[PA] Planar Magnetic headphone recommendation?

[Falenkor]

So, to make things quick and to the point I am looking for a good headphone to suit the sound I am looking for. Currently I am using a Beyer DT990 pro 250 ohm. I have tested quite a few headsets as well as headphones and come to find the two planar magnetics I have tried, while I like the sound, there's always something off. The two I tested were the Hyperx Orbit S, which is a spin off collab with Audeze and its Mobius headphone, and the Hifiman 400i which I just recently was able to try. The orbit was okay but I prefer open back to say the least and it just wasn't as good as my dt990s or the 400i for that matter, as for the 400i I think my issue with them is the mids and sometimes the highs are a bit to potent for my liking.. its definitely an aggressive full feeling headphone. So I was curious, as I like the dt990s and they are a V signature is there a good planar magnetic recommendation out there for someone with my kind of sound tastes? I saw the Aeon Open X but I would really rather not spend $600. Note: if it helps I play a ton of gaming, especially competitive fps, and listen to a lot of alternative and heavier rock so a particular sound especially like whats provided by the dt990 goes a long way with me at the same time I feel the dt990s are rather docile in some areas more then I would like them to be if that makes sense(new to the world of audiophile).

[The Flying Sloth]

The only planars I have experience with are the Sonoma Acoustics Model One and I can say with confidence that if other planars function similarly I would not recommend them for gaming, moving your head around or really any reason for air pressure to change around the driver results in something commonly referred to as stax fart (distortion/crackling). For sure they resolve amazingly but if you're fairly excitable when gaming (or really just move around at all) I'd suggest you stick to dynamic drivers.

Sloth

[Falenkor]

34 minutes ago, The Flying Sloth said:

The only planars I have experience with are the Sonoma Acoustics Model One and I can say with confidence that if other planars function similarly I would not recommend them for gaming, moving your head around or really any reason for air pressure to change around the driver results in something commonly referred to as stax fart (distortion/crackling). For sure they resolve amazingly but if you're fairly excitable when gaming (or really just move around at all) I'd suggest you stick to dynamic drivers.

Sloth

odd, actually didn't have that issue with either of the planars i tested out. Honestly, i havent been able to find what I am looking for outside of the aeon. May be a bit of a grey area in the market.

[rice guru]

If your into modding the thei audio phantom could be a good option to consider. Or pad swapping the 400i. I haven't really tried pad rolling my 4xx's but that could be a cheaper fix to get the sound you like. 

[Falenkor]

22 minutes ago, rice guru said:

If your intoodding the thei audio phantom could be a good option to consider. Or pad swapping the 400i. I haven't really tried pad rolling my 4xx's but that could be a cheaper fix to get the sound you like. 

intoodding? confused on that. Looked up the thie phantom. Do you have any experience with these by chance? They are definitely an expensive headphone. As you already know.. love the dt 990s considering keeping but I am very intrigued on the planars so I am pretty curious on these thie phantoms. I know another planar which is the audeze brand but those too are extremely pricey however, if I remember right audeze is more of a neutral or flat sound. Pad swapping? not sure if those will change it enough to my liking.

[Volbet]

Planar magnetic headphones can be rather hit'n'miss in my experience. Especially in the lower price brackets.

You might like to consider the Monoprice Monolith M1070s or Hifiman Sundara. They're by far the best "budget" planars I've heard. Neither will give you the distinct V-shaped sound of the DT990, but not a lot of things will, be they electrostatic, planar or dynamic.

 

Also be aware that planars can be rather picky in regards to the equipment you plug them into.

 

2 hours ago, The Flying Sloth said:

The only planars I have experience with are the Sonoma Acoustics Model One and I can say with confidence that if other planars function similarly I would not recommend them for gaming, moving your head around or really any reason for air pressure to change around the driver results in something commonly referred to as stax fart (distortion/crackling). For sure they resolve amazingly but if you're fairly excitable when gaming (or really just move around at all) I'd suggest you stick to dynamic drivers.

