[Hepanlol]

Much appreciated and thanks for all the suggestions. I have made a short due diligence on all the mentioned cans and I will probably start with the Meze ones. They are light, easy to drive, mobile, they look great and the description of their sound signature is close to perfect for what I am seeking. Its also probably a good move to enter the "hobby" with an entry level set of cans and not dropping close to a grand on "Beyerdynamic T5 3rd Generation" right from the start (these would be my second choice). Thanks again for the assistance, stoked to try them out soon-ish.

 

[Hepanlol]

* Btw, did anyone get a chance to listen to both, the Meze 99 Classic and the B&O H6 (2nd gen)? I just watched the "metal571's" review of Meze's and he said that their bass is overwhelming, close to the Beats's range of low end, bleeding into the mids a bit. So that got me worried a bit. He recommended the B&O's instead in this price range/sound signature, supposedly still on the warm side, but nowhere near the Meze's. But then again, some people mentioned that the B&O follows the V-shaped sound signature (without the fatiguing treble) and I am not particularly fond of that either. Or maybe he is just exaggerating about Meze's low end as I have read/watched numerous reviews of them and no one else expressed such a fatalistic opinion about their bass.

 

[Mhog55]

* Btw, did anyone get a chance to listen to both, the Meze 99 Classic and the B&O H6 (2nd gen)? I just watched the "metal571's" review of Meze's and he said that their bass is overwhelming, close to the Beats's range of low end, bleeding into the mids a bit. So that got me worried a bit. He recommended the B&O's instead in this price range/sound signature, supposedly still on the warm side, but nowhere near the Meze's. But then again, some people mentioned that the B&O follows the V-shaped sound signature (without the fatiguing treble) and I am not particularly fond of that either. Or maybe he is just exaggerating about Meze's low end as I have read/watched numerous reviews of them and no one else expressed such a fatalistic opinion about their bass.

I have owned both for many years. Really the only portable I felt were worth keeping. People tend to exaggerate the bass boom of the 99s. There are a few tricks though. You must EQ and lower the 250khz region. Second, you need to use the smaller pads that Meze offers. They come with the Drop 99 Noir. These two headphones sound quite a bit different. If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Keep in mind that you can't run the H6 balanced like you can the 99 Classics. Not sure what you will be using as a source.

 

[Hepanlol]

I have owned both for many years. Really the only portable I felt were worth keeping. People tend to exaggerate the bass boom of the 99s. There are a few tricks though. You must EQ and lower the 250khz region. Second, you need to use the smaller pads that Meze offers. They come with the Drop 99 Noir. These two headphones sound quite a bit different. If you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them. Keep in mind that you can't run the H6 balanced like you can the 99 Classics. Not sure what you will be using as a source.

I actually snatched a pair of used 99 Classics via Classifieds yesterday, so I should soon experience this elusive thunderous bass myself haha. I also read about the pad swapping scene surrounding them, so good to know there are ways of tweaking them if needed, but I didn't know about the favorable Noir pads, thanks. Just out of curiosity, could you shortly elaborate on those differences in the sound signature between the 99s and H6s? I assume the H6 has a bit less low end and more treble? Regarding the source, right now I have a Shanling M2X, so no direct balanced option (my Hibi FC4 dongle has a 4.4 output tho), but I plan to upgrade it to M3X soon, so that wouldn't be an issue. Thanks.

 

[Mrvoye]

Long time lurker, first time poster, but now after 6 months with HD660s, finally something I can ask and understand the answers
I should probably note I'm driving them with a simple E30/L30 stack.

To start, I love the 660s, absolutely adore the fact that I can jump from early Judas Priest into Vivaldi's four seasons, back to Jefferson Airplane and move to Atrae Billis without feeling like something is missing or not sounding right (I listen to almost everything, with all of metal being primary). Did try all of the standard EQs for them, with neutral reference being to me at least substantially best of the offered (especially against the Harman curve one's), but each EQ was quickly cleared, after which a few songs and a walk around the block is needed to stop hearing the warmth as a veil, and move back to just enjoying them.

