How would you rank the headphones you have tested or owned? Also what do you use your headphones mainly? Music,gaming,movies or professional use. Creating this post because i am a new to good audio world and would love to see what people like
Thank you
while getting input from others is going to be helpful…everyone hears differently. what would help with giving you suggestions and direction would be to hear what kind of music you listen to and what your budget is.
also, do you have a DAC or amp yet?
No no this isn’t a buying question. Just a normal discussion. New to audio world and I like reading people opinions and choices here
I use my headphones for everything but I choose speakers for movies.
For myself, I fell into a rabbit hole recently. Found out about the audioquest nighthawks, recently got a pair of the carbons, and now I have multiple pairs because I couldn’t resist the sound of them. They sound so good to me and that’s when I know I’ve found what I wanted. I love my beyerdynamics but for a change in sound I just needed more nighthawk.
So for myself, 10 years ago, I chose Beyerdynamic over sennheiser for sound signature and I was very happy because I really liked what I was hearing. I liked the characteristics of the Beyerdynamic sound. Kept them for a decade and only now am I looking for the opposite of what Beyerdynamic provides.
I chose Beyerdynamic because I wanted some bass, clean crisp highs and good to good enough mids with a good amount of detail and I felt I found it with what I got. I don’t regret it at all and am glad I searched for the characteristics I valued over the flavor of the month which kinda feels like what I’m currently doing… And it’s getting expensive.
Which beyerdynamics you got? Also do you plan to sell one of your nighthawks?
Oh no my nighthawks are my babies now haha. Oh boy… I went hunting for them recently and got them at great used prices below 300.
I got the dt770 600 ohm as my first beyers and liked them a lot. I liked them so much that I needed the dt880 so I could go from a closed to an open back. The dt880 is my favorite. Makes my brain tingle with some songs. Been considering the big step up to a dt1990 but I’m not sure if I actually want it especially if a dt1880 is coming.
Of those that I own, the ESP/95X obviously pulls ahead with it’s technical ability. For just “sound,” this is the best I have. Has more or less replaced my ATH-AD900x in niche. I only really pull them out for when I feel like a critical listening session.
The AD900x has be my daily drivers for several years. It’s a very competent headphone despite its weird frequency response. I feel a bit sad I don’t really have a reason to use them anymore, but I think I will get around to selling them eventually. Gotta fuel more impulse purchases.
I use my Porta Pro the most because while sound quality is just acceptable, the whole package is convinient to use. Easy to listen to, easy to wear. My preference for this headphone took me by surprise, but I do love it a lot. Plus it doesn’t make weird squealing noises like my 95X does. :^)
I don’t use my KTXPRO1 very much, but I do like the sound more than the Porta Pro’s. The KTXPRO1 is probably neutral/neutral-bright and does everything more expensive openbacks do minus good resolution. I don’t use these much since I have the 95X if I want “good” sound and the Porta Pro if I want something small, portable, and actually comfortable.
The ATH-M40x were my first full-sized headphones, and have served me well for the first years I’ve had it. Nothing about it particularly stands out other than being closed-back, and I have grown to dislike the slightly V-shaped tuning. It’s not that they are bad headphones, but I have grown out of the need for them. Looking to possibly sell these if I can find something worthy to replace the M40x at a similar price point.