Headphone Recommendation.

[CommonInfinity]

Hey LTT Forum!

 

I am planning to upgrade my headphones in a few weeks and am struggling to find one that I am satisfied with. So here I am, asking for your experience and recommendations...

 

In terms of requirements;

Less Than £200

Over-ear design

 

I plan to use this strictly in my home so I don't care if they are open/closed backed.

Bluetooth is not needed due to the extra cost and i don't care about impedance, as I will just buy an amp along with it (if needed). 

I do like my bass, so preferably I would like a pair that don't compromise it.

 

Hopefully there is someone who can help me with this.

 

And as always, thanks for the help :)

 

[TTaiiLs]

You should check out the Sennheiser HD598. Open, over-ear and great audio at a fair price

[rice guru]

39 minutes ago, CommonInfinity said:

Hey LTT Forum!

 

I am planning to upgrade my headphones in a few weeks and am struggling to find one that I am satisfied with. So here I am, asking for your experience and recommendations...

 

In terms of requirements;

Less Than £200

Over-ear design

 

I plan to use this strictly in my home so I don't care if they are open/closed backed.

Bluetooth is not needed due to the extra cost and i don't care about impedance, as I will just buy an amp along with it (if needed). 

I do like my bass, so preferably I would like a pair that don't compromise it.

 

Hopefully there is someone who can help me with this.

 

And as always, thanks for the help

 

The HD 58x is a good option.

[KnowledgeByTech]

Closed-back headphones usually have more pronounced/impactful bass, whereas open-backs release some of the impact through the openness of the back of the driver but nontheless are better capable at producing lower frequencies although with lightened impact providing a more natural, less agressive bass response. Considering both though however, heres what suits the budget.

 

Disclaimer: None of the following are BASS headphones, but are GREAT headphones all-around that make good bass-----> continue

 

Open-back: Massdrop x Sennheiser HD6XX (good female vocals, mids & highs), HD58X Jubilee's (good male vocals, mids, good highs but less than 6XX but still however well pronounced, have more impactful bass than the 6XX, but still natural sounding), Hifiman HE-4XX's (Planars with good bass) etc. 

 

Closed-back: Neuman NDH20's (technically hella accurate monitors with good bass; best paired with a tube amp.), Modhouse Argon MK3's (modded T50RP's, hard to drive but sound GREAT overall make good bass) etc. etc.

 

Bluetooth/Closed-back: SONY WH-1000XM3... and thats about it, they don't really have many close competitors.

 

There are MANY options, especially at this pricepoint, I would suggest individually watching the corresponding reviews of each headphone listed above by (my personal favorite) Z Reviews, before deciding. Your gonna wanna get it right, cause you'll likely have whatever you buy for quite some time.

[CommonInfinity]

1 hour ago, TTaiiLs said:

You should check out the Sennheiser HD598. Open, over-ear and great audio at a fair price

Just had a look at them, Im from the UK and is kinda funny, cause i can get the Sennheiser HD598 SR for £200, or get the Sennheiser HD599 for £165.  I am getting slightly confused on what the differences between all the models are though. 

[CommonInfinity]

50 minutes ago, rice guru said:

The HD 58x is a good option.

Unfortunately massdrop is NA, and im from the UK. So adding import tax and stuff on top adds a fair amount of cost... 

 

[CommonInfinity]

13 minutes ago, KnowledgeByTech said:

Closed-back headphones usually have more pronounced/impactful bass, whereas open-backs release some of the impact through the openness of the back of the driver but nontheless are better capable at producing lower frequencies although with lightened impact providing a more natural, less agressive bass response. Considering both though however, heres what suits the budget.

 

Disclaimer: None of the following are BASS headphones, but are GREAT headphones all-around that make good bass-----> continue

 

Open-back: Massdrop x Sennheiser HD6XX (good female vocals, mids & highs), HD58X Jubilee's (good male vocals, mids, good highs but less than 6XX but still however well pronounced, have more impactful bass than the 6XX, but still natural sounding), Hifiman HE-4XX's (Planars with good bass) etc. 

