Headphone Heights Welcome to Headphone Heights, the place for all your ear bud discussion

---

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] Thread: [ Display  All  Email ] [ Headphone Heights ]

---

[ Alert Moderator ]

---

RE: headphone advice

Posted by PAR (A) on October 1, 2019 at 09:28:31

In Reply to: RE: headphone advice posted by Dr RAC on October 1, 2019 at 07:42:20:

I think the first thing for you to think about and in order to eliminate some contenders is whether your circumstances are such that you prefer closed back or open back 'phones.

Closed back provide the best isolation fro the surroundings (and it from you) but are often held to sound less clear and open or even natural than open 'phones. However I have heard some great closed back 'phones so I am not that biased. However the majority of best regarded cans from a hifi standpoint currently are open backed ( though not exclusively).

If you want to keep under $1K then I would continue using your existing main amplifier headphone outputs. However do take account of your amp headphone connection's tech specs in relation to the impedance and sensitivity of the headphones you are considering.

Unfortunately an SPL Phonitor 2 plus suitable headphones would easily exceed your budget. BTW the SPL crossfeed is very sophisticated compared to the Head-Fi implementation (I used to have one too), allowing adjustment of crossfeed level, centre positioning and angle. It is subtle (SPL point out in the manual that it is not an "effect") but is really convincing once you become accustomed to it.

If I were you I would be considering Focal Elears (open) or Elegias (closed) or Mr. Speakers Aeon Flow (closed). The former are normal dynamic designs the latter a planar magnetic. Note that planars can sound great but all that I have heard tend to droop in the treble. Great bass though.

So far Sennheiser 600s or 6xx have been mentioned. I have used 600s as my main pair of cans since their introduction 30 or longer years ago. One great thing about Senns is that each part is replaceable so worn earpads, headband etc. are no problem. To me they still sound the best of the 6xx range and I recommend them. However they come with the same connecting wire as 30 years ago. A great improvement is to buy a pair plus a spare connecting wire for the HD650 (all parts in the 6xx range are interchangeable). A small additional cost but worth it. You can also swap the stock cable for the 650 balanced one if you have the facility to use it. I have done so with great satisfaction.

Of course , as with most audio, the proof is in the pudding and this brings me to one difficulty in buying cans. Unless you are very fortunate it is hard to find dealers that will demonstrate ( we have some specialists here in the UK but I haven't seen anything similar in the US though they may exist). So it can be buy and try not try and buy which I would not like if I was spending a grand. If you can get along to an audio show or to a CanJam then you will at least have a chance to get an idea of what is out there and where your preferences lie.

I hope this is of some help.
"We need less, but better" - Dieter Rams

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

VH Audio

---

[ Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]

---

[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]

---