[Hooster]

what (neutral, fully open) headphones do you recommend as an upgrade to the R70x? I keep considering the HD700's even though everyone says they're terrible.

Something from Focal might be worth looking into. There is a lot to choose from. Take your time and find something that suits your preferences.

 

[pauldoni]

Another question: Can the R70x'es be "endgame"? I'm considering upgrading to the DT 1990 Pro's. How do they fare against the R70x? Is it a worthy upgrade if I want a neutral sound, or is it just diminishing returns after the R70x/HD600 territory?

Someone I know using R70X beside his adx5000 as an end game. This cans (r70x) is a special sounding cans in it's price range and have its own speciality. DT1990pro have a different character than this one , it's treble are more aggressive

 

[theaudiologist1]

If I want to connect the R70x to a balanced DAC, do the headphones themselves have to be balanced, or the cables? Or can I get a balanced adapter for the stock cables?

 

[theaudiologist1]

Someone I know using R70X beside his adx5000 as an end game. This cans (r70x) is a special sounding cans in it's price range and have its own speciality. DT1990pro have a different character than this one , it's treble are more aggressive

I thought the DT1990s were neutral. Oh well, off my list.

 

[Hooster]

If I want to connect the R70x to a balanced DAC, do the headphones themselves have to be balanced, or the cables? Or can I get a balanced adapter for the stock cables?

All headphones are balanced by nature, each cup has a plus and minus. Most headphone cables are not since they connect the minus of both cups together. You need balanced cables from start to finish, not an adapter.

 

[theaudiologist1]

All headphones are balanced by nature, each cup has a plus and minus. Most headphone cables are not since they connect the minus of both cups together. You need balanced cables from start to finish, not an adapter.

Any good balanced cables for the r70x? and once they're balanced can I use an adaptor to connect to balanced mini-xlr of my dac?

 

[Hooster]

Any good balanced cables for the r70x? and once they're balanced can I use an adaptor to connect to balanced mini-xlr of my dac?

Sorry, no idea. I stay single ended since it is more cost effective.

 

[theaudiologist1]

Sorry, no idea. I stay single ended since it is more cost effective.

what's the benefit of balanced anyway? is it just audiofool placebo stuff like $10,000 audioquest cables and power cords?

 

[Hooster]

what's the benefit of balanced anyway? is it just audiofool placebo stuff like $10,000 audioquest cables and power cords?

It is very beneficial in some applications, for studio use and long cable runs. It is not placebo stuff but your application determines whether there is any benefit in it for you and your particular situation. This is already getting off topic so I will stop and suggest you save more money and do more research if for some reason you insist on balanced...

 

[llysender]

The benefit of balanced in my case is that my amp can dump more clean power than its SE ouput.
As what hooster said there isnt much point if you dont already have the setup to go for it and even so there isnt any reason to spend more than 20~50max for the cable unless you want a fancy braided one.

Pretty much the only benefits is better transacts and the same thing can be done SE if the amp can push the same level of current across.

Personally I would say the R70X can be considered endgame if you dont want to pay stupid amounts. Sure detail retrevial isnt the best but its weight and how it sounds along with how it doesnt sound like garbage on low power sources assuming the source is clean enough makes this the headphone I would keep if I could only keep one and sell the rest.

edit:
A dac pre out isnt really going to cut it for the r70x. Sure it will sound ok but the r70x sounds ok even out of my phone. Unless you meant a amplifier in which chase I apologize as I have not seen amps that support mini xlr headphone out.

edit2:
On to what I want to ask. How does the R70X compare to the K702 I hear the K702 is really flat as well.

 

[theaudiologist1]

edit:
A dac pre out isnt really going to cut it for the r70x. Sure it will sound ok but the r70x sounds ok even out of my phone. Unless you meant a amplifier in which chase I apologize as I have not seen amps that support mini xlr headphone out.

It's a dac-amp. And it gets very loud with the R70x when in high gain. Higher end headphones do have balanced XLR outs (not mini though).

Personally I would say the R70X can be considered endgame if you dont want to pay stupid amounts. Sure detail retrevial isnt the best but its weight and how it sounds along with how it doesnt sound like garbage on low power sources assuming the source is clean enough makes this the headphone I would keep if I could only keep one and sell the rest.

It's a good headphone but to experience the sound of a symphony or concerto I want to upgrade to a TOTL or nearly-TOTL headphone in the $1000-$1500 range, but it's really hard to find a neutral one. I heard the LCD-X is neutral but that's beyond my price range.

Edit: I also heard the Focal Crystal isneutral and that IS in my price range. Maybe that's what I'll get.

Pretty much the only benefits is better transacts and the same thing can be done SE if the amp can push the same level of current across.

What do you mean by better transacts?

 

[llysender]

By transants im refering to thin quick sounds embeded into the melody although im thinking more of edm and im not sure how well it translates into classical.

If you get the chance and and are ok with planar bass you can wait for a used hifiman arya to pop up. There is also the ath-awkt but its closed back and new so it might take awhile before before any used copys start popping up. Either way it would be preferable if you could go to a shop and try a bunch of totl headphones to get a handle on what you like first.

Btw which dac/amp is it. A quick google search pretty much only showed that kann kube had mini xlr.

 

[llysender]

Double post.

 

[descloud]

But how much headroom do you need if the most dynamic symphonies and orchestras have 60dB of dynamic range? I'm just wondering since an orchestra at full force is 120dB, but once recorded, the mastering reduces that max volume to a lower dB. So i'm guessing the most dynamic recordings will have volume ranges between 50-110dB or even 40-100dB?

Not sure where you're getting your numbers there but when listening to recorded tracks, I don't think the dynamic range would get past 10 dB from your listening levels (e.g. 85 dB). So I would suppose having about 10 dB headroom with your amp would suffice for such recordings.

Another question: Can the R70x'es be "endgame"? I'm considering upgrading to the DT 1990 Pro's. How do they fare against the R70x? Is it a worthy upgrade if I want a neutral sound, or is it just diminishing returns after the R70x/HD600 territory?

To each their own 'endgame'. As long as you find the itch to hear new sound signatures, there's not one 'endgame' for you. There's already a lot of diminishing returns when you're reaching the kilobuck headphones to be fair. It's just a matter of how much you are chasing for that improvement (how small it may be) that you're willing to spend that much for it. A lot of people can be perfectly happy with something like the HD6XX and be done with it.

The DT1990 is treble heavy based on a lot of anecdotes around, so it's a polarizing headphone that you'd need to demo yourself to know if you'd like them or not.

I thought I was settled with the HE-500 before, but ended up checking out the Clear and liking it so far even with its own flaws. Only time will tell if I find the itch to try something new again, but it definitely won't be in the kilobuck headphones cause I like checking out mid-fi in general.

 

[SkyZippr]

This may be less important, but DT1990 has a way stronger clamping force, and it's way heavier.
But to be fair, R70x's weight is close to none compared to most headphones.