What’s the best over ear headphone that runs well off a phone? Something thats really comfortable, sounds great (more for just relaxed music listening, doesnt need to be ultra technical), that doesnt require alot of power? Is not too heavy or bulky?
My wife is coming from bluetooth headsets, she has the Bose QC 45, and the Sony XM4s, her favorite headphones are the Sony’s she says they are the most comfortable. I let her try my Hifiman HE6 v2’s playing off a Bifrost 2 and Burson Soloist and she was mind blown, she really wants something that has that more immersive sound vs her Sonys, she finds the headband alot more comfortable than the 4xx, but wants to play her music off her ipod or phone (doesnt want to be tied to an amp).
I ended up giving her my Meze 99 Noirs, which she likes, says feels comfortable, but I am wondering if there is any other headphone that might be closer to a HE6 v2, more open and dynamic, similar headband fit, open backed maybe or a planar magnetic thats lightweight and can be played off an iphonr with dongle? I tried showing her the Audeze SINE, but she says its not that comfortable, she prefers the Meze 99 Noir.
You and your wife have good intuition: I was just going to recommend the Meze 99 Classics/Noir, as it’s a nice gateway drug from consumer sound signatures to more of an audiophile signature.
Now, before the purist vultures descend to pick apart my carcass, I am NOT saying the Mezes have an audiophile sound signature. No, they’re Beats or Sony’s in a tuxedo. Booming bass that bleeds into the mids, but they’re more refined than Sony or Beats because they actually have present mids and treble that doesn’t collapse into a heap of grain at the slightest hint of complex passages.
Plus, as your wife already knows, the Mezes are super comfortable and pretty.
You will really struggle to find a planar that runs well off a dongle. Planars demand power. I’ve run them off an iFi hip-dac with ample volume and decent fidelity, but not off the venerable $9 iPhone DAC dongle. That thing has a superb DAC for the money, but it provides about as much power as a firefly.
Yeah, the Meze 99 Noir is super comfortable and looks great too… I actually think they are one of the best looking, well made and lightweight headphones I have
I was actually glad she likes them because although I do like them, they really weren’t getting much use as they don’t compare to other more amp dependent headphones in my collection… I also pointed out that they actually have a mic on the cable so she can even use the Noirs for work calls if she wants
Bingo. Even better! Plus the 99 Classics/Noir are SO easy to drive. Not only can a phone drive them, it can juice them to almost all the fidelity they can reach without a cable or pad swap.