Two Status Headphones are now $44

[RBH]

Looking forward to trying these - out, I have a pair of hd 650's and a K-240 to test against.

[Brian Walton]

I also caved.  Will see, I have pile of Senn Cans but all are open-back.

Have closed back KRK 8400 and Senn280 Pros.  

And of course a number of sets of in ears.  I don't use Close backs often, but when tracking with condensers, need options to minimize bleed.    figured for the sale price + coupon worth the hassle, and it sounds like they have a good return policy if they don't live up to expectations.  

[mibby]

From listening on the CB-1s tonight, compared to my HD280 Pros, I find them MUCH more enjoyable to listen to. That doesn't necessarily translate to mixing, but I've never liked how the HD280 Pros presented the low end. Even though the specs say they can go down to like 8Hz, I've always had trouble really "hearing"  the lows on them.  The CB-1 made the lower frequencies come alive by comparison. I found them more "warm" and open, and they were perfectly comfortable to wear all evening.*

That said, as a counterpoint - I had my son listen to them to see what he thought.  He lives in his ATH-M50xs.  He immediately said he didn't like the CB-1s and thought the low-mids were too "hyped".

So a +1 and a -1 review... 

I'm glad to have picked them up and will likely be spending more time referencing and getting to know them. Totally worth the $34 bucks to me!

Thanks for the tip guys!

*Disclaimer:  I do most of my mixing on monitors and pretty much use headphones for checking FX and referencing.

[Hatstand]

I got mine today and for the money they are good value, nicely built and comfortable however If you are looking at using them for mixing be careful.

I tried them listening to my reference tracks using the Sonarworks profile and without and to be honest IMO they sound better without.

The Sonarworks profile suggests they are really undercooked in the 500Hz and 1.2 KHz range so boosts them, which results in a really unpleasant honky sound.

Without the calibration they are a lot more pleasant but have that bass end boost you get with closed backs which is nice for listening, but less so for mixing as you have to second guess.

I will stick to my AKG open backs for mixing but these will be handy for tracking as there is very little bleed. They might need to burn in, as most headphones do (unless it is my ears that need burning in) but I suspect the characteristics won't change that much.

I will get in touch with Sonarworks and Status to see if there is any chance of getting a recalibration.

[Simeon Amburgey]

Ding dong! UPS! Unboxing day!

I am looking forward to doing some sort of unboxing with these.
They are literally the first over the ears headphones I have purchased in about 30 years, so it will be insteresting to hear the differences and test them using the NX Ocean Way Nashville and Abbey Road Studio 3.

Stay tuned...

 

[Simeon Amburgey]

Here is a very interesting project on Github with measurements for just about every headphone imaginable. Here is a link referencing the Status CB-1, with lots of detail, impulse responses, EQ settings, etc.

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/innerfidelity/innerfidelity_harman_over-ear_2018/Status Audio SM-CB1

[Hatstand]

29 minutes ago, Simeon Amburgey said:

Here is a very interesting project on Github with measurements for just about every headphone imaginable. Here is a link referencing the Status CB-1, with lots of detail, impulse responses, EQ settings, etc.

https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/AutoEq/tree/master/results/innerfidelity/innerfidelity_harman_over-ear_2018/Status Audio SM-CB1

The curves do look similar to the Sonarworks calibration but whilst the github shows drops of around 3db at around 500Hz , Sonarworks is boosting  by 7db in that region to compensate for what it thinks is a 7db drop

Edited February 1, 2021 by Hatstand

[Bapu]

Got my second pair today.

Worst case scenario, if I end up hating my first pair I should be able to get my $34 back on my second still sealed in the box pair.

 

[Hatstand]

Now they are sounding nice! good starting point for you all. Don't forget to bypass before you export

 

based on what I gleaned from SW and Github and then tweaked to taste. I have got in touch with SW.

 

Thanks Simeon! They are sounding pretty pretty good now. (by good I mean flatish based on an a/b with my usual ref tracks)

Edited February 1, 2021 by Hatstand

[Hatstand]

Should have said, the screen shot is Ozone 9 eq but I am sure it can be mimicked in others and whacked on the master buss or the send to the cans.

Ignore the grey area that is just the audio at the time I took the screenshot not the resultant audio.

Now at least if a singer drops them after a take or a guitarist sits on them, it will only cost them 30 quid

Still wouldn't give them to a drummer, they will have to make do with two baked bean cans and a length of string!

