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Interesting. The RT is on my future possible upgrade list. BTW, I like the Oratory EQ settings with the Nightowls, with a few tweaks. Really opens them up. I'm pretty sure the Nightowls make the biggest jump in the preference score (as judged by conformity to the Harman curve) of any of the measured headphones on the list, from 19 to 95.
I enjoy an occasional sidegrade, and the Aeon RT is a great value (there are so many great values these days). I haven't heard the Aeon 2 but that is going to change this fall. The DCA headphones are on my radar right now.
Same use case, primarily tracking vocals, scrutinizing tracks. But I listened to music for a bit. An upgrade from the Sonys. I was considering a change in tracking headphones, and while considering AKG K371 and looked up BLUE yesterday on a whim and saw the Lola on sale, $150, 40% off, on Amazon (returnable), gave it shot. It's a legacy product on the BLUE site, and BLUE is the Amazon seller.
They came in late day, I've spent some time comparing with the 7520 (and even pulled out the 7506 for a 3-way). Less than half what I paid for the 7520, definitely a bargain (and only $50 more than the ubiquitous 7506). I'll have to give a shot at tracking vocals tomorrow, but I expect it will fill the bill very well. In listening to various songs, vocals came across very well. They sound quite good listening to music in general. Compared with the other, Lola has a nice low end (as do 7520, lacking in 7506), smooth mids (better than 7520, which lack clarity in the vocal range by having a critical mid dip accompanied but a bit of sizzle in the highs), and not over-done highs, giving it a smoothness. It's not a world apart from the 7520, but clearly better, more natural in the mids.
Also considering Dan Clark Flow RT Closed—just to broaden my horizons, I don't think any will get me to spend a lot of time listening on headphones.
So I ask what pads do you enjoy with the 1990s? I think I'd like a bit of a bass boost and slight treble nerf but nothing drastic. I'm looking at the Dekoni Elite Hybrid, Elite Velour, Fenestrated Sheepskin and choice suede.
Could you please explain why? I don’t want to come off as too confrontational or contrarian. Just want to know if there is a clear reason apart from output resistance or if it could be more of a visual and psychological effect.
Hey, I was reading a Stereophile review of the Verite headphone and saw this quote that might explain my experience. The amplifier I was using is a friends and it is a similar design.
High-impedance headphones, like the Auteurs and Vérités, present amplifiers with a mainly resistive load, and because of that they can sound unbelievably clean, dynamic, and low-distortion with old-school single-ended tube amplifiers like ZMF's Pendant.
The Audeze LCD2's get the most use, through a DIY SET tube amp (a Tubelab SE, with Type 45 tubes), which reflects my taste in music, they are great for classic rock and and blues.
AKG K271 Studio (austria) the best, most neutral and cleanest
AKG K273 Pro (more bas, more distorsion, former reference)
AKG 371, for VR. Easy to drive, not as clean audio as the two above
Audio Technica E40 (for portable phone use)
In no particular order. I do not necessarily recommend all of these. I just happen to own them all at the moment. I was going to list what I have owned but since sold or gave away but then the list just gets obnoxious. lol
Senn Amperior
Senn Momentum 2 wired
Senn Momentum 2 wireless
Senn HD650
Senn HD600
Hifiman HE560
Sony XM2
Focal Elegia
Phillips X3
Phillips L2
Vmoda - m100
Vmoda m100 master
Beyerdynamic T51P
Beyerdynamic DT770
Drop Panda
FIIO FH3
Masters & Dynamic MH40
Marshall Monitor
Yamaha HPH-Pro 500
powerbeats pro TWS
monster clarity TWS
Denon, forgot what model and they are in the box buried in my closet
I think I am forgetting a couple. But some were boxed up in my last move and were never unboxed. So I would say they are unworthy of being mentioned anyway
When I was 13 years old, I was lucky enough to receive a pair of HD650s. A late uncle of mine who was a recording engineer gave me his old pair. I remember being instantly hooked, but didn't buy more headphones until a couple of years ago, when I bought a pair of etymotic ER4XR, needless to say, I was not disappointed at all, I now had wonderful audio everywhere I went. After that, I got a pair of ER2XR for that tasty bass I was craving. Finally, I got a pair of HD800s after working last summer. I think I'm done for some time, but I do crave me some DCA aeon closed RT. Darned consumerism haha.
Got a pair of DT 1990s last week. Absolutely love them. Previously owned Bose AE2s, Astro A40s & HD660s. Also tested X2HRs, 712 Pros, Sundaras & DT 880s.
I tried both A & B pads. A pads were a bit thicker and just generally sounded better.
Then I moved on to trying Oratory's EQ but I thought it completely killed the sound signature. I liked it with half values, but I've been running them stock for now. I did like that little bump in bass.
Then I bought some Brainwavz velour pads. Totally do not recommend these. Turned them into bass cannons but murdered the mids/highs IMO. I liked the comfort added by the memory foam though.
So I ask what pads do you enjoy with the 1990s? I think I'd like a bit of a bass boost and slight treble nerf but nothing drastic. I'm looking at the Dekoni Elite Hybrid, Elite Velour, Fenestrated Sheepskin and choice suede.
I repaired my DT 880s recently and got Brainwavz pads and chinese generic ones from the get go. It has been 8 years since I hadn't heard them. I got the XL Velours after some people over the head-fi thread said the changes were minute and it only lessened the trebles and increase the lows a little bit. Man, those guys should have their hearing checked, because the pads completely butchered the cans. I'm not a fan of the 8khz peak on the beyers, but the pad swap completely reversed the headphones to the Dark Side of the force. Glad to know I'm not alone.
