Don't know which Headphone to buy (budget 2K)

[curiousabout]

Hello everyone!

I need advice on which headphones to buy.

I listen mostly to the following artists :

Mariah Carey
Mase
CamRon
Taylor Swift

The only headphone I have tested was the Sennheiser 660S2 and it was like the sound was not focused on the vocals. Like the voice was on something behind. It was a bit distracting. But the good thing was, it sounded musical but fatiguing.

My budget is 2000€.

Can anyone recommend one or two headphones that sound great to the artists listed above?

Unfortunately, there is no store where I can test any headphones near me.

 

[kemmler3D]

Tons of good options in this price range.

However, you should first try some EQ to see if you get the sound to where you like it. If you are using a PC it's pretty easy using EQAPO / Peace EQ. This thread has some suggestions: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/sennheiser-hd-660s2.41400/

Other than that, there are many headphones by Hifiman, Audeze, and others that are pretty good.

 

[Dunring]

For female vocals the Audio Technica adh1000x is the best I've heard. They run up until 2.4khz which is when Mariah Carey hits the whistle range. The Hifiman Arya Stealth is really good too, much better than the original version which has forward upper mids. I've got the ADH1000x and for singers like Sia, Amy Lee, and Ellie Goulding I still haven't heard better.

 

[solderdude]

The only headphone I have tested was the Sennheiser 660S2 and it was like the sound was not focused on the vocals. Like the voice was on something behind. It was a bit distracting. But the good thing was, it sounded musical but fatiguing.

Werid ... I would agree that the voice (and instruments) are a little (too) laid-back (the 3kHz dip) and that the headphone sounds 'musical' (can mean anything to anyone or nothing but I get it).
The fatiguing part is not what I get. I can listen to it an entire day without any fatigue.... but I needed to lower the clamping force. A too high clamping force makes me want to stop listening after 30 mins or so. That could be similar to listening fatigue.

You seem to need a bit more clarity in the upper midrange. OLLO S5X does just that and has better bass extension. Getting a good fit probably takes bending the headband strategically. When I want a more 'real' sound I grab the S5X, for a more 'relaxed' listen or brighter recordings the HD660S2 is better suited for an evening of enjoyment.

For 2k you could consider the (closed) DCA E3 ?

 

[Rhamnetin]

Assuming you have a half decent DAC+amp, I agree with the above recommendation for the DCA E3 or maybe waiting for an open version. Doesn't get much better than that at any price point.

 

[DVDdoug]

I won't attempt a recommendation but I'd say headphone preference is "highly personal" and you need to find something that YOU like and that's comfortable to YOU, or you may prefer open or closed headphones, or a certain appearance, etc.

With headphones there is very little correlation between cost and sound quality, as you can see if you sort the ASR reviews by "recommended". It's likely that your favorite headphone in the world is less than 2000€ (if you didn't know, or could ignore, brand and price).

The main characteristic of "sound quality" or "sound character" is frequency response. Headphone measurements are "tricky" for several reasons but the measurements done here by Amir are all done with the same setup so you can compare them. So if he has measured the headphones you own, you can look at the graphs choose one with a little more, or a little less, bass, etc.

And frequency response can be tweaked to a large extent with EQ. (You can run into "difficulties" if you boost the bass too much.)

Non-measurable characteristics like soundstage very from person-to-person and most people don't get a realistic soundstage illusion . (That surprised me, because although I don't get a good soundstage with headphones, a LOT of people talk about it,)

Can anyone recommend one or two headphones that sound great to the artists listed above?

The concept of high fidelity" is that it should accurately reproduce the recording no matter what it is. (You may have a preference for boosted bass or something like that, but normally that doesn't depend on the what you're listening to.)

 

[bodhi]

With headphones there is very little correlation between cost and sound quality, as you can see if you sort the ASR reviews by "recommended". It's likely that your favorite headphone in the world is less than 2000€ (if you didn't know, or could ignore, brand and price).

Also, the differences between headphones that get recommendation are really not that big. I'd say if one hasn't been in the game for a while, it's not worth it to worry too much about picking just the right headphone. I have demoed wide variety of headphones to many people not into hifi and without exception the response has been "they all sound kind like the same".

So, if one wants to spend 2k I'd advise getting two pairs. The Ollo S5X is good choice for reasons stated above and for something that is clearly different, DCA Noire (closed variety for isolation, easy to travel with, sub bass).

 

[Bow_Wazoo]

HE6SE + Sabaj a30a