Which headphones would you buy for 1000$

[BoredErica]

STAX 009 is very old news. Although to some it may be new, not everybody's really looking at higher end headphones. BUT IMO they still look ugly. I like the looks of LCD3 or LCDX. I'm like HD800s for their looks too although many would disagree. For the STAX, the 009 are the least ugly of the bunch.

 

I tried different solid state amps for HD800s and they sound the same to me. Never tried a tube amp though. I also didn't blind test them, but eh.

 

so , while everyone is discussing.... The conclusion is, if you are willing to spend 1000 on an headphone, test before you buy?

Yes. It's standard practice to try expensive headphones before buying. That's what music shops and Headfi meets are for.

[creatip123]

At least, from what I've read, it won't be nearly as hard to find good matches for them as opposed to the HD800, which is known to be very picky as far as amps/dacs are concerned.

 

Can't completely disagree with that. While I found most dynamic driver headphones to be somewhat less sensitive as to what the amp choice is (in sense that a crappy amp, as long as it got the proper juice, wouldn't yield much difference than a $500 amp, for example), I think the HD800 is a special case. Yeah, I do find the 800 to be quite sensitive to some extent (not as sensitive as planars, though) to changes in amps. 

 

 

 

Yes. It's standard practice to try expensive headphones before buying. That's what music shops and Headfi meets are for.

 

+1. It should be the SOP (standard operation procedure) for anyone picking out any headphone. Unless he/she is just looking for 'something that generate sounds, and that's that'

 

The proper thing to do should be, forget all the brands, forget all the reviews. Come to an audio store, and test the craps out of them demo units, to find the one that really suits the buyer. Best is even to do a kind of blind testing, by having somebody else pick various headphones, and have them put it on your head from behind. This would further eliminate biases based on price, design, materials, etc, and concentrate the judging purely on the sounds. 

 

For example, when I was looking for a pair of IEM, I had a budget of $70-$80. But from all the IEMs in that price range, I ended up getting a pair of $10-$15 generic China brand handsfree, for a simple reason. That's the best (to me) sounding IEM I auditioned in that price range. The closest one would be the Shure 215 which I like very much, but out of my budget at that time. 

 

Of course, there are many limitations to this 'proper procedure', namely time consuming, ear fatigue (can't expect one to still be 100% objective and accurate after testing 20-30 types of headphones continuously), etc. That's why we should narrow it down, first by budget (no points of picking a headphone that's above your max budget), and by other properties, like open/closed, brands, sound signatures, etc.

[samyG]

With a grand, probably a HD 650 and O2 DAC.

[Lutkeveld]

Ima find me one of these.

 

Dat Frequency response.

 

 

Lol 'dat frequency response' right? Low frequency rolloff starting at 200hz.......

Probably fairly smoothed as well, not worth the money (and looks ;p)

If I would spend 1000 bucks on a headphone it better start rolling of on at least 40hz, preferably 20-30ish.

[mr moose]

Yes, there is a lot of misinformation about audio floating around. In fact the resonant frequency is important when it comes to impedance matching - i.e. if the impedance of the headphones is less than 8x the output impedance of the amp. If this "damping factor" is too small, then the driver will not be sufficiently electrically damped and it will distort the sound - which often this results in too much bass rather than too little. HD 800/650 aren't that susceptible because they are high impedance, but low impedance cans such as the HD 5xx family are.

 

I'd just add that the impedance mismatch can effect higher freq. also as the impedance curve tend upwards towards the higher frequencies.  And sometimes because the driver is not controlled the bass can sometimes sound boomy rather than just louder.

[Timmyfox]

STAX 009 is very old news. Although to some it may be new, not everybody's really looking at higher end headphones. BUT IMO they still look ugly. I like the looks of LCD3 or LCDX. I'm like HD800s for their looks too although many would disagree. For the STAX, the 009 are the least ugly of the bunch.

 

I know, I never said they were new, just that imho they are pretty good looking.

How about the Orpheus' then? The HD580/HD600/HD650 share a lot of its aesthetics with the HE60 and HE90.

 

[BoredErica]

I know, I never said they were new, just that imho they are pretty good looking.

How about the Orpheus' then? The HD580/HD600/HD650 share a lot of its aesthetics with the HE60 and HE90.

 

Meh. They are just ok looking. Kindda reminds me of HD600/650s and I never cared for those looks either.

[Timmyfox]

Meh. They are just ok looking. Kindda reminds me of HD600/650s and I never cared for those looks either.

Yeah, as I said they do indeed share a lot of aesthetics with those two. My point anyway, if you've read my posts rather than just looking at the images, is that there -are- electrostats with more mainstream designs that do appeal to a lot of people.

[ShearMe]

Yeah, as I said they do indeed share a lot of aesthetics with those two. My point anyway, if you've read my posts rather than just looking at the images, is that there -are- electrostats with more mainstream designs that do appeal to a lot of people.

 

I'd be saving up for a pair if they still made them....

[BoredErica]

there -are- electrostats with more mainstream designs that do appeal to a lot of people.

Like what? You never specifically listed anything.

[Lays]

Like what? You never specifically listed anything.

 

 

Tbh the sr009 doesn't look bad imo. 

[BoredErica]

Tbh the sr009 doesn't look bad imo. 

I think they look decent. But a lot of the lower end Stax looks hideous to me. There was a guy in OCN.net that loved the look though.

[Lays]

I think they look decent. But a lot of the lower end Stax looks hideous to me. There was a guy in OCN.net that loved the look though.

 

 

Yeah the lambda is pretty ugly tbh.  

 

Then again, 1 of my buddies says my LCD-2's are hideous but I think they're gorgeous, what can ya do? lol

[Timmyfox]

Like what? You never specifically listed anything.

Not sure if trolling or just paying attention...

 

Someone commented that electrostats are known to be the ugliest type of headphones to which I replied that there are ones that look like 'normal' headphones with more mainstream designs.

I listed three models, the STAX SR-009, the Sennheiser HE60 and the Sennheiser HE90 (AKA Orpheus). Perhaps you was too busy looking at the pictures but all those models are electrostatic headphones.

 

Just because you don't like how those look doesn't mean they look infamously ugly to most people.

[BoredErica]

Not sure if trolling or just paying attention...

 

Someone commented that electrostats are known to be the ugliest type of headphones to which I replied that there are ones that look like 'normal' headphones with more mainstream designs.

I listed three models, the STAX SR-009, the Sennheiser HE60 and the Sennheiser HE90 (AKA Orpheus). Perhaps you was too busy looking at the pictures but all those models are electrostatic headphones.

 

Just because you don't like how those look doesn't mean they look infamously ugly to most people.

I didn't know the HE60 is electrostatic.

 

Chill bro. God damn.

[jalex3]

I have Zero interest in headphones that cost that much.   But some expensive ones I like are, Alfa Dogs by MrSpeakers, Sennheiser HD8 DJ.

 

[ShearMe]

I have Zero interest in headphones that cost that much.   But some expensive ones I like are, Alfa Dogs by MrSpeakers, Sennheiser HD8 DJ.

 

I want Alpha Dogs just because they're smexy.

[Miguel the Chilean]

He 500 or hd650 and the 02 odac combo. I relly wanna get em.