Sloth

The Warwick Acoustics Sonoma Model Ones are electrostatic, not planar magnetic. The two technologies might be similar, but they're not the same.

The sheet (or membrane, I guess) in a pair of electrostatics is a lot thinner and isn't held in magnetic stasis. It's therefore a lot harder to affect the membrane in a planar than in an electrostatic.

 

The Warwick Acoustics Sonoma Model One also aren't the industry leader in build quality, and they are rather prone to breaking and manufacturing errors. They sound amazing, but they're flawed as hell.

[Falenkor]

11 minutes ago, Volbet said:

Planar magnetic headphones can be rather hit'n'miss in my experience. Especially in the lower price brackets.

You might like to consider the Monoprice Monolith M1070s or Hifiman Sundara. They're by far the best "budget" planars I've heard. Neither will give you the distinct V-shaped sound of the DT990, but not a lot of things will, be they electrostatic, planar or dynamic.

 

Also be aware that planars can be rather picky in regards to the equipment you plug them into.

I was reading that the m1060s were better for gaming purposes since you can mod the hell out of them. As for the sundaras I am not sure on them as they are the step up from the 4xx if I recall correctly however, if they have that same aggressive mid line like the 400i then I probably won't like them all to much.

[The Flying Sloth]

15 minutes ago, Volbet said:

-snip-

I stand corrected, ignore me.
They do sound damn good though

[Volbet]

4 minutes ago, Falenkor said:

I was reading that the m1060s were better for gaming purposes since you can mod the hell out of them. As for the sundaras I am not sure on them as they are the step up from the 4xx if I recall correctly however, if they have that same aggressive mid line like the 400i then I probably won't like them all to much.

The Sundaras are a step up from the H400i, but they're also different. I, too, didn't really care for the H400i, or any early, mid-tier Hifiman, but I was impressed by the Sundara.

If you're unsure, then I would definitely recommend going to a hi-fi store to listen before you buy. Hifiman is luckily getting rather mainstream, so you should be able to find a place that sell them.

 

But be aware that the equipment at the store will differ from your own, and the sound might be a bit different because of it.

[Falenkor]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

If your intoodding the thei audio phantom could be a good option to consider. Or pad swapping the 400i. I haven't really tried pad rolling my 4xx's but that could be a cheaper fix to get the sound you like. 

chime back in here.. testing the thei while possible would be a nightmare since its from china and shipping just isn't happening right now. Plus if you get them you'd have to get them from an alternative source as they do restocking fees by 20% and buyer pays return shipping to china. They look comfortable as hell and in great quality with some solid reviews but less a proper testing method comes out this is definitely not ideal. No point in paying that much if you dunno how it sounds yourself. 

[Falenkor]

8 minutes ago, Volbet said:

The Sundaras are a step up from the H400i, but they're also different. I, too, didn't really care for the H400i, or any early, mid-tier Hifiman, but I was impressed by the Sundara.

If you're unsure, then I would definitely recommend going to a hi-fi store to listen before you buy. Hifiman is luckily getting rather mainstream, so you should be able to find a place that sell them.

 

But be aware that the equipment at the store will differ from your own, and the sound might be a bit different because of it.

unfortunately, I don't think I have any stores around me that carry the brand outside of I think wal-mart does but I think it's only an online order can't just walk in an test them.

[rice guru]

29 minutes ago, Falenkor said:

I was reading that the m1060s were better for gaming purposes since you can mod the hell out of them. As for the sundaras I am not sure on them as they are the step up from the 4xx if I recall correctly however, if they have that same aggressive mid line like the 400i then I probably won't like them all to much.

I really wouldnt recc the m1060 in any way it suffers from ringing in the upper mids lower treble area and its not really pleasant in anyway. I prefer the 400i or the 4xx over them. all i can say for now is wait for your amp to show up and give the 4ooi  a bit of time as from my experience a little bit if mind burn in goes a long way with the 400i or 4xx. 

