Best headphones to get under 500

[rice guru]

3 minutes ago, cadabri said:

Out of those which is your personal favorite? The x2 hr? I think since the 6xxs are so clear I don't worry that much about the second pair being a bit more dirty. How would those hold up to gaming?

 

really fun in casual gaming but I wouldn't use them in comp. too much bass not enough treble for imaging prowess for gaming. 

[rice guru]

Just now, cadabri said:

Also, how much does the fact that the x2 has open back affect the bass vs the closed back options?

a closed back headphone needs to work less to be bassy.  for open back bass headphones they usually have less extension in the subbass and you tend to get more mid bass when it comes to impact and amount. 

[weez]

For your music preference I would recommend the DT 177x GO. The Sennheiser's are underwhelming for edm music

 

Edit: if I had the funds for it I would upgrade my 770's to the 177x right now. 

[cadabri]

18 hours ago, rice guru said:

a closed back headphone needs to work less to be bassy.  for open back bass headphones they usually have less extension in the subbass and you tend to get more mid bass when it comes to impact and amount. 

So, Ive been watching some of this BadSeed Tech, and he pretty much echos what you have been saying, and I just saw this video talking about the Drop x Dan Clark Aeon Open X, what do you think about those? He says they are very versatile and have good bass for EDM. Would these be good if I were t only get one pair?

 

 

[rice guru]

Unfortunately I haven't personally heard that model yet so hard for me to speak on it. I have heard from people I know who have tried it or have it really like it or otherwise think it's just alright.

[cadabri]

Just now, rice guru said:

Unfortunately I haven't personally heard that model yet so hard for me to speak on it. I have heard from people I know who have tried it or have it really like it or otherwise think it's just alright.

Alright, thanks! I think at this point I may just go with that or get the 6xx w/ x2 hr combo, thanks for all of your help!

[rice guru]

Just now, cadabri said:

Alright, thanks! I think at this point I may just go with that or get the 6xx w/ x2 hr combo, thanks for all of your help!

No problem .

[rice guru]

As for dac /amp what were you getting again?

[cadabri]

1 hour ago, rice guru said:

As for dac /amp what were you getting again?

Probably a schiit stack, considering getting the vac tube amp upgrade, but not 100% sure yet

[e22big]

2 hours ago, cadabri said:

Alright, thanks! I think at this point I may just go with that or get the 6xx w/ x2 hr combo, thanks for all of your help!

I am late to the party, but have you consider Sennheiser HD598 (or whatever the equivalent model they sold these days)? 

 

I am currently rocking it and have been looking to upgrade to HD650 (6xx official counterpart) or HD660S (58x official ocunterpart) and have tried both of them out. I don't like the sound of 650 one bit, the clarity is way, way off and sound stage isn't particular great. HD660s is far better, especially when you considered the bass output but if you want to use your can for everything - 598 wins hands down with its combination of comfort, audio quality, and beat their two bigger brother single-handed when it comes to sound stage. 

 

HD650/660S may be able to beat them when it comes to pure music listening, but if you include gaming, film-watching, and general web browsing, HD598 easily beat both of the models with their spec combination. And the best part is, it need only 70 ohm to function, you can easily drive it with your PC or even phone without a DAC or amp which should save you some money.

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, cadabri said:

Probably a schiit stack, considering getting the vac tube amp upgrade, but not 100% sure yet

While both the heresy and mangni 3+ are Greta I will warm you about the modi as it's really not that great. The cheaper topping d10  or smsl m100 are just better.

[rice guru]

43 minutes ago, e22big said:

I am late to the party, but have you consider Sennheiser HD598 (or whatever the equivalent model they sold these days)? 

 

I am currently rocking it and have been looking to upgrade to HD650 (6xx official counterpart) or HD660S (58x official ocunterpart) and have tried both of them out. I don't like the sound of 650 one bit, the clarity is way, way off and sound stage isn't particular great. HD660s is far better, especially when you considered the bass output but if you want to use your can for everything - 598 wins hands down with its combination of comfort, audio quality, and beat their two bigger brother single-handed when it comes to sound stage. 

