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DAC/AMP can be solved for €200-€300 so that leaves you with ca €700. If I was looking at spending €700 on a new set of cans I would start with getting a pair of HD600/6XX. 6XX is on sale on drop.com for about $199 - that is hard to beat value. On top of that Ananda is a good option at its current $550 price. It is not worth $990 in my opinion though. At $500 Edition XS is very good too if you prefer that kind of a headband. I'd consider Sundara too. I have a pair of Meze Classic 99 - they are hot garbage. Don't know about Meze 109 Pro but I would not buy them If I can not listen to them. LCD-2 is great but heavy for everyday use in my opinion. You can also throw in a decent IEM for good measure. Zero : Red, Hexa, Moondrop Lan - they are all great if you are OK with IEMs.
DAC/AMP can be solved for €200-€300 so that leaves you with ca €700. If I was looking at spending €700 on a new set of cans I would start with getting a pair of HD600/6XX. 6XX is on sale on drop.com for about $199 - that is hard to beat value. On top of that Ananda is a good option at its current $550 price. It is not worth $990 in my opinion though. At $500 Edition XS is very good too if you prefer that kind of a headband. I'd consider Sundara too. I have a pair of Meze Classic 99 - they are hot garbage. Don't know about Meze 109 Pro but I would not buy them If I can not listen to them. LCD-2 is great but heavy for everyday use in my opinion. You can also throw in a decent IEM for good measure. Zero : Red, Hexa, Moondrop Lan - they are all great if you are OK with IEMs.
I can wholeheartedly recommend the Hifiman Edition XS, similar to it's sibling Ananda but much cheaper. I use customised Mogami balanced XLR cables. It's umbilical cord is tied to Singxer SA-1 Class A head amp and the DAC that feeds it is Eversolo DAC-Z8 and the music file management is courtesy of Digital Transport/Android streamer JF MX-Pro.
This combination for me is the dream team, best of luck finding what works for you
I can wholeheartedly recommend the Hifiman Edition XS, similar to it's sibling Ananda but much cheaper. I use customised Mogami balanced XLR cables. It's umbilical cord is tied to Singxer SA-1 Class A head amp and the DAC that feeds it is Eversolo DAC-Z8 and the music file management is courtesy of Digital Transport/Android streamer JF MX-Pro.
This combination for me is the dream team, best of luck finding what works for you
€670 for Bathys does not sound like an exceptional price to me. They were on discount on amazon.com for $650.
I am sure they are great but I would not consider them a replacement for wired passive headphones. You can not use them if they are not charged and and it is not clear at this stage whether the battery is serviceable or not. If not, they are gonna become some good looking home decoration eventually when the battery detoriates beyond usability.
Speaking purely on sound quality, I agree with you. Its just that they're the least comfortable headphones I've ever worn.
Might I suggest a pair of DCA Drop Open X? They're quite comfortable and sound good. Well, my Closed X sound nice, i assume the open X are similar. The filters that come with it are a bit fun to play around with, as well.
DAC+AMP, if it doesn't need to be portable, go with something like Schiit Magni and Modi. Cheap and extremely good. There are other great options as well.
Most dongles might be a bit short on power for Planar headphones, if you like to listen real loud. They should be fine for moderate to slightly-loud listening levels though.
If you do need portable and loud, then I would second the suggestion of Sennheiser 6XX or maybe even just the 560S. They sound great. Just about any decent dongle should be able to power these.
Good to know. I was basing myself on the fact that their published graphs are fairly similar, except for a difference in the bass. Admittedly, that would make a noticeable difference (though maybe the filters help get the sound where they want it).
I just wish the Edition XS were more comfortable. Man, what a uniquely bad headband.
Hahaha no worries!
It fits my fat head Ok - I have all the notches up on mine. I know on AliExpress you can buy customised headbands but I accept, it's a pain. You can't go wrong with Ananda.
Speaking purely on sound quality, I agree with you. Its just that they're the least comfortable headphones I've ever worn.
Might I suggest a pair of DCA Drop Open X? They're quite comfortable and sound good. Well, my Closed X sound nice, i assume the open X are similar. The filters that come with it are a bit fun to play around with, as well.
DAC+AMP, if it doesn't need to be portable, go with something like Schiit Magni and Modi. Cheap and extremely good. There are other great options as well.
Most dongles might be a bit short on power for Planar headphones, if you like to listen real loud. They should be fine for moderate to slightly-loud listening levels though.
If you do need portable and loud, then I would second the suggestion of Sennheiser 6XX or maybe even just the 560S. They sound great. Just about any decent dongle should be able to power these.