Bass players like Bapu of course will still be the most disrespected thing in the studio...

Edited February 1, 2021 by Hatstand

[Simeon Amburgey]

So my pair arrived this morning so I had to do an unboxing video.
Here is the first part of my journey, so far, so good!

 

[Simeon Amburgey]

4 hours ago, Hatstand said:

Now they are sounding nice! good starting point for you all. Don't forget to bypass before you export

 

based on what I gleaned from SW and Github and then tweaked to taste. I have got in touch with SW.

 

Thanks Simeon! They are sounding pretty pretty good now. (by good I mean flatish based on an a/b with my usual ref tracks)

@Reid Rosefelt, just want to thank you for putting all of us on the track for these, it shows the power of this community and it is very much appreciated.

@Hatstand, thanks for doing this in Ozone. Here is a VST 3 preset file with only the EQ module engaged.

 

All the best to everyone!

Simeon

OZONE 9 - EQ - STATUS CB-1 Correction.vstpreset

[Reid Rosefelt]

Great video, Simeon!   I listened to it with my CB-1s. ?

[artturner]

2 hours ago, Simeon Amburgey said:

Here is a VST 3 preset file with only the EQ module engaged.

Thanks Simeon!

Edited February 2, 2021 by artturner

[Grem]

Good unboxing video Simeon!!

[Simeon Amburgey]

 - The Next Day - 
So today was a new day, with some semi fresh ears. Possibly some of the initial honeymoon excitement was affecting my perception.
I did some A/B tests between the CB-1 and my trusty MDR-7504 and it really sounds quite different to me.
Some intermittent tinnitus that is more prominent sometimes more than others depending on how my sinuses are doing.

 I created an empty project and loaded up the new VSL Synchron Bösendorfer 280VC as well as Spitfire's Abbey Road ONE to get some ideas. The MDR-7504 just have a nice sparkle to them, and it seems that the Abbey Road Studio 3 and Ocean Way NX plugins seem a little more realistic as if sitting in front of the speakers. There just seems to be more of a tangible sound field for lack of a better word. It might be due to the fact that the MDR-7504 might be a little more mid to open back. The driver is also 30mm as opposed to the 50 mm on the CB-1 so that might also make a difference in the psychoacoustic realm. Using the Sony MDR-7506 profile on the NX Rooms gave them a nice roundness, that I liked as well.

So while the CB-1s are nice and round, I do miss the sparkle. Even using the Ozone 9 EQ profile it was odd not to perceive too much of a change whether enabled or disabled.

So more tests and music to listen to but that is where things are today.
Would love to hear more feedback from others using the CB-1 just to make sure I am in the right ballpark.

All the best,
Simeon

[Brian Walton]

2 hours ago, Simeon Amburgey said:

 - The Next Day - 
So today was a new day, with some semi fresh ears. Possibly some of the initial honeymoon excitement was affecting my perception.
I did some A/B tests between the CB-1 and my trusty MDR-7504 and it really sounds quite different to me.
Some intermittent tinnitus that is more prominent sometimes more than others depending on how my sinuses are doing.

 I created an empty project and loaded up the new VSL Synchron Bösendorfer 280VC as well as Spitfire's Abbey Road ONE to get some ideas. The MDR-7504 just have a nice sparkle to them, and it seems that the Abbey Road Studio 3 and Ocean Way NX plugins seem a little more realistic as if sitting in front of the speakers. There just seems to be more of a tangible sound field for lack of a better word. It might be due to the fact that the MDR-7504 might be a little more mid to open back. The driver is also 30mm as opposed to the 50 mm on the CB-1 so that might also make a difference in the psychoacoustic realm. Using the Sony MDR-7506 profile on the NX Rooms gave them a nice roundness, that I liked as well.

So while the CB-1s are nice and round, I do miss the sparkle. Even using the Ozone 9 EQ profile it was odd not to perceive too much of a change whether enabled or disabled.

So more tests and music to listen to but that is where things are today.
Would love to hear more feedback from others using the CB-1 just to make sure I am in the right ballpark.

All the best,
Simeon

Look forward to getting mine.

