[Fearless1]

There is nothing wrong with owning multiple head phones, variety is the spice of life. I can't seem to part with any of mine. The only ones I could not wait to get rid of were the Pro 900s (not for me).
 
Just wait until the day(if it comes) that you start tube rolling with your Lyr......

 

[jerg]

Quote:

I definitely feel spoiled and underappreciative, having 3 pairs of headphones each costing over $300 and still finding ways to complain about them. I just really like hearing different kinds of sound and hoping one really feels right for me. I doubt I'll ever find that day. I just wish I could find headphones that complemented each other really well without having to sacrifice a desired quality like mids. The DT880s were great, if a little short on bass, but I loved their sound except for the shallow mids. Sometimes it just felt like the singer was far away. The HD600s have great mids with a balanced bass and treble presentation, and are honestly the best all-rounder I can think of. The HD650s have an addictive bass punch to them that the HD600s fall short on, as well as being a bit smoother. They're definitely very colored though. The HE400 has fantastic imaging and instrument separation with great detail resolution and textured sub bass, with no real fault to the mids given the other great qualities. They're just not as exciting as they could be.
 
Best qualities of all that I've tried in the past month and a half, excluding the Momentum:
 
DT880: COMFORT, clarity/detail resolution, textured bass
HD600: Comfort, natural sound, forward mids
HD650: Punchy bass, liquid smooth sound
HE400: Accurate & textured sub bass, instrument separation, detail resolution
 
Best all-rounder: HD600
Most fun: HD650
 
But to be entirely honest, I think my brain is extremely bipolar with headphones day-to-day. I haven't been able to figure out why I favor different sounds on different days. What bothers me the most is when I'm actually unimpressed, almost turned off by a pair of headphones. I listened to my HD650s for over an hour tonight and wasn't impressed at all. It just sounded warm and boring to me. Then I decided to pull out the HD600s and A/B some music with cellos and pianos in it, and I'm having a fun time picking out the differences. The HD600 sounds so good for some things. I'm almost liking them more than the HD650, save for music with punchy bass.
 
So I don't want to get rid of all my pairs for fear of missing the sound of one of them, and buying another pair and feeling like an idiot, only to get them and realize I hyped them up way too much in my head. Sort of what I did while waiting for my replacement HE400s. I just want to be happy with my purchase, you know? Personally, I think if you spend $400 on anything and you don't love it, you should return it. The problem is, I love them all depending on the day. 

 What is wrong with me?
 
/longasspost

Sell EVERYTHING and buy a HE6 or LCD2 maybe.

 

[chewy4]

Mood plays on sound quite a bit.
 
I also like just having one good pair, since when I have multiple I spend too much time looking for subtle differences and flaws between them rather than just enjoying the music. If I just listen to one mostly my ears wont mind the flaws eventually and it'll just be how music is supposed to sound for me.

 

[TwinQY]

Quote:

DT880: COMFORT, clarity/detail resolution, textured bass
HD600: Comfort, natural sound, forward mids
HD650: Punchy bass, liquid smooth sound
HE400: Accurate & textured sub bass, instrument separation, detail resolution
 
Best all-rounder: HD600
Most fun: HD650
 
But to be entirely honest, I think my brain is extremely bipolar with headphones day-to-day. I haven't been able to figure out why I favor different sounds on different days. What bothers me the most is when I'm actually unimpressed, almost turned off by a pair of headphones. I listened to my HD650s for over an hour tonight and wasn't impressed at all. It just sounded warm and boring to me. Then I decided to pull out the HD600s and A/B some music with cellos and pianos in it, and I'm having a fun time picking out the differences. The HD600 sounds so good for some things. I'm almost liking them more than the HD650, save for music with punchy bass.
 
So I don't want to get rid of all my pairs for fear of missing the sound of one of them, and buying another pair and feeling like an idiot, only to get them and realize I hyped them up way too much in my head. Sort of what I did while waiting for my replacement HE400s. I just want to be happy with my purchase, you know? Personally, I think if you spend $400 on anything and you don't love it, you should return it. The problem is, I love them all depending on the day. 

 What is wrong with me?
 
/longasspost

Think it might be time to sell everything and get one of those "LCD-2" thingamabobs that everyone's been talking about. 

 Or maybe one of those "HE-500" whatyamacallits.
 
Who knows, if you don't mind the weight, maybe the LCD-2s might be more comfortable for you (certainly is for me). I think the HE-500s might be a more natural upgrade from the HD650, while still retaining some of the strengths that the HE-400s (planars in general, really) offers as well. 

 

[yokken]

Quote:

Sell EVERYTHING and buy a HE6 or LCD2 maybe.

 
Lol, I could afford it but I don't need a brick on top of my head. Comfort is a huge deal for me which is why I constantly bitch about it with the HE400. My HD600 is really comfy after putting them on a pillow day and night for 2 weeks when I was at work or sleeping. I've been doing the same with the HD650 for less than the week I've had it, but it hasn't quite reached "comfy" territory yet. It's definitely better than the HE400 but they do clamp a fair amount. When I first pulled them out of the box and pulled them open to put them on my head I was like, whoa, these are pretty clampy...
 
