[4000fthigh]

Hi All,

I'm trying to find a few people who have similar musical tastes as I do, along with a similar setup.

I do most of my listening on my LGV30 via FLAC files, and my core musical tastes are Dinosaur Jr, Buffalo Tom, Uncle Tupelo (and the various offshoots), Mountain Goats, and Mazzy Star. I'm kind of stuck in time, and while I sometimes stray into other genres, this is my lane and I don't stray too far off path.

The last pair of cans I owned were Sennheisers, way back in the early 80's, and I want to dabble in headphones again. I recently purchased a pair of hifiman HE400i headphones, from a retailer who shall remain nameless. When I opened the box I was dismayed to find a pair of obviously used headphones. They had fingerprints all over the shiny parts, scuff marks, no cling film, and the cord was just tossed into the box. A big disappointment for me. The bigger disappointment was when I plugged them in the left channel was dead, and the right channel didn't sound very good. My phone also didn't drive the one working channel to an acceptable volume level.

I'm looking for recommendations from people with similar tastes, as I'm firing these cans back to the retailer and would like to find something that is durable and sounds good with the music I listen to on a regular basis. I'm looking for something that is over the ear, and that can be driven to reasonable volume levels from my phone as I don't want to purchase an amp just yet. I was excited about hifiman as they appeared to be easy to drive, and I heard good things about them, but now I'm a bit gun shy about trying them again. Maybe the HE400s would have been a better choice, I don't know.

Thanks in advance for your help and guidance.

 

[Mhog55]

I had the 30, and now the 40. Stay away from the Hifiman cans. I had the 400S which is the easiest to drive out of the bunch, and these phones can't bring out their full potential, even in high impedance mode. I have no idea who those artists are, but you will get more responses if you tell us what you prefer and want in terms of sonic performance..... Your sound preferences. There's a ton of good headphones that pair up and have good synergy with that phone. Are you wanting an open back headphone? If so, my very 1st recommendation would be the Massdrop Sennheiser HD 58X.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I do most of my listening on my LGV30 via FLAC files, and my core musical tastes are Dinosaur Jr, Buffalo Tom, Uncle Tupelo (and the various offshoots), Mountain Goats, and Mazzy Star. I'm kind of stuck in time, and while I sometimes stray into other genres, this is my lane and I don't stray too far off path.
---
I'm looking for recommendations from people with similar tastes, as I'm firing these cans back to the retailer and would like to find something that is durable and sounds good with the music I listen to on a regular basis. I'm looking for something that is over the ear, and that can be driven to reasonable volume levels from my phone as I don't want to purchase an amp just yet. I was excited about hifiman as they appeared to be easy to drive, and I heard good things about them, but now I'm a bit gun shy about trying them again. Maybe the HE400s would have been a better choice, I don't know.

Philips SHP9500S

If you can't find that but can spend a fair bit more than that to get a circumaural that sounds great and won't really need an amp, you can buy a Grado and order the Headphile C-Pads to be able to use Beyerdynamic earpads on them. Or if you want to spend the bar minimum, get the SR80e, then just use the Grado large bowl pads and do the mods that will seal up the porous foam (the glue mod, look up other methods as something else might have come up since) and bend the headband as per instructions on the C-Pads page, if a bit more to tighten the fit and compensate for how the large pads will normally position the drivers farther from your ears.

 

[GearMe]

Philips SHP9500S

If you can't find that but can spend a fair bit more than that to get a circumaural that sounds great and won't really need an amp, you can buy a Grado and order the Headphile C-Pads to be able to use Beyerdynamic earpads on them. Or if you want to spend the bar minimum, get the SR80e, then just use the Grado large bowl pads and do the mods that will seal up the porous foam (the glue mod, look up other methods as something else might have come up since) and bend the headband as per instructions on the C-Pads page, if a bit more to tighten the fit and compensate for how the large pads will normally position the drivers farther from your ears.

The Philips SHP9500S are currently available on Newegg for $79 - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826138190

The X2HR's will be available next week for $199 - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826138361
The X2's are nice cans; expect the X2HR's will be too. Got my X2's for ~$140 and they're a nice all-rounder, comfortable, etc.

The Massdrop Sennheiser HD 58X at $149 seems to be a great value as well; haven't heard them but have thought about grabbing a pair based on reviews/cost/etc
A quick search on the V30 thread seems to show that most people like the V30 / HD-58X combo - https://www.head-fi.org/search/23663486/?q=58X&t=post&o=relevance&c[thread]=858933

 

[4000fthigh]

Thanks all. I appreciate the help. I was leaning toward the massdrop Sennheisers, but will also take a look at the X2HR and the Philips.
In terms of sound, I like pretty balanced sound, not too bright, and maybe with an emphasis on mid-bass/upper-bass. I listen to mainly alt-rock & alt-country.
On paper the Hifimans looked good, but the experience was a letdown for me, especially in terms of the dealer sending me used merchandise.
If there are any more suggestions, please keep them coming.

