Music Hall DE-BE On-Ear Portable Stereo Headphone review

I've read reviews of Music Hall components for years in Stereophile, and the manufacturer's comments in the back of the magazine, containing entertaining banter between the reviewer and manufacturer. I was hoping for a hi-fi or mid-fi headphone from these guys, and my expectations came up short. A light bass impact, some very slight treble peaks, or a modest treble rolloff - any or all of these can be had in many headphones that sell for $200 USD or less. In the case of the DE-BE however, the sound required significant EQ to be usable for hi-fi listening indoors or out, and so this is an "EQ review" that's intended only for people who are OK with using equalizers.

http://rockgrotto.proboards.com/thread/10834/music-portable-stereo-headphone-review

amirm said:

You are saying this is a $200 headphone and took significant eq to make it sound good?

Click to expand...

Yes. Some of the $200 and below headphones that I've had recently that are hi-fi quality or very nearly so include the AKG K553, ATH ESW9a, ATH M50, B&O H2, B&W P3, Beats Solo2, Beyer DTX501p, Bose AE2, Brainwavz HM5, Edifier H850, Harman Soho, KRK 8400, Philips SHP9500, Sennheiser HD380 Pro, Shure SRH840, v-moda V80/M80/XS...

There are many good choices in that range.

amirm said:

Thanks. I read in that article that you had reviewed 130 or so headphones? If so, that is very impressive and dedication to the cause. How about creating a"10 Best Headphones in the World" and post which ones they are in your opinion and linking to your reviews?

Click to expand...

Here's my top 25 with a brief description: http://dalethorn.com/Headphone_Favorite_25.txt

And here are the reviews sorted by name: http://dalethorn.com/Hifi.html

To get the review links to the videos and photos, you can either copy those from the text reviews to the address bar, or go to either RockGrotto or HiFiHeadphones UK and they're all posted there.