AetherDrive
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- Dec 6, 2022
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Important Bits: I have a short and wide-ish head which increases clamp force on most headphones which I'm rather sensitive to. I prefer warm-neutral tunings typically but some headphones buck that trend. Issues in the treble band are non-starters for me as they can make me physically ill after awhile. Unless stated, for the sake of this post I'm not using EQ. If there's a * that means I've ditched the stock config for one reason or another. I'll have an upfront TLDR for each and then dive a bit deeper.
I have two primary setups a JDS Element IV and a combo of the Topping E50 II/Topping A70 Pro. I do have other equipment but they are conditional and will be mentioned if they are the preferred tool for that particular headphone.
I do frequently listen to my favorite music from ripped CDs on my PC. My primary streaming tool is Youtube Music, I do have premium so its 256kbps AAC . Preferred Genres: Jazz, Funk, Soft Rock, Alternative, Instrumental Metal, Industrial Metal, Low-Fi, Country (Some), Rap (Some). If requested in the comments I can break this down further with artists and songs I've been listening to recently.
Typically play RPGs, JRPGs and CRPGs but I often branch out into other genres depending on my mood. Recently I've been playing these: Divinity Original Sin 2, Tales Of Berseria, Honkai Star Rail, Risk of Rain 2, BAR, Slay The Spire 2. Regarding imaging in competitive titles, I'll be referring to my experience in Risk of Rain 2 as I've tested each of my headphones on this title and its sound engine handles directional queues like a champ, highly recommend for this purpose as it can get chaotic real quick and can separate good from great in that regard plus its got an awesome soundtrack.
Eh, kind of a mixed bag on this. Recently been rewatching the Fallout TV series on Amazon, will play Star Trek reruns on a bad day, I enjoy some Anime and am several episodes behind on Dorehedoro. Looking forward to binging the latest season of Re:Zero when I have time. I enjoy edutainment channels and game breakdowns on Youtube...
Last bit of preamble, these are my ears and my impressions. Chances are you and I won't agree on some things or even anything. This hobby is subjective and everyone hears differently, hope you enjoy!
TLDR Table Of Contents:
Sennheiser HD550 - Comfort 10/10, Overall Sound 8/10, Music 8.5/10, Games 8/10, Content: 8/10
Sony MDR-MV1 - Comfort 10/10, Overall Sound 8/10, Music 8/10, Games 8.5/10, Content: 8.5/10
Sennheiser HD6XX - Comfort (Stock) 2/10, Comfort 7/10* Overall Sound 4/10 (Stock)
Mirph Designs Mirph-1 - Comfort 9/10, Overall Sound 9/10, Music 9.5/10, Games 6.5/10, Content 8/10
Audio Technica R70x Refine - Comfort 8/10, Overall Sound 7.5/10, Music 7.5/10, Games 7/10 , Content: 8.5/10
SJY Horizon Closed Carbon (Not Pictured) - Comfort 7.5/10, Overall Sound 9/10, Music 8.5/10, Games 9/10, Content 8.5/10
Fosi i5* - Comfort 6.5/10, Overall Sound (Stock 0/10) (Modded 8.5/10), Music 8/10, Gaming 7/10, Content 9.5/10
Sennheiser HD700* - Comfort 6.5/10, Overall Sound 4.5, Music 2/10, Gaming 9/10, Content 5/10
HarmonicDyne x Zeos Eris - Comfort 7.5/10, Overall Sound 4/10, Music 0/10, Gaming 7/10, Content 7/10
Mirph Designs Vitrum - Comfort 8.5/10, Overall Sound 9/10, Music/Gaming/Content 9/10
Thieaudio Ghost* - Comfort 10/10, Overall Sound 5/10, Music 6/10, Gaming 2.5/10, Content 5/10
DSH-Studio Onyx (Pre-Production) - Comfort* 8/10, Overall Sound 9/10, Music 9/10, Gaming 8/10, Content 10/10
Sash Tres SE w/Thinner Membrane (Not Pictured)- Comfort* 8/10, Overall Sound 7/10, Music 9/10, Gaming 6/10, Content 6/10
Sony MDR-SA1000* - Comfort 7/10, Overall Sound 7.5/10, Music 8/10, Gaming 7/10, Content 9/10
Ok, lets get to it and start off with my 2 reference pairs the HD550 and MDR-MV1. After that none of this is in a particular order.
Sennheiser HD550 - Comfort 10/10, Overall Sound 8/10, Music 8.5/10, Games 8/10, Content: 8/10
- What I Like: Just about everything, if you were to ask me what a headphone should sound like, I'd say the HD550. Its timbre among my collection is peerless to my ears. There's enough bass for me to be satisfied, the treble is controlled (it can be a touch better with correction) and the midrange is fantastic. The imaging and soundstage are effective at conveying what its given and rarely falls apart. Comfort is exceptional, I added a Capra strap to mine and while unnecessary I do prefer it.
