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best high end headphones (budget 3k)

Adi777

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I think the issue is that sometimes people just want to buy something expensive, and we tend to push on them our own perception of value without caring what is it they are after. If a person asks which Lamborghini model you recommend, they are clearly not looking for fuel economy, so no point of telling them to check out Prius in my opinion.
Exactly.
 

Bow_Wazoo

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HE-1000 Stealth + LYR+ + D400ES

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Sgt. Ear Ache

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I think the issue is that sometimes people just want to buy something expensive, and we tend to push on them our own perception of value without caring what is it they are after. If a person asks which Lamborghini model you recommend, they are clearly not looking for fuel economy, so no point of telling them to check out Prius in my opinion.

Otoh, when I see posts like this pop up here, I always wonder if the OP is coming at it from a perspective informed by years of standard audiophile headgames and might be unaware that in fact it probably isn't really necessary to spend that money that way. But yeah, if someone has unlimited resources and just wants to blow the dough...go for it. There's lots of very expensive stuff out there that also sounds very good. For myself...I don't know, spending upwards of $5K on a set of headphones and an amp seems like crazy town. Maybe if I was sitting on a $50K nest egg or something I could see doing that but if we're talking about money I've just squirrelled away over a period of years and now I'm going shopping - and knowing what I do know about audio - I don't think I could do it.
 
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GM3

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Otoh, when I see posts like this pop up here, I always wonder if the OP is coming at it from a perspective informed by years of standard audiophile headgames and might be unaware that in fact it probably isn't really necessary to spend that money that way. But yeah, if someone has unlimited resources and just wants to blow the dough...go for it. There's lots of very expensive stuff out there that also sounds very good.
Psychologically, (imho, typically) people who have dough to blow just want to blow the dough, they're not really interested in price/performance ratio, they just want to get the best item that money can get them. Going back to lambo, they wouldn't care that a mustang or corvette with swapped turbo engine and gazillion horse power would be faster and 1/3rd the price, they just want to splurge and wave that $300k car receipt around.

For headphones (again imho, stereotype, etc.,) or guitars, clothes, laptops, cellphones, etc., pride and boasting aside, people with lots of money just want to spend more money to buy better stuff; that's the point of having money, being able to afford things others can't. That's why you have dentists buying $5000 Gimpson guitars, $600 tennis rackets or fancy golf clubs, $200 whiskey, etc. not because they need them, just because they can.
 
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Sgt. Ear Ache

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Psychologically, (imho, typically) people who have dough to blow just want to blow the dough, they're not really interested in price/performance ratio, they just want to get the best item that $ can get them for that money. Going back to lambo, they wouldn't care that a mustang or corvette with swapped engine and gazillion horse power would be faster and 1/3rd the price, they just want to splurge and wave that $300k car receit.
sure, of course. So perhaps we need to ask the OP what his situation is wrt finances. Is he in that "I've got tons of money so it don't matter at all" category or is he more like most of us who need to actually consider the worthiness of our expenditures. But in the end, I don't think it's ever wrong to make sure a person knows the real score...
 

Keith_W

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Maybe if I was sitting on a $50K nest egg or something I could see doing that but if we're talking about money I've just squirrelled away over a period of years and now I'm going shopping - and knowing what I do know about audio - I don't think I could do it.

I am sorry, but I am not sure I understand. Over here (in Australia), "$50k nest egg" means money you have put away for retirement. Do you think that $50k is a lot of money to put away for retirement, or have you omitted a couple of zeros?
 

Sgt. Ear Ache

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I am sorry, but I am not sure I understand. Over here (in Australia), "$50k nest egg" means money you have put away for retirement. Do you think that $50k is a lot of money to put away for retirement, or have you omitted a couple of zeros?

no, maybe nest egg wasn't the right term. I just mean if I had 50K sitting in my savings account. Perhaps "Rainy day fund" is more appropo...

Again though if I'm going by what I know about the OP who has a total of 2 messages on the forum - both of which are in this thread - it sounds like he's a younger person. That's about it really. Not a lot to go on...It would be good to know if EQ is going to be part of his sound equation...because if it isn't we're in a whole different kettle of fish wrt our recommendations right?
 
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Keith_W

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I don't think we should be speculating about the OP's finances. If he asks the question, that indicates he has the means to fulfil his purchase. I think we should just answer his question and not drag "wow that is so much money!" into it.

These are the traditional recommendations for high end headphones. I assume you are looking for open back:

- Hifiman Susvara
- Stax SR-009
- Focal Utopia

I have heard good things about the DCA Expanse and Audeze LCD-5, but I haven't had a chance to hear them.
 

juliangst

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Is there anything that’s objectively better than DCA Stealth/Expanse powered by a A90d?
For a budget of $6K, DCA Expanse would be an easy choice
 

IAtaman

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Is there anything that’s objectively better than DCA Stealth/Expanse powered by a A90d?
For a budget of $6K, DCA Expanse would be an easy choice
That is a nice and warm can of worms.
 

