Best ~$500-$600 Headphone

Massdrop are pretty good about issues if you have one.

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Yeah, and considering this will be the next batch, I’d hope they pay attention a lot more to the build quality this time since the most recent batch was so bad. So if they do fix it, this batch would be the one to jump on since it will be the most scrutinized. I guess I’m split between this. I could get the DT 1990 Pros on sale for around $450 (according to camelcamelcamel), which I imagine might happen on Prime Day in the upcoming months. Take that extra $150 for an eventual Sundara purchase.

Or go for the $600 Focal Elex’s and sit happy for a long time. I’d probably get the Sundara’s at some point, but no where near as quickly as if I had the extra $150 to start with. Also because mentally I would have a tough time justifying a purchase for a while after a $600 headphone. At around the same price, I saw the Beyerdynamic T1 is $688, but runs around $800 normally. Not sure how if it is superior, but it does come semi-closed, which is nice contrast to my current open backs. I definitely would not buy a headphone for a while if I got those.

Yeah, stuck between $450 Beyerdynamics DT 1990s + $150 ahead for Sundaras or $600 Focal Elexes and enjoy it for a while. I have time until I need to buy. I have the money, but I am a cheap person at heart and only jump when there are deals. Mostly, I like to know what I am planning to buy ahead of time so know what to look out for.

Focus camera have the T1.2nd on sale. The silver edtition is 600$ and the ninja black 650$.
I have the ninja black, it is my current headphone. I like it because of the natural sounding and how with the angle driver add some depth to the music. I am running it balanced and I think this is end game material for me. But you know how is this hobby :slight_smile:

I had the dt1990 and the Sundara I really like them.
The problem with the dt1990 for me was everyday use like multimedia, youtube, series, movies, it was too bright and unforgiving. For music and gaming was wonderful. Having said that i still want to buy it again lol. I want to try with the THX789. They do not fatigue me as other headphones.

The problem with the Sundara is that it fatigue me. They sound amazing! I still remember when i had them how music really shine. But after 30min i just want to take them off. For gaming they are not that good. There is something planar drivers lack for gaming. I want to give them a try now that the silent revision came out.

Right now i am trying not to rush it and buy headphones! i want to revisit the Sundara and the dt1990 now that my ears are more trained and i have the thx789.

Other headphones i want to try in the same price range:

  • Focal Elex (It is very popular around this community, and i trust M0N reccomendation)

  • DROP + DAN CLARK Aeon Open X

  • Dt1770 ( i had the dt770 80 and i currently have the dt770 250, I really like those when i need closed back and when i want the subbass rumble. The dt1770 are not very popular).

  • Sennheiser HD 660S ( I had the hd58x. It was amazing. But same as Sundara they fatigue me.)

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Trust in M0N on the Elex.

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Just wondering, have you considered upgrading your amp? You could squeeze more out of your t1 with an amp upgrade in the future (also they preform well on both a nice solid state and a nice tube)? Also a different amp can reduce the fatigue of the sundara or sennheisers if you did enjoy them in the end

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I’ve not heard the T1 2 but I liked the first version and it’s one of the headphones i’d like to own after my iem excursion’s over.

Which amp do you recommend for the t1?
I will try different setup with the Sundara and Sennheiser :slight_smile: never ending hobby.
I think I will jump the Elex drop when they become available and not pre order.

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For the t1, you could go for a solid state like a rupert neve rnhp (which imo would improve natrualness, spatial recreation, and also presentation while still remaining fairly neutral and accurate), or a tube amp like the hagerman labs tuba or feliks echo or cayin ha-1a mk2 for more fun thick, spacious, relaxed sound (well the tuba isn’t as relaxed and thick as the feliks or cayin)

For the sundara it would work well on something like the rnhp but not a tube unfortunately (another good solid state amp would be the burson soloist mk2), but you could get a hybrid amp like the liquid platinum amp

The sennheiser would work well on either the solid state or tube

What dac are you using at the moment? Also of course there are higher end amps I would rec as well but I would assume you would want to stay under the 1k mark

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Thanks M0N!
i currently own the Sdac-B i am looking at the smsl m300 mkii as an upgrade. I am just a college student so i will not upgrade in the near future (Money :wink: ).

Gotcha gotcha, you would def be fine with the sdac b for the time being. The m300 mk2 does look pretty nice, I might have to check it out eventually

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How did the Sundara’s fatigue you? was it the frequency range or did you just find them physically uncomfortable to use for longer periods of time?

The frequency. It was due to the mids. I am mid sensitive. I found that headphones like the hd6xx sometimes sound shouty. I am going to give the sundara a second try with my current setup.

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Thank you for the follow up after all this time, i was afraid of necroing the thread

How did you find them comfort-wise though? compared to Senns 600(XX,660s and etc) series oval shaped ear-cup?

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No problem! Comfort was good, It did not bother me at all. But, keep in mind the Sundara cups don’t swivel. The hd6xx clamp force is strong at the beginning, after they loosen up they are ok. Nothing compares to Beyer pillows.

1990pro with Dekoni Elite pads is pretty hard to beat. Maybe a used pair of Anandas if you can find them.

Are elex better for music than edition xs?

I am going to go with a wildcard recommendation-
Grado Hemp for about $400: Grado Hemp Open-Air On-Ear Headphones

I like alot of the suggestions above but the Hemps are one of my favorite headphones, I keep going back to them…

If you want, you can mod them, upgrade the pads and yokes:
https://www.shipibo.audio/product-page/krótki
https://www.beautifulaudio.biz/grado-cable-adapter

One other recommendation, if you have a decent amp is the hifiman he6se v2:
https://www.adorama.com/hmhe6sev2.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvMPTis6g-QIVsA2tBh3bEgcBEAQYASABEgLcg_D_BwE&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvMPTis6g-QIVsA2tBh3bEgcBEAQYASABEgLcg_D_BwE&utm_source=adl-gbase-p

It benefits from a good amp though, but its commonly on sale for under $600…