[Head1]

Which headphones (or earphones) are good for:
 
1) portraying voice & instruments realistically,
2) presenting both very quiet and very loud sounds,
3) being clear when playing complex music eg. dense orchestral passages, high tempo rhythms.
 
Thanks.

 

[Ivabign]

Perhaps Etymotic - HF5 or the ER4PT.... A bit thin on bass (but very accurate with great punch) - extremely accurate. (I own a pair)

 

[Head1]

The main thing that bothers me with iems is the reliability. How do you find the Etymotics?

 

[Ivabign]

That is sorta funny - and I don't mean to belittle you in any way - The Etymotic ER4PT is extremely reliable - If you go to the Ety website - you will see under the "review" section, owners talking about 15 years of service - 20 years of service without loss of quality - they are built like tanks - now that doesn't mean you can throw them around - it means if you take care of them they will last for many years.
 
It is funny because I had never seen anyone talk about an IEM that lasted a decade before - but two decades? 

 WOW

 

[Head1]

I actually looked at the Amazon reviews first and that's where I saw the bad reviews although most of them seem to be good. There are some where it lasted more than a 10yrs as you said and the odd one that where it keeps dying on them. In terms of sound it does seem to fit the criteria very well. I prefer neutral bass but I'm aware that a lack of bass can help with clarity.

 

[jodgey4]

What's your budget? Open & closed headphones, & IEM's? What's your source (plugging them into)?

 

[Head1]

I'd say up to $500/ £300 (used perhaps) and I would be using my laptop at first but I can get a dac/amp if it makes sense. I don't mind open or closed and I'm interested in different types of can eg. dynamic vs planar, headphone vs earphone etc.

 

[Makiah S]

  I'd say up to $500/ £300 (used perhaps) and I would be using my laptop at first but I can get a dac/amp if it makes sense. I don't mind open or closed and I'm interested in different types of can eg. dynamic vs planar, headphone vs earphone etc.

Well...  there is a LOT of headphones that will fall into that category, each having a simmilar quality of sound, with a slightly different tone answer the two following question as best you can if you don't mind please  
 
what headphones have you had in the past, and what did you like about them?
 
What didn't you like? 

 

[sinnottj]

  I'd say up to $500/ £300 (used perhaps) and I would be using my laptop at first but I can get a dac/amp if it makes sense. I don't mind open or closed and I'm interested in different types of can eg. dynamic vs planar, headphone vs earphone etc.

 
In that price range, you'd be hard pressed to do better than the Sennheiser HD600 (£220 on amazon.co.uk).
 
They have the most natural tonality I've heard from a pair of headphones, particularly good for voice & string instruments. They are relatively neutral (with a slight emphasis on upper bass / midrange with lends them a touch more body / warmth, compared with a totally neutral headphone) and very comfortable.  Also much easier to drive than you might expect, they will play fine straight out of a laptop, but will improve further with a dedicated amp.

 

[jodgey4]

Planar will be quick with bass extension and texture like you can't believe compared to dynamics. The HE-400 is in your budget, but a strange & non-versatile beast. I think answering muh boi @Mshenay's questions would be best, indeed.

 

[Makiah S]

   
In that price range, you'd be hard pressed to do better than the Sennheiser HD600 (£220 on amazon.co.uk).
 
They have the most natural tonality I've heard from a pair of headphones, particularly good for voice & string instruments. They are relatively neutral (with a slight emphasis on upper bass / midrange with lends them a touch more body / warmth, compared with a totally neutral headphone) and very comfortable.  Also much easier to drive than you might expect, they will play fine straight out of a laptop, but will improve further with a dedicated amp.

 
 

  Planar will be quick with bass extension and texture like you can't believe compared to dynamics. The HE-400 is in your budget, but a strange & non-versatile beast. I think answering muh boi @Mshenay's questions would be best, indeed.

 
 
Now we have a recommendation for Sennhesiers, Hifimans and I can throw in a Beyerdyanamic, but this doesn't help OP much.
 
Still though OP the Beyerdynamic DT 880, the Sennhesier HD 600 and Hifiman HE 400 are all good places to start, each one though sounds a little bit different
 
The DT 880 is Dry an Transparent
The HD 600 is Warm and Organic
the HE 400 is Energetic and Dark  

 

[Head1]

  Well...  there is a LOT of headphones that will fall into that category, each having a simmilar quality of sound, with a slightly different tone answer the two following question as best you can if you don't mind please  
 
what headphones have you had in the past, and what did you like about them?
 
What didn't you like? 

I just listened to the HD600 recently. Here are my brief impressions of headphones I've listened to at various times.
 
Sennheiser CX300ii - Lively, brightish, loose bass.  Hissy - probably needs a very clean source. Or did I have a fake?
Sennheiser PX200 - Clear, closed sounding but decent detail for an ultraportable. Warmish.
Sennheiser HD280 - Neutral, closed sounding, short transients (px200 was slightly better in this regard).
Sennheiser Momentum -  Reasonably detailed, laidback (the cheap Philips SHL3300 sounded more alive to me). Balanced apart from being warm.
B&W P7 - Slightly more detail and spacious. Less balanced with the v shape but technically better than mass market headphones.
AKG K550 - Detailed, bright. Bass light, lacking body just outlines. Large earcups.
HD600 - Better timbre and detail out of the above, across the frequency range. Voices, saxophone and some other exotic instruments sounded more 3 dimensional. Better dynamics listening to the opening of Symphonie Fantastique. Balanced apart from being warm.
 
So the HD600 looks fairly good for timbre and dynamics. Reading old threads it seems the K501 beats it for clarity but is worse in other aspects. Some also suggest the HD600 could be faster more PRaT.

 

[OMGLadyGaga]

I always found the Sony Z1000 to be particulary excellent in this area. Timbre is top notch across the range, particularly the mids. I dont care what graphs say, its not bass light either. But yeah HD600 is better overall. Momentum isnt bad in this regard either to the comment above

 

[Head1]

I always found the Sony Z1000 to be particulary excellent in this area. Timbre is top notch across the range, particularly the mids. I dont care what graphs say, its not bass light either. But yeah HD600 is better overall. Momentum isnt bad in this regard either to the comment above

I've read the ZX700 has fairly good timbre for its price, have you heard it? However, they seem to do better with slow music.

 

[Head1]

 
Still though OP the Beyerdynamic DT 880, the Sennhesier HD 600 and Hifiman HE 400 are all good places to start, each one though sounds a little bit different
 
The DT 880 is Dry an Transparent
The HD 600 is Warm and Organic
the HE 400 is Energetic and Dark  

Thanks. How would they fare in terms of my original criteria?
 
Also if anyone can compare with the K612, L2, T90 or RE400/600, that would be great.