Hello all, I’ve been doing a ton of research the last few weeks to help identify what my next set of headphones should be and I’m now at a point where I could use a little bit of help.
General/Background
Firstly, a little about me. I’m looking for a pair of headphones to nicely compliment my currently owned Sennheiser HD600’s. When I say compliment, I am looking for something that offers something different than the HD600’s, something “funner” or “more lively”. I listen to music for pleasure, for relaxation, for entertainment not to critically assess accuracy or anything of the like.
Current Gear/Budget
I currently power the HD600’s with an Audioengine D1 dac/amp which I am also interested in replacing. My budget for the headphones is $1,100 and my budget for the dac/amp solution is $500. I am perfectly fine purchasing used equipment and recommended solutions can include modifying via pads/cables so long as it’s within that budget. Keep in mind that dac/amp recommendations should also work optimally with my HD600’s in addition to the new headphones.
Musical Preferences
For some insight into my musical taste right now the three albums I am listening to the most are 1) Malibu by Anderson .Paak, 2) Traveller by Chris Stapleton, and 3) Building Balance by Allen Stone. In general I listen to a lot of 90’s rap, modern day hip hop, chill step, acoustic/singer songwriter, blues, rock, and jazz. I don’t listen to much classical music of heavy metal. I enjoy bass but it must be balanced and separate from mids.
Gear Preferences
I would prefer to stay away from tube amps but I could be convinced otherwise. Comfort is as important to me as anyone else, I’m not overly sensitive to weight so I’m not too worried about that. Right now the headphones I’ve got on my shortlist are 1) ZMF Eikon/Atticus, 2) Sony Z1R, 3) Campfire Audio Cascade, and 4) BeyerDynamic DT177X (by drop). These all happen to be closed back but I’m completely open to open back. I have no idea on the amp/dacs so I could use some help there. Hopefully that is enough information to help but if you have any other questions please let me know!
Hmmm, something like the zmf aeolus or the zmf closed you mentioned would be a good pick imo, but I would suggest a tube lol. The Cascade is super solid and would be my pick if you wanted something portable. Another good choice would be to find a used th900 mk2, that would be pretty awesome. The audeze lcd2 is actually a pretty good choice for you too.
You could either get one bigger headphone, or you could get two for that price that would be pretty sweet imo. As an example you could get an emu teak and a used lcd 2 which would be pretty awesome. Or like a focal elex and a lcd 2
Regarding the amp and dac, that would depend on what headphones you decide to go for
Thanks for the quick response partner! On the tube topic I think I am a little intimidated by them lol. It seems like people seem to want to swap tubes frequently and they need to be replaced often (maybe I am wrong here?). I am just very ignorant on tubes and was wanting a solution that was somewhat “set it and forget it”. Is there a good video somewhere the is like “tubes for dummies” so I can look into them more?
Ah, well there is a fair amount of info about tubes out there, but I can’t think of some to link of the top of my head (I will leave that to someone else lol)
With some amps they are just good stock and there isn’t a need to fiddle around with them much, or you could get a more moddable amp and go ham, it really depends on the person. Tubes naturally aren’t as set and forget as solid state, but they can be pretty manageable depending on the amp you get. I think it will come down to what headphones you go for if you would consider a tube or not
Also I used to be for solid state but only in recent years decided to go tube and I haven’t regretted it lol. I use it with some headphones and not others, so ideally you would have tubes and solid state. Again it depends on preference. For what you are after, honestly I can see it going either way depending on the headphones
Do you have optical? if so i would go with a geshelli stack for dac/amp. if not a atom/topping d10 for cheap. or a sp200/asgard and Su8 for more expensive a little over 500$
For a headphone i’d get a Elex with its W signature. and a bassy headphone, maybe a emu or a fostex closed back.
I definitely would not be too intimidated by tubes. They are less fussy than you think and definitely do not require you to roll tubes. There are essentially two things to keep in mind. 1. They take a little time to warm up and 2. They are finite, but again, not as finite as you think.
I own OTL and hybrid in both of my setups and I have never looked back.
oh their a wonderful headphone and right up your alley i suspect. you wont miss the midrange but also a very fun headphone. the bass treble and midrange are turned up
What are peoples thoughts on the Dan Clark/Mr. Headphones options against what I posted. I have read seemingly good things about the new Dan Clark Aeon 2 Closed/Open. Is there a consensus on whether the Aeon 2 is better than the Ether Flow/C Flow?
I sold my ether c flow 1.1 because the aeon 2 closed was an improvement over that lol. It’s pretty good but it’s going to be more neutral and technicality focused, so I don’t know if it’s the sound you are going for
I really enjoy his style and explaining things! I like videos where I can compare different headphones sounds on a similar track like this. Are these type of “sound demo” comparisons accurate? Meaning, is this a good way to judge what kind of sound signature you enjoy?
Not really at all no. To be honest imo they are rather useless except for determining the amount of isolation a headphone has. There are so many factors cause it to not be viable to use as a realistic comparison tool. This goes for mostly any sound demo of a headphone, iem, or speaker. I’m not dissing bert reviews, just pointing out the flaws of a sound comparison like that. The only way to actually do a comparison like that is in person.
That is what I was wondering, it inherently felt flawed to me because at the end of the day you are listening to whatever he is recording through whatever you are listening on which has to skew the sound in some way. Thanks for validating!
This has been discussed on the forum quite often actually lol. Youtube compression, his source chain, your source chain, the microphones being used, any processing done to the audio, the files he was using, how well the headphones sit on the microphone, etc all influence the result and there are just way too many variables for it to be accurate whatsoever
For some perspective, I have a Hagerman Audio Labs Tuba tube amp that I pair with a ZMF Aeolus. The amp needs only 1 pair of tubes and it comes with a good choice of stock tubes. If I needed to buy another pair, it is just $40 on amazon for them. I’ve been told that they should last years, with moderate daily use. Other than having to set the tubes into the top of the amp when I first got it, the amp is as simple as turn on, wait half a minute, start listening. It’s really nothing to be intimidated about.
And nobody mentioned R2R Dacs?
And I would not recommend a 100$ Topping D10 for 500$+ headphones lol. #bottleneck
Amps: Avoiding THX stuff is a good idea too because it might sound clinical (JDS Atom ftw – Schiit Heresy for more powah and versatility).
Headphones:
Am I the only one thinking planars (accuracy, speed, bass/kick slam) can be “stressful” at times, and “slower” dynamic drivers are better for relaxing?
I need sleep but I’ll just throw this idea here: 300$ T60RPs for closed-back fun planars, 150$ HD58X for open-backs, airy “tubiness” without needing tubes.
