Jump to content

Looking for highly detailed headphones

Lauen

Back in October or something last year I bought a pair of Soundmagic PL50 IEM's (review in signature), which sorta blew me away with their excellent detailed mids. I'm not buying the headphones right now, but rather when I can accumulate the cash needed.

 

so my requirements are:

 

- Highly detailed mids

- over ear headphones

- I'd like a detachable cable but that's not necessary

- Budget: I prefer under $500 but if I like them I can go higher, I'd just need to save up for longer.

 

I don't know what else to specify, just ask if you want more info.

 

EDIT: doesn't matter if they're closed or open

Edited by Lauen

Reviews: JBL J33i   M50s   SRH440   Soundmagic PL50           

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Beyer DT880, sennheiser Hd600, akg K712, shure srh 1440/1840, hifiman HE-400i/500, mr.speakers alpha dogs, ath-R70x.

I believe those are your options.

I really like the HE-500 along with alpha dogs. These headpones have a slightly forward treble which will be piercing for some.

Do you like forward low mids (male vocal) or high mids (female vocal, string instrument) ?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Back in October or something last year I bought a pair of Soundmagic PL50 IEM's (review in signature), which sorta blew me away with their excellent detailed mids. I'm not buying the headphones right now, but rather when I can accumulate the cash needed.

 

so my requirements are:

 

- Highly detailed mids

- over ear headphones

- I'd like a detachable cable but that's not necessary

- Budget: I prefer under $500 but if I like them I can go higher, I'd just need to save up for longer.

 

I don't know what else to specify, just ask if you want more info.

 

EDIT: doesn't matter if they're closed or open

 

HE-400i. Done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Sennhesier HD 650 with a soundcard. 

ayy lmao ayy lmao ayy lmao ayy lmao ayy lmao ayy lmao ayy lmao ayy lmao ayy lmao

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

HD600s, or HD650s 

I'm actually not too hot on the Sennheiser sound, and according to ShearMe the Pioneer SE-A1000 is very similar sounding to the HD650, I do believe him and honestly the sound is sorta boring to me. the soundstage is excellent though.

 

Beyer DT880, sennheiser Hd600, akg K712, shure srh 1440/1840, hifiman HE-400i/500, mr.speakers alpha dogs, ath-R70x.

I believe those are your options.

I really like the HE-500 along with alpha dogs. These headpones have a slightly forward treble which will be piercing for some.

Do you like forward low mids (male vocal) or high mids (female vocal, string instrument) ?

I don't want the treble cannons and the dark Senns, but the rest are quite interesting. I'm sorta biased towards Shure since I love my SRH440's.

 

HE-400i. Done.

I have been eye-ing them, as I've heard planars, much like BA drivers have excellent details.

 

Sennhesier HD 650 with a soundcard. 

Don't like Sennheiser much, and kek soundcard

Reviews: JBL J33i   M50s   SRH440   Soundmagic PL50           

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I think you would thoroughly enjoy the HE-400i aswell, at $500 that's what I would pick, planers are great.

Intel Core i7 7770K | 32 GB's Ram 3000MHz | GTX 1080 Ti | 250GB SSD | 3TB 7400 RPM | Sound Blaster Z | ASUS ROG MG278Q | Razer Blackwidow Chroma | Final Mouse 2015 | Blue Yeti | Seinheiser HD 600's | Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro | Aune T1 MK2

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

My vote goes to the HE-500, it's tuned to a more neutral sound while the HE-400 is colored instead.

Like watching Anime? Consider joining the unofficial LTT Anime Club Heaven Society~ ^.^

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't want the treble cannons and the dark Senns, but the rest are quite interesting. I'm sorta biased towards Shure since I love my SRH440's.

Srh1440 i believe doesnt have a ton of bass so that cuts out my recommendation to R70x, HE-400i and alpha dogs. You probably need amp for R70x and alpha dogs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have a AKG HD 271 MKII, but you'll need a good DAC and Amp to achieve your demands.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Also I believe audio technica cans are known for good mids, such as the AD1000X.

 

I have a AKG HD 271 MKII, but you'll need a good DAC and Amp to achieve your demands.

 

Top kek.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I have been using the m70x for two weeks now and I have to say they have very clear and detailed mids however they are a little too bright and a little lean in the bass.

If the r70x is the open back version of that than they will be amazing headphones but I haven't tried that to confirm that.

The alpha dogs however are just phenomenal and are now in 500$ end of life sale price.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Srh1440 i believe doesnt have a ton of bass so that cuts out my recommendation to R70x, HE-400i and alpha dogs. You probably need amp for R70x and alpha dogs

oh I don't care if they have no bass, as long as it's audible at all. I am by no means a bass-head, I'm all about the mids.

