What headphone(s) do you own ?

[JJB70]

Apologies that this post is all very subjective, but when considering tactile feel and perceived quality I think the whole topic is ultimately a subjective one. I just received a pair of “B” stock Denon AH-D7200 headphones (at £330 with shipping I couldn’t resist, they appear to be brand new), I won’t talk about SQ or anything but just looking at them and feeling them, and wearing them I can’t help thinking that these represent the way to build headphones. The metal looking bits are actually metal, all the moving parts move with a lovely well-oiled and weighted feel and with no creaks or graininess, the pads are beautifully soft and supple, the wood ear cups have a terrific finish and the cable (no, I don’t believe cable voodoo) has a lovely feel (unfortunately it’s also a bit microphonic but that’s another argument and can be managed). I am of a view that if something is expensive (and the SRP of these was expensive) it is always nice if the product feels expensive with a premium and luxury build and feel. This is something the Japanese manufacturers seem to do very well as the higher end Sony and Audio Technica headphones generally come with a suitably premium feel and build. One of the things I love about my Sony MDR Z7 headphones is that the build and materials is superb and shames many more expensive headphones. I know none of this affects sound quality, but it does affect “feel good” factor of headphones, and because we wear headphones nice tactile feel can be important for whether we enjoy wearing them.

 

[solderdude]

Quite a few come to mind but those that may have 'blown me away' may not do the same for you.
There is no 'absolute better' here.

 

[cistercian]

I really like My Sennheiser HD600 phones. I thought they were the best thing ever until I bought
my JBL SRX 835 passive 3 ways. I was delighted and horrified to hear so many new details in albums
I had listened to so often on the phones. Highs in particular are better on the speakers...deep bass too.

 

[VintageFlanker]

I waited a long time to get my hands on this:

The mighty Focal Elex, the Made in France headphones which can't be shipped... to France.

I had to find a New/Open box offer from the Bay, and paid hell of a lot of money in shipping/taxes/custom to get these. So far so good, subjective listening is just exceptional. Highly sensitive, considering its massive size (and weight). Drove perfectly by my ADI-2 DAC on Low-Power.

 

[Celty]

I waited a long time to get my hands on this:

The mighty Focal Elex, the Made in France headphones which can't be shipped... to France.

I had to find a New/Open box offer from the Bay, and paid hell of a lot of money in shipping/taxes/custom to get these. So far so good, subjective listening is just exceptional. Highly sensitive, considering its massive size (and weight). Drove perfectly by my ADI-2 DAC on Low-Power.

I'll be very interested to get your further experience with the Elex, particularly in regard to clipping with bass heavy tracks.

 

[Patrick1958]

I'll be very interested to get your further experience with the Elex, particularly in regard to clipping with bass heavy tracks.

Me too, never heard a Focal headphone, curious about sound signature.

 

[VintageFlanker]

I'll be very interested to get your further experience with the Elex, particularly in regard to clipping with bass heavy tracks.

I listen to a tons of Metal, modern Electro and Hip-hop. Elex's bass extension is unusually good for an open-back design. I'm also the kind of guy who can listen quite loud sometimes. I gove up before the Elex starts to distort/rattle.

Me too, never heard a Focal headphone, curious about sound signature.

The signature of the Elex (don't know about others) is mostly balanced/neutral with a smooth bump in bass an then in high/mids. This reminds me the accuracy of the HD58X, but with more... everything: Imaging, soundstage, thickness, details etc.

(Black line)

 

[Veri]

BLOWN AWAY by the sound of $59 IEMs from China:

TFZ T2 Galaxy Graphene (https://aliexpress.ru/item/32910725335.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.638f33edefHYZa)

I immediately loved them more than my Sennheiser's 6xx. Superb, very clean sub-bass (unlike 6xx), super clean, balanced sound overall. Highly recommended. If you decide to buy, buy the one with CP100 caps (+$2). The supplied caps suck. I actually gave these IEMs the only negative 1* review on Aliexpress before I figured out that the default caps were wrong for me. Luckily I tried these CP100 caps before throwing these IEMs away!

Sound great on iPhone dongle too.

Eh, I read mostly mixed reviews of the T2 Galaxy. I have the regular T2, they sound decent and wide. For a cheap andromeda clone, does what it should. I should try those CP100 on them

The Blon BL-03 are my favorite single's day purchase, cheap yet really fun sounding. Excellent for on the go with a dongle or as beater phones. If you have no 100-200$ IEMs to compare to, these go a long way. Lovely.

 

[Vovgan]

Eh, I read mostly mixed reviews of the T2 Galaxy

Don't know anything about the previous model and these are my first IEMs, but:

1) After I listened to TFZ T2 Galaxy Graphene for like 20 minutes I cannot switch back to Sennheiser 6xx, they just sound dull & boring in comparison*. TFZ T2: Superb, very clean sub-bass (unlike 6xx), super clean, balanced sound overall. Highly recommended. If you decide to buy, buy the one with CP100 caps (+$2). The supplied caps suck. I actually gave these IEMs the only negative 1* review on Aliexpress before I figured out that the default caps were wrong for me. Luckily I tried these CP100 caps before throwing these IEMs away! Sound great on iPhone dongle too.
2) All 130+ reviews on Aliexpress are either 4, but mostly 5 stars, average rating 4.9 (the only bad review as I said was posted by me by mistake).