 

HD650/660S may be able to beat them when it comes to pure music listening, but if you include gaming, film-watching, and general web browsing, HD598 easily beat both of the models with their spec combination. And the best part is, it need only 70 ohm to function, you can easily drive it with your PC or even phone without a DAC or amp which should save you some money.

Well I mean.. the 58x exists and even then. If you really want bass and soundstage the Fidelio or the dt 990 exist. The 598 while being a good starter headphone when it came out these days are getting outshined by many headphones. The hd 599 is the equivelant these days but the 58x is basically the 599 with a different look and tuned to sound very close to the 660

[cadabri]

53 minutes ago, rice guru said:

While both the heresy and mangni 3+ are Greta I will warm you about the modi as it's really not that great. The cheaper topping d10  or smsl m100 are just better.

Dang, that is unfortunate. As much as looks shouldn't really matter, I would prefer to have that matching set haha

[rice guru]

49 minutes ago, cadabri said:

Dang, that is unfortunate. As much as looks shouldn't really matter, I would prefer to have that matching set haha

Yeah I wish it wasn't the case as well . Look at the topping e30 while a it more expensive not too sure about physical measurements but I'll as arou d the stack might look really cool

[e22big]

9 hours ago, rice guru said:

Well I mean.. the 58x exists and even then. If you really want bass and soundstage the Fidelio or the dt 990 exist. The 598 while being a good starter headphone when it came out these days are getting outshined by many headphones. The hd 599 is the equivelant these days but the 58x is basically the 599 with a different look and tuned to sound very close to the 660

Fidelio, dt 990 and 58x (especially 58x) doesn't come close in term of comfort though, clamp your head signficantly harder and a lot hotter. Also significantly harder to drive, may be not that important if you already own a DAC but for the entry level audiophile that can be kind of a big deal.

 

Headphone for general usage is more than just sound quality imo. You may have to use them 8 hours and more a day, without aircondition, in hot environment etc. After the end of the day, I am very much appreciate the fact that HD598 give me very close to a lound speaker experience when using it all day long, zero heat build up (even when temperature goes up to 40c recently) and zero sound and physical fatigue.

 

Is there something I would enjoy more for pure sound quality? Absolutely. But I have never see any headphone that can everything else just as well and still give you a decent sound quality similar to HD598

[rice guru]

4 hours ago, e22big said:

Fidelio, dt 990 and 58x (especially 58x) doesn't come close in term of comfort though, clamp your head signficantly harder and a lot hotter. Also significantly harder to drive, may be not that important if you already own a DAC but for the entry level audiophile that can be kind of a big deal.

 

Headphone for general usage is more than just sound quality imo. You may have to use them 8 hours and more a day, without aircondition, in hot environment etc. After the end of the day, I am very much appreciate the fact that HD598 give me very close to a lound speaker experience when using it all day long, zero heat build up (even when temperature goes up to 40c recently) and zero sound and physical fatigue.

 

Is there something I would enjoy more for pure sound quality? Absolutely. But I have never see any headphone that can everything else just as well and still give you a decent sound quality similar to HD598

The he 599 gives you a better more exciting sound and virtually the same comfort. I would reccomend the 598 more if it wasn't so boring or just sounded better. I admit they have anice loose clamp but the sacrifice in overall performance to me is just not worth it especially with the type of gear currently out at the same price range. But I am also privileged enough to live at a house with central air and when I'm outside I don't wear open backs anyway. Also the Fidelio x2 hr I've also found more comfortable over the 598 with having also pretty loose clamp and better weight distribution.

