Which Headphones for 500€ to 1500€?

[pouni]

Hi together,

I am looking for a good headphone (open back preferred) to listen to all types of music (Topping D30 Pro & A90) and to do gaming. Given some great reviews in the ibternet I thought the Sennheiser HD 800 S or HD 660 S would have been great choices but after reading the review of the HD 800 S I am pretty unsure about this. What would be the recommended Headphones in a price range between 500€ and 1500€?

Best regards

Bojan

 

[VMAT4]

I know you requested open. But, maybe the Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire.

 

[RickSanchez]

This is a good place to start: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/HeadphoneReview/

 

[LTig]

The HD 800 (S) is pretty singular regarding soundstage but most people need to drive it with EQ (tame the 6 kHz peak, get more bass).

 

[Noodles]

Arya is a safe bet i think. Especially if you can get the v1/v2 - not the stealth. And even if you get the stealth version, you probably won't be disappointed.
Audition them somewhere, you will hear what i mean.

 

[Zensō]

I agree with @LTig, the HD800S is a great headphone, but only with EQ. What hardware/software are you using to feed the headphones?

 

[pouni]

I agree with @LTig, the HD800S is a great headphone, but only with EQ. What hardware/software are you using to feed the headphones?

To be honest I am an experienced gamer but new to the game when it comes to high quality headphones. Therefore I would be happy also for tipps on EQ Software that I could use on Mac and on PC. For Gaming I would use a PC running Windows 11. For Music I plan to use my Macbook with Apple Music. I have ordered a Topping D30 Pro and a Topping A90.

 

[Zensō]

To be honest I am an experienced gamer but new to the game when it comes to high quality headphones. Therefore I would be happy also for tipps on EQ Software that I could use on Mac and on PC. For Gaming I would use a PC running Windows 11. For Music I plan to use my Macbook with Apple Music. I have ordered a Topping D30 Pro and a Topping A90.

On the Mac I’d highly recommend Rogue Amoeba’s SoundSource. It provides much better control over audio on the Mac, including sample rate switching from the menu bar. It also includes a large selection of built-in headphone EQ presets based upon Oratory’s and Crinacle’s curves, and it can also be used as a host for external VSTs such as FabFilter’s Pro-Q 3.

SoundSource - A Superior Sound Control

Access your Mac's audio devices, control per-app audio, and much more, all from the menu bar.

rogueamoeba.com

Others will likely provide some suggestions for Windows.

 

[solderdude]

I don't believe in recommending headphones as there is nothing as personal as a headphone. Besides there is no single best headphone.
There are several excellent headphones in all price classes for various different usecases and circumstances.
The HE-1 for instance sounds great but you cannot use it when commuting or outdoors.
This is what I like about Rtings... they rate each headphone for various usecases.

That said... when you are giving yourself 2 options (HD660S or HD800) then, for gaming, only HD800S is the only option.

Comfort, excellent 'soundstage' and perfect for gaming and music (use parametric EQ for music) the best option.
Try one out for comfort. I can wear it all day without getting warm ears and 'sweaty' pads.

 

[LTig]

To be honest I am an experienced gamer but new to the game when it comes to high quality headphones. Therefore I would be happy also for tipps on EQ Software that I could use on Mac and on PC.

See this thread.

 

[pouni]

Thank you all for the great responses!

That said... when you are giving yourself 2 options (HD660S or HD800) then, for gaming, only HD800S is the only option.

Just to clarify: I do not give me only these two options. These two headphones were the ones that addicted me most after my internet research. I wanted to ask the community here if there are other better options.

Comfort, excellent 'soundstage' and perfect for gaming and music (use parametric EQ for music) the best option.
Try one out for comfort. I can wear it all day without getting warm ears and 'sweaty' pads.

I have tried the HD800S and the HD660S at a local reseller and I found that the HD800S were extremely (really outstanding) comfortable for me. I preferred the sound of the HD800S but I definitely felt a slight lack of bass for my preference.

 

[pouni]

Does anyone have experience with gaming on HD800S? Do the gamers also use an EQ when gaming on Windows? Or does an EQ introduce delay so that it should not be used for gaming?

 

[solderdude]

Most gamers use headphones designed for gaming. Often combined with software and mics. Usually driven directly from onboard sound cards.
These headphones usually are not a good match for music enjoyment and are mostly closed.

Gaming with stock HD800S works fine (acc to my son, I don't game) it does not need EQ during gaming.
For music enjoyment they are even better but really need some EQ and some decent amplification.

A cheap alternative for gaming is the HD560S which also seems to work fine for gaming and with some light EQ works great for music but is no HD800S.

 

[ZolaIII]

Does anyone have experience with gaming on HD800S? Do the gamers also use an EQ when gaming on Windows? Or does an EQ introduce delay so that it should not be used for gaming?

Depends how complex and where DSP-ing is done (general purpose core's, priority or deticated DSP). The HD800 (non new S one's if you have a chance) are great regarding sound stage but there are other options which will get you close to it for the purpose for lot less money like K702.
DSP EQ-ing for the gaming is rather different than for music listening where you try to enhance things like steps and such. For the purpose you would probably be a happy camper with Sound BlasterX G6 and K702 (but you already purchased Tooping combo). Take a look at older (before Heos) Sennheiser lines if you want a complete solution with mic (which you probably don't as well Topping is a DAC only and best of those will at best be on HD6xx level).

