better on these headphones than the comfy ones, they are not going to win this face off They are not as bad as some people would like you to belive, but next to the above pads, they just are not as comfy.

Ok, now for the sound!
I used track #1 on the Stereophile Test CD 1 to make sure that all headphones were at the same volume level (not on the amp, sound wise, of course)

I used tracks 20-31 to test the bass of the above headphones. I wanted to see at what point the bass began to be rolled off.

In order for this to make sense, keep in mind that :
Extreme bottom below 32 Hz
Low bass, bottom octave 20 to 40 Hz
Midbass 40 to 80 Hz
Upper bass 80 to 160 Hz

Tracks 20-31 go from 1kHz, 200Hz, 160Hz, 125Hz, 100Hz, 80Hz, 63Hz, 50Hz, 40Hz, 31.5Hz, 25Hz, and 20Hz, in that order.

Here are the points at which the bass began to become rolled off for each headphone, no rankings here, just not the numbers :

1. Sennheiser HD600 = 20Hz
2. Grado HP-2 = 25Hz
3. Sony MDR-CD1700 = 31.5Hz
4. AKG K501 = 31.5Hz
5. Grado SR-60 = 31.5Hz

Nothing much to add here.

Soundstage test part 1 and 2

The CD I used here was , Birgit Nilsson – Sings Wagner : Opera Arias Track #2 Senta's Ballad.

Soundstage width, they are ranked from widest to the narrowest :

1. AKG K501
2. Grado HP-2
3. Sony MDR-CD1700
4. Sennheiser HD600
5. Grado SR-60

The AKG's have hands down the widest soundstage of these headphones, it wasn't even close. Grado HP-2 came in second, due to their more forward presentation, their soundstage seems smaller, it's still very wide, but next to the k501's, they fell short in this. Sony MDR-CD1700 had the 3rd widest soundstage, it shock me too, but it was wider than the 600's, but not as much as the HP-2's. Sennheiser HD600 came in 4th, the soundstage changes depending on the amp that you use, but that's what I heard with this one. Grado SR-60 came in last, not very wide at all, it can't hang with the other headphones when it comes to this.

Soundstage Depth, they are ranked from deepest to flattest.

1. Sennheiser HD600
2. Grado HP-2
3. Sony MDR-CD1700
4. AKG K501
5. Grado SR-60

The Sennheiser HD600 soundstage may not be the widest, but it had the most depth. Grado HP-2 came in second, but it was close to the 600's. Sony MDR-CD1700 was 3rd, however it must be noted that the 600's and HP-2's were way ahead of the other headphones in this, so it wasn't a close 3rd. AKG K501 came in 4th, and only because they are more laid back than the SR-60's, which are the most forward headphones here. While the soundtage was by far the widest, it has almost no depth. This gave the AKG's the worst imaging, since everything appeared shallow and flat, hence the lifeless or dull label I gave them before. The SR-60 came in last only because they are so forward and everything sounds so close to you, but the imaging is better as there is more air around the instruments than the AKGs, just not spread out. But, the AKG's soundstage appears farer away from you, but once you get there, if like a painting, it's flat, it doesn't seem real.

Now I will rank the headphones for clarity, by that I mean how clear and clean the headphones sound. they are ranked from clearest to mud(relatively speaking, of course).

1. Grado HP-2
2. AKG K501
3. Sennheiser HD600
4. Grado SR-60
5. Sony MDR-CD1700

The Grado HP-2's win this battle. They sound extremely clear, more so than the other headphones, but the AKG's came closest to matching them in this. The AKG K501 are extremely clear, but the HP-2 are just a tad more clean sounding than them. 3rd comes the Sennheiser HD600, the RA-1 lefts whatever veil they may have been reported having with tube amps. But, it must be said that the HP-2 and K501 were way ahead of the rest of the headphones here. Grado SR-60's have been reported to have a peak on there treble, well that help them come in 4th. The Sony MDR-CD1700 have a way too lush mid-range to be taken as clean sounding headphones, that lush mid-range and comfort level also just so happens to be their best points! But, that's not what I'm measuring here, so they come in last.