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Headphones
Sennheiser HD800s
HifiMan Sundaras
Sennheiser Momentum 3 (When you EQ down the bass, they are surprisingly listenable) - use it mostly for late night listening in the bedroom
Sennheiser HD555
B&W P3
IEM
Sennheiser Ie80
l am in the market for a quality closed back headphone which i can use for late night listening without disturbing the Significant Other. Any recommendations? I was looking at the Aeon RT closed. any others I should look for in the same range?
l am in the market for a quality closed back headphone which i can use for late night listening without disturbing the Significant Other. Any recommendations? I was looking at the Aeon RT closed. any others I should look for in the same range?
Meze 99 Classics (or Neo - same headphone, cheaper finish), Denon AH-D5200 (or 7200), Audeze LCD-2 Closed Back, or an Audioquest NightOwl if those can still be found which I doubt.
Caution, they are all warm. But if you have access to EQ then no worries.
Is the significant other in the same room ? If not, then a semi-closed could work too. My GF can't hear my Nighthawk (which is my favorite for late night relaxed listening) when she's sleeping, and they can be found at great prices.
Well, I've just added a Sennheiser HD 206 (should have called it "201 ver. 2" honestly) to my collection.
Let's just call this headphone an excercise in misery and be done with it ...
... alright, so the build quality is bad, especially the cable is the worst I've ever seen on a headphone, the fit is bad, feels like it's not really made for a human head. It sounds like it, too. No detail whatsoever, a terrible case of one-note-bass, no soundstage and bad imaging.
Frankly, I'm amazed that this thing has 4.4 stars on Amazon Germany for 40€ - there must be an awful lot of deaf people living here.
This will be my final post in this thread unless I win the lottery.
For home use - Audeze LCD-3
For outside the home - Apple AirPods Max
My wife gave me the AirPods for my birthday; they replaced a pair of Plantronics Backbeat Pro 2 SE that I liked a lot. The new AirPods are very close to the sound of the LCD-3. I like them very much. I can't wait until I can travel again to use them more. I absolutely love the sound of the LCD-3. I equalize using SOX but they sound nearly as good unequalized.
It's no wonder I like the AirPods; here they are compared to the LCD-3 and the Harmon target curve (which I like):
AKG K371 (more better)
Koss Pro4s (less better)
JBL cheapie Bluetooth IEMs, for hotel gym workouts. I hate IEMs, but nothing else works for that use case.
Rick "not including headphones used for ham radio or computer meetings" Denney
Meze 99 Classics (or Neo - same headphone, cheaper finish), Denon AH-D5200 (or 7200), Audeze LCD-2 Closed Back, or an Audioquest NightOwl if those can still be found which I doubt.
Caution, they are all warm. But if you have access to EQ then no worries.
Is the significant other in the same room ? If not, then a semi-closed could work too. My GF can't hear my Nighthawk (which is my favorite for late night relaxed listening) when she's sleeping, and they can be found at great prices.
Thank you for the pointers. the Meze Neo looks really affordable, where I live. SO is in the same room, which is why closed headphones is critical. there was a crazy deal on Amazon yesterday where the AKG-K371BT was available at approx 70USD, and I purchased it on the assumption that if one uses it corded, it'll sound the same as the regular K371.
Will buy a more spendy headphone after a bit more research.
The K371 BT differs a bit from the normal one in that it has very shallow pads since they had to fit the electronics in the ear cups. However, and I've only heard it for a minute or so, it does sound similar to the corded version. It has bad noise isolation, but the owner told me that the battery life is great and the bluetooth connection flawless.
The K371 BT differs a bit from the normal one in that it has very shallow pads since they had to fit the electronics in the ear cups. However, and I've only heard it for a minute or so, it does sound similar to the corded version. It has bad noise isolation, but the owner told me that the battery life is great and the bluetooth connection flawless.
Thanks for the insight. I thought that *might* be a bit different. I only purchased it because it was at on sale at 1/2 the price of the non BT model, which is what I was considering after the review here. I have the momentum 3 for BT
I've been thoroughly enjoying a set of Koss KSC75s on a parts express headband with Yaxi pads.
Surprisingly good sound and great comfort for sub $50, do recommend.
I've always wanted a Koss (though probably the classic Porta Pro), unfortunately they are kind of expensive here. I have to look for a used one.
Anyway, just got two more headphones used, one of the original Made in Austria AKG K 601 (and this seems to be the only old school Austrian made AKG without the headband bumps) and a Superlux HD 662 F.
The K 601 is even more forward (Crinacle would call it shouty) and bass-shy than the K702, that makes it sound extremely detailed but also exhausting to listen to. It EQs very well, I've tried Oratory's setting, but that has way, way too much bass - so I changed it a bit.
People have been debating the virtues of the Austrian and Chinese made AKGs for quite a while. Though mine are different models of course, they are similar in contruction.
The Austrian made K 601 is not much different from the Chinese made K702 apart from the differences between the models.
Two things that I did notice though are that the leather (well, it's mostly plastic) of the head band on the K702 (and they are all like that, it's not just mine) seems a little short wich makes it kink at the rivets - the K601 looks more like I would think it should be.
