orangejello
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2019
- Messages
- 232
- Likes
- 354
Very informative. But I only have five eq points to work with, not nine. So I can’t begin to extrapolate.
-
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 closed back, over-ear headphone under $250?
- Thread starter Stump909
- Start date
Fluffy
Addicted to Fun and Learning
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2019
- Messages
- 856
- Likes
- 1,425
This is a great advice. I also tune my EQ like this whenever I get a new headphone.
I want to add on top of that, it's hard to arrive on a perfect EQ curve on the first couple of tries. I usually need days or even weeks of acclimatizing my ears to new headphones while tweaking the curve until I land on a curve that just takes out the harshness without dulling out the sound. You also need to listen to a variety of material because not every piece of music will have emphasis on the same part of the spectrum. For example, a big peak in higher treble can be completely concealed when playing old classical recordings, while a major sub-bass roll off could sometimes only be noticeable when playing electronic music.
I suggest starting with looking at a measurement only to get a rough estimate of where the trouble areas could be. After that, listening to a frequency sweep to see if you can actually correlate the measurement with peaks or dips you can actually hear. They are not always apparent or even a problem in actual use. And the sweep might also reveal problematic areas that don't appear in the measurement. After you identified areas that could be problematic, try and correct them with EQ while listening to music you know well and see what effect it gives. Don't be afraid to leave in peaks or dips that you discover that correcting them actually detract from your enjoyment. Sometime deviations from complete flatness can sound nice.
And after that, you probably should leave your system be for a while (I usually try to avoid music until the next day to regain perspective), and when you come back to it see if listening to music with your adjustments still sounds good through rested ears. If not, then keep adjusting and then leave it again, and repeat as much as needed. Until the time comes when you put something on and it just sounds right.
Or increase the Q. The frequency range the filter is affecting could be wider than the actual peak.
orangejello
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2019
- Messages
- 232
- Likes
- 354
Thanks for the suggestions. You guys nailed it. The issues you describe became very apparent after several hours of messing around. I agree that picking a couple of peaks and dealing with those gives the best and easiest satisfaction. Now I know why I gave up on HP sound in the past. I will not obsess about this. It is like herding cats. I had the TV on while I was playing around. I had some half-baked eq installed when Trump’s voice came on. Sounded like he was spitting bullets. Based on that, I may have nailed it
Sennheiser HD 598 Cs. Very nice sound, light and comfortable with fabric ear pads. High quality and high class design, plus the cable can be changed, and they are wired balanced (balanced cable shown). I use them all day, everyday in the office and I'm very happy with them.
Robin L
Master Contributor
I've got the close relatives to the HD 598 C, the open back 579 and 599. Both good in different ways. My understanding is that the 598 series is very close to the 599 series.
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2019
- Messages
- 130
- Likes
- 115
Oppo PM-3 can be had used for 260-300 USD. Low distortion, negligible treble roll-off, and very neutral: https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/oppo-pm-3-competent-comfortable-mobile-headphone-measurements
Last edited:
thomasjast
Active Member
How is that a balanced cable, exactly?
Veri
Master Contributor
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2018
- Messages
- 9,598
- Likes
- 12,040
What do you mean? It's a pretty straightforward 2.5mm balanced cable.
thomasjast
Active Member
Damn, I didn't realize the Fiio Q1 Mk II had a balanced output and thought you were showing some witchcraft until I realized I was looking at 4 cables. Cool stuff!
Veri
Master Contributor
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2018
- Messages
- 9,598
- Likes
- 12,040
Yeah the cool thing is that a bunch of sennheiser headphones are wired for 2.5mm mic+phone but can be used balanced, since they're wired for it
Veri
Master Contributor
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2018
- Messages
- 9,598
- Likes
- 12,040
Many have sought for something like this
the HD650 series is so damn good and natural sounding it's very difficult to find a replacement, let alone a closed back one.
Robin L
Master Contributor
The Sennheiser HD 598 C is a close as one can hope for. I happen to like the Sennheiser Urbanite XL. Has a bass bump, but is also good and clear in the upper registers. Very good with both classical/orchestral and modern pop with extra bass.
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2019
- Messages
- 130
- Likes
- 115
If you are looking for neutrality in a closed headphone it’s the Oppo PM-3. Arguably even more neutral than the HD6** given it has flat bass response. The only trade off is isolation in lieu of soundstage.
Veri
Master Contributor
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2018
- Messages
- 9,598
- Likes
- 12,040
But it's no longer available/produced, right?
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2019
- Messages
- 130
- Likes
- 115
True, Oppo went out of business. If one really wanted one though, they can be had used for between 260-300 USD on eBay. I’ve tracked several of such listings and they come up pretty frequently.
Yes, that's what Sennheiser told me. It's difficult to compare the 599 and 598 Cs directly given the open back vs. closed back design. But with the 598 Cs being the best closed back in the 500 range, they do sound superb.
Well, a guy on Massdrop has the solution just for you (PSA was left for others not to repeat what they saw
)
Yeah, that's why I've bought and kept the HD 598 Cs. I suppose that the Beyerdynamic DT 770s are also worth a look at for closed back at a similar price point (although being studio headphones, people complain about listening fatigue and a V shaped sound curve i.e. bass and treble).
I've been considering upgrading to something like the DROP + MRSPEAKERS ETHER CX CLOSED which go for $900, but I can honestly say that I would have a hard time changing the HD 598 Cs given the sound quality, comfort and enjoyment that I'm having with them.
Similar threads