Keith_W

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I think you are over budget and under scope. Typical engineer... Civil I presume?

???

Hifiman Susvara = USD$6k.
Focal Utopia = USD$5k
Stax SR-009 = USD$7k (but can easily found secondhand for thousands less).

Of the three, I would pick either the Hifiman or the Focals. Stax is a bit bass light for me, but it all depends on OP's preferences. He might like them.

My own headphones are DCA Stealths. But that is because open backs don't suit my domestic situation because of sound leakage.
 

IAtaman

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???

Hifiman Susvara = USD$6k.
Focal Utopia = USD$5k
Stax SR-009 = USD$7k (but can easily found secondhand for thousands less).

Of the three, I would pick either the Hifiman or the Focals. Stax is a bit bass light for me, but it all depends on OP's preferences. He might like them.

My own headphones are DCA Stealths. But that is because open backs don't suit my domestic situation because of sound leakage.
That was a tongue in cheek comment. Another failed attempt at humour from my side - I don't know why I even try.

If I read them correctly I believe the OP said their budget for headphone is $3K, they wanted the splash the other $3K on an amp. So the headphones suggested are too expensive (over budget) and no amp suggestion (under scope) hence the comment. It is really not funny if you have to explain it. Again, taking full responsibility.
 

jae

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Is there anything that’s objectively better than DCA Stealth/Expanse powered by a A90d?
For a budget of $6K, DCA Expanse would be an easy choice
If one has an unlimited budget, ADI-2/4 Pro SE at $2500 is clearly a better choice than buying a Topping stack.

???

Hifiman Susvara = USD$6k.
Focal Utopia = USD$5k
Stax SR-009 = USD$7k (but can easily found secondhand for thousands less).

Of the three, I would pick either the Hifiman or the Focals. Stax is a bit bass light for me, but it all depends on OP's preferences. He might like them.

My own headphones are DCA Stealths. But that is because open backs don't suit my domestic situation because of sound leakage.
These are double OP's budget.
 

Sgt. Ear Ache

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I don't think we should be speculating about the OP's finances. If he asks the question, that indicates he has the means to fulfil his purchase. I think we should just answer his question and not drag "wow that is so much money!" into it.
fair enough. I disagree.

Again, there's endless options for OP if all he wants is a list of high $ headphones he can spend all his money on. I don't think there's anything at all wrong with us letting him know that doing so probably isn't necessary.

I still would want to know if EQ is part of his equation. If it isn't, then I hope he has a shop nearby where he can go and spend several hours auditioning $3K headphones to find the ones that suit his preference. Of the 7 sets of phones Amir has reviewed with a price point above $2K USD, only one got a recommendation without EQ. And only 4 got a rec with EQ. (although I see the Dan Clarks aren't on the list so the review index isn't up to date I assume)

(btw, I wouldn't suggest anything over $99 is a waste. But, once you get up to $300 or $400 you can really start to get into the law of diminishing returns territory)
 
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juliangst

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ADI-2/4 Pro SE at $2500 is clearly a better choice than buying a Topping stack.
You don’t need the stack (D90/A90);
just a good enough balanced dac (D10 balanced for example) and the A90d.
The RME is way more expensive and has a lot less power than the A90d.
DCA headphones need a lot of power so the A90d is one of the best choices I someone doesn’t what to get a speaker amp for headphones.

This setup also allows for more expensive headphones and the DCA expanse are the headphones to beat in this price bracket.
 

IAtaman

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You don’t need the stack (D90/A90);
just a good enough balanced dac (D10 balanced for example) and the A90d.
The RME is way more expensive and has a lot less power than the A90d.
DCA headphones need a lot of power so the A90d is one of the best choices I someone doesn’t what to get a speaker amp for headphones.

This setup also allows for more expensive headphones and the DCA expanse are the headphones to beat in this price bracket.
Expanse is only one headphone, there are many others that does not require a 9W headphone amp. It is $4K so over $3K budget. I have not listened to it so can't say anything about its performance. For A90D, at nominal impedence of 23ohms Expanse is rated at, L70 provides more or less the same power at half the price, so might not be the best amp even for Expanse one can argue. ADI2 is a DAC + AMP + DSP with 5 band PEQ. There are maybe 5 or 10 headphones probably that require A90 level power, but probably 500 that does not, and almost all of them can benefit from EQ. We can continue discussing of course but clearly there is not only one good option.
 
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