Yes, they do look seriously nice.
Playing London Grammar Hey Now on them as I type, really good!
Interesting, just swapped over to PSB M4U, another mid-priced fav of mine.
Vocal on the PSB is more noticeably focussed and purer/cleaner, bass not quite as deep and powerful but maybe a little tighter, not as spacious/open. Not as cumfy as the Philips.
Going back again to the Philips it took several minutes to readjust, they sounded a bit vague and 'dirty' compared to the PSB. But they sound great again now - I'm bouncing my head along with Wasting My Young Years on the Philips - yeah, really good rhythmically!
Swings and roundabouts, both are good. Very different approaches to the presentation. I'd choose the PSB if I were to keep just one, although I can easily imagine someone else making the choice the other way.
The Philips are an open backed design, the PSB closed back - they mostly follow the differences you'd expect from open and closed designs.
Once the cat gets off my lap I'll get my more expensive Sennheiser 700 for a direct comparison.
.... byebye puss, over to the Senns.
They have the purity and focus of the PSB but more rez and openness, not as open and spacious as the Philips, though, and the bass isn't as deep and strong.
They aren't as much fun as the PSB or Philips, def less 'toe-tapping' but I suspect they are more accurate. More for the long haul than short term excitement. Better for classical than rock, maybe. Which is fine by me.
... onto Sights with London Grammar on the Senns - wow, tears in my eyes, spine tingling - superb.
Maybe it's just the music.
Summary ...
Philips - most cumfy, most open and spacious, deepest most powerful bass, great rhythm tracking
PSB M4U - better focus and rez, purer
Sennheiser 700 - most sophisticated, most purity, most musical insight, not the best for bass-led music, the least initially impressive
_____________
The above based on Qobuz Hi-Rez and using an Epiphany Acoustics headphone amp.
