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Good open-back ~$200-ish headphone?

Jimbob54

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I am exploring new HP options. Were you referring to these? When you say "400 range", do you mean to say "HIfiman 400" cost?

I think more likely $400 range.
 
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RighteousNuts

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Were you referring to these? When you say "400 range", do you mean to say "HIfiman 400" cost? I am exploring new HP options, so I was curious to check this out too.

Sorry, 400 USD. ( more than their base cost from modhouse, theyre on back order/ sold out for the rest of the year so inflated ebay prices are your best bet) but yes, those that you linked.


Fostex is by far my favorite brand next to Mr Speakers and Audeze.
 
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MadMan

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@starfly Don't get any Sennheisser HD6-- series (HD58x, HD6xx, HD600, HD650, HD660) if you want soundstage for gaming. Everyone that says HD6xx or variants here is just using the simple "$200=HD6xx" logic, which is fine for a common reference headphone, but not for your uses. I currently have HD660, used to have HD600, and I enjoy them; I don't think they are 3-blob imaging, I've had headphones that clearly are, but they are 'in head' soundstage which is not what you want for directional location in gaming.

No one has yet mentioned the Phillips SHP9500 or updated SHP9600. Just because he has a budget of $200 doesn't mean he has to spend that :) . Those are some of the best budget all-arounder headphones out there and would be by recommendation.
 

RighteousNuts

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@starfly Don't get any Sennheisser HD6-- series (HD58x, HD6xx, HD600, HD650, HD660) if you want soundstage for gaming. Everyone that says HD6xx or variants here is just using the simple "$200=HD6xx" logic, which is fine for a common reference headphone, but not for your uses. I currently have HD660, used to have HD600, and I enjoy them; I don't think they are 3-blob imaging, I've had headphones that clearly are, but they are 'in head' soundstage which is not what you want for directional location in gaming.

No one has yet mentioned the Phillips SHP9500 or updated SHP9600. Just because he has a budget of $200 doesn't mean he has to spend that :) . Those are some of the best budget all-arounder headphones out there and would be by recommendation.


I'm not fan of the sibilance on the SHP variants. They're overall okay. I heard the 9600 is an improvement but still bad sibilance overall. Generally the HD variants are good imaging / soundstage and good musically which hits all the major areas for versatile use which is why they're getting recommended at the sub 200 mark over anything else.
 

MadMan

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What? Literally every review ever of the HD6-- say that it is in-head with not much soundstage. I'm not a soundstage guy for headphones anyway, so I don't care, but they aren't what you want for directional location for gaming. (Personally, I found the HD6xx/650 too dark and mid-bassy anyway, which is another thing that you don't really want for directional location in gaming.) It's like literally everywhere else when talking about headphones, people see $200 and snap reply HD6xx without really thinking about it.

If @starfly lives somewhere with easy returns, it's worth giving different headphones a shot anyway.
 

Bob-23

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I'm not usually a fan of dark-ish bass heavy headphones, but I would like to see what it can do with EQ
It depends very much on the recording - in some recordings bass is to much (Oratory EQ applied), in other ones it's just right. I've got a baxandall eq with just two knobs: a variable high and a variable low shelf in the reach of my hands while listening, so that I simply dial down bass a bit when it's too much. Bass amount and quality differ very much in recordings - so, prefixed eq settings are always somehow suboptimal.
It may also be worth trying out solderdude's recommendation of closing the hole inside the earcups more or less (look on his website). One could also modify Oratory's eq.
 

raistlin65

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What? Literally every review ever of the HD6-- say that it is in-head with not much soundstage. I'm not a soundstage guy for headphones anyway, so I don't care, but they aren't what you want for directional location for gaming. (Personally, I found the HD6xx/650 too dark and mid-bassy anyway, which is another thing that you don't really want for directional location in gaming.) It's like literally everywhere else when talking about headphones, people see $200 and snap reply HD6xx without really thinking about it.

Well, imaging as a function of soundstage is what you want for positional audio. Narrow soundstage with great imaging is better than big soundstage with poor imaging.

That being said, I do think HD58X and HD660S are better at that than HD6XX.

