[Monsterzero]

Just the headphones. Equipment cost Im working on.

Do you have HPs now,and if so,which ones? Both of your original choices,T1 and HD800 are bright headphones,wondering if thats based upon reading,or sonic preferences.If its the latter that will help narrow down your choices.

 

[Hansotek]

Im looking to keep it around the 1k mark as far as money goes. Im currerently using a Xonar essence, but my source and amp depends on my choice. Im looking at either the LD MK3 or Valhalla in the near future as far as amping goes. But again, that could change depending on what I set mt sights on.

Edit: Is the Atticus worth looking at? I know the Eikon is spoken highly of but that may be a bit out of my price range

Yeah, the Atticus is awesome. I prefer it over the Eikon in a lot of ways, but it all depends on music and amplification.

I'd take a look at the Atticus with the garage 1217 Project Solstice as a poteintial option. I'd also consider the MrSpeakers ÆON with a better amp/DAC combo piece like a Chord Mojo or iFi iDsd Black Label.

 

[Desdinova12]

Do you have HPs now,and if so,which ones? Both of your original choices,T1 and HD800 are bright headphones,wondering if thats based upon reading,or sonic preferences.If its the latter that will help narrow down your choices.

M50, HD600, HD700, DT990. Primarily, the 990 is an Xbox and portable headphone. I dont like the sound from my Essence STX. The HD600 and 700 are the ones I use most. I like the smooth sound of the HD600 and the resolution and detail of the HD700. I know those might be conflicting preferences but its what Im hoping to find.

 

[Dobrescu George]

M50, HD600, HD700, DT990. Primarily, the 990 is an Xbox and portable headphone. I dont like the sound from my Essence STX. The HD600 and 700 are the ones I use most. I like the smooth sound of the HD600 and the resolution and detail of the HD700. I know those might be conflicting preferences but its what Im hoping to find.

Go with HD800S if you want, it has the Sennheiser everything and should satisfy you best!

I would recommend iFi iDSD Black Label for the best portable AMP I ever heard for HD800S, the pairing sounds amazing together!

As for your other headphones, HD800 is more musical than HD700, even better detailed, but has a more natural tonality, compared to HD700. HD800 is even better extended than all of the ones you menntioned above and the soundstage is the best I have ever heard in a headphone, EVER.

You misht also want to check out HD800 Dior edition if you have the money and time, it is beautiful!!

 

[Desdinova12]

The 800S is too rich for my blood. If I went with Senns, it would be the HD800 with the SD mod. I cant justify paying $600 more for something a simple mod rectifies.

 

[Monsterzero]

M50, HD600, HD700, DT990. Primarily, the 990 is an Xbox and portable headphone. I dont like the sound from my Essence STX. The HD600 and 700 are the ones I use most. I like the smooth sound of the HD600 and the resolution and detail of the HD700. I know those might be conflicting preferences but its what Im hoping to find.

Id suggest either a HE-500 or better yet,an HE6.
Id say the 500 is smoother sounding,with epic mids and decent bass.Its not easy to drive so you will need a fairly powerful amp.
The HE6 is on a whole other level.Very detailed,great mids and powerful slam.The caveats are its discontinued,so buying used is a must.The other issue is you need an incredibly powerful amp to drive it.Either a dedicated speaker amp,a vintage receiver or a handful of dedicated HP amps will be up to the task.If you cannot afford to drive it properly,dont bother,it sounds like crap under driven.

EDIT:

RE: The Atticus,its an awesome HP,my next HP purchase,but it might be too dark sounding for you.I like warm HPs and my HE6 can be as bright as I can handle,so YMMV.

 

[Hansotek]

The 800S is too rich for my blood. If I went with Senns, it would be the HD800 with the SD mod. I cant justify paying $600 more for something a simple mod rectifies.

The original HD800 sounds really good with the iDSD Black Label too.I was just listening to that combo the other night. I'd keep an eye out for a better headphone cable to fill out the bottom end and give you a little better depth layering (WyWires Red and Norne Draug 2 are great bang for buck value for the HD800) - I was never a fan of the HD800S or the SDR mod, as I think it has a pretty negative effect on the transparency, but you can get the headphone and decide for yourself what you think is the best solve.

 

[Tom Blake]

+1 for the HE6 and Atticus. I am rocking both right now and they are amazing on metal and prog rock (my primary genres). I also have the LCD-2 and TH900 and will only keep 2 of the 4. Definitely leaning to the HE6 and Atticus.

