Looking for the best relaxed mids and timbre under 3000$

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
1

Hey there, long time no hear! :wave:t2:

I’ve been going quietly under the radar working my way up to ultimately find what I really want in a headphone, but sadly haven’t found what I’m looking for quite yet.

A few years ago @M0N recommended me the RNHP and I’ve fallen in love with it ever since, especially since the Focal Clear OG’s were something I wanted to own coincidentally pairing very well with the RNHP.

I’ve reached that goal and got a pair of OG Clears and while I really liked them, I somehow couldn’t get used to the relatively metallic timbre they produced on my source gear (RNHP + BF2). I gave them a good 200 hours for my brain to adjust but sadly to no avail. I still have them because they’re excellently revealing and technical for stuff I listen to where timbre isn’t playing the biggest factor.

Continuing on, I decided to give the Arya’s a try, especially after the V3’s were released with the stealth magnets and reviewers went about how well they were tuned now in comparison to the V2 and V1 Arya’s in exchange for a bit of soundstage width and depth. What I haven’t heard out of many reviews though is that they are incredibly unforgiving and at times relatively shouty. Some of my most favorite music even in lossless 24bit/96kHz is simply not enjoyable anymore to my ears. Some tones simply come out so very shouty that it almost sounds overly sibilant and piercing to my ears. Still, I love them dearly with some of my music collection, so they’re here to stay as well, albeit my wife slowly starting to think I lost it :stuck_out_tongue:

Now to my actual question and my request for help: What do I try next? I decided that I could stomach a budget of 3000$, maybe a tad bit more if it really hit the spot, to get the ultimate headphone for my needs. I’m aware that there is no best headphone, but I can always try. :smiley:

I’ve read quite a bit about this the last few weeks and still can’t come to any conclusion hence why I’m asking now. I’m currently eyeing at the ZMF lineup but still can’t really make any sense out of the sound signatures.

  • The Aeolus seem to be chill to a point where they sacrifice technicalities for their price which I’m not a fan of

  • The Auteur seems to be a tad on the neutral side lacking the impact I’ve grown so fondly of the Arya’s.

  • The Verité apparently is rather bright in comparison which makes me think it might bring back that shoutyness I’m trying to get away from

  • Atrium seems like a improved Auteur but still maybe not fun enough? Couldn’t find too much about it as it has only been released a couple of weeks ago.

I’m valuing real timbre, excellent mids and competitive technicalities for their price (cough Aeolus cough). I actually want to hear the detail on a stage that is present in the recording.

Is there anything else I could consider and go about researching? Any recommendations you guys could give me considering what I’m looking after? Is it even possible to have what I crave in a single set of cans? If not, which comes closest or how far would I need to up my budget to reach my goal?

I’m definitely not exclusively set on the ZMF lineup - albeit very liking them from what I read so far -, so if there’s anything different to go have a look at please let me know!

Thanks a bunch in advance! :v:t2:

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Came to mention ZMF (Auteur or perhaps Atrium), and perhaps even Meze Elite?
Is it worth keeping something like Arya and complementing it with a timbre specialist that’s more affordable? Do you have experience in the HD6__ line? Not once have you mentioned spatial attributes, so if that is less relevant - maybe the demerits of this series is less applicable for you.

Genres?

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Hey, thanks a bunch for chiming in! I’ve heard the HD 600 and 6xx. While I really liked their mid presence, they overall felt too close and intimate for me to enjoy. I know that stupendously wide sound stage and vocal intimacy don’t mix, however a bit more openness and holographic presentation would be very appreciated as a step up. I could possibly also sell the Aryas to up my budget to 4000$+ if that’d help.

4

Focal Elex?

5

Drop unfortunately doesn’t ship them to my country.

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paging @M0N as this is price bracket is his forte and experience.

also, have you thought of trying a freight forwarding service or perhaps have a friends like a kind HFG’er forward it for you?

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Haven’t considered that. However, how does the Elex even compare timbre wise? I have the OG Clear here and if the timbre of the Elex is somewhat similar to that I wouldn’t necessarily like them either I’m pretty sure.

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The Elex is a fun headphone and loved because of that.

perhaps take a look at the used markets like US Audio Mart and r/avexchange. you might save a lot over new, even after shipping is added.

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Hm timbre wise i think your right with the zmf assumption and would say a atrium or verite could be your preference
But the thing is zmf HP do change a good bit with their different pads so an exact review of them isn’t that easy
But if buying used is an option you can try some zmf cans and should they not be your thing you could sell them again for nearly the same as you paid :wink:
Other question for zmf cans would be if you have an otl amp like a crack or tuba or if you prefer your rnhp solid state ?

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Thanks a lot for your insight! I might just go try the Verité then. Have an offer for a used pair relatively near to where I live.

Amp wise I intend on keeping the RNHP for my IEMs and the Clears, but I wouldn’t mind spending a bit on an OTL tube amp. I was eyeing a Feliks Echo 2 when doing my research or perhaps an Elise. The Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball sounds really interesting too but I’m not too sure if my soldering skills are up to the task building it myself.

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Hm Feliks echo should also be a good choice, but if you can solder a bit a crack is a doable thing if you follow the good instructions :wink:

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The Felix’s Echo Mk II is a good choice for it’s price. Has a more solid state sound but still tubey. I recently sold mine but only because I’m getting into electrostats. I would replace the two stock 6N1P tubes with something better. There are different options and I can suggest a few that would improve the technicalities. Changing those tubes really improve the amp. That being said, you might end up preferring the stock tubes. Everyone hears differently. :).

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13

Would highly appreciate your recommendations for some exchange tubes :hugs:

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