Just curious. Just for fun. No price limit or anything. Headphones with which you hear cars passing next to the studio. Headphones with which you can hear the difference between AMPS and DACS, etc. Some say, headphones with which you fish for plankton (whatever the hell this means. )
Apparently, Sony MDR-V6/7506 are good old cheap headphones seen everywhere in TV studios because with them âyou hear everything, magnifiedâ. But I donât think Iâll hear more details in that than in my Grado SR60s or Sennheiser HD280 pros.
Apparently, the Sennheiser HD800s are legendary for micro-detail retrieval.
Apparently, planars, in theory, should be better for this. So, are Fostex T50RPs good entry-level detail retrieval headphones? Can anything beat them for 150$?
(Also, are IEMs better than headphones, for detail retrieval? Just in theory also, I guess.)
Apparently, higher-end Grados also have decent micro-details (but Iâm too treble sensitive for them â list them anyway for anyone interested. ).
Apparently, Neumann NDH20s should be in this list also. And Focals (Elex, Elear, Clear?).
In no apparent order Iâd say that
Stax 007mk1
Stax 009
Stax 404le
Etymotic ER4
Beyerdynamic T1
Audio Technica X5000
Have all amazing amounts of detail in different parts of the music and you can be sure that if you have any of the headphones in this list you wouldnât be wanting for more detail
Also, FYI, the cheapest of the bunch are the Fostex T50RPs (150$-ish planars), and I just saw a review, saying âprepare to delete all your mp3 files because itâs now worthlessâ.
So, for every ânoobâ here with Beats or whatever, wanting more detail, you have been warned: Donât spend more than that for mp3s if your main goal is to hear more detail in your mp3s.
Heh, Iâve had this happen, but primarily with open dynamics with good stage (HD668B, KSC75), because the thing that makes me stop the music is the impression those noises are in the room with me, and thatâs a question of staging more than resolution (some minimal resolution is needed for that realism ofc, but itâs not hard to achieve, you donât need Stax for that).
I was watching Sex Education with the KSC75 a few months ago and in a scene at a house party with music thumping from a few rooms away I could swear I was hearing the party thumping through the walls of the hotel I was in. I had every information to know for sure this was not the case, but I still had to take the headphones off to check.
IDK if this is just me, but I think a HE560 v1 is better than the Sundara. I think it scales alot better than the Sundara, and is a more refined sound. Along with the more comfortable, but more likely to break headband. You should be able to find them new for under 500 easily
I know someone who lives nearby who bought a sundara as soon as it came out and I bought my he560 right before it was announced. At first I was kinda irritated that within a week the sundara was announced after I had bought my 560, and stayed that way until my friend received his. I will admit that the sundara IMO looks and feels nicer than my 560, but after listening back and forth, I found the 560 to be more natural sounding and pleasurable to the sundara. The sundara has better mids, but I think that the he560 has it beat on treble and bass, along with timbre and soundstage. I canât quite remember the imaging on the sundara so I canât comment on that. The big caveat is that the 560 is alot more picky on how itâs being powered. It requires more power than the sundara and sounds great on a good setup, but kinda lifeless on less than ideal amps. The sundara was much more forgiving on its amps and sources IMO. I should also mention that I personally find the 560 headband more comfortable than the headband on the sundara. If the new headband allowed the cups to swivel I feel it would be much more comfortable for me.
I will definitely consider the 560 if I can get them at a good price and under warranty. Iâm eyeing the Sundara because I really loved how the mids sounded on the HE-4XX. So right now Iâm leaning that way based on what Iâve read so far.
I read a lot of peopleâs sundaraâs drivers dieing on them. not sure if itâs just classic bad hifiman QC or something else but I just want to let you know. you could maybe get a m1060 c and mod it to be an open back I hear a lot of good things from that mod. or just the base m1060 non c. I would trust that more than the sundara
Replying to myself with my new HD58Xs on my ears. 9/10 wavs found in this test:
Yes, this means youâll hear more details from your mp3s. But this also means youâll crave for CDs and FLACs because you will now hear the difference. So you will know your entire mp3 collection is of lesser quality. Youâve been warned.
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