[treys1]

Background: I am new to head-fi, but not to hi-fi. I have spent MANY hours with an RTA, reference tracks and dials on EQs to get mobile audio systems just right for car SQ comps. That said, I jumped into this part of the hobby recently and I am running Modi / Loki / Vali stacks (Modi @ my cabin as the source is a laptop, Loki / Vali only at home with a high end desktop that has a good DAC chip).

I have played with a TON of tubes (that I most likely did not burn in enough...), but have decided my (personal) favorites are GE 5-Star 5670 for general listening and Western Electric 396A for classic rock. So that is out of the way.

Lets talk headphones. I have had a set of m40x for a long time and have enjoyed them quite a bit. BUT, when I jumped in to this it seemed they were way too basic to be serious about headphone listening! So some Meze 99 Noir showed up and off we go ordering a set of DCA Aeon RT Closed due to the experience with the $200 Meze's (if $200 is good, $400 MUST be better, right?). So those arrived today and I immediately was like "these are amazing", the positioning / imaging is really something to behold for anyone coming from "cheap but good" cans like the M40x. BUT.....
I listen to a lot of EDM, specifically bass heavy DnB (Drum and Bass), and when I switched over to EDM from Classic rock I was severely lacking the bass volume and presence the Meze had.

So the request for opinions as mentioned in the thread title:

- Do I keep both and swap depending on listening conditions?
- Is there a single set of cans that do everything better than these 2?
- Am I crazy?

 

[msing539]

I started in this from car audio, then home theater, and now headphones. You're not crazy.

You can keep both for sure and swap, but there's probably a single headphone you'd like better than both.

What's your budget and are you ok with buying used? Do you think you'd prefer a v-shaped headphone or something more neutral with some warmth? And open or closed back?

 

[treys1]

I started in this from car audio, then home theater, and now headphones. You're not crazy.

You can keep both for sure and swap, but there's probably a single headphone you'd like better than both.

What's your budget and are you ok with buying used? Do you think you'd prefer a v-shaped headphone or something more neutral with some warmth? And open or closed back?

I would tend to say I would want to stay under $1000 for now if I was going to find a single set to rule them all. Down the road if I dive deeper into it that may expand, but comfort level right now would be there.

I prefer something more neutral, of course with that warmer / more plentiful bottom end when the music needs it. I am ok EQ'ing to get that bottom end depending on what is being listened to, but the Aeon just didn't seem to have it available to give. To be clear, I liked everything else about the Aeon better.

Closed back.

 

[msing539]

I'm a big fan of Denon and Fostex--they take EQ like champs with very little distortion.

For neutral, Fostex TH610 (little boring but I also feel this way about DCA), Denon D5200, and the D9200... which is about as good as it gets for me in a closed back headphone.

Someone is going to show up soon and say... oh man, msing is talking about the D9200 again... but it's THAT good.

 

[Mhog55]

Keep the 99s. They're just too much fun to not have around, especially with rock. Plus you don't have to worry about them much. If you're not happy with the low end on the Aeon, I would sale them myself - get something else.

 

[treys1]

Keep the 99s. They're just too much fun to not have around, especially with rock. Plus you don't have to worry about them much. If you're not happy with the low end on the Aeon, I would sale them myself - get something else.

I'm actually still well within the 15day return period on the Aeons, which I am 95% sure I am going to use... They sound great other than the sub-bass, unfortunately (for those headphones) a lot of what I listen to is heavy in that.

 

[Mhog55]

Based on the genres you mentioned, I'd highly recommend looking into Kennerton. Not sure what your budget is.

 

[treys1]

Based on the genres you mentioned, I'd highly recommend looking into Kennerton. Not sure what your budget is.

I was actually just looking at those, would one of those be a good all-arounder for EDM / Classic Rock / Alternative (those make up 95% of my listening).

As for budget, if I were to end up with one do-it-all set, I could see spending ~$1000 for now, maybe more in the future as I get more familiar with the hobby and what I do / do no like.

(I will keep the Meze no matter, most likely for travel, which I do a good bit of)

 

[haasaaroni]

I'd check out the now discontinued ZMF Eikon. I never heard them myself, but they were praised for their sub-bass. I own the open-back Auteur Classic, using a similar driver, and even for open-backs, they go down pretty deep. You can find a used pair for under $1000 without too much trouble these days.

 

[Mhog55]

Both the Magni and Gjallarhorn are excellent choices. I would also recommend the E-mu Teak if you're not ready to drop that much coin just yet. Feel free to ask any questions about them. Happy to help. If you enjoy 99s, all of these are great upgrades in somewhat similar vein, only more mature and better all around. I've never heard the Aeon, so I can't help too much there.

 

[MFranzen]

My go to for EDM is LCD-X. I've listened to a lot of headphones lately and for DnB, in particular, the LCD-X with a bass shelf are faultless.

 

[treys1]

Both the Magni and Gjallarhorn are excellent choices. I would also recommend the E-mu Teak if you're not ready to drop that much coin just yet. Feel free to ask any questions about them. Happy to help. If you enjoy 99s, all of these are great upgrades in somewhat similar vein, only more mature and better all around. I've never heard the Aeon, so I can't help too much there.

Man, I damn near bought a set of Magni today but decided to pass.