I listen to classic trance music (1992-2009) 99% of the time and I also watch movies and play videogames. What I used in the past was a Sony PS4 Gold Wireless Headset on PC. Even though it’s not an audiophile grade headphone, I was very satisfied with how it reproduced music (even though in terms of bass, it was bad, and the overall material/build quality of the cans was also very bad).
Here are some of the things that are important to me and what the Sony PS4 headset did well, and what I’m looking for, but in the form of an audiphile grade headphone with better build quality.
Kickdrums and harder beats that only supposed to give a basic rhythm and flow to a trance track should always stay in the background and while they should be audible, they should never take the spotlight away from the melody itself that should always be the emotional central point of the track.
There are subtle synth melodies in trance tracks that slowly form and build up in the background until they eventually come into the front in order to give the listener an emotional punch and put him/her into a trance-like state. In situations like these, these melodies should stand out clearly.
The tracks should feel powerful, energetic, dynamic, and clear, instead of being homogenous muddy.
Here’s the problem. I bought a Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Plus (because I was able to buy it at half price). It’s really comfortable, it has good build quality. But I’m not satisfied with its sound quality. Basically, it does the opposite of every thing that I’ve listed above.
Sometimes it feels that kickdrums are more audible and more dominant than they should be. Tracks feel muddy… it’s hard to describe it, but as if I was like looking through a foggy window. And the most important thing: moments in tracks that are supposed to be the emotional highs seem homogenous, they blend too much into the background / into the other melodies/sounds, and this way tracks lack the proper emotional impact.
One of the best examples for this is Final Fantasy - Controlling Transmission (Wave Mix). At 1:34, a dreamy synth melody swims in that is supposed to be the dominant sound until 1:57. This half a minute section is supposed to be one of the emotional climaxes/highs of the track. But instead, it doesn’t have the level of presence it should. It consistently stays in the background and also feels less alive at the same time, while the kickrum and the other melody dominates the soundscape instead.
So my question is: which pair of headphones should I choose that meet my criterias, and at the same time are comfortable and have high build quality?And what exactly is the name of this sound signature that I’m looking for? I’m looking for an open-back headphone (and I’m perfectly aware that the COPP is closed). I was thinking about the DT880 600Ohm (paired with an Emotiva BasX A100), a Tygr 300R, and an HD6XX/HD650).
I’m gonna be honest, I don’t think its the headphones making the melody sound that way. Listening to the song both on youtube and tidal that pad melody is somewhat recessed in the mix. The drums and bassline are quite a bit louder than that pad melody. After 1:57 when the piano comes back in it layers right on top of the pad. It’s still there but I think it’s meant to be more texture in the mix rather than a leading sound.
Now granted I don’t know where you listen to music primarily. If its youtube then what you’re hearing will be exaggerated even more, especially if its music uploaded 10+ years ago as the upload quality was limited. Youtube also severely compresses their videos so that doesn’t help sound quality either.
Headphone wise are you against bass response? What about forward mids? Sounds like you would like good separation too.
I’m listening to FLAC, I have roughly 50.000 lossless music in my Google Drive. Plus a ton on my PC. But I also listen to YouTube to discover new tracks. This track sounds the same in FLAC and on YouTube (in terms of that specific melody gets into the forefront with my older pair of headphones, regardless where I choose to listen to it).
HD6xx, I don’t listen to trance, maybe elements of life from tiesto, but when I listen to Aphex Twin I know the 6xx have the tuning Richard D. James intended me to listen, not really detailed and extended in the bass, but synths take control and bass kick slams as hard as a slap without muddying the mix. HD58x and HD560s are also worth checking out. For older electronic records the producers didn’t go overboard with the subbass yet so I think the senns do the job.
They do sound “veiled” in the highs so maybe that’s an issue for you, hifiman sundaras also come to mind if you want a “clear” sound with emphasis on the synths, but I think they are too light on the bass for electronic music, in which case the cheaper he400 series could be worth checking.
Do yourself a favour and see if you can audition the headphones before buying, check your local market, all of these headphones are common so you can try them out before buying, or buy in a store with returns.
Edit: the dt880 600ohm and the hd600 are also absolutely worth checking out, I think what you want is a “midrange emphasis” which both of those do.
Thanks for the answer. There’s a Sundara for sale (pre-owned but barely used) for a fairly reasonable price in my country, maybe I’ll buy it just to check it out. Bass isn’t that important for me, luckily.
Well, when in doubt, always go for a sound signature that is relatively Neutral or Balanced. Might not be your sound signature but to me, it is the best one for me.
Listened to that song, downloaded in flac from deezer. I tried it on DT1990, HD800 and L700 at least for 30 minutes. I’m a lover of bright and loud sound. I gues you want to know which was more impressive, I would say it was on DT1990, then HD800, then L700. None of them offered a great presence after 1:34. It sounded too neutral, flat and boring and DT1990 was slightly above for extra crisp(even before 1:34), extra punch and extra intimate sound. Those fast and small sounds (it’s a succesion of sounds that go quiet, loud and then quiet, very fast) were more distinct from each other on HD800. On L700 they were even more distinct, but when they go quiet, they get lost, I think mostly because of the 4khz dip, same type of dip on DT1990. These sounds were more distinct on JBL LSR305 than any other headphone I have. Then after 1:34, there is a sound played only on the right, it was more focused on HD800, it had a very clear position. Couldn’t tell which had the clearest bass rhythm.The chorus was much easier to hear on L700 and some cues that are simply not on DT1990/HD800, but that doesn’t make L700 impressive, at least not on this song. Impressive doesn’t mean it requires to be very detailed.
The most detailed by far was on LSR305. For me LSR305 are endgame. Headphones are just night listening personal devices.
I would recommend DT990 250ohm even if I didn’t listened to it. After 1 year or so, the pads wear and the treble gets more even (without peaks) and everything will sound alive (to some extent) and not harsh like in the first year.
Well, even with bright headphones, sometimes you can’t revive a very dark song. And then when you want to listen to a bright song, yours ears will bleed. And for that you need more headphones than 1.
Thanks for the detailed answer. I think I’m sensitive to harsh treble (I already had a problem with it when I briefly used an MDR7506) so I think I would stay away from the DT990. But the DT1990 that you have mentioned is one I considered previously, although it’s really expensive (as well as the Sundara) and I don’t know how much of a step up it would be compared to a DT880, which is significantly cheaper.