Sub $200 Massdrop Headphone Showndown: HD6XX vs K7XX vs T-X0 vs. HE-4XX

[Max_Settings]

1 minute ago, Daniel Z. said:

True. If only hiphop was well mastered and recorded.

It’s not at all, hence why I don’t include it. I did mention hip hop in my conclusion however.

[Daniel Z.]

2 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

It’s not at all, hence why I don’t include it. I did mention hip hop in my conclusion however.

yeah, i might as well sell my k7xx cause 19/20 songs i listen to are hip hop. Main problem with my Clouds are that the mids sound really weird coming from other cans.

[Daniel Z.]

4 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

It’s not at all, hence why I don’t include it. I did mention hip hop in my conclusion however.

Could you try listening to some X or KILLY or any other modern hiphop artist for me real quick? I just want to know what I am missing out on by choosing the K7xx over the 4xx and HD6xx. It's fine if you can't though, you probably have a bunch of important things to do.

[Max_Settings]

Just now, Daniel Z. said:

Could you try listening to some X or KILLY or any other modern hiphop artist for me real quick? I just want to know what I am missing out on by choosing the K7xx over the 4xx and HD6xx. It's fine if you can't though, you probably have a bunch of important things to do.

Give me a few minutes. Eating ATM.

[Daniel Z.]

3 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

Give me a few minutes. Eating ATM.

Ok thanks! What do you think about The Weeknd's new EP? It seems kinda lazy cause he is just copying his old sound but "Hurt You" sounds pretty decent on my K7xx. 

[Max_Settings]

1 hour ago, Daniel Z. said:

Could you try listening to some X or KILLY or any other modern hiphop artist for me real quick? I just want to know what I am missing out on by choosing the K7xx over the 4xx and HD6xx. It's fine if you can't though, you probably have a bunch of important things to do.

Tried a little X, Drake, and Migos. I only liked the K7XX over the HD6XX or HE-4XX in the bass department. The vocals and other aspects of the song just didn't sound nearly as good, somewhat grainy vocals and a bit of a hollow sound. The HD6XX had the cleanest sound overall (but admittedly I was running the HD6XX and HE4XX balanced because I didn't want to swap back to stock cables, so that's why). HD6XX had the best song, but there isn't any bass and you'll hate them for Hip Hip. HE-4XX has enough to get by and still sound good with much fuller and forward vocals and better background details. Still though, they might not be the best hip hop headphones for the price.

[Daniel Z.]

8 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

Tried a little X, Drake, and Migos. I only liked the K7XX over the HD6XX or HE-4XX in the bass department. The vocals and other aspects of the song just didn't sound nearly as good, somewhat grainy vocals and a bit of a hollow sound. The HD6XX had the cleanest sound overall (but admittedly I was running the HD6XX and HE4XX balanced because I didn't want to swap back to stock cables, so that's why). HD6XX had the best song, but there isn't any bass and you'll hate them for Hip Hip. HE-4XX has enough to get by and still sound good with much fuller and forward vocals and better background details. Still though, they might not be the best hip hop headphones for the price.

Thank you, means a lot. Well I guess my decision wasn't too bad. No Sad No Bad really booms on the K7xx.

[Max_Settings]

Just now, Daniel Z. said:

Thank you, means a lot. Well I guess my decision wasn't too bad. No Sad No Bad really booms on the K7xx.

I personally don't see that. The K7XX has a decent amount of bass, but I don't think they are crazy bass headphones by any means. Go try Monoprice Retros if you want bass, I have never seen another set of headphones that move on your face from the amount of bass.

[Daniel Z.]

1 minute ago, Max_Settings said:

I personally don't see that. The K7XX has a decent amount of bass, but I don't think they are crazy bass headphones by any means. Go try Monoprice Retros if you want bass, I have never seen another set of headphones that move on your face from the amount of bass.

Well I don't have any bass cans, the Clouds are decent though. The bass on K7xx also really depends on mastering and how well you drive it.

[Max_Settings]

Just now, Daniel Z. said:

Well I don't have any bass cans, the Clouds are decent though. The bass on K7xx also really depends on mastering and how well you drive it.

Even something like Deadmau5, they aren't insane, they are good, but not insane. And I have enough power, rest assured. I'll let you know about tubes in a week or so.

[Daniel Z.]

Just now, Max_Settings said:

Even something like Deadmau5, they aren't insane, they are good, but not insane. And I have enough power, rest assured. I'll let you know about tubes in a week or so.

Cool. K7xx apparenty are really picky for amps.

[Guest]

17 hours ago, Daniel Z. said:

True. If only hiphop was well mastered and recorded.

Pity. It’s not my musical choice. How about some of the early material? Proto-hiphop must exist, right?

23 hours ago, Max_Settings said:

You’ll enjoy them, I promise.

I did a good deed today at my local musical instrument/sound gear shop (a chain up here called Long & McQuaid [they have lucrative service contracts with our school board’s music programs]).  I was trying out headphones... and a salesman was upselling some guy a pair of cans... for his son... who plays electric guitar.  The agent had the poor guy clutching a pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50X. Once the saleman left, the guy looked at me confused.

