[xwfalcon]

Hi everyone this is my first post on this forum been reading like mad for last few months after my first month of reading i got myself a pair SE 846 iem which im enjoying very much . .
 
After reading this whole thread i was set to buy some HE-6 but cant get a pair here in Australia and its going to cost me about 2k to get a pair from overseas and would have liked local support if anything goes wrong with them .Would have also liked to have a demo of them .
 
Im going to store in the morning to listen to ,
 
HE 1000 i can get these with a big discount off rrp
LCDX and LCD3
TH 900
HD800
wanted to listen to stax 007 but for some reason store wont demo them
also wanted to listen to mr speaker ether but they dont have them in stock yet .
 
I would like some input from people that have a lot more experience than me if should get the HE-6 from overseas with no local support or which  one of the listed above headphones or another ive missed that would be good match for music i listen to which is thrash , metal and heavy rock from 80s and 90s examples megadeth ,slayer ,exodus ,death angel ,pantera ,van halen ,motorhead ,iron maiden ,motley crue ,ac/dc ,kiss and lot more to many to list .
 
I would also like thank OP for such i great thread for us metal heads .

 

[NZtechfreak]

Addicted to Audio sell the HE-6 in Australia, or at least did... Second hand is an option worth considering, I've purchased the 6 twice that way without issues, but of course not without risk.

Of those you listed, having heard most of them (including the Ether that arrived here yesterday), I'd go the LCD 3f (I've not heard the HE-1000 or Stax one, but reports of the HE-1000 to date leave me thinking it's not the best match for metal).

 

[xwfalcon]

Thanks for input Addicted to Audio no longer sells HE-6 this is were im going in the morning to do some demo listening .

 

[mrip541]

Speaking of portable, I got the Oppo PM-3 today, which is totally awesome for metal with a little bit of EQ tweaking!

 
I got the PM-3 a couple days ago and while they do sound great with a lot of music, they just aren't doing it for me with metal. I think it definitely needs a bit of bass eq and the treble in distorted guitars sounds rough. I think I prefer my M50s for metal, which is pretty disappointing. 

 

[Hansotek]

Welp, I've decided to [try to] sell my Sig Pro after all. If I can make enough $$$ between them and some other sales, I'm going to try and buy a TH900 (used most likely). I doubt that I'll make enough to buy both a DT770/32 and a TH900 at the same time. I think I can live without a portable hp for awhile if I'm sacrificing the luxury of portable listening for a potential TH900. ;P

edit: check out what my ears did to my ATH-M50's pads back in the day. *cringe* My ears still hate me for subjecting them to that torture.

To think those were my thoughts only a week ago... my circumstances have changed quite a bit due to newfound alternatives.

This, this and this are to blame.


I'm really looking forward to trying out my Sig Pro's with some ZMF earpads. I ordered an HE-400 and received them yesterday; so far so good. At last, my first experience with an ortho.


Depending on how the new pads for the Sig Pro work and how much I like the HE-400, I might convince myself to save some $ for now. Lol.

1. Zach is awesome.
2. The HE400 is great for metal with the caveats that it is a bit uncomfortable and The upper mids are a bit too recessed for my taste. (YMMV)
3. I find the FocusPad fixes both the comfort and balances out the upper mids in a way that really helps out the guitars. I think with the pad swap, it sounds like a DT990 on steroids. If you're coming to the Chicago meet, I can bring a pad rolling set and you can compare several types of pads with your new headphones. I'm kinda, um... experienced... In Hifiman pad rolling & modding.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Hi everyone this is my first post on this forum been reading like mad for last few months after my first month of reading i got myself a pair SE 846 iem which im enjoying very much . .
 
After reading this whole thread i was set to buy some HE-6 but cant get a pair here in Australia and its going to cost me about 2k to get a pair from overseas and would have liked local support if anything goes wrong with them .Would have also liked to have a demo of them .
 