Reviews: JBL J33i   M50s   SRH440   Soundmagic PL50           

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Go listen to some Stax headphones.... ;)

A little knowledge is very dangerous
CPU: I7 6700K CPU Cooler: CORSAIR Hydro H110i Motherboard: Asus Maximus VIII Hero GPU: 2x Asus GTX980 STRIX RAM: 4x4 (16GB) Corsair DDR4 Case: Corsair 900D Storage: 750GB SSD PSU: Corsair HX1000W Displays: 2xAsus PB287Q (4k) 2x1080 Monitors Keyboard: QPAD MK50 Mouse: 1xRazor Naga Elite 2x Razor Naga Sound: Asus Essence STX, Quad Elite Pre Amp, Quad 909 Power Amp, Monitor Audio GR20 Speakers Headphones: Logitech G930, Sennheiser Momentum Black Microphone: Rode NT1-A, Behringer Xenyx 802, Behringer Ultra-Curve Pro EQ OS: Windows 7 64bit

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

As someone who uses headphones professionally, I have several go to cans. My decision on which to use is based entirely on the environment and duration of wear. If I need to isolate the program sound from the background (location/field recording or channel soloing during a concert) I go closed. Everything else I use the open frame. The most expensive is not always the best. Find a song that you are very familiar with and save it to your phone or pad as an uncompressed .wav file and make a trip to a store that has all the top brands. Listen for yourself without adjusting the volume between different headphones. If they sound really quiet, they are high impedance and hopefully you have a decent amp to push them. If you already have an amp/dac/sound card rated for hi impedance, stay clear of the low (25-80 Ohms) ones, as you will damage them at high volumes. You don't need to spend extra on a high impedance amp if you don't already have one. Chances are that your favorite song was recorded in a studio full of low z cans.

 

After you check out what's available in your budget, set aside 3,4, or 5 of the ones you liked the most. Now this time play from your phone any other song from your regular player or station. Do any of them stand out as better or seem worse than the others. Discard the bad. Now you should be down to 2 maybe 3 tops. This is the point when you go to the equipment they have at the store and listen to them through that. They should be sounding very similar at this point, and that's what you want. By auditioning several songs on different sources, you get more of a real world test as to how they will perform once you get them home.

 

Now comes the part where you ask yourself, how long are you going to wear these? Is it going to be hot? Or noisy? Are you in a small room? This is where the weight, strap, and cushion material decide the final choice to fit your needs.

 

I could throw out different brands and models all day, but in the end, It's your head and your ears. Don't worry what someone else likes or dislikes, let your own taste and ears be the judge.

 

Cheers 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

As far as I can tell the R70x is incredibly dry.  Nothing really stands out about it, guess that's a good thing in some people's eyes.  But whatever, the AD1000x is a my go-to for mids.  Hmmm classical on AT open-backs...glorious, I don't do it enough heh.

AD2000x Review  Fitear To Go! 334 Review

Speakers - KEF LSX

Headphones - Sennheiser HD650, Kumitate Labs KL-Lakh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

As someone who uses headphones professionally, I have several go to cans. My decision on which to use is based entirely on the environment and duration of wear. If I need to isolate the program sound from the background (location/field recording or channel soloing during a concert) I go closed. Everything else I use the open frame. The most expensive is not always the best. Find a song that you are very familiar with and save it to your phone or pad as an uncompressed .wav file and make a trip to a store that has all the top brands. Listen for yourself without adjusting the volume between different headphones. If they sound really quiet, they are high impedance and hopefully you have a decent amp to push them. If you already have an amp/dac/sound card rated for hi impedance, stay clear of the low (25-80 Ohms) ones, as you will damage them at high volumes. You don't need to spend extra on a high impedance amp if you don't already have one. Chances are that your favorite song was recorded in a studio full of low z cans.

 

After you check out what's available in your budget, set aside 3,4, or 5 of the ones you liked the most. Now this time play from your phone any other song from your regular player or station. Do any of them stand out as better or seem worse than the others. Discard the bad. Now you should be down to 2 maybe 3 tops. This is the point when you go to the equipment they have at the store and listen to them through that. They should be sounding very similar at this point, and that's what you want. By auditioning several songs on different sources, you get more of a real world test as to how they will perform once you get them home.

 

Now comes the part where you ask yourself, how long are you going to wear these? Is it going to be hot? Or noisy? Are you in a small room? This is where the weight, strap, and cushion material decide the final choice to fit your needs.

 

I could throw out different brands and models all day, but in the end, It's your head and your ears. Don't worry what someone else likes or dislikes, let your own taste and ears be the judge.

