HD800s vs (Pioneer SE Master 1, Sony Z1R, Focal Utopia, he1000, lcd4) vs UE18

[lcasadonte]

I have Beyerdynamic T5P gen 2's which I originally paired with a FIIO X5II and have recently upgraded to an Auralic Taurus mkii, altair and vega. I am looking to take advantage of my new setup and circle back and upgrade my HP. I've done a lot of reading on this site and am focusing on these HP but in particular the HD800s. This is not a purchase question but a question on the real value in spending the extra $. My conundrum is I travel a lot and am specifically thinking of getting the UE 18's and going custom in addition to the new HP. I could probably afford what I want but there has to be a reason to spend the $ and I can buy both the HD800S AND the UE18's for the price of the Focal Utopia's. Would I get that much more value out of the Utopia's? I'm very interested in hearing what the community has to say and for those that have had the luxury of trying the UE18's how do they compare to these other options?

 

[phaeton70]

I have the Utopia, the Z1R and the HEK, and I have extensively listened to the LCD4. I must say that unfortunately the SQ of these cans is quite well aligned with their prices....Z1R is good, HEK is better, Utopia and LCD4 are even better.I have not an extensive experience with the 800S so I will not comment on these. btw, I think that from a Q/P perspective, the Denon D7200 is superior to the Sony.

will the extra$$ be worth? that all depends on you.... each of us hear and intepret the differences in different ways..... I can spend 4k on a headphones that can let me hear all the subtle nuances of a recording (well, I have actually done

) while someone else will not understand why spending so much since it is a so very little difference in sound while the price is so high.........

 

[lcasadonte]

Thanks for the reply, do you find you switch things around with your HP or are the Utopias your go to so to speak?

 

[phaeton70]

I'm tipically omnivorous with my cans

so depending on the music and how I feel that particular day, I just pick up the most "resonant" hps in that specific moment...

but on average and very roughly I can say that Utopia and HEK are my favourites for jazz, Z1R and D7200 for trance/electronic, HE6 for rock.

 

[lcasadonte]

There's a nice deal on the utopia's right now.