Soldato
Did you ever try out the 560s? Think it was you I saw on SBAF?
what headphones do you own thread - i own dt150's :)
- Thread starter garyfl
- Start date
Did you ever try out the 560s? Think it was you I saw on SBAF?
Soldato
never mind
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Soldato
Wasn't me. I've never posted on SBAF, could have been Ryan - as for the HE560s I have never tried them, though did want to but the whole braking headband lottery put me off
Soldato
Oh yeah it was Ryan lol. And huh, headband lottery? We back to the breaking crap of the 595s?
Have to say I'm happier with the Sony MDR EX650AP now I've added an inline volume control to tame the sensitivity which also seems to cure the at times out of control treble. Though they don't quite have as open sound as I like especially with the volume control in the mix there is a tiny touch as if hearing sound through a cardboard tube, etc. but a lovely crisp punch to lower mid-range.
Another headphone though which are interesting to use as a novelty but I wouldn't want to be stuck with them as my normal day to day option.
Another headphone though which are interesting to use as a novelty but I wouldn't want to be stuck with them as my normal day to day option.
Soldato
There were a few batches of the HE400i and HE560 that used a dodgy plastic mix for the arms that hold the ear cups. This led to a LOT of them snapping with no real stress required. Problem was made worse because the replacements could well have been made using the same mix, so people were going through multiple pairs before they got a good one and by that time all trust had gone. I was lucky, my HE400i had a good one and is still going strong now, albeit with Dekoni Sheepskin pads as the originals fell apart after 12 months
Soldato
Oh, I think we got our 560s confused - I meant the HD560s!
Soldato
Ah, the Sennheiser HD560S, not heard it myself but haven't heard a bad thing about it
Associate
Started with the Fidelio X2HRs, went to the X3s and while they fix the muddy bass that sometimes comes on the X2s, and I actually like the build/style of the X3s better, there was just something 'missing' with them. So I went back to the X2HRs, such a good value headset to buy at the moment given the price of them. There is something quite cool about the really industrial look of the X2HRs.
Had the DT900 Pro X's arrive today and first impressions are really good. Will probably sell the X3s at some point given I've barely touched them and keep the X2HRs along with the DT900 Pro X's. Really wish Philips hadn't changed the sound profile of the X3s as much because they're a lovely set of headphones, with the option to be balanced.
I do have to say I prefer the memory foam used in the Fidelio ear pads as well, and they are a bit bigger than the DT900s. Anyone with big ears might find the DT900s quite snug, whereas the Fidelio's definitely give more breathing space.
I tune my headphones to this https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets with Equilizer APO and Peace. This video while a little long and rambly does at one point show how to read the preset PDFs and put the values into Peace for your headset https://youtu.be/uWQ-DtHe24E
All headphones run through a Fiio K3.
Had the DT900 Pro X's arrive today and first impressions are really good. Will probably sell the X3s at some point given I've barely touched them and keep the X2HRs along with the DT900 Pro X's. Really wish Philips hadn't changed the sound profile of the X3s as much because they're a lovely set of headphones, with the option to be balanced.
I do have to say I prefer the memory foam used in the Fidelio ear pads as well, and they are a bit bigger than the DT900s. Anyone with big ears might find the DT900s quite snug, whereas the Fidelio's definitely give more breathing space.
I tune my headphones to this https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets with Equilizer APO and Peace. This video while a little long and rambly does at one point show how to read the preset PDFs and put the values into Peace for your headset https://youtu.be/uWQ-DtHe24E
All headphones run through a Fiio K3.
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Man of Honour
My 1st 'proper' open backed headphones, retiring the Dan Clark Aeon closed after trying these.
Associate
Fit on the 900 Pro X's is a lot better now (bit less clamp). I'm also loving the Fiio K5 Pro ESS. I was considering the JDS Labs Element II, but it is more expensive and I'm glad I have a digital volume knob. It's great having perfect balance right down to really quiet. I think the Element III has gone digital?
In other news, after running the Oratory1990 settings for the 900 Pro X and also trying them without, I genuinely prefer the 900 Pro X as is. Happy with that! I definitely had to tune the Fidelio's for my ears.
As for the 900 Pro X sound quality, way more detailed/crisp than the Fidelio's. I think I've found what I personally like. Always tried to navigate to bass as it's often a perceived notion that bass = good, crank it! But I really don't miss the boomy bass of the X2HRs now. I like this cleaner more analytical sounding profile.
Grabbed a pair of Focal Clear MG Professional other day after auditioning over 50 open back headphones from planar, electrostatic to dynamic and only ones I liked were the Focal Clear MG to go with my Focal Elegia overall, but liked the Audeze LCD 5 and 4's for planars but stupid money for them and was not going down that road but was willing to spend silly money meaning £1-2K max for a nice open back, but I'm happy to say the ones I fell for were no where near that silly price of over £2K and I even blind listened to them after I put the ones aside I liked and always ended up with the Clear MG and surprised even the staff where I was listening with said same thing and was his first time going threw so many and was happy to join in with me so he could see what they were all like with my gear I brought with me to test with and my music and he said same thing at end and was shocked how so many more expensive ones sounded so bad for the price.
