Headphone lovers, what do you love, what do you have, Head-Fi fans 2018 edition.

Still #1 are my Koss ESP-950 phones.
I also have and use:
Monoprice M1060
Monoprice M300
Koss PortaPro
Koss KCS 75
Monoprice MP30 , great iem that has beryllium drives
and a few odd others here and there.

 

I have several great headphones. The Ether Flow is my number one, then Massdrop Fostex TH-X00 for rocking out, incredible bass, Meze 99 Classics for the wife but I like them too, mostly for watching TV, NAD VISO HP50 for traveling, but not where anyone can see them on my head. I have Cavalli Liquid Carbon and a Garage 1217 Ember II tube hybrid amps. I am planning to purchase a Schitt Audio headphone amp, the Mjolinr 2, as I hope for the detail and resolution of the Cavalli and he tube mojo of the Ember II but with a more dynamic driving sound than either of those give me. The Cavalli is a sweet little amp and the Ember II is great fun but I am hoping for a more synergistic match with the Schitt and the Ether Flows.
I'll give a shout out for the Massdrop HD6xx headphones. I had a really old pair of HD600's, I had them for like 20 years and they probably did more to discourage me from headphone listening than anything, so I finally sold them. But I bought the Massdrop HD6xx cans for my son and they are really much better. He is a drummer/percussionist and I thought these cans do better drums than just about anything I ever heard.
I would love to hear the Focal Clears! The Utopias being too expensive and the Elear not quite right to me.
Headphones are a personal thing!

 

I tried the one in my Denon 4308 receiver, the TEAC AI-501, the Apogee Groove and the V281. With all of them the HD6XX and HD600 sounds very good but only the V281 managed to get the HE4XX to sound as it should.

I was quite disappointed at first, especially with the Apogee because it's such a good match to the HD600 so I figured it would also match the HE4XX. It turn out that planar headphones need a lot of power, even more so than my vintage HD424 with their hilariously high 2000 Ohm impedance and a regular portable amp or even a standard average desktop amplification will not cut the mustard.

 

I just got my first $25 Chi-Fi iems. VERY impressive for that little cheese.

 

I finally received the Massdrop Focal Elex and I'm favorably impressed so far.

Packaging:
Nothing extraordinary there. It came in a largish foam padded cardboard box packed in a shipping carton with some foam spacers to protect the box. The box itself is, well - it's a black box, pure and simple. Opening the box reveals the earphones, a black envelope, a box of accessories and that's it.


The Elex have a metal headband that flows into the armature. It appears to be stamped metal but still looks elegant and robust. Both headbands and ear-cups are cushioned with the same perforated soft material and they are not sweaty: It's currently +27.5C in the study where I'm trying them out for the last hour and my ears are still dry.


Next we have the black envelope that contains the registration, user instructions and warranty info. Nothing interesting to see there, move along folks.


I was a bit apprehensive about the cables because I thought I might get cables made from the thickest rigid chord available to make them appear "high end". Luckily this isn't so: The cables are quite thin and flexible and are still encased in a cloth jacket so I won't have to commit suicide from shame if a real audiophile happens to visit me in the future.


I grabbed the balanced cable and that's where I realised that Focal and Massdrop did cut a few corners because it's almost impossible to identify which is the left and which is the right connector. They are both identical barrel plugs and only a very small and faint L & R is molded into the plastic bit at the end.


Another negative point is that once the plugs are inserted into the ear-cups, it becomes impossible to identify the right and left sides. There are no external marks to help you find which side is what. The side where there is an inner CE mark and a Massdrop engraved logo is the left side, but that's not obvious at all and impossible to confirm once they are on clamped on the head. I'll have to fix this by adding some bumps to the exterior with a few drops of superglue.

So how do they sound?

Well, these are good earphones. Really good. I'm not going to rate them or give them any kind of score but they have very good clarity , separation and imaging. For example, I always listen to the album "Simple Things" by Zero 7. One of the last tracks is called "Out of Town" and at the beginning of the track there is a faint "tap-tap" sound that should appear to the left and back, sometime even as far back as being behind and slightly above the left speaker. This is an effect the HD600/HD65XX can't reproduce and while the "tap-tap" sounds clearer with the HE4XX, it's still planted to the left without any kind of depth.

The Elex manage to convey a sense of depth and have good imaging but the "tap-tap" sound to be to the left and bottom and not to the far back. OTOH, the "tap-tap" became very clear and easy to identify. What I immediately noticed is that the driver have a very healthy throw and managed to tickle my ears when listening to rhythmic bass sections in other tracks. I may have larger than average ears but I'm no elf so I guess it's something other people will notice as well.

Would I recommend them? I sure do, but don't ask me to decide if they are better or worse than other good headphones because it's all about personal preferences in the end.

 

Very cool, and they look great. I don't know that I would be able to pull the trigger on these just because I don't know that they would be used enough in my house. But if I got to the point of daily headphone use I would absolutely strongly consider these. The LCD-2 and Focal Elear have been the most exciting headphones I have demoed so far. I haven't tried a ton, and I haven't had any long listening sessions yet, but those immediately rose to the top of the stack in my mind.

