[SomeGuyDude]

Grado might be the most finicky headphones I've ever encountered, as well. Only set I've ever had where a slight movement on the head can totally change the character of them. When I got them nestled in the right spot, everything just falls into place and I can't imagine using anything else.

 

[po4ka]

Hi everyone,

I am selecting new headphones for work, could you please recommend some good options? Since it will be open space, i will need closed headphones. Currently I am using ATH-M50X at home and i quite like them. As far as i understand they are flattish with slightly elevated bass, i would like new headphones to have similar profile: flat overall with potentially slightly elevated bass. I tried v-moda m-100 for a while and i think they have too much bass for me. I do like to notice small details in the tracks so high dealization for the new headphones will be a plus. I will be plugging the new headphones into fiio m9. The budget is up to 500-600 GBP.

In terms of music i listen to thrash/death/progressive.

Reading the original post DT1770 pro looked like a good option but i am not sure about 250 ohm, probably it will be too much for fiio m9? What do you think about shure srh1540 is it worth the upgrade from srh840?

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Hi everyone,

I am selecting new headphones for work, could you please recommend some good options? Since it will be open space, i will need closed headphones. Currently I am using ATH-M50X at home and i quite like them. As far as i understand they are flattish with slightly elevated bass, i would like new headphones to have similar profile: flat overall with potentially slightly elevated bass. I tried v-moda m-100 for a while and i think they have too much bass for me. I do like to notice small details in the tracks so high dealization for the new headphones will be a plus. I will be plugging the new headphones into fiio m9. The budget is up to 500-600 GBP.

In terms of music i listen to thrash/death/progressive.

Reading the original post DT1770 pro looked like a good option but i am not sure about 250 ohm, probably it will be too much for fiio m9? What do you think about shure srh1540 is it worth the upgrade from srh840?

If you're worried about the resistance, the DT177x is 32ohm and from experience it sounds AMAZING.

 

[po4ka]

Thank you, it looks like it is not easy to get 177x here so i ordered 1770, we will see if fiio m9 is enough for it

 

[AudiophileEar]

You might find an alternative here: https://www.hifi-today.de/news (have to filter for "headphone")

 

[SonicFade]

@SomeGuyDude got my 2021 LCD-X and you were right about the bass. The treble is pretty good. Not harsh to my ears at all, but the bass is weak or too neutral.
Granted, no burn in. Have them playing right now.
I have a month to figure it out or they go back. If I can EQ them and get some thunder from down under, I’ll be happy.
Also, planars are supposed to be “fast” right?

 

[MatW]

@SomeGuyDude got my 2021 LCD-X and you were right about the bass. The treble is pretty good. Not harsh to my ears at all, but the bass is weak or too neutral.
Granted, no burn in. Have them playing right now.
I have a month to figure it out or they go back. If I can EQ them and get some thunder from down under, I’ll be happy.
Also, planars are supposed to be “fast” right?

LCD-X supposedly responds very well to EQ. Or so I've heard / read, don't have it myself. Let us know how you go!

 

[SonicFade]

Will do. I hope they work out because the build quality is unlike anything I’ve experienced. Comfortable clamp but no head banging will be going on as they get get loosey goosey

 

[SomeGuyDude]

@SomeGuyDude got my 2021 LCD-X and you were right about the bass. The treble is pretty good. Not harsh to my ears at all, but the bass is weak or too neutral.
Granted, no burn in. Have them playing right now.
I have a month to figure it out or they go back. If I can EQ them and get some thunder from down under, I’ll be happy.
Also, planars are supposed to be “fast” right?

You should be able to EQ them, and yeah they'll be speedy enough for anyone's ears IMO. The X is specifically made to be leaner and nimbler than the 2 and 3 at the expense of the beefy low end. That's why I never consider it an up/downgrade from the 2 or 3, it really exists alongside them with its own flavor. I personally opted away from the X because I like a "heavy" sounding headphone more than "crunchy" for my metal (if that makes sense).

 

[SonicFade]

You should be able to EQ them, and yeah they'll be speedy enough for anyone's ears IMO. The X is specifically made to be leaner and nimbler than the 2 and 3 at the expense of the beefy low end. That's why I never consider it an up/downgrade from the 2 or 3, it really exists alongside them with its own flavor. I personally opted away from the X because I like a "heavy" sounding headphone more than "crunchy" for my metal (if that makes sense).

That absolutely makes sense. I should have listened to you to begin with but the appeal of the 2021 revision got me.
I’ll give them the chance they deserve

 

[SomeGuyDude]

That absolutely makes sense. I should have listened to you to begin with but the appeal of the 2021 revision got me.
I’ll give them the chance they deserve

LOL hey sometimes the only way to really know is to try them yourself. The clarion call of a headphone can be strong enough that you just NEED to find out how they sound on your own ears.

