So just wondering how much can you get the used element ii for? If you could get it around the 275-300 mark ish imo that might be the play here
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Forget the Magnius to the extent you want to test the DT1990; unless you find a used set thatâs been modded for balanced cable.
As M0N said, forget the RNHP for the Sundara (or anything at all power hungry).
EQ comes into play for this set of headphone comparisons too. For me especially with the âMt Beyerâ peak on the DT1990 (or⌠per diyaudioheaven ⌠a passive filter for the Beyerdynamics). I think the Sundara is slightly peaky too, but I leave that alone, myself. The recent pad change already mitigates that.
Maybe youâll be more reasonable than I and not end up keeping all three of those headphonesâŚ
Iâd leave multiple amps out of the equation for now - youâd be introducing too many variables and making the whole auditioning process much harder. If you had a few months to play with all the gear, sure. But you need to return stuff so your situation is time sensitive. Just get some entry level unit and concentrate on decidIng which headphones you like and will keep. After you have your headphones sorted out get a bunch amps and see which one you like best. Leave DACs for last as they will make the smallest difference.
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There are worse ways⌠Beats, for example
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Ended up working it out for the Element 2! So Iâm happy about that.
Definitely am curious on your opinions of the Magnius once you have it and can test it. I should have everything by this weekend and plan to have most of this resolved by the end of next week! Looking forward to updating this thread with thoughts.
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Nice, should be pretty sweet
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LA-QXD1 (DAC) -$200
Gashelli Erish (Amp) -$200
LZ A6 (IEM) -$300
Optical out of PC if you donât have it -$50
Balanced IEM cable -$35
Interconnects -$45
XLR to 4.4 -$45
Ollo S4X (Headphones) -$440
Balanced cable for S4X -$45
Rush shipping on everything -$75
Packs of TP Foam tips for the IEMs.
Felt wrap for the S4X headband.
xDuoo XP-2pro for on the go with LZ A6.
Total = $1500.
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Hey all!
Here is an update on where I stand as of now. This is a little stream of consciousness on my experience between DT 1990 and Sundara as of now. Have had Sundara for three days and DT 1990.
The DT 1990 has a clearer/more detailed high end that on some things can become piercing. I have a friend who has a lisp and some words he says make my ears ring. With the DT 1990 I am more likely to want to turn the volume down on what I am listening to, whereas with the Sundara I am more likely to turn it up. I would say that vocals are more clear on the DT 1990 and the bass response is better overall, but it feels a little⌠hollow? The mids seem to be stripped out of the sound much more compared to the Sundara.
With the Sundara I still have the rare experience of getting that piercing sensation, but itâs only on extremely high pitched sounds and much less âpainfulâ. The Sundaras feel as though they have less bass response than the DT 1990âs but a fuller low end and an overall fuller/more detailed sound to my ear. Detailed meaning I hear more components of the song.
With the Sundara, I feel that the highs could be tunes down to a very slight degree, and I would definitely look for a stronger bass response. Theyâre not lacking, but just donât blow me away.
One weird observation I would make though is that the Sundara feels more familiar to me, and almost like a louder/more enhanced version of the same sound signature I am used to. It has letâs say 30% more detail than what I have experienced in the past. But overall theyâre less of a shock because they do feel very familiar. I also like the comfort of the Sundara over DT 1990 for sure. Better design if you ask me.
The DT 1990 is interesting to me in that it is much more noticeably a high end headphone due to how dramatically different they sound compared to what I am used to, but it feels like the thing I would choose because I say âthis is high end soundâ even if I like it less than the other sound. Waiting on the HD 6XXâs to come in Monday and am curious to hear what they sound like.
Also curious to give all of these another go on the Element 2 as I believe that should change the dynamics to a degree. I do have a Blue Yeti though which has an integrated headphone amp and while it isnât amazing Iâm sure, it is working to power these headphones so far and at least give me some initial impressions.
So as of now without the HD 6XXâs to compare. I would say I definitely prefer the Sundara over the DT 1990 but would look for something slightly less bright than Sundara with a more detailed mid-low end that maintains high end clarity and excellent bass response.
I will say that the more I wear the DT 1990âs the less the highs are painful to me, but I still prefer the Sundara when comparing the same song out of both headphones.
Any thoughts or opinions from the group would be welcome! I look forward to getting the rest of the gear on Monday and updating the thread middle of the week.
Edit: I am doing a live comparison between Sundara and DT 1990 with a Bury a Lie by Slaves and while I have the Sundara louder than I did DT 1990 (had to turn the volume on the mic up but headphone loudness feels similar) I definitely prefer the Sundara. Much more low-mid end detail (rhythm guitar, bass guitar, heavier chords) with excellent vocal response. There is definitely less pronounced high end between the two but I feel that the quality that high end performance adds to this song is dramatically less valuable than the low-mid end performance. Thatâs all for now!
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I used the DT1990 in the past and split from it once a few friends with Bad microphones joined the discord and literally gave me a headache.
You seem to experience the same things as i did. Sundara is just a little bright but the DT1990 is very bright or rather harsh i hated that.
You could try to find what i did all the time.
Find a warmer Headphone that still does keep the details or use a warm AMP on a good neutral/bright one.
I use the Arya for that but that is expensive.
How about Audeze ? Did you try them on before? Their weight often is a dealbreaker but usually not the sound.
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Iâm just going to say that you might find your experiences with both headphones to significantly change with the element ii imo
But nice so far
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Maybe you like the LCD2C with EQ. It is the 1 Headphone i will not sell because i love it with EQ some may not like EQ but if you find the right Spot it gets so much better. You can get that HP dirt cheap used sometimes where i live.
Agreed!
I have a few headphones and I tried all with EQ. The only one where I really think it sounds much better with EQ is the LCD2C.
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Suddenly a dark layer disappears and i felt like i had plugged in the Headphone correctly so weird.
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@M0N @McLovin received my element today so Iâm excited to give these a whirl tonight. Looking like the 6XXâs will be here tomorrow so Iâm pumped to start to come to some conclusions and find the perfect headphone for me.
Thanks for all of the help so far guys! Will update later tonight with some initial impressions.
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@Lukas00 The LCD stuff is definitely on the final consideration list! Whether that is the LCD-2, LCD-X or LCD-2C is yet to be seen! Haha.
Okay, a few questions for you guys. I have a few days under my belt to this point with the DT 1990/Sundara and have had these with the Element all day. Just want to know for me to progress into the final stretch once I get these 6XXâs, is there any advice on exactly âhowâ I should be listening to try and narrow this down? Specific things or types of music I should choose that will help everyone here determine what kind of sound signature I like so we can land on a pair of headphones?
Just want to make sure Iâve gathered the right/relevant info to make this decision.
Iâd suggest listening to whatever you music you like on good enough source files (as in not youtube). It is okay if you arenât stoked with those three headphones, but since they are 3 different signatures, it can help determine what more you want in terms of frequency response. Give your ears time to listen to each of these headphones like donât pick one up, listen to 3 tracks, then pick up another and do the same thing until you have ample amount of time. There is a chance you like or dislike a headphone more once you listen to it for quite some time.
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Iâll add, it would be a good at the end of your sessions to find a few tracks that you know very well and you enjoy a lot, but with a variance in their style and use that to test each headphone when you do side by side comparisons. That way you know how a specific set of vocals sound on each headphone or how a specific set of drums hit, etc and see what you like.
Also, I am sure people will be happy to give you test tracks or tracks we enjoy on nice headphones if you would like.
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I would say the LCDX definitely has what you are looking for and of you want great detail and more bass id say add the LCD2 closed backs to your list.