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What headphone(s) do you own ?

I currently own four headphones for different purposes.

1. Hifiman Arya Stealth - This is my most used and favourite headphone i have ever owned.
2. Nothing Ear - Podcast, sport, on the go headphone, when convenience is more important than sound quality or noise canceling is important, probably my second most used headphone
3. Moondrop Blessing 2 - On the go headphone when sound quality is indeed important. Was once my main headphone.
4. Fiio FT1 - My newest headphone, mainly bought for the variety as i wanted a decent closed back over ear headphone. Was expecting more bass tightness. Volume is good, but i think for quality of bass my Arya Stealth is still noticeably better. Good for electronic music though and when i want more isolation at home.

At the desk all are driven through a Topping A50iii+D50iii combo.

I feel like i'm pretty much settled now, i don't foresee a noticeable upgrade to the Arya Stealth anytime. Probably will build a DMS open omega at some point though.
 
IMG_0947.JPG
 
1) Focal clear MG professional
2) Audeze LCD-X
3) HifiMan He1000 stelth
4) HifiMan Ananda Nano
5) HifiMan Sundara
6) Sennhaiser Hd 650
7) Linsoul 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2
8) TRUTHEAR x Crinacle Zero: RED
9) Sony MDR XB650 BT
10) Focal spirit Professional
11) Beyerdynamic DT 150
12) AKG K240 Studio

The last three haven't been used for at least 15 years... but I check them sometimes to see if they still work, and they do :)

P.S I cleaned the dust off and turned on the DT150s. I was surprised at how pleasant they sound. Of course, they require EQ. Without EQ, the highs will kill your ears very quickly.

​

 
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Over ear:
1. Fostex TH900 (my favorite)
2. FiiO FT13 (also great)

IEMs:
1. FiiO FH19
2. KZ Decet x3
3. KZ AM16
4. JUZEAR x Z Reviews Defiant (I think I'll sale it)
 
AKG K371, my favorite
Audio Technica ATHM50x with EQ
Drop/Hifiman HE-4X also with EQ.
 
Update:

Sennheiser HD800s
Focal Clear MG
Beyerdynamic T1.3rd gen.
Hifiman HE1000 Stealth
Denon AH-D7200
Sennheiser HD660s
Beyerdynamic Amiron Wireless Copper
Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro
Beyerdynamic DT1770 Pro


RME ADI 2 DAC FS
xDUOO 26
 
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Hifiman HE1000 Stealth - RME ADI 2 DAC FS - Audiolab CDT6000
 
After moving back to my brand new apartment building here in Downtown Toronto and finally unpacking some of my audio gear I have the Grado GS 1000e set up.
 

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Update post
Current lineup :
  • Denon AH-9200 : office closed back, got them 2nd hand a few weeks ago, really really enjoying them, my best hp sound so far
  • Focal Celestee : replaced and bettered by the Denon, now on on the go duty thanks to their great passive isolation
  • Sennheiser HD560s : home office open backs for whole day sessions
  • Sennheiser HD599 : secondary home setup, used mainly for shows as I find them too boomy for music
Old lineup :
  • Sennheiser HD555 - battered down hand me downs but made me discover what headphones could do
  • ATH M50x - loved them at the time, got lost/forgotten somewhere/stolen/whereabouts unknown
  • AKG K450 - either the cable or one ear is dead, but was a great mobile companion at the time
Tempted by Sennheiser 660S2 and/or Hifiman Arya Stealth as a great open back companion to the 560s, both currently on sale around me, 400 & 500 bucks respectively, read here and there that the arya was better on many aspects, but also many testimonies that the 660s2 grew a lot on people, arya being potentially more treble aggressive but endgame for some, where the 660 was more agreeable and a great all rounder, but maybe very close to the 560s but the 560s can be a bit aggressive too so that would be nice and a tad warmer and Solderdude presented them well here oh well the usual neverending reflexion u know
 
teleblaze said:
What earpads are you using?

I'm actually undecided regarding which pair to buy the Bokeh Open or the HE1000 stealth. I can find the stealth for cheap.. 240USD less than the BO. I'm super sensitive to treble though
Click to expand...
These are the Dekoni audio elite finestrated sheepskin pads.

