I’ve been diving deep into my music lately and find myself wanting to listen to my headphones for a couple hours most days. Problem is my Beyerdynamic DT990 Pros (250 ohms) are a bit too harsh/sibilant for my ears to tolerate in long sessions.
I used to own a pair of HD600s and loved them, but ended up selling them for something different eventually (can’t remember what it was). I’ve been considering buying them again since I loved how comfortable they were and their sound signature (intimate, mid-range focused, slightly warm), but wasn’t sure if there was a new or better option I could get instead. Also, I own the IFI Zen Dac as my daily amp.
Lastly, I listen to a lot of different genres, but I can confidently say heavy metal and hard rock are what I lean toward the most. Any suggestions somebody might have? I don’t want to spend more than $500, but do intend on keeping this next set of headphones for a long time as my daily driver. Thanks in advance!
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Maybe a hd650/6xx cause you seemed to like the Sennheiser sound. It’s less neutral than the 600 going for a warmer sound. Maybe a dt880 600 ohm with a Asgard 3+ to power it. And possibly a audio Technica r70x
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I’m only going off of memory but I do remember preferring the 600s to the 650s. Would the Asgard 3+ give more power then the IFI Zen DAC?
What kind of every day/all day headphone? Like a headphone that you can wear portability and use it for commute? or just using it at your home, for it is not that good for commutes or portability?
If I have one right now, it would be my Koss KPH30is or my KSC75s, both have good sounds and in my opinion, endgame pieces (with the Yaxi pads on of course.) and of course the portability that you get from those along it’s ease to be driven with just a phone.
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since you are listening to aggressive genres (like metal), you could consider some planars like hifiman or even DCA X DROP Aeon open flow X…
for that TIGHT bass
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Just for using at home. Comfortable and solid build quality as well, but I do intend on getting a set of KPH30I’s since they’re so cheap. But I’d like a premium/more dynamic headphone as well, which is what I’m trying to narrow down.
Thanks! I haven’t come across these… I’ll look more into them for sure. I’ve never tried out a set of planars before.
i dont know about the Aeons, but recent hifiman models should be fine with Zen DAC…
but as always… ask people who own those to reassure yourself before the buy
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I have a pair of Ananda and Aeon 2 Closed.
I have a zen DAC on the imac - it drives both pair of cans with no problem.
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Wait…
Zen DAC has that magical bass boost button…
In that case, Hifiman sounds like a solid rec.
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Yes, I use the magic bass boost on the Ananda.
Sometimes use it with the A2C, depends what I’m listening too.
The bass boost button on the Zen is a nice feature and works very well.
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In my experience with a wide range of weird frequency responses, headphones with low slam, under-target/smooth treble are generally easy to listen to for long periods - leaning towards the midcentric side.
All I listen to is basically hyped-up hardcore, and it’s very doable with my Koss ESP/95X even if it isn’t the most exciting. I find my Moondrop SSR a non-fatiguing IEM as well. Aside from upper-mids shout, treble is very well controlled.
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If you aren’t set on getting a new set of headphones, you can try adding as set of the TYGR/Amiron Wireless foam pads to your 990s. It knocks out the worst of the treble peak and at $7 for a pair is a potential option for you. Part number 934208 and you can email Beyerdynamic and order directly from them.
That being said, if you love the HD600s, just grab them again and get a balanced cable for your Zen Dac and call it a day.
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I second this. Love my HD600 with a bit of bass boost or a 2dB bass shelf ~100Hz for metal and hard rock.
Maybe consider Sundara if you want to try a planar?
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Ok awesome, thank you everybody. I think I’m narrowed down to the HD600, Sundara, and Dan Clark Open Flow X. I also want to buy a balanced cable from Hart Audio as well regardless of which set I choose.
I’ve been using the Sundara for about a month or so. Been pretty happy with them. I wear them all day working from home so when I’m not listening to music (hard rock and metal as well) I’ve either got a podcast or YouTube channel on, or I’m on a Zoom call or on my office softphone. After the work day is over I continue using them while gaming. My experience so far is only running them single ended as I’m waiting on my balanced DAC/AMP to ship.
I’ve not experienced any fatigue keeping them on all day and they’ve been great to listen to (upgraded from a Fidelio X2HR).
I’m also using a Hart Audio HC-9 cable with them and I’m happy with them as well.
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Awesome recommendations from everyone, I went ahead and bought the HD600s. Amazon let me pay it off in monthly increments so that was also pretty appealing at the moment, but this has made me want to start gradually collecting more headphones & amps over time. I might get another amp in a month or two… and recommendations for a new one to pair with the HD600s? I hear they’re great tubes. I’d like to stay under $250!
The best value amp for $250 currently is still the Asgard 3 I would honestly probably go for that. Tube amps and tube rolling is very expensive. There isn’t a lot of great cheap tube amps below $250
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I’m going to toss a +1 out for the ESP/95X system. That is a very light weight / comfortable, and you can run your Zen Dac into it. That’s going to be some pretty awesome unoffensive sound. You can probably pick a used system up for $350.
I also think the 660s is quite nice…Just got the Elex, not sure which I like better yet, but the treble on the Elex isn’t as energetic as on the 660s. The vocals also aren’t as focused on the Elex as on the 660s. (IMO)
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Oh, I just thought I’d toss in the idea of possibly adding a Loki into the mix (or using software to eq just a bit). Especially if you’ve got headphones that aren’t too far off currently.
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