Headphones for metal music - ultimate solution

[Aryzon]

And the Maxwell? I am planar fan but I also need a good isolating closed one which I can use in different rooms. Would u recommend it?

I owned the R70x which was very good for smaller heads and ears. A counterpart for the XS.

I don't like Maxwell. It has the same ultra v-shaped sound signature that mainstream wireless headphones have. It's not the worst by any means but definitely far from the best.
Closed back planars in general rarely work well, I have yet to encounter one that I like.
If you need a closed back stick to dynamics. If you have the money something like Focal Azurys can be endgame even without EQ tweaking.

 

[blackromek]

HELLO delicate off top, what DAC do you prefer for metal, what do you think about R2R technology, products such as Holo Audio, Denafrips or for metal, however, Sabre I want to improve the quality of the system and I am looking for a new DAC

 

[Aryzon]

HELLO delicate off top, what DAC do you prefer for metal, what do you think about R2R technology, products such as Holo Audio, Denafrips or for metal, however, Sabre I want to improve the quality of the system and I am looking for a new DAC

I don't believe in DACs so I say it doesn't matter.
And I would suggest you to really AB them in a quiet environment. I tried Holo Cyan 2 and Spring 3, Rockna Wavedream some Shanling stuff and many others. Could never a hear a difference between them.

 

[justsomesonyfan]

I wonder if anyone tried fiio ft1 pro for metal? I ordered the og ft1 because of me wanting a closed back, but ft1 pro also seems interesting.

Also, my recommendation for metal personally when it comes to iems is plunge audio unity

 

[fidgeraldo]

Final Audio D8000+good tube amp...kings for Rock and Roll and Metal!

Cheers!

 

[atomLI631]

So far nothing has beaten my HE6SE V2 for metal music. Banging to some Mastadon right now as a matter of fact. Mastadon has some very complex songs but I can pick out every instrument in their tracks.

Its definitely between the HE6se V2 and LCD-X for me (for all the headphones I've tried). But both need some EQ. The HE6 less than the LCD-X. I feel like the LCD-X has more bass quantity but the HE6 has better bass quality. So really depends on the genre.

 

[shinbojan]

I really like he6se v2 for metal. They do need a bit of bass boost as they sound way better. Even badly produced albums like Nattens Madrigal sound good on them, probably due to 2k dip.
But for the albums that have better sound I like increasing this part as well as it makes guitars more agressive.
They do need to be amplified properly.

 

[MindBreak]

I really like he6se v2 for metal. They do need a bit of bass boost as they sound way better. Even badly produced albums like Nattens Madrigal sound good on them, probably due to 2k dip.
But for the albums that have better sound I like increasing this part as well as it makes guitars more agressive.
They do need to be amplified properly.

Out of curiosity, what amp are you using to drive/power them?

 

[atomLI631]

Out of curiosity, what amp are you using to drive/power them?

I'm using the Violectric v281.

 

[shinbojan]

Out of curiosity, what amp are you using to drive/power them?

Magni2u (preamp volume control) + Aleph Mini. So not a top tier amp, but good enough for my taste.

 

[Dreadzombie]

Hey all! Back from CanJam NYC (sadly only had about 2 hours there) and wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I mainly listen to Bleed from within, Architects, Jinjer, and Trivium lately.

Looking to replace my EQd lcdx, which I love but are just too heavy at this point

Here’s how I EQ them (see pic)

At canjam I tried the following briefly, looking for more recommendations to try in the future based on what I liked (without eq)


Top 3:
Focal utopia 18/22: was surprised as the clear didn’t blow me away when I had them, but these sounded great. Worried about driver issues, are those over exaggerated?

Audeze mm500: pretty solid off the bat, clamp was a tad strong but not terrible, found them slightly but not too shouty.

Tungsten: happy I found someone with a pair that I could try, solid sound, only worry is driving them (I use the q5k around the house while cleaning, doubt that’ll work with these sadly)

The rest:

Meze Emp2: wasn’t impressed surprisingly, sounded odd and very dry. Believe this was the hybrid pads I tried them on? Wish I had tried them again as I was surprised how they sounded based on everything I heard about them

Dca e3: not terrible but wasn’t impressed, also sounded dry

All zmf: their house sound isn’t for me, only I found interesting was caldera closed

Heddphones: both sounded super dry and sort of boring?

Abyss Mr /dz/joal: love the design and the sound wasn’t terrible, but still didn’t have the same amount of bass I love from the lcdx

Hifiman arya unveiled: actually didn’t mind this one, but the treble was sharp to me


**Am I missing anything I should try? Looking to pull the trigger on testing stuff!**

 

[atomLI631]

Hey all! Back from CanJam NYC (sadly only had about 2 hours there) and wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I mainly listen to Bleed from within, Architects, Jinjer, and Trivium lately.

Looking to replace my EQd lcdx, which I love but are just too heavy at this point

Here’s how I EQ them (see pic)

At canjam I tried the following briefly, looking for more recommendations to try in the future based on what I liked (without eq)


Top 3:
Focal utopia 18/22: was surprised as the clear didn’t blow me away when I had them, but these sounded great. Worried about driver issues, are those over exaggerated?

Audeze mm500: pretty solid off the bat, clamp was a tad strong but not terrible, found them slightly but not too shouty.

Tungsten: happy I found someone with a pair that I could try, solid sound, only worry is driving them (I use the q5k around the house while cleaning, doubt that’ll work with these sadly)

The rest:

Meze Emp2: wasn’t impressed surprisingly, sounded odd and very dry. Believe this was the hybrid pads I tried them on? Wish I had tried them again as I was surprised how they sounded based on everything I heard about them

Dca e3: not terrible but wasn’t impressed, also sounded dry

All zmf: their house sound isn’t for me, only I found interesting was caldera closed

Heddphones: both sounded super dry and sort of boring?

Abyss Mr /dz/joal: love the design and the sound wasn’t terrible, but still didn’t have the same amount of bass I love from the lcdx

Hifiman arya unveiled: actually didn’t mind this one, but the treble was sharp to me


**Am I missing anything I should try? Looking to pull the trigger on testing stuff!**

I too was there and tried everything you mentioned. For me (outside of the Tungsten DS at the Schiit booth) the Final D8000 DC was my next favorite. Especially for metal. The bass was deep and punchy and the treble wasnt fatiguing. I also tried the D7000 and I felt they were too boomy and on faster tracks got a little muddy and the D8000 Pro, which I felt was too bright and can see them get fatiguing on long listening sessions.

Its a shame the D8000 is so expensive, because it sounds amazing, and I would love to own a pair one day.

 

[Adnan Firoze]

Putting it right here - something I wrote tonight. Have been having a ton of fun with the set and tubes and METAL!

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/abyss-headphones-diana-dz.27268/reviews#review-37226

 

[Mardrommar]

Has anyone listened to the Meze Poet? If so, any thoughts on how they are for metal?

 

[Vruksha]

Came across a review of the new Sony MDR M1 and it peaked my interest so ended up watching a bunch of reviews, it seems like a good daily driver for Metal especially for treble sensitive people. There seems to be a good bass shelf with flat mid range and smooth slightly pulled back treble. Anybody own these or have demo’ed the M1?