​

Grtz
Frank
 
1. DCA Stealth
The Stealth is clearly and obviously the best of all of these, even when including the use of EQ (which the Stealth does not need). This will likely be obvious to anyone who has heard the Stealth. I have yet to listen to any content that the Stealth does not do justice. They are just...
2. Sennheiser HD650 (Sonarworks)
The Sonarworks HD650 is an obvious second. Although not really close to the Stealth, they are still really good. The Sonarworks target isn't quite Harman, but it's pretty damn close and I am perfectly happy with it, for a secondary headphone. Also, getting the left-right channels properly centered is really important!
3. Apple Airpods Pro 2
The Airpods are great feature-wise (if you use Apple devices) and quite good SQ-wise. I completely understand why most people find these to be "endgame". They are very good, as is. With audio gear like this, I don't see how Apple isn't going to be dominating the market in 5-10 years (unless they completely fuck it up, which, honestly, wouldn't be too surprising).
4. Sennheiser HD800S
The HD800S is really good (with EQ), but not as good as the top two. If I had these sent to Sonarworks, they would very likely be #2 on the list.
5. AKG K371
The K371 is sorta in a limbo of being great but also horrible. Absolutely fantastic sound, but everything else about it is terrible. I genuinely don't understand how the design of this headphone was approved, the ergonomics are completely out-of-wack!
 
1. Sennheiser HD598 - kicked it off for me
2. Sennheiser HD650 - been on these for a decade+. Really don't need to say more, think everyone and their dad has had a pair.
3. AT ATH-R70X - didn't sound bad, but hated how uncomfortable they were. Swapped back to the 650s pretty quickly and never looked back.
4. Sony XBA-Z5 - fun basshead IEMs, love them even though they aren't critical whatsoever.
5. ETA Uli - finally going to replace the Sennies with these, very excited.

Wishlist: Sony MDR-Z1Rs and ZMF Ori 3.0's - love bass cannons, for what it's worth. Really want these two in my rotation in the future.
 
Never were into headphones before but I probably got infected by the Truthear Gate review. Anyway this is how I started in chronologial order

1. Truthear Gate
2. Heddphone D1

I feel some details pop out nicely only on headphones. At least I discover them there then paying attention to the song on loudspeakers and the details are there, too now. So much subjectivity in the perception I'm surprised.

Modeselektor Hello Mom! on headphone.. different world.

Yesterday I dedicated a corner of my living to headphone listening (and book reading). Currently using tanchjim luna and santa puts a dx5 II under the tree.

Currently worrying how to not hurt my hearing. I find it difficult to determine the dB of the volume
 
