[Hofy]

I am looking for headphones that make for a nice wide soundstage like when I listen to speakers on my stereo.
I hate the "in my head blob" that I get with headphones.  I have tried various cans by AKG, Grado and Sennheiser.
I have also tried amps by headroom that are suppose to get rid of this.  The amps special processing didnt make any difference to me.
Does anyone make headphones like what I am looking for, or am I forever going to have to disturb my family and neighbors when I want to listen to music?

 

[Claritas]

Welcome to Head-Fi! I'm not going to say it. Cue: Rubinstein.
 
Subscribed. It's not called disturbing: it's called education.
 
The most speaker-like I've heard are some of the AKG. E.g., K501, K601, K70x. I think they're more speaker-like than HD800. One workaround is the Smyth Realiser, but it's very expensive.
 
I'm curious about ATH-AD900 and, of course, the famous K1000.

 

[rubinstein]

  Welcome to Head-Fi! I'm not going to say it. Cue: Rubinstein.
 
Subscribed. It's not called disturbing: it's called education.

Welcome to Head fi Hofy,
 
@ Claritas, thank you very much for your advice. Please tell the same message to other head fiers too. I am out of this thread for good! It is not worth to argue in online forums.

 

[Claritas]

  Welcome to Head fi Hofy,
 
@ Claritas, thank you very much for your advice. Please tell the same message to other head fiers too. I am out of this thread for good! It is not worth to argue in online forums.

 
That was a joke. I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings. Please come back.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Firstly, understand that no headphone will ever reproduce the soundstage of speakers. They simply can't. It's a physical thing. No post-processing can truly mimic it yet. 
 
Next, the only way to even come close to what you're looking for is with open air headphones and they have to have the widest sound stages. In general, you'll find them in the mid-tier to high-end arenas.
 
What specifically have you tried already?
 
Very best,

 

[Hofy]

I have tried the 60s, 125s, and 225s from Grado.  AKG K240 and Sennheiser HD280pro, HD580.
I prefer over the ear for comfort and sound isolation.  
I am disappointed in stereo imaging though.  I feel the music may as well be in mono.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Grados have a very limited sound stage, so that's no help there. The Prestige line has a notoriously small sound stage.
 
The K240 has an ok soundstage, for a semi-open. But far from being "wide open."
 
The HD280 PRO is completely closed. Not going to get a wide sound stage there.
 
The HD580 has a good soundstage. You considered that "mono" to an effect?
 
Look for a used AudioTechnica AD900X or used AKG K702/Q701.
 
Or if your budget permits, or if you are near a hifi shop, go audition the Beyer T1, Sennheiser HD800, or Stax.
 
Very best,

 

[Hofy]

The Grado and AKG are long gone. 
I still have the Sennheiser but yes the sound is just a blob confined to the boundaries of my head.  So, yes it may as well be mono.
I see the AT AD900X online for $200 but there are 2 types, open and closed back.
The rest at $1000+ are way out of my price range.

 

[Hofy]

Let me also add I have tried listening to some binaural stuff and it isnt much better .  Everything is still inbetween my ears and centered stuff is at the top of my head, not out in front.

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

You need a very open sounding (open headphones or DX000 Denons or AKG K550's) with angled drivers (like the Denon DX000 pads or Ultrasone and even Bose drivers are like this) to simulate sitting in front of 2 speakers and not having one speaker directly to your right and another directly 2 your left.
 
Someone else will have to chime in on which Sennheisers are like this otherwise I know the Denon D2000, 5000 and 7000's do this but while they sounds very open they still are not open and are not the MOST spacious sounding headphone ever so I would suggest something by Hi-fiman (HE500's?) or the Audez LCD 2, I believe both of these have pads larger in the back than the front to angle the drivers so the sound sounds like it is coming from in front of you.
 
Maybe AKG K1000's

 

[dparker83]

Check out the NAD Visio HP50's. They are acoustically tuned to mimic the sound of speakers in a room.

I love them. Use them nonstop at the office. They have an easiness about them. Very pleasant.

 

[Claritas]

Check out the NAD Visio HP50's. They are acoustically tuned to mimic the sound of speakers in a room.

I love them. Use them nonstop at the office. They have an easiness about them. Very pleasant.

 
That's a very good recommendation for the reason you mention.

 

[Hofy]

Necro thread time.  While I havent done anything about headphones since starting this thread things have changed.  For the foreseeable future I will have to do my listening on headphones so I do not disturb others in the house and due to space rearrangements.
 
The past week I have been doing a bunch of reading here on the forums.   I have come to the conclusion that I need a good amp.  I was experimenting last night and today by hooking up some cheap Monoprice 8323 cans to the speaker output of my Pioneer receiver.  Holy crap!  I have sound stage, imaging and depth.  It has become almost holographic listening now.   Since I listen to mostly metal, hard rock and classic rock I have been narrowing down a list of good cans for this type of music with the help of the Headphones for metal music - ultimate solution thread. I am also eyeing a Schiit Vali2 amp.
 
Cant wait to hear what good equipment will sound like. 

 

[serman005]

  Necro thread time.  While I havent done anything about headphones since starting this thread things have changed.  For the foreseeable future I will have to do my listening on headphones so I do not disturb others in the house and due to space rearrangements.
 
The past week I have been doing a bunch of reading here on the forums.   I have come to the conclusion that I need a good amp.  I was experimenting last night and today by hooking up some cheap Monoprice 8323 cans to the speaker output of my Pioneer receiver.  Holy crap!  I have sound stage, imaging and depth.  It has become almost holographic listening now.   Since I listen to mostly metal, hard rock and classic rock I have been narrowing down a list of good cans for this type of music with the help of the Headphones for metal music - ultimate solution thread. I am also eyeing a Schiit Vali2 amp.
 
Cant wait to hear what good equipment will sound like. 

What cans are you looking at?

 

[robm321]

No. /thread. 
 
There is a reason speakers, room treatment, etc. is still around because there is no other way to get that sound. I have the K-1000s and they are somewhere in between headphones and speaker. 
 
All that said, headphones don't close.