I think I suffer from severe cases of not knowing what you had until it's gone. Call it being ungrateful. Call it wanting more. Call it whatever you want. I wish there was a way to train myself to be satisfied.

 

[MrMateoHead]

Quote:

I tried emailed JDS labs for spec confirmation. Interestingly they gave a different one:
 
<534 @ 33 Ohms
 
NwAvGuy Data allows a simple graph to be made:
 

 
The O2 probably hits a voltage ceiling of about 5.2Vrms and is optimized for 33 Ohm loads. All the points on the graph are actual measures. My best guess, based on a worse looking graph, is that it can put ~442 mWs into a 50 Ohm load. This would, in theory, take them to a max of between 117 and 120 dBs.
 
Just in terms of meeting power needs on the cheap then, this the the clear winner at the moment.

 
I tried emailed JDS labs for spec confirmation. Interestingly they gave a different one:
 
<534 @ 33 Ohms
 
NwAvGuy Data allows a simple graph to be made but I couldn't get the image to post
 
The O2 probably hits a voltage ceiling of about 5.2Vrms and is optimized for 33 Ohm loads on straight batteries. My best guess is that it can put ~442 mWs into a 50 Ohm load on batteries. This would, in theory, take them to a max of between 117 and 120 dBs.
 
On AC power the O2 appears able to pull over 7.2Vrms, and this lets it make about a half a watt between say, 25 and 100 Ohms, pretty nifty. It appears to peak at about 80 Ohms, actually, and output doubles at 600 Ohms to about 80 mWs. At 50 Ohms, my "best guess" is ~ 706 mWs, which is pretty damn astonishing. If that output is true, then estimated output rises to between 120-123 dB (emphasis on the former). All these values are max values @ 1% THD I should mention.
 
Just in terms of meeting power needs on the cheap then, the O2 kicks butt. I think only something like the Asgard could supply more, given the frank reality of the O2 running on an 18V combo and it running on a 20V.
 
*** Edit - The Asgard apparently can do about 1 W @ 50 ohms (clipping). A review also put similar into the "good" not "great" range in terms of max volume using a 1V source when powering 91 dB efficient LCDs. So, it would seem that we Planar freaks have to strive for about a watt to gain some headroom over more difficult programming.

 

[MrMateoHead]

Yokken -
 
You aren't crazy. I have a similar issue. I look forward to hearing the same songs on cheap ass boomboxes, in cars, on cans, and so on, and can always come up with a wish list.
 
In my evaluation of the HE-400s, I listened to "stay" by the DMB - an excellent recording which I think sounds great even on crappier hardware. Its just beautifully mastered. No way around it. I thought Bjork live and Bill Bruford sounded incredible on the HE-400, embarrassing the HD595s. On the other hand, Radiohead was a bit more fun on the punchier sounding Sennheisers, specifically because the bloat up the recording in ways I like. The HE-400 was a better quality sound, for sure, but made Radiohead that much more depressing to me.
 
I stepped down from a 10 inch sealed sub in the car to an 8-inch "microsub" by JL audio because I wanted to just run a smaller, single amp, and reclaim trunk space while still getting a good response. That sub is truly an overachiever, and gets it done, but I often miss the days of having twice the power and twin 10 inchers which similar sound quality. Sometimes you want that booming in your face music, some days a smooth response and slight rumble is perfect. I say, start a headphone collection, and just go with it!

 

[yokken]

Quote:

Yokken -
 
You aren't crazy. I have a similar issue. I look forward to hearing the same songs on cheap ass boomboxes, in cars, on cans, and so on, and can always come up with a wish list.
 
In my evaluation of the HE-400s, I listened to "stay" by the DMB - an excellent recording which I think sounds great even on crappier hardware. Its just beautifully mastered. No way around it. I thought Bjork live and Bill Bruford sounded incredible on the HE-400, embarrassing the HD595s. On the other hand, Radiohead was a bit more fun on the punchier sounding Sennheisers, specifically because the bloat up the recording in ways I like. The HE-400 was a better quality sound, for sure, but made Radiohead that much more depressing to me.
 
I stepped down from a 10 inch sealed sub in the car to an 8-inch "microsub" by JL audio because I wanted to just run a smaller, single amp, and reclaim trunk space while still getting a good response. That sub is truly an overachiever, and gets it done, but I often miss the days of having twice the power and twin 10 inchers which similar sound quality. Sometimes you want that booming in your face music, some days a smooth response and slight rumble is perfect. I say, start a headphone collection, and just go with it!

 
I think I do spend too much time comparing them though, which takes a lot away from my enjoyment. I'm trying too hard to find the perfect headphone, when I know damn well it doesn't exist. I just want to make the least amount of compromises for the least amount of money.
 
I'm also starting to think that the tubes I have for my Lyr take more than an hour of music to sound optimal, as someone mentioned. The HD650s are sounding sweet now. Great, tubes, more money to waste...

