[Sam Anv]

Research, Research, Research.

 

[Ademir]

I was able to test a pair of Bowers & Wilkins yesterday, the P5s and, wow I fell for them, the bass is very defined, these cans come really close to what I want, they have no treble harshness and sound very clean and warm (not sure if warm is the word), though their mid range has some un-natural character to it, kind of robotized. I also noticed a nice separation on instruments, it felt like music was less busy, it was calm even with a lot going on, but as it was my first time listening to any headphones powered by a DAC I can't say how much biased by it was my experience.

 

[serman005]

Not exactly sure about your budget but the P7 is even better. More detail, better separation, cleaner mids. You might check one out and see what you think.

 

[Ademir]

The P7s are way more expensive and I don't think it's worth going that much. It's hard to tell you exactly my budget because pricing here is all ****ed up, but I think anything bellow 300$ will match.

 

[thasneakershop]

The P7s are way more expensive and I don't think it's worth going that much. It's hard to tell you exactly my budget because pricing here is all ****ed up, but I think anything bellow 300$ will match.

tbh its not a noticeable improvement (not good bang for buck ,but it's a nice upgrade if you have the money.)

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

598 is actually a good start. I would say the bass is adequate if not profound. It is definitely a great headphone for its price bracket. The only issue I have is the representation is quite boring. It is not musical if you prefer it that way.

 

[Ademir]

Plot twist: I actually tested the P7 and was told they were P5s.

@thasneakershop I also tested the P5 (the real one) and they felt very simple for their price range. Do you think there is an option better than the P7?

l'm leaning towards them (P7), its looking like i'll not be able to test any other pair (I also tested a pair of Bang & Olufsen, the H6, disliked their treble a lot).
I haven't had time but I'll reasearch on how the HD6XX and Fidelio X2 compare to the P7, if anyone knows I'd like to have your opinion, though I know the B&W are the safe buy since I won't be able to test the 2.

@ahmadfaizadnan Exactly, I am definitely leaning towards a more fun pair, that's why I avoided the HD598. I actually think I would like them, and might consider buying in the future, I tend to like analytical sound I guess, though its a fine line between boring and analytical.

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

Plot twist: I actually tested the P7 and was told they were P5s.

@thasneakershop I also tested the P5 (the real one) and they felt very simple for their price range. Do you think there is an option better than the P7?

l'm leaning towards them (P7), its looking like i'll not be able to test any other pair (I also tested a pair of Bang & Olufsen, the H6, disliked their treble a lot).
I haven't had time but I'll reasearch on how the HD6XX and Fidelio X2 compare to the P7, if anyone knows I'd like to have your opinion, though I know the B&W are the safe buy since I won't be able to test the 2.

@ahmadfaizadnan Exactly, I am definitely leaning towards a more fun pair, that's why I avoided the HD598. I actually think I would like them, and might consider buying in the future, I tend to like analytical sound I guess, though its a fine line between boring and analytical.

I have the 6xx and have heard the x2 before because my roommate had it.

My first impression on the x2: Wow. it sounds spacious and engaging. Great energy and liveliness.

However, as I started to listen to several songs, I realized couple things. Mid is kinda recessed and the highs is not controlled and sometimes mix with mids. The treble is kinda harsh at times. The bass is there but not punchy. It does not depends on amp as much.

my first impression on the 6xx: this is okay. I've read a lot about how good 650 is so I thought it would perform better than I expected.

However, as I started to upgrade my current setup. It improves by miles. My current setup now Tidal > wyrd > x-sabre > liquid carbon > 6xx. I felt like I bought a new headphone that cost me $1000. Awesome clarity and bass response. Treble is great but it does not pierce. It is an amp depended but you're not gonna regret it. If I wanna keep only one headphone in the future, 6XX is definitely my choice. the thing is I am not sure if massdrop will go at it again in the near future. But, 650 is also a go.

But I am not sure how it compares to p7. So you can take my impression as a grain of salt.

 

[Ademir]

@ahmadfaizadnan Interesting, thanks. I am a bit in doubt, but I'm going to test the P7s again and make my final choice, chances are I buy them instead of risking a pair I haven't tried.

The real reason to why I am in doubt is that I'm building a home studio from scratch with a home theater, so I'm deciding on receiver, speakers, new audio interface, and headphone amps, while dealing with all the other parts of building an apartment.

So far I've tested the B&W's 686 wich I liked, powered by a NAD T748. I'll be testing some more setups soon, the NAD's price is really high (rough conversion: $2000) wich makes me think it might have more features than I actually need. For me, priority number one is sound quality, no doubt about that, my only connection is my computer so I need few HDMI inputs, and I plan to have 2 monitors, would I need 2 hdmi outputs? Can you do double monitors with a receiver? Features such as airplay aren't important to me because I can control my spotify on the PC trough my cellphone, and that's all I'll need. So if anyone has knowledge on the subject I would appreciate it a lot.

I also need help on buying the audio interface and the headphone amp. The reason why I need the amp and the audio interface is for recording purposes, since I won't have a separate room for rec, I need 1 out going trough the amp to send a different mix (if he wants lower volumes or muted instruments) to a vocalist for instance. Another reason is that I want high quality amplification for my new pair of headphones, but also want to use a variety of headphones on the amp, is that possible? If not I could restrict my use of high quality headphones to the receiver wich is fine, as long as the receiver can power them correctly, wich it does right?

So what started as a quest for one next headphone became me going for a whole new setup, oh well.

I'd like to thank you for your help in my journey so far, and hope I make it to audio heaven.