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, Falenkor said:

intoodding? confused on that. Looked up the thie phantom. Do you have any experience with these by chance? They are definitely an expensive headphone. As you already know.. love the dt 990s considering keeping but I am very intrigued on the planars so I am pretty curious on these thie phantoms. I know another planar which is the audeze brand but those too are extremely pricey however, if I remember right audeze is more of a neutral or flat sound. Pad swapping? not sure if those will change it enough to my liking.

sorry I meant into modding . I have fat fingers and often miss keystrokes and forget to check for mistakes all the time. 

[Falenkor]

11 hours ago, rice guru said:

I really wouldnt recc the m1060 in any way it suffers from ringing in the upper mids lower treble area and its not really pleasant in anyway. I prefer the 400i or the 4xx over them. all i can say for now is wait for your amp to show up and give the 4ooi  a bit of time as from my experience a little bit if mind burn in goes a long way with the 400i or 4xx. 

In that case then what's your opinion on the m1070 and the sundara? I can always order both but I researched audio stores nearby and none carry these brands so I would have to order them for testing.

[Falenkor]

So open opinion here then. What about the Audeze brand? Are they worth checking out? Not sure what their sound signature is.. was just told a more neutral sound and I know the Sundara is rated as a balanced headphoone

[rice guru]

33 minutes ago, Falenkor said:

In that case then what's your opinion on the m1070 and the sundara? I can always order both but I researched audio stores nearby and none carry these brands so I would have to order them for testing.

M1070 is ok I know a lot of people that like them. I would just rather pay extra for a lcd 2c used if I wanted a similar sound.  but I prefer the sundara or the edition xx to the 1070 or even the lcd1 to be completely honest. As much as I like monoprice their headphones are definitely the weakest part of the monolith line. 

[rice guru]

35 minutes ago, Falenkor said:

So open opinion here then. What about the Audeze brand? Are they worth checking out? Not sure what their sound signature is.. was just told a more neutral sound and I know the Sundara is rated as a balanced headphoone

So the lcd 1 goes for a neutral laid back sound many find to be blamed and boring but other love. The lcd 2c I love nice amount of bass leans to wards a darker signature. As you go down the line it definitely changes. If you want a nice neutral headphone the sundara is great. It's neutral bright with a nice amount of detail for the price. As much as like like planars though I've always been a bigger fan of dynamic headphones though so I may not be the best when I comes to discussing planars

[Falenkor]

45 minutes ago, rice guru said:

So the lcd 1 goes for a neutral laid back sound many find to be blamed and boring but other love. The lcd 2c I love nice amount of bass leans to wards a darker signature. As you go down the line it definitely changes. If you want a nice neutral headphone the sundara is great. It's neutral bright with a nice amount of detail for the price. As much as like like planars though I've always been a bigger fan of dynamic headphones though so I may not be the best when I comes to discussing planars

I became relatively curious about the planars when I tried both the dt990s and the planars, 400i and orbit. Orbit definitely was nowhere near as aggressive and had a good balance to it overall with built in eq settings but it was more rated towards the "gamer" lining which is weaker, not as good quality, and closed back(however it is technically an audeze still which sounded pretty damn good I will admit despite being of a lower quality) while the 400i was extremely aggressive and felt more up in your face with its sound. I think perhaps I need to research more into the dt990 style headphones something thats a little stronger while keeping that signature would be nice cause listening to it, im a rock fan, it just feels a bit docile on the overall sound so something punchier like the 400i delivers on with a mix that the dt990s can produce would be ideal. However, I am having trouble to say the least.

[Falenkor]

I did read that the headphone from beyerdynamic, the dt1990, tweaked the the highs and mids and it has very strong reviews so I was tempted to look more into that as well. Edit: going to also say I was curious as to how the Tesla Drivers perform as well.. Beyer seems to have a sound I like but it needs to be alterred so I am very curious.. I think I may be more accustomed to what would be labelled "bright" as a sound signature and I definitely can appreciate the V signatures. However, If i was to buy the 1990s that would be the same price range as the aeon open x.. i really wish there was a way for me to try this stuff