 

The salesman looked like a stereotypical musician (waiting for his next big gig)... grim.  I was asking the salesman about planar magnetic headphones (he had no idea what I was talking about)... I asked if he had any HiFiMan HE-400 (his response: I don’t know that brand)... the sales dude steered me to the Shure & Audio Technica headphones and wandered away.

 

I did an intervention.  There was a pair of Sennheiser closed-back headphones for significantly less money than the M50X. After talking to the dad about what his son needed, I suggested an HD&&& model for sale.  it was the best option on the shelves.

 

 

[Daniel Z.]

On 2018-04-06 at 10:46 AM, Max_Settings said:

I’m working on fixing typos, it’s a long thread cut me some slack

How do I put on Brainwavz XL to the K7xx? I want to get new pads cause of the same issue with thickness but the K7xx uses some twisting mechanism to mount pads.

[Max_Settings]

7 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

How do I put on Brainwavz XL to the K7xx? I want to get new pads cause of the same issue with thickness but the K7xx uses some twisting mechanism to mount pads.

For starters get the velour pads. To put them on I just stretched them over the back of the headphones, it wasn’t the easiest thing. Dekoni makes pads specifically for the K7XX that use the twist on system which would be more ideal.

[Max_Settings]

8 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

How do I put on Brainwavz XL to the K7xx? I want to get new pads cause of the same issue with thickness but the K7xx uses some twisting mechanism to mount pads.

The Dekoni pads are a Massdrop exclusive, you have to wait for them to drop. I think they velour are $30 or $35

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/dekoni-premium-earpads-for-akg-k7xx

[dizmo]

Brilliant. That's very in depth, and I especially like that I can skip to what I care about...only to find that none of them seem great

[Max_Settings]

Just now, dizmo said:

Brilliant. That's very in depth, and I especially like that I can skip to what I care about...only to find that none of them seem great

What do you mean? The HD6XX and HE-4XX are amazing. 

[dizmo]

7 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

What do you mean? The HD6XX and HE-4XX are amazing. 

I like bass.

[Max_Settings]

Just now, dizmo said:

I like bass.

Go buy some Monoprice Retros then. No other headphones I’ve ever used have had some much bass that they move on your head with the right song. They are actually pretty good for $30, so much so I put a $30 set of pads on them and spent 6 hours doing a balanced conversion.

[Max_Settings]

56 minutes ago, dizmo said:

I like bass.

And the K7XX and T-X0 do have a good amount of bass.

[dizmo]

11 hours ago, Max_Settings said:

And the K7XX and T-X0 do have a good amount of bass.

I really wasn't a fan of the Q701's when I had them. I've heard they're very similar to the K series, which I imagine is similar to the XX.

The T-X0 seemed interesting but you didn't give the build quality a very good score, which is paramount for anything I buy; which is also why I'd avoid the $30 headphones.

[Max_Settings]

9 minutes ago, dizmo said:

I really wasn't a fan of the Q701's when I had them. I've heard they're very similar to the K series, which I imagine is similar to the XX.

The T-X0 seemed interesting but you didn't give the build quality a very good score, which is paramount for anything I buy; which is also why I'd avoid the $30 headphones.

The T-X0 is built decently. For most people, they would pick them up and think that they are pretty well built. But in the grand scheme of things and other headphones, I’ve tried other headphones much more expensive that are just better built. But compared to any mainstream headphones, Beats, Skull Candy, M50Xs, a lot of the cheaper Sonys, they are much better built than all that.

[Max_Settings]

11 minutes ago, dizmo said:

I really wasn't a fan of the Q701's when I had them. I've heard they're very similar to the K series, which I imagine is similar to the XX.

The T-X0 seemed interesting but you didn't give the build quality a very good score, which is paramount for anything I buy; which is also why I'd avoid the $30 headphones.

And comparatively to the other 3 here. The K7XX feels like a rattling plastic Chinese made set of headphones. The HD6XX is plastic and metal, but it just has the feeling and tightness where you can tell it’s not made in China. Then you pick up the 4XX and they are heavy and made of steel and feel super solid. Then the T-X0 feels pretty good as well, not as solid as the 6XX or 4XX, but leagues above the K7XX, and better than most anything else in the price range. 

[dizmo]

48 minutes ago, Max_Settings said:

And comparatively to the other 3 here. The K7XX feels like a rattling plastic Chinese made set of headphones. The HD6XX is plastic and metal, but it just has the feeling and tightness where you can tell it’s not made in China. Then you pick up the 4XX and they are heavy and made of steel and feel super solid. Then the T-X0 feels pretty good as well, not as solid as the 6XX or 4XX, but leagues above the K7XX, and better than most anything else in the price range. 

Ahhh ok, that's good to know.
Have you ever tried anything by B&W? I was a fan of the P7 build quality, and wondered how it compared.

[Max_Settings]

2 minutes ago, dizmo said:

Ahhh ok, that's good to know.
Have you ever tried anything by B&W? I was a fan of the P7 build quality, and wondered how it compared.

Personally, no. But I have heard the P7 isn’t the best sounding headphone in the world and that they are a bit overpriced.