My junk (updated 30-Mar-2025):
  • Massdrop x Sennheiser HD6xx (measurements) - Well-rounded and extremely comfortable. Used to be my all-around go-to headphones. Everyone should have a pair of these (or the 650s, 600s, or 580s); don't let the relatively cheap plasticky appearance fool you.
  • Massdrop x AKG K7xx (measurements) - Acquired as part of a Drop "bounty box". These are super comfortable, even though they have a fairly cheap plastic feel to them; light clamping pressure, and very plush pads. Without surgery, they're single-ended, which is pretty weird for my collection; these live in my bedroom for mostly evening listening, paired to a JDS Labs Atom and a Topping D50, so it all works out pretty well, and they sound great. I tend to compare these to the HD6xx a lot; similarly competent sound for an excellent value.
  • Focal Clear Professional (measurements) - Bought as a Very Good Deal, and basically perfect for most uses; these spend more time on my head than anything else right now (they're my living room entertainment center cans), and completely replaced the HD6xx as my daily driver. Basically perfect fit (for my head), and the pads are amazingly soft and plush; I can wear them for hours. My only complaint is clipping, and for media that suffers from this, they're frustrating-bordering-on-unusable. (I have a sample that I use to demonstrate this: near the end of the M83 Isolated Score from the Oblivion blu-ray, there's an incredible musical moment that reduces these headphones to nothing but pops and crackle unless I turn the volume way down. tl;dr: these cans have serious problems with low-frequency gain.)
  • Hifiman HE-560 v2 (measurements) - I grabbed these because they were too cheap to pass up, and I wanted to see what the planar fuss was about. For my head, they're pretty comfortable (most people seem to complain about the headband, but it's been fine for me) and "plush". I found the stock pads fairly itchy, so I replaced them with a set of Dekoni fenestrated sheepskin pads, which solved that problem nicely.
  • Hifiman Sundara (measurements) - Another "price too good to pass up" purchase. Similar comfort level to the HE-560; Hifiman's pads are basically giant pillows, although again, they're itchy. These were my second-most-used headphones until I got the HD 800 S; they lived in my home office. I should probably swap the sheepskin pads on the HE-560s onto these at some point.
  • Oppo PM-3 (measurements) - I have a hard time believing I'm not filling the room with noise when I'm listening to these: they're by far the best closed-back headphones I've listened to, and their form factor make them an easy choice to bring with me. Not the strongest bass of the cans I own, but livable, and I don't find them bright at all. Honestly, it's hard to pick out anything in particular to say about them; they're just good all-arounders.
  • Sony WH-1000XM3 (measurements) - Picked these up on sale for a month-long trip to Japan where I wanted the airplane and other transit noise to just go away. Mission accomplished: they're middle-of-the-road as headphones, but the whole reason to own them is noise cancellation, and Oh My God they're amazing as far as that goes. I don't think I really appreciated how loud an airplane was until I took these off mid-flight. These live in my backpack now, replacing the PM-3s as my "take everywhere" cans; the noise cancellation (and bluetooth) are just too useful.
  • E-MU Teak (removable cable version) (measurements) - These are for fun, and for situations when I needed a closed back before I got the PM-3s. They've been great for games, pretty good for movie viewing, and great for music that's loud and compressed to hell and back in mastering. (That M83 track I mentioned above that the Clears blow up on? My head feels like it's going to vibrate off when I listen with these. It's the weirdest feeling.)
  • Sennheiser HD 800 S (measurements) - Found these on sale, which became a birthday present to myself. Initial impressions: without EQ, they're too bright for my ears, and fatigue sets in very quickly. With a little EQ, they're amazing. Comfort is mostly good, although like their cheaper counterparts, Sennheiser seems to make headphones that always feel a little cheap and plasticky. Definitely not as luxurious as the Clears, but the fit is good, they're light, and the pads are soft and comfortable. These have become my home office daily use headphones; nothing else in my collection touches them when they're EQ'd.
  • Sony MDR-ZX110 (measurements) - They're $9. They're the only on-ear cans in my collection, and with a little bit of EQ, they sound pretty good. And also: they were $9. At that price, I'm not going to over-think it.
I had thought the Clears were going to be my "endgame" headphone, but the clipping with highly-dynamic tracks has been incredibly frustrating, and I found myself grabbing the HE-560s and Sundaras more and more often, or going back to the HD6xx. Then I got the HD800S, and now as long as I'm in a situation where I can EQ them, they are what I wear. I should probably take some time looking at the Stax lineup just to round out the collection, then I can just save up for a set of Dan Clark cans like I probably should have in the first place. :)