[e22big]

4 minutes ago, rice guru said:

The he 599 gives you a better more exciting sound and virtually the same comfort. I would reccomend the 598 more if it wasn't so boring or just sounded better. I admit they have anice loose clamp but the sacrifice in overall performance to me is just not worth it especially with the type of gear currently out at the same price range. But I am also privileged enough to live at a house with central air and when I'm outside I don't wear open backs anyway.

true, it's each to their own in that regard, I have to go back and rely on my old 598 a lot lately due to wfh otherwise I also carry anothe pair to work (Bose QC) - best case scenario is to have several cans for your spesific need

 

and yeah.. I do have aircon but during the day I prefer the natural temperature when possible 

[rice guru]

1 hour ago, e22big said:

true, it's each to their own in that regard, I have to go back and rely on my old 598 a lot lately due to wfh otherwise I also carry anothe pair to work (Bose QC) - best case scenario is to have several cans for your spesific need

 

and yeah.. I do have aircon but during the day I prefer the natural temperature when possible 

Ah I'm one of those people who has a constant room Temp of 17 degrees c or lower so heat buildup for has never really been an issue

[cadabri]

On 5/13/2020 at 1:35 PM, rice guru said:

While both the heresy and mangni 3+ are Greta I will warm you about the modi as it's really not that great. The cheaper topping d10  or smsl m100 are just better.

Hey, so, I'm coming into a period where I can actually start buying gear now, and I just wanted to ask, what makes you say that the Modi isn't that good? Ive seen so far really only good reviews of it, and from what I understand DACs aren't really supposed to flavor the sound or anything, so what makes it bad in your opinion?

[rice guru]

6 minutes ago, cadabri said:

Hey, so, I'm coming into a period where I can actually start buying gear now, and I just wanted to ask, what makes you say that the Modi isn't that good? Ive seen so far really only good reviews of it, and from what I understand DACs aren't really supposed to flavor the sound or anything, so what makes it bad in your opinion?

the dac implentation is just ok and the problem with the modi is the output part of it it just doesn't sound as clean as other dacs such as the cheaper d10 , or smsl or even dacs that are slightly more expensive like the newly released e30. its a dac that needs an update. its an older schiit product and like the magni3 and old fulla 2 it suffers from slight compression. the newer schiit amps like the new magnis  and the high end gear doesnt really have this issue. basically what im saying is it doesn't sound as good as cheaper gear. but if you want it go for it its not that bad especially if you want a stack. Im just more for performance and dont really care too much for the aesthetics

[rice guru]

also most modi reviews came out before it really had any competition or any of topping's dacs were on anyone's radar. 

[cadabri]

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

also most modi reviews came out before it really had any competition or any of topping's dacs were on anyone's radar. 

Which modi have you had experience with? Didn't the modi 3 come out semi recently?

[rice guru]

Just now, cadabri said:

Which modi have you had experience with? Didn't the modi 3 come out semi recently?

all 3 modis Ive listened at some point at different times. modi 3 came out 2018.  all of the good budget schiit came out 2019. like i said its not a bad dac I just dont think it sounds as good as the others at it's current state give me a modi 4 and make it sound better than the likes of the e30 or even the d30 then I would ocnsider it

[cadabri]

1 minute ago, rice guru said:

all 3 modis Ive listened at some point at different times. modi 3 came out 2018.  all of the good budget schiit came out 2019. like i said its not a bad dac I just dont think it sounds as good as the others at it's current state give me a modi 4 and make it sound better than the likes of the e30 or even the d30 then I would ocnsider it

Alright. Sorry for just coming back to you, its like a world of conflicting information, now I have a friend of mine saying I shouldn't run the Aeon on that cheap of an amp and I should get the THX 789

[rice guru]

6 minutes ago, cadabri said:

Alright. Sorry for just coming back to you, its like a world of conflicting information, now I have a friend of mine saying I shouldn't run the Aeon on that cheap of an amp and I should get the THX 789

you can definitely run it on a cheaper amp but I mean if your gonna spend that much on a headphone why not spend more on an amp and a dac. personally not the biiggest fan of thx AAA amps Im a bit of a contrarian that wad  and I think the heresy and the atom sound better for that much money but Im not a fan of the ultra linear sound signatures they present in the first place. they are good amps though with a fair amount of power with balanced outputs. I just like a nbit more color in my amps I really like things like the asgard 3 which is a warmer sounding solid state amp. also the reason why I run the liquid spark over all the other $100 amps. With something as revealing as the thx amps I would surely spend a bit more on a cleaner dac.