Year-end bonus is out. I was thinking about getting myself a pair of UE11 Pro finally but doubted myself since I bought Westone 3 just two weeks ago. After my 4-year short experience in non-custom in-ear earphones I have decided that it is time to try headphones rather than going any further on in-ears. Therefore I came here and ask all headphone veterans for suggestions.

I am considering HD650, Stax Omega II and Grado RS-1. I know the price difference of these headphones is big but I hope I can get what I want according to my own listening preference. Orpheus is too expensive for me.

A bit of my in-ear history before going into my sound preference. My first was er6i, followed by er4p after my 6i connection broke. I was very happy with my er4p but decided to upgrade to Shure SE530 when it came out. It was a mistake as SE530 was definitely not for me, so I bought TF10Pro. Very happy with it ever since, but bought Westone 3 anyway since I never had the chance of hearing the UM1 and UM2. I had also auditioned IE8 SCL2 but the experience was too short to make any substantiated comment.

My preference of these earphones so far (er6i aside), with my most preferred on the left:

Triple-Fi 10 Pro > Westone 3 >= ER4p >>>>>> SE530

Maybe it is too early to make a fair comment on my Westone 3 as it has not been properly run-in yet, but at this moment I certainly prefer the soundstage of TF10Pro to that of Westone 3. Westone 3 gives me the same level of detail ER4P does, only that it has much better separation of sounds, and better soundstage (although still way behind TF10 Pro in this regard, in my opinion). To sum up, I like good sound stage most , but that should not be compromised by details (like the SE530 did, despite the fact that its soundstage was never as good as TF10 anyways). That's why TF10Pro is my favourite, because it boasts clear separation of instruments while sounding natural (though a bit cold, but again not as cold as the ER's) and detailed enough.

So, based on my listening preferences, which of the HD650, Stax Omega II and Grado RS-1 would you guys suggest? Any other suggestions apart from these are also welcome. Many thanks in advance!

K701, since you seem to like the airy sound, or maybe the stax (though i've not heard that one).

x2. I just got a K701 yesterday, and while the sound signature will change a lot as I break it in over the next week or so, I will say that they are REMARKABLY airy. I will be A/Bing them with my DT880 this weekend, but already I think they will blow the Beyers out of the water in this regard.

If you don't like the SE530 stay away from the HD650. If you are looking for soundstage there are better options than the RS1. I suspect that you will like the AD2000, SA5000 or DT880 more than the K701, if you are not looking for something as flat and neutral as possible like the ER4p. The DT880 is probably the best option for you, not expensive and very similar to the Triplefi 10. And I assume you are planning to get an amp? If you are not planning to get an amp you should go for the AD2000.

It seems like you may like Grado phones.

Personally, I have never tried the RS-1, but the 325i remind me very much of the UE sound.

Thanks for your suggestions! One more question here - with in-ear earphones I can use pmps as source with wave or otherwise lossless recordings. I guess that is not acceptable for headphones especially the high-end ones like Stax Omega II? I was never an audiophile and therefore does not own any decent CD player. The best CD player I have is my Playstation 3 (lol). If I want to listen to high-end headphones, must I purchase a good CD player? How good? If I want to get Stax Omega II but I need a player which equals or exceeds the price of Stax, I may as well just scrap the whole idea...

On top of a really nice DAC, you're going to also want a really solid amp for a number of those headphones listed in this thread.

Another vote for k701 is you want some similar attributes to (my wife's) TF10 &, as already said, decent amp more or less compulsory + (if you believe) major running in 300+ hours, certainly to get some more meaningful bass presence & basic impact.

Agree with SE530/HD650 similar flavour (1 I like).

Consider that your taste in Cans *may* be different to inears given your outer ear comes into play... its a very different experience.

Go and listen for yourself but if that's not feasible, k701 is likely to please for at least some music styles. Vocals can be amazing.

Good luck

Thanks - if I get the Stax Omega II, I will buy the packaged tube amp so there is one less thing to worry. But then I will have to buy a CD player anyways - any suggestion as to which CD player would be a good match for the Stax?

As for the other headphones, what is the price range of the matching amps? I don't mind spending a bit but it would be odd if the amp itself is say 10 times more expensive than the headphones.

Might I suggest W5000. It's a closed headphone but it seem to have the sound signature you're looking for. It's very airy sounding for a closed can. It's also very detailed and has a 3D like soundstage which wows me the most.

A matching amp for the W5000 would be something like Yamamoto HA02 and Audio Technica's very own matching AT-HA5000 built specifically for the W5000.

if you can afford the omega 2 i say go for it.
you should probably ask for some more opinions in the stax thread over at the high end forum, regarding amping and source.