I am a headphone officianado and my system is all headphone.
HIFIMAN SUSVARA headphones
AURIS HEADONIA headphone amp
EMM LABS DAC2X V2
Call me to discuss nine seven two seven six five eight two seven nine
34 responses Add your response
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What is your budget? I suggest you check out the different websites and read their customer's reviews and than take any decision. In My opinion, I use outdoor tech headphones which are amazing sound and many other features. I think you should go with an outdoor tech chip coupon, the rest is up to you. |
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I really enjoy headphones, and love rotating them to appreciate the different nuances of their sound. This also helps me train my ears.I started with the Hifiman HE1000, the Sennheisers 800 S, and the Focal Utopias, with a Woo Audio balanced tube amp, which I have since replaced. (My true first ones were Sennheiser 600’s, which have a distinct veil.). To me the Sennheiser 800S are too bright and clinical. The HE’s are rather big and are not comfortable for me. I love the Utopias for their smoothness and detail. I have since added 3 more sets — the Hifiman Susvara, the Audeze LCD 4, and the Rosson Rad-o’s — all planar magnetic. The Susvara are my favorite — extremely detailed, wonderfully spatial and layered, and refined. I greatly enjoy the LCD-4’s as well, and they have a fuller sound with a smaller sound stage. The Rossons are not at the same level, but nice to have since they are so much easier to drive, just using my AK SP2000. My current set-up is an Aurender N100 into a Chord M scaler into a Chord TT2, which I kind of had to buy because the Susvara are extremely hard to drive. I use Cardas Clear cables with all of the headphones. The Audeze are the heaviest and the Susvara the lightest and most comfortable. I’d be happy to go into more depth if you have questions. I listen to jazz, bluegrass/Americana, classical, and rock. If I were ever to get another set, it would be the RAAL’s, which sound like they may be the best of all. |
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Hello all, I have a Cary Audio SLP-05 Preamp/ Headphone Amplifier with the Ultimate Upgrade and Cardas Wiring. It is also Tube rolled. Which headphones will be the best matched with this beauty. Here is what this preamp has to offer. I’m looking at the Sennheiser HD800s Open Back, Focal Utopia Open Back, Audeze LCD 4(z), Meze Empyrean Open Back, Meze Elite Isodynamic Hybrid Array, Audeze CRBN Electostatic, and McIntosh MHP1000. The preamplifier has eight (8) 6SN7 dual triodes. Four (4) of the 6SN7's act as the true balanced main line section. Two (2) of the 6SN7's are operating in the front end ahead of the gain stage as balanced plus/minus 180 degree input buff er stage. The remaining two (2) 6SN7's function as a class A push-pull zero feedback headphone amplifier. This headphone section amplifier has two on board output transformers to transform the high impedance of the 6SN7's to low impedance for driving the headphones. I appreciate the help. Thanks |
I’ve owned a set of Razer Carcharias for probably 13 years now (has to be somewhere around there I bought them when I worked at Best Buy during college.) They survived 6 years of heavy WoW raid use and they’re currently laying on my desk for when I host webinars for work 3 times a week. I don’t know what all the online regarding them is about. I hear a lot of good things about the HyperX headsets but I’ve never used one. I just bought a set of Razor Blackshark V2 for $100 while looking for some good gaming Headsets. They’re… good. I like the mic as much as the Razer’s because it’s detachable and it is not fixed in place so I easily flip it up when not in use. I also easily find the faux leather cups super comfortable, just like the microfiber ones on the Razers, they are as nice as the cups on the Bose QC15s. If it’s the wire being destroyed, maybe go for something with a replaceable line in? You can get replacement line ins for most Sennheisers (my previous set of headphones before the mic became necessary) and Bose QC15’s. There’s also a couple of mics out there that can piggy back on nicer headphones which weren’t available a few years ago. Thinking about it, I probably have way too many headphones laying around so I really should stop buying them. I’m counting 5 working pairs of circumoral aural headsets right now plus 4 sets of earbuds. |
Maybe the OP can go to a store with a lot of headphones, or go to the CanJam event near you (if allowed under the current conditions) to try many headphone. Some will sound excellent, but be uncomfortable to wear. Some will sound decent and comfortable. Each one is so individual in requirements, that it's best to try and see if it works for you, and may not then work for someone else. I have five pairs of headphones gathered over 5 decades. None are still an ideal fit for both comfort and sound quality. Good luck. |
What ever phones and amp you choose remember that the cables from the wall to your phones and everything in between are extremely important. One bottle neck inferior cable can ruin a potentially awesome system. For me it was a good digital cable between transport and dac which was a necessary upgrade. Don’t scrimp on cables!! Try before you buy. |
