Best Headphone ASR Has Reviewed

[KeithPhantom]

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There is no such thing as "objectively right" because everybody is different anatomically and neurologically, and are able to perceive sound a little differently.

maybe not an absolute, but a close average.

I am a Mathematician by trade, and I couldn't care less about methodology and data in this case (beyond a reasonable point).

You said you had empirical evidence, now substantiate that claim. And yes, experiment conditions and limitations do matter when collecting and interpreting information.

Your ears listen for you, and you should listen to your ears.

Opinion, not fact. My ears do not define “realism”.

This statement is illogical. I don't understand how looking at a curve or reading a paper can make a headphone sound better. I was asking you what made you change your mind regarding Harman, since you said that no headphone using Harman sounded correct to you.

Let’s say that I actually gave it a second go after a while and changed my mind on top of reading the papers.

 

[Blank Verse]

maybe not an absolute, but a close average.

The average waist size for Levis 501 sold in the US is 34, but since I am in good shape I wear a 31. Should I take into account the average when buying my pants also? And if not, why should I care about the average when listening to music?

You said you had empirical evidence, now substantiate that claim. And yes, experiment conditions and limitations do matter when collecting and interpreting information.

Empirical evidence in this case means personal, direct experience, which is all that matters (refer to my pant size comment above). I have tried enough headphones to know which ones sound best to me. When I listen to music I like to hear detail, realism, space, nuances, instruments and voices that sound like I am actually there. That is all (and no less) I ask from a headphone. No headphone is perfect, I just chose my best approximations based on budget and other constraints.

Opinion, not fact. My ears do not define “realism”.

Yes, they do. There is no such thing as "realism" in the business of music reproduction by headphones. In any case, only if you are deaf will you think that the average Harman headphone has a more realistic soundstage than the average DF tuned headphone. Only if you are deaf or haven't listened to both.

Let’s say that I actually gave it a second go after a while and changed my mind on top of reading the papers.

My hearing remains completely unaffected by reading papers, which is quite remarkable and a gift, I guess.

 

[Blank Verse]

The bottom line is: I understand the rationale for Harman, since this is what the majority prefers and these companies are in the business of giving the masses what they like so that they empty their pockets. I have a minority taste and I prefer DF. I don't want to discredit the Harman curve insofar as it is actually backed by science. In my opinion it is just that it doesn't pursue the right goals (or at least the goals I care about).

 

[THW]

These frequencies are needed for faithful reproduction anyways, and it is over 1% even at 94 dBSPL. Also, you are forgetting to add the bass compensation to reach Harman, and you will be listening to over 100 dB SPL average in the range of 20-60Hz in order to compensate for Fletcher-Munson (somewhat compensated by the recording though) and the Harman compensation. Also, in my books, open-back is just a nuisance, but that is personal:
View attachment 137370

i’m pretty sure we are so tone deaf and insensitive at sub bass regions that we may not actually be able to hear even 1% distortion.

FWIW and IME, boosting the sub-bass region for a HD 600 EQ doesn’t really cause ill effects in practice. YMMV

 

[KeithPhantom]

i’m pretty sure we are so tone deaf and insensitive at sub bass regions that we may not actually be able to hear even 1% distortion.

FWIW and IME, boosting the sub-bass region for a HD 600 EQ doesn’t really cause ill effects in practice. YMMV

I rather not having the distortion there. There may be intermodulation products that may be generated due to the presence of distortion in that range. Better be safe than sorry.

 

[eriksson]

Not sure what to make of this remark about Focal Utopia:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/focal-utopia-review-headphone.22103/

Above that, I dialed in two filters to fill in the dips in the response. As I have noted before, any increase in this region also has a nice bonus of increasing spatial effects. On this note, the Focal Utopia with this EQ is a delight to listen to. You get a halo of sound about 25 to 30% outside of your head with very nice instrument separation and excellent clarity. I wish I had the Sennheiser HD-800S to compare but what is there, reminds me of that headphone. Whatever magic Sennheiser has found there, Focal seems to have discovered as well.

It seems he heard something unique when listening to these two headphones. Something he couldn't explain by his measurements. This is strange because neither of these headphones measured exceptionally well. Ironic, isn't it?

