Best headphones for metal?

^ lol ^

Third time lucky....?...

.....at the risk of fulfilling 'Sod's Law' I'll suggest the SR225i as best for metal.

I would recommend the TF10s, but then you'd just lose them. (If it is any pair of headphones people lose, it's usually the TF10s)

Are you sure your source is not destroying those headphones?

Quote:

Originally Posted by IndupitabLee 

I tried both the grado sr60 and 80, both had broken cables within the first day producing little to no sound in the left ear. (I dont miss use my headphones, this problem happened instantainious in both cases) This problem has happened to me counless times and im sick of it. Can anyone suggest headphones that are ideal for metal and commonly dont have this problem? Id be willing to go back to grados if someone can suggest a solution to my problem.

It may not be your cable. My first pair of SR60s also crapped out in the left ear and it ended up being the driver itself, not the cable. Tapping the housing would temporarily fix it but I ended up having to do warranty. It developed within 2 months of purchase.

*edit* Also you might have wrinkled your driver through excessive volume. There are instructions on the web for fixing this by gently sucking or blowing on the ear piece to re-seat the driver. In my case it didn't work because the problem was likely at the voicecoil solder joint.

I just got winamp and a plugin parametric EQ to play nice and remove HRTF from my music and one of the test tracks I used was Arch enemy's song Nemesis. It sounded fantastic on my Beyerdynamic DT880's. Powerful, balanced, and in spite of the extreme sound level I drove it at, it did not hurt my ears because the highs were nice and smooth. Very little sparkle with these cans and a very deep bass extension mean hexi kick beats really come through nicely.

In fact I haven't found much music that the 880's didn't make brilliant.

I have received my Audeze LCD-2 yesterday. My other headphones are Sennheiser HD650 and Beyerdynamic T1 and a couple of IEMs.

I am still in amazement how great the LCD-2s are doing with metal. They are proper dark and the drums and bass are just crazy good. Clear excellent vocals and I wasn't expecting this but I quite enjoy the trebles with these headphones too, without finding them bright. I am driving them off Vioelectric V200 and a lamp DAC.

I don't want to diss the T1s as they are doing a lot right, but for metal, they sound too thin and distant comparatively with the LCD-2.

Quote:

Originally Posted by negura 

I have received my Audeze LCD-2 yesterday. My other headphones are Sennheiser HD650 and Beyerdynamic T1 and a couple of IEMs.

 

I am still in amazement how great the LCD-2s are doing with metal. They are proper dark and the drums and bass are just crazy good. Clear excellent vocals and I wasn't expecting this but I quite enjoy the trebles with these headphones too, without finding them bright. I am driving them off Vioelectric V200 and a lamp DAC.

I'm afraid a set of LCD2 and a proper amp are out of his budget  

I just think you went unlucky with both pairs of Grado. I bought mine used almost a year ago and there has been no problem at all so far.

Compared to my Shure SE215 and HD600, my Grado SR80i delivers a more abrasive sound which is perfect for metal. I prefer their sound than the HD600's when I listen to metal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by negura 

I have received my Audeze LCD-2 yesterday. My other headphones are Sennheiser HD650 and Beyerdynamic T1 and a couple of IEMs.

 

I am still in amazement how great the LCD-2s are doing with metal. They are proper dark and the drums and bass are just crazy good. Clear excellent vocals and I wasn't expecting this but I quite enjoy the trebles with these headphones too, without finding them bright. I am driving them off Vioelectric V200 and a lamp DAC.

 

I don't want to diss the T1s as they are doing a lot right, but for metal, they sound too thin and distant comparatively with the LCD-2.

Wow, I'm not seeing that at all with my LCD-2 demos. The vocals are so veiled and distant; the cymbals sound like they're outside the studio somewhere. I wonder if I have the connectors plugged in wrong. I'm going to check for some user error after reading your review.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightspore68 

Wow, I'm not seeing that at all with my LCD-2 demos. The vocals are so veiled and distant; the cymbals sound like they're outside the studio somewhere. I wonder if I have the connectors plugged in wrong. I'm going to check for some user error after reading your review.

I am not sure if that's sarcastic. But that aside I was just discussing with a friend, who also has the LCD-2s and he was complaining they are a bit too bright recently and for some reason he's not happy with the slam. Turns out a cable swap made all the difference in the end for him. For others it may be something else and I'm afraid it's not always as simple to reproduce the experience just comparing the headphones. It's also the entire setup and downstream that matters.

Btw I also have the vegan version of the LCD-2 which seem to open them a little bit at a slight expense of bass from what people are saying. It's only by mistake I ended up with this model, and I will be getting the leather ones soon and try to compare for myself.

Back on topic, out of the headphones listed above and in my profile, I am easily preferring the LCD-2s for metal.

No sarcasm, my demo unit is sorely lacking in treble content. I did improve things quite a bit by moving them to my tube amp. They're pretty good now, but treble is still lacking. I think there must be something wrong with this pair. I really expected great treble extension, if only based on my brief experience listening to Magnepans a few years ago.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightspore68 

No sarcasm, my demo unit is sorely lacking in treble content. I did improve things quite a bit by moving them to my tube amp. They're pretty good now, but treble is still lacking. I think there must be something wrong with this pair. I really expected great treble extension, if only based on my brief experience listening to Magnepans a few years ago.

If you compare LCD-2 with the T1s it's never going to have the same kind of treble, but from the latter that is sometimes sounding too hot to me. This is subjective but to me this makes the LCD-2 more enjoyable, less tiring, while still having a very good amount of detail. My ears are quite sensitive to treble, brightness and sibilance and sometimes I just can't listen to the T1s especially when I'm tired.  I don't think it's my setup because the V200 is a great pairing for the T1s and my setup is on the warmer side. I find the LCD-2 excellent in the bass and mids department, and because many people criticize the treble, I was actually surprised that it's actually detailed and the right quantity for me.

Between the 3 headphones I have, I would rate the trebleas:

quantity as T1 > LCD-2 > HD650.

quality T1 >= LCD-2 > HD650. If don't mind brighter trebles and sibilance bias, you can take the '=' sign off here and T1 takes a lead due to some more detail and air.

But as I said in the end, the LCD-2 are so much more enjoyable for me with this genre than either of the other two.