'1K€ for TWO DIFFERENT pairs of headphones' Challenge

[Jose Hidalgo]

Hi guys Just for the record, when I said that I've just read the same thing about InnerFidelity on another website, it was by a french guy who happens to be a studio sound engineer. He basically says that he has been listening to cans like the HD600, the HD660S, the LCD-2F and the Neumann NDH 20, over and over, with and without EQ. After lots of listening sessions, he has noticed that his own perception was quite close to the graphs of the RAA website, and quite far from InnerFidelity's presets. He didn't understand why at the time, and he wasn't accusing anybody, it was just an assessment. Here's the post if any of you understands french : https://www.homecinema-fr.com/forum/post180161153.html#p180161153

I'm not saying that we should believe what every sound engineer says, but I do believe that this one is pretty reliable. He's a headphone fan and quite involved as mod in a huge french forum about audio and video stuff.

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

A last update maybe, to thank you all and tell you that I've made my mind now.
In the end and despite this topic's title, it won't be TWO different pairs of headphones, but THREE. But still within the 1K€ budget.
Honestly I could have gone over that budget, but I didn't found any pair of cans that was appealing enough. Maybe for the 4th pair, who knows.

The two first pairs of cans were relatively easy to choose :

• The Hifiman Sundara as possibly the best "all rounder" headphone for less than 500 €. Great on most kinds of music, especially after the "stealth revision" of their pads which improved frequency response.
• The AudioQuest Nighthawk Carbon, for purely subjective reasons : because it brings bass , huge 3D imaging, and because it's different, and different is generally interesting. Plus it was a steal at 249 € and we got the last one apparently.

The third pair, however, was much more difficult ! We wanted something more intimate and great on vocals, with potential for PEQ.

I've asked for advice, and I've listened to what everybody had to say : here, on other sites (french and foreign), on other reviews, etc.. I've contacted shops, tried to set up appointments for listening sessions, etc..

Of course everybody has an opinion. And it would have been so much easier for me if there was a clear consensus towards a pair of cans for my particular use. But let's face it : THERE ISN'T.

Even only for the Senn cans, some people say the 660S are better, and I understand why (more recent, more technical/analytical). Other people say the 650 are better, and I also understand why. And of course other people say the 600 are better and always have been. There is no clear winner, nor will there ever be I guess.

In the end I think I'll settle for the Sennheiser HD600. Here's why : it may be a little less "modern" and "refined" than the 660S, it may be a little less "analytical" and "all-rounder" than the DT1990 Pro, but it does the two things I'm looking for on this 3rd headphone : an intimate soundstage (kind of "in your head") and sounding great on both male and female vocals. Just for the record, I've also found yet another video review (sorry) that happens to compare the three Senn cans. The video alone wouldn't have sufficed, but the video plus many individual opinions gathered here and there over the last few days/weeks have helped me make my mind. Relax, it's only a pair of cans after all.

So the HD600 it is. I can buy it now for 275 €, while the 660S still costs 411 € or more (which is overpriced - at least there seems to be a consensus on that, lol). But even if the 660S costed 300 €, and even if it's a "better" headphone overall, I would still lean towards the HD600, because it's a "better" headphone for the two particular things I'm looking for here.

Once again, thanks everybody for being so helpful. I love this place and I hope I'll be able to contribute more in the future.

 

[Rja4000]

Hi everyone,

I was thinking of this project for 2021, but it looks like I can achieve it sooner, which is great news !
So here's the challenge : to buy not one but two great sounding, versatile, and hopefully complementary pairs of headphones, for about 1K€ total.
The goal is to replace and improve my old pair of Sony MDR CD1000 (if some of you still remember them) and a pair of Oneodio Studio Pro-50, lol.

The audio chain, as some of you already know, is as follows :
PC (foobar2000) --> USB --> Topping E30 --> RCA splitter --> 2 x Topping L30 --> 2 pairs of headphones

----------

Possible headphone candidates include :

• Neumann NDH20 (499 €) : best closed monitoring headphones for the budget ? At least subjectively that's what Z says...
• Hifiman Sundara (349 €) : planar headphones with a great price/quality ratio ? (plus apparently the bass roll-off below 50 Hz has been improved by the new pads : https://www.headphones.com/blogs/news/sennheiser-hd660s-vs-hifiman-sundara )
• Sennheiser HD660s (447 €) : they have some great reviews on their own, but they seem to be surpassed by the Sundara. Are they ?
• Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro (442 €) : maybe not as good as the other candidates, but it may be a matter of taste ?
• ... other worthy candidates ?

There are lots of reviews of all these headphones online, but most of them are subjective. Still, they are informative and I can be tempted to trust people with a lot of listening experience who compare headphones on a weekly basis. But even so, I'm not sure there's a clear winner among the candidates.

----------

This challenge is tricky because I have to pick 2 headphones among 3 technologies : electrodynamic closed, electrodynamic open, and planar.

As for my music taste, I really am into everything, so I don't want "specialized" headphones. For example I'm not a bass-head and I won't listen to loud Hip-Hop until I'm half-deaf, lol. I like a little bit of everything. But having two complementary pairs of headphones would allow me to pick the best one for every piece of music.

What do you think ?

PS : I have some Hi-Fi resellers in my area that I can visit for some listening appointments. However I'm not sure I would trust my ears for such short auditions (I guess a pair of headphones requires hours if not days of relaxed listening to make up your mind). Not to mention that the reseller's audio chain would not be the same as mine.

