I have, but it seems not. I should be able to demo the Meze 99 Neo & Classic however. Since they don’t seem to be very source-dependent I should be able to get a good idea of whether I would like that sound or not. If not,I could maybe order the 650 and return it within 30 days.
I find myself hoping I like the 99 though. Seems like I can use them for work and travel, if I do go back to an office, plus I can save some money. They might even get me to sell my Sony XM3, since I won’t be flying very often. Does feel strange to spend less money though. I was thinking I would have to spend more to get more, but I think I learned now I don’t need something “better”, but something that suits me. When I demoed the 1990 Pro and HD660s, the salesman said something similar and I found it odd, thinking he would rather want that I spend more money.
Just because they were mentioned in this thread, I wanted to mention that I have been VERY pleasantly surprised with the 660’s. They sound quite full and Bassy out of my Violectric amp. Less so out off my Liquid Platinum, but still nice.
The HD600’s and HD6XX’s are NOT bass headphones in the least. The HD660’s seem to copy the direction of the HD58X’s in that there is good bass with the right sources and in the right chain.
On the DAC front, does anyone have any other recommendations than the Modi 3? I couldn’t find anything else using a similar AKM chip up to €150 except the iBasso DC02, or I could replace the amp and DAC with a Fostex HP-A3 or A4, but it doesn’t seem to have much power
I think I might be able to demo them with a Vioelectric unit, which I’m hoping would be not too different from my Lake People amp, since they are the same people.
I actually never thought I should be looking for bass. It’s the people here who point me in that direction. I hope to try both
if you can find a audioquest nighthawk used that would be pretty sweet, I love this headphone with metal. Warm and bassy with a bit of darkness in the treble, works wonderful with most metal genres i throw at it and the staging and imaging are pretty unique. Plus it is stupid comfy
I always find myself jumping in when the Nighthawk is mentioned. I can’t help myself.
I like listening to metal on the Nighthawk also. I like them for generes that tend to get a little too excited in the treble for extended periods of time (constant cymbal crashes, shrieking synth noises etc.) I love that loud crazy stuff but I don’t enjoy
listening to it on some headphones because it can feel like too much during a long listening session. The hawks fill that spot for me with their smoothed out treble response and their weighty overall sound.
Actually, last week on Monday I ordered 3 Schiit units from their official US website (I’m in Europe too) and even though I had to pay over $50 for FedEx shipping, they were just delivered without any added import or customs taxes.
So if their units would solve your problem, I’d consider them if I were you.
None whatsoever. I paid $397 for 3 units and $58 for international FedEx. Came down to a total of €409 in euros, no added taxes or anything, and it only took 6 days door-to-door. (Order was dispatched on Wednesday.)
So I hereby declare all of Europe Schiit-eligible.
I think different countries have different rules for imports. My experience in Germany has been quite miserable. There’s a limit of €100 where there’s no tax, but I still need to travel for one hour to the customs office, wait up to three hours, open the package in front of an officer and possibly pay a fee anyway.
I went to a shop and tried the 99 Classic, DT 880, HD660s and (after the assistant searched three times), the 99 Neo.
I decided for the 99 Neo. It was close with the Classics but I found the sound to change a lot depending on the exact position of the driver next to my ear. Maybe the other pads would have improved the issue, but it was a demo unit whereas the Neo was unboxed fresh.
After a while with the Neo, I’m much happier. Much more engaging. Adds a very comfortable amount of bass to older rock/metal like Black Sabbath, but still not too much in other songs (I had this problem with the Classic)
I received an Amazon gift card and wondered what to use it on… turns out the Nighthawk Carbon is still available. At €250 new, I have to try.
I think I’ve taken my first “hit”. I was happy with the AD-700 for probably about a decade, but now I want more and more…
Well, after a couple of days with the Nighthawk, I am taking them to my grave. Since people say there is no real upgrade, I think I’m “done” with headphones for some years. I will give it a couple more days and compare with the 99 again, but I don’t think I’ll keep those.
Still curious about upgrading my DAC/amp though, since I’m just using the Zen DAC.
I don’t have both; I returned the Sundara. Was blown away by the Sundara but they didn’t fit my kind of music. I’m pretty new at this, but I guess the hawks would be a good complement, because they’re complete opposites in terms of signature.