Im going to store in the morning to listen to ,
 
HE 1000 i can get these with a big discount off rrp
LCDX and LCD3
TH 900
HD800
wanted to listen to stax 007 but for some reason store wont demo them
also wanted to listen to mr speaker ether but they dont have them in stock yet .
 
I would like some input from people that have a lot more experience than me if should get the HE-6 from overseas with no local support or which  one of the listed above headphones or another ive missed that would be good match for music i listen to which is thrash , metal and heavy rock from 80s and 90s examples megadeth ,slayer ,exodus ,death angel ,pantera ,van halen ,motorhead ,iron maiden ,motley crue ,ac/dc ,kiss and lot more to many to list .
 
I would also like thank OP for such i great thread for us metal heads .

 
Is the $2,000 price due to import fees? The HE-6 can be found for $800 or less on the used market. Some of them are already modified, which enhances the sound. Personally, I like the HE-6 more than the HE1000 and HD 800, though they all have their strengths. However, I like electrostats far more than all of them. I still need to hear the HE-6 from a high-end speaker amp to hear the visceral qualities I was missing from a high-end headphone amp.
 

Addicted to Audio sell the HE-6 in Australia, or at least did... Second hand is an option worth considering, I've purchased the 6 twice that way without issues, but of course not without risk.

Of those you listed, having heard most of them (including the Ether that arrived here yesterday), I'd go the LCD 3f (I've not heard the HE-1000 or Stax one, but reports of the HE-1000 to date leave me thinking it's not the best match for metal).

 
Yeah, the HE1000 just sounded too lush, warm, and subdued to me. Not necessarily overly laid-back, but enough to be a problem for energetic music. Replacing the stock pads with Audeze vegan pads reportedly makes it sound more engaging, but I haven't tried that. I doubt it would alter the sound that much, though.

 

[Hansotek]

 

Speaking of portable, I got the Oppo PM-3 today, which is totally awesome for metal with a little bit of EQ tweaking!

 
I got the PM-3 a couple days ago and while they do sound great with a lot of music, they just aren't doing it for me with metal. I think it definitely needs a bit of bass eq and the treble in distorted guitars sounds rough. I think I prefer my M50s for metal, which is pretty disappointing. 

 
It definitely needs EQ to sound right for metal. But I think it rocks pretty hard once you've got it dialed in. What kind of metal genres are you listening to and what is your DAP? If you have an iPhone, try using the EQu app (otherwise you can do this in any parametric EQ program - but parametric will work better than graphic.)
 
Here's what I did for EQ on the PM-3. I think it will solve most of your issues. Keep in mind, everybody's ears are different, but these settings should get you started.
 
Set a point at the bottom and anchor 35hz to +0db
Set a rise to +0.5db or so at 80hz for a nice little impact boost
Around 190hz set a cut of about -0.75db to gain that last ounce of clarity in the midbass transition area.
Set your next point to be about +0.5 at 800hz (This gentle rise from the last cut gives guitars a nice natural body)
 
Set a point to drop the upper mids by about -1.0db at about 2,800hz (this will make the upper end of the guitars less shouty)
 
For your next point, you'll want to bring the sound back up to 0 within the 5,500-6,000hz cut. Mine is set at +0.3db at 5,900hz.
 
Finally, you'll want to restore a little mid-treble information and air. Set your next point to 14.5khz and raise it by +3.5 to 4.0db. 
 
Here's a pic of my metal preset, for reference:
 

 
I hope that helps!
 
Summary:
35hz: +0
80hz: +0.5
190: -0.75
800: +0.5
2,800: -1.0
5,900: +0.3
14,500: +3.75
 

 

[NZtechfreak]

Thanks for input Addicted to Audio no longer sells HE-6 this is were im going in the morning to do some demo listening .

I wondered about that, I figured you were talking about them since they're the only place in Oz where you could audition the headphones you mentioned. As pointed out above you can get them second hand for pretty good prices, even taking into account the amping mountain you have to climb with them the 6 are seriously the biggest bargain going in higher-end headphones.

