[EllipticCurve]

The title pretty much says it all.
 
I am looking for clear, airy and intimate vocals. 
Good soundstage and lot of detail retrieval would be ideal too.
 
For reference I am currently using a Shure SRH840 and I really like it's sound signature, but I got some cash to blow on headphones and looking to upgrade
 
Thanks 

 

[MrTechAgent]

The HE-300 (REV-3) has an amazing extension from the presence region to upper treble , best part is that its not thin ...it carries through the vocal body in a magical way , unlike anything I've heard 
 
The only problem is "Quality Control and Consistency" of HiFiMAN products 
 
Again its under , way under your price range and offers some serious sound if you get a Non-Defective pair

 

[kookoo]

For your budget, you have heaps of options, ATH W1000X, Sennheiser HD 600/650, Hifiman HE500 (second hand), Sony MA900 (best deal of the lot at around $200)

 

[Claritas]

K501 (used) or HD600. Some like Grados for this, such as 225i. Any one of those will sound even better with tubes.

 

[laon]

For airy type I think it's hard to do better than 840 for female, all the other mentioned here have warmish signature. Maybe Shure 1540 if it's really anything like 940 (haven't heard it yet). Heard Beyerdynamic T90 is also very good on female vocal and it should have the Beyer treble and soundstage (i.e. very very good).

 

[Claritas]

For airy type I think it's hard to do better than 840 for female, all the other mentioned here have warmish signature. Maybe Shure 1540 if it's really anything like 940 (haven't heard it yet). Heard Beyerdynamic T90 is also very good on female vocal and it should have the Beyer treble and soundstage (i.e. very very good).

It's really not hard to better 840 in anything except versatility in a closed model at a relatively low price. 940 has these annoying hot highs which will be emphasized with this sort of music.

 

[EllipticCurve]

Ok, there really is a lot of options. I will try to be more specific
 
I would prefer a closed pair even though it will be strictly for home use.
 
Genres I mostly listen to: Vocal Trance, other melodic trance, other EDM with Vocal. In addition some older rock eg. Led Zeppelin. Also classical music, mostly concertos and piano pieces (Rachmaninoff, Chopin etc.)
 
Now as the title says vocal performance is of paramount importance to me, but I would like to hear the many layers of electonic music, hear the soundstage in case of classical music etc.
 
For some time I have been thinking about SRH1540 but I heard the mids are not too forward.

 

[EllipticCurve]

It's really not hard to better 840 in anything except versatility in a closed model at a relatively low price. 940 has these annoying hot highs which will be emphasized with this sort of music.

I really didn't like 940's highs at all.

 

[laon]

It's really not hard to better 840 in anything except versatility in a closed model at a relatively low price. 940 has these annoying hot highs which will be emphasized with this sort of music.

I mean for the price range AND sound signature (airy) the OP wanted, then again maybe I have different perception of what airy is, I certainly don't think HE, W1KX, HD600/650 or MA900 airy. They're fairly warm cans.

 

[Claritas]

I don't think the Grado option is right for your music if you need any bass. Likewise, K501 is bass shy. So of the ones I like, HD600 is a very good choice.

HE500 has a very fine liquid vocals against a thick background and better bass extension than dynamic models in this price range, so it's worthy of consideration too. The soundstage didn't particularly impress me, and it weighs a lot.

 

[Claritas]

I mean for the price range AND sound signature (airy) the OP wanted, then again maybe I have different perception of what airy is, I certainly don't think HE, W1KX, HD600/650 or MA900 airy. They're fairly warm cans.

Airiness and warmth are not strictly incompatible: many Grados are both. But I agree with you about the some of the others, such as HE500 and HD650.

HD600 does not, however, sound particularly warm to me but it doesn't sound all that airy either. K501 is cool with deeply stirring mids. I haven't heard W1000x yet or MA900.

 

[EllipticCurve]

Thank you everyone for the recommendations.
 
I have been thinking about HE 500 for a while however, here in the UK, they are extremely expensive: £600+
 
Could anyone give more info regarding beyer T90? Sound signature, soundstage, detail retrieval etc.
 
HD600 might be a good choice, how does that compare to HE300?
 
Currently I am considering:
T90 - £500
SRH1540 - £400
HE300 - £270
HD600 - £250
 
As you can see the price difference is massive between these, especially in the UK.
I would be really uncomfortable to go beyond £400

 

[laon]

Hifiman HE300? They're very warm and quite frankly, muffled sounding, especially compared to clearer phone like 840. IMO HD600 is significantly better for that kind of sound signature.

Though I heard there's a mod for HE300 if you're comfortable with opening up your cans.

Haven't heard T90 but I've heard DT trio and T1, they're all very impressive in regard to soundstage, imaging and detail retrieval, probably among the best dynamic for those.

Airiness and warmth are not strictly incompatible: many Grados are both. But I agree with you about the some of the others, such as HE500 and HD650.

HD600 does not, however, sound particularly warm to me but it doesn't sound all that airy either. K501 is cool with deeply stirring mids. I haven't heard W1000x yet or MA900.

MA900 is like a grainier HD650 with even bigger soundstage.

 

[MattTCG]

hd600/650...

 

[EllipticCurve]

The consensus seems to be gravitating towards HD600..
 
How forward are mids on HD600?What about the quality and amount of bass?
 
My other concern is I would prefer a closed pair as I often listen to music next to my wife while she is sleeping.. I am worried if I get an open pair then I won't be able to use it that much and have to fall back on my SRH840 often.