Which headphone should I take for Metal Music? - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sesam 

Slaxi I'm surprised that you want "(very) detailed" headphones for metal, 

And im surprised you made this old thread bump. 

I did?, I could swear it was on the top of the forum xD

AH-D 7000

+1 Vote for the Beyerdynamic T1.

I listen to quite a bit of metal, anywhere from old school metal (Sabbath) to Extreme Death Metal, Symphonic Death Metal, and the like.

The T1 is absolutely beautiful. It has great instrument separation, and is rather neutral most of the way through with just a very slight peak at one part of the high end. Guitars on the T1 sound amazing - and my favorite genre to listen to on these phones is Post Rock. You will definitely want a tube amplifier for the T1 to make it all the more sweeter.

I'm in the same boat. I got Grado sr80i's right now that I've been modding and they sound pretty good but I want more space, air and soundstage with a little better detail and more of that clear effortless fast dynamic attack but with a little smoother highs and more impactful bass but slightly drier and more defined. (I have all the holes in the rear of the driver punched). My budget is less though. I would go for Hifiman HE-500 but I think that's too much right now for my budget. Looking more at Beyer T70P, Ultrasone Pro 2900, or Audio-Technica AD2000.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sesam 

Slaxi I'm surprised that you want "(very) detailed" headphones for metal, are you sure about that?. I have always found metal and rock sound much more enjoyable with a smooth tubey sound. Personally I think the DT880 and T1 are great with metal, with a tube amp with smooth/dark tubes that is (otherwise they tend to sound too harsh with metal) :)

 

Imho, a good metal headphone makes electric guitar as punishing and defined as possible. Speed is probably the aspect I would consider first in looking for a metal headphone, with punchy mids at second. I don't understand what the point of listening to harsh, brittle music is in the first place if you're just going to smooth it out >_>

Quote:

Originally Posted by AzraelDarkangel 

I'm in the same boat. I got Grado sr80i's right now that I've been modding and they sound pretty good but I want more space, air and soundstage with a little better detail and more of that clear effortless fast dynamic attack but with a little smoother highs and more impactful bass but slightly drier and more defined. (I have all the holes in the rear of the driver punched). My budget is less though. I would go for Hifiman HE-500 but I think that's too much right now for my budget. Looking more at Beyer T70P, Ultrasone Pro 2900, or Audio-Technica AD2000.

You could always try a pair of Beyerdynamic's DT 880.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tefloon 

Imho, a good metal headphone makes electric guitar as punishing and defined as possible. Speed is probably the aspect I would consider first in looking for a metal headphone, with punchy mids at second. I don't understand what the point of listening to harsh, brittle music is in the first place if you're just going to smooth it out >_>

Maybe we have different definitions of harsh and brittle, but I don't think metal sounds harsh or brittle live, and when I listen to enjoy music I try to recreate a live like sound experience. The T1 and the DT880 are slightly too analytical and bright IMO for metal without a warm DAC or tube amp. 

I think detail really doesn't work well for most metal, because it's badly recorded. Wait, before you ragetype all over the thread, let me repeat that: most metal. I'm sure there are some really well-recorded bands. I'm just saying that compared to other genres, metal suffers more than average from bad recording. Detail usually shows flaws, like unwanted distortion, dark sound (I know so far it seems like I'm just describing normal metal, but it sounds bad). In any case, I have not heard enough metal to take my own opinion on this very seriously, but I think it's one of those genres where you're better off with tubes and smooth relaxed cans.