Alrighty! I still haven’t a closed-back pair that checks all the boxes. I’d like some help on what to try out next. I’ll quickly go through what I’ve tried and what I’m looking for.
I’m a fan of the HD 6XX. I tend to boost the low end through some EQ, but I really like how they sound overall. I’m driving them with a Schiit Hel, and also have a BTR5 and some balanced cables on the way. But they’re open, and sometimes I just need a closed pair to drown the noise.
Attempts:
I recently tried the 770 PRO 250, but I don’t know, they just didn’t agree with me. The headband felt a little tight, but I didn’t want to bend it open because I was considering returning them. They can be a little too bright, forcing me to lower overall volume.
I also tried the Fidelio X2HR. Fantastic headphones, if I didn’t have the 6XX I’d probably have kept them. But, while they are a little bassier, overall they seemed to overlap too much with the 6XX. In the end I decided I don’t really need a second open-back right now.
Finally, I tried the Meze 99 Noir. The sound of these cans was fantastic. I wanted to keep them. I really did. I even tried buying some Shure 1540 pads. But in the end, I just couldn’t get used to the fit. They’re too small for me. Very reluctantly, I returned them.
I’d like to keep the next pair… so, here are my thoughts. Curious to hear your recommendations!
Requirements:
Closed-back with reasonable isolation (doesn’t have to be perfect)
I don’t want to buy used, pandemic and all
Headphones must be uberly comfortable. Either big enough so my ears don’t touch, or soft enough inside that I don’t care.
If the pair needs a lot of power, it should accept balanced cables, so I can drive it with the BTR5.
Warm signature preferred, but open to exploration.
Options:
DT 177x.
I really think I’m gonna like these. They seem like tamed 770s, built with better materials. But they do go for $470 right now. Are they really worth the money?
Denon 5200
I’m tempted to try these, but at $700 they’re a little too expensive, not sure if it’s worth it without having listened to them before.
Fostex TR-X00
It seems like this could have been a good choice for me, but they’re now discontinued? This makes me sad.
Nightowls
These also seem interesting, but discontinued? Frustrating.
You could try the E-MU Teaks, and get the Fostex TH-900 pads with attenuation rings if the pads bother you.
It’s an expensive try though since you would probably not be able to return them, would need to sell them on the used market if you didn’t like them.
Depends on how much you enjoyed the 770s. This is a more refined more towards neutral headphone with tamer treble. Responds well to pad swaps too and it has a mini xlr 4 pin that allows it to be balanced. Really great headphone I think they are worth it if you like the Signature. It’s still a brighter headphone but leans more towards Neutral with it’s U shaped signature whereas the 770 has a quite a bit more peak in it’s treble. If you are a fan of brighter headphones this is a really great pick imo
Depends on which one of these your talking about as there is 3
here is the frequency for all three that may help. You also have the E-mu Teak which if I remember right has a bit more of a V signature and does well with a pad swap like mentioned earlier though a very great bassy headphone. If you are a fan of very warm and smooth sounding headphones this would be the way to go
I personally don’t like these. You would want the Nightowl carbon as they are said to be the more refined version and they include both pads. I own the nighthawks after owning the nightowl carbons. They had some bass that sounded a bit bloated and muddy that bled into the mids. This is also a dark sounding headphone with quite a bit of warmth to it. If you enjoy dark and bassy this or maybe an Audeze like the LCD-2C may be more up your alley
It’s a fair question. I own the 770 / 250Ω and also the 177X. I can’t decide if the 177X is debatable at the price point or if the 770s are just killer at their own price point. I got the 177X on Drop when they were $380, although now they’re back up to $450. They are a GREAT headphone. I use them as kind of my “all-around” headphones like listening to music, watching YouTube videos, when I’m on web meetings, etc. You can really hear the mids in comparison to the 770s and the treble is nowhere near as harsh or sharp (I’m also one of the people sensitive to the 770’s treble).
The 177X has a better build quality and feels much heavier to me, but during long sessions I actually prefer how light and comfortable the 770s are in comparison.
