Techno - Soundstage, Imaging, Immersion

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
#1

Hey there, so I’m not an audiophile, but I do like a good headphone for electronic music.
(and of course alot of other genres from Jazz/Soul to Rock/Metal).

For DJ purposes I will probably never part with the HD25 - tried everything from V-Moda to ATH 40x/50x and always went back to the trusty workhorse.

The situation changes at home tho, where I quite often practice & dj only with headphones, coz my monitors are quite loud & I like to play late.
Can therefore use a comfy open back/semi open without any isolation.

My question is, how important do you think is soundstage, imaging ability for electronic music?
I’m trying TYGRs this week, since in theory they tick alot of boxes for me (okay detail, good soundstage, good bass without muddying, a bit less trebble). But would be very interested about other options.

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#2

IEM’s or custom IEM’s are great for Techno and musician/DJ stuff…love techno and pretty much all genres and IEM’s rule for me…worth looking into :+1:

#3

I’m using a cheap CCA C10 sometimes that I actually like quite a bit, going to test moondrop starfields & tin t2 plus at some point. But a colleague of mine who is a master sound technician told me to be careful about IEMs, since it’s easier to damage your hearing with these compared to headphones. Atleast that’s what he told me and I trust his judgement coz he’s a professional that worked in sound since 20 years.
I’m also under the impression that good headphones can give you a better feeling for immersion, was my feeling after playing around with a DT1990pro for a while (belonged to the aforementioned sound guy).

#4

What are they being hooked up to for source?
Have you tried Philips Fidelio X2HR? AKG K712?

#5

I’m not sure about the Tin T2 plus but the Tin T2 were bad for techno. In general I prefer closed headphones for techno because of the extra air volume for the bass

#6

Hi schmu, good to hear from someone who listens to Techno. I use Creative Aurvana Live! with a pad swap and they work very well for Techno. They are v shaped but I don’t mind, they are fun.

If anyone has speakers rec for Techno I’m interested

#7

The TYGRs will be powered by a Motu M2 and I’m not planning on upgrading for a while if everything works out as I hope. I want some punch & decent lower bass without any muddyness - also I’m quite sensitive to sibilance. Honestly the X2HR looks very good & if it wasn’t for the lockdown I would’ve compared or tried them. AKG K712 is a tiny bit above of what I’m willing to pay at the moment. I did look at them & was under the impression the TYGRs might have a smidge more low bass. I want something fun and rumbling, but need a tight kickdrumm aswell - hoping to achieve that.

About IEMs, that’s not a priority atm. The Tin T2 plus have more bass & less highs compared to T2, which is why I think they could work well for me.
And closed back versus open back: I wants comfy, I wanna wear a cloud on top of my head that still manages to punch me in the face.

CALs look like a great budget headphone, heard that subbass is cut off tho.
I’m getting the new Takstar 82 Pro sometime next week (if they’re not stuck in customs), which might go this direction.

@Cameleon30 I use Kali LP-6 coz they were damn cheap and go quite low. Speakers rec feels much harder than headphone recommendation since your room plays such a big role… If I had to buy a pair of monitor speakers again - would go with KRK 5, I just really like the look.

Thanks for the input, if the TYGRs don’t blow me away I’ll have to send them back and keep looking :slight_smile:

#8

My rig for listening to electronic music is Yamaha HS-8 for monitors and Dan Clark Audio Aeon flow closed (1st gen) connected to RME ADI-2 DAC. It serves my dub techno, dub reggae, ambient, experimental etc…
Electronic music needs a totally different equipment for reproduction (or production) in my opinion. In contrast with other genres of music and because its made from studio equipment (obviously) and not physically (instruments that have timbre,natural sound etc), i found that good measuring DACs and linear equipment (studio monitors and extremely accurate/fast headphones) suit best when it comes to reproduction.
The opposite occurs when it comes to any other music than electronic, based on my experience. Thats why i have another rig for that :smiley:

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#9

The Dan Clark Audio Aeon flow have a more narrow soundstage right?
How does that feel for techno in your opinion? Are planars usually faster than dynamic drivers?
And damn… what a rig…

#10

Not too sure about assumption, a lot of live acts use CIEM’s as monitors instead of speakers simple because they don’t have to be loud to hear themselves, but ultimately any audio device if listened to too loud or for too long will be detrimental to your long term hearing, be it HP’s, IEM’s or speakers.

The Z1R’s are pretty epic for Techno in fact I’d personally take them over most HP’s :+1:

#11

I’m using Blon BO3’s day to day for industrial and they are pretty great. Tin T2’s are way too clinical for this genre no doubt. Still nothing beats monitors tho.

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#12

L3’s for me for techno, bass music. i do like the FH3’s as well but it’s more ported/sealed sub difference. Hoping to try the FD5’s soon. For Headphones believe it or not the AKG K371, Monoprice THX Desktop Dac/Amp

#13

Genelecs, the bigger the larger sound and brand what some of the artist like use in production or in creating the beats.
I like to think it now sounds like they heard it sounds.

#14

Interesting to hear everyones preferences, at the end of the day it’s pretty subjective and also a matter of budget and room treatment - but gonna check some of the mentioned cans as soon as it’s possible.

About the IEM damaging your hearing part - I think in comparison to headphones, the brain adjusts a bit faster to IEM volume, which may result in playing louder without realizing that the level might be a little unhealthy. Who knows, it’s just something I wanna be careful with in general & if someone with experience gives me that advice, I’ll think about it.

Can imagine those are good, I used the K361 the last weeks and had alot of fun & beatmatching was easy. They’re comfy, but ears get warm after a while. TYGRs should come tomorrow, gonna test the heck out of them.

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#15

For a closed back has a fair soundstage and is very detailed. I enjoy it more with beatless tracks or slow beat. It has a linear bass but not impactful i would say. You can hear it but not feel it that much. I applied some loudness to RME and pairs wonderfully.
Comfort and accuracy are the selling points here in my opinion.
Planars are generally faster and especially these small one drivers are very fast.
Generally its better to try yourself, like you said is very subjective topic, i wouldnt personally invest a good amount of money if i would not be able to test it, especially when it comes to tools for production.

#16

What’s L3?

You definitively got me curious on the FH3. I might have to give it a shot.

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#17

Thieaudio Legacy 3’s really nice @Cameleon30

#18

I have them, and they have bass and soundstage, are a bit slow though.
They also are somewhat warm for an open-back.

Would those be an option for you?

#19

DT1990s are pretty expensive, so not for me these days.
I’d rather buy music with the money.
They’re fun tho, if TYGRs come somewhat close I’ll be happy.

That’s what I assumed, yeah I have to try planars at some point.

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#20

So the TYGRs didn’t really click with me. Always comparing to the HD-558.
They do sound a little bit better in terms of soundstage, detail. But not enough to spend 130€.
What actually didn’t work out was the fit and the earpads. Those are huge & round compared to the HD-558 more oval shape. I felt like I could fit 2 ears inside those TYGR cups. The padding material irritated my skin, something i did not expect. Earpads were also not super squishy - they felt hard against my jaw & head. Together with the big size that didn’t feel comfy.

Conclusion for myself: I really love the fit of that Sennheiser HD500 Series and maybe I should stick with those. Until I can actually compare & try in a store I might go for a HD-560S.
They’re supposed to be relatively fast (for dynamics), have subbass & less Sennheiser-Veil.
Could work for techno and I hope they are efficient enough to work out with a DDJ-1000.
That controller has a good chip, but doesn’t sound amazing because of some other shenanigans they did with the headphone output. Pioneer is kinda secretive with their exact specs.

Anyone listening to techno with HD-560S?