In the end my honest opinion was hifiman sundara 2020 versions was a bargain for a planar and were £220 and I liked them for the price but I was after one set of open backs to go with my closed back Elegias that I like a lot for when I'm doing listening and making music without disturbing others or when recording with a microphone they are not heard by the mic as they are closed back. Might still grab a pair of the sundaras to have around as planars as they were only ones worth their asking price to me apart from the silly priced lcd 5 and 4..no thanks for the price of them I can buy more monitors that I want not headphones. Ohh also liked the lcd x and they were in my top 5 when picking the ones I liked too, they came in a nice creator bundle too with a case and they come in closed back too lcd xc and were very nice too and for their price I think they were worth it too, just not 100% what I was looking for, but if I have a spare £1K+ again to waste on headphones these maybe it the LCD X, they were very nice for planars.
Everything else I listened to even some closed backs I went threw all the focals from Elegia to Utopia and best part was I liked the clear MGs more than even the Utopias and the original clears they had too at a discount as they are end of line and was hoping to like them as they were a lot cheaper than the MGs he offered them to me at, but the MGs were just a match made in heaven to my ears and the sound I was looking for.
I honestly have to say the worst sounding headphones came from sennheiser and the 820 were a really bad joke for headphones almost costing £2K the 800s were the only ones I liked from them and they were still not worth the price compared to the Focal clear MGs and didn't have the punch the focals had or the really clear detailed sound they sounded hollow compared to the focals and the 820s sounded like I was stuck in cave with high mids and high treble only with everything else in the background or not there. The music I used to test with was my own created music and audio files that I know how they sound on studio monitors and I own Focal twin6 Be monitors and Adam a77x monitors and also a sub with both when needed switched on, I also use IK Multimedia iloud MTMs too for the laptop area and anyone that's heard these monitors I use and likes them will love the Clear MGs as that's what they sounded like to me like sitting in front of my monitors.
I listened to the Focal Clear MGs they are a brown nutty bronze colour scheme and decided to get the pro versions as they are the same but in red and black and came with a spare set of pads too, they are exactly the same headphones just colour is different and the accessories are extra ear pads and different cables as no xlr cable with the pro version. I broke them in and went back with them to the store and tried them again against all the headphones I liked and confirmed also they sound exactly the same as the regular clear MGs too and again came out liking them that day too. Great open back headphones and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a nice open back set.
Focal Clear MG Professionals.
Regular Focal Clear MG in case you like this colour version and the ones you will find in stores to test but if you like them and like the Pro colours they sound exactly the same.
In the end my honest opinion was hifiman sundara 2020 versions was a bargain for a planar and were £220 and I liked them for the price but I was after one set of open backs to go with my closed back Elegias that I like a lot for when I'm doing listening and making music without disturbing others or when recording with a microphone they are not heard by the mic as they are closed back. Might still grab a pair of the sundaras to have around as planars as they were only ones worth their asking price to me apart from the silly priced lcd 5 and 4..no thanks for the price of them I can buy more monitors that I want not headphones. Ohh also liked the lcd x and they were in my top 5 when picking the ones I liked too, they came in a nice creator bundle too with a case and they come in closed back too lcd xc and were very nice too and for their price I think they were worth it too, just not 100% what I was looking for, but if I have a spare £1K+ again to waste on headphones these maybe it the LCD X, they were very nice for planars.
Everything else I listened to even some closed backs I went threw all the focals from Elegia to Utopia and best part was I liked the clear MGs more than even the Utopias and the original clears they had too at a discount as they are end of line and was hoping to like them as they were a lot cheaper than the MGs he offered them to me at, but the MGs were just a match made in heaven to my ears and the sound I was looking for.
I honestly have to say the worst sounding headphones came from sennheiser and the 820 were a really bad joke for headphones almost costing £2K the 800s were the only ones I liked from them and they were still not worth the price compared to the Focal clear MGs and didn't have the punch the focals had or the really clear detailed sound they sounded hollow compared to the focals and the 820s sounded like I was stuck in cave with high mids and high treble only with everything else in the background or not there. The music I used to test with was my own created music and audio files that I know how they sound on studio monitors and I own Focal twin6 Be monitors and Adam a77x monitors and also a sub with both when needed switched on, I also use IK Multimedia iloud MTMs too for the laptop area and anyone that's heard these monitors I use and likes them will love the Clear MGs as that's what they sounded like to me like sitting in front of my monitors.
I listened to the Focal Clear MGs they are a brown nutty bronze colour scheme and decided to get the pro versions as they are the same but in red and black and came with a spare set of pads too, they are exactly the same headphones just colour is different and the accessories are extra ear pads and different cables as no xlr cable with the pro version. I broke them in and went back with them to the store and tried them again against all the headphones I liked and confirmed also they sound exactly the same as the regular clear MGs too and again came out liking them that day too. Great open back headphones and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a nice open back set.
Focal Clear MG Professionals.
Regular Focal Clear MG in case you like this colour version and the ones you will find in stores to test but if you like them and like the Pro colours they sound exactly the same.
