I am in desperate need of new daily driver headphones. I currently own DT 990 Pros powered by a Motu M2 audio interface, and I’m looking for something less v-shaped. My budget is 400€.
I have already tried Sundaras, and I kinda liked them, but they broke as soon as I took them out of the box, so I had to send them back. The treble and midrange were nice, but the bass was a bit too neutral for my taste. The sound stage and instrument seperation were also a huge upgrade over the Beyers.
The HD58X seems like a really good and cheap option, but I’m not sure how taxes and customs will work when they get shipped to germany. Drop doesn’t seem to care about anyone outside of the US.
Is there any alternative to the Sennheisers that I can more easily buy from europe? I don’t think anything can compete with them in terms of price / performance.
Are you looking to replace, or complement the 990s, and which impedance model do you have? Sticking with open back? You can get quite a lot in that budget range, but the 58x value is definitely tough to match. The 58x, though, would have a much smaller stage than the 990, let alone the Sundara. They’re very intimate.
Investing in a decent entry level DAC/Amp could potentially bring out more from the 990s might be another consideration, as they’re pretty well regarded around here (don’t personally own them).
Since you are in europeyou should check out akg k712 pro for its price. Wide soundstage. Great details. Just enough bass. Little harsh on the highs but not always.
I’m looking for something that can completely replace my Beyers (250 ohm version). I don’t really care about open vs closed back and i can tolerate small soundstage. I don’t really hear a lot of soundstage in my 990s anyways.
I’m definitely not going to invest in a better source unless i need more power. Appart from power and output impedance, the only thing that can set amps appart is their frequency response, and that’s basically the same as applying EQ.
@Bmn1251 Looks like they have a similar sound signature to the Sundaras. I’ll need to do more research about them, but they look like a good option.
I’m no engineer, but I’m not sure I agree here, and there’s really only so much you can do with EQ. Depending on implementation, different amps and DACs recreate space differently, and have different presentation and timbre. Those are not things you can adjust by simply applying EQ. I don’t know what the headphone section on the M2 is capable of, but in general headphone sections on an audio interface tend not to be as good as a dedicated amp, even using the M2 as the DAC.
Not quite sure you will enjoy the 58x if you enjoy the dt 990s and sundaras as they sound very different from each other. Flat vs V sharp vs Neutral bright. If you enjoyed the dt 990s I would honestly say if you can find the 1990s cheap in this case you would probably really like them since you want a less V shape response. The DT 880s are also pretty solid and are similar to the dt 990s just cater towards neutral instead. If you want a really wide sound stage and cater towards neutral I can second the opinion on the k712 or k702 they are pretty nice. Also AD1000x is another brighter but colorful headphone you may find some enjoyment in. place an edit here. I will second the fact of buying a seperate amp and dac to bring out the dt 990s. I had some issues with the treble on it myself and its overall V. It wasnt until I had switched to the 600 ohm paired with a liquid silver that I found it very manageable
I don’t really enjoy the 990s. Their treble peak makes them sound like they are hammering the music into your head. That’s why i want to buy something with a warmer tonality. I’m also not in love with the Sundaras, although their airy sound is a lot more plesant to me than the 990s.
I think if the bass region lacking a bit on the Sundara, the AKGs mentioned and the AD1000x would likely be even more so. Easier to find, sure, with possibly a similarly wide stage, but otherwise don’t seem to suit stated preferences
Alright so you would want a flat neutral or maybe darker sound. 58x is a great flat sounding headphone and 6xx is a alternative but they both have pros and cons to each other. I personally like 58x due to better sound stage and the like. Outside that maybe the nighthawk carbon? Dark headphone good sound spacious deep tasteful bass. just hard to find.
Also to comment on amps only different is their output… completely disagree… I tried using a Scarlett solo audio interface when I first bought my dt 990 250 ohm… treble and v signature was damn near unbearable. Upon switching to liquid spark amp the treble smoothed out and was dropped the V signature became much more manageable to my hearing. Amps will indeed change the sound and it boils down to preference.
I’m not sure about the nighthawk. The bass is often described as very honky, and i’m not sure if i could enjoy my music with their very recessed treble.
hmm so dark would be out… your tastes definitely are middle ground then… since you stated you dont care about closed to open back… The 58x still is superb in that regard and would be a hard pass at its price range for you. In this case I would say other than 58x, Fidelio x2hr was pretty nice despite being a cheaper headphone a more “fun” headphone imo, beyerdynamics 770 and the imo straight upgrade to it the 177x are more of a U shape whereas the 177x is a kind of neutral U both are really nice but closed back. Oppo [PM-3] I think I can also place in here as it has a pretty clean treble to it and is a planar closed back. Argon Mk3 would be pretty nice in this case imo too. Personally, I do think as far as flatter sounding or neutral headphones go Sennheiser has some of the best.
I’ll definitely buy the Argons as a secondary headphone some day, but not right now. The X2hr looks like a good alternative to the Sennheisers that has a bit more bass, but when i’m thinking about my future upgrade path, i think it’s best to go with the Sennheisers and later augment them with the Argons.
I will definitely agree that the x2hr has more bass. Meze classic was another good option actually forgot about that one. Anyway, yeah so if you want to go ahead with the sennheisers it’s definitely not a bad choice as the 58x are great headphones. If your going to buy them feel free to chime back in with your thoughts on them too.