Open, comfortable alternative to the bassmonster ATH-M50?

HD650?

 

Or perhaps AKG's K240 studio as well as Beyerdynamic's DT 990.

I have the DT880 600ohm and it hits hard and low when called for. Listening to some Trentemøller and it's deeper than my Ultrasone HFI-780s, really textured and pleasurable, not flabby at all. As far as amping I would skip the Fiio, nothing more than a toy, and buy a tube amp for around $200 plus. I'd also recommend the Zero DAC for around $100 which has a built in DAC using op-amps.

I went from the M50 to the HD650 for similar reasons. It's not entirely a linear progression, as the HD650 signature is different (more lush and organic than the comparitively cold sounding M50), but I could not be happier with the decision.

Finding the right synergy with components in your chain is key imo. There is a discussion in the Audio-GD Pheonix thread about the myth of the HD650 only benefiting from bright components. I agree with the views there and have found first hand, even on my modest setup, how great the HD650 sounds with gear that's a tad on the warm side of neutral.

For this reason I'd suggest you look at the entry level Audio-GD gear if on a budget (NFB-12/Sparrow). Not only do you get a neutral and discrete amp section with very good power supply, but also a nice dac with great resolution and transparency.

Not sure I agree with you there, as the E9 is a very credible and affordable desktop amp.

DT880/600 is one of the best can I'd ever owned, and I too have nothing but praise over the bass and trebles. But I guess the OP is looking for boomy sorta bass ("bass monster") and not the crisp clear bass that DT880 delivers. 

 

As for Fiio, yes it is a toy. Then again, we must all start playing from somewhere isn't it?

By the way, there are cheap tubes that can be gotten at the same price as Fiio too (LD 1 comes into mind).

The HD650 sounds like it would be good for you, but you'll need an amp. I know they aren't open, but the Denon AH-D2000s should offer a step-up in sound quality and are extremely comfortable. I don't have any issues with sweaty ears wearing them, but I can't guarantee you won't.

Hey look, it's Graphicism and his psychobabbling anti-Fiio nonsense.

Jesus Christ.

 

Calm down, you should know everything I write is in my opinion, in your own words "I have clearly stated that is is all my opinion, so don't get butthurt about anything I write."

Wrong on both counts.

Learning from others? Like you? Yes, let me start calling a product well received by both newbies and veterans a 'toy' in an effort to completely dissuade potential buyers looking to get into this hobby from saving some money and spending a lot more money on a product they may not even necessarily need.

You're so helpful. Right.

I'll bring up something funny. In a recent London mini-meet, I believe one of the people who attended loved the E9 paired up with the T1 so much, he chose it over the T1 over your Darkvoice. The 'toy' isn't just limited to rookies. I won't even bring up the Beta22 vs E9 in the A/B amp comparison thread. I'll leave that to the haters to read.

˄ When I was first getting into headphones I preferred the Sony SA3000s on a $30 cmoy over a solid state Meier Headfive because the cmoy was adding bass and my source was crap! You can throw all the amplification in the world at a pair of headphones but if your source sucks you're amplifying rubbish.

 

Theres no magic going on with the Fiio combo, they use interchangeable op-amps (rulling out small form factor and a digital display) which will sound very close to another SS amp/DAC using the same op-amps. When I recommend the Zero over the Fiio combo I do so because it's full size, has digital inputs higher than USB and is cheaper. How you think I'm lulling people into spending more by suggesting a cheaper alternative I don't know.