Looking for new headphones, stuck between a few options

[Arguile]

I've been trying to do some research into a new set of cans, and since there's a lot of players since my Sennheiser days I'm kind of stuck trying to pick the right one. I'll just use a format to kind of explain what I'm after, and then what I am considering.

Budget and location - Ideally Id like to be under 600USD, but I can go to 900 if the improvement is worth it.

Source/Amp - Schitt stack, Modi DAC Magni amp

How the gear will be used - Home listening.

Preferred tonal balance - I think a comfortable warm listening experience. I definitely am not fond strong treble, preferring emphasis in the mids and lows.

Preferred music genres - No genre preferred, I kinda listen to everything. Single player games with Hollywood type sound tracks and just normal listening to whatever suits my fancy. I dont have any preferred genre of music, it an go from EDM to classic rock to hollywood style orchestras.

Past gear experience - I have used the sennheiser HD 598, HD 650, Amiron Home and now the Aurous Australis. The Sennheiser's were good but they lacked... character? I don't know how to describe it other than that. The Amiron Homes were built for home listening but I upgraded to Australis, but Id like to see what else is out there, especially from more established brands.

Anything else? - Will EQ but will need some preliminary numbers if they are available.

So far my favorites are ties between Australis and Amiron Homes, but I vastly prefer the support I got from Beyerdynamic for sure (they repaired it twice out of warranty free of charge). I know many companies are not like that but that makes me very fond of them. So a soft requirement is a strong support record.

What I am considering: Audeze LCD-2, Aune SR7000, Meze 109 Pro, Moondrop Para ll. All I am willing to put EQ on to get the signature I am after but I'd definitely need a set of baseline settings to worth with and then tune it to my preferences from there.

 

[gold-sunset]

You could look for headphones that follow the Harman target curve. It can give you a sense of whether they sound "good" to most people. I don't know any of the headphones you're interested in, but for example you could search for Moondrop Para 2 and see the full review.

 

[DVDdoug]

With headphones there is almost no correlation between price and sound quality, but of course you the bigger your budget the more you have to choose from. There are lots of good headphones in your price range.

The Sennheiser's were good but they lacked... character?

Headphone "sound" is almost all frequency response ("tonal balance"). Headphones are tricky because they don't sound like speakers. With speakers we usually want flat on-axis frequency response but flat doesn't sound right from headphones. The Harman Curve is an "average" preference and it approximates the frequency response you hear from good speakers in a good room.

The Sennheiser HD598 and HD650 are both reviewed here so you can look at the frequency response curves, see how they compare to the Harman curve (shown superimposed in all of the reviews here), and think about what kind of difference you might like.

It's best if you can get comparable measurements rather than relying on random opinions.

The frequency response can also be tweaked with EQ, although you can sometimes have issues if you boost the bass because you can end-up pushing the headphone into distortion.

Most people have a preference for open or closed headphones and comfort is also personal. You may also have other considerations like reliability-ruggedness, and "look and feel". i.e. The AKG K371 gets good reviews for sound quality (except for a bit of exaggerated deep bass) but it seems to have a reputation for being fragile. I have a pair and they haven't broken yet, but I also don't listen to headphones that much.

The music genre, or whether you are watching movies or playing games shouldn't matter. The job of headphones/speakers is to accurately reproduce the sound whatever it is.

 

[Subob]

I've been trying to do some research into a new set of cans, and since there's a lot of players since my Sennheiser days I'm kind of stuck trying to pick the right one. I'll just use a format to kind of explain what I'm after, and then what I am considering.

Budget and location - Ideally Id like to be under 600USD, but I can go to 900 if the improvement is worth it.

Source/Amp - Schitt stack, Modi DAC Magni amp

How the gear will be used - Home listening.

Preferred tonal balance - I think a comfortable warm listening experience. I definitely am not fond strong treble, preferring emphasis in the mids and lows.