 

[xwfalcon]

   
Is the $2,000 price due to import fees? The HE-6 can be found for $800 or less on the used market. Some of them are already modified, which enhances the sound. Personally, I like the HE-6 more than the HE1000 and HD 800, though they all have their strengths. However, I like electrostats far more than all of them. I still need to hear the HE-6 from a high-end speaker amp to hear the visceral qualities I was missing from a high-end headphone amp.
 
 
Yeah, the HE1000 just sounded too lush, warm, and subdued to me. Not necessarily overly laid-back, but enough to be a problem for energetic music. Replacing the stock pads with Audeze vegan pads reportedly makes it sound more engaging, but I haven't tried that. I doubt it would alter the sound that much, though.

Import fees adds a couple of hundred but the HE-6 is 1750 on the ebay hifiman store .I have my eye on some secondhand ones on ebay as well thanks for input will cost me about 1300 - 1400 shipped here there 830 usd .

I wondered about that, I figured you were talking about them since they're the only place in Oz where you could audition the headphones you mentioned. As pointed out above you can get them second hand for pretty good prices, even taking into account the amping mountain you have to climb with them the 6 are seriously the biggest bargain going in higher-end headphones.

So it looks like maybe i should be getting the 6 all things considered .
 
Anyway off to do some listening at store really have to try and hold back from buying anything today but i want i set of cans bad .

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Import fees adds a couple of hundred but the HE-6 is 1750 on the ebay hifiman store .I have my eye on some secondhand ones on ebay as well thanks for input will cost me about 1300 - 1400 shipped here there 830 usd .
So it looks like maybe i should be getting the 6 all things considered .
 
Anyway off to do some listening at store really have to try and hold back from buying anything today but i want i set of cans bad .

 
Definitely avoid paying too much. Your best bet is to buy used. Also look into the modifications available for that headphone, which enhance the sound. It would be ideal to find a used one that is already modified. Many of the ones for sale on this site are.
 
Let us know what you think of all the headphones you hear! They should have the Abyss and SR-009 at the shop, for example.

 

[xwfalcon]

   
Definitely avoid paying too much. Your best bet is to buy used. Also look into the modifications available for that headphone, which enhance the sound. It would be ideal to find a used one that is already modified. Many of the ones for sale on this site are.
 
Let us know what you think of all the headphones you hear! They should have the Abyss and SR-009 at the shop, for example.

I listened to he -1000 and Abyss last time i was there but was a quick listen will take more time today  ,for some silly reason they dont demo stax i will be asking why not when i get there .
 
Will give some feedback when i get home from store .

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I listened to he -1000 and Abyss last time i was there but was a quick listen will take more time today  ,for some silly reason they dont demo stax i will be asking why not when i get there .
 
Will give some feedback when i get home from store .

 
Hm, maybe they changed their policy. My best friend lives near there and auditioned STAX there before.

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]

 

[silver8ack]

I've been really, really enjoying the Sennheiser HD558 lately.

I've tried grado sr60e, sr80e, sr225e. Tried dt880,dt990 and a few others.

For me the HD558 gives me exactly what I've been looking for. It's pretty balanced but has a bump in the 2k-4k range which I really love.

It may not be the absolute best metal headphone but dang, I'm in love with it.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I've been really, really enjoying the Sennheiser HD558 lately.

I've tried grado sr60e, sr80e, sr225e. Tried dt880,dt990 and a few others.

For me the HD558 gives me exactly what I've been looking for. It's pretty balanced but has a bump in the 2k-4k range which I really love.

It may not be the absolute best metal headphone but dang, I'm in love with it.

 
I remember you! I helped you out in various threads.

 
I liked the HD 558 too when I briefly auditioned it. It's so affordable that I'll probably buy it in the future, just for kicks, even though I'm focusing on high-end electrostats now.