 

[Desdinova12]

Id suggest either a HE-500 or better yet,an HE6.
Id say the 500 is smoother sounding,with epic mids and decent bass.Its not easy to drive so you will need a fairly powerful amp.
The HE6 is on a whole other level.Very detailed,great mids and powerful slam.The caveats are its discontinued,so buying used is a must.The other issue is you need an incredibly powerful amp to drive it.Either a dedicated speaker amp,a vintage receiver or a handful of dedicated HP amps will be up to the task.If you cannot afford to drive it properly,dont bother,it sounds like crap under driven.

EDIT:

RE: The Atticus,its an awesome HP,my next HP purchase,but it might be too dark sounding for you.I like warm HPs and my HE6 can be as bright as I can handle,so YMMV.

Now you have me a little curious about the Atticus. Is it warm at the expense of detail, or just a full sounding bass? I like detail, but not if the presentation is dry.

 

[Hansotek]

Now you have me a little curious about the Atticus. Is it warm at the expense of detail, or just a full sounding bass? I like detail, but not if the presentation is dry.

It kinda depends on what you mean by detail, and again... how you are amping it. With a high end tube amp, the ZMF Atticus will dig way, way down deep into the music.... but regardless of how you are amping it, you get 10/10 musicality. It is definitely what I would call a "wet" sound. The lows are big and impactful ala the Fostex TH-X00, but without quite as much subbass extension, mids have a lush planar like liquid sound like Audeze and Hifiman headphones, treble is probably along the lines of the Sennheiser HD650 - a little bit darkened, but always super smooth - you can listen for a long time w/o getting fatigued.

For metal, the sheer dynamic impact on the Atticus elite tier along side the Abyss AB-1266 & Diana, the Fostex headphones, the pre-fazor Audeze LCD-2.2 & LCD-4, and a speaker-amp-driven Hifiman HE-6. The clarity and tone are excellent - so you come away feeling very connected to the music. Mids and vocals are great - IMO, on a good tube amp Atticus is also one of the top 5 headphones for vocals. On most systems, it isn't going to be the last word in detail retrieval, but in terms of tone, musicality and fun it is really tough to beat. The only headphones that equal or better it in musicality AND offer more detail are the Abyss, Diana, LCD-4 and HE-6. IMHO, YMMV, etc.

 

[Desdinova12]

Hows the soundstage and seperation in comparison to the HD600?

I dont have the 650 but from what I remember, it was smoother than the 600 but lacking the presentation of the mids. Just trying to get a good reference point.

 

[Hansotek]

Hows the soundstage and seperation in comparison to the HD600?

I dont have the 650 but from what I remember, it was smoother than the 600 but lacking the presentation of the mids. Just trying to get a good reference point.

Soundstage and separation are pretty similar to the HD600. The treble isn't terribly far off from the HD600 either, it's just slightly darker overall and has more of a dip in the upper midrange to treble transition.

 

[Desdinova12]

This is rough. I really enjoy the sound the HD600 has (I'll never part with these), but the soundstage and detail is fun with the 700. Getting back to the HD800, how are the mids in comparison to the 700? I have a feeling both the Atticus and HD800 will both occupy my collection someday. I can see why people keep multiple pairs. I think I've narrowed it down to those two.

 

[Hansotek]

This is rough. I really enjoy the sound the HD600 has (I'll never part with these), but the soundstage and detail is fun with the 700. Getting back to the HD800, how are the mids in comparison to the 700? I have a feeling both the Atticus and HD800 will both occupy my collection someday. I can see why people keep multiple pairs. I think I've narrowed it down to those two.

That's about as complimentary of a pairing as you can get. Both are excellent headphones with very different presentations. It is funny going back and forth between them, because whenever you switch, the new headphone sounds "off" for the first couple minutes while your ears adjust to the new signature - that means you're getting two really distinct sound signatures, as opposed to redundant pieces.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention that you should look at the DecWare CSP3 as a possible amping solution down the road. It is absolutely sublime with both headphones. I would recommend it to someone buying either headphone, but if you have both, it is a no brainer. It's one of the most affordable end game tube amps that could be considered a true summit fi piece. Big, big thumbs up.

 

[Desdinova12]

Welp, my budget isn't quite up there yet. I know the HD800 is very picky, but I've heard the ZMF headphones are more forgiving. I may end up with the Atticus if this is true at first as I still need a proper amp. I'm running what I have through the Xonar Essence STX. I plan on snatching the LD MK2 or Project Solstice as a holdover then move on to something better later on. If the Atticus is more forgiving to the equipment used, that would likely be my first purchase.