IEMs:
  • Shure SE-846 (measurements) - these IEMs were an "I need to survive in a loud office environment" purchase back when I still worked in an open-plan bullpit. Their low impedance does a great job of highlighting the noise floor of most of your equipment. These spent a lot of time in my ears for several years; good all-around IEMs if you like bass (especially since you can tune them a bit with the inserts), but I find most IEMs to be too bright and harsh for my ears for some reason, so take that for what it's worth.
  • Tin Audio T3 (measurements) - Acquired as part of a Drop "bounty box". I can't get the fit on these quite right for my ears; it always feels like the body of the IEM is projecting too much and generally in the way, and the metal cylindrical design just makes it feel out of place for something you stick inside your head. Audibly, these seem "okay"; mids and treble seem neutral, bass seems a little underwhelming.
  • Massdrop x NuForce EDC3 (measurements) - Acquired as part of a Drop "bounty box". Fit is good, and they're light, but they sound like a hot mess to my ears; "muddy" is the only thing I can think of to describe the sound I get from them.
  • Moondrop Blessing 2 (measurements: amirm, crinacle) - Picked these up completely blind when I saw them go on sale, based entirely on the reviews and general hype about them, and they're... fantastic. They don't have the super-low impedance problem of the Shures, and the out-of-the-box tuning of them is basically perfect for my ears, with plenty of bass extension. Unlike a lot of IEMs, the build feels beefy, and the case design lets you easily insert and remove them. These replaced the Shures as my "toss in the bag and bring just in case" monitors, which seemed crazy given that they're less than a third the price. Did I mention how cheap they are? They're just stupid cheap for what you're getting. One problem I've had over time: the tip mount seems tapered outward a bit at the base (without a good shelf to hold the tip in place), and I've had occasions where the tip slides off and stays in my ear when I remove the IEM. Digging around in my ear canal for a rubber tip is not my idea of a good time.
  • Linsoul 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 (measurements) - $25 for something that competes on an even footing with the Blessing 2? How do these even exist? I'm so confused about the value of money right now. Anyway, this was a blind buy when I saw Amir's measurements, and they're basically perfect. Same beefy/chonky feel that the Blessing 2s have, and fit and seal are great. Just like with the Blessing 2s, these turned into my "take everywhere" IEMs for a while. I don't know what else to say, for $25 anyone can have top-of-the-line IEMs now that don't require EQ. I'm in crazytown.
  • Moondrop Chu 2 (measurements) - Like the Zero:2s, these are super cheap ($19), and also like the Zero:2s, no EQ required. They're also tiny, and as light as their size would suggest. I genuinely don't understand how these companies are able to make IEMs so cheaply, but I'm not complaining; these are have become the IEMs I use for my morning runs (see below for the bluetooth adapters/hooks I've tried); at this price, if something happens to them, I won't be that upset, and did I mention they sound great? The only problem I've had with these is ear seal; I have to be very careful how I insert them into my ears, or bass just vanishes, and over the course of a run, they work themselves loose, meaning I find myself fidgeting with them quite a bit. And yes, I've played with a variety of tips; the weight/positioning of these just seems to encourage the problem for some reason, regardless of tip selection.
  • Tanchjim One (measurements) - Another super cheap IEM, coming in around $25 at the time I grabbed them, and again, no EQ required (although I find they're a bit too bright without a little bit). These come in three variants, depending on the cable you want (3.5mm w/o mic, 3.5mm w/mic, and USB; I got the one with the mic, but I'm using a different cable anyway) They're small, light, and oh my god comfortable; unlike the Chu 2s, these fit me perfectly, and the case design means they're super easy to insert/remove (and even after swapping the stock cable for an over-ear cable, which I worried might cause problems...nope). I just got these, so I don't know what they'll be like for running with, but I suspect they'll replace the Chu 2s for that use case (better fit, and cheap enough that they're disposable if needed).
  • Truthear Gate (measurements: amirm, crinacle) - Continuing my cheap IEM trend, coming in at $17 are these. Once again, EQ optional, although there's some small benefit from a bit of tweaking. There's both a mic and non-mic cable; I have the non-mic version, and it's a surprisingly nice OEM cable. Lots of ear tip options included in the box, you shouldn't have any trouble finding something that fits; I'm using the largest, most open-ended tips, and they fit great. The clear back on them is a cute novelty, and highlights how little is actually going on inside an IEM at this price point. At this point, it's just dumb for me to keep collecting these; we have so many practically reference-grade options at the $20ish price point that they're practically disposable now.
I jump around between some of these quite a bit; the Blessing 2s have a nice smooth physical feel (and sound amazing), while the Chu 2s are super tiny and light for runs or workouts (and so cheap that I'm not at all worried about damaging them). And I swap the Zero:2s for the Blessing 2s every so often because...well, why not? We live in an amazing time where IEMs sound pretty great and are cheap like water, so might as well enjoy them.

