šŸ”¶ Harmonicdyne Zeus - God of Thunder?

Think they should fit. Had the Ananda on the lowest setting and actually could have needed one step below that. With the Zeus there was no problem at all.

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So I did a mod that I think is working out really well. At least for my head. I wonder if other people would like to give it a try.

First I got the Brainwavz XL Micro Suede Memory Foam Earpads for AKG 701, but I donā€™t think that matters so much. The next mod I did is put padding (rolled up paper towel) inbetween the space under the foam pad and the driver housing. This gives much more space inside the earcup and more room for my ears. Makes the pads just bigger/deeper overall. I am going to use microfiber or something else inside instead of paper towel. I was originally thinking some kind of 3d printed spacers but it is almost unnecessary as I think the cloth does a good job already.


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Just got the Zeusā€™ in today, and I have some interesting thoughts so farā€¦

First off, comfort. I donā€™t have a lot of headphones to compare to, but I think Iā€™ve discovered that my ears are a lot bigger than I realized, and as a result, my ears do touch the top and bottom of these cups. Itā€™s not terrible, and it has nothing to do with the quality or comfort of the pads, I just have large ears that are more suited for oval pads.

Second, build. These things have a way nicer build than people give them credit for. The pictures really donā€™t do these things justice, they look amazing. Everything feels solid and sturdy, nothing to complain about really. The only thing I can think of is perhaps the headband adjustment could extend out to be a bit bigger, though, if youā€™re worried about these not fitting your head, donā€™t be. My head is gigantic, so if they fit me, theyā€™ll probably fit almost anyone.

Third, soundā€¦ this oneā€™s a bit more complicated. Iā€™m still building my impressions of these, but out of the box I was not too impressed. They sounded very bloated and cluttered. They werenā€™t as clear or wide as people had described. That is, however, until I read a comment that said Resolveā€™s recommended EQ for the Zeus did wonders for the clarity and staging, and having applied said EQ, I can confirm that it has a DRAMATIC effect on sound quality. Before, while I wouldnā€™t describe the sound as muddy exactly, they definitely sounded cluttered and the lower frequencies really bled into the treble. Itā€™s like the detail and width was there, but it was being trapped in a mid bass shaped box. The sound post EQ is basically what Zeos and DMS promised, wide, laid back, and detailed.

Modding. I also read a few people got similar sound improvement with Dekoniā€™s fenestrated Beyer pads which I have ordered to test out myself.

I will report back with my pad swap findings when they arrive.

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Side note, these are shockingly (pun intended) easy to drive, even easier than my SHP 9500s.

Gaming impressions: theyā€™re as good good for gaming as DMS described. I played Deathloop and Resident Evil 8, as both of those games feature really great directional audio. They are super immersive and have great directional accuracy. You can pinpoint every sound, as well as where that sound is coming from and from how far away. These can make sound appear from behind, above, and below you, which is something not every headphone can do, and these do it really well.

Reviews have been really inconsistent when it comes to soundstage. Some people find the Zeus to be really wide, while others not so much. I suspect this has do with the way some people perceive sound. I did not think these were that wide until I applied EQ, which instantly took away the sensation of the sound being boxed in. The default sound is kind of muffled like I said, and I think itā€™s difficult to perceive something as being open and muffled at the same time. Iā€™m really starting to enjoy these now, and I would probably recommend these headphones with the caveat that they NEED EQ to sound their best.

that and setup, some amps/dacs have better spatial to help with that

its quite interesting as I donā€™t get this at all with my own pair on any of my setups outside of over warm setups like a liquid spark, ifi, things such as that which push that warmth a little too far.

glad you enjoy them, agreed. I love them for my gaming. I think they are a bit too warm for competitives but for regular use gaming I think they are incredible

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I was having kind of a hard time quantifying the way they sound stock. Maybe muffled isnā€™t the right term. Iā€™m really interested to see how the Dekoni pads sound on the Zeus. I used these off a few different sources and the change between them in terms of frequency response is very minimal. I do like them a lot and they seem to tick all the right boxes for me now that Iā€™ve applied that EQ. I probably agree that there are better less bassy headphones for competitive play, but if youā€™re playing in a lobby with your friends, youā€™ll likely fair quite well with these.

Hello everyone and thanks for your reviews.

After reading and watching a lot of reviews i am hesitating between these two :

  • DT 1990 with Amiron Wireless Foam Disc to reduce the treble peak and give more bass for 365ā‚¬
  • HarmonicDyne Zeus for 295ā‚¬

(These price are in the EU)

I am a mainly rap/hip hop listener and a Valorant/Rocket League gamer.

What would you recommand ? I would like to have good bass impact whith still good treble.

Thanks in advance for any help !!!

I donā€™t have experience with the DT 1990, but for your use case, you might also look into the Beyerdynamic Tygr 300r. They use modified DT990 drivers with better soundstage/imaging, and are tuned to have punchier bass and a reduced treble campared to other very trebly Beyers. I donā€™t have any experience with them personally, so do your own research there, but it sounds like they could be what you want.

I do really like the Zeusā€™ tho, and I donā€™t think they would steer you wrong for your use case. I would recommend EQing them if you wanna use them for gaming.

Zues, poseidon, or DT 900 pro x? Im coming off of the nighthawks which I did really like but are wearing out.

From what Iā€™ve heard, the Poseidon is kind of a downgrade from the Zeus, less bass and soundstage, without enough other improvements to be worth it. The DT 900 just seems like they slightly changed the tuning of the 990, added a detachable cable, and decided to charge double.

Cant say much on Poseidon vs zeus but 900 is completely different to 990ā€¦ the tuning and overall presentation is entirely different

Huh. I heard wrong then.

I find it ironic that Poseidon is named after the God of earthquakes and itā€™s marketed as a balanced sounding headphone.

Question for folks out there with more headphone experience. What are some other headphones with a large soundstage that have more neutral cool/bright sound? I find the Zeus is a really good headphone, but I think I may not be the biggest fan of warm sound. This is my first ā€œwarmā€ headphone so I had no real frame of reference or knowledge of what I prefer. I donā€™t think Sundara would work for me because of my large head and ears. I think the pads would be uncomfortable for me. My SHP9500s are a good candidate for the sound Iā€™m going for, but I canā€™t use them for very long due to the cups being shallow, causing my ears to touch the driver. I have a modhouse ring adapter and some Shure pads on the way that will hopefully fix the problem.

What source are you running? DT880 600ohm could be a good candidate

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Iā€™m just using my audio interface atm. I also have a DAP that has a decent amount of juice, but neither would be able to drive 600 ohm headphones.

Try the 900 pro x beyer. 880 is probably far too much for an interface. 900 is neutral with some higher treble similar to your shp

Iā€™ll keep it in mind. Iā€™ve got different pads coming for both the SHPs and the Zeus, and Iā€™ve heard very positive things about what they do for each headphone. If itā€™s a significant improvement to either, then I may not need to buy another headphone at all.