As a comparison point, I did get the Etymotic XR3s for on the go listening, while I do enjoy classical on them, they seem to be a bit to critical and thin for most metal, pushing me right out of the music, while at the same time not resolving as much as hd660s do. It's, to me at least, a weird listen that can be satisfying at times.

With that said, and question is to someone who probably knows 660s well.
Is there a high end headphone that addresses a few things:
Bit more attack, especially for technical death, power and early heavy metal. (say, bit more kick in Painkiller intro)
A bit more detail, but not at a cost of not being able to enjoy music.
That keeps the mid forwardness at least to a certain extent.
And that can equally be an omnivorous type of headphone.

I'm perfectly fine with closed back designs as well, spent most my life listening to one iem or another, having a sound stage is nice but not a must.


PS. Thanks to everyone for being part of this thread, was really helpful when looking where to start in this insanely complex hobby!

 

[monkey4054]

Is there a high end headphone that addresses a few things:
Bit more attack, especially for technical death, power and early heavy metal. (say, bit more kick in Painkiller intro)
A bit more detail, but not at a cost of not being able to enjoy music.
That keeps the mid forwardness at least to a certain extent.
And that can equally be an omnivorous type of headphone.

Final Audio D8000 Pro.

 

[Mrvoye]

Final Audio D8000 Pro.

Straight to the endgame $$$ then
I'll try and find them somewhere to give them a listen, seems it's going to be somewhat difficult in CZ (outside of German Amz)

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[kRed]

Long time lurker, first time poster, but now after 6 months with HD660s, finally something I can ask and understand the answers
I should probably note I'm driving them with a simple E30/L30 stack.

To start, I love the 660s, absolutely adore the fact that I can jump from early Judas Priest into Vivaldi's four seasons, back to Jefferson Airplane and move to Atrae Billis without feeling like something is missing or not sounding right (I listen to almost everything, with all of metal being primary). Did try all of the standard EQs for them, with neutral reference being to me at least substantially best of the offered (especially against the Harman curve one's), but each EQ was quickly cleared, after which a few songs and a walk around the block is needed to stop hearing the warmth as a veil, and move back to just enjoying them.

As a comparison point, I did get the Etymotic XR3s for on the go listening, while I do enjoy classical on them, they seem to be a bit to critical and thin for most metal, pushing me right out of the music, while at the same time not resolving as much as hd660s do. It's, to me at least, a weird listen that can be satisfying at times.

With that said, and question is to someone who probably knows 660s well.
Is there a high end headphone that addresses a few things:
Bit more attack, especially for technical death, power and early heavy metal. (say, bit more kick in Painkiller intro)
A bit more detail, but not at a cost of not being able to enjoy music.
That keeps the mid forwardness at least to a certain extent.
And that can equally be an omnivorous type of headphone.

I'm perfectly fine with closed back designs as well, spent most my life listening to one iem or another, having a sound stage is nice but not a must.


PS. Thanks to everyone for being part of this thread, was really helpful when looking where to start in this insanely complex hobby!

I really, really love good quality metal tracks on my Arya Stealth.

It's not a mid forward HP but honestly I just find it perfect for everything. It has the right amount of punch, it handles hard tracks like this one with ease:



It has a special and amazing characteristic: it is airy, sparkly, gives you all the details and openness without being fatiguing. To me, it also bring the vocals a bit forward, so while being not mid forward it will give you some vocal a lead guitar intimacy.

It's very fast, very dynamic, very musical (not sterile or cold) and can digest every genre you throw at it.

 

[Mrvoye]

I really, really love good quality metal tracks on my Arya Stealth.

Wording here concerns me a bit What about infamous Black Sabbath, can you listen to it?

It has a special and amazing characteristic: it is airy, sparkly, gives you all the details and openness without being fatiguing. To me, it also bring the vocals a bit forward, so while being not mid forward it will give you some vocal a lead guitar intimacy.

