So I’ve been looking into headphones for two weeks now, And I got so lost in things it’s best to get back to where it all started.
First of all I’ve got some health conditions that need to be taken in consideration:
I’m hearing disabled both left and right, Left ear has a 35 decibel loss and right a little more. The frequency loss in both ears is different and where one fails the other compensates that a bit. I only wear a hearing aid on my right ear because the left ear has had surgery three times, During the last surgical procedure the malleus and incus had to be removed (there is a tiny bit of the Incus left) which means there is no longer a connection between the eardrum and inner ear. That and the fact they made a passageway into a hollow space so any future ear infections would leave my eardrum alone (first two surgery’s where to strengthen the eardrum) and it’s impossible to wear a hearing aid on my left ear, It sounds horribly hollow and robs the ear of the necessary airflow which the body try’s to get rid of by producing lots of ear fluid. Reconstruction surgery has been discussed, But is a lottery under full anaesthesia and might require multiple attempts (each with a minimum of six to twelve months recovery before a new attempt.) and the preferred way of local anaesthetics and about 3 to 4 hours or more of surgery is something I’m just not ready for and probably won’t ever be. (That’s 3 to 4 hours of people poking in your head and you get to hear it all.)
I’ve also got a chronic daily headache, In my case that means waking up and going to bed with a headache every day, of every week, of every month, of every year, over the past 16 years.
How severe it is differs from day to day and is influenced by my ASD and it’s companion oversensitivity, The exact cause of the headache is unknown but most likely a combination of factors. Overal it’s a tension headache, With an occasional migraine or cluster headache.
Currently getting some medication and a bunch of exercises to keep my neck and shoulders lose, That plus outdoor activity’s keeps it under control.
Listening to music, Playing single player or PVE games and or watching tv can be a strain but also a relieve for my headache. The more distracted I am, The less I notice the headache that always there. An activity like gaming is adding a bit to the headache I already have but the distraction it provides nullifies that.
TL;DR: Hearing disabled, Chronic headache, Oversensitive.
In past two weeks I’ve seen and read about lots of headphones and used a grand total of three:
Sennheiser HDR-127 (that’s wat it say’s on the side anyway, It’s open back wireless using radio frequencies)
Koss KSC-75 (x2)
Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro (Returned for full refund)
The Sennheiser is what I’m using while I type this, It’s comfortable to wear and I can listen to it all day without my left ear hurting.
The Koss have great sound for what the are, And will be used outside or in the living room for short periods. But I can’t wear them all day long at my desk/bed because they exhaust my left ear to the point where it hurts, If I’m not mistaken the highs are a little too sharp for my left ear. (Right is fine.)
The DT 990 Pro I didn’t get to properly test, Because the cable was rattling around inside the cup with every move I made. (See Koss KSC-75 topic.) So they went back in there box after less then two hours, But as expected way too sharp high’s (even my right ear didn’t like them.) and to my ears too much bass but it was brought to my attention that they just lack in the mid’s.
So what am I looking for? A headphone and a amp/dac so I can connect both my TV and PC (Optical for TV and USB for PC), control the volume and switch inputs without re-plugging cables.
Also keep in mind I’m in The Netherlands (Europe) and prefer to buy from Dutch webshops or Amazon.de not everything available in the USA is available here and some stuff is a lot more expensive here.
Headphone requirements:
Open back so my left ear can ‘breathe’
Relaxed sound for all day everyday use, Will vary per day but let’s say a minimum of 8 hours a day. With three to four 12+ hour days a week.
Will be used for TV, Gaming and Music, Small priority towards speech perhaps.
I’d like to keep cost in check, But I’ve got money available if necessary. (I’m not an audiophile and probably won’t ever become one, This won’t turn into a hobby for me but I do prefer to listen to music in wave or lossless formats.)
Up to €150/200,- I’m willing to order sound unheard, Above that I’d have to find a store to demo them.
Music preference:
- '80’s Synthesizer: Jan Hammer, J.M. Jarre, Mike Oldfield, Vangelis… Ed Starink’s Synthesizer Greatest Vol1 t/m 7
- World music/new age/instrumental: Aereda/Clannad/Era/Enya/… Pure Moods vol.1 t/m 5.
