• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Best headphones for Rock/Metal under $2K

OP
cany89

cany89

Active Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2020
Messages
251
Likes
127
Can you specify what sub-genres of Metal you are mostly listening to?
I usually listen to Power, Prog, Symphonic, and Grunge, Prog Rock. Ofc I also listen to classics like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Megadeth and so on.
I would say the ones that you are listening, Doom, Death etc. should be even more noisy. Don’t you think the detail retrieval and treble is too much on a headphone like Meze?
 

JohnYang1997

Master Contributor
Technical Expert
Audio Company
Joined
Dec 28, 2018
Messages
7,175
Likes
18,292
Location
China
Unfortunately the only hifiman I can find is a used HE1000 v1. Others I can get from US with oversea shipping. Totally blind :/
Get an shp9500 for cheap. It kinda sounds like a cheap version of hd800s.
If you really do want upgrade, hd800s is probably the safe bet. There is simply no others sound like it.
 

Magma

Member
Joined
Jun 6, 2021
Messages
13
Likes
7
I prefer open backs but ofc it can be a closed one too. I was so close to buy the Focal Clear as I found it brand new with almost half the price in one dealer (still available, cheaper than LCD2) but I really want to hear a planar before buying yet another open back dynamic headphone. And there are a lot of mix reviews about driver clicks.
What do you think about yours?
I don't think my Clears click at normal listening volumes. To be honest I'm not sure if I have ever heard mine clicking. I have to test it with unnecessary loud volume. But it is a downside for sure.
 

Helicopter

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 13, 2020
Messages
2,693
Likes
3,944
Location
Michigan
I don't think my Clears click at normal listening volumes. To be honest I'm not sure if I have ever heard mine clicking. I have to test it with unnecessary loud volume. But it is a downside for sure.
Mine have never clicked, even when I found bass heavy music and cranked it to see if they would. I didn't take them off and crank it beyond any listening level I would ever use though. They might vary from one sample to another, or it might be that the old ones click and the new ones (like 2020) don't. I couldn't determine that so I can't say if it will be an issue. If it is an issue, it would be a pretty good reason for a return IMO.
 

Count Arthur

Major Contributor
Joined
Jan 10, 2020
Messages
2,197
Likes
4,888
I've never had my Clears click either, even with really bass heavy dance and electronic music. However, I've never actually tried to make them click by removing them and turning them up much louder than I would normally listen to them.
 

JohnYang1997

Master Contributor
Technical Expert
Audio Company
Joined
Dec 28, 2018
Messages
7,175
Likes
18,292
Location
China
@Helicopter , @Count Arthur , @Magma thanks for the feedback. I was reluctant to get Clears because of this. It’s definitely on the list now.
I firstly don't want to discourage you or anything. I certainly do want you to try out as many as possible.
I personally don't like the focal clear especially for metal. The sound is a bit mid heavy and weighty. The highs although should be dark but has some ringing aggressiveness that's different from most other headphones i heard. For vocals it's great. But for metal and complex music, I don't think it's very good.
 

JohnYang1997

Master Contributor
Technical Expert
Audio Company
Joined
Dec 28, 2018
Messages
7,175
Likes
18,292
Location
China
Hey John,
I heard people have been raving about the HE400SE version, have you heard it?
Just got mine. It's the international version.
The sound overall is good. But there are a few issues.
The sound has certain softness to it. It does not click when needed. It just sounds a bit mellow but doesn't lack highs. This is probably due to recessed 2-3khz. There's also some air around 1khz that shouldn't be there making the sound "blank" it kinda feels like a grey layer on the sound. This is due to the hump at 1khz in conjunction with the recessed 2khz. This issue is actually very common in planars.
Compared to he400se, the new Sundara sounds more punchy, more precise, more "resolving", more transparent. So to me Sundara gives a much more complete package in the sound. However this doesn't mean he400se is anyway bad. To my surprise its highs are very good, very well extended, yet smooth. It's very good for comfort listening.
 
OP
cany89

cany89

Active Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2020
Messages
251
Likes
127
@JohnYang1997 no worries! In the end it’s a personal choice. You might not like it, someone else can’t live without it. I appreciate your comment, and it seems you also have the technical knowledge to back it up. I still think Clears can be a good choice since I listen to symphonic metal with female vocals. (after really feather weight sennheisers I would like to continue with relatively comfy headphones…) And I found one with really competitive price. But I’ll definitely check others first.

While we are talking and you seem to know most of the Hifiman lineup. Have you listened to HE1000 v1? As I said there is one used with decent price.
 

JohnYang1997

Master Contributor
Technical Expert
Audio Company
Joined
Dec 28, 2018
Messages
7,175
Likes
18,292
Location
China
@JohnYang1997 no worries! In the end it’s a personal choice. You might not like it, someone else can’t live without it. I appreciate your comment, and it seems you also have the technical knowledge to back it up. I still think Clears can be a good choice since I listen to symphonic metal with female vocals. (after really feather weight sennheisers I would like to continue with relatively comfy headphones…) And I found one with really competitive price. But I’ll definitely check others first.

While we are talking and you seem to know most of the Hifiman lineup. Have you listened to HE1000 v1? As I said there is one used with decent price.
I don't like the other models, he1000 v1 v2, arya, he400i etc. Most of them are overly grainy or bright. Susvara is good but not very accurate in tonality, actually similar to the original sundara with better behaved highs. Sundara 2020 seems to be the most accurate one I've heard so far.
 
OP
cany89

cany89

Active Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2020
Messages
251
Likes
127
@JohnYang1997 thanks. I will yet to listen a planar headphone and hoping I can like something other than dynamic drivers. I can understand more about hifiman models after I listen to audeze. There a lot of vs videos out there between the two. Let’s see how it goes :)
 

192kbps

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Apr 3, 2019
Messages
534
Likes
614
I don't like the other models, he1000 v1 v2, arya, he400i etc. Most of them are overly grainy or bright. Susvara is good but not very accurate in tonality, actually similar to the original sundara with better behaved highs. Sundara 2020 seems to be the most accurate one I've heard so far.

Ananda or Sundara 2020?
 

gonzoucab

Active Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2021
Messages
104
Likes
115
Howdy!

I have RME ADI 2 and HD 558, and pretty happy with these. But I'm looking for an upgrade.
- Tried HD 600, slightly better but not a huge upgrade.
- Tried HD 800 S - with/without EQ. I liked it. They are definitely far better than what I have and HD 600. I had my WOW moments when I was listening to anything other than metal. Wider soundstage and more resolution overall but considering the price, it's meh. (For rock and metal ofc. Otherwise, they are not of this earth!)
- I'll try LCD-2 sometime next week.

Does anyone know a headphone that really gives you chills when listening to rock/metal music?

*I can find most of the Sennheiser, Audeze, Beyerdynamic, and AKG but I need to search for other brands like Hifiman, Meze, Grado, Focal, Stax, etc.

Thanks in advance!

I Just got the Newman NDH20 for 399 and so far are the best earphones i have ever tried, sonn Amir will measure it, but i recommend the neumann
 
Top Bottom