Looking for a new Headphone

[TechEnthusiast]

Interested in a sub $500 set that works well with Rock, Progressive Rock, Classic Rock, Metal, Jazz, Female Vocal. Currently own Grado SR325i, Senny 590, Sony MDR-1A. All are ok but a little dated and looking for something with a little slam and punch that will still provide a wide soundstage with good imaging and leans to the warm side. I guess I would like something a bit in the V shape for sound. If I need to purchase a decent amp to make it happen I would not be against that. Currently have a Soundblaster Z card that houses the cirrus 4398 chip which isn't bad and running it now with my current headphones I do not detect any electrical noise and everything sounds clean, plus I get the added bonus of an eq in the software. The mother board is an Asus H170 pro that works well for sound but has no headphone amp like the z.

 

[maverickronin]

ooking for something with a little slam and punch that will still provide a wide soundstage with good imaging and leans to the warm side. I guess I would like something a bit in the V shape for sound.

Beyerdynamic DT990. Nice open soundstage with punchy bass and sparkly highs. Some people find them too sparkly, but if you're OK with the treble on the 325i you'll be fine with the Beyer.

If I need to purchase a decent amp to make it happen I would not be against that.

Beyer makes it in 3 different impedances - 32, 250, and 600 ohm. The 32 ohm probably won't need an amp. The 250 and 600 probably will, but they also seem to have better QC than the 32 ohm version.

There are plenty of good cheap headamps on the market now. Topping L30, JDS Atom, Schiit Magni Hersey, Geshelli Archel 2(.5).

 

[TechEnthusiast]

Wouldn't be too crazy about those if it becomes too sibilant

 

[Bob-23]

Fidelio X2HR: Lovely soundstage and imaging, sufficient bass, sometimes a bit boomy, but usually not overly so. A bit of eq'ing optimizes them a lot. Soundstagewise the K702 are a bit wider, but they are very picky with regard to the quality of the recording, and not made for Rock and Metal, they love instrumental, Jazz, classical, music with wide soundscapes. The X2HR, on the contrary, are very good allrounders, and not picky at all. For the actual price a bargain.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/philips/fidelio-x2h

Sturdy phones, build quality is great (and they are looking good, IMO, if this should be any criterion, usually it's not one of mine). It can be difficult to get replacement (memory foam) earpads if the old ones are worn (seem to last a while) - there are aftermarket pads (which may alter the sound, maybe the K712 earpads, which are also memory foam, won't change it a lot)), I would't exclude that the X3 earpads (which seem to be the same) could be available...

 

[TechEnthusiast]

Fidelio X2HR: Lovely soundstage and imaging, sufficient bass, sometimes a bit boomy, but usually not overly so. A bit of eq'ing optimizes them a lot. Soundstagewise the K702 are a bit wider, but they are very picky with regard to the quality of the recording, and not made for Rock and Metal, they love instrumental, Jazz, classical, music with wide soundscapes. The X2HR, on the contrary, are very good allrounders, and not picky at all. For the actual price a bargain.

https://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/philips/fidelio-x2h

Sturdy phones, build quality is great (and they are looking good, IMO, if this should be any criterion, usually it's not one of mine). It can be difficult to get replacement (memory foam) earpads if the old ones are worn (seem to last a while) - there are aftermarket pads (which may alter the sound, maybe the K712 earpads, which are also memory foam, won't change it a lot)), I would't exclude that the X3 earpads (which seem to be the same) could be available...

I tried those and the SHP 9500's. I liked them both. Ultimately the SHP was too loose and the X2's did not dig deep enough.

 

[3125b]

Maybe an AQ Nighthawk, it's terrible with the stock pads, but supposedly benefits a lot from aftermarket velours ... and certainly EQ.
The X2 don't have the best bass extension, the pronounced upper bass might make it seem weaker than it actually is though.
If you want open-back headphones with good bass extension, you might try planars, they tend to have an advantage there, certainly a subjective one becouse of the generally more even response and low distortion. The Sundara might not be dark enough @stock for your taste, but they should EQ well enough, a used LCD-2C might be a bit out of your budget.
The DT 1990 Pro could be an option as well, they have lots of bass with good extension, too much for my taste, and you might find them a bit sharp, but you should be able to fix the 8kHz peak and the 4.5kHz dip fairly easily.

My Elear with its angled drivers works very well for me in terms of imaging, way better compared to my other headphones.
They can be had at fairly decent prices used over here, but then again, reliability is a major concern, so I would recommend you try them (or headphones with a similar configuration), but not necessarily buy them.

 

[solderdude]

pssst ... HD560S

 

[bluefuzz]

Fidelio X2HR: Lovely soundstage and imaging, sufficient bass, sometimes a bit boomy

I recently got a pair of these and I like them a lot although they are a bit heavy. Probably the most even midrange of the cans I own. But I found them every bit as sibilant as my Beyer DT990 Editions which doesn't seem to be the general consensus. However, I confirmed it with my MiniDSP EARS thingy - a big treble spike similar to the Beyers. The X2HRs, however, have the best left-right consistency of the headphones I own (as measured with the EARS).

