Do you ever find yourself...

Techen · 8 Dec 2016 at 17:24

So, I loved music but being a gamer I always used headsets... Thought it was fine until I really entered the headphone group. It's amazing what you you've missed with a good set of cans, Like seriously but trying to explain that to my other gamer friends, They don't understand it... But then I was like that so.

But yea, ever since getting my first legit headphones DT 990, I was entranced in hearing all my favourite music again, Just blew my mind over and over again.

Then it hit me, I wanted more.... That's most likely where I lost my wallet...

I went from a DT990 > AKG 712 > HD800

Quite the gaps between and insanely different sounds.

and of course, Who could forget speakers...

Am insanely curious, Has anyone else been bitten by the audio bug really hard they just went nuts to seek out the best listening experience they could find? Am insanely happy where I am now but I'd love to hear from others.

Ryanr1987 · 8 Dec 2016 at 18:44

I started out with the Shure 440 and was honestly underwhelmed but I kept them for quite a few years and I was appreciating them and they ended up being a good headphone. I then heard about all this beats hype then decided to dip my toes in them and found them ok but they sounded like they had something missing so went on to try different gear, training my ears so that I could tell which headphone does what better than others. I then went on to try the Grado SR60i and found them fun but just too damn bright. Bought the M50 limited edition and found them the same as my 440's. Me and my wife went on a shopping spree and ended up on HMV where they had loads of headphones to try. We went through them all until my wife said these are good and handed me the Beats Pro's, they sounded good. She then picked up a pair of D2000 and she said they were amazing and I fell in love with the bass and detail...bought them.

Bought some 770's for backup and used them for travel and fell in love with them too. At this point I was still learning about audio. I tried various Sennheiser like the HD600 and 650 and preferred the 600 at the time. Months later my ears became more "trained" I decided to try the Audeze LCD-2 and fell in love with it! It was glorious. Tried HD800 and liked them too.

I found some small forums that were talking about the HD650's so decided to try them more in depth and fell in love with them. Best mids and balance I've heard. I then bought loads of phones like the LCD-2's but sold em and kept coming back to the 650's. Bought some K701 variants for gaming and loved them.

Tried HD650 with higher end gear and was amazed by it's scaling and that it was sounding better than the Planars like the LCD-2. Bought various amps and DACs and just experimented with different stuff, loaned stuff and just had a little journey. Bought the Nighthawk which was a refreshing change.

Now I use my HD800 for video games and the HD650 for fun. My next headphone will have to be something that is truly better than the 650. One thing I learnt on this hobby is take your own path. All these big forums are filled with people who don't know what they are talking about and have deep pockets only. If anyone is just starting out do NOT go to big names forums.

Rroff · 8 Dec 2016 at 18:48

For music I've had some fairly decent headphones since early on however I used to game a lot on a fairly ok Sennheiser headset and didn't think it was too bad until one day playing COD4 or MW2 I can't remember which I lazily left the HD600s in and was blown away by how much extra small detail I heard hah (I wouldn't however do online/competitive gaming with the 600s).

SexyGreyFox · 8 Dec 2016 at 18:49

Now try some triple driver in ear headphones such as the Fidue A83s with a proper DAP player and be prepared to be blown away.

new boy · 8 Dec 2016 at 19:32

Hmmm, not so much

I did some reasearch and I purchased some creative aurvana live 2 headphones. Really enjoyed them as my first headphones, but after a year or so I found myself wanting more.

I then got some phillips fidelio x2s, which I think are great and will probably keep forever or untill they break. I've had them a year or so so far.

I driven them with an asus xonar dx, on board Realtek ALC1150 and my phone (s6) all sound good to me.

james.miller · 9 Dec 2016 at 10:28

I jumped in at the deep end. decided i wanted a decent pair of headphones, tried a few and knew straight away that it was the 650s that i wanted so i bought a pair 8 years ago and never looked back.

Things change I've changed · 9 Dec 2016 at 13:35

Ryanr1987 said:
I started out with the Shure 440 and was honestly underwhelmed but I kept them for quite a few years and I was appreciating them and they ended up being a good headphone. I then heard about all this beats hype then decided to dip my toes in them and found them ok but they sounded like they had something missing so went on to try different gear, training my ears so that I could tell which headphone does what better than others. I then went on to try the Grado SR60i and found them fun but just too damn bright. Bought the M50 limited edition and found them the same as my 440's. Me and my wife went on a shopping spree and ended up on HMV where they had loads of headphones to try. We went through them all until my wife said these are good and handed me the Beats Pro's, they sounded good. She then picked up a pair of D2000 and she said they were amazing and I fell in love with the bass and detail...bought them.

Bought some 770's for backup and used them for travel and fell in love with them too. At this point I was still learning about audio. I tried various Sennheiser like the HD600 and 650 and preferred the 600 at the time. Months later my ears became more "trained" I decided to try the Audeze LCD-2 and fell in love with it! It was glorious. Tried HD800 and liked them too.

I found some small forums that were talking about the HD650's so decided to try them more in depth and fell in love with them. Best mids and balance I've heard. I then bought loads of phones like the LCD-2's but sold em and kept coming back to the 650's. Bought some K701 variants for gaming and loved them.

Tried HD650 with higher end gear and was amazed by it's scaling and that it was sounding better than the Planars like the LCD-2. Bought various amps and DACs and just experimented with different stuff, loaned stuff and just had a little journey. Bought the Nighthawk which was a refreshing change.

Now I use my HD800 for video games and the HD650 for fun. My next headphone will have to be something that is truly better than the 650. One thing I learnt on this hobby is take your own path. All these big forums are filled with people who don't know what they are talking about and have deep pockets only. If anyone is just starting out do NOT go to big names forums.

What version of the LCD-2's did you have? I'm thinking of grabbing as pair of LCD-2.2f, I'm worried they might be a bit too warm/dark sounding but then reading around people say that the Fazor revision are not as dark as the older versions.

How would you compare the sound signatures of the 650 and LCD-2?, Mid range is very important to me.

Ryanr1987 · 9 Dec 2016 at 15:08

lowrider007 said:
What version of the LCD-2's did you have? I'm thinking of grabbing as pair of LCD-2.2f, I'm worried they might be a bit too warm/dark sounding but then reading around people say that the Fazor revision are not as dark as the older versions.

How would you compare the sound signatures of the 650 and LCD-2?, Mid range is very important to me.

I've had the 2016 Fazor drivers, 2.1 drivers and 2.2 drivers.

Vs the 650 the current LCD-2 is more recessed in the upper mids, a bit leaner and drier. If mids are important then I wouldn't grab the current LCD-2's. Maybe look into the Hifiman Edition X which is about a side grade to the 650 with a better upper mid presence than the LCD-2.

It's really hard to recommend any of these headphones over the 650 especially for mids. The 650 outfotms most of the higher priced Planars. You could try the Focal Elear which I felt were a more technical version of the LCD-2. The Elear and 650 are overall prob side grades but the Elear is a bit more refined.

The current LCD-2 isn't a dark headphone at all I'd say it's tone is similar to the K612 but without the upper mid peak. Are you looking for an upgrade to the 650's or a compliment?

darreny · 9 Dec 2016 at 19:51

i loved the akg712 probably more than the 650s but they just didn't fit my head. they always felt like they were going to fall off leaning forward. still cant beat speakers tho, i have a pair of mission 780se running through a yamaha dspa1 amp with a rel strata 3 sub and they sound lovely