- What I Don't Like: They aren't speakers... but seriously, dynamics and resolution could be better and are handled better on some headphones I own but few have the whole package like the HD550.
- What I Like: Its the HD550 of a different flavor, everything is here but just a touch more exciting due to its rising bass profile. Bass is a standout while not getting in the way of the mids, the mids are not as refined as the HD550 imo but you won't hear me complain about it, treble is well controlled with just a touch of flair and excitement. Soundstage is roughly the same as the HD550 but a tad more immersive thanks to its bass.
- What I Don't Like: Not much, resolution could be better but I'm never listening to it thinking "man I wish these were more resolving".
-I have stretched them out and the clamp is better, I've also replaced the pads and added the custom cans copper mass loaded mod making this a completely different headphone. Below is my opinions on the stock sound as I have not spent enough time with the HD6XX with these mods to give an honest impression. I'll update this in the future after I've spent more time with it in its current configuration.
- What I Like: Oh boy we're only at the third headphone and I can already hear the angry pitchforks. It's got a good midrange, I'll give you that. Hard to give a positive impression on something that really doesn't work for me.
- What I Don't Like: The treble just doesn't work for me, its grainy and it gets in the way of my listening. At stock, clamp force is abominable. It has been suggested that I should try these on an OTL headphone amp and I'm not sure that I'll do that any time soon, the small handful of tube amps I've had have not worked well for me in the past.
- What I Like: This headphone just works for me, I can pick it up and know that whatever I throw at it, I'm gonna have a good time plus it’s really comfy. Its a nice warm can with linear bass, great timbre in the midrange and a smooth roll-off in the treble. Soundstage is immersive with moderate depth and width in part thanks to its unusual distance from the ear.
- What I Dislike: This isn't something you'd use to dissect audio or play a competitive game with, imaging isn't a strength and while it doesn't do a poor job its simply adequate which for me is just fine for when I want to relax which is what I use this for. Could be more dynamic but I'd rather keep its current signature.
- What I Like: Its exceptionally lightweight though I had to bend the strap a bit as it was clampy straight out of the box. Overall its a warm, very smoothed and yet refined presentation, nothing to dislike. I'll typically use it for long workdays when I don't want the music to distract me.
- What I Dislike: I thought I'd like it more but for this type of presentation I just prefer the Mirph-1
- What I Like: A lot of people like to put "for a closed back" in front of this headphone and while somewhat deserved I think it ultimately does this can a disservice. This a technically superior reference with nearly no sonic faults that I can think of. When I say technical I mean that it is arguably the best resolving headphone I own. Bass is linear to my ears, timbre is fantastic and the treble is great with a slight exception. Soundstage is a tad more intimate than what I'm used to but imaging is stellar! Presents sound in a closed in 360 bubble.
- What I Dislike: Man I wish it wasn't so heavy, its noticeable the moment you put it on though typically I can wear it for several hours without issue, tends to get warm. There is a treble spike which with certain content can be fatiguing. They are also rather inefficient and require ample power, they are one of two headphones that I use my Onkyo A-9010 to run, without proper amplification they tend to lose their bass and sound rather thin and unpleasant.
-Let me get ahead of this because I'm sure you are scratching your head. The stock configuration has treble ringing artifacts that upon my first listen caused me to break into a cold sweat and become nauseous after about 20 minutes of listening. You may not experience this and more power to you as I don't wish that upon anybody, it was a miserable experience.
-Shoutout to Solderdude for providing a simple and cheap felt mod that measurable removes those treble artifacts. If you've never been to D.I.Y. Audio Heaven do yourself a favor and check it out DIY-Audio-Heaven he's got a bunch of passive inline mods as well as bunch of great reviews.
- What I Like (Modded): These sound BIG in a beautiful way, big bass, exciting treble, their timbre is alright but it’s in no way offensive. With the felt mod damping the driver I do prefer the alternative pads with the solid leather puts just a touch more energy into the mids that make these just such a fun headphone to have. While the ergonomics have their flaws, on the whole they are comfy.
- What I Don't Like: When everything sounds big, nothing does... not literally but it does skew the imaging in a way that prohibits it from being true to source. They are so physically large they tend to put a bit of pressure behind my ears and I just don't care for that. Combine that with their weight and yeah... I can enjoy them for a 3-4 hours just don't expect me to put on another pair of headphones for the rest of the day.
-Dekoni Hybrid Elite Pads
- What I Like: Great imaging and open soundstage.
- What I Don't Like: Just about everything else, the original pads are crumbly dust and the replacement pads are a bit thicker which takes what is known as one of the most comfy headphones to a moderately clampy boy. That 6k peak makes most content that isn't competitive style gaming where you are relying on its signature imaging and soundstage kind of suck. They do EQ really well but I'm judging them on their stock-ish configuration.