I dunno, I don’t want to dissuade you because I really like mine, but I would be hesitant to pay ~$470 for them.
I’m tempted. So far, these look like the most promising. Not being able to return them at that price point is slightly worrisome, but I wouldn’t mind taking a small loss at the used market.
Have you heard these? I think I’m probably leaning towards either them, or the DT 177x.
Yeah, $900 is a lot. At least right now. Not sure I’d be able to appreciate them
The 770 weren’t bad, overall. For the most part, I enjoyed their sound, but whenever the highs swooped in I would cringe. One mistake I did make, however, was that I was trying to use them for both music and gaming. And TBH, gaming was probably the worst. I’ve learned my lesson!
I suspect I’d like the PH the most. But it’s hard to tell.
Hmm. Thanks for all the info. Nightowls seem to be very “love or hate”. I have to admit that “warmth”, “dark” and “bassy” intrigues me. But these are hard to find, so they are an unlikely candidate.
Thank you for all the info, it’s very useful. They do seem to fit the profile of what I’m looking for: “all-around”, better mids/highs. Interesting that you find them heavy.
I am indeed struggling to justify the $470. I might just force myself to be patient until they hit $400 and buy them then. Or perhaps I’m overthinking this and the enjoyment I’d get tomorrow is worth the difference. It’s also a hard call between them and the Teak. Ooof
As someone who will shill the Fostex biodynamic headphones until the day I die, I can’t recoment them if you want isolation. They are semi-open since there is a small opening on the back around the entire cup. Also they will require some pad swapping to be as comfortable as you want, but it is possible. Check out this thread if you are really interested. Also they are not really portable at all if that matters.
If you are willing to pay more (about $600) you could get the TH-610 from Amazon and return them if you don’t like them. The EMU teak, TR-X00s, and TH-610 all use the same driver, but due to the cups and the dampening they all sound a bit different. The TR-X00 ebony and the EMU teak sound similar with a refined warm V shaped signature. The Purple Hearts are the most fun with big bass and the most treble (as seen in the graphs that have been posted) but are still no where as sharp as the DT770 and also rather warm imo. The TH-610 are a bit more neutral but still have great bass and are still V shaped like the rest of the family. If you are willing to put in a bit ofd work with pad swaps and some very light modding (attenuation rings) these are all great options, but I will again mention the lack of isolation and portability.
Thanks for all the info! How much noise do you think bleeds into the headphones through that hole? Like, I don’t want total isolation, I just want to mask my laptop’s insane fan noise while I’m working, or the HVAC going bananas.
I think if they were still selling them, I’d be grabbing the PHs to test them out, they sound exciting. TH-610 seems to be out of stock from prime sellers rn, but I’ll keep it on my watch list.
Portability doesn’t matter, really. Just comfort and sound
They are nice. The retune added more bass with more clarity on the mid and highs. It sounds more fun and engaging in it’s retuned state. Aeon Flow RT over there is extremely close to the aeon open X it’s just that now you can order the headphone already with it’s balanced cable in one shot for a great price which is nice. Decently picky on amp to really wake these up and as someone who owns the open X sound gorgeous on balanced setups like the liquid platinum amp. As for the Aeon 2’s I would skip this less you actually try the other aeons it’s cheaper and easier on the budget for an audition though aeon 2s are more towards a neutral response with a much more refined sound to them
hmm, I find them alright for gaming actually but it depends on which gaming your talking about. The highs were definitely bright as hell but it also depends on which ohm variation you go with. 250 ohm sounds the best and hte 80 ohm is fairly decent people report it having more bass. the 177x go to my ears had more refined clear highs but they definitely weren’t as bright ot my ear meanwhile the 770s showed some sibilance. 177x definitely sounds more refined and more detailed however 770 just punches above price point it’s a real damn good headphone but it’s not for everyone.
as you can see it’s now more towards a neutral frequency but still maintains that nice U shape as the mids aren’t very recessed either. Comparing that to the dt 770 250 ohm which you can see here
if you wanted a headphone for both gaming and music both 177x go is really nice, though I find E-mu Teak and Argons to be better in most general cases the 177x go does offer a nice brightness to it.