Soldato
Added the Soundcore Liberty 3 Pros recently on sale to this list and to be honest they're not too shabby. Overall impressed at the price point.
Mind you Soundcore recently released the A40s which may be a slightly better option
Love the headphone stand. I have two of those!My 1st 'proper' open backed headphones, retiring the Dan Clark Aeon closed after trying these.
Soldato
My 1st 'proper' open backed headphones, retiring the Dan Clark Aeon closed after trying these.
You selling your Aeon Closed back's?
Man of Honour
Considered the HD660S recently and have watched many reviews comparing them to teh HD650. The running trend is that they are in the same ball park as the 650, same warmth, same stage, the 660s have a little tighter bass, tighter mid range, a little brighter but they both have the same signature that they are HD6xx headphones - A good thing.
Concluded that they were not an upgrade because they are so close, the only upside is that the 660S are 150 ohms, 650s are 300ohms, but I have a dedicated headphones amp in my DAC/amp so driving them is never an issue.
So once again likely for another 5 years I will keep the 650s and call them endgame until the itch for a new toy shows face again, probably
They've been legendary for the last 15+ years for a reason I suppose lol.
Also, it's a small detail, but the 660S headband having a small logo on the left side vs the massive logo sprawling the entire band on the e650 is something I find annoying with the 660S, makes inefficient use of an otherwise empty space. I also don't like that the driver cage on the 660S no longer has the holographic sticker on one can which you can see through the grille like the 650 does. A shame Sennheiser stopped doing that.
One review I watched stated that he always gets headphones that have a similar sound to his speakers, so the experience is more ofr less the same when switching from daytime listening to nighttime without disturbing neighbours etc. I fully agree with that train of thought which is why I've always gone back to Sennheiser cans after trying others (AKG 701, XX Drop edition, Phillips Fidelio X1/X2).
Oh well.
Concluded that they were not an upgrade because they are so close, the only upside is that the 660S are 150 ohms, 650s are 300ohms, but I have a dedicated headphones amp in my DAC/amp so driving them is never an issue.
So once again likely for another 5 years I will keep the 650s and call them endgame until the itch for a new toy shows face again, probably
They've been legendary for the last 15+ years for a reason I suppose lol.
Also, it's a small detail, but the 660S headband having a small logo on the left side vs the massive logo sprawling the entire band on the e650 is something I find annoying with the 660S, makes inefficient use of an otherwise empty space. I also don't like that the driver cage on the 660S no longer has the holographic sticker on one can which you can see through the grille like the 650 does. A shame Sennheiser stopped doing that.
One review I watched stated that he always gets headphones that have a similar sound to his speakers, so the experience is more ofr less the same when switching from daytime listening to nighttime without disturbing neighbours etc. I fully agree with that train of thought which is why I've always gone back to Sennheiser cans after trying others (AKG 701, XX Drop edition, Phillips Fidelio X1/X2).
Oh well.
Beautiful! Looking forward to demoing one..
First review out for the new Utopia.
What Hi-Fi review (yes I know before anyone says it
) :- https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/focal-utopia-2022Having always preferred speaker based systems, I find I now have less free time than ever and my Rega / Totem system rarely gets switched on so I've decided to switch to headphones. The argument being that I can find 20-30 mins here and there to pick them up and listen.
I've had a pair of Sennheiser 570's for around 20 years and they've seen little use so step 1 was to get am amp/Dac. Wanting to keep it simple, the ifi Zen DAC v2 ticks all the boxes - easily powered by whatever device I plug it into so can be transported around the house without issue. Powered by my Fiio Dap or Volumio running from a Pi, it sounds great.
The 570's were brought to life and I was happy with this although I had half an eye on the 600/650/660s range. I tried the Focal Elegia and wanted to love them but just found something was missing. They just didn't have enough excitement about them. Along came step 2 - The 660s came up at a really good price so I bit the bullet and I have to admit, this is every bit as good as my speaker based system. Room correction is taken out of the equation and the music becomes really immersive. The soundstage is fantastic and they're not overly bright. I'm really impressed.
I don't intend to go much further than this (famous last words!). I may add a Zen Can at some point but I want to keep it simple and just enjoy the music, which I am right now.
I've had a pair of Sennheiser 570's for around 20 years and they've seen little use so step 1 was to get am amp/Dac. Wanting to keep it simple, the ifi Zen DAC v2 ticks all the boxes - easily powered by whatever device I plug it into so can be transported around the house without issue. Powered by my Fiio Dap or Volumio running from a Pi, it sounds great.
The 570's were brought to life and I was happy with this although I had half an eye on the 600/650/660s range. I tried the Focal Elegia and wanted to love them but just found something was missing. They just didn't have enough excitement about them. Along came step 2 - The 660s came up at a really good price so I bit the bullet and I have to admit, this is every bit as good as my speaker based system. Room correction is taken out of the equation and the music becomes really immersive. The soundstage is fantastic and they're not overly bright. I'm really impressed.
I don't intend to go much further than this (famous last words!). I may add a Zen Can at some point but I want to keep it simple and just enjoy the music, which I am right now.
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