 

[beaver316]

I was just reading a some comments made by DavidMahler in the Battle of the flagships thread here. He says something in regards to Hifiman headphones:
 
"I am not a huge fan of the HifiMan design. I feel that the materials used have a cheap feel to them. I also take issue (perhaps trivially) when an entire headphone line has a uniform appearance aside from color and texture. The HE-6 and HE-500 look identical from three feet away. Perhaps if the headphones felt as though they were constructed with finer materials, I wouldn't have an issue with this."
 
Is this true of the HE400? I know people complain about the earpads and headband, but do you think the headphone itself feels cheap? 

 

[MattTCG]

Quote:

I definitely feel spoiled and underappreciative, having 3 pairs of headphones each costing over $300 and still finding ways to complain about them. I just really like hearing different kinds of sound and hoping one really feels right for me. I doubt I'll ever find that day. I just wish I could find headphones that complemented each other really well without having to sacrifice a desired quality like mids. The DT880s were great, if a little short on bass, but I loved their sound except for the shallow mids. Sometimes it just felt like the singer was far away. The HD600s have great mids with a balanced bass and treble presentation, and are honestly the best all-rounder I can think of. The HD650s have an addictive bass punch to them that the HD600s fall short on, as well as being a bit smoother. They're definitely very colored though. The HE400 has fantastic imaging and instrument separation with great detail resolution and textured sub bass, with no real fault to the mids given the other great qualities. They're just not as exciting as they could be.
 
Best qualities of all that I've tried in the past month and a half, excluding the Momentum:
 
DT880: COMFORT, clarity/detail resolution, textured bass
HD600: Comfort, natural sound, forward mids
HD650: Punchy bass, liquid smooth sound
HE400: Accurate & textured sub bass, instrument separation, detail resolution
 
Best all-rounder: HD600
Most fun: HD650
 
But to be entirely honest, I think my brain is extremely bipolar with headphones day-to-day. I haven't been able to figure out why I favor different sounds on different days. What bothers me the most is when I'm actually unimpressed, almost turned off by a pair of headphones. I listened to my HD650s for over an hour tonight and wasn't impressed at all. It just sounded warm and boring to me. Then I decided to pull out the HD600s and A/B some music with cellos and pianos in it, and I'm having a fun time picking out the differences. The HD600 sounds so good for some things. I'm almost liking them more than the HD650, save for music with punchy bass.
 
So I don't want to get rid of all my pairs for fear of missing the sound of one of them, and buying another pair and feeling like an idiot, only to get them and realize I hyped them up way too much in my head. Sort of what I did while waiting for my replacement HE400s. I just want to be happy with my purchase, you know? Personally, I think if you spend $400 on anything and you don't love it, you should return it. The problem is, I love them all depending on the day. 

 What is wrong with me?
 
/longasspost

 
I think that you should sell off everything but the hd600. You said over and over that you enjoy it more than anything else. You will never truly find the experience that you are looking for until you quit going back and forth between these hp's and just sit down with a pair that you really enjoy and listen to them. You may just drive yourself mad trying to like these other hp's that you find fault with. just my 2c...
 
Oh, DO NOT get the lcd2. Take a look at the one word that you highlighted in your post...COMFORT!!

 

[yokken]

Quote:

I was just reading a some comments made by DavidMahler in the Battle of the flagships thread here. He says something in regards to Hifiman headphones:
 
"I am not a huge fan of the HifiMan design. I feel that the materials used have a cheap feel to them. I also take issue (perhaps trivially) when an entire headphone line has a uniform appearance aside from color and texture. The HE-6 and HE-500 look identical from three feet away. Perhaps if the headphones felt as though they were constructed with finer materials, I wouldn't have an issue with this."
 
Is this true of the HE400? I know people complain about the earpads and headband, but do you think the headphone itself feels cheap? 

 
They do all look the same. The earpad assembly creaks from time to time due to the way they attach. The plastic of the cups feels a bit cheap too. I'll tell you what, they definitely don't feel like $400 headphones. Now HD650s on the other hand...

 

[IcedTea]

To be honest with you, IMO, all the high end headphones feel pretty cheap to me. I'm not sure what to expect from >300 headphones lol

I mean, the hd650s feel pretty cheap too with its plastic build. Im sure people that arent into hi-fi can't guess the value of my headphones. However, in the end it's all about the sound that really matters to me.

Another hobby of mine are fountain pens, and some pens >300 just feel just like plastic pens lol

The only item I own that kind of feels like its worth is my Dslr. But then again, 1k lens don't really feel like 1K. Even though i want to own some in few years

 

[IcedTea]

Man, you guys messaged block me while I was typing on my phone! Lol

 

[yokken]

It's hard to find something that feels as premium as its price. Did you ever get your replacement?

 

[MattTCG]

I'm not really concerned about the perceived value. Or how my hp's look. It all comes down to the sounds right? I always thought that they Beyers and Denon dxx line looked great but I don't own either any more because they didn't sound as good as what I own now.