Where is the best Price/Performance ratio when it comes to headphones?

[fishymamba]

Hey guys! So about a month and a half ago I finally upgrade from my 3 year old set of Sony MDR-V6s to the Hifiman-HE-400. 

 

At first I was kinda disappointed in the sound. It was not feeling that much "better" than my old headphones, but after a few days I started to recognize how much better they actually were. And now, I am 100% sure they are MUCH MUCH better than the V6s.

 

I am so happy with the headphones and my old headphones are just collecting dust, they will probably be never used again(nice to have a backup pair though!). But now I am already looking at what else is out there and what I want to upgrade to next.

 

My question is: Is there a point after which there is not much improvement in sound quality, but the price skyrockets? I'm having trouble imagining how much better sound can get than the HE-400.

 

At $250 these were a really good buy in my opinion, but what about those headphones that go for around $600. Will I feel much of an improvement. I'm mainly looking at the rest of the Hifiman lineup since I like these headphones so much, but what else could be considered the next step after the HE-400. Thanks for the help!  

 

I'm also thinking of upgrading my DAC+Amp soon. I love the Fiio E10 I have, but I really want to try a tube amplifier. 

[SSL]

$300-500 I'd say. Part of the problem is that headphone prices are rather inflated as it is, so the TOTL $1000+ flagships don't always offer as much improvement as their price would suggest.

[Lays]

$300-500 I'd say. Part of the problem is that headphone prices are rather inflated as it is, so the TOTL $1000+ flagships don't always offer as much improvement as their price would suggest.

 

 

Buh-bu-bu-but my magical unicorn drivers make sound 6 dimensional...

 

 

 

@OP

 

I agree with @SSL, the best area seems to be around $300-500 before diminishing returns really set in.  Once you start spending more you're mainly going after certain sound signatures, not really so much performance anymore.

[fishymamba]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm kind of wishing now that I saved up a bit more and bought the HE-400i instead. 

 

What about on the amplifier/DAC side of things. Is my Fiio E10 powerful enough to drive something like the 400is? I read that the higher end Hifimans require a ton of power. I really want to try a tube amp and see how they sound. I feel that the E10 makes everything sound a bit dark.

[SSL]

Thanks for the info guys. I'm kind of wishing now that I saved up a bit more and bought the HE-400i instead. 

 

What about on the amplifier/DAC side of things. Is my Fiio E10 powerful enough to drive something like the 400is? I read that the higher end Hifimans require a ton of power. I really want to try a tube amp and see how they sound. I feel that the E10 makes everything sound a bit dark.

 

E10 would probably do fine.

[KaminKevCrew]

$300-500 I'd say. Part of the problem is that headphone prices are rather inflated as it is, so the TOTL $1000+ flagships don't always offer as much improvement as their price would suggest.

 

I definitely agree with SSL on this one. Also, Audeze recently came out with a $4,000 headphone called the LCD-4... I want to listen to it, but that is soooooo much money... Especially since you can get a really nice electrostat and energizer for that kind of money... (or a whole stable of very competent headphones)

Thanks for the info guys. I'm kind of wishing now that I saved up a bit more and bought the HE-400i instead. 

 

What about on the amplifier/DAC side of things. Is my Fiio E10 powerful enough to drive something like the 400is? I read that the higher end Hifimans require a ton of power. I really want to try a tube amp and see how they sound. I feel that the E10 makes everything sound a bit dark.

The E10 should be fine. I use an SMSL SD 793-II with my HE-500, so I doubt you would have any trouble. As far as Hifiman goes, I would say that the HE-500 makes sense for the money, as it sounds really, really good.