 

Cheers 

 

 

Ohms don't matter that much, it's all about that efficiency, as proven here by creatip123: http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/290749-the-impedance-ballad-image-heavy/

 

I am fully aware of the fact that expensive doesn't always mean better, and that there are shops that carry headphones, but my problem is that I live out in the middle of the woods in Norway, the closest shop that carries headphones at all is a shitty electronics store, and all they carry is Bose, Skullcandy, low-end Sennheiser and Beats. so naturally I don't go there to try out headphones.

 

On my profile you can see the headphones I own. My daily driver is a Shure SRH440.

 

I am fully aware of all that you are saying, as I used to frequent this subforum all the time but I got fed up with people that think they know better than you, and when you give them facts that support your "side" of the case, they start throwing in opinions and other subjective matters in a purely objective case. aaaanyway, just give me some names of some headphones you can say have great mids and details.

Reviews: JBL J33i   M50s   SRH440   Soundmagic PL50           

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

As someone who uses headphones professionally, I have several go to cans. My decision on which to use is based entirely on the environment and duration of wear. If I need to isolate the program sound from the background (location/field recording or channel soloing during a concert) I go closed. Everything else I use the open frame. The most expensive is not always the best. Find a song that you are very familiar with and save it to your phone or pad as an uncompressed .wav file and make a trip to a store that has all the top brands. Listen for yourself without adjusting the volume between different headphones. If they sound really quiet, they are high impedance and hopefully you have a decent amp to push them. If you already have an amp/dac/sound card rated for hi impedance, stay clear of the low (25-80 Ohms) ones, as you will damage them at high volumes. You don't need to spend extra on a high impedance amp if you don't already have one. Chances are that your favorite song was recorded in a studio full of low z cans.

After you check out what's available in your budget, set aside 3,4, or 5 of the ones you liked the most. Now this time play from your phone any other song from your regular player or station. Do any of them stand out as better or seem worse than the others. Discard the bad. Now you should be down to 2 maybe 3 tops. This is the point when you go to the equipment they have at the store and listen to them through that. They should be sounding very similar at this point, and that's what you want. By auditioning several songs on different sources, you get more of a real world test as to how they will perform once you get them home.

Now comes the part where you ask yourself, how long are you going to wear these? Is it going to be hot? Or noisy? Are you in a small room? This is where the weight, strap, and cushion material decide the final choice to fit your needs.

I could throw out different brands and models all day, but in the end, It's your head and your ears. Don't worry what someone else likes or dislikes, let your own taste and ears be the judge.

Cheers

You may "use headphone professioinally" but you lack the common knowledge of audio in the first place

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

UPDATE: torn between HE400i, AKG K712 / 701 / 702.

 

I can't decide which of those I want the most as they all just tickle my fancy. Biggest issue for me with the HE400i is that they don't sell them in Norway and I would have to get them off Amazon UK or something.

Reviews: JBL J33i   M50s   SRH440   Soundmagic PL50           

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

HE-400i will sound slightly better than K712, it'll also have better bass

+1 had some hifimans a few weeks ago, not my style but you'll adore he mids :)

// irenebb-pc v5 // [] Intel i5-9400F [] Radeon VII Lisa Su Edition [] 24GB Crucial Ballistix [] Acer ED323QUR (1440p/144hz) []

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

+1 had some hifimans a few weeks ago, not my style but you'll adore he mids :)

Yep orthos in general have a more lush mids but loses in treble edge

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Maybe you like the Philips Fidelio X2.

They are really good $300 headphones.

 

Here you can find a review:

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/boss-philips-fidelio-x2

As much as I do love the Fidelio X2, I wouldn't call it neutral as neutral as the HD600. Sure, its close, but... I'd rather have OP lean on the Shure 1440 or 1840, Hifiman's HE-400i (or 400s), or even AKG's K712 Pros. Having bought the SRH 1540s, well... I can vouch for its neutrailty, but I have to be honest that the HD600 or 650 would be OP's best bet.

My Grading System on headphones: SS= 98-100, S= 95-97, A+= 91-94, A= 86-90, A-= 81-85, B+= 76-80, B= 71-75, B-= 66-70, C+= 61-65, C= 56-60, C-= 51-55, D+= 46-50, D= 41-45, D-= 36-40, F+= 31-35, F= 26-30, F-= 21-25, Tier 1 crap= 16-20, Tier 2 crap= 11-15, Tier 3 crap= 6-10, Dahell tier= 1-5, No hope= 0                 Nevertheless, "Enjoy what you enjoy without starting some silly culture war" - Lachlanlikesathing. If you Recommend the M50/X in a thead, I would probably send you a dick pic.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×