You have $1,500 or less to spend on cans to use all day, and a balanced Schiit stack, what the heck do you buy?

[Rollingsound514]

I've got the Magnius and Modius stack fully balanced.
I'm looking for cans either open or closed back that I can wear for hours on end.
I've done my research and pretty much every set of cans at the $1,000 to $2,000 range has some kind of terrible drawback and need EQ or suck in some way.
Should I just go back to the old 650/6XX with a balanced cable? With lots of power maybe they'll sound 95% as good as something $1,000 more?
Just feel kind of lost in the marketplace right now. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!!

 

[isostasy]

False dichotomy. More expensive =/= better.

Your conclusion that "every set of cans at the $1,000 to $2,000 range has some kind of terrible drawback and need EQ or suck in some way." is at odds with the statement that the HD6xx could only sound "95% as good as something $1,000 more".

Based on these statements you could logically say: With a lot of power maybe they'll sound 95% as good as something which I've decided sucks in some way.

This doesn't consider the possibility that the HD6xx could be better (i.e. >100% as good if you want to represent it that way) than something more expensive.

Unless you're saying this because you previously used the HD6xx, thought it sucked or was deficient in some way, so don't see why you should spend more money on something that also sucks anyway?

Or are you saying "old 650/6XX" as in "classic" rather than an "old" headphone you used to own?

 

[Rollingsound514]

6xx's I tried for a bit, but I had the old Dx3 Pro powering them so it wasn't ideal. I didn't hate them but I wasn't blown away. I didn't know how to EQ back then though, so maybe I'll go back to them for a bit with a balanced cable.

 

[GXAlan]

I've got the Magnius and Modius stack fully balanced.
I'm looking for cans either open or closed back that I can wear for hours on end.

What headphones are you listening to right now? It’s the mechanical comfort that dictates how long you can wear it and that can help guide you.

Is your source a Mac / PC / streamer?

 

[Jimbob54]

HD800S are about the most comfortable I have tried for long durations. Many (myself included) would say EQ was a must though.

 

[DVDdoug]

Make sure the headphones are comfortable for you...

I'll go back to them for a bit with a balanced cable.

A balanced headphone cable will generally go 6dB louder "all else being equal". But a different unbalanced headphone amp may go just as loud or louder. There's nothing "magic" about balanced headphone connections. To me it's just an odd-ball complication.

And louder is a negative if you're getting any noise from the headphone amp...

A balanced line-level input to a headphone amp can prevent or eliminate some kinds of noise pickup/interference but it won't make a difference if you don't have a noise (hum) problem.

 

[isostasy]

6xx's I tried for a bit, but I had the old Dx3 Pro powering them so it wasn't ideal. I didn't hate them but I wasn't blown away. I didn't know how to EQ back then though, so maybe I'll go back to them for a bit with a balanced cable.

Why isn't that ideal? Amir says: "I started my testing with Sennheiser HD-650 in high gain mode. Here, there was plenty of power and no hint of strain from the amplifier." (review)

If you didn't like them it's probably because you didn't like them rather than anything to do with the amp.

Commonest complaints with Sennheiser HD6xx series are lack of sub-bass, treble not elevated enough, or small soundstage. First 2 can be fixed easily with EQ so you might like them more then. Soundstage is more subjective and if you are someone who experiences it (I think I just don't at all so it doesn't bother me) and find the HD6xx series too small that can't be fixed with EQ and would require looking elsewhere.

 

[Rollingsound514]

What headphones are you listening to right now? It’s the mechanical comfort that dictates how long you can wear it and that can help guide you.

Is your source a Mac / PC / streamer?

Fiio FH5 IEMs fed by the old DX3 Pro, source is Roon via an Ipad Pro

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

Fiio FH5 IEMs fed by the old DX3 Pro, source is Roon via an Ipad Pro

I just wanted to hop in and say that my TruthearxCrinacle: Zero Reds absolutely blow my FH5 IEMs out of the water in terms of sound quality. Regardless of whatever else you get, you should grab a pair of those IEMs for 50$

 

[Rollingsound514]

I just wanted to hop in and say that my TruthearxCrinacle: Zero Reds absolutely blow my FH5 IEMs out of the water in terms of sound quality. Regardless of whatever else you get, you should grab a pair of those IEMs for 50$

Damn you're tempting me, anyone else vouch?

