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Headphones for metal music - ultimate solution
Nov 30, 2015 at 2:17 PM Post #2,926 of 12,302
swspiers said:
Ah.  Such even tempered discourse.

I love metal!!!

BTW, best metal cans I've heard are the HFM 400i's.  Not perfect, but man, they just hit the right places with me.  Without or without a Schiit amp.

But when listening to Sabbath, my trusty Grado's rule supreme...
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Geezers bass lines on Grado? Give me my planars for that!
 
Nov 30, 2015 at 3:30 PM Post #2,928 of 12,302
swspiers said:
  Ah.  Such even tempered discourse.
 
I love metal!!!
 
BTW, best metal cans I've heard are the HFM 400i's.  Not perfect, but man, they just hit the right places with me.  Without or without a Schiit amp.
 
But when listening to Sabbath, my trusty Grado's rule supreme...
Click to expand...

For sure, the 400is are really good with metal.
 
Nov 30, 2015 at 3:36 PM Post #2,929 of 12,302
I'm probably going to destroy all my credibility here, but I just have to tell you guys about this.
 
I've been rocking a super weird setup lately, but I'm loving it with metal! It is truly unholy and makes zero sense whatsoever. The headphone is actually the least expensive part of the chain, but I just can't stop rocking out to it!!
 
Headphone:
HiFiMan HE400 with the 2011-type velour pads (they have a larger opening and the pad is sealed to the bottom - they actually bring the upper mids back quite well!). I added a small square of sorbothane at the 7:00 position on the outside and it tames the treble nicely.
$250
 
Cable:
Moon Audio Silver Dragon (I'm really surprised how refined this makes the HE400 sound - very clear and clean!)
$275
 
DAC:
Schiit Bifrost Multibit (I'm loving this thing so far, BTW. Great addition.)
$600
 
Amp:
Wells Audio Headtrip (I have this on loan right now. I could never afford it, as it's one of the most expensive amps around.)
$7,000
 
If I heard the HE400 blind on this setup, with no knowledge of the other components, I'd probably guess it was somewhere in the $1,500 to $2,000 range, easily. Sure, you can say, "Oh, it's plugged into expensive gear, of course it sounds great," but I'm telling you, I'm listening to it back to back with the HE-6 and HD800, and the HE400 is just killing it.
 
There is nothing right about this gear combo. The amp retails for 28X more than the headphone! None of this makes sense! But honestly, I can't tear myself away from it! I've never done this much air guitar-ing and thrashing before. All the components compliment each other and the effect stacks to a critical mass of awesomeness.
 
I doubt this odd, super specific (and expensive!) combo is going to help anybody find their perfect metal headphone... but the experience has been so cool and unexpected, I just had to share with you guys. Sometimes, I wish we all lived closer so I could share this kind of thing first hand... it's just crazy awesome!!
 
Nov 30, 2015 at 3:50 PM Post #2,930 of 12,302
socks mk2 said:
I'm honestly a little confused here. He made some pretty bold statements of his own. I stated how I understand why he may have come to those conclusions based on his source gear. I had a similar opinion when I was running that gear, so I can relate. 
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You quoted him, then referred to him in the third person, referenced his gear and how you don't like it, and then used that to discredit his remarks, saying he should buy better gear. You have done the same thing in other threads after looking at people's profiles. This is why people don't like audiophiles. People try to post their gear and if it's a brand people don't like they jump all over them and then that person feels attacked and never discusses audiophile gear again because they don't want to be shamed for what they own. Luckily that doesn't happen on Head-Fi very often, and I know you're a nice guy the vast majority of the time, but people need to check themselves when they dig so far down the rabbit hole and have so many opinions, otherwise things can turn into some of those awful facebook groups with people yelling at each other and pronouncing this or that as "true audiophile." Just like the awful circles of metalheads that have to decry this or that as not "true metal." People have a tendency to take their hobbies too far if they really love them, as many of us do.

I understand he made some bold comments, but that's no excuse to discredit them. This isn't about being a fanboy for Schiit or the HD650 or LCD-2 or whatever, it's about taking everyone's opinions as valid regardless of what gear they own. I like these forums because there are tons of opinions on gear and they're all very different. I disagree with almost every opinion you and Music Alchemist have and I find that interesting because it shows that there are many different ways of hearing the same music. The HD650 keeps getting weird derogatory comments lately too and people seem to think that people that listen to those just don't want to hear detail in music for some reason, which is obviously false. Everyone keeps wanting to make things black and white, like this gear won't work for this music so you have to buy brands x, y, and z or else you're doing yourself a disservice. It's probably because of the spreadsheet nature of this post and because Levap is so good at putting things in context and giving great opinions. I'm all for being analytical, I'm an engineer, but I still recognize that there is a lot of gray area in there and that Levap's spreadsheet is a jumping off point for many people and not gospel.
 
