This was my idea for headphones:
I currently have the classic 99 which I don’t love, but they do their job. (Closed back)
Yesterday I bought the sony 1000xm4 for noise cancelling and travel. (working at coffee shop, and watching youtube videos in bed when my gf is watching whatever show she is watching)
Airpods for gym (ill get the pros once they break)
And then I wanted an open back planar.
I feel like that would hit all my bases. 4 headphones all very different with different purposes.
However, because of this great deal, I’m thinking about getting the Elegia, even though I already have a closed back and wait on the open back headphone. Do you think I’d see a difference between the 99 and Elegia. I don’t love the sound of the 99 and would love something better, and I wear them for 8 hours a day and they can get pretty uncomfortable and annoying on my head.
Thanks.
I skimmed and am unsure if this was addressed. It’s imporant because you mentioned not being able to have “speakers”. An open-back set will leak quite a bit of sound into your ambient space. Depending on your work environment - this could be a no-go. Closed-back cans do a better job of keeping the sound in your own head.
If a bit of leak is no problem, you’re distant enough from others, then I’ll almost always vote open-back - especially as you’ve mentioned an interest in broader soundstage.
I vote for separate DAC/Amp units. An Asgard 3/Modius stack leaves a lot left over.
Have we addressed what type of sound signature you might like?
Granted they’re not getting the best source/feed, but what is it about your Meze 99 that you’d like to change?
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@lrjshabaz So, I work from home. In a loft. So during the day I can use open back but at night when everyone is back from work, I use closed back or noise canceling depending on how loud they are.
As for the Meze classics 99. The things that bother me are comfort and (I don’t know what the correct terminology is so bear with me) a lack of a feel that music is coming from all around me. It just sounds like the music is coming from one direction and that I’m wearing headphones. I love it when I can almost feel like I have nothing on my head, due to the comfort and the feeling that the sound is coming from everywhere. I don’t know if that makes sense lol
As for comfort, the clamp force or weight distribution feels off to me. I just have a constant pressure on the side of my head which results to a headache an hour in of wearing them. I don’t seem to have this issue with my sony 1000xm4s.
Open-back planar sound good to me.
I have Sundaras on the way. I do love the clampless and very light nature of the HE-5xx from Hifiman.
Like big-ol’ ear speakers.
I haven’t heard the 99 but I came from similar tier headphones to the Elegia and I felt like my eyes (or ears?) were opened. The Elegia and the Audioquest Nighthawks changed the game for me and became the measuring sticks that I now use against every other headphone. The Elegia has a pretty neutral tuning which means it will sound VERY different from the 99s. You will likely hear mids in a way you’ve never heard before. It’s also very clear sounding and very well extended in the low and high end. Dynamics (the feel of slam and impact) are very good on the Elegia as well. They still sound like a closed back but they do imaging very well which has the effect of creating a sort of bubble around your head where sounds come from all different directions. Sounstage isn’t enormous but for a lot of music it’s not a problem because many tracks lack soundstage anyway.
Edit: and if you are in the fence about sources you might pick up a small portable usb dac/amp combo that you can use with your computer or your phone. I have been using the Lotoo Paw S1 with my Elegia and I’ve been very happy with the pairing.
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Thanks. I ended up buying an Asgard 3 and modius setup. Waiting for it to ship.
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Niiiiice! Enjoy! Please let us know what you think when you get acquainted with it.
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