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B0C5QWMGM6/ref=sw_img_1?smid=A3OGU47PDPAJIO&psc=1

EDIT: Ordered, too cheap not to try, christ they cost less than a decent cable...

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

The only thing I'd caution is that the complete lack of distortion makes it super easy to listen to them at dangerous volume levels lol.

 

[Rollingsound514]

So for now,

I'm going to have the Magnius/Modius stack feeding a set of 6XX's using balanced, but keep the DX3 Pro for low power stuff like IEMs (which I now have two pairs of lol) since the Magnius's SE output I don't think is as good as the DX3 Pros for IEMs.

So I'll have my near field set up with a sub, an open back solution with lots of power, and an IEM solution. So I can do whatever I feel like depending on how much noise I am allowed to make and how much noise is going on around me lol.

So in the end no expensive cans lol

Sidenote: I can't run two DACs at same time off the Ipad so I think I can run one of my cheap tiny pcs as roon endpoint and plug both dacs into it and have it show up as two independent clients in Roon.

 

[GXAlan]

So in the end no expensive cans lol

I had Sennheiser HD820's which I got rid of for the Sony MDR-CD900ST.

The Sennheiser did a lot of things superiorly, especially for classical music, but I actually felt that the earpads didn't fit me well on the HD820's and I preferred the treble roll-off from the MDR-CD900ST and the extra cash in my bank account.

The Sennheiser HD820 is a very specific sound which is polarizing, but even if you were to compare the MDR-CD900ST to the Focal Utopia S3, you can see how well the Sony's do for a bargain price. The loss of "air" on the headphones actually is OK for extended listening in my opinion.

 

[Dunring]

For all day wearing the Hifiman Arya Stealth is great out of the box. I also have an Ananda Stealth and Edition XS and don't need to EQ them for a specific issue. They headband on the XS is pretty firm though, the others with the ski style band distributes the weight a lot better.

 

[kemmler3D]

pretty much every set of cans has some kind of terrible drawback and need EQ or suck in some way.

FTFY

I personally find the Focal Elex pretty comfy for all-day wearing, but I also don't mind the LCD-XC for all-day wearing, so YMMV.

I think both of those cans are worth owning because they have really low distortion, and so you can do whatever you want to them with EQ within reason.

 

[bodhi]

So for now,

I'm going to have the Magnius/Modius stack feeding a set of 6XX's using balanced, but keep the DX3 Pro for low power stuff like IEMs (which I now have two pairs of lol) since the Magnius's SE output I don't think is as good as the DX3 Pros for IEMs.

So I'll have my near field set up with a sub, an open back solution with lots of power, and an IEM solution. So I can do whatever I feel like depending on how much noise I am allowed to make and how much noise is going on around me lol.

So in the end no expensive cans lol

Sidenote: I can't run two DACs at same time off the Ipad so I think I can run one of my cheap tiny pcs as roon endpoint and plug both dacs into it and have it show up as two independent clients in Roon.

So, you spent $450 for electronics that sound just the same as the one you have and $50 for IEM. I guess that's an upgrade still.

 

[kemmler3D]

The only thing I'd caution is that the complete lack of distortion makes it super easy to listen to them at dangerous volume levels lol.

FWIW these are $75 on Amazon now but on sale for $48 from Shenzhenaudio right now. I just copped a pair because they just measure too well to not buy at that price. I mean heck!

 

[Rollingsound514]

So, you spent $450 for electronics that sound just the same as the one you have and $50 for IEM. I guess that's an upgrade still.

Tough, but fair lol

 

[Rollingsound514]

FWIW these are $75 on Amazon now but on sale for $48 from Shenzhenaudio right now. I just copped a pair because they just measure too well to not buy at that price. I mean heck!

Got em for like 75 Canadian shipped

 

[phoenixdogfan]

If you can handle the weight the LCD X 2021 Creator's edition might just be the ticket. It's used a lot in the recording industry as a mixing monitor b/c it can do bass, and has the lowest distortion profile of just about anything out there, making it an ideal candidate for EQ. Also does space fairly well, though not as good as something like an HD 800 S. Because it's so efficient even a phone can drive it. So your electronics will work very well with it.