Sonic Steven
New Head-Fier
Hello everyone!
New member to Head-Fi but have been a longtime guest benefiting from the plethora of information available here. I’m now at the point where I’m thinking of a (serious to me) purchase, and want to hear input from those that have experience with some TOTL cans that could be used in an office setting and fit my genre preferences (especially those that own a Atticus or Eikon along with a Z1R). Quick aside: this is a lengthy post and I greatly appreciate anyone that cares to read this and share their suggestion with me!
Main question/topic presented in this thread: With consideration of the points mentioned below, what is the best headphone/setup within a $2,500USD budget (+/-) for me?
Consideration points for me as an individual:
1. (Don’t shoot me but…) Electronic Genre [EDM, Drum and Bass, House, Ambient, Chill, Trance]
Music I do not listen to (no harm meant, simply doesn’t fancy me):
1. Death Metal
2. Bluegrass
3. Rap
4. Opera
Audio equipment I have owned or currently own:
New member to Head-Fi but have been a longtime guest benefiting from the plethora of information available here. I’m now at the point where I’m thinking of a (serious to me) purchase, and want to hear input from those that have experience with some TOTL cans that could be used in an office setting and fit my genre preferences (especially those that own a Atticus or Eikon along with a Z1R). Quick aside: this is a lengthy post and I greatly appreciate anyone that cares to read this and share their suggestion with me!
Main question/topic presented in this thread: With consideration of the points mentioned below, what is the best headphone/setup within a $2,500USD budget (+/-) for me?
Consideration points for me as an individual:
- I use headphones daily, M-F, in my office at work. I will wear them for hours at a time if someone doesn’t need me.
- I use them as a productivity tool, as well as general enjoyment when at home. I run an ecommerce business (not audio related) and thus spend many hours in front of a computer. Headphones help me get into a state of flow where I’m most productive. For this bullet point, the key takeaway is that I desire a headphone that invites you into the music, immediately embracing the toe-tapping, and can motivate me to continue my keyboard pounding an hour after I have started.
- I have my own office but believe in open door policies. Thus, I’m looking for a headphone that I can use at healthy listening volumes without my employees outside beginning a karaoke session from my music (although that does sound fun!). Hence my current search has catered to closed backs but if someone has a different opinion about this, I’m all ears.
- I have considered the idea of multiple headphones to suit certain tracks, environments, and use cases, but something closer to a “do it all” headphone would be preferable. Furthermore, it would be awesome to have a great headphone that was rockin’ through a desktop amp, but could also be used (relatively) easily at night from an iPhone source while in bed. If possible, I’d even use them for plane flights, movies at home, etc.
- Relative to most here on Head-Fi, I am admittedly a noob. I have not been able to attend a meetup, don’t have local stores (that I know of) where I could try different things, and I don’t have any friends that are into this hobby. Consequently, I don’t know what the “large soundstage of the HD800 is like” or how the sound of planars vs. electrostats vs. dynamics differ to my ears. So, the input from Head-Fiers will be extremely valuable to me if I decide to move forward with a purchase.
- Thus far, my readings have pointed me towards the ZMF Atticus/Eikon or Sony MDR-1ZR. Each having their compromises/differences, they all seem to fit many of my requirements while differing in signature and should be a step up in performance from my current TH-X00’s. However, I’m open to all additional HF suggestions if they fit my environment requirements and music interests.
- I was considering a used Z1R in the $1400-$1500 area vs. a new Atticus/Eikon (hard to find used in the new wood style Zach just released, plus the lifetime warranty to original owner situation) in the $1000-$1500 area. With the rest of budget, I could either consider a complimentary headphone or a DAC/Amp that would let a particular headphone of choice shine.
1. (Don’t shoot me but…) Electronic Genre [EDM, Drum and Bass, House, Ambient, Chill, Trance]
a. Typically enjoy songs with vocals and real instruments, but sometimes I need background music that is engaging without motivating me to sing along lol.
b. Favorite artists: Swedish House Mafia (SHM), The Glitch Mob, Armin Van Buuren, Elektronomia, Avicii, Mt. Eden, Tiesto, Lindsey Sterling, more..
c. If “Don’t You Worry Child ft. John Martin” by SHM and “Lights (Bassnectar Remix)” by Ellie Goulding & Bassnectar don’t get the head moving, I won’t be interested in the headphones…
2. Rock, including Alt Rock, Pop Rock, etc. Newer artists and older.b. Favorite artists: Swedish House Mafia (SHM), The Glitch Mob, Armin Van Buuren, Elektronomia, Avicii, Mt. Eden, Tiesto, Lindsey Sterling, more..
c. If “Don’t You Worry Child ft. John Martin” by SHM and “Lights (Bassnectar Remix)” by Ellie Goulding & Bassnectar don’t get the head moving, I won’t be interested in the headphones…
a. Favorite artists: Shinedown, 30 Seconds to Mars, Breaking Benjamin, Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, Keane, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Lifehouse, Linkin Park, Goo Goo Dolls, Matchbox Twenty, Third Eye Blind
b. Key tracks: “Call Me” Shinedown. “Closer to the Edge” and “Kings and Queens” by 30 Seconds to Mars. “The Sound of Silence” Disturbed. And any random song of choice from Led Zeppelin, Coldplay, and Matchbox Twenty.
3. Filmscores, Classical, Instrumentalsb. Key tracks: “Call Me” Shinedown. “Closer to the Edge” and “Kings and Queens” by 30 Seconds to Mars. “The Sound of Silence” Disturbed. And any random song of choice from Led Zeppelin, Coldplay, and Matchbox Twenty.
a. Really enjoy listening to filmscores sometimes at work when I need a relaxing moment (John Williams, Hans Zimmer, Steve Jablonsky, etc). Just starting to scratch the surface on orchestra pieces. It is admittedly fun when you listen to certain filmscores or symphony pieces through decent headphones and you realize there are instruments playing that you didn’t know existed through iPhone Ear Pods lol. However, extreme levels of detail retrieval and analytical presence isn’t a top priority overall. I’d rather the theme song to Pirates of the Caribbean by Zimmer move me emotionally than for me to discern when the pages are turned by the conductor (Mozart/Bach/Chopin aficionados will probably laugh at this example but I can’t help but feel upbeat when I hear this piece).
4. The list could go on. I listen to a little country, jazz, etc. at times. But I’d say 90% of my workplace listening would fall into the previous 3 categories.Music I do not listen to (no harm meant, simply doesn’t fancy me):
1. Death Metal
2. Bluegrass
3. Rap
4. Opera
Audio equipment I have owned or currently own:
- Audio Technica ATH-M50. First pair of headphones I purchased for a work environment 6 or so years ago.
- Fostex TH-X00 Ebony. Currently listening to them now. This is the “best” set of headphones I have ever personally owned. They are not perfect, but for my daily listening, they actually work quite well. If I could improve them, I would like to think better headphones would seem less veiled, have clearer mids, and wouldn’t seem to get muddy for certain types of complex music. Things I really enjoy about them: comfortable (to me), good bass extension and quantity (first headphones I’ve ever worn where you can feel them physically rumble on your head haha), can be powered from any device, seem to be holding up to my handling thus far, was the first set of headphones where I listened to music I know well and I could hear aspects/depth/fullness that I had not heard before from headphones. Overall, they get my toes tapping. Which is why I have been content with them for some time now. At this point, I’m really interested in learning “how much better things can sound” and to experience different types of audio reproduction.
- Schiit Stack (Modi Multibit, Magni 2 Uber). I don’t have any other DAC/Amps to compare to so, uh, yea. They sound pretty good? May my noobness shine for all to see…
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