Preferred music genres - No genre preferred, I kinda listen to everything. Single player games with Hollywood type sound tracks and just normal listening to whatever suits my fancy. I dont have any preferred genre of music, it an go from EDM to classic rock to hollywood style orchestras.

Past gear experience - I have used the sennheiser HD 598, HD 650, Amiron Home and now the Aurous Australis. The Sennheiser's were good but they lacked... character? I don't know how to describe it other than that. The Amiron Homes were built for home listening but I upgraded to Australis, but Id like to see what else is out there, especially from more established brands.

Anything else? - Will EQ but will need some preliminary numbers if they are available.

So far my favorites are ties between Australis and Amiron Homes, but I vastly prefer the support I got from Beyerdynamic for sure (they repaired it twice out of warranty free of charge). I know many companies are not like that but that makes me very fond of them. So a soft requirement is a strong support record.

What I am considering: Audeze LCD-2, Aune SR7000, Meze 109 Pro, Moondrop Para ll. All I am willing to put EQ on to get the signature I am after but I'd definitely need a set of baseline settings to worth with and then tune it to my preferences from there.

I own the Meze 109 pro. Even for my aged ears, they can teeter on the edge of 'bright', although they don't fully go there for me and I really enjoy them. My hearing only goes up to just over 12khz. If yours extends further then they might be a bit spicy for you from what you describe.

I would definitely consider the new Meze 105 Silva instead. A step up from the, still excellent, 105 AER, but not as hot in the treble as the 109 pro. Build quality and comfort, as you would expect from Meze, is still top notch!

I have heard the entire Meze range, and aside from the Elite being my 'end game' headphone, and not liking the Liric and Liric 2 at all, if I didn't already own the 109 pro, I'd be all over the 105 Silva like a rash!
It's excellent bang for the buck IMO.

P.S. A note on Audeze. They are heavy! Strong neck muscles required, lol.

 

[IngMishael]

I've been trying to do some research into a new set of cans, and since there's a lot of players since my Sennheiser days I'm kind of stuck trying to pick the right one. I'll just use a format to kind of explain what I'm after, and then what I am considering.

Budget and location - Ideally Id like to be under 600USD, but I can go to 900 if the improvement is worth it.

Source/Amp - Schitt stack, Modi DAC Magni amp

How the gear will be used - Home listening.

Preferred tonal balance - I think a comfortable warm listening experience. I definitely am not fond strong treble, preferring emphasis in the mids and lows.

Preferred music genres - No genre preferred, I kinda listen to everything. Single player games with Hollywood type sound tracks and just normal listening to whatever suits my fancy. I dont have any preferred genre of music, it an go from EDM to classic rock to hollywood style orchestras.

Past gear experience - I have used the sennheiser HD 598, HD 650, Amiron Home and now the Aurous Australis. The Sennheiser's were good but they lacked... character? I don't know how to describe it other than that. The Amiron Homes were built for home listening but I upgraded to Australis, but Id like to see what else is out there, especially from more established brands.

Anything else? - Will EQ but will need some preliminary numbers if they are available.

So far my favorites are ties between Australis and Amiron Homes, but I vastly prefer the support I got from Beyerdynamic for sure (they repaired it twice out of warranty free of charge). I know many companies are not like that but that makes me very fond of them. So a soft requirement is a strong support record.

What I am considering: Audeze LCD-2, Aune SR7000, Meze 109 Pro, Moondrop Para ll. All I am willing to put EQ on to get the signature I am after but I'd definitely need a set of baseline settings to worth with and then tune it to my preferences from there.

Get these Sennheiser HD550

They're on sale so it is a no brainer

 

[Arguile]

I actually ended up splurging and going for a Dan Clark Noire X. Will add my thoughts on it to Amirs review thread.

 

[Malaj]

I actually ended up splurging and going for a Dan Clark Noire X. Will add my thoughts on it to Amirs review thread.

Nice. I tried the noire but found it overdamped. Ether c flow sure is also but it still have some life left.

I cant complain of the tonal balance of noire just didnt like it kills music