[Hansotek]

-Sigh- I miss the Questyle monoblocks. They ruined my speaker amps for me.
 
Not sure I'm going to be able to afford that purchase, but I'm pretty excited about the iFi Pro. That thing really rocked with my HE-6 at less than half the price. I think that's going to be my next purchase. I think that and the Cavalli portable are going to be my amps moving forward.
 
I really have to get off my butt and start selling my stuff, though. Lol!

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]

 

[NZtechfreak]

Any updates on the closed headphone shootout front?

Awaiting my Ether C, probably have it late this month I think.

 

[socks mk2]

[redacted]

 

[Hansotek]

 

Any updates on the closed headphone shootout front?

Awaiting my Ether C, probably have it late this month I think.

 
I wish I could afford to fly to NZ for that shootout! You should come to the US for CanJam SoCal next year.

 

[YtseJamer]

  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.

 
X2
 
It's funny because on my side I went from the LCD-3/2/X to the Grados GH1/SR225e.
 
In fact I started this hobby with the original 225's and now I'm back to square 1 with the 225e and the GH1.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

I'm honestly really curious to what music you guys are listening to. You guys all seem to enjoy these TotL headphones, but I've always been told that Metal doesn't benefit nearly as much from expensive equipment due to poor recording quality and low dynamic range.

I personally listen to a lot of bands like Gojira, Candlemass, Black Sabbath, Septic Flesh, Carach Angren, Ahab, Swallow the Sun, and Agalloch. A lot of those bands field mostly poor recording quality.

I've been looking into being done with headphones and just getting something that I won't have to worry about upgrading again, but I'm not sure how much to spend. I know the HD800s are awful for Metal first hand, but outside of that I have very little experience or exposure to high end headphones (>$300/the mid-fi trio).

 

[xwfalcon]

I'm honestly really curious to what music you guys are listening to. You guys all seem to enjoy these TotL headphones, but I've always been told that Metal doesn't benefit from expensive equipment due to poor recording quality and low dynamic range.

I personally listen to a lot of bands like Gojira, Candlemass, Black Sabbath, Septic Flesh, Carach Angren, Ahab, Swallow the Sun, and Agalloch. A lot of those bands field mostly poor recording quality.

I've been looking into being done with headphones and just getting something that I won't have to worry about upgrading again, but I'm not sure how much to spend. I know the HD800s are awful for Metal first hand, but outside of that I have very little experience or exposure to high end headphones (>$300/the mid-fi trio).

I am new to totl headphones but not metal been listening for years all can tell you is ive never heard some of my favorite bands example megadeth ,exodus slayer sound so good out of my HE-6 ,i have spent heaps on stereo in my car and does not come close to what i have hearing out of headphones lately .

 

[Vanquished]

The_Blood_Raven, Swallow the sun and Agalloch are not poorly recorded. The poor audio equipment quality makes metal music to sound bad. Every time I've upgraded some of my equipment my metal collection becomes more listenable. I discovered than many records which I was thinking are poorly recorded in fact are pretty good. The same is with classical music - on low fi electronics it's awful. 
 
My english is poorer than bad sounding metal records
 
off: What a great experience was Agalloch here in Sofia, Bulgaria, really great band!

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

The_Blood_Raven
, Swallow the sun and Agalloch are not poorly recorded. The poor audio equipment quality makes metal music to sound bad. Every time I've upgraded some of my equipment my metal collection becomes more listenable. I discovered than many records which I was thinking are poorly recorded in fact are pretty good. The same is with classical music - on low fi electronics it's awful. 

My english is poorer than bad sounding metal records

off: What a great experience was Agalloch here in Sofia, Bulgaria, really great band!

Agalloch definitely have good production, though unfortunately low dynamic range. Swallow the Sun varies from album to album. I've use DT880s, FA-002ws/003s. FA-011s, HD600s, Fidelio L1s, and HD800s so I wouldn't call what I've used low-fi, but more mid-fi. HD800s were terrible for metal and I assumed that it was similar for most very high fidelity equipment, but I see that this thread seems to show that the HD800s are specifically bad at metal.

