Kestasme
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2013
- Posts
- 6
- Likes
- 12
Hello,
After lurking for a month and having thoughts for over a year, I have finally decided to start saving up to buy a pair of good headphones (Probably used from this forum) (And Amp+DAC) that will last me for a long time. I will save up about 1000EUR and start looking to purchase in 2019 Q1 (Which is quite far off but I want to have time to make up my mind)
First off, I'd like to point out that I live in Lithuania where (as far as I know) there aren't places where I can go and have a listen to the top end headphones or even midrange like HD600 etc. If someone knows where I would be very thankful for the info.
I have never heard any pair of headphones more expensive than around 100EUR~ and never a fully open back style. So based off of that I can't define a sound signature that I would like to have. However, I have been using EqualizerAPO for over a few years now to a large extent on several earphones, headphones and speakers to suit my taste. As soon as I find an EQ curve that I like in a few days or a week I start editing it again because it doesn't really suit my taste at the time and I keep bouncing around. I have always found it was hard to enjoy music because something was always bugging me but the rare times everything was right were worth the effort. I suppose it could be due to the fact that the tech I have is just not capable of producing pleasant audio due to technical limitations. The few things I can point out about the sound signature I lean more towards are:
I always EQ bass to be flat to the ear and not flat per-se (30Hz sounding the same loudness as 100Hz).
I don't like the popular V curve that has too much bass and too much treble and squashes everything in soundstage.
I like the music to have a defined center, especially clear vocals. The sound that seems to have space but no anchor point I don't like.
I like the treble to be rolled of just enough so it doesn't sound harsh but warm. Nothing too defined (Beyerdynamic DT 880 pops to mind from reading).
The level of bass I like in my words would be just enough so synthesizers and harmonics have just about an even volume level with the core bass note where I can hear the core bass line but it doesn't overpower every other detail in the lower end.
I'd like to have at least some soundstage, therefore I would like fully open headphones.
At first, around a year ago, I started looking at the Audio Technica ATH-AD700X, later I started reading up here and started shifting towards HD598, then HD600/650 + Amp/Dac and now I decided that I will purchase to have for a long time and will not spare the money to purchase something that I can be fully satisfied with without regret. At the moment I have my eyes set on the Audeze LCD2 as it is described to have a more engaging and warmer sound than the HD800 but still be fairly flat.
I have mostly been convinced that the Schiit Magni 3 / Modi 2 Uber combo would sufficiently drive most headphones and wouldn't have any noticeable sound difference from other solid amps if you don't know what to nitpick at.
I mostly listen to various electronic music genres ranging from downtempo and house to hardcore and experimental genres, I am also a big fan of movie, anime and game soundtracks. Sometimes I also listen to some jazz like lounge jazz. The one music genre area where I don't really put a foot in is Heavy Metal and Rock.
Would you have any recommendations for a person starting out? I want to collect as much info as I can in the year I have until I make the purchase.
P.S. Sorry if my English isn't that great.
After lurking for a month and having thoughts for over a year, I have finally decided to start saving up to buy a pair of good headphones (Probably used from this forum) (And Amp+DAC) that will last me for a long time. I will save up about 1000EUR and start looking to purchase in 2019 Q1 (Which is quite far off but I want to have time to make up my mind)
First off, I'd like to point out that I live in Lithuania where (as far as I know) there aren't places where I can go and have a listen to the top end headphones or even midrange like HD600 etc. If someone knows where I would be very thankful for the info.
I have never heard any pair of headphones more expensive than around 100EUR~ and never a fully open back style. So based off of that I can't define a sound signature that I would like to have. However, I have been using EqualizerAPO for over a few years now to a large extent on several earphones, headphones and speakers to suit my taste. As soon as I find an EQ curve that I like in a few days or a week I start editing it again because it doesn't really suit my taste at the time and I keep bouncing around. I have always found it was hard to enjoy music because something was always bugging me but the rare times everything was right were worth the effort. I suppose it could be due to the fact that the tech I have is just not capable of producing pleasant audio due to technical limitations. The few things I can point out about the sound signature I lean more towards are:
I always EQ bass to be flat to the ear and not flat per-se (30Hz sounding the same loudness as 100Hz).
I don't like the popular V curve that has too much bass and too much treble and squashes everything in soundstage.
I like the music to have a defined center, especially clear vocals. The sound that seems to have space but no anchor point I don't like.
I like the treble to be rolled of just enough so it doesn't sound harsh but warm. Nothing too defined (Beyerdynamic DT 880 pops to mind from reading).
The level of bass I like in my words would be just enough so synthesizers and harmonics have just about an even volume level with the core bass note where I can hear the core bass line but it doesn't overpower every other detail in the lower end.
I'd like to have at least some soundstage, therefore I would like fully open headphones.
At first, around a year ago, I started looking at the Audio Technica ATH-AD700X, later I started reading up here and started shifting towards HD598, then HD600/650 + Amp/Dac and now I decided that I will purchase to have for a long time and will not spare the money to purchase something that I can be fully satisfied with without regret. At the moment I have my eyes set on the Audeze LCD2 as it is described to have a more engaging and warmer sound than the HD800 but still be fairly flat.
I have mostly been convinced that the Schiit Magni 3 / Modi 2 Uber combo would sufficiently drive most headphones and wouldn't have any noticeable sound difference from other solid amps if you don't know what to nitpick at.
I mostly listen to various electronic music genres ranging from downtempo and house to hardcore and experimental genres, I am also a big fan of movie, anime and game soundtracks. Sometimes I also listen to some jazz like lounge jazz. The one music genre area where I don't really put a foot in is Heavy Metal and Rock.
Would you have any recommendations for a person starting out? I want to collect as much info as I can in the year I have until I make the purchase.
P.S. Sorry if my English isn't that great.