 

[markanini]

The average waist size for Levis 501 sold in the US is 34, but since I am in good shape I wear a 31. Should I take into account the average when buying my pants also? And if not, why should I care about the average when listening to music?

Maybe the comparison doesn't work. In the end both hearing and size are determined by genes, a product of evolution. Some adaptations will be crucial for survival, some won't and you see more variation within a species. That's why it's easier to change your size through diet and exercise, while your hearing stays fixed (until you damage it). A reason for that is because humans are social animals, evident by us having this very discussion.

 

[Robin L]

The bottom line is: I understand the rationale for Harman, since this is what the majority prefers and these companies are in the business of giving the masses what they like so that they empty their pockets. I have a minority taste and I prefer DF. I don't want to discredit the Harman curve insofar as it is actually backed by science. In my opinion it is just that it doesn't pursue the right goals (or at least the goals I care about).

Right, you're the outlier. The question wasn't "What does Blank Verse think is the best headphone ASR has reviewed?" Your subjective opinion does not constitute an answer to the the question posted. The reviews of ASR are written and researched, for the most part, by Amir. He has already stated his preference for headphones conforming to the Harman curve. So your preference does not enter into the question.

 

[KeithPhantom]

I had a little bit of curiosity about the HD 540 (even though what I have is the HD 540 Reference II measurements). I compiled some statistics about how they follow each target and here I present the results:

The HD 600:

And the HD 800:

Judging by the errors, they all are closer to Harman by interpreting the statistics (focus on MAE, MSE, and RMSE). The closest one to Diffuse Field is the HD 600, the one known for "not really being based on diffuse-field equalization). These have been interesting results, to say the least...

 

[markanini]

I had a little bit of curiosity about the HD 540 (even though what I have is the HD 540 Reference II measurements). I compiled some statistics about how they follow each target and here I present the results:
View attachment 137971
The HD 600:
View attachment 137972
And the HD 800:
View attachment 137973

Judging by the errors, they all are closer to Harman by interpreting the statistics (focus on MAE, MSE, and RMSE). The closest one to Diffuse Field is the HD 600, the one known for "not really being based on diffuse-field equalization). These have been interesting results, to say the least...

Things seems to always get more interesting when looking at hard data.

I've seen claims over the years of a number of classic headphones being tuned for:
Diffuse field
Diffuse field with a slope
Diffuse field with a slope starting at 1kHz

Anecdotally, the sloped DF variants were never a formal standard. Even then, a multitude of headphones were claimed to follow these targets without being backed with data. I've seen a ton of classic headphones claimed to be DF tuned online, HD600, DT880, DT990, K601, K612, K702, K701, HD800 just to name a few. These claims are getting more rare now that we have have a wealth of measurements on current GRAS units showing poor compliance to DF. Only discontinued headphones can get away the claim, until someone sends a vintage specimen to Oratory1990....

I'd say it's time to lay the diffuse field target to rest.

 

[maverickronin]

I've seen a ton of classic headphones claimed to be DF tuned online, HD600, DT880, DT990, K601, K612, K702, K701, HD800 just to name a few.

The K601 actually was.

 

[Brianc]

I don't see what you are seeing. The DF curve is relatively flat from the bass up to the upper mids. In the HD540 the bass is a little recessed, so the curve has an ascending trajectory, whereas the opposite is true for the Harman curve. The point being that the bass predominates in the Harman curve, which is the opposite to what the HD540 curve is doing. You either like that or you don't, and I particularly don't, but I agree that it must be true that most people prefer that type of signature.

Aside from the fact that the HD600 (or even the HD650) couldn't have targetted Harman because they predate it, it is true (as I mentioned earlier) that the trend in the Sennheiser flagships has been towards darkness, up to the HD700 I guess. The HD800 and the HD540 are much more alike than the HD800 and the HD600, for example. I have no idea why Sennheiser did that, but they must obviously have done some research based on people's preferences as well, in parallel to the Harman research.

The famous "Sennheiser veil" people refer to when they talk about the HD580 and the HD600 is just a product of that shift to a darker sound, emphasizing the bass compared to how the previous generation that were closer to the DF curve behaved. It gives a warmer, more forgiving sound, but it takes away balance and detail in my opinion, and I also think the soundstage suffers as a consequence, and that's why most people don't use the HD600 as an example of expansive soundstage.

