What is the best headphone if HRTF and FR is accounted for?

[party_rocker]

I've experienced the Focal clipping first hand and it was scary lol; it was without EQ and the volume wasn't even that high.

I've been recommended the HD800 a few times now but I enjoy a big subbass boost (I know open backs are not the best for this, but I enjoy their sound compared to closed backs) and listen on the louder side, and am worried that dynamic drivers wouldn't be the best for this; so I am on the lookout for a pair of comfy, well-built planars (which seems to be a unicorn without spending thousands). I might see if I can demo the HD800 somewhere and see if they can handle the subbass boost.

Thank you for your response!

I actually sold off my pair of HD800's because they couldnt take eq in the subbass, these days I use a hifiman edition xs with a capra strap with some eq. I would reccomend the same but the earcups dont work for everybody. BTW if you going to eq a pair of planars try out the fiio jt7, it can come in champange gold and its looks quite nice.

 

[listener650]

I've experienced the Focal clipping first hand and it was scary lol; it was without EQ and the volume wasn't even that high.

I've been recommended the HD800 a few times now but I enjoy a big subbass boost (I know open backs are not the best for this, but I enjoy their sound compared to closed backs) and listen on the louder side, and am worried that dynamic drivers wouldn't be the best for this; so I am on the lookout for a pair of comfy, well-built planars (which seems to be a unicorn without spending thousands). I might see if I can demo the HD800 somewhere and see if they can handle the subbass boost.

Thank you for your response!

I confess I'm not the kind to boost a ton of bass, but I really don't think you'll have any audible issues boosting whatever bass you need to in an HD 800/S. Just keep in mind that just throwing a ton of bass on top of the existing tuning is likely to introduce an audible slowness that could be mistaken for "distortion" when its really just too much bass for an already warm midrange tuning.

But yeah, definitely give it a shot yourself! Only way to know for sure

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

There are people that absolutely love the hyper detailed /lively sound of the $5k headphone below.

Below the also well loved Edition XS

some find the headphone below boring:

Yes, audiophiles loves resonances and call them details.
Nothing new

 

[propaganda1]

Just to update incase anyone in the future may benefit from my research, I'm stuck between the Sony MDR-MV1's and the LCD-5's.

Everything is pushing me towards the Sony's; they are super comfortable and light, I can wear them for hours; have amazing bass for an open-back dynamic (there may be like 1 or 2 headphones that can rival it in this department); build quality is nice (amazing channel matching, no creaking, aluminium earcups); due to the design of the earpads, you can basically only wear these in one listening position, so it has very low positional variance which is also a huge plus when it comes to my usecase. It's a dynamic so I can see these lasting many, many years with proper care.

But...

I am worried about distortion. According to RTINGS, the Sony's weighted harmonic distortion is not too bad (attached lol), but I will be applying a subbass EQ (think Harman IE 2019 levels); also during a tone sweep, they are not the smoothest in the treble to my ear. There is a major dip in the treble which will also need to be boosted. I like to listen to a lot of Dolby Atmos content (using the Atmos renderer for headphones), which can have some insane swings in the dynamic range, especially in the bass.

These factors are the only thing that are making me consider the Audeze LCD-5. These are stupidly expensive (I will be buying used) but are pretty much the only planar I could find where I didn't have to compromise something major, every other planar I looked at either had QC issues, were extremely heavy or designed in a way that made them really annoying to wear (*cough* Moondrop planars). I will be compromising in pretty much every other department (comfort, lifespan of the headphone, positional consistency, price etc.), but if the Sony's will clip/distort then they are of no use.

Edit: I've decided to go with the Sony's, they offer too much for my use case to pass up.

 

[listener650]

Just to update incase anyone in the future may benefit from my research, I'm stuck between the Sony MDR-MV1's and the LCD-5's.

Everything is pushing me towards the Sony's; they are super comfortable and light, I can wear them for hours; have amazing bass for an open-back dynamic (there may be like 1 or 2 headphones that can rival it in this department); build quality is nice (amazing channel matching, no creaking, aluminium earcups); due to the design of the earpads, you can basically only wear these in one listening position, so it has very low positional variance which is also a huge plus when it comes to my usecase. It's a dynamic so I can see these lasting many, many years with proper care.

But...

I am worried about distortion. According to RTINGS, the Sony's weighted harmonic distortion is not too bad (attached lol), but I will be applying a subbass EQ (think Harman IE 2019 levels); also during a tone sweep, they are not the smoothest in the treble to my ear. There is a major dip in the treble which will also need to be boosted. I like to listen to a lot of Dolby Atmos content (using the Atmos renderer for headphones), which can have some insane swings in the dynamic range, especially in the bass.

These factors are the only thing that are making me consider the Audeze LCD-5. These are stupidly expensive (I will be buying used) but are pretty much the only planar I could find where I didn't have to compromise something major, every other planar I looked at either had QC issues, were extremely heavy or designed in a way that made them really annoying to wear (*cough* Moondrop planars). I will be compromising in pretty much every other department (comfort, lifespan of the headphone, positional consistency, price etc.), but if the Sony's will clip/distort then they are of no use.

Edit: I've decided to go with the Sony's, they offer too much for my use case to pass up.

I love my MV1s. I seriously wouldn't worry about the distortion.