Best measuring headphone without using EQ?

[despearce]

I mainly listen through speakers but have recently added a Topping A90D to my system to be able to remotely change volume and inputs (I use a 30 year old valve amp to provide power to the speakers).

It would be nice to have an headphone option for late night listening but my sources are a Cambridge Audio 851N and Rega Saturn-R cd player which gives me no option for EQing any headphones.

Lots of demoing is also difficult as I’m a wheelchair user and there aren’t really any shops nearby to try different headphones in.

So what would be a safe bet as a first purchase of wired headphones in a long time, I use Sony wh-1000mx4 for listening on holiday which are okay but when I get home the speaker set up is so much better that they go in their case and aren’t seen again until the next holiday.

 

[Power Pop 23]

I mainly listen through speakers but have recently added a Topping A90D to my system to be able to remotely change volume and inputs (I use a 30 year old valve amp to provide power to the speakers).

It would be nice to have an headphone option for late night listening but my sources are a Cambridge Audio 851N and Rega Saturn-R cd player which gives me no option for EQing any headphones.

Lots of demoing is also difficult as I’m a wheelchair user and there aren’t really any shops nearby to try different headphones in.

So what would be a safe bet as a first purchase of wired headphones in a long time, I use Sony wh-1000mx4 for listening on holiday which are okay but when I get home the speaker set up is so much better that they go in their case and aren’t seen again until the next holiday.

Hi,

How much are you comfortable spending on these headphones ?

 

[despearce]

£500 maybe £600 if it made a decent difference

 

[Jiraya369]

akg k612 pro. By God is it tuned well. I might be wrong but i read somewhere someone called it Sean Olive's baby lol if that aint high praise idk what is. It's neutral with flat bass so you might not like it much tho

There's also the Dan Clark stuff but it's highly person dependent, even more so than usual due to their AMTS which work exceptionally well for some and then not at all for others.

 

[Power Pop 23]

Rtings dot com has measured several headphones - with graphs and text indicating which models need less EQ to achieve the target frequency response curve. Their headphone reviews go behind a paywall after so many viewings. The Sennheiser HD 490 Pro headphone may meet your needs and budget.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-490-pro

 

[despearce]

akg k612 pro. By God is it tuned well. I might be wrong but i read somewhere someone called it Sean Olive's baby lol if that aint high praise idk what is. It's neutral with flat bass so you might not like it much tho

There's also the Dan Clark stuff but it's highly person dependent, even more so than usual due to their AMTS which work exceptionally well for some and then not at all for others.

The fixed cable might be an issue but I’ll do some more research into this one

 

[swamps]

akg k612 pro. By God is it tuned well. I might be wrong but i read somewhere someone called it Sean Olive's baby lol if that aint high praise idk what is. It's neutral with flat bass so you might not like it much tho

There's also the Dan Clark stuff but it's highly person dependent, even more so than usual due to their AMTS which work exceptionally well for some and then not at all for others.

By God it is tuned well x2. Very good value for money but they do sound very "honest" and almost boring for some (it lacks some "air" past 10kHz iirc). Ah yes, it has a fixed 3m cable that connects from the left earcup.

 

[Soria Moria]

Audeze Maxwell has a very agreeable tuning but it is wireless.

 

[Jiraya369]

The fixed cable might be an issue but I’ll do some more research into this one

there's the hd600 stuff with NO bass and other stuff just need EQ to sound great.

 

[despearce]

What about the Hifiman Edition XV?

 

[Jiraya369]

What about the Hifiman Edition XV?

the 1-2khz dip makes it a headphone that is NOT the best measuring.

But my HRTF aligns with it perfectly actually. I really liked the tuning when i listened to it. If i reduced 2k-20khz by 2-4 db to taste, i'd have had my dream tuning and the critical 800-2000 hz region is the point where this headphone does really well FOR MY ears

 

[Chagall]

No matter what headphones you end up getting, I would still recommend adding EQ. For example, putting minidsp 2x4 HD or minidsp Flex in between your CD player and A90 would give you that capability. You only need to set up the EQ once on a PC, and after that it works standalone without the PC connected.