This actually does fun, I'm going on a whim here, but guessing something like Blind Guardian or Running Wild would benefit greatly from this, Judas Priest as well.


Great track, how does it handle something more technical, especially with drums imaging, like:




--------
With Monkey4054's suggestion of D8000 pro, and yours, I'll probably have to plan a road trip to Berlin, there's a few music stores there that might hold these headphones for auditing.

 

[kRed]

Wording here concerns me a bit What about infamous Black Sabbath, can you listen to it?

Great track, how does it handle something more technical, especially with drums imaging, like:

I gave it a listen: Imaging is pretty good I guess, drums in general sounds amazing on the Arya SE considering the texture it gives back (like every metallic reverb, etc).

What concern me with music like this one is it usually doesn't play very good on "clean" sounding headphones. Arya, for me, is on the edge. Sundara made me listen to Dream Theater less and less, as it exposed their generally bad production quality (mostly tones and soundscape).

Black Sabbath sounds great tho (listening to the 2009 remastered version), as does every "analog" sounding classic band like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Pink Floyd, etc. etc.
Death Metal... hmmm. Maybe Opeth ain't a good benchmark given their outstanding production.

 

[Mrvoye]

I gave it a listen: Imaging is pretty good I guess, drums in general sounds amazing on the Arya SE considering the texture it gives back (like every metallic reverb, etc).

What concern me with music like this one is it usually doesn't play very good on "clean" sounding headphones. Arya, for me, is on the edge. Sundara made me listen to Dream Theater less and less, as it exposed their generally bad production quality (mostly tones and soundscape).

Black Sabbath sounds great tho (listening to the 2009 remastered version), as does every "analog" sounding classic band like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Pink Floyd, etc. etc.
Death Metal... hmmm. Maybe Opeth ain't a good benchmark given their outstanding production.

I'll definitely audit them then, and skip the Sundara's apparently, trying my best to avoid analytical listening, especially with listening sessions usually lasting 8+ hours (been working from home since before it was cool).

Thanks for taking time!

 

[LepakVT]

I am looking to add my first planar headphone to my collection, currently trying to decide between the LCD-X 2021 and Arya Stealth. My top 3 favorite bands are Porcupine Tree (or really anything from Steven Wilson), Opeth, and Dream Theater. I do listen to about 90% Metal/Rock and 10% Movie scores/orchestral. Would the Arya Stealth be a better all-arounder for that other 10%?

 

[kRed]

I am looking to add my first planar headphone to my collection, currently trying to decide between the LCD-X 2021 and Arya Stealth. My top 3 favorite bands are Porcupine Tree (or really anything from Steven Wilson), Opeth, and Dream Theater. I do listen to about 90% Metal/Rock and 10% Movie scores/orchestral. Would the Arya Stealth be a better all-arounder for that other 10%?

That's my favorite bands too.
I did quite a lot of research on the lcd-x before buying the Arya SE, and to me it is a better headphone in every category (especially comfort wise, which was my first concern with the LCD) but impact of the bass, where the lcd may be a bit better.

I already knew I will like the house sound tho, since I rocked with great pleasure the Sundara for a year.

p.s. Give the band Riverside a try, Wasteland album in particular.

 

[monkey4054]

I am looking to add my first planar headphone to my collection, currently trying to decide between the LCD-X 2021 and Arya Stealth. My top 3 favorite bands are Porcupine Tree (or really anything from Steven Wilson), Opeth, and Dream Theater. I do listen to about 90% Metal/Rock and 10% Movie scores/orchestral. Would the Arya Stealth be a better all-arounder for that other 10%?

I would try both if possible. I would lean towards the Arya personally, however, the new Audezes' are quite different from the older ones. I definitely wouldn't rule the LCD-X 2021 out..

 

[gazzington]

I’m working mostly from home these days so I have more of a need for an open back headphone. What would be good for mostly black metal?