Does anyone know of any headphones that excel in vocal clarity and are very warm relaxing sound?
what is your sound chain? DAC? Amp? and what genre’s of music…list some of your favorite vocalists?
Sennheiser HD 6xx is an ideal match. A very mids-forward headphone with rolled-off treble. You can listen to these for eternity with no brain fatigue.
should have asked about budget as well…how much are you willing to spend?
I haven’t heard the HD6xx, which are essentially a budget version of the HD650 and totally worth buying for the savings as it’s a fare chunk. however, you need a good audio chain as they are 300 ohms and not easy to drive. a phone / tablet and even direct into PC will struggle with them.
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Have you ever tried a Grado headphone? They tend to be a love it or hate it product. I am hooked just for the mids.
I also love the Focal Elex, but they can be a little intense.
Are you looking for open back or closed back?
I have recently picked up the Focal Elegia’s and Beyer T5’s. Both have nice mids, but come at it from two different directions.
Vocals are what I look for in headphones.
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I picked up the elegia for under 400 recently and love the headphone. Haven’t tried the Grado headphone yet at all. think I may go for the 6xx since it is cheap for the price.
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I am currently running the Zen Dac
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I’m using a Zen DAC as well…loving it.
if you have the budget, get the Grado Hemp if you look at Grado.
Are you recommended the Hemp for the vocal clarity?
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I own the HD 6xx and Elegia, and they’re a lovely combination since they’re so opposite.
HD 6xx: Relaxed tuning, moderate bass, rolled-off treble, very prominent mids, wonderful on vocals, narrow soundstage, good imaging, decent detail.
Elegia: Sharp mids- and treble-focused tuning. Present bass but punchy when called on. Never bloating or boomy. Stark but not hot treble that reveals everything, including the warts of a shitty recording. Fantastic detail, good imaging, decent soundstage.
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gonna agree here… Sennheisers and Focals will be what your looking for… grado are on ear instead if thats more your speed. 6xx is fantastic and good in its budget…
If you want vocals that will make your balls tingle, the Hemps for sure. Well recorded vocals, though- like Jazz. It’s not going to do magic to poorly mastered tracks like most pop these days, but yes- if you want natural sounding vocals, for the money, the Hemps are bliss. I have Zen I use as my DAC, but they sound good off anything- including podcast mics. If you don’t mind the “rustic, authentic” build quality offered by Grado, and spend the extra money for G Cush pads…damn. Unless you ONLY listened to jazz and classical, they couldn’t be an all genre headphone- for example you’ll want something else for EDM, say, but everyone should own a pair of Hemps. I sing their praises all the time on here and will continue to do so
I know we’re talking headphones here…but I’ve been watching review after review after review on bookshelf speakers the last few days and the Cambridge Audio SX60’s appear to have absolutely phenomenal high / mid clarity and reproduction that Kristi off of Andrew Robinson’s review of them said it would take speakers that cost a lot more than the SX60’s to make her want something better. the caveat is that like CA’s other speakers, the MINX MIN12 and 22, they’re low end is pitiful, so depending on other factors a sub may be mandatory.
and an interesting comment they made about the SX60’s for HT use. because of how well their mid / high performance is, dialog in movies / tv / videos is so clear that you won’t find any to be muddy / muffled. This is a problem I find even with headphones, so a neat observation. adding a sub, then you wouldn’t need to worry about missing out on the low end and perhaps find yourself with something unexpectedly superior.
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If vocal clarity is your priority, then I’d recommend the HD600 over the 6XX. The 6XX’s midrange has that “veiled” character to it, relatively speaking
I was looking into that, but currently the price for the 600 is not within my budget