I do agree that HD6XX tends to get a little overhyped as somehow the perfect headphone for everyone for every situation at $200 or less. I decided to try them because I eventually succumbed to that hype, and it wasn't the perfect headphone for me.
 
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starfly

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Today I have the Beyerdynamic TYGR arriving, which is supposedly a cross between a DT990 and DT880. I'll compare those to the X2HR.

Otherwise was also thinking of the DT1990 or Amiron Home if could find them used, and dealing with treble spikes shouldn't be too hard on the Beyers. And well, I have mild tinnitus and my high frequency hearing is a bit rolled off, so the treble on those Beyers might not bother me anyway.
 

outerspace

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People keep searching for best headphones but truth is the best headphones you can get are the headphones equalized to your own pinna/ear canal/head. So in-ear microphones is the best investment. Even some cheap headphones equalized with impulcifier can give you sound quality unreachable by any other DAC/amp/headphones at any price.
 
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starfly

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People keep searching for best headphones but truth is the best headphones you can get are the headphones equalized to your own pinna/ear canal/head. So in-ear microphones is the best investment. Even some cheap headphones equalized with impulcifier can give you sound quality unreachable by any other DAC/amp/headphones at any price.
Ok I had to reread this twice. An in ear microphone?

How does that work?
 
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starfly

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Well, I received the Beyerdynamic TYGR 300 R today.

Initial impression in terms of fit and comfort is that these earcups are pretty small for me. And not very deep, my ears are rubbing up against the driver. Different pads might improve the comfort a little, but am not going to invest in those until I know if I'd keep these. Clamping force is a bit on the higher side (I don't have many headphones to compare it against though). They are quite light though. So overall comfort the X2HR wins, bigger and deeper earcups. Just the velour a bit itchy initially. But velour is a bit itchy on the Beyer too, so maybe it's my beard.

Sound signature of the TYGR is pretty smooth otherwise. Mids a bit recessed. Highs sound pretty smooth, so I think the typical bright Beyer sound has been tamed in these. Imaging is great on these. Can't speak to soundstage, I think only speakers can give real soundstage. But perhaps it doesn't sound as wide as the X2HR, a bit more intimate. As for the low-end, can't quite put my finger on it. They seem to have a bit less slam than the X2HR, but the quality seems good and extends well into sub-bass regions. I overall like the bass a bit more on the X2HR, has more presence but not overdone. But perhaps the TYGR would be closer to neutral/flat, but hard to tell without seeing some measurements.

The X2HR is flatter in the mids, so a bit more perceived clarity, which I like. TYGR more recessed. Vocals sound a bit more distant. Lower highs on the TYGR are quite smooth, the X2HR is prone to sibilance on some tracks as it has a bit more bite in that region. X2HR highs overall a bit crisper.

I'd say between the two the TYGR is probably a bit more musical, more forgiving of recordings. X2HR reveals bad recordings more easily.

The main thing I've learned from all this is that Beyerdynamic might not be for me, because their headphones are too small. The earcups are just too small and it would start bugging me pretty quick. Which is too bad, TYGR is a nice headphone. Over the course of this short review, going back and forth between TYGR and X2HR I've really been noticing the lack of comfort on the TYGR, for my big somewhat floppy ears anyway.

Also, TYGR needs a bit more juice to volume match the X2HR. Maybe they'd benefit from a good amp.

So I might need to continue looking.

Anyone know how the MrSpeakers Aeon Open RT sound? Those have huge earcups, might be just for me.
 
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starfly

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I've decided I'll stick to the Philips X2HR. For the price I paid, $150, they're hard to beat. I'll just try some different pads to reduce the itchiness. Don't really feel like spending more money on a pair of headphones given that I just spent a ton of money on some other stuff.

The TYGR is going back and I will not look back for a long time (headphones are my secondary way of enjoying music, primary is still my Revel speakers!).
 

solderdude

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weird, seems like adverising.
I use ublock so never see them
guessing this is a disadvantage of having a free wordpress account :(
targetted advertising ? now we know what you search for ... :)
 

Veri

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weird, seems like adverising.
I use ublock so never see them
guessing this is a disadvantage of having a free wordpress account :(
targetted advertising ? now we know what you search for ... :)
carsandyachts
 

solderdude

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me neither
 
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