Try a Focal or two

 

[Robbo99999]

A last update maybe, to thank you all and tell you that I've made my mind now.
In the end and despite this topic's title, it won't be TWO different pairs of headphones, but THREE. But still within the 1K€ budget.
Honestly I could have gone over that budget, but I didn't found any pair of cans that was appealing enough. Maybe for the 4th pair, who knows.

The two first pairs of cans were relatively easy to choose :

• The Hifiman Sundara as possibly the best "all rounder" headphone for less than 500 €. Great on most kinds of music, especially after the "stealth revision" of their pads which improved frequency response.
• The AudioQuest Nighthawk Carbon, for purely subjective reasons : because it brings bass , huge 3D imaging, and because it's different, and different is generally interesting. Plus it was a steal at 249 € and we got the last one apparently.

The third pair, however, was much more difficult ! We wanted something more intimate and great on vocals, with potential for PEQ.

I've asked for advice, and I've listened to what everybody had to say : here, on other sites (french and foreign), on other reviews, etc.. I've contacted shops, tried to set up appointments for listening sessions, etc..

Of course everybody has an opinion. And it would have been so much easier for me if there was a clear consensus towards a pair of cans for my particular use. But let's face it : THERE ISN'T.

Even only for the Senn cans, some people say the 660S are better, and I understand why (more recent, more technical/analytical). Other people say the 650 are better, and I also understand why. And of course other people say the 600 are better and always have been. There is no clear winner, nor will there ever be I guess.

In the end I think I'll settle for the Sennheiser HD600. Here's why : it may be a little less "modern" and "refined" than the 660S, it may be a little less "analytical" and "all-rounder" than the DT1990 Pro, but it does the two things I'm looking for on this 3rd headphone : an intimate soundstage (kind of "in your head") and sounding great on both male and female vocals. Just for the record, I've also found yet another video review (sorry) that happens to compare the three Senn cans. The video alone wouldn't have sufficed, but the video plus many individual opinions gathered here and there over the last few days/weeks have helped me make my mind. Relax, it's only a pair of cans after all.

So the HD600 it is. I can buy it now for 275 €, while the 660S still costs 411 € or more (which is overpriced - at least there seems to be a consensus on that, lol). But even if the 660S costed 300 €, and even if it's a "better" headphone overall, I would still lean towards the HD600, because it's a "better" headphone for the two particular things I'm looking for here.

Once again, thanks everybody for being so helpful. I love this place and I hope I'll be able to contribute more in the future.

If you do get the HD600, then feel free to try my EQ:
Sennheiser HD600 EQ:

You'll need a -6.5dB preamp for this one.

It's based on Oratory's measurement, so I can't take credit it for it beyond the EQ choices I made in terms of how it fits to the Harman Headphone Curve. The main difference is that it doesn't use a Low Shelf Boost for the bass but instead uses a Peak Filter which has a natural roll off for the very low bass....it actually has more functional bass down to 35Hz than Oratory's EQ but it rolls off faster, so for me this increased my enjoyment of electronic music as the bass has more clarity/definition as well as more punch than the Oratory EQ (in my listening)....I've also matched the treble a little closer to the curve.

 

[Nango]

I don't know how to answer your original question because:
A: I don't know the CD1000 nor the Oneodio
B: I don't know your taste
C: I don't know where you want the headphones to differ and how much
D: I don't know why comfort and quality are not important
E: I see no reason to prefer a Planar over a dynamic
F: I see you wanting to choose between open and closed while these have different use cases.
G: I don't know the NDH20 (dark sounding it seems)
H: Z's opinion is well erm his not so expert opinion. Sometimes funny to watch.
I: Sundara, HD660S and DT1990 are quite different headphones
J: I wouldn't say the HD660S is surpassed by the Sundara and personally think the Senn is the better one.
K: That said you may prefer the Sundara.
L: There are other options
M: I don't know what your taste in sound is nor that of the GF

Take your time with auditioning. The stereo used in the shop is not going to impart sound nor will the Toppings. The chosen music will. Take your own music along. You should hear within 2 songs if you like the signature or not.
When comparing play them about equally loud. Switch from A to B and back to A.
A headphone that starts impressive may not be the best choice, a headphone that seems not impressive may turn out to be the better one.
Don't (get) rushed into buying one. Let the GF decide what she likes.

Listen to various headphones... think ... listen again ... familiar music

There is a little hypo around OneOdio A70 Bluetooth Headphones (35€ area on Amazon) ....if I purchase these and ship it to you and you test the ese and send it to me when finished? Does it suit you?

 

[Jose Hidalgo]

There is a little hypo around OneOdio A70 Bluetooth Headphones (35€ area on Amazon) ....if I purchase these and ship it to you and you test the ese and send it to me when finished? Does it suit you?

For that kind of things, you could have sent him a private message instead of hijacking somebody else's thread. Which basically means that all participants in this thread have received a notification for something that doesn't concern them. Thanks for your understanding.

Since you live in Germany, you could also send your headphones to Oratory1990 who is in Austria. Just sayin'.

 

[solderdude]

There is a little hypo around OneOdio A70 Bluetooth Headphones (35€ area on Amazon) ....if I purchase these and ship it to you and you test the ese and send it to me when finished? Does it suit you?

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