Headphones

I'm using a pair of Sony MDR-V6, made in Japan. They sound very good, but wondering if anyone here has had experience with them vs. some of the other suggestions made here (Sennheiser, Grado), as I'm looking maybe to upgrade.

 

Bump

 

I have Little Dot MK III with Voshkod 6ZH1P-EV and 6N6P-IR tubes. I love how it sounds with my AKG K712 Pros.

 

I'm needing a new pair of Headphones. My preference is a flat (or as close as possible to) response. I don't want embellished bottom end, I hear frequencies most don't hear. I do critical listening (needle drops to Hi Res) so for me accurate detail is paramount.

I listen to The Beatles, Stones etc, mainly Rock music, but I still occasionally listen to jazz or classical. My main use of the headphones would be via my E-MU0404/USB which is connected to my PC (running JRiver 23) via USB. That would represent 80/90% of my headphone use. I listen to vinyl, Hi Res digital and redbook. I would still like the headphones to work well plugged directly into the Receiver of my main rig (Onkyo Integra TS DX898) or my Ipod Classic which I only use when away on holidays. I'm not interested in wireless or noise cancellation.

My budget is $300 to $500 Australian (currently $220 to $365 US dollars).

Having read this thread, there's a lot of love for the Sennheiser HD600s, which may meet my needs. I've found a pair for $448 Australian (about $327 US).

Available at similar prices are:

Audio Technica ATH M70X Studio
Audio Technica ATH MSR7SE
Audio Technica ATH R70X
Focal Spirit One S
Grado SR325e Prestige Series
Beyerdynamic DT880
Beyerdynamic DT990
Hifiman HE 400S Planar Magnetic
Ultrasone Signature Studio

What do fellow forumites suggest? Any other suggestions aside from the above?

 

It depends on budget. I have the Sennheiser HD598SE and I like them. If you are after flat response at an affordable price, look at a used HD600 or the Audio Technica M70X.

 

A fine headphone for the money. And they offer very nice performance for the price. Common in the radio station control rooms I engineer for, and the announcers use more of them than anything else (they get to choose what they like best). Over 25 announcers can't be wrong (and they have nice systems at home and trained ears and voices).

 

I have owned a pair of these HD-600s for quite some time, and love them. They are still being produced, AFAIK, even though a newer model was just released. (Spring 2018)
The new HD-660s are selling for a pretty penny, $499USD; meanwhile, the price of these 600s has been reduced, look for a price between $249 to $279USD. I'd stay away from wireless models,
but that's just me. Happy listening to you.

 

I am looking for a really great set of headphones for my 'other' while we wait for our main system to come ...

at RMAF 2017 she heard some Mr. Speaker headphones (not sure of the model) and loved them. however, at RMAF 2018 (just a few weeks ago) we went to the Mr. Speaker booth and nothing was sounding right to her or me. not sure why.

any recommendations for headphones that are comfortable, have a warmer tonal balance, are full sounding with realistic bass that is deep and tight but don't have that boosted HF a lot of headphones tend to sound. they don't need to have a flat frequency response either ... just something easy to wear (for say 2-3 hours at a time) that have a natural sound? we both love the sound of Audio Note equipment ... I don't expect to find the same AN sound in a set of headphones but would love to get some suggestions. thanks in advance!

 

Try and get a pair of vintage stax SR5N in great condition with matching transformer (or stax valve amp),get a new pair of pads from audiocubes in Japan and you wont want nothing else.
Charge them up with 5 minutes of music and your good to go.
That is if you want effortless transparent music with no phoney Bass.
Check out ken rockwell,s site on stax headphones

 

will do. thank you kindly for the advice.

 

I have heard that the newer stax sound brighter
Pity no one near has a pair of vintage stax you could listen too
I have had akg k501,s , k240 DF and still have my vintage akg k240 sextetts and non of them touch the stax
Stax are not for the “Bass in yer face” crowd

 

Can you recall what headphone amp(s) you heard the headphones with at RMAF 2017 and RMAF 2018? My suspicion is that you heard the headphones with very different amps in 2017 and 2018. The amps make a big difference with planar headphones. Changing the amps can very much change the headphone presentation with the same headphones.

Mr. Speakers uses a variety of different headphone amps at shows. One of the amps he would use before 2017 was a Cavalli Liquid Glass. It's one of his favorite amps, mine too. I did a google search for RMAF 2017 pics of Mr. Speakers and one of the photos shows he did have a Liquid Glass amp at his demo table in 2017. If that was the amp you heard the headphones with then that amp is the reason you heard the style of sound you like so much. Some of the RMAF 2018 pictures show he may have been using some Schiit amps at his demo table. The sonic difference between the Cavalli amp and the Schiit amps is night and day. So it's quite possible that the reason you liked the headphones in 2017 and didn't like them in 2018 was because of the amp(s) used for the demo.

 

i wish i could. that is the problem. she loved them at the 2017 show but not so much at this last show. i think they were the Ether model but i’m not sure which one.

but i’m sure you are right, difference was the amp. she is getting to be quite the little audiophile ... i’m really lucky.

 

As posted by "shnaggletooth" several posts up, I recommend the Sony MDR V6's. I have them and they reproduce sound similar to what you've described. I'm listening on a Mac Mini and have the OS volume slider in the middle and most songs mastered for around -20db RMS loudness sound comfortable with no added amplification.

