Yeah… learned this the same way.
Clipping in the recording and some not perfectly set up signal chains in the recording realy show with some headphones.
Depends on what sub-genre of the gazillion metal genres.
hmm, this sounds like the most promising suggestion. Doing some research right now. Seems like all the headphones suggested are quite polarising, but this one seems to be less so. Do you have a preference for the neo or classic? Seems like the neo is more polarizing and the classic is closer to neutral, or? Comfort seems great. It seems like a balanced connection might make a difference as well, so I can try that out. Sounds like they might have too much bass, but of course one can much better remove bass than add it.
Since it’s cheaper, I’m thinking about getting the 99, returning both the Sundara and G103 (seems like the 99 doesn’t need it) and with all the money saved I could buy another combo DAC/head amp to compare and not worry about losing money on the Zen if I sell it.
I had tried the X2 in shop and wasn’t a fan, but I’m not sure if it was the HR or not.
Two good pieces of info there. I did see another post where someone recommended most of Focal’s closed headphones for metal. I think I just looked for open-back since I came from the ATH-AD700, which I did buy for competitive gaming many years ago.
I think I had it set up incorrectly. It seems to sound better when I try again, but not a “wow”, which I don’t expect EQ to magically make. Although I am satisfied with some more well-mastered metal (still no “wow”)
On the one hand, I think it’s really cool that the Sundara show this. On the other, I just want to enjoy.
I mentioned death and doom as worse genres for the Sundara. Some progressive metal does sound good nevertheless. There are a million different types of progressive metal as wel. Animals as Leaders sounds great on the Sundara, Opeth not so much.
I do want to point out again it’s not only metal that I listen to. I will think about how much I want to prefer to make metal sound good and use that to decide how much V shape to look for.
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I’d have to agree with you per my preferences. Everything sounds good on my Aeolus tho.
Opeth!
The neo would work better be with metal I think. I have the massdrop ones and love them. They are very fun.
To be clear there are three Meze’s:
- The Neo has, I believe, plastic cups. Your cheapest option I would imagine.
- The Noir is the cheapie version of the 99’s and is available on Drop. They look cheap, but owners will state they are exactly the same, mechanically, as the 99’s. I find that hard to believe since the company states the 99’s were sold too cheap out of the gate, but they wanted to make some noise. And the Noirs are like 33% cheaper.
- The original is the 99 Classic’s. I enjoy them, but there is a world of hate on the pads. If you go to Head-Fi, there is a HUGE 99’s thread and most of it is bitching and whining about the pads. Now I think they just come with two sets just to shut everybody up. I find the pads small and they are on-ear for me. I have sold a lot of headphones over the years, but these are my oldest at three years old. My 99’s are my on the go headphones. Great for lunch at work, waiting at DMV, etc.
Although it’s apples and oranges, I like my Sundara’s better than these. My music is rock with some pop, blues and jazz sprinkled in.
Just out of curiosity , How about E-mu teaks?? They have some serious thump to them…
Myself and most people find a warmer sound to be preferable when listening to metal. I don’t think the Sundara is good for it (I have the old pad version), but there’s at least a few people here who like them with metal.
But I also don’t think sub bass performance is that essential. The HD 6XX is my personal favorite for metal even with it’s poor bass extension
The AutoEQ presets are a mixed bag. Some will give you good results. Others are straight up bad.
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Do you know how much they are? I went to https://sg.creative.com/p/headphones-headsets/e-mu-teak and they don’t list a price.
Thank you. Wow, certainly not cheap. Just about Elex money.
Thank you for the summary. I already found out some of the information in the mean time but you make it very clear and add some more detail. I think I would rather avoid something where the pads are a problem, so it does strangely seem that the cheap option is also better.
I’m in Europe so Massdrop articles aren’t really an option, so I will pretend you said HD650. It does sound promising, I previously ignored it because reviews seemed to prefer the 600 or the 660s. To make things more confusing it seems like there is a 2019 model of the 650 as well. However I saw someone state in the thread for it here that it doesn’t pair well with the ifi Hip DAC and they were listening to metal. I get the impression from reviews that the 6XX is good value, but the 650 not so much. It’s still (a little bit) cheaper than the Sundara, which I chose in part because people said it is good value. I think I would be more interested in it if it were cheaper.
They look like they’re in my price range but there is also the import tax and customs charges on top. I don’t think I would be able to return them if I don’t like them. Still, something else to research
The new HD650 version should sound the same. In my experience, it works well with most decent solid state options. Have you looked to see if there are any stores near you that’d allow you to demo them? If you want something with relaxed treble or listen at high volumes, then the 650 is worth definitely worth checking out
I recently picked them up used… came with the detachable cable… Very fun headphone and price was too.
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.
Bought mine on Ebay used… look and sound new… price was great as well.
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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 
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Saw this video