 

[solderdude]

You are lucky with the X2HR's the third one I measured did not have severe channel imbalance.
And yes they have a treble spike (fixable) and a bit of a bass boost (fixable)

 

[3125b]

So the X2HR do suffer from channel imbalance? I thought Philips had fixed that issue with the HR iteration ...
Developing severe channel imbalance over time (not so much out of the box) is something I read about the Sennheiser HD500 series (from way back all the way to todays HD 5X9 series) occasionally, any idea about how common that is?
The known Beyerdynamic hair-problem for example I've only seen (or heard) once with many acquaintances and me having owned many DT XX0 seires headphones for a long time, so while it certainly is something to note, the complains online might make it seem more prevalent than it actually is - I'd imagine the same goes for all other issues as well.

 

[TechEnthusiast]

Maybe an AQ Nighthawk, it's terrible with the stock pads, but supposedly benefits a lot from aftermarket velours ... and certainly EQ.
The X2 don't have the best bass extension, the pronounced upper bass might make it seem weaker than it actually is though.
If you want open-back headphones with good bass extension, you might try planars, they tend to have an advantage there, certainly a subjective one becouse of the generally more even response and low distortion. The Sundara might not be dark enough @stock for your taste, but they should EQ well enough, a used LCD-2C might be a bit out of your budget.
The DT 1990 Pro could be an option as well, they have lots of bass with good extension, too much for my taste, and you might find them a bit sharp, but you should be able to fix the 8kHz peak and the 4.5kHz dip fairly easily.

My Elear with its angled drivers works very well for me in terms of imaging, way better compared to my other headphones.
They can be had at fairly decent prices used over here, but then again, reliability is a major concern, so I would recommend you try them (or headphones with a similar configuration), but not necessarily buy them.

What would you EQ with? I have been using the software that is in my Soundblaster Z card. I am considering the Sundara's and yes the LCD 2c are out of my range. Perhaps I might take a look at Sennheiser HD 660s I have read that they are pretty good and would be just barely in my price range.

 

[3125b]

Equalizer APO: https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/
Once you figure it out, it's a very comprehensive tool.

 

[bluefuzz]

You are lucky with the X2HR's the third one I measured did not have severe channel imbalance.

Yes, I've read your review and was therefore a little apprehensive, but the left and right channels are more or less within the width of REW's graph display line from 30 Hz to 10 kHz (average of 5 measurements). Much better than either my DT990s or HD58X I have also measured.

And yes they have a treble spike (fixable) and a bit of a bass boost (fixable)

Yep, eminently fixable.

 

[bluefuzz]

So the X2HR do suffer from channel imbalance?

As noted above, mine certainly don't.

 

[frogmeat69]

Maybe an AQ Nighthawk, it's terrible with the stock pads

Maybe for you, if you like the Beyer drill to the eardrums sound.
Dumped every set of Beyers I have owned, except for the T1.2 and Amiron Home, and been thinking of selling those, but never getting rid of my Nighthawks, and have an extra set of stock pads, just to keep them going.
To each his own.

 

[3125b]

The Nighthawk with stock pads is just too far off anything you could call natural or realistic for me to enjoy with anything but some types of electronic music.
That's not saying that the headphone doesn't have potential, judging by the FR graphs, the velour pads would fix that (I haven't heard them in that configuration), but if it were any other company than Audioquest, I'd be bewildered at the choice of the sounding.

 

[Bob-23]

I recently got a pair of these and I like them a lot although they are a bit heavy. Probably the most even midrange of the cans I own. But I found them every bit as sibilant as my Beyer DT990 Editions which doesn't seem to be the general consensus. However, I confirmed it with my MiniDSP EARS thingy - a big treble spike similar to the Beyers. The X2HRs, however, have the best left-right consistency of the headphones I own (as measured with the EARS).

Have you tried Oratory's EQ?

 

[bluefuzz]

Have you tried Oratory's EQ?

Yes, I have. It's an improvement, but since I have an EARS rig I can do better – at least to my taste. I can get my DT990, HD58X and X2HRs to essentially sound identical and thoroughly pleasing over the whole frequency range. Takes time though.

 

[Bob-23]

Sennheiser HD 660s

If soundstage is important to you, I'd rather try out HD560s - I doubt you'll find it the 6**. (I've got the HD600.) But I myself haven't tested the 560s yet, I would have - the Sennheiser Store in town have already got it - but I think, under the current 'circum'stances, I'll delay the hearing session just a little bit...

 

[Tachyon88]

pssst ... HD560S

On a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the hd800s......what number would you give the hd560s and hd6xx sound stage wise ?

I listen to to the hd6xx and hd800s every day and if i can basically get the hd6xx signature with more treble and sound stage I might get a pair.

I wish they made em in the quirky brown color, would of already bought a pair ! haha.