Over the dekonis. I'd go for the Velours only. I have acquaintances (with better hearing) that told me the suedes butcher the sound signature like the brainwavz, and I think the hybrids might make them too boomy for our liking.
I added a HD560S to my (very small) collection to replace the AKG 712 Pro (which I use elsewhere now, it still has the lead for orchestral music for instance but I prefer vocals, mostly pop music) and I am really really pleased. I found back my old Sennheiser RS130 sound, even better. Looks like cheaper headphones please me more fo rnow.
Someone wrote in page 77 that its 650 "opens up" with tubes and even if some people do not like to read this, I had the same clear impression on my HD560S. I would not say "opens up", but more : raises basses/gives them more body + adds a feeling of reverb/live voices. I do not know what is behind it (nonlinear distortion ? tube decay ?), the more I raise the impedance selector, the more the effect is pronounced. At lowest setting, the sound is more like a SS amp, less pleasing. The difference is obvious but it does not make the sound less neutral, just different as described.
I recently purchased the Sundara and have been enjoying them tremendously. I've eq'd the 50 Hz and lower frequencies by a couple of decibels and feel no need to eq anything else.
Other headphones I own (I'll list the approx month and exact year I used them as a "daily" headphone):
Bose QC 35 (used for a couple of days in 2016)
Wh1000x (late 2016 to late 2018)
Wh100xm3 (late 2018 to the beginning of April 2019)
Hd6xx (April 2019 to near end of July 2019)
Hifiman Arya (July 2019 to the beginning of Jan 2020)
Zmf Verite (Jan 2020 to near end of April 2020)
Zmf Verite Close (April 2020 to near end of July 2020)
HD800s ( July 2020 to the beginning of January 2021)
Focal Utopia (January 2021 to beginning of May 2021)
Sr007mk2 (May 2021 to near end of July 2021)
Sundara (July 2021 to current)
Iems (I swap between three of them often and only for use outdoors):
Thieaudio Monarch (least used) - Mainly because the sub-bass broke on the left earpiece. Need to return it sometime.
Thieaudio Clairvoyance (moderate use)
QDC Anole VX (moderate use)
QKZ VK4 (moderate use)
I recently purchased the Sundara and have been enjoying them tremendously. I've eq'd the 50 Hz and lower frequencies by a couple of decibels and feel no need to eq anything else.
Other headphones I own (I'll list the approx month and exact year I used them as a "daily" headphone):
Bose QC 35 (used for a couple of days in 2016)
Wh1000x (late 2016 to late 2018)
Wh100xm3 (late 2018 to the beginning of April 2019)
Hd6xx (April 2019 to near end of July 2019)
Hifiman Arya (July 2019 to the beginning of Jan 2020)
Zmf Verite (Jan 2020 to near end of April 2020)
Zmf Verite Close (April 2020 to near end of July 2020)
HD800s ( July 2020 to the beginning of January 2021)
Focal Utopia (January 2021 to beginning of May 2021)
Sr007mk2 (May 2021 to near end of July 2021)
Sundara (July 2021 to current)
Iems (I swap between three of them often and only for use outdoors):
Thieaudio Monarch (least used) - Mainly because the sub-bass broke on the left earpiece. Need to return it sometime.
Thieaudio Clairvoyance (moderate use)
QDC Anole VX (moderate use)
QKZ VK4 (moderate use)
That is quite a list there. You went from mid-fi to very high end and then back, what was the reasoning behind it? I ask because I'm "stuck" at mid-fi and often wonder if the $700+ headphones can be worth the upgrade.
In alphabetical order:
1. Dan Clark Aeon RT
2. Focal Clear
3. Hifiman HE-4XX
4. Sennheiser HD 6XX
I usally listen to Tidal via Roon to a Raspberry 4 with RoopieeeXL connected to my RME ADI DAC 2 FS. I always EQ my headphones either using Oratory's settings (for Clears and HD 6XX - and btw I love my HE-4XX with the HD6XX curve) or Amir's setting for the Aeon RT.
My ranking in absolute terms of sound quality:
1. Focal Clear
2. Dan Clark Aeon RT
3. Hifiman HE-4XX / Sennheiser HD 6XX
The Clears are my winners - but I have to say that when listening to music for the first time I usually do that with the HD6XX in order to appreciate the superior quality of the Clears. If I do it the other way round the HD6XX does not sound as significantly inferior - it is that good! I bought the Aeon RTs to have a closed headphone when my girlfriend sits next to me on the couch. It is very good and when it comes to bass it is even better than the Clears but I really prefer the spaciousness of open backed headphones. I equally like the HD6XX and HE4XX - the Sennheiser is intimate and the Hifimann is wide. Sometimes I prefer one and sometimes the other. When I listen outdoors while walking I usually take the HE4XX (Android phone - Tidal - USB Audioplayer Pro - Hidisz S9 Pro with balanced output).
My ranking in relative terms of 'bang for the buck":
1. Hifiman HE-4XX
2. Sennheiser HD 6XX
3. Dan Clark Aeon RT
4. Focal Clear (qualified)
No suprises there, I guess. What is really crazy these days is that you get soooooooo much headphone for very little money with the HD6XX and HE4XX these days. The Clears just made on my list because they have a basic flaw that you could easily consider a deal braker - they clip at low frequencies from certain loudness level onwards. For a headphone in the 1200 $ bracket that is unacceptable. I just keep them because I hardly ever listen that loud and because otherwise they are brilliant.
On order : Hifiman Sundara - can't wait to get them ------- but otherwise I'm set ------ for the time being