 

[Mhog55]

The Philips SHP9500S are currently available on Newegg for $79 - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826138190

The X2HR's will be available next week for $199 - https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826138361
The X2's are nice cans; expect the X2HR's will be too. Got my X2's for ~$140 and they're a nice all-rounder, comfortable, etc.

The Massdrop Sennheiser HD 58X at $149 seems to be a great value as well; haven't heard them but have thought about grabbing a pair based on reviews/cost/etc
A quick search on the V30 thread seems to show that most people like the V30 / HD-58X combo - https://www.head-fi.org/search/23663486/?q=58X&t=post&o=relevance&c[thread]=858933

Those 2nd gen X2s look interesting. 1st I've heard about them. Are you grabbing them?

 

[GearMe]

I probably won't since I like the gen 1 X2's well enough!

That said, some of the reviews on the HD-58X have made me think they'd be a very good listen...especially for $149.

 

[Mhog55]

I probably won't since I like the gen 1 X2's well enough!

That said, some of the reviews on the HD-58X have made me think they'd be a very good listen...especially for $149.

 

[briman1000]

These guys are on the right track. The Philip's or sennheiser are great and you could add a audioquest red or black for more power. I run my red out of my Samsung s9+ and it runs all my headphones. those are open so make sure they work for you If you need a closed semi portable one of my favorite options is the NAD HP50. Out of all my stuff I use them the most. Plus 100 for Dinosaur Jr. They rule. There are so many good options. Find something that's a good value on the for sale forum and if they dont work put on Ebay or the forum and you wlnt lose much money at all. You will buy or try other things and you won't always like what everyone does

 

[4000fthigh]

Thanks again for all the feedback, and its good to see there is another Dinosaur Jr fan in the forums. I'm returning the defective Hifiman cans today. And will likely go with the HD-58x. Since they are so affordable I may also see what the Fostex Dekonii is all about, as I want to try a pair of planar magnetic headphones, but that will wait for much later.

@briman1000 If you haven't caught DJ live it is quite an experience. Jay Mascis solo is also awesome. My only advice is bring ear plugs.

Thanks again everyone. I'll be checking in when I receive the Sennheisers.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Seems you have already made your choice...but in case you are still looking around for a planar, I would also suggest checking out the Monoprice Monolith M565. They are planars that are easily driven out of a phone, more easily than the Dekoni Blue you mentioned. I had the Blue on loan, and they were ok, but the M565 is better (much better soundstage, much better bass,and the treble/mids are better)
We have similar tastes in music ( I do tend to branch out a little more than you do. ) I was actually listening to Dinosaur Jr. "Hold Unknown" on them earlier this evening and they sounded great. I like Buffalo Tom as well...I saw them sometime around 1989 at Bogarts in Long Beach....I'm listening to Caress right now...sounds great on the M565...
They do need a few mods to sound their best, which are easy to do, mostly just swap out the pads, remove some foam from the back of the drivers.... but man do they really punch above their weight when you do.
You'll get a really good taste of the planar sound, they are easy to drive, they are very lightweight and reasonably sized (compared to other planars)...and if you are patient, they might go on sale again for $80. ( I mean, don't hold your breath, but it happened one time, it could happen again, right?)

 

[4000fthigh]

@Cruelhand Luke I'll keep an eye out for the M565s. I've purchased many audio and video cables from monoprice and have always had great experiencs. If you have any othe recommendations for music let me know. I'm always on the hunt for great bands .

 

[briman1000]

Hopefully I will catch Dino Jr or Jay live one of these days. Best I can hope for is that he comes through the college town I live in now one day. Also people including myself recommend stuff we have tried and like. That's like .005% of the stuff out there and based on your tastes as close as we can get to helping you. I have the bug again so I am changing out some gear and switching things up. Bye stuff at a great value or used so you can resell if needed You will not just buy one thing and be done or happy. It doesn't work that way. The monoprice or senns are great value for what they are. Personally I would go with the 6xx over the jubilee because I dont like overly bright stuff. You might love them though. I got rid of my HD700 because if this. To each his own.

 

[4000fthigh]

@briman1000 I'm sure this hobby will be easy on the wallet, he said with a mix of hope and naivety.

There seem to be do many interesting choices out there. The saving grace is this forum seems to help narrow them down a bit. With that said, I have two more set of headphones I'd like to get, and am also interested in a portable amp. It's still cheaper than a lot of other hobbies, but can get out of control quickly .

 

[4000fthigh]

@briman1000 not sure where you live. J is out touring now .I caught him in Los Angeles in November. Here are his tour dates:
https://www.bandsintown.com/a/141531?came_from=206

Also, Bandsintown is a great app if you don't already know about it.

Thanks again for all the info .