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Most Disappointing Headphone
Credit for this idea goes to this thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/biggest-disappointment-headphone.855530/
Sinple question: what headphone have you personally tried that you found the most disappointing?
Keep in mind that this is NOT necessarily the headphone you hated the most. The question is about a headphone that was hyped, perhaps had glowing reviews, but when you tried it you were filled with disappointment.
Also, this is not the time to bash other people for what they didn't like. It's their opinion and they are as entitled to have it as you are entitled to have your own. Be respectful!
My vote goes to an early prefazor LCD-2. I heard so much about it, saw the glowing reviews, and when I tried one I won the lottery of auditioning a grade F. I wanted to punch the wall with how bad it was. Luckily, I was convinced of giving another a try, but this was a spectacular grade A unicorn.
(In Audeze's defense, post-2016 the quality control has gotten to where it should be for high-end headphones and I love them now. I own a pair of 2016 LCD-3)
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keyboard_arrow_downbigshel
263
Dec 30, 2018
Beyerdynamic T1 (1st version). Very clean but the word sterile comes to mind. As sterile as a doctor office. Before I really got all "audiophile-ey" they were my "ones'... but was a good lesson in maybe I want to listen to headphones before I drop that kinda money on them.
Very Close runner-up: Sennheiser HD600... had them for a month and sold them. As much as people hyped them to me, it was a dull experience for me and not to my liking. Let a friend listen to them and his response was "They're clear, especially the vocals but it's like someone decided to remove the life from music"
VRacer111
491
Dec 29, 2018
Probably the Sennheiser HD700 - Most comfortable headphone I've ever had and were absolutely SPECTACULAR for gaming... but when it came to music they were so song dependant on whether they really sounded good or not that they simply weren't enjoyable to listen to. EQ helped some... but still didn't prevent their tendancy for uneven music enjoyment. Loved everything about the HD700 except for their sound .... and that rediculous stock cable! LOL
mfabri1
75
Dec 29, 2018
Kingsound H-03... got them for cheap so I figured I would try. Don't know how they were able to make eStats sound so bad.
J_December_why
481
Dec 28, 2018
Koss Porta Pro. they are tight to the ear, not-so-easy to loosen tightness to the ear and adjust headband without concern of pulling hair. Sound is good for $35 but being so openly unobstructive, I guess they are good while doing house chores, or phone calls but not for wearing them long hours. I don't see other applicability for the Porta Pro.
jaydunndiddit
3262
Dec 28, 2018
HD 6XX, hands down without question. The cult like following of this headphone is beyond me. Mind you, I don't think it's sounds bad by any means but isn't this holy grail of sound as it so "humbly" gets ascribed.
And because I have to include this IEM, but I also was severely disappointed with the Campfire Andromeda. I also don't get the cult following behind this one. Much like the 6XX, it's inherent shortcomings were far too many to outweigh their unique benefits. I guess others were able to see past that and I just couldn't. At least, my ears couldn't.
dcha12
461
Dec 29, 2018
jaydunndidditEven though I'm a fan of the HD 6X0 series, I have to agree. Even modded, I wouldn't put them up as endgame, super amazing cans.
They're ridiculously hyped, but I would say that they're still great headphones.
bigshel
263
Dec 30, 2018
jaydunndidditbruh, I hear ya with the cult like following. HAHA. After a while I was just resigned to the fact that the audiophile community was hearing something with their Sennheisers that I wasn't or listened to vastly different music than I listened to.
mindhead1
599
Dec 28, 2018
The Mayflower T50rp MKIII. I had heard so much about how good modded Fostex headphones were I figured I’d give them a try. To my ear they were a sibilant mess. The worst sounding headphones I ever heard. I returned them.
The amps I used them with were the DarkVoice 336SE, AudioENGINE D1 and Aune X7S. Maybe the amp combos were bad. Maybe the mod was bad. I have never heard an unmodded set of T50rp headphones. I may try them again someday, but that experience soured me on those headphones.
jaydunndiddit
3262
Dec 28, 2018
mindhead1You're not alone there. I've felt the same way about many of their variants. And when they didn't have those issues, they were way too bassy and dark. I have the T60RP now and they honestly improve on every issue I had with the T50 family. They're U-shaped but thing bring a sense of clarity with that glare and harshness that can be seen in the T50. Bass is lessened but tightened up and no crazy spikes or dips in the mids. Personally, I'd try and give them a listen over any T50 variant nowadays.
erickong
7412
Audiophile Moderator
Dec 28, 2018
When I visited a friend, I tried this entire headphone collection. I haven't read any review about the Mr. Speaker Aeon Flow Closed back, but I wasn't impressed by their sound for the price. The construction, material, and weight felt great. Nothing about them stood out, everything sounded muddy. I quickly put them down and listened to other things.
GiantHeadphoneSquid
639
Dec 28, 2018
erickongWhile I feel they are an impressively accurate closed back, I have to agree it is my biggest disappointment. The AFC feels like it is sucking air out of the music (as if the 'flow' is more exhaust than, well, flow), try as I might I don't find them as enjoyable to listen to as the price of entry should warrant. It feels like they have added so many features to mimic an open sound, that the end result is nothing but a sum of compromises; they taught me that I like headphones that play to their strengths, rather than obsess over minimizing weakness.
They are by no means a bad headphone, but I came to them with boatloads of hype as well after the stellar review from Tyll.
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