Now here's a question for the masses: as the summer months are coming in, air conditioning is becoming more and more necessary, which means the open-backs are struggling thanks to external noise, so what is our choice for a good sub-$500 closed-back? I'm thinking the M1060C?

 

[SubaruSumeragi]

First of all thank you for the great reviews of all these headphones.

I wanted to ask some advice. I'm looking for am upgrade for my current setup, which i will list below.

I am mostly into thrash and death metal, but i also listen to classic heavy metal and power metal as well.

Right now i own a PanAm headphone amplifier by AloAudio with Mullard tubes.

My headphones right now include a

- Kennerton Magister Pro, which is my go to headphone for most metal bands at the moment
- Oppo PM-2 which I use occasionally for more laid back metal stuff like atmospheric black metal
- Focal Elex which i I use for power and heavy metal and live recordings
- Sennheiser HD25, these are my portable and a close second choice to the magister for thrash metal
- Kennerton Magni, I hose them mostly for electronic stuff, dont like these for metal a lot
- Sennheiser HD6xx, which i dont like for metal because the seem to slow for me
- Sennheiser HD700 as my pair for classic music, I dont use them for metal at all
- Kennerton Vali, a great pair of headphones which doesnt fit my head and sounds not that great for me
- Grado - RS2e, these I use for hard rock and some symphonic stuff which doesnt go with the Elex

I would like to upgrade my setup mostly for thrash and death, from what i gathered here I was thinking about the HE-6, but these are discontinued and I wasnt able to find anything about the 6SE on here..
I also was considering the Kennerton Odin, which are hard to get a hold of, or the wodan/rognir, but the Magni isnt a great fit for my head either, so I am a little worried here, that the sound quality will suffer from not enough sealing..
I am also a little bit concerned with the built quality of the Hifiman headphones, it is not very easy to find a good supplier here in germany..

So basically I am looking for the signature of the Magister Pro or the HD25, so a fast and tight sounding headphone, which is able to deliver the punch necessary for thrash and also is able to show enough detail to sound great with symphonic death and black metal.

My budget would be around 2k, give or take, any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Edit: I was also considering the Gjallarhorn, I have the same concerns here as with the other Kennerton models, also does anyone have experience with the original vs the mod ones here?

 

[monkey4054]

I would like to upgrade my setup mostly for thrash and death, from what i gathered here I was thinking about the HE-6, but these are discontinued and I wasnt able to find anything about the 6SE on here..
I also was considering the Kennerton Odin, which are hard to get a hold of, or the wodan/rognir, but the Magni isnt a great fit for my head either, so I am a little worried here, that the sound quality will suffer from not enough sealing..
I am also a little bit concerned with the built quality of the Hifiman headphones, it is not very easy to find a good supplier here in germany..

So basically I am looking for the signature of the Magister Pro or the HD25, so a fast and tight sounding headphone, which is able to deliver the punch necessary for thrash and also is able to show enough detail to sound great with symphonic death and black metal.

My budget would be around 2k, give or take, any recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Edit: I was also considering the Gjallarhorn, I have the same concerns here as with the other Kennerton models, also does anyone have experience with the original vs the mod ones here?

The HE-6/HE-6SE is a fantastic choice if you have a decent amp to pair with them. They are a tad bright but are very fast, tight, and slam like almost nothing else. Probably one of the best reproductions of a bass drum kick I've heard. I'm partial to the TH-900, but if fast and tight and is what you want; the HE-6 will give you that.

 

[DuerumBen]

I would like to upgrade my setup mostly for thrash and death, from what i gathered here I was thinking about the HE-6, but these are discontinued and I wasnt able to find anything about the 6SE on here..

He6Se Thread

Now here's a question for the masses: as the summer months are coming in, air conditioning is becoming more and more necessary, which means the open-backs are struggling thanks to external noise, so what is our choice for a good sub-$500 closed-back? I'm thinking the M1060C?

depends on what you are searching for in your Music Dude, if you want your Planar slam on the cheap the 1060c are a decent choise, i my self got a used pair denon ah d7200 for good bass and suprisingly desend soundstage for a closed pair

 

[SubaruSumeragi]

The HE-6/HE-6SE is a fantastic choice if you have a decent amp to pair with them. They are a tad bright but are very fast, tight, and slam like almost nothing else. Probably one of the best reproductions of a bass drum kick I've heard. I'm partial to the TH-900, but if fast and tight and is what you want; the HE-6 will give you that.

I have an AloAudio PanAm tube amp with the corresponding power source, I think its called passport from what I remember on top of my head.. I never had a problem driving a headphone with it, but I am not sure if it will suffice for the HE-6SE. Do you have any experience with that?