If you are someone who loves a ton of bass oh most definitely as you can see from the frequency it definitely stands out on tthe lows and sounds quite a bit different in comparison to say the ebony.
You can definitely find the nightowls around here and there used or so I see nightowl a hell of a lot more than nighthawk. Though if you can’t find them like I said previously the Audeze has quite a few dark bassy sounding headphones also the Verum 1’s a very gorgeous yet dark sounding bassier headphone
Personally, I would just wait this out as saving money means you can put more towards another piece of gear or something else entirely. It’s nice but I don’t feel it’s worth the $470 price tag. It has gone on sale before at like $380 before and you could probably post a wanted ad and pick up a relatively mint condition of these for cheaper.(pandemics scary but the virus doesn’t survive on packages for a long period of time…)
I think you have some fantastic recommendations here I don’t think you can really go wrong and will depend on what type of signature you really are looking for. You mentioned you prefer 6xx over the fidelio x2’s than you may not enjoy very wide sound staging cause 6xx is pretty small and intimate while the x2 are very concert-like with their staging along with much bassier
The Audeze EL8 closed, is a little similiar to the Senhiesers. Like them they have great mids. You can get them used for about 300-400$ I just got them and their pretty detailed and nice.
Yes I’ve got a pair.
I like them a lot and I’m lucky enough that I can use the stock pads.
These are only my second pair of decent headphones, others being the HD 6XX so I don’t have much to compare them to, they are a lot more fun then the HD 6XX but with a little less detail.
I spent too much time watching headphone videos again, and it’s now 3a
The Aeon RTs are really tempting at $500. Not many reviews about the retune, unfortunately. Most info I got from this thread here:
I don’t know. I’m just not convinced yet. Maybe I will be over time They do sound promising.
The Teaks are interesting. But I am slightly concerned about their comfort. The internet seems undecided. So far I’ve been losing comfort bets, so I think I’ll pass for now. It also seems that isolation is not very good here. While I don’t need top-of-class, I would like something that covers laptop fans and HVACs.
I think I’m gonna wait for a bit to see if the 177x price drops a bit, and either get them, or impulse-buy the Aeon RTs
I suppose when you have constant redos of a headphone people don’t tend to latch on especially at the price of their headphones
I mean, I don’t see much of an issue outside of the pads are a tad thinner. One of those that’s fine out of the box but can be better with the pad replacement.
Both are good though comfort wise this is debatable… aeons have those extremely thick pads on them for sure but they do build some heat meanwhile the 177x are plush too but not as thick however not the harshest head clamp its actually incredibly comfortable. I had more clamp from my aeons by a pretty big margin in comparison and I felt that the 177x distributed it’s weight better. I really think the aeons respond incredibly well by being balanced and to my experience going from asgard 3 to liquid platinum the tubes made it sound better alongside its tuning pads. It brought more warmth and treble as well as soundstage in some cases to the already natural V signature
Let me know if you decide to pick one up and your thoughts on it. I don’t think you will be disappointed by your choice in this case they are all great headphones just with differing tastes.
I’m going to chime in here with @Polygonhell and also recommend watching to see if you can catch the Elegia around $500. They have been dipping to that price point and lower recently because they are being discontinued. I think it’s one of those unique windows of time where you can catch a KILLER deal on a piece of higher end gear that really tops pretty much anything at that price point IF you like their sound signature. I came from the DT770 250 ohm (which I really liked) and once I got my hands on the Elegia I never went back.
Aeon RT Closed sounds like a pretty good deal. I have the Aeon Open X and really enjoy them. Elegia on sale (more neutral than warm) are really great and transparent to the source, so if it’s a warm mix they’ll sound warm. I’ll throw another in there I haven’t seen mentioned with the Sony MDR-Z7M2 if you can find it on sale (currently $599 on Adorama). The only one I don’t have experience with, but hear good things and have been considering picking one up.
They do sound promising.