I'm now really interested in seeing if the actual hi-fi market (=/>$500) is worth it for me. I kept looking at the mid-fi champions: K712, DT880, HD600/650, Mad Dogs, and Fidelio X2s but all of them seemed to have severe trade-offs.

I am new to totl headphones but not metal been listening for years all can tell you is ive never heard some of my favorite bands example megadeth ,exodus slayer sound so good out of my HE-6 ,i have spent heaps on stereo in my car and does not come close to what i have hearing out of headphones lately .

In my experience trying to make car audio sound hi-fi or very good is a waste of time and money. The acoustics of a car are just too poor. Also, a lot of those bands are best known for their older albums (pre-1996) and before the loudness wars so while the production values aren't always great the dynamic range is usually very good. For instance, Slayers's Reign in Blood, South of Heaven, and Decade of Aggression are all extremely good in the dynamic range department.

The HE-6s seem like great headphones, and I've seen them for ~$1,000 used but I can't find any reasonably priced amp that would power them.

I digress, guys what are your favorite albums/bands?

 

[levap]

Agalloch definitely have good production, though unfortunately low dynamic range. Swallow the Sun varies from album to album. I've use DT880s, FA-002ws/003s. FA-011s, HD600s, Fidelio L1s, and HD800s so I wouldn't call what I've used low-fi, but more mid-fi. HD800s were terrible for metal and I assumed that it was similar for most very high fidelity equipment, but I this thread seems to show that the HD800s are specifically bad at metal.

I keep looking at the mid-fi champions: K712, DT880, HD600/650, Mad Dogs, and Fidelio X2s. However I'm terrified of spending that money and wanting to upgrade again.
 

For Candlemass, Black Sabbath, Ahab, Swallow the Sun I would go for Mad Dogs. Gojira, Septic Flesh, Ahab (again!)), Swallow the Sun, and Agalloch - K712.
 

I digress, guys what are your favorite albums/bands?

 
My personal "The best" list for year 2014
 
Agalloch - The Serpent & The Sphere
Anaal Nathrakh - Desideratum
Animals as Leaders - The Joy of Motion
At The Gates - At War With Reality
Autopsy - Tourniquets, Hacksaws And Graves
Behemoth - The Satanist
Bloodbath - Grand Morbid Funeral
Blut Aus Nord - Memoria Vetusta – Saturnian Poetry
Conan - Blood Eagle
Cynic - Kindly Bent To Free Us
Earth - Primitive and Deadly
Eyehategod - Eyehategod
Falconer - Black Moon Rising
Fallujah - The Flesh Prevails
Hail Spirit Noir - Oi Magoi
Khold - Til Endes
Mantar - Death by Burning
Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun
Misery Index - The Killing Gods
Monolord - Empress Rising
Nadja - Queller
Opeth - Pale Communion
Origin - Omnipresent
Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden
Quintessence Mystica - Duality
Sabaton - Heroes
Schammasch - Contradiction
Septic Flesh - Titan
Serdce - Timelessness
Slugdge - Gastronomicon
Soreption - Engineering the Void
Sunn O))) & Ulver - Terrestrials
The Contortionist - Language
Thou - Heathen
Unearth - Watchers of Rule
Vader - Tibi et Igni

 

[levap]

The HE-6s seem like great headphones, and I've seen them for ~$1,000 used but I can't find any reasonably priced amp that would power them.

ART SLA 2 worth trying.

 

[The_Blood_Raven]

ART SLA 2 worth trying.

Oh no that actually makes it almost possible. I'd have to get a good deal on the HE-6, but I think it could be possible. Something to keep in mind.

I was also thinking about a pre-fazer lcd-2 but that weight scares me. I practically live with my headphones on my head. Then again the HE-6 isn't much lighter and I don't see people complain about it.

 

[Vanquished]

The_Blood_Raven, may be it's a matter of personal tolerance to harsh music. I also have DT880 and PSB M4U2, the second are better for metal IMO. Right now I will listen the new Malevolent Creation for first time, I hope it's good.