- What I Like: Bass quantity is there as advertised and it’s comfy for a bit but tends to run a bit hot after a while. Its also rather spacious sounding. Fun for movies and gaming.
- What I Don't Like: ... tonality is broken on this for most music, voices just don't sound right most of the time and there's a piercing quality to the treble that I can handle but don't prefer at all.
- What I Like: Its what I like about the HD550 but stepped up in just about every regard. The bass is present and articulate without any mud whatsoever, timbre and tonality are natural and refined while the treble has a sort of full-bodied quality to it that I really appreciate. Soundstage is a tad intimate especially with vocals but for the most part is true to source, imaging is also really solid. I'm listening to Racoons by Caravan Palace right now and my head is bobbing while my toe is tapping righting this right now.
- What I Don't Like: Its not a dislike but it could be more dynamic and open sounding, it does lack an initial "Wow!" quality to it, which isn't really an issue its just that it may not stand out in listening comparisons. There's also the weight of it to consider, that being said I can wear it and not really worry about it.
- Its using the fuzzy earpads you can get off of Aliexpress, in the pic they are off as I was those pads were donated to another pair. I haven't heard the stock config in a long time so I can't speak to that but Amir has a review of these if you are interested.
- What I Like: They are a cheap ($40 before they were pulled from the market) and comfy workhorse and especially good for long conference calls as the treble profile cleaves off any treble glare caused by crappy laptop microphones.
- What I Don't Like: I don't really recommend them for anything but for background listening and conference calls, they are unremarkable in nearly every metric. Stock pads are stiff and uncomfortable.
DSH-Studio Onyx (Pre-Production) - Comfort* 8/10, Overall Sound 9/10, Music 9/10, Gaming 8/10, Content 10/10
- What I Like: This is a true neutral-dynamic tuning, it has a "WOW!" to it that its very addictive. Bass is dynamic, linear and articulate, it can slam if it calls for it. Midrange is pretty perfect and dynamic, vocals present closer in most content but that's offset by an exceptionally deep soundstage. Treble is very well controlled and... you guessed it, dynamic. Soundstage is very deep overall though it doesn't have much in the vertical space. Imaging is pretty good but not the best among my collection.
- What I Don't Like: I keep it stretched out on my bookshelf speakers when I'm not listening to them because the headband is less than stellar and the stock comfort is pretty shite for me. If these were capable of a fully out of head soundstage with height and articulation these would probably be my perfect headphone.
- What I Like: If the Sennheiser decided to release a planar version of the HD600 I'd imagine it'd sound pretty close to these. With velour pads they have a very lush and enjoyable midrange. Bass is very subdued and the treble is articulate but gets out of the way of the treble. Soundstage is intimate and imaging is good but nothing to write home about.
- What I Don't Like: It's mostly all midrange, which is both great and not great, depends on what you are listening to. The Sash family of headphones were the original branding for what is now DSH-Studio and the headband is still pretty awful because the clamp is vice like and needs stretching.
- Original pads were worn into the dirt, replaced it with ZMF Caldera Suedes with the Wide Top Perforation after a bunch of pad swapping and they are a match made in heaven.
- What I Like: These are ancient and cheap on the preowned market, seriously grab one if you've got spare change burning a hole in your wallet. The soundstage on these are different from anything else I own, they present themselves with a 360 degree field that extends to beyond out of head to an extreme width that also present micro dynamics in the treble in a way that is hard to articulate. They are the only bright headphone that I own and yet its not fatiguing but can be brutal to the source material. Midrange is linear and unexciting to talk about. Oh, bass is present but rolls off, they EQ like a champ but adding more bass collapses the microdynamics in the soundstage.
- What I Don't Like: Quick history lesson, Sony decided to put flagship drivers into the SA line which has the 1000, 3000 and 5000 headphone. Each higher tier provides a significant jump in chassis build. The 1000s are creaky plastic and I'm rather fortunate that they are in as good a shape as they are. Also, due to the pad swap, they are moderately clampy which drives down the overall comfort, not bad but could be better. Also also, imaging can be a tad unrealistic due to its unusual soundstage so its not what I'd reach out for for gaming, still immersive as all get out though.
Sony MDR-MF1 - Recently got these in and the pads are worn out which is to be expected of a two-decade old headphone. As is, the sound is fine I suppose and I need to spend some time to find a proper pad to replace it, unfortunately there aren't many thin pads on the market, so chances are I'll never get close to stock.
Kiwi Ears x Zeos Serene - No, just no. These are awful from a construction standpoint both the chassis and driver crinkle. There is a video on how to "fix" it, it did not work for my pair. I'll be donating this to my nephew next time I see him and hopefully his smaller head improves the situation.
I didn't get into any of the nitty gritty details because this post was long enough, ask and I'll give you my best answer.
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