- Game and movie OST’s: Ennio Morricone, Martin O’Donnel, Hans Zimmer…
- Some focal stuff when I’m in the mood: Paul Simon, Dire Straights (Only Brothers in Arms), Men at Work, And some Dutch '80’s Pop: Het goede doel, Klein Orkest.
Candidate I’ve found so far:
AKG K612 Pro (€105,-), But the most recent Amazon reviews aren’t all that positive.
AKG K712 Pro (€199,-), But the most recent Amazon reviews aren’t all that positive.
Audio-Technica ATH-AD500X or AD700X (€165/185,- Bit expensive compared to USA & Japan)
Beyerdynamic DT 880 (€165,-)
Hifiman Sundara (€350,- Can only be auditioned on a Audio GD R2R11 or NFB 11.28 (€349/339,-) anything else I’d have to bring myself.)
Sennheiser HD 599 (€137,-)
Sennheiser HD 559 (€76,-)
The DT 880 and Sundara I haven’t really looked at yet, Didn’t like the DT 990 Pro and the Sundara I could afford but I’d rather not go there if I don’t have to.
The AKG’s quality control appears to be out of the window, Don’t want a headphone that’s poorly build and won’t last.
Audio Technica’s high European prices makes them hard to justify. (At €85 I would probably have ordered the AD500X a week ago to try it out.)
The Sennheiser I did some proper research on, Zeos preferred the 559 as a comfortable to listen to headphone, Another reviewer (DMS) liked them for all day use over his high end studio headphones and a third reviewer (The Nitpicker) didn’t like them at all, recommends you get the 569 closed back over the 559, And preferred the HD 579 over the 599 out of all of them. But the 579 is no longer available here (Except for somewhere I’ve never heard before at full retail €199,-)
Zeos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMgmV33fPG0&t=1921s
DMS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFKDRUf6qzM
The Nitpicker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW13Vy7XaSw&t=314s
Based on that I’m now leaning towards the Sennheiser HD 559, But I’m open to suggestions.
Dac/Amp:
This got confusing fast, Basically everything below €500,- is Chinees or maskerades as made in the USA (Schiit that’s a joke 
) but here it goes, Requirements:
Needs a least two inputs and a way to switch them, USB and Optical at minimum.
Must power whatever headphone I end up buying + the Koss KSC-75 for gaming with voice chat. (I use a Jabra Biz 2400 Mono on my left ear for voice chat and speakers or the Koss KSC-75 for my right ear to hear game sound and music + left ear gets whatever bleed’s trough. The Koss KSC-75 can hang on top of the Jabra Biz speaker, And a little tweak in Windows 10 balance setting plus higher volume gives decent enough stereo while still being able to hear the chat clearly.)
Bonus point’s if I can connect my Creative T20 speakers (But I probably wont use them anymore, Not wearing that crap digital hearing aid all day has been a relief.)
Candidates I’ve found so far:
FiiO K5 Pro (€179,-)
Schitt stack ( ~€300,- Modi 3 & Magni 3 €125 each = €250,- + Cables to connect them)
Aune X1s Pro (€279,-)
Topping DX3 Pro (€229,- Got Bluetooth for my phone/tablet and a remote. But I could adjust the TV volume with the TV’s remote and PC volume would be within reach, Phone and tablet can use the Koss KSC-75.)
Audio GD R2R11 (€349,-)
Audio GD (€339,-)
Topping MX3 (€129,- If I end up getting the HD 559 I assume this might be enough? comes with the same benefits as the DX3 Pro.)
And there was this budget option called the FX Audio Dac-X6 (€65,-), But recent reviews on amazon.de learn that the Amp only has 1/4th the power of the unit Zeos reviewed so it might be just enough for the HD 559 but anything requiring more power won’t work.
Again, I’m open to suggestions.
That’s all I guess, Let me know if you need to know more.
) and the FiiO K5 Pro, Couldn’t be happier.
Glad you found what you were looking for, hope you enjoy it