 

After owning and selling several pairs I have finally settled on the Focal Elears. They have a big, bold and punchy sound. I would like a little more soundstage width but other than that I can’t fault them. Apparently they have an upper-mids dip that annoys some but I can’t hear it. I’m interested in the Clears but doubt I’ll be able to afford them new. I got the Elears as a customer return for £650 and they’re worth every penny. For portable use I have the brilliant Oppo PM3.

 

Whilst I was happy with the sq of the Trilogy H1 that arrived in late April, I was curious to hear the Stax SRM T8000 with my 007 mk 2s.

My dealer helped me to swop the H1 for the T8000, which arrived yesterday. It's too early to make firm judgements, but I'm very pleased with it so far. Immediately noticeable was how big - wide and deep - the soundstage is.

 

A photo of my new Stax SRM T8000:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/156833628@N08/839R7f

 

Waiting impatiently for my MySphere 3.1s! Designed and built by the same guys who designed my beloved AKG K1000s. I’ve tried a bunch of top rated over the ear headphones but the only pairs I can stand wearing are the AKGs and the even more ancient Sennheiser HD-414s, used with my home theater for after my goes to bed. Nothing beats a good pair of speakers like my custom modified Gallo Nucleus Refernences, but there are plenty of times i have wear phones if I want to listen to music. Will report on the MySpheres after I’ve had them for a couple of weeks. In other words n a couple of months.

 

My headphones:

Beyerdynamics T90
Beyerdynamics Custom Studio

Something happened to my T90 yesterday while I cleaned the ear pads. Now the sound is nearly completely gone (plays extremely faintly on both channels). Guess something is broken and I need to send it in for repair.

While I think the T90 is a very good and detailed headphone it is a bit too bright sounding for some music in my opinion and the "Beyerpeak" can be annoying at times. I was thinking about getting the DT1990 but from what I've read the highs can be a bit extreme there too.

Is anyone here familiar with the Sennheiser HD 660 S ?

 

I sold my DT770 for that reason. Really wanted to like it but couldn't get past the treble. It's a shame because a selection of my music sounds great with it. Non-bright, well-mastered music shone on it. But just about everything else sounded too bright. Original Musiquarium had always sounded like a nice cd with a wonderful midrange to me but the 770 made it sound brighter than I was used to. I got the Bang & Olufsen H6 and I like them. Excellent treble that extends but doesn't have edge or grain. Great portable can that rivals other closed backs in it's price point, maybe even some a little higher...I'd also like to try the PM-3 someday, shame about Oppo Digital.

Can't comment on the 660 but I hear great things about it. The 650 is one headphone I'd also like to hear. I'm not very experienced...

 

I'm very happy with my Sennheiser HD 800 and SPL Auditor combination.

 

Never had the Beyerdynamic DT770 but in general I'm pleased with the two I have. The Custom Studio is a decent headphone for its price (around $200). The T90 is soundwise on another level but was of course much more expensive. It's just the brightness and the sometimes piercing treble that can be annoying. Some music sounds absolutely fantastic with that one but sometimes it's just too much.
The Senni HD 660S should be a good allrounder. From what I read quite some prefer it over the 650 although the differences are not that huge and the 660 is also more expensive.

 

Part of the reason I'd like that 650 is $200 on Massdrop feels like a tremendous deal. It would have been my first headphone choice, no brainer, but over the last 4 or 5 years (when I got my first "quality" headphone) most of my listening was done where there were people around, and I wanted something I could use on the go a lot. Only soon will I be able to use an open back headphone more often. As it is one of the most, if not THE most, recommended, I feel like I should try it, and I think I'd prefer the slightly warmer sig to the HD600. The 58X Jubilee is getting great reviews too.

 

There is someone selling a practically brand new HD800s for less than 1,000$. What to do, what to do? I'm so weak...

 

Beyerdynamics DT990 Pro
Sony MDR-V6
Shure in ear ($200) don’t remember model
Koss Porta Pro
I like them all for various purposes and situations

 

Audio Technica MTH 50X is my favourite pair. Low impedance, strong bass (although I understand if it's too much) and lots of detail.

 

Did you investigate this website for amplifiers for Stax? Possibly the same price as the Stax and more than likely far better.
Mjölnir-Audio – Home of all things electrostatic

 

Yes, I also own a Mjolnir Mini KGSSHV and it's a really good amp. It developed a fault, which led to my investigation into other amps. I must send the Mini back to Birgir to get it fixed!

 

At home - Audiolab MDac - Grado Gs1000e, HD600, Denon AHD2000
On the move - Hifiman 901 or Ibasso DX90 with Chord Mojo - Beyer T7op, DT1350 or VModa XS

 

I use a Chord Mojo and Sennheiser HD6xx cans—am I crazy for looking at high end tube amplification for them, like the Zana Deux? Will the 6xxs make the most of a high end headamp?

 

HD6xx for a couple weeks now. HD600 are getting the first break in 2 years. I love these cans with tube amps, have had the valhalla 2 and mimby since may. This chain made me forget or even care about speakers. I would love to go higher up in the amp chain and leave the mimby in service. Not sure which direction to go, tubes or hybrid or something like the liquid carbon used for $600.

 

Quality, varied collection.
And Roll Tide.

 

I use Sennheiser HD650 Headphones with a JDS Labs - Objective2+ODAC Combo, over hearing aids. My hearing's shot, but I still enjoy listening. And no, I never comment on sound quality, only memories and old favorites.