Best headphone open with EQ ?

[Xaviedie]

Senneheiser HD 800S > all, where nop ?

 

[Mr Swing King]

Hifiman HE6 imho.

 

[solderdude]

There is no single 'best' headphone (outside of the HE1 ) but there are quite a few 'best' headphones at many price classes for all people.
They may not be the same ones. For person A a € 20 IEM may be 'the best' where others may find >k$ the minimum required.
Either with or without EQ (not all EQ is the correct EQ in an absolute sense).

EQ based on measurements on a certain fixture actually is ONLY accurate for that specific measured copy, on that specific fixture (it will not be accurate on any other fixture) in a specific 'mounting' position (or average of positions) on a specific target (not all targets are equal).

Both HD800 and HE6 certainly are among the best headphones but not THE best.

 

[FrenchFan]

The best, it will depend on your
wallet, and there are still expensive headphones
that are not very good.

For me the best headphones in terms of quality
price ratio is the "superlux HD681", for less than
30 Euros you have a TOP headset for a neutral (or almost) headset.

I leave this link which analyzes headphones in the ASR
way that cost less than 2000 Euros.

It gives ratings to the headphones according to their neutrality
which is what I was looking for.

You can see all the analysis curves of each headset.

Headphones Table Tool

Check our Headphones Table Tool to see all our reviews. Easily select and compare products, and use our filters and sorting options to find the best Headphones for your needs. Example: Check our TV Table Tool to see all our reviews. Easily select and compare products, and use our filters and...

www.rtings.com

Superlux HD 681 Review

The Superlux HD 681 are budget-friendly, entry-level audiophile headphones. They stand out from the crowd thanks to their semi-open-back design, which helps them...

www.rtings.com

 

[jonwb]

I'm starting to favor my Hifiman Sundara Planars with the Oratory parametric EQ.

 

[Graph Feppar]

Best in what? Soundstage? Distortion? Comfort?

Soundstage = HD800
Distortion = Stax SR X9000
Comfort = HD 490 Pro

 

[markanini]

What made you choose an open-back for EQ out of curiosity?

 

[Xaviedie]

Best in what? Soundstage? Distortion? Comfort?

Soundstage = HD800
Distortion = Stax SR X9000
Comfort = HD 490 Pro

Neutral (open)

 

[Graph Feppar]

Neutral (open)

Most neutral open headphone I tried is HD 490 with cloth pads. Stax L series can be super neutral but you need bluetac mod to plug the port and SoCas 3d printed adapter for ZMF pads to get rid of upper midrange peak.

HD600 are super neutral too. Compared to cloth HD490 they have slighly too much ear gain region while HD490 has slighly too little but HD490 has far superior, flatter more extended sub bass.

Aune AR5000 appears to be among top 5 most neutral headphones ever made too.

As for electrostats, they seem to all be fairly close to neutral becose the driver technology is inherently less resonant which means flatter FR. Nectar HiveX, Kaldas Conquest RR1, ES-1 Alpha ( Omega clone, I dont mean the series, I mean the early 90s big driver Stax) and circular driver Stax are all in the neutral-ish camp.

If I worked as producer/sound engineer/mastering guy and I could only use 1 headphone for the rest of my life and I was strictly prohibited from using EQ, Stax L700MK2 with bluetac mod, SoCas adapter and ZMF pads would be my choice.