[MrWhaffles]

Hello guys, i want to buy a pair of headphones, but i want an open pair with no sibilance, mostly because i'm looking for something comfortable that i can wear for hours without fatigue.
Can you guys give me some recommendations? My budget is around 200 euro=200$

 

[Me x3]

Sibilance is most of the times on the recording. Getting good quality recordings is the best way to go in orden to avoid loosing sound quality. Otherwise you should get a pretty dark-sounding/forgiving headphone. To recognize these kind of headphones you should look at some frequency response graphs and consider those hedphones with a well in the response between 4Khz and 7Khz.
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php
 
You should consider:
 
Yamaha HPH-200. These are really forgiving open on-ear headphones. With good bass, and detailed highs, but not sibilant.
 
Sennheiser Hd598. Really smooth headphones. Not lively highs like Yamaha's HPH-200 but more neutral response, and relaxed sound signature with big soundstage.
 
Philips Fidelio L1. This are dark sounding headphones with much more energy in the sub bass region than Hd598 and HPH-200. Built quality is really good but no replaceable pads as far as I know.
 
Best Luck!

 

[MrWhaffles]

  Sibilance is most of the times on the recording. Getting good quality recordings is the best way to go in orden to avoid loosing sound quality. Otherwise you should get a pretty dark-sounding/forgiving headphone. To recognize these kind of headphones you should look at some frequency response graphs and consider those hedphones with a well in the response between 4Khz and 7Khz.
http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/build-a-graph.php
 
You should consider:
 
Yamaha HPH-200. These are really forgiving open on-ear headphones. With good bass, and detailed highs, but not sibilant.
 
Sennheiser Hd598. Really smooth headphones. Not lively highs like Yamaha's HPH-200 but more neutral response, and relaxed sound signature with big soundstage.
 
Philips Fidelio L1. This are dark sounding headphones with much more energy in the sub bass region than Hd598 and HPH-200. Built quality is really good but no replaceable pads as far as I know.
 
Best Luck!

Thanks!
I have pretty good recordings, almost always i listen to FLAC's, but for example i hear a bit of sibilance on the Grado SR80i, but the AKG K550 hurt my ears at the same song/model.
Which is why i was asking for something comfortable and non-fatiguing.
Are the Q701 any good?

 

[MrWhaffles]

bump

 

[KG Jag]

Almost like headphone comfort, sibilance can be a very individual thing.  The best general advice is to look for cans with at somewhat rolled off or recessed treble.
 
In your case I strongly suggest that you go somewhere (e.g. a local store) where you can give a range of cans a personal test from comfort--with regard to both how they fit and how they sound.

 

[Me x3]

Here you can compare Q701's frequency response vs HD598's. Q701 have more energy around 6KHz then HD598 may be a wiser pick.
 
 
Probably I'm writing things you already know. Just in case you don't, good quality recordings is not the same as good quality files. It is really useful to read about Loudness War, and Dynamic Range in order to get good quality recordings. Most modern recordings tend to be over bright and compressed with low dynamic range. Most 'audiophile' recordings have good dynamic range, better separation and less, or no sibilance.
 
 
Best Luck!

 

[MrWhaffles]

 
Here you can compare Q701's frequency response vs HD598's. Q701 have more energy around 6KHz then HD598 may be a wiser pick.
 
 
Probably I'm writing things you already know. Just in case you don't, good quality recordings is not the same as good quality files. It is really useful to read about Loudness War, and Dynamic Range in order to get good quality recordings. Most modern recordings tend to be over bright and compressed with low dynamic range. Most 'audiophile' recordings have good dynamic range, better separation and less, or no sibilance.
 
 
Best Luck!

 

  Almost like headphone comfort, sibilance can be a very individual thing.  The best general advice is to look for cans with at somewhat rolled off or recessed treble.
 
In your case I strongly suggest that you go somewhere (e.g. a local store) where you can give a range of cans a personal test from comfort--with regard to both how they fit and how they sound.

 
Hmm well there aren't any shops around me where i can try the headphones unfortunately.
 
http://graphs.headphone.com/graphCompare.php?graphType=0&graphID[]=3571&graphID[]=2931&graphID[]=2851&graphID[]=353&scale=30
Weirdly enough, i have found the SR80 bearable and the K550 annoying regarding sibilance. The only spike i see is in the upper frequency where the grados are lower than the rest. Maybe this is what is hurting my ears?

 

[Me x3]

  The only spike i see is in the upper frequency where the grados are lower than the rest. Maybe this is what is hurting my ears?

Best you can do is to EQ that upper spike using a parametric equalizer.
 
It is quite hard to use the graph to get accurate predictions because each person perceives sound in a slightly different way. Those graphs were drawn with headphones at different volumes in such a way that all sound equally loud for a 1KHz tone. In practice, we don't set the volume thinking about 1KHz tones, then these graphs can be in many other vertical positions. Other thing to consider is that we are comparing open headphones with closed headphones.

 

[MrWhaffles]

  Best you can do is to EQ that upper spike using a parametric equalizer.
 
It is quite hard to use the graph to get accurate predictions because each person perceives sound in a slightly different way. Those graphs were drawn with headphones at different volumes in such a way that all sound equally loud for a 1KHz tone. In practice, we don't set the volume thinking about 1KHz tones, then these graphs can be in many other vertical positions. Other thing to consider is that we are comparing open headphones with closed headphones.

 
Well the other than the K550 the others are all open.
Hmm i just remembered, i tried the HD 558 for a few days and didn't enjoy them they also hurt my ears. this was a long time ago though.
I'm just wondering which would be best, i am kinda sensitive about these stuff.
Would the 518/q701 have lower sibilance?
 
Thanks for your assistance guys btw, i know i am asking a lot of questions.

 

[80smusicboy]

I have the Q701 and have heard the HD598 and if you want to tame down the sibilance, forget the Q701. They are a very competent set of cans and won't create sibilance on their own but are unforgiving with bad recordings/sibilance.
 
The Q701 are technically superior to the HD598, but the later are a better choice given your point.

 

[Me x3]

If you want to stay far from sibilance issues you should strongly consider Philips Fidelio L1. It is a quite dark sounding headphone.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/handsome-philips-fidelio-l1

 

[MrWhaffles]

  If you want to stay far from sibilance issues you should strongly consider Philips Fidelio L1. It is a quite dark sounding headphone.
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/handsome-philips-fidelio-l1

 
yeah it and the x1 sound good but they are over my budget unfortunately

 

[MrWhaffles]

  I have both the Q701 and have heard the HD598 and if you want to tame down the sibilance, forget the Q701. They are a very competent set of cans and won't create sibilance on their own but are unforgiving with bad recordings/sibilance.
 
The Q701 are technically superior to the HD598, but the later are a better choice given your point.

 
i see, thank you for your recommendation

 

[80smusicboy]

Although I should add that if the SR80s are anything like the SR60i, then even the Q701 won't sibilate as much.

 

[MrWhaffles]

  Although I should add that if the SR80s are anything like the SR60i, then even the Q701 won't sibilate as much.

 
yeah weird thing, for me the HD 558 and AKG k550 had a lot more sibilance for me than the sr 80