Wanting help for setup upgrade ~$350

Headphones Headphone Discussion / Help
1

Hi
First of all I apologize for the lack of vocabulary, I’m not too knowledged about audio gear yet so I might not be using the correct terms.

Current setup:
DT770
ad1000x
atom/d10
Tin T2

I’ve been with these for a little over a year now and think I want to try something different rather than an upgrade.
I started with the dt770, but didn’t like it too much because it felt sort of muddy or muffled.
Then I managed to get the 1000x for like $200. I definitely liked them much more than the dt770. It felt cleaner, and more enjoyable especially when listening to female singers like Yorushika (I’m japanese so I’ll probably be mentioning mostly japanese singers/bands) and i’m not sure if it’s these cans making me sway towards them.

I mostly listen to younger japanese singers recently (zutomayo, yorushika) but I also like rock (one ok rock), pop (yonezu kenshi, aimer), some jazz, and basically any anime stuff (lucky star, overlord, mado magi, hokuto no ken, pretty much anything including ost), and the 1000x can feel a bit underwhelming.
So I’ve been looking for something different, doesn’t necessarily have to be bassy. And, although I’m not too competitive, I do play games, so I guess I’ll leave this here.

Ones i’ve considered are:
-drop / senn ( Doesn’t ship to japan so nope)
-4xx (a bit concerned about QC.)
-Sundara (A bit on the higher side of my budget. 360 in japan)
-verum one (Also a bit high. concerned about the people making it)

For now I don’t think I want a base heavy pair, but other than that I want to experiment. The only things are, not a must, but I think I prefer slightly wider soundstage.
200-300 is what I’ve been looking for, but considering squeezing up to around 350.

Questions:
-Would I need to upgrade amp or dac for any of these?
-Any other recommendations?

Slightly unrelated questions you don’t need to answer:
Am I understanding my current headphones correctly?
I think I understand detail and soundstage, but not stuff like speed. Are there any pages explaining these terms?
I listen to covers on youtube quite often, around what point does youtube become unoptimal?

If there’s anything important that I haven’t said please let me know.

1 Like
2

Voting Sundara. I’ve had a very positive experience.
Soundstage/openness should be noticable upgrades, more neutral tuning, much less bass/mid-bass bloat. You’ll be making big change (open-back IS okay for your usage situation, correct?) Going to be okay on your Atom. Good for vocals. Yes, I think a good fit all around. I’m not giving a dime to V-O either.

I think HarmonicDyne Zeus might be soundstage kings in this price-range, but I don’t think the tuning may be quite right for you, and max soundstage is probably not required as most open-backs should be a big upgrade in that department for you.

3

I’m perfectly fine, and think I prefer open backs so sundaras are what I’m leaning towards. But I don’t know many other options so If you could fill me in that would be awesome.

By soundstage Kings does that mean they have the widest soundstage?
And what is the tuning like for it?

Thanks for the reply. I might not be able to read right away cuz of time zone.

4

How about Sivga Phoenix?

5

I haven’t heard of those. I’ll take a look.
what are they like compared to what i have, and the sundara too? if you’ve used them.

6

HD 700 (used or new).

7

The cheapest I could find them was 540 used so those are quite far above my budget.

8

Hello,
These headphones are probably better than the Hifiman.
Also in quality and probably better in sound.

What kind of Dac are you using?
There is still potential to get something out of it.
Especially the Ify products offer a good price-performance ratio.

9

I’m using the topping d10.
thanks for the reccomnedation, but It seems like it’s over $400 in japan and it’s $70 shipping from monoprice directly so it might not be an option for me.

1 Like
10

I haven’t heard them but all the reviews are saying that they have good soundstage and sound great with any type of music.

11

So…
The sivga phoenix is warmer and fuller bass, and the sundara is a bit on the warmer side but not as much.
The sivga has a wider soundstage.
Overall the sundara is more detailed, but the sivga is more punchy.

Does that sound right?