Also give Morphit by Toneboosters a try (full featured unlimtied time demo available - so no 30 second drop outs or annoying white noise).  They have a profile for the CB-1.  (you can adjust the percentage by which it applies the frequency adjustment to match "flat")

I never owned that particular Sony MDR model, but I have tried a few different MDR pairs over the years, the mid range and top end usualy had quite a bit of presense to it.  Compaired to my Sennheiser HD500(series of varios) models, I thought they were a little too much.  Not that it isn't accurate but just the presentation wasn't as enjoyable to listen to.  If you ears have become accustom to that presentation, I'd imagine a few brands would end up not having that "sparkle."  AKG can tend to be on that high end presense specturm too.  

Even without hearing the CB-1s yet, your perception doesn't surprise me at all based on other things I've read about these cans.

Also the open back to closed back design will have inherant differences.  My closed back Senn280s sound like garbage compared to the HD598s to my ears.   

 

Also, while it is fun to mess aroudn with the psycho acoutic toys, I'd suggest leaving those off for the inital tests on comparisons and then jump into that as the 2nd judgement criteria.  

Edited February 2, 2021 by Brian Walton

[Simeon Amburgey]

56 minutes ago, Brian Walton said:

Look forward to getting mine.

Also give Morphit by Toneboosters a try (full featured unlimited time demo available - so no 30 second drop outs or annoying white noise).  They have a profile for the CB-1.  (you can adjust the percentage by which it applies the frequency adjustment to match "flat")

I never owned that particular Sony MDR model, but I have tried a few different MDR pairs over the years, the mid range and top end usualy had quite a bit of presence to it.  Compared to my Sennheiser HD500(series of various) models, I thought they were a little too much.  Not that it isn't accurate but just the presentation wasn't as enjoyable to listen to.  If you ears have become accustom to that presentation, I'd imagine a few brands would end up not having that "sparkle."  AKG can tend to be on that high end presence spectrum too.  

Even without hearing the CB-1s yet, your perception doesn't surprise me at all based on other things I've read about these cans.

Also the open back to closed back design will have inherent differences.  My closed back Senn280s sound like garbage compared to the HD598s to my ears.   

 

Also, while it is fun to mess around with the psycho acoustic toys, I'd suggest leaving those off for the initial tests on comparisons and then jump into that as the 2nd judgement criteria.  

OK,

I just tried some experiments with Morphit and when I have it set to about 150% I do get some of that sparkle back ;^)

This is just so very interesting, having been invested in hearing things a certain way for so long, it shows the power of how we perceive things.  I do know that I have a very drastic divot in my 3k range so I know that things like that are going to affect how I am hearing things.

I am actually thinking about ordering a pair of Sony MDR-7506s and see and hear how those might compare. Also there are definite profiles for these in the NX programs. We shall see, I mean hear. It also looks like Status no longer is selling the OB-1 (Open Backed).

Thanks for the feedback.
All the best,
Simeon

 

[Brian Walton]

13 minutes ago, Simeon Amburgey said:

OK,

I just tried some experiments with Morphit and when I have it set to about 150% I do get some of that sparkle back ;^)

This is just so very interesting, having been invested in hearing things a certain way for so long, it shows the power of how we perceive things.  I do know that I have a very drastic divot in my 3k range so I know that things like that are going to affect how I am hearing things.

I am actually thinking about ordering a pair of Sony MDR-7506s and see and hear how those might compare. Also there are definite profiles for these in the NX programs. We shall see, I mean hear. It also looks like Status no longer is selling the OB-1 (Open Backed).

Thanks for the feedback.
All the best,
Simeon

 

I think I noticed you had some Tanoy Reveals (the 402s perhpas) for monitors.  I have and love the 502s - though I had to purchase 6 of them to get two 4 with a similar "noise profile."  (I also have the 402s, but I haven't used them in a few years).  So I'm guessing we at least have one common point of reference generally speaking.  

I've used the MDR-7506.  They are closed back so they won't sound quite like the old ones, but do fit in that "presense of the highs/mids catergory" compared to something like the Sennheiser brand.  All depends on what you are looking for, like and need.  If you are keeping the Status ones for closed back purposes, you might consider an alternative open-back pair as the alternate purchase instead of the MDRs.   

[Hatstand]

Sonarworks got back to me to say they used 4 pairs to determine their profile. I wonder whether they got a bad batch or parts have changed since they calibrated them as that 500Hz boost still sounds like overcompensation to me. I am going to spend some time listening to my reference tracks to do some more a/b ing.

Status got back to me and pointed to this article which they said may be of interest.

https://ledgernote.com/reviews/status-audio-cb-1/