They can reproduce down to around 30Hz in the bass but just loud enough to not overwhelm with added resonating hum. The highs are rolled off without sounding murky. Acoustic guitar sounds very realistic even played through YouTube videos.

 

I also can recommend the Sony MDR-V6’s especially as a quality value headphone. They hold their own and for comparison I own Beyerdynamics DT990 Pro’s and some Shure $200 in ear buds which are quite nice for certain situations. The old Koss Porta Pro’s still perform after all these decades.

 

Some headphone suggestions that would fit your request would be planars like Audeze, Mr. Speakers, and some of the HiFiMan headphones. And for standard dynamics the new ZMF headphones are catching my attention. At 300 ohms and fairly flat impedance and phase the ZMF dynamics are tube amp friendly and have a number of other nice properties going for them. Zach at ZMF doesn't like boosted HF either so his headphones are going to be tamed and tuned. I'm a big fan of planar magnetic headphones. They have a headphone sound style that is unique due to the planar characteristics of the driver. And I like what they do. If you've been reading Herb Reichert's recent columns and reviews in Stereophile you'll know he's been on a planar headphone discovery binge. I agree much of what Herb has been going on about, and I hear some of what he's going on about with my own planars and headphone gear.

I like the Audeze planars. The Audeze house sound has the treble tamed. It is definitely not boosted. Tonally, the Audeze headphones are colored. They aren't what I would consider neutral. With the right amps the treble will come through and not sound like it is being hidden or pushed back. But that takes the right style of amp and source. The Audeze headphones are heavy. So may fail on your comfort requirement.

For amps my first suggestion would be the Cavalli Liquid Platinum. The Cavalli sound is smooth and tames treble. Nothing in the amp sound is harsh. I own a Cavalli Liquid Fire. The Liquid Platinum is an evolution of that hybrid design. Should be a lot of similarity in the sound signature. I find the Liquid Fire to be a wonderful and enjoyable and pleasant match with planars. I expect the Liquid Platinum will also. Here's a review of the Liquid Platinum by Enjoy the Music: Monoprice Monolith Liquid Platinum Headphone Amplifier Review The Legend Returns: Monoprice resurrects a Cavalli Design that captures the imagination. Review By Dave Hanson

Other amps I would suggest would be full tube amps. Like Decware, Eddie Current, AmpsAndSound, and others. ZMF sells AmpsAndSound amps for use with his headphones and some Decware amps. Good tube amps help get headphones to have more imaging depth and especially good ones can bring along a sense of sonic holography.

 

I'll second the Decware amp recommendation. I have 2, a Taboo Mk III and a Taboo Mk IV (probably will be selling the Mk III in the near future). I use Audeze LCD-2, Oppo PM-1 and Sennheiser HD800S with both. They bring out the best in each headphone. The Mk III has a slightly more "romantic" sound (in comparison only) to the Mk IV which is very clear and open sounding. (The Mk III is also clear and open sounding). I'm hooked on these amps--I haven't done comparisons with other amps this decade, but I haven't felt even the slightest urge to.

 

I want to buy a pair of Hifiman headphones as an upgrade to my 400i which I absolutely love. I have some doubts that the Edition X V2 will actually be a big sonic upgrade for $1000 and there's nowhere around to hear them. I guess I can send them back if I buy them on Amazon. I feel kind of bad doing that but I spend enough money there I guess...

I really really want to hear an Abyss Phi but it might be good that I can't because they're about 5 grand outside my maximum price range.

 

thanks for the recommendations! lots of great info. i will check out the sony's and Audeze plus the headphone amps.

 

i think we listen to those abyss things ... sounded good.

 

I'm trying to get rid of my ATH-M50x headphones so I can replace them with something roughly around $200 to $250. I'm fine with either over or on-ear pairs, and while I'd prefer them to be more lightweight than the M50xs, that's not an absolute necessity. They also need to be fairly easy to drive with a portable device. One more thing, I mainly listen to 80s music (synthpop, J-pop/city pop, rock, metal, and R&B). I'm looking for something that's favors bass and midrange, along with having tamed-down upper-mids and natural treble. Not a fan of V-curved EQ. Would the Sennheiser HD600 be my best bet, or will anything similar work for my criteria?

 

Okay, I'm probably not going to do the HD600s since most of the comments I've read state that it needs an amp. I would rather not buy an amp for now; just need to focus on something that's easy to drive through a phone or laptop. However, I may still buy them if they can at least sound decent without an amp. With that said, would the HD598 be a better option for my criteria, or is there something similar to that if not? At the very least, I need a pair that doesn't have bright highs.

 

The Sony MDR-1AM2 would be worth considering.

 

Will give it some thought, thanks for the recommendation. However, in another thread, you stated that this pair has a V shaped curve. Is this true? If so, how much is the midrange dialed back?

 

The bass isn't over exaggerated and the highs are clear. I don't find that the midrange is dialed back like a lower level pair aimed at the basshead market. Just enough to sound fun. They are targeted at the audiophile market. I listen to them when I travel either though my laptop and a DragonFly Red DAC or straight from my LG V30 for two to three hours at a time at the end of a long work day. I haven't found them to be as fatiguing after a more thorough break in. Lightweight, comfortable and easy to drive with a phone. If you have a Best Buy close that carries the Magnolia line products, they should be on display for demo.

I actually gave my first pair to my son. I eventually bought another pair based on the comfort factor and ease to drive. Let them break in for a bit and you're good. My original review was a little harsh. They have become my main pair at this point.