Hey folks,
I have big ears, no, huge ears. They don’t stick out and create lift but they’re large. So large that my pair of Sennheiser HD 518s just fit.
I love the “Sennheiser sound ™” of the 5 series but obviously can’t take them on a plane due to their open backedness. (sic) The 518s are relegated to home use.
For outdoor and travel I currently use a pair of v1 Momentum on ear which sound pretty good for closed back but don’t offer the best sound isolation due to their size vs my ears.
So basically I want to know if there are any upgrade options for me that meet a few criteria.
(required)
- 4+ knuckle (518,558,598 oval size)
- closed back
- decent isolation (and/or ANC for flying)
- sound quality at least on par with my Sennheiser cans
(highly regarded)
- an upgrade in audio quality over Sennheisers mid range
- doesn’t need a dedicated amp
- under US$200-250
- understated design aesthetic (prefer black/silver)
- removable (replaceable) pads
- removable cable (especially if stock is too long)
- 3.5mm short cable for portable
(indifferent)
- bluetooth (Wired optional)
- single sided cable
I am content with what I have for now and I do NOT have a budget to include Neumann’s or STAX bro.
The pair I had seen that might suit are the HD 598cs the closed back version of the 5 series. Or perhaps the HD569, they seem more or less the same?
But then I saw the Z rantview.
Thoughts?