[sludgeogre]

  You should keep your money and buy the new Elac F5 speakers and a good amp instead 

  **If you have the space for speakers of course**

Agreed. LCD-2 is as much money as I will ever spend on a headphone. Beyond that and I'm focusing on my home theater system.

I'm super excited for the next lineup that Andrew Jones will be releasing at CES next year for Elac, the next step up from the Debut series. After all of the rave reviews for the Debut series, his Pioneer work, and TAD stuff, the $1000-$1500 towers that are coming out should be totally amazing. I'm just really hoping they don't build Atmos speakers into the top of them. 100% of what I watch is 5.1 so I really don't see the point in upgrading to atmos when I'll probably never actually watch a movie in Atmos.

 

[Hansotek]

 

What is your budget?

400

 
Do you have an amp? Or additional budget for one? Or would any amp need to be included within the $400 budget?
 
Also, do you want something that is totally neutral (Traditional choice)? Or something with elevated bass, since you're doing hip-hop? Also, do you need a closed back with isolation or something open backed?

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]

 

[Hansotek]

You mentioned that the T1 Revision 2 cleaned up a lot of qualms you had with the original. The original is highly regarded for use with gaming. It's also comfortable and I like the beyer house sound. It might be the perfect headphone for me. There's a reason I bought another DT990/600. xD

The HD800 I tend to disregard only because it's soundstage won't be complimentary for a lot of my music (or so I think). The T1 original was also much cheaper and thus affordable when directly compared to the HD800. I'm less sensitive to treble harshness and sibiliance than I was a few months ago. The new dac/amp helped. I always have high frequency tinnitus even when I skip listening to music for days or even wearing headphones while playing games. If I wanted, I could perform an HD800 mod to tame some of it. For how much the HD800 costs, I have to put my money towards something I'm more confident in enjoying.

I feel like I've side tracked quite a bit from my initial reply to your comment. Really I have no idea if I'll like the Ether C. A headphone has to have the complete package from comfort, music and gaming usage. The Ether C would also have to fit proper efficiency, isolation and durability concerns for a ton of criteria compared to a headphone that never leaves my desk side.

 
I don't know what you'll like either.
 
DO NOT buy the first generation T1. I know it's cheap right now, but they are very different headphones. The generation 2 is awesome. The generation 1 is hot garbage. It's as simple as that.
 
I'm not worried about the Ether C fitting any of those other concerns. It is durable, it isolates wonderfully and it is very efficient. Will you like how it sounds with your equipment and your subjective preferences? I do not know. 

 

[hotbeatz]

Do you have an amp? Or additional budget for one? Or would any amp need to be included within the $400 budget?

Also, do you want something that is totally neutral (Traditional choice)? Or something with elevated bass, since you're doing hip-hop? Also, do you need a closed back with isolation or something open backed?

I'm pretty new to this so let's just say if YOU were to do hiphop mixing what would you pick I've never owned open back and I could look for an amp atleast around 150

 

[Hansotek]

I'd advise buying used, to get more bang for your buck. I would look into the HD650, as it has a satisfying and robust bass response and will help you avoid the pitfall of overcranking the bass in the mix. I've had great results mixing with it in the past. I'd watch for deals on Adorama, the FS forum, and Black Friday. You should be able to get it in the $325 range, if not less. For an amp, you might want to go with an amp/dac combo like the Geek Out V2, which will be about $300. Another option would be the Schiit Asgard, which can be had used for $200 or new for $250. I've also seen the Burson HA160 on the FS forum for $300, which is what I use currently. It was $699 new a few years ago... I don't know how good your source is. If it's good, you might not need the DAC 

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]

 

[Hansotek]

 

I don't know what you'll like either.

DO NOT buy the first generation T1. I know it's cheap right now, but they are very different headphones. The generation 2 is awesome. The generation 1 is hot garbage. It's as simple as that.

I'm not worried about the Ether C fitting any of those other concerns. It is durable, it isolates wonderfully and it is very efficient. Will you like how it sounds with your equipment and your subjective preferences? I do not know. 

Lol. Didn't plan on buying a T1 (original). I get your not being able to answer the subjective stuff. I was just giving some background as to why I asked the various questions about the Ether C earlier. If they didn't meet those bare minimum standards, they would be another throwaway, dismissive pair. Sorry if I confused that in any way with the wall of text. xD

 
I was kinda like...

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]

 

[Hansotek]

Lol. If you couldn't tell I'm pretty stressed out. Then irritable from stress and anxiety. I explained a bit more here the other day.

While not being metal, I've been listening to a good amount of Rise Against lately.[/quote]
I read that when you posted it in here the other week. I really didn't know what to say... Obviously, that's a crappy situation to be in (to make an understatement). My heart goes out to you. I hope it gets better for you.

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]

 

[Hansotek]

I read that when you posted it in here the other week. I really didn't know what to say... Obviously, that's a crappy situation to be in (to make an understatement). My heart goes out to you. I hope it gets better for you.

Cheers for the kind words.

In the mean time we can all enjoy listening to metal (amongst other genres). It's also fun for me to read about other users experiences. I can be happy for others a well. Seeing everyone enjoy the local meets and huge events like RMAF is great. I can always go for some more/new content to read up on. It makes it easier to figure out what I'd like to pursue.

Spoiler: thinking out loud

I don't recall linking to that post specifically in this thread. Maybe you're referring to a hyperlink to my first post as I've done that before. So many users in this thread are subbed to others that overlap it can be hard to remember or follow. ;P

Not that specific post, but you made a similar post in this thread maybe.... 3 weeks ago?

 

[markm1]

  Agreed. LCD-2 is as much money as I will ever spend on a headphone. Beyond that and I'm focusing on my home theater system.

 

Smart man. I've focused on a speaker set up and finally ready to upgrade my Grado 225i to probably a LCD-2 or something in that range. 
 
My little speaker hifi set up brings me so much pleasure. I listen to it every day.
 
People in this hobby are sooo impassioned and opinionated. They get emotionally invested in their HP rig and take it very personally if you have a different view point.
 
It's silly. Gear is just gear.

 

[flipper2gv]

  Sorry guys but the price of the LCD-4 is just a joke and you have to be stupid to pay $4000 for a pair of headphones.

 
It's a luxury product. Most people pay at least that every year for a golf club subscription. People have boats and pay hundreds of dollars in gas for a single day ride.

Perspective, we're just not used to see prices like these. One day, if the market dictates it, we will see 30 000$ headphones. As long as there are people to buy them.
 
Problem with headphones is that even the absolute TOTL used to be affordable by almost everyone. Quite quickly these last years, this is becoming less and less the case. It's just we still have the mentality that we "should" be able to buy the TOTL.
 
Honestly, for me, I'm extremely happy right now with my setup. One day, maybe I'll get a nice TOTL setup, but I'll have to save for a couple years and it will be because music listening is my hobby with top priority in spending budget.
 
FWIW, I'm absolutely not interested in a really good speaker setup since I couldn't listen to most of my favorite music without annoying too many people. Only headphones let me do that.

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]