I get that you moved on from Schiit, but many of us still enjoy the brand, even after hearing other stuff. I am one of those people. You can read hundreds of reviews from people that have heard lots and lots of gear and some of them prefer Schiit to products that cost many times more, yet you continue to tell people they should stay away from the brand like it's a fact. 
 
I'm happy for everyone that is enjoying what they're listening to. I'll give some advice if there is an easy way for them to improve that, but other than that, I'm happy for each person that has found gear that they enjoy listening to, for whatever reason that is. 
 
Nov 30, 2015 at 4:22 PM Post #2,932 of 12,302
ytsejamer said:
   
X3 
wink.gif

 
Can't wait to hear the TH-X00.
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Looking for more info!  Stepping up to “reference” cans is my next move. This drop thing has me intrigued. Looking for something for my dedicated rigBeen looking at LCD-2, HE560, maybe Dharma if it turns out to be gold, I haven’t heard the Fostex line. What can you guys tell me relative to metal?
 
Nov 30, 2015 at 5:32 PM Post #2,933 of 12,302
markm1 said:
 
ytsejamer said:
   
X3 
wink.gif

 
Can't wait to hear the TH-X00.
Click to expand...


Looking for more info!  Stepping up to “reference” cans is my next move. This drop thing has me intrigued. Looking for something for my dedicated rigBeen looking at LCD-2, HE560, maybe Dharma if it turns out to be gold, I haven’t heard the Fostex line. What can you guys tell me relative to metal?
Click to expand...

 
There are only 70 left in the TH-X00 drop, so it's either now or... when they inevitably offer it again, I guess. I like Fostex HPs for metal quite a bit, but I'm reserving judgement on this one until I hear it, since they're made a bunch of modifications to the treble and bass presentation. The TH900 is pretty amazing, if you like a bit of a V-shaped sound with monster bass impact. The treble can be a little harsh, but if you're into Grados, I would think you would be cool with it.
 
Have you heard the production Dharma yet? If I was a betting man, I would think that would be your favorite of those headphones you listed above. Like your Grados, they are detail-forward, spacious and punchy sounding. However, the treble is even more extended, refined and revealing - without being fatiguing. It's a really great all-rounder. I seem to remember you having a connection to hear them... but maybe I'm mistaken.
 
Nov 30, 2015 at 6:06 PM Post #2,935 of 12,302
hansotek said:
   
There are only 70 left in the TH-X00 drop, so it's either now or... when they inevitably offer it again, I guess. I like Fostex HPs for metal quite a bit, but I'm reserving judgement on this one until I hear it, since they're made a bunch of modifications to the treble and bass presentation. The TH900 is pretty amazing, if you like a bit of a V-shaped sound with monster bass impact. The treble can be a little harsh, but if you're into Grados, I would think you would be cool with it.
 
Have you heard the production Dharma yet? If I was a betting man, I would think that would be your favorite of those headphones you listed above. Like your Grados, they are detail-forward, spacious and punchy sounding. However, the treble is even more extended, refined and revealing - without being fatiguing. It's a really great all-rounder. I seem to remember you having a connection to hear them... but maybe I'm mistaken.
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No, you're absolutely correct. Good memory! I did hear an early production version, and I liked them at the time. But, I haven't heard them with metal/rock or with my gear. They were paired with their Athena amp which I did like. Thanks much for the input.
 
Nov 30, 2015 at 6:23 PM Post #2,936 of 12,302
markm1 said:
 
Looking for more info!  Stepping up to “reference” cans is my next move. This drop thing has me intrigued. Looking for something for my dedicated rigBeen looking at LCD-2, HE560, maybe Dharma if it turns out to be gold, I haven’t heard the Fostex line. What can you guys tell me relative to metal?
Click to expand...

 
 
Massdrop designed the TH-X00 specifically to address the recessed mids of the TH-600 and TH-900, so we should be fine for the mids. 
 
Someone told me today that the TH-X00 are slightly dark or veiled in comparison to the HE-560. If you're ok with just a hint of darkness and don't demand the last word in clarity/transparency, I am guessing you will be satisfied with the TH-X00.
 
Apparently the TH-X00 has a little bit of that dark, veiled sound that the stock TH-900 has, but just a little less, since its mids are more forward and its bass is a little less emphasized.
 
Nov 30, 2015 at 8:24 PM Post #2,939 of 12,302
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