[Dobrescu George]

I have the following:
Nightowls - brilliant but too polite for metal
Jvc sz2000 - my bass music go to's
Meze 99s - brilliant all rounders
I have come into some money and wanted to get some nice headphones, but I should point out I've never had any grados. I also use a chord mojo if that helps. I have also been reading about hd650,700 and 800 but am unsure how they would go with metal. I suppose I have the means to buy some nice headphones but am unsure of which direction to go in. I am also bad at describing what I want but will try my best. I would like guitars too sound aggressive but also a big soundstage.

Okay, now that I know where you're coming from, it is easier to imagine what you're looking for.

I also thought that Night owls/hawkas were too ploite for metal, lack of aggressiveness and lack of sparkle in the treble.

IF you like the default tuning on Meze 99 Classics, then you like an evisceral bass, (I didn't imagine that JVC2000 has even more bass?!), and you like strong impact. On the other hand, 99C doesn't have a strong treble, like Grados do. This means that if you like 99C a lot, Grados might be a bit too bright for you. Just for an experiment, 99C's are really really high quality in their drivers, so they will take tons of EQ without distortion, try to go to your EQ app and bump the last slider, usually the 16 kHz slider, by about 8 to 10 dB. This will change the signature of 99C, please let us know if you like how it sounds now.

If you can use open back (some people can't due to their surroundings), HD650 is usually a safe option.

 

[gazzington]

Thanks for getting back to me. Ha the jvc sz2000 are bass monsters, see the bass heads forum on here. I just did you experiment. It sounded pretty cool but perhaps uncomfortable to listen with such high treble for long length of time. Are hd700 significantly better than hd650?

 

[gazzington]

The other reason I started considering ultrasone headphones is that I occasionally listen to trance, house etc which I heard they are good at. Are they good all rounders. They seem to get slated a lot on head to though

 

[Dobrescu George]

Thanks for getting back to me. Ha the jvc sz2000 are bass monsters, see the bass heads forum on here. I just did you experiment. It sounded pretty cool but perhaps uncomfortable to listen with such high treble for long length of time. Are hd700 significantly better than hd650?

HD700 tend to have an energetic treble, HD650 are a slightly safer option in the long run, especially if that little trick was too much for comfortable listening during long periods of time.

The other reason I started considering ultrasone headphones is that I occasionally listen to trance, house etc which I heard they are good at. Are they good all rounders. They seem to get slated a lot on head to though

I'm one fo those who loves Ultrasone sound for metal and all kinds of music, but they are a polarising thing, you either really love them or not. There is no middle ground when it comes to Ultraosne

If you're looking for closed back headphones, Ultrasone have a really large soundstage and should satisfy the metal needs of a listener, while for open back headphones there are quite a few options, like HD650, HD600, or a few others. I really need to hear one of them Focal headphones, like Elear, they might be a good challenger to the open headphones range, but I have not heard one yet.

 

[gazzington]

Just been very impulsive. I saw a as new hd800s on eBay with a headroom headphone amp for £800. I put a bid in and won. I really hope I like these headphones. Thanks for all your help.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Just been very impulsive. I saw a as new hd800s on eBay with a headroom headphone amp for £800. I put a bid in and won. I really hope I like these headphones. Thanks for all your help.

Well, this means that you'll have one of the best headphones ever created. Whether those will be on par with your tastes is hard to say from now, you can always add a different AMP to them if you're not fully satisfied (I would add iDSD BL as my main amp), but HD800S is one of the best headphones you can get after all. Tell us how you like them when you get them!

 

[shuto77]

I have the following:
Nightowls - brilliant but too polite for metal
Jvc sz2000 - my bass music go to's
Meze 99s - brilliant all rounders
I have come into some money and wanted to get some nice headphones, but I should point out I've never had any grados. I also use a chord mojo if that helps. I have also been reading about hd650,700 and 800 but am unsure how they would go with metal. I suppose I have the means to buy some nice headphones but am unsure of which direction to go in. I am also bad at describing what I want but will try my best. I would like guitars too sound aggressive but also a big soundstage.

I agree the Mezes are good for metal. Try describing what you like about them and maybe we point you in the direction of an upgrade.

At a cursory glance, I think the Beyerdynamic DT1990 are worth checking out. Somewhat v-shaped with great, impactful bass and a large soundstage. I don't think the mids are too sucked out, like some Beyers.

 

[Monsterzero]

Just been very impulsive. I saw a as new hd800s on eBay with a headroom headphone amp for £800. I put a bid in and won. I really hope I like these headphones. Thanks for all your help.

The HD800 will be the very exact opposite of what you currently own,which isnt a bad thing IMO,but it will take some time adjusting from,say, the SZ2000(yuck)to the HD800.
I cant think of bigger swing in sound signature than that one!

 

[Dobrescu George]

The HD800 will be the very exact opposite of what you currently own,which isnt a bad thing IMO,but it will take some time adjusting from,say, the SZ2000(yuck)to the HD800.
I cant think of bigger swing in sound signature than that one!

Having not heard SZ2000, I can't say, but HD800S is quite different from 99C as well, 99C has a thick and warm sound with tons of impact and an enthusiastic signature while HD 800S is energetic and has a lot of details, has an open sound (99C is closed), and HD800S doesn't have the same bass like 99C, where 99C has a ton of bass and HD800S has a more neutral bass. This being said, I l;ike both, so it is possible to like both, but you're correct, this change is a big swing in signature

This is why I'm so curious how the one who got it will feel like, should be an interesting thing to get from one signature to another one entirely

 

[gazzington]

I went for them as I got a good deal but also from my reading they are different to what I have already. I'll let you all know what I think when they arrive middle of next week

 

[gazzington]

Matter of interest do any of you have any suggested eq settings in onkyo that I can use with these to listen to metal?

 

[shuto77]

Matter of interest do any of you have any suggested eq settings in onkyo that I can use with these to listen to metal?

An Onkyo DAP? The HD800 are notoriously difficult to drive, so your results will vary. You should just listen to them on a flat eq setting first, then adjust as necessary. Maybe you need a bass bump, or need to tame a treble peak - that sort of thing.

Going through several pieces of gear the last couple years has shown me you want to get a handle on how it's "supposed" to sound before messing with eq.

Of course, imo, ymmv, etc.

 

[gazzington]

Sorry meant onkyo app on fiio x5 iii going through chord mojo. I see your point though, small adjustments

 

[emptymt]

thought I should post it here

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/campfire-audio-lyra-ii.21895/reviews

Lyra 2 review, almost exclusively made only using metal tracks

 

[shuto77]

Finally got around to listening to my HE-400 (original black and blue version). Like @Hansotek reports, these are really good headphones, and complement my AEONs nicely. They do like some extra power, however. My Fiio X3iii on high gain doesn't have enough juice to make them sing. The iFi IDSD BL yields a much better result. Excellent bass impact, speed and clarity. I just need to upgrade these pads. I might upgrade the cable too.

On a side note... HIFIMAN's old screw-on connectors were terrible, terrible, terrrible. I had to twist, twist, twist, and twist again to connect the cable. It was connected, but the cable was all twisted. Such a ridiculous design.