 

[pouni]

Depends how complex and where DSP-ing is done (general purpose core's, priority or deticated DSP). The HD800 (non new S one's if you have a chance) are great regarding sound stage but there are other options which will get you close to it for the purpose for lot less money like K702.
DSP EQ-ing for the gaming is rather different than for music listening where you try to enhance things like steps and such. For the purpose you would probably be a happy camper with Sound BlasterX G6 and K702 (but you already purchased Tooping combo). Take a look at older (before Heos) Sennheiser lines if you want a complete solution with mic (which you probably don't as well Topping is a DAC only and best of those will at best be on HD6xx level).

I would follow the steps of following thread list of amirs headphone peq-filter and according this I would use Equalizer APO and import Amirs PEQ filter for the HD800S. Do you think this would introduce a significant delay for gaming?

 

[ZolaIII]

I would follow the steps of following thread list of amirs headphone peq-filter and according this I would use Equalizer APO and import Amirs PEQ filter for the HD800S. Do you think this would introduce a significant delay for gaming?

The simple EQ (including PEQ) wouldn't eat a lot of CPU cycles and you could ensure that it stays above the game process priority when things get tight by boosting EQ priority. It certainly won't be a a "significant delay" as long as you have enough processing power or if you put it in front. I certainly wouldn't use EQ APO or anything else that limits the output. Let me remind you that even best system lv EQ won't have any effect to certain lines or propetry bit streams (DSD, Dolby's) if it's physical integrated in hardware or specific software (DVD player which will do bit stream decoding so it can put it's own in the chain behind) it could. You can find in the simple coordinated text from all of the EQ's from APU or what ever uses the same base (Wavelet for instance) on official github but you will have to simplify it a bit (some are even 1000 points) if that's what you really want (not that you can not do the same for your self with frequency response measurements graph or translate it to the form used by APU with suggested plot tool).

Edit: I am not in the either nor does the "Harman curve" fits me so I do my own preference from graphs (and In at least point I can).

 

[pouni]

certainly wouldn't use EQ APO or anything else that limits the output.

Now I am seriously confused. I thought this would be the way to go to get best possible sound quality out of the headphones?

 

[Snoopy]

I know you requested open. But, maybe the Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire.

I second this.

I got mine during the last black Friday sale for 777€.
I can't imagine there is more value for money in another headphone in that price range.

 

[fastfreddy666]

Are you using a console or a PC ? (I use the latter) I use a headphone specifically for (FPS) gaming. It's the very cheap Logitech G432 DTS:X 7.1 Surround Sound Wired PC Gaming Headset. ($40) I wouldn't recommend it for listening to music. I use it to play FPS games online. You definitely need 7.1 (or 5.1) surround sound for that because it enables you to hear where your enemies are.
I also play RPGs sometimes. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is still my favorite even though it's old (2015). I don't use headphones for that I have a Motu M2 USB external soundcard (balanced of course) currently connected to Kali Audio IN8 Active monitors (the old ones were on sale! I couldn't resist) That thing is amazing for the price. I use a condenser microphone Rode NT1 which needs 48V phantom power for my Zoom meetings. I EQed it a bit so my voice will sound a little lower. I like to think it gives me more "presence". I really don't like listening to my own voice though. I hate zoom meetings. But you know. Some kind of virus is spreading like wild fire. We're living in crazy times.

For music it depends on the genres you like. If you're into bass heavy music you should buy a closed one. For other genres I recommend an open one (better soundstage, spaciousness). I use both depending on my mood.. For instance I'm a big fan of extreme heavy metal genres like Trash- and metalcore. Depending on my mood I might use an open one for some tracks and a closed one for others.

So instead of buying just one headphone. You should buy three. If your budget is $1500 this shouldn't be too difficult to accomplish.
I could do it for even less money. The build quality of some headphones is not always up to snuff if you use relatively cheap ones. But i think SQ is more important. I'm very careful with my audio equipment.

The ones I have:

Closed one: AKG K371. $150. I think it looks pretty ugly but this is subjective. I really love this one for bass heavy music. Amirm complained about too much sub-bass. You might want to turn that down a notch if you want accuracy but I really liked the extra thump and rumble.
Open: Sennheiser HD 650 (currently $322.95 on Amazon)

Amirm recently tested the Sennheiser HD560S. ($170). I just ordered one based on the review. It got slightly more bass than the HD650 but the build quality is probably not the same. But you know. SQ is everything to me. I'm really looking forward listening to this thing. I'm pretty excited. I shop, therefore I am

So there are a lot of factors at play....

Status-seekers and people with lots of disposable income should buy an electrostatic like the flagship STAX SR-X9000. It's only $6500. Impedance 145kΩ. O damn it. Yup, you need to buy a separate special amplifier to drive it. It cost more than the headphone itself. Rich people are funny

You could just go with a planar magnetic instead. I bought a second hand HIFIMAN HE-400I 2020 for $100 a year ago because I always wanted to try one. It's not that bad but nothing special either. I don't think planar magnetics are for me. YMMV.

I have several even cheaper ones from brands like Superlux. They really aren't that bad if you EQ them properly. The build quality is crap but the sound is okay.

 

[usern]

Now I am seriously confused. I thought this would be the way to go to get best possible sound quality out of the headphones?

EQ can help fixing deficiencies of most headphones. With low enough distortion of headphones, the little bit of digital negative preamp does not matter much as you can still turn up the volume to ear blasting levels. Plus, I don't notice any delay with Equalizer APO when gaming.