 

Closed-back: Neuman NDH20's (technically hella accurate monitors with good bass; best paired with a tube amp.), Modhouse Argon MK3's (modded T50RP's, hard to drive but sound GREAT overall make good bass) etc. etc.

 

Bluetooth/Closed-back: SONY WH-1000XM3... and thats about it, they don't really have many close competitors.

 

There are MANY options, especially at this pricepoint, I would suggest individually watching the corresponding reviews of each headphone listed above by (my personal favorite) Z Reviews, before deciding. Your gonna wanna get it right, cause you'll likely have whatever you buy for quite some time.

Thanks for the recommendations, I will have a look at them tomorrow as its quite late where I am from. So ill reply tomorrow if i have any questions..

[rice guru]

28 minutes ago, CommonInfinity said:

Unfortunately massdrop is NA, and im from the UK. So adding import tax and stuff on top adds a fair amount of cost... 

 

the 58x I believe is $210 directly from the massdrop store 

https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-x-sennheiser-hd-58x-jubilee-headphones-eu?utm_source=linkshare&referer=8RGECC

[KnowledgeByTech]

I would also recommend for amps (cheapest still-good combos):

 

For neutral sound: any reference or THX AAA amp/DAC combo (such as the Monoprice Monolith THX AAA 788 amp. w/. integrated DAC or other with a separate DAC) 

For a more bass leanient sound: an average amp paired with a DAC (such as the JDS Labs Atom paired with the JDS Labs OL DAC) etc. etc.

 

A proper sound experience requires proper a proper DAC & amp. combo, remember that when buying the headphones and be sure to match which amp./DAC you choose with the specific headphones chosen. 

[rice guru]

8 minutes ago, KnowledgeByTech said:

I would also recommend for amps (cheapest still-good combos):

 

For neutral sound: any THX AAA amp/DAC combo (such as the Monoprice Monolith THX AAA 788 amp. w/. integrated DAC or other with a separate DAC) 

For a warm/more bass leanient sound: a tube amp paired with a DAC (such as the Dark Voice 336 paired with the JDS Labs OL DAC) etc. etc.

 

A proper sound experience requires proper a proper DAC & amp. combo, remember that when buying the headphones and be sure to match which amp./DAC you choose with the specific headphones chosen. 

I wouldn't reccomend the oldac since the topping d10/d20, oldac. smsl m100, sanskrit, and khadas tone board exist and are all cleaner. thx amps are very expensive a jds labs atom or a liquid spark can take you a long way even to summit fi. tube amps are great but generally only recommend if you already have a solid state amp and just want something to sound different   not better. Tubes don't do well with most planars as planars already sound different but also have low impedances low impedance headphones dont tube well and end up not sounding very good.

 

while a good DAC amp is great you built in audio on your motherboard should be mostly fine

[KnowledgeByTech]

5 minutes ago, rice guru said:

thx amps are very expensive

The Monoprice Monolith THX AAA amp w/. integrated DAC is only $499.99USD, roughly $425 euros/pounds

[rice guru]

1 minute ago, KnowledgeByTech said:

The Monoprice Monolith THX AAA amp w/. integrated DAC is only $499.99USD, roughly $425 euros/pounds

only $499 lol you can buy sevral mid fi headphones with that. you can buy a pair of m570's or blon B20s and an amp to drive them with that. I reccomend the THX AAA amp too but only to those that need the power or to those that are alaready running stuff like dt 1990 focals or audeze lcd 2 and need the cleanliness  and power not first time byers.you dont want to spend that much on an amp and dac especially when you only have mid fi headphones like the 6xx . you generally want to sepnd less or just as much on your source gear than your drivers because the drivers make the most significant and most noticeable difference in quality.  

[KnowledgeByTech]

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

only $499 lol you can buy sevral mid fi headphones with that. you can buy a pair of m570's or blon B20s and an amp to drive them with that. I reccomend the THX AAA amp too but only to those that need the power or to those that are alaready running stuff like dt 1990 focals or audeze lcd 2 and need the cleanliness  and power not first time byers.you dont want to spend that much on an amp and dac especially when you only have mid fi headphones like the 6xx . you generally want to sepnd less or just as much on your source gear than your drivers because the drivers make the most significant and most noticeable difference in quality.  

Agreed.