[571900]

Thanks for sharing about these and clarifying about the earpads. The name is a pun that's inspired by the Gandhi vs MLK ERB video. Naan is bread; breaking is typically a violent act but breaking bread means making peace or sharing a meaningful connection over a meal; play around with non-violence and voila, NaanViolence.

just watched it, lol.. meat eaters might not like it for being a Corny Wrap, but its aMAIZEing.

 

[smodtactical]

Added the ETA O2 headphone which is incredible (I just bought a pair).

 

[NaanViolence]

Added the ETA O2 headphone which is incredible (I just bought a pair).

Cool. The ETA Mini Closed appear to be "universally" loved; the Mini S not as much. The O2 seems divisive.

 

[Derwin]

Cool. The ETA Mini Closed appear to be "universally" loved; the Mini S not as much. The O2 seems divisive.

I was able to try the O2 at a local hifi meet and was blown away by the performance. It was my favorite headphone at the meet along with the ZMF Atrium & Auteur Classic.

 

[smodtactical]

I was able to try the O2 at a local hifi meet and was blown away by the performance. It was my favorite headphone at the meet along with the ZMF Atrium & Auteur Classic.

What other headphones did you hear at the meet and how did o2 compare ?

 

[willstuder]

Thank you for this great thread which has helped me to sort out the manufacturers or models that are completely out of date.

I would like to take this opportunity to propose the, to put it diplomatically, very special sounding YAMAHA YH-5000SE for listing under TOTL ($3000+):

• Yamaha YH-5000SE (in conjunction with the included HEP-5000SU Ultrasuede ear pads)

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/headphones/yh-5000se/index.html

Fortunately for the YH-5000SE, the side of the headband that rests on the head is made of faux leather from above, and the side that rests on the head is made of Toray Ultrasuede. This is a microfibre similar to the Alcantara used in Lexus cars, for example. In other words, the headband is vegan friendly!

The YH-5000SE comes with two pairs of ear pads, one of which is also vegan friendly:

• HEP-5000LE "Leather" (not vegan).
  Sheepskin and polyurethane leather
  
  
• HEP-5000SU Ultrasuede (vegan friendly)
  Ultrasuede
  Although suede is normally made from real leather and is therefore not vegan, the Toray Ultrasuede® used by YAMAHA is the well-known microsuede from the 70s made from polyester.

Sources:
YAMAHA Support EU (I contacted them regarding the headband)
YAMAHA Support JP (I contacted them about the headband, just to be sure)
https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/headphones/yh-5000se/accessories.html#product-tabs
https://usa.yamaha.com/files/downlo...J5980_HEP-5000LE_HEP-5000SU_om_G_multi_A0.pdf
https://usa.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/9/1563349/web_AV21-0049_YH-5000SE_ug_G_En_B0.pdf (see page 21)
https://www.ultrasuede.com

 

[dstarr3]

Thinksound OV21 might be worth checking out. I love mine and the website describes all the soft bits as being made out of vegan leather and all the hard bits being made out of bioplastic or sustainably sourced walnut.

https://thinksound.com/collections/our-lineup/products/ov21

 

[NaanViolence]

Thank you for this great thread which has helped me to sort out the manufacturers or models that are completely out of date.

I would like to take this opportunity to propose the, to put it diplomatically, very special sounding YAMAHA YH-5000SE for listing under TOTL ($3000+):

• Yamaha YH-5000SE (in conjunction with the included HEP-5000SU Ultrasuede ear pads)

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/headphones/yh-5000se/index.html

Fortunately for the YH-5000SE, the side of the headband that rests on the head is made of faux leather from above, and the side that rests on the head is made of Toray Ultrasuede. This is a microfibre similar to the Alcantara used in Lexus cars, for example. In other words, the headband is vegan friendly!

The YH-5000SE comes with two pairs of ear pads, one of which is also vegan friendly:

• HEP-5000LE "Leather" (not vegan).
  Sheepskin and polyurethane leather
  
  
• HEP-5000SU Ultrasuede (vegan friendly)
  Ultrasuede
  Although suede is normally made from real leather and is therefore not vegan, the Toray Ultrasuede® used by YAMAHA is the well-known microsuede from the 70s made from polyester.

