Efficient headphones or IEMs for classical music

[lrlebron]

I have a budget of $700 for a new pair of headphones.
I mostly listen to classical music/jazz with some occasional rock/pop. I would like a mostly neutral signature with a little warmth. I like a good treble without harshness and a controlled but present bass. I would prefer headphones but am open to IEMs. I just find headphones more comfortable.

My other requirement is that can be driven easilty. Here are the power specs on my DAP

Cayin N3Pro Power Output
Single Ended
Solid State 32 ohms 250mw
Tube 32 ohms 130mw

Balanced
Solid State 32 ohms 800mwwer specs on my DAP

Ideally the headphone/iems I get could run from the Tube output which is 130mw into 32 ohms.

thanks

 

[surfgeorge]

On IEM side the Sony IER-M9 meets your requirements spot on IMO.
I found it to compete very well with the Sennheiser HD-800S.
The Sennheiser has even better detail and the famously huge soundstage, but the M9 is close in detail and has better bass extension. Imaging on the M9 is excellent, maybe even better than the HD-800s but the soundstage is a miniature version. I feel like I have to shrink myself and dive into it, then it becomes very realistic. What's really special is the combination of BA detail with a fast but still natural decay.
The M9 is power hungry though for an all BA IEM.
Prices vary a lot, I got mine for USD 700 in Australia, which is by far the lowest I have ever seen.

For headphones I would check out the Hifiman Ananda, but that's based on reviews, I didn't have a chance to hear it.
When I looked for a headphone that could compete with the IER-M9 I didn't find anything below Euro 1000 and ended up buying the Focal Clear Pro, whcih could also be an option for you. Warmer and smoother than the M9, less detail, impactful bass, but the soundstage is quite intimate compared to the HD-800S.

EDIT: Regarding comfort:
The M9 is a comfortable IEM, but it does require tip rolling to find the perfect seal without creating a vacuum effect.
The level of detail and nuances I am getting with these makes listening really breathtaking sometimes, engaging, but also demanding attention.
The Focal Clear is very comfortable and I can wear it for hours. The sound is presented in a much more relaxed way, makes me want to lean back in a deck chair and let the music wash away over me.

 

[lrlebron]

On IEM side the Sony IER-M9 meets your requirements spot on IMO.
I found it to compete very well with the Sennheiser HD-800S.
The Sennheiser has even better detail and the famously huge soundstage, but the M9 is close in detail and has better bass extension. Imaging on the M9 is excellent, maybe even better than the HD-800s but the soundstage is a miniature version. I feel like I have to shrink myself and dive into it, then it becomes very realistic. What's really special is the combination of BA detail with a fast but still natural decay.
The M9 is power hungry though for an all BA IEM.
Prices vary a lot, I got mine for USD 700 in Australia, which is by far the lowest I have ever seen.

For headphones I would check out the Hifiman Ananda, but that's based on reviews, I didn't have a chance to hear it.
When I looked for a headphone that could compete with the IER-M9 I didn't find anything below Euro 1000 and ended up buying the Focal Clear Pro, whcih could also be an option for you. Warmer and smoother than the M9, less detail, impactful bass, but the soundstage is quite intimate compared to the HD-800S.

Thanks for the input. The IER-M9 is $998 at the moment so it is way over my budget. The Ananda is on my short list together with the Audio Technical ATH W900 and the Audeze LCD-1.

 

[Deolum]

Ananda, Clear or ATH R70X is what i would look for.

Ananda and Clear both are neutral-warm, easy to drive and imo top of their pricerange (i exclude HD600/650 + totl amp for this).

Ananda is a bit thicker sounding with an overall less natural timbre. Wouldn't be my first choice for classical music i think.

Clear is the best you can get for 1000 bucks without a specific system. It's extremely laidback and balanced from top to bottom with a more thin and airy sound but still not too much.

Never heard any Audio Technica but the R70X looks promising for a very neutral sound.

 

[silent-circuit]

Never heard any Audio Technica but the R70X looks promising for a very neutral sound.

R70X is /extremely/ neutral. If you want to 'hear the mix' that's the ticket. They are not forgiving, however. Not as resolving as an electrosat, but not far off.

 

[lrlebron]

Ananda, Clear or ATH R70X is what i would look for.

Ananda and Clear both are neutral-warm, easy to drive and imo top of their pricerange (i exclude HD600/650 + totl amp for this).

Ananda is a bit thicker sounding with an overall less natural timbre. Wouldn't be my first choice for classical music i think.

Clear is the best you can get for 1000 bucks without a specific system. It's extremely laidback and balanced from top to bottom with a more thin and airy sound but still not too much.

Never heard any Audio Technica but the R70X looks promising for a very neutral sound.

Thanks for the feedback. The Focal Clears at $1490 are way over my budget. The R70X would be ok pricewise but at 470 ohms/99db I don't think my dap can run them well.

 

[alpha421]

For IEMs, the Chord & Major 9'13 is dynamic driven and tuned specifically for the classical genre. Only cost about two Benjamins on Amazon and the genre specific models are Made in Taiwan. I owned it for a while before I purchased custom in-ear monitors, but out the many iems I've owned, the 9'13 is one of the very few that can render the piano, cello, viola with near perfect tone.

The other IEM I recommend for classical, which I still own and use is the Cardas EM5813. Just don't judge out of the box, because it's one of the only few iems that truly changes for the better with many, many hours of burn in. You can get them around $200 as well.

Both sounds great just from the 3.5mm of a smartphone, but both scales very well with more power.

 

[sebek]

Ananda are fine for me.

For the classic I would also look at the AKGs, I had the K712, but I think K702 and K612 are fine too.

They are hard to beat in soundstage.