IEM bluetooth adapters:
Click to expand...
  • KZ AZ20 - These worked great, until one of the sides stopped charging after the fifth use. Fitment was comfortable, "good enough" codec support (ie. apt-X HD and adaptive), everything sounded like it was supposed to, no signal drop-outs. Shame about the quality control. The charging case has a huge void above the hooks, which made it easy for them to shake out of their charging position; most people seem to fix the problem by gluing some foam to the inside of the case top. For normal 2-pin IEMs, they required the sheath around the pins to be trimmed, which obviously voids the warranty, so when one side died I was left with the choice of buying another set and potentially having the same thing happen again, or giving up on the brand. I gave up.
  • Moondrop EVO - These are pretty chonky, which makes the fit kind of odd for me; in particular, I have a hard time hitting the tap target for controlling them (media controls, power off, etc). Once they're on my head, I mostly don't notice them. I'm not sure if it's Apt-X Adaptive that's causing problems (renegotiating a different bitrate?), but I get a lot of drop-outs when I turn my head while listening. After having these for a while, I can finally comment on the battery: it's terrible, both in how long you get, and how it's reported. Total fully-charged runtime is enough for a morning run, but forget about using them over the course of a workday in any configuration. Also, it seems battery percentage reporting is "optimistic", to put it mildly: I've had a bunch of cases now where battery percentage reported to the smartphone is 80% or higher, but one side powers off due to low battery anyway, probably due to the fact that the (gigantic) charger makes it extremely easy to bump one of the adapters off the charging pins. Anyway, I can't recommend these at all.
  • Qudelix 5K (measurements) - After the last two, I tried a single-unit device that didn't require synchronization both with the smartphone and each other, and landed on this one. This thing is an absolute breath of fresh air after the previous options: no noticeable signal drops, battery life is fantastic even in 4V balanced mode, LDAC support, the built-in PEQ works great, and once I swapped out the long cable for my IEMs with a short one that lets me clip the 5K to my shirt, it became the setup I grab every time I go for a run or extended walk now. It'll also drive just about every set of headphones I own at reasonable volumes (and can just clip to their headbands).
  • Fiio UTWS5 2025 - I finally ended up trying bluetooth earhooks again when these finally came out, and they've unseated the Qudelix as my daily-wear IEM setup. Battery life is good enough for day-to-day use, have on-board parametric EQ, and they don't have the cumbersome cabling and weird clip configuration the Qudelix uses. The only real complaint I have is that LDAC at 990kbps is basically unusable on the phone I use as my player, and even at 660kbps, it stutters an uncomfortable amount, while the Qudelix has no problem at all with LDAC; I assume this has something to do with the fact that there's only a single target to synchronize with in the Qudelix, and the Fiio is doing some black magic to make two independent devices synchronize. A second small complaint is that the 2-pin connector only works with flat 0.78mm IEM connections, not the recessed connections of IEMs like the Truthear Gate; something you can fix by either using the MMCX version with a 2-pin adapter, or with a 2pin-to-2pin adapter.
(In retrospect, this list is just silly. How the hell did I end up with all of this?)
Click to expand...
  • Sennheiser HD 800 S (measurements) - Found these on sale, which became a birthday present to myself. Initial impressions: without EQ, they're too bright for my ears, and fatigue sets in very quickly. With a little EQ, they're amazing. Comfort is mostly good, although like their cheaper counterparts, Sennheiser seems to make headphones that always feel a little cheap and plasticky. Definitely not as luxurious as the Clears, but the fit is good, they're light, and the pads are soft and comfortable. These have become my home office daily use headphones; nothing else in my collection touches them when they're EQ'd.
Click to expand...

I too have an exorbitant list of headphones, and they all do something great. Some are ultra lightweight and you can wear them all day, or in ears that you can barely feel so are great for exercise. Some are better for bass than others some perceived soundstage etc.

I have the HD800S also though, and like others here am not afraid to EQ them, in fact without they’re not something I want to listen to for that long. Even though they sound OK standard tuning depending on what you feed them obviously. With EQ however and with again depending on what being fed into them, they are utterly phenomenal and I’ve never experienced a headphone or even any piece of hi-fi to be as mesmerising as the 800’s. They redefine what listening to audio and deep into the recording can be. Phenomenal piece of technology, been 40+ years of being an audiophile / fanatic and I honestly think sound reproduction doesn’t get any better than these at any cost, anything else is just exuberant spending for the sake of it.
 
Westsounds said:
I too have an exorbitant list of headphones, and they all do something great. Some are ultra lightweight and you can wear them all day, or in ears that you can barely feel so are great for exercise. Some are better for bass than others some perceived soundstage etc.

I have the HD800S also though, and like others here am not afraid to EQ them, in fact without they’re not something I want to listen to for that long. Even though they sound OK standard tuning depending on what you feed them obviously. With EQ however and with again depending on what being fed into them, they are utterly phenomenal and I’ve never experienced a headphone or even any piece of hi-fi to be as mesmerising as the 800’s. They redefine what listening to audio and deep into the recording can be. Phenomenal piece of technology, been 40+ years of being an audiophile / fanatic and I honestly think sound reproduction doesn’t get any better than these at any cost, anything else is just exuberant spending for the sake of it.
Click to expand...
Except for me they obviously can't do low end bass as convincingly as closed back dynamics or open backed planars, and I'm talking whilst EQ'ing out the different frequency responses of course. It's a pity, but for me it's really obvious re the bass. I do like the HD800 though but EQ can't save the bass 100%.
 
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