And the swivel mechanism on the ear cups is smoother, though that might be down to the fact that it is 10-15 years older.
The tuning of the HD 662 F is a little rough around the edges, however overall it seems a little more sensible than the 668 B I also own. The highs a little less piercing and the bass a little more even. I've not yet tried EQing it. A heads up for all who might be interested, these don't seem to age well. The one I bought was not worn much (the rubber bands were fine), but the plastic head band and earpads started cracking.
Preamp: -3.51 dB
Filter: ON LS Fc 63 Hz Gain 1.5 dB
Filter: ON LS Fc 105 Hz Gain 2 dB
Filter: ON PK Fc 710 Hz Gain 2.4 dB Q 1.01
Filter: ON PK Fc 2230 Hz Gain -4 dB Q 1.01
Filter: ON PK Fc 2650 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 0.48
Filter: ON PK Fc 4020 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 0.14
Filter: ON PK Fc 5200 Hz Gain 3 dB Q 0.71
Filter: ON PK Fc 6000 Hz Gain -1.3 dB Q 0.24
Filter: ON PK Fc 8400 Hz Gain -4 dB Q 0.21
I've always wanted a Koss (though probably the classic Porta Pro), unfortunately they are kind of expensive here. I have to look for a used one.
Anyway, just got two more headphones used, one of the original Made in Austria AKG K 601 (and this seems to be the only old school Austrian made AKG without the headband bumps) and a Superlux HD 662 F.
The K 601 is even more forward (Crinacle would call it shouty) and bass-shy than the K702, that makes it sound extremely detailed but also exhausting to listen to. It EQs very well, I've tried Oratory's setting, but that has way, way too much bass - so I changed it a bit.
People have been debating the virtues of the Austrian and Chinese made AKGs for quite a while. Though mine are different models of course, they are similar in contruction.
The Austrian made K 601 is not much different from the Chinese made K702 apart from the differences between the models.
Two things that I did notice though are that the leather (well, it's mostly plastic) of the head band on the K702 (and they are all like that, it's not just mine) seems a little short wich makes it kink at the rivets - the K601 looks more like I would think it should be.
And the swivel mechanism on the ear cups is smoother, though that might be down to the fact that it is 10-15 years older. View attachment 116181
The tuning of the HD 662 F is a little rough around the edges, however overall it seems a little more sensible than the 668 B I also own. The highs a little less piercing and the bass a little more even. I've not yet tried EQing it. A heads up for all who might be interested, these don't seem to age well. The one I bought was not worn much (the rubber bands were fine), but the plastic head band and earpads started cracking.
Preamp: -3.51 dB
Filter: ON LS Fc 63 Hz Gain 1.5 dB
Filter: ON LS Fc 105 Hz Gain 2 dB
Filter: ON PK Fc 710 Hz Gain 2.4 dB Q 1.01
Filter: ON PK Fc 2230 Hz Gain -4 dB Q 1.01
Filter: ON PK Fc 2650 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 0.48
Filter: ON PK Fc 4020 Hz Gain -1.7 dB Q 0.14
Filter: ON PK Fc 5200 Hz Gain 3 dB Q 0.71
Filter: ON PK Fc 6000 Hz Gain -1.3 dB Q 0.24
Filter: ON PK Fc 8400 Hz Gain -4 dB Q 0.21
The PortaPro is great too! It's just a little more recessed in the mids, still a good experience though if you can find one for a decent price as they're light and very comfortable once you get used to the headband.
The K601 looks nice, love the older AKGs!
I'm new to the site. I have Sony MDR-V700, Shure 215 In-Ears, Audio-Technica M50s/LE (which I need to repair), and Modded Sennheiser HD 800's with Super Dupont Mod, Cork Ring Mod, and Lambskin Pads.
Going to buy
Apple Airpods Max - borrowed a pair for a few days and was very impressed with the sound
Currently own
Airpods Pro - most used
AKG Y50 BT - seldom used
RHA T20i - not used for 3 years but very good
Previously owned
B&W P5 - very nice, dunno quite why I sold them ?
Grado SR80 - quite liked them but cable got on my tits
Sennheiser HD 25 70ohm - for DJ/mix stuff
Allen & Heath XD2-53 - for DJ/mix stuff, awesome headphones, humongous sense of scale/width/depth at all volumes as I think they had a 53mm driver and 5hz to 35khz range but got nicked backstage by a very dodgy promoter. Would probably buy another pair As they really excelled with electronic/techno.
Been a while since my Sony V700DJ had to be half-gutted. The pads dry-rotted, as well as the headband, so they had to be removed.
Just got in a pair of perforated BrainWavz memory-foam replacement pads this week, and installed them. (I removed the thin felt pads from the speaker orifices before I put them on because they weren't staying in place anyway.) I wrapped the band with electrical tape to give it an outer surface, and gave them a listen.
My 700s now sound less congested than stock, and better than ever before! Comfy, and pleasing. I highly recommend the BrainWavz products!
Forgot I previously owned Etymotic ER-4P earphones and a Ray Samuels Tomahawk headphone amp back in 2008ish fed from an iPod. Earphones were good once you got a good seal but cable microphonics were annoying, amp was a bit meh.