 

[IngMishael]

What about the Hifiman Edition XV?

not the best measuring but imo demoing is paramount if you can. also EQ is always great even with tremendously excellent measuring headphones

 

[despearce]

Am I better spending £250 on a headphone and £250 on a minidsp 2x4 hd?

I don’t really want to mess with the sound from the Saturn through to the speakers if I can find another option

 

[Chagall]

Am I better spending £250 on a headphone and £250 on a minidsp 2x4 hd?

I don’t really want to mess with the sound from the Saturn through to the speakers if I can find another option

Regardless of whether the headphones cost $250 or $2500, having EQ capability is always beneficial. Sound quality perspective, it’s better to spend $250 on headphones and $250 on EQ than $500 on headphones alone. The flexibility EQ provides to tweak the sound to your preferences, even with headphones that already measure well, is simply too valuable IMO.

 

[DVDdoug]

I haven't read ALL of the reviews here but the only headphone I know of that Amir doesn't recommend ANY EQ with is the Dan Clark Stealth ($4000 USD ).
But Amir is a perfectionist and he uses EQ even if it's "almost perfect".

Generally, there is no correlation between price and sound quality so great headphones don't have to be expensive. On the other end of the price spectrum is the AKG K371 which is highly regarded except for exaggerated deep bass and some unevenness in the high-mid range, and it has a reputation for being fragile. Amir made some small corrections in the mid-high range but he liked the bass boost. I have a pair and listen without EQ, and mine haven't broken yet. (But I mostly listen to speakers.)

It helps if you have an idea of how YOUR personal preferences compare to the Harman Preference Curve.

I use Sony wh-1000mx4 for listening on holiday

The WH-1000MX4 was reviewed here and it got "not recommended" without EQ. It also measures (and sounds different) in active & passive modes with better performance in active noise canceling mode.

Understanding Headphone Measurements (video)

 

[despearce]

I have used the EQ in the Sony app for the wh-1000mx4 to alter the overall sound a bit. If it’s the best way of listening, using EQ that is, then I need to think about a way of fitting it in to my setup.

Maybe a better set of wireless, noise cancelling headphones and lossless Tidal through my phone using WiFi is an option to explore

 

[bungle]

There is something with Ollo X1. When I first tried them I got feeling that I am listening to speakers and not headphones. It doesn’t happen always but it is there. Yesterday my wife plugged X1 to digital piano. I hadn’t told her anything about the headphones. Her immediate comment was that it feels like she is not wearing headphones. I know that they are pretty flat, not perfect. Semi-open construction may have something to do with it. They are not super expensive, like 430€ from Amazon.de. I have been a bit spoiled about them, and now wondering how do I get the speakers sound same or better in my living room, that is much more complicated. So worth to try. I have tried many (not very expensive ones though), and these feel like end game headphones for me (subjectively). I tend to add one or two db for bass and also one db to treble to make them sound a bit more exciting (in my ears). I think there are reviews here of some older models (not best measuring though).

 

[audioholic63]

After many months of hemming and hawing I just bought a set of Senn HD560S. There are two multiyear threads on this (both old and "new" version) with way more angels dancing on the head of a pin arguing over peq and stealth changes and pad differences than a $200 headphone really needs. While connected to a pc and playing with various peq settings it sounds...different, playing without eq is just fine. First time I have said that about a set of headphones in years. However, the real thrill is that playing from the headphone out on my Anthem Pre2L preamp sounds great. I have a Loki Mini+ in the 2ch system specifically for headphone listening but after mucking around a bit I found playing flat was more pleasant. The headphone out runs directly from the EC88CC tubes and is generally very pleasant on higher impediance phones. It is the only thing that really drives my 600Ohm AKG K240's. A lot of people have chimed in on the related threads that the 560S is very good without eq. I wish the build was up there with the HD6xx but the trade off is it weighs 50 grams less and that helps a lot with comfort. It is an easy purchase and return with Amazon if you don't like them (US anyway, I'm guessing you are in the UK?)