I am looking at the RAAL SR1a as a second headphone. It is supposed to be unlike any other headphone in that they are closer to sounding like speakers. This headphone cannot be driven by regular headphone amps. There are 2 specific headphone amps that can drive them, 1 by Schitt and the other by RAAL. RAAL also provides a INTERFACE TO AMPLIFIER box that can be used to hook up a 2 channel amp to use as the headphone amp. I got interested in this headphone because of this 2 channel amp support and also the fact that the SR1a was designed using the Benchmark AHB2. I own 2 of these amps and it could be an ideal match. The USA distributer (or owner) is local to me so I will try for a demo after COVID. Low priority though. My dealer told me that the Hifiman Susvara and Meze Empy are the 2 he owns and have some similarities. I own the Meze and love it with the WyWire Platinum XLR (much better than stock). |
Best place to learn about headphones is head-fi.com I think the main thing to figure out is what headphones do not give you fatigue. Then how much to spend to on those non-fatiguing headphones. I hated my prior Senn 600 headphones because of fatigue with my Benchmark DAC3 HGC preamp/DAC. I now have 2 headphone amps, a $3000 one and a $500 one. For headphone ONLY use the Topping A90 at $500 is highly recommended by me and is very close to the $3K Benchmark HPA4.. It is a neutral sounding amp. It goes great with my $3K Meze Empy, a warmish sounding headphone. I have not heard the $300 Meze 99 Classic but from what I have read on Head-Fi it supposed to be similar in sound to the Empy. Your choice of amp will also figure in on the fatigue factor. I had a $2K headphone amp that gave me fatigue and it was replaced by the amazing Topping A90 for 1/4 the cost. |
A suggestion would be to check out some Reviews to gain some insight into impressions, models (differences) and Driver Type. Darko does many Reviews on Cans, and Headphone Amps / DACs. darko.audio A good Amp makes a big difference ... also FYI > IEMs can be very nice for an exceptional experience. Listening for yourself if possible is best ( CanJam ). A DAC with a crossover / blending feature makes a difference as well. My listening is done with the two types of Can drivers, Dynamic and Planar both and two amps with one DAC. The equivalent of two separate systems ... |
How much do you want to spend? Arguably, the best bargain reference headphones are the Sennheiser 600 and 650. You can find Senn 6XX on Massdrop for a good savings over the official ones, and they are identical. The Sennheiser 6XX paired with an Audioquest Dragonly DAC/amp are a sweet combo for listening to Tidal via phone/tablet. The price goes up from there, especially of you have to add an amp. In no special order (and they have different models)... more expensive ones could include:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/recommended-components-fall-2020-edition-headphones I can’t find the headphone review site that used to be my reference... it was absorbed into Absolute Sound’s vortex :( |
This question will bring you lots of subjective answers, so here is mine. There are no "Best" headphones for listening to music! I have listened to Stax headphones since the early 90’s. I currently have the 009’s. I love the electrostatic sound for its quick, clear transparent sound. It truly sounds like a window on the soundstage. I wanted a more intimate sound so I bought a pair of Audeze LCD-XC, and a McIntosh MHA 100 to drive them. The Audeze are incredibly comfortable (albeit heavy) and it would be hard not to like them. The sound is powerful and dynamic but I miss the transparency of the Stax phones, so I move between them. Could I find a better sound if I spent more money? Maybe. You didn’t mention your budget, but I suspect it’s not unlimited. Jim’s comment above indicates that he loves his Sennheisers, and I’m sure they are great as well. My advice would be to settle on a budget and audition as many as you can. Find a pair that you like, and can live with long term. If you constantly chase different, more expensive headphones it will get expensive. When these lockdowns end, try to attend a Hi-Fi show. They all seem to feature a demonstration room for headphones. Believe me, you will find a pair that you like and an amplifier to drive them. I recommend a tube amp. Good luck in your search. |
You have opened up a real can of worms as everyone will give you different suggestions , here goes for me I have Sennheiser HD 800 which to me are superb phones but it depends what you listen to. I listen to only classical but my phones are great for that being super clear and very dynamic. Now if I had plenty of money I would go for Abyss AB 1266 Phi. They are simply stunning phones, super clear and articulate ,they are a phone for a lifetime but being an old geezer I can't afford them and also my wife would kill me !! I have spoken about my favourite phones but you also have to think of headphone amplifiers to go with them, I have the Luxman p-750u amp which I will say is one of the best out there and will drive virtually anything. Good luck in your quest. |