[Disadadi]

Although the title says $800, I think it's good to say that I live in Europe so if you're giving recommendations 800€ or equivalent is the highest I can pay. I am looking for brand new pair so used headphone recommendations are not so welcome.

I have been looking for something like HD700, HD6xx, Akg K712 Pro, Beyer T90 or DT 1990. I just don't have any idea which of those should I get. I listen mainly to rock, jazz and classical.

I have dt770 at the moment and I would like some more detail and more forward mids. Also open back is a must this time. I would prefer bigger soundstage over small one, so the beyers don't seem like a perfect match this time.

So if you guys want to help, I would be glad to receive either opinions on these headphones I've listed, or some other recommendations. Just mentioning that there's no sellers for hifiman headphones so those would definitely be harder to get for me.

Thanks!

 

[StarTreker]

I think the HD700's would totally knock your socks off for their rated sound. Of course I've heard a lot of good things about the 600's too if you want to save a little money.

 

[Music Alchemist]

STAX SR-207! Along with corresponding electrostatic amp. This easily beats anything else in that price range, to my ears. It's discontinued, but is available on the used market for good prices. (It's generally best to avoid Amazon and eBay in this instance.) There are various other models in the Lambda range (the ones with a rectangular frame), old and new, but I haven't heard them.

 

[smy1]

STAX SR-207! Along with corresponding electrostatic amp. This easily beats anything else in that price range, to my ears. It's discontinued, but is available on the used market for good prices. (It's generally best to avoid Amazon and eBay in this instance.) There are various other models in the Lambda range (the ones with a rectangular frame), old and new, but I haven't heard them.

What's wrong with eBay or Amazon?

 

[Music Alchemist]

What's wrong with eBay or Amazon?

 
All the sellers charge $900 or more for it now. The original US retail price was $790. It could be imported from Japan for under $500. I only paid $180 for an SR-207 and $150 for an SRM-212 (has the same circuit as the SRM-252S) from the used market.

 

[Nekrosov]

Add Beyerdynamic T1 (First generation) to your list!
 
You can get it for about 600$. I have heard it many times and it's a great sounding headphone with great soundstage (just a tad bright). IMO it definitely worth the price!

 

[Monsterzero]

  Add Beyerdynamic T1 (First generation) to your list!
 
You can get it for about 600$. I have heard it many times and it's a great sounding headphone with great soundstage (just a tad bright). IMO it definitely worth the price!

With a good OTL amp its really good!

 

[Disadadi]

Add Beyerdynamic T1 (First generation) to your list!

You can get it for about 600$. I have heard it many times and it's a great sounding headphone with great soundstage (just a tad bright). IMO it definitely worth the price!

Yeah, it's 520€ on amazon. So it's worth picking over all the others in the same price range?

 

[Kozic]

If you like the beyerdynamic sound the T1 are great but a amp will be needed for the 600 ohms the T90 are nice too.

 

[Disadadi]

If you like the beyerdynamic sound the T1 are great but a amp will be needed for the 600 ohms the T90 are nice too.

Yes, well, I don't have anything against Beyerdynamic but it might be nice to get something different this time. Of course, if beyers are superior against the competitors in this price range I am open for trying some of their higher end models, such as the t1. I have to mention that T1 2nd gen is a little bit outside my budget.

 

[Disadadi]

If there's some major improvements in the price range of HD800, LCD-2, T1 etc. I might be able to stretch a bit outside my original budget. But only if that really is worth the price difference.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  If there's some major improvements in the price range of HD800, LCD-2, T1 etc. I might be able to stretch a bit outside my original budget. But only if that really is worth the price difference.

 
I think STAX is better than the HD 800 overall...but that's just me.

 

[Disadadi]

   
I think STAX is better than the HD 800 overall...but that's just me.

Honestly, that might be the case but I ain't going for Stax stuff as I have no place to test those out and I am not buying pig in a poke. And as I stated before, used headphones are a no no in this case. I don't want to pick up an amplifier that is made for only one kind of headphones, in this case, electrostatic ones. Besides, they're ugly and don't really seem comfortable. Comfort is a main feature as I wear glasses with rims that are moderate in thickness. However, I am glad you gave me some advice. Maybe I'll take a look at Stax's offerings, this just is not the right time and place for me to do so.

 

[Gondwana]

Do u have a amplifier ?

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Honestly, that might be the case but I ain't going for Stax stuff as I have no place to test those out and I am not buying pig in a poke. And as I stated before, used headphones are a no no in this case. I don't want to pick up an amplifier that is made for only one kind of headphones, in this case, electrostatic ones. Besides, they're ugly and don't really seem comfortable. Comfort is a main feature as I wear glasses with rims that are moderate in thickness. However, I am glad you gave me some advice. Maybe I'll take a look at Stax's offerings, this just is not the right time and place for me to do so.

 
In that case, I'll let you know that I prefer the HD 650 over the HD 700 because it has a more neutral frequency response and consistently sounds good whereas the HD 700 can be hit or miss. But the HD 700 has a larger soundstage and is better in certain technicalities. If you're willing to equalize it, it could be just plain better, but I'm not sure, since I never equalized them. I also slightly prefer the HE400i over both of those, and I even think it sounds mostly as good as the ($3,000) HE1000!