Headphones for Bright Vocals/Jpop/Anime Songs | Headphone Reviews and Discussion - Head-Fi.org

Mheat122134 · Aug 26, 2017

done searching.

RERO · Dec 2, 2016 at 3:51 AM

mheat122134 said:
Hifiman HE-560
Beyerdynamic DT 880
AKG K712

To me, these three headphones are brighter than the 400i.
That said, I don't particularly find the 400i's bright. So if they're fatiguing to your ears, the 880 will probably murder you.
I would like to steer you to the HD 600 instead.

I noticed you had the 650 before. What did you not like about them?

Mheat122134 · Dec 2, 2016 at 4:01 AM

rero said:
To me, these three headphones are brighter than the 400i.
That said, I don't particularly find the 400i's bright. So if they're fatiguing to your ears, the 880 will probably murder you.
I would like to steer you to the HD 600 instead.

I noticed you had the 650 before. What did you not like about them?

It's been a while since I've heard the HD650s, but all I remember was that the sound did not interest me. I don't recall them being bad, just boring for my tastes.

As for HD 600s, I've read that the HE400i's are awfully similar, is this the case in your opinion?

Dulalala · Dec 2, 2016 at 4:14 AM

Well I personally like Audio Technica (in general) more for Jpop though I don't have the AD2000X, I do have the AD900X which I love dearly (apart from their head support design which to me are terribly uncomfortable). However since you said didn't find the HD650 interesting I'm not sure if you will like these? The AD series are mostly unengaging headphones and I primarily use them to chill as they have a very laid back and relaxing sounding. If you want a more engaging sound the HE560 are pretty good for Jpop too.

kaixax555 · Dec 2, 2016 at 4:38 AM

Hmm personally I think the HD600 is a pretty good choice for J-Pop.

It is smooth and should kill some of the harshness in Anison songs (-ahem-NoBrandGirls-ahem-)

And to me the audio balance is just nice for J-Pop.

The AKG is well, spacious compared to the HD600 but it can come across as being a bit harsh compared to the HD600.

As for the DT880, I am not sure if it is my ears or the audition unit but it sounds really dark for J-Pop.

RERO · Dec 2, 2016 at 4:43 AM

mheat122134 said:
As for HD 600s, I've read that the HE400i's are awfully similar, is this the case in your opinion?

Kinda... but not really.
It's actually quite a long time (around late November last year) since I demoed the 600, but during that long-ish demo I was also able to listen to the 400i (which I bought a couple of weeks after).

The reason why I recommend the 600 is that it isn't as forward in the vocals, just a bit though. Female vocals are less shimmery and barely contain sibilance. But 400i trumps the 600 in the bass region, in quality, quantity, and speed.

dulalala said:
If you want a more engaging sound the HE560 are pretty good for Jpop too.

I've only listened the 560 for a few minutes, actually just 3 songs ("The Pretender", "September", "soldier game"), and I think they're just a better-er version of the 400i's. I might have heard a bit more sibilance...

RERO · Dec 2, 2016 at 5:03 AM

kaixax555 said:
As for the DT880, I am not sure if it is my ears or the audition unit but it sounds really dark for J-Pop.

Okay, I just tried No Brand Girls on my 880... after not using it for more than a week.
Hot damn... and I though Garasu no Hanazono was bad...
If I bump the volume by +3 dB, I might lose even more of my treble hearing.

I'm absolutely sure it's the demo unit as you have to be deaf to even call the 880 dark.

Mheat122134 · Dec 2, 2016 at 5:43 AM

rero said:
Kinda... but not really.
It's actually quite a long time (around late November last year) since I demoed the 600, but during that long-ish demo I was also able to listen to the 400i (which I bought a couple of weeks after).

The reason why I recommend the 600 is that it isn't as forward in the vocals, just a bit though. Female vocals are less shimmery and barely contain sibilance. But 400i trumps the 600 in the bass region, in quality, quantity, and speed.

I've only listened the 560 for a few minutes, actually just 3 songs ("The Pretender", "September", "soldier game"), and I think they're just a better-er version of the 400i's. I might have heard a bit more sibilance...

I forgot to state that I do like forward vocals, so other than sibilance, the HE-400i's are a better performer overall? I find my myself a huge fan of the bass for the most part.

EDIT: I'm not sure, but it could be my source/amp that is overly bright.

Dulalala · Dec 2, 2016 at 5:51 AM

mheat122134 said:
I find my myself a huge fan of the bass for the most part.

All the headphones you listed, except DT880 have less bass than the HE400i in my opinion.

Mheat122134 · Dec 2, 2016 at 6:22 AM

I guess I'll keep the HD600 in mind, I'll see if I can demo it somewhere.

ProtegeManiac · Dec 2, 2016 at 1:09 PM

mheat122134 said:
I guess I'll keep the HD600 in mind, I'll see if I can demo it somewhere.

I don't have mine right now as I'm on vacation, so I can't listen to the tracks you listed on them, but I listen to K-Pop sometimes (AoA primarily, also HelloVenus) on my desktop rig and I don't get ear-scraping treble with my HD600. Note though that I have the angled Brainwavz HM5 pads on it, which smoothens out the treble a little bit.