The IEM's that you recommended have the same high rating on Aliexpress so I've ordered them too. Thanks for advice! Also ordered NICEHCK NX7 Pro 7, with the same 4.9 average rating there.

Let the battle begin!

***UPDATE***: after some more listening I find bass-heavy music on TFZ T2 Galaxy Graphene just excellent, but music without bass is a bit too sibilant and tiring on my ears. EQ helps.

 

[Veri]

After I listened to them for like 20 minutes I cannot switch back to Sennheiser 6xx, they just sound dull & boring in comparison.

Have you tried EQ'ing the HD650? I have a sonarworks license, there's a free trial. I have that set on the HD650 profile, 70% 'wet'.
Love love LOVE my HD650's, lol. truly.

The IEM's that you recommended have the same high rating on Aliexpress so I've ordered them too. Thanks for advice! Also ordered NICEHCK NX7 Pro 7, with the same 4.9 average rating there. Let the battle begin!

You're welcome! Nice little shopping spree there, haha

 

[maxxevv]

Somehow I missed out on this thread all this while !

Headphones :
- MD Sennheiser HD6XX
- MD Hifiman HE4XX
- AKG K371

On the radar : Hifiman Arya.

IEMs:
- KZ ZS5 / 6 / 7 , AS10
- CCA C16
- BQEYZ BQ3
- Blon BL-03

Eh, I read mostly mixed reviews of the T2 Galaxy. I have the regular T2, they sound decent and wide. For a cheap andromeda clone, does what it should. I should try those CP100 on them

The Blon BL-03 are my favorite single's day purchase, cheap yet really fun sounding. Excellent for on the go with a dongle or as beater phones. If you have no 100-200$ IEMs to compare to, these go a long way. Lovely.

The Blon's somehow sound better with more power on tap. Not sure if its just louder SPL or its because it taps more power.
They actually fit quite well and sound quite good with KZ Starline eartips. I have tried Spinfits too, not that big a difference to be noteworthy for me.

 

[Veri]

Oh yeah I also use those Starline tips on the Blon. Good cheap tips for good cheap IEMs

 

[doctorjuggles]

I've been buying far too much stuff lately. My updated list:

Sennheiser HD800S; ZMF Eikon Ziricote; 64 Audio U18t; Noble K10U; Empire Ears Legend X Custom (currently at Itsfit Labs for re-shelling); Shure SE846, SE530 & SE115+; BLON BL-03; Sennheiser HD25-II & Shure SRH440 (both for DJing - one is a backup in case one fails); B&O Play H3; Bose TriPort IE

My favourites are the U18t, Eikon and the HD800S (but the Legend X will be up there once it returns assuming the reshelling goes well). K10U is also great for on-the-go house/techno listening.

 

[doctorjuggles]

Starline tips

I've found that getting a pair of tips that fit well is the hardest thing for the BLONs. (And getting rid of the stock cable - that thing is so annoying)

 

[Veri]

I've found that getting a pair of tips that fit well is the hardest thing for the BLONs. (And getting rid of the stock cable - that thing is so annoying)

Mine came with a ton of tips so I think they improved the package. Had no problems with the cable either but bought a 2.5mm one that was admittedly better built. Still for the price I think stock it's quite fine!

 

[doctorjuggles]

Mine came with a ton of tips so I think they improved the package. Had no problems with the cable either but bought a 2.5mm one that was admittedly better built. Still for the price I think stock it's quite fine!

Yeah, it's only £33 or something, it's not a complaint about the quality at that price, but I couldn't get it to work with the stock tops (I think there were 12 in total but all of them are far too short). A pair of SpinFit and another pair of Final Type E both seemed to do the trick

 

[cjf]

For home listening I use Mr Speakers Alpha Prime with great results driven by Benchmark DAC3.

On the go I use Shure SE425 IEM.

 

[Veri]

For home listening I use Mr Speakers Alpha Prime with great results driven by Benchmark DAC3.

On the go I use Shure SE425 IEM.

Aww I miss my alpha primes. Shouldn't have sold em.

 

[TungstenC]

The current collection of mine.

Headphones:
AKG: K7XX(modded), K181DJUE, M220
Sennheiser: HD420, HD424, HD650
Shure: SRH440(modded)
Koss: PortaPro(YAXI pads), KPH30i

IEMs:
Etymotic: ER2SE, ER4SR
Shure: SE215
Moondrop: Spaceship
Ultimate Ears(UE): 900s
Meeaudio: Pinnacle P2, M6PRO
*Now that I've listed things out I'm starting to think that I'm a little hoarder.

The phones that gets most of my head time are the HD650 and K7XX.

 

[Fregly]

The current collection of mine.

Headphones:
AKG: K7XX(modded), K181DJUE, M220
Sennheiser: HD420, HD424, HD650
Shure: SRH440(modded)
Koss: PortaPro(YAXI pads), KPH30i

IEMs:
Etymotic: ER2SE, ER4SR
Shure: SE215
Moondrop: Spaceship
Ultimate Ears(UE): 900s
Meeaudio: Pinnacle P2, M6PRO
*Now that I've listed things out I'm starting to think that I'm a little hoarder.

The phones that gets most of my head time are the HD650 and K7XX.

How does the Er2se compare to the Er4sr?