Sources:
YAMAHA Support EU (I contacted them regarding the headband)
YAMAHA Support JP (I contacted them about the headband, just to be sure)
https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/headphones/yh-5000se/accessories.html#product-tabs
https://usa.yamaha.com/files/downlo...J5980_HEP-5000LE_HEP-5000SU_om_G_multi_A0.pdf
https://usa.yamaha.com/files/download/other_assets/9/1563349/web_AV21-0049_YH-5000SE_ug_G_En_B0.pdf (see page 21)
https://www.ultrasuede.com

Your diligence is much appreciated. The threadstarter(smodtactical) has the Yamaha NS5000 so it would be kinda funny if these were not added alongside the caveats you've highlighted.

 

[NaanViolence]

Thinksound OV21 might be worth checking out. I love mine and the website describes all the soft bits as being made out of vegan leather and all the hard bits being made out of bioplastic or sustainably sourced walnut.

https://thinksound.com/collections/our-lineup/products/ov21

I like their appearance. How would you describe their sound and DAC-AMP requirements?

 

[dstarr3]

I like their appearance. How would you describe their sound and DAC-AMP requirements?

They're very efficient, they'll sound great out of anything. I usually pair them with my Liquid Spark and have to put on a -15db preamp gain reduction because just a sliver above dead-silent on the volume pot is too loud without it, lol.

In terms of sound profile, I also have the E-Mu Teaks, and honestly they are shockingly similar in a lot of ways. V-shaped rock monsters, for sure. Well-extended, punchy bass, clear and crisp highs. Mids are recessed, but, well, that's a V-shape for you. Just extremely energetic and fun headphones that never disappoint me.

I have three headphones in my collection that I feel are competing for a very similar space: The E-Mu Teaks, the Thinksound OV21, and the Meze 99. I put the E-Mu Teaks at the top of any list because they're honestly my favorite headphones I've ever heard. But of the three in this category, Teaks are at the top, in a close second is the OV21, and then a distant, distant third is the Meze.

 

[proglife]

I’m starting to look at over the ear wireless headphones in the 500-ish dollar range. It looks like the AirPods Max might be the best option? I think the B&W’s and Focals are leather? What other options are there?

I don’t like the case situation with the AirPods Max, but I assume they have Find My Device capabilities, which might make up for that.

 

[robo24]

Ananda Bluetooth? Open back and no noise cancelling if that matters.

Is the PX7 leather? Their page doesn't say but does say leather on the more expensive PX8.

 

[raghumani]

I’m starting to look at over the ear wireless headphones in the 500-ish dollar range. It looks like the AirPods Max might be the best option? I think the B&W’s and Focals are leather? What other options are there?

I don’t like the case situation with the AirPods Max, but I assume they have Find My Device capabilities, which might make up for that.

I think most of the popular Bluetooth ANC headphones (Bose, Sennheiser, Sony) are vegan - but they are all around $350-400. In the price bracket above that, I believe that only the Airpods Max are vegan. I think both the Focal and B&W headphones use leather. From what I understand, the T+A Solitaire T is vegan but that is way more expensive (something like $1600).

Yes, the "case" that you get with the Airpods Max is terrible - so I ended up picking up one of these cases. It is pretty good but the issue with the Airpods Max is that they don't fold up like many of the other Bluetooth ANC headphones do - so the whole thing tends to be rather bulky. It doesn't bother me much but your mileage may vary.

 

[NaanViolence]

I think most of the popular Bluetooth ANC headphones (Bose, Sennheiser, Sony) are vegan - but they are all around $350-400. In the price bracket above that, I believe that only the Airpods Max are vegan. I think both the Focal and B&W headphones use leather. From what I understand, the T+A Solitaire T is vegan but that is way more expensive (something like $1600).

Yes, the "case" that you get with the Airpods Max is terrible - so I ended up picking up one of these cases. It is pretty good but the issue with the Airpods Max is that they don't fold up like many of the other Bluetooth ANC headphones do - so the whole thing tends to be rather bulky. It doesn't bother me much but your mileage may vary.

I read that gelatin is used to treat some of the stuff that goes into making Lithium-ion batteries. It would be ok if the gelatin was all sourced from naturally dead animals but the animal-exploiters are probably the major suppliers. Almost everything is tainted.

 

[raghumani]

I read that gelatin is used to treat some of the stuff that goes into making Lithium-ion batteries. It would be ok if the gelatin was all sourced from naturally dead animals but the animal-exploiters are probably the major suppliers. Almost everything is tainted.

It is going to be a very long time before we can find products that are truly animal-free. After all, we live in a non-vegan world. The way I see it, removing leather from the equation is a big step. I’ll be content with that for now.