What are your favorite headphones?

[Deleted member 60987]

Might be a simple question, could be a hard one. I have trouble picking a pair out of 10. But let's assume you could save one for a desert island, so resale was impossible. These are it for your end of days. Which pair?

 

[PabloT]

Is PEQ available? If so, I would go for HD800S.

 

[Deleted member 60987]

Is PEQ available? If so, I would go for HD800S.

Ah, I should have asked two questions. With and without. But that brings up an interesting point. How about without PEQ?

 

[Dunring]

Without EQ the Truthear Crinnacle Zero IEM. With it the Hifiman Ananda Stealth. I have both and they're really good.

 

[Sukram]

Sennheiser HD650
Ethymotic ER3 XR

 

[PabloT]

Ah, I should have asked two questions. With and without. But that brings up an interesting point. How about without PEQ?

That I own? That would be DCA Aeon 2 Noire. I like them a lot, but channel matching is not great due to the pads deforming in an uneven manner.

 

[Ericgeers]

Sennheiser 560S (eq. Oratory1990)
Beyerdynamic DT880 600 Ohm (eq. Oratory1990)

 

[Rayman30]

Audeze LCD-X, the quality of bass and the dynamic like tonality is excellent for me. I thought about buying a pair of Arya Stealth to compare but these might be end game for me.

 

[Deleted member 60987]

Sennheiser 560S (eq. Oratory1990)
Beyerdynamic DT880 600 Ohm (eq. Oratory1990)

The 560 are smooth.

 

[solderdude]

With and without. But that brings up an interesting point. How about without PEQ?

Without: OLLO S5X
With: HD800

 

[ThatGuyYouKnow]

For closed-back with a mix of movies, orchestral music and gaming, there aren't many ideal solutions for my ears. But,

Without EQ: Beyerdynamic T5 3rd Edition (I know, I know)
With EQ: I have a feeling that the Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noire I just ordered will do the trick even though planars generally have not been my thing. The rare sense of spatiality it provides for a closed-back could outweigh the relative lack of dynamic slam.

 

[majingotan]

Susvara for me which I don’t own but from the one that I own, Dan Clark Aeon X Open ( 95% as good as Susvara). DCA Aeon X Open hits hard, excellent impulse response attack and decay characteristics resulting to exceptional dynamics for its asking price and slams like a truck but doesn’t have that midrange response that keeps me wanting the Susvara as my end goal. Of course strictly no EQ to my preference

 

[Deleted member 60987]

Without: OLLO S5X
With: HD800

You're the second person who mentioned 800s with. What are you cutting or boosting on them?

 

[solderdude]

Low bass and the treble peak. I do not 'fill-in' the upper midrange dip. That seems to work for me (may depend on someone's ear gain).

Some other headphones mentioned are equally high in quality. They may sound better (to them) than what I kept/was willing to spend.
If I could easily afford an HE-1, Sonoma model one I may own and prefer that.

(2nd hand) HD800 is probably not the best around (nor is S5X) but is what I am willing to spend and sounds good to me.
I have listened to and measured well over 100 headphones and owned a lot of them.
There are some favorites I would be happy to live with just as well. I just picked 2 favorites that I grab most.
Could just as easily been portable or closed headphones if I needed those properties more.

 

[theREALdotnet]

I’ve got the Alessandro MS Pro, Etymotic ER6i, Koss KSC-35 and Apple Airpods. For my use case* I like the Etymotics best. They take up the least amount of space.

* My use case is keeping them in a drawer at all times.

 

[Deleted member 60987]

It's really subjective. Do people like brightness and clarity or low end? Flat or V shaped? Relaxed and warm or immersive? What is their budget? And even that seems almost irrelevant because there are usually cheaper things with similar sounds. It's actually easier to give advice on headphones for mixing because there is a flat target and various models are off in certain ways that will cause overcompensation problems. But those could be pluses to a casual listener. I can't even pick a favorite. All mine are good but for different reasons. I'm trying to sell the M40X, HD 280 Pro and Philips 9500 though. The Philips are nice but I have a lot of flat warm headphones. The M40X are nice but the M50X are standards. And I haven't even done a side by side on them.

 

[Zensō]

HD800S

 

[Cote Dazur]

Without EQ: Truthear Crinnacle Zero IEM
With EQ: Sony MDRZX 110

 

[Ken Tajalli]

Might be a simple question, could be a hard one. I have trouble picking a pair out of 10. But let's assume you could save one for a desert island, so resale was impossible. These are it for your end of days. Which pair?

On a deserted island,
- it has to be open-back, so I could hear dangers lurking around, or a ship passing with chances of a possible rescue.
- It has be light and easy to wear, cool on the head (my deserted island has warm climate).
- Should be efficient enough, easy to drive, since battery power would be limited (possible solar ?! maybe?)
- Easy listening, so it won't drive me nuts with peaks and distortions, after all it is for my end of days.
I could go for DCA Expanse, but it is not efficient enough, but it is very comfy and easy listening.
I could go for LCD-X . it is very efficient, sounds good, but mighty heavy, and it is not easy listening.
I think I go for a Hifiman, perhaps a HE1000se. it is comfy, efficiency is . . meh ... sound is good, not too heavy.
I just hope it won't break down on me, or I am screwed!

 

[someguyontheinternet]

DCA Stealth
I just wish there was an option for a different material on the earpads. The synthetic leather is starting to disintegrate on mine after around one and a half years of use. (and I do use them a lot with 8+ hours on most work days)