Have you ever heard the HiFi Man Sundaras? I don't own them but thought they had an amazing soundstage during a brief audition. I can get a pair of 540 reference in great shape for half the price of the Sundaras so I was wondering how the soundstage compared.

 

[EJH]

He has stated on here he does not intend to rank on preference and I'm not sure you can infer solely from the review comments as they and the panthers include a degree of price/value consideration. Also I think technical prowess is factored in which may not be evident in the listening experience. I get the sense that his top selection price no object might be something like :

Utopia
Hd800S
HE6 SE
Aeon RT

Whether he puts the HD650/6XX and k371 on quite the same absolute level or just on a value basis, I know not.

I think the thread might've jumped the gun when it assumed that the HD650 was Amir's top or favorite pair of headphones:

To your list, I would add the Drop/Dan Clark Ether CX. I'm struck by the fact that the two Dan Clark headphones tested so well. Wonder whether it's safe to assume that the Ether 2 would also test impressively. It's a headphone I've been considering since it has a reputation as one of the most comfortable and well built on the market.

You can find all of @amirm's headphone recommendations here https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/HeadphoneReview/

 

[Jimbob54]

I think the thread might've jumped the gun when it assumed that the HD650 was Amir's top or favorite pair of headphones:
View attachment 143019View attachment 143019

To your list, I would add the Drop/Dan Clark Ether CX. I'm struck by the fact that the two Dan Clark headphones tested so well. Wonder whether it's safe to assume that the Ether 2 would also test impressively. It's a headphone I've been considering since it has a reputation as one of the most comfortable and well built on the market.

You can find all of @amirm's headphone recommendations here https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/HeadphoneReview/

Yup. And he owns the ether CX. I would guess the Ether 2 would do well too.

 

[Yorkshire Mouth]

I think, overall, the Sennheiser HD 650:

"Sennheiser HD650 Listening Tests and Equalization
The HD650 sounds like it measures. That is, it has a very good sound and tonality out of the box -- better than any other headphone I have tested. No wonder that I am often surprised how good it is when I go back to testing it for a few seconds after using another for a long time. You can however do much, much better with just a bit of equalization . . ."

I'd just like to point out that this review was published on 26th December 2020.

On 23rd January 2021, 28 days later, Amir reviewed the AKG K371 and said "This looks to be closest we have gotten to the target."

The K371 costs less than half the HD650, maybe a third of the price, though is less comfortable, and not as easy to adjust.

But isn't it great to know we can get such fantastic quality at such low prices.

A PC into a £100 DSC into a £150 headphone amp into a £100-£300 pair of headphones, and if you wanted a vinyl & speakers set up getting anywhere close to that quality you're talking about several thousand £s.

 

[Svperstar]

That is the headphone Amir liked best, but it is not the best headphone ASR has reviewed because all this is quite subjective. The HD650 is too dark for my taste, even the HD600 is. At the same time, most brighter headphones are poorly implemented and are grating at the higher registers. It is hard to find a headphone which offers a natural reproduction without being offensive in one way or another. I'm not saying the HD580/HD600/HD650 are bad. I have an HD580 myself which I love, but once you have listened to something more transparent you realize these are not that neutral (the HD650 even less so).

I have a 580 and 6XX, if you find the them too dark and not transparent enough I recommend the Hifiman Arya. They are quite pricy though and the still in the works Drop.com 8XX might be a cheaper and similar option.

 

[solderdude]

The HD540 (II) and HD560 Ovation II were based on the same chassis.
Got my hands on a pair of HD560 Ovation II. I understand these have a bit more treble than the HD540 II though.
The measurements and my subjective evaluation seem to be similar to that of John.

I don't think hd540's soundstage is anything spectacular.
The highs don't coming back down after 3khz shows it's obviously too bright. I hope you can compare to a good speaker system and see how the highs differ.

Note: a horizontal line is audible flat (to my target) so the +15dB treble peak at 8kHz is not due to a fake ear.

Indeed these series incl. HD250 Linear II (owned 3 of those) all have peaked highs.