[NZtechfreak]

Comfortwise, for me the 560 is leaps and bounds ahead of the Sig Pro. I have a slightly large head and wear glasses, so the clamping force of the Sig Pro was tough for me (YMMV of course). Sonically I'd give them the same advantage, but then we're talking open Vs closed/desktop Vs portable, so that shouldn't surprise.

 

[Hansotek]

In my experience Hifimans tend to take on many of the characteristics of the amp and source components. My HE500 can sound dark, bright or neutral depending on where it is plugged in.

 

[Music Alchemist]

Talk about a reality check...
 

  YKYAAW some of the most expensive headphones ever made are nowhere near good enough for you.

 
I have no problem with spending thousands of dollars on a headphone, but only if it is accurate and realistic enough. I heard the HIFIMAN HE1000 ($2,999), Abyss AB-1266 ($5,495), Sennheiser HD 800 ($1,600), and HIFIMAN HE-6 ($1,300) today. They sounded okay, but have far too many inexcusable problems for those prices.
 
I'm actually kind of relieved. Now I know I don't want to spend that much money on those particular headphones.
 
Looks like electrostatics (like STAX) are my only hope now in my quest for accurate-sounding headphones...

 
I heard all those headphones from two very expensive amps today, with metal and all sorts of other genres. Not impressed at all, due to the prices and the glaring weaknesses of each headphone.
 
If STAX doesn't sound accurate enough to me, I may just focus on speakers. I feel so jaded when it comes to being disappointed by headphones...

 

[paradoxper]

  Talk about a reality check...
 
 
I heard all those headphones from two very expensive amps today, with metal and all sorts of other genres. Not impressed at all, due to the prices and the glaring weaknesses of each headphone.
 
If STAX doesn't sound accurate enough to me, I may just focus on speakers. I feel so jaded when it comes to being disappointed by headphones...

Where did you hear these? What amps? Source? Source material?  How long did you spend listening? 
And what weren't you impressed with - what were the glaring weaknesses?

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Where did you hear these? What amps? Source? Source material?  How long did you spend listening? 
And what weren't you impressed with - what were the glaring weaknesses?

 
Overture Audio in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
 
Two amp/DAC units: MOON Neo 430HA, Sennheiser HDVD 800
 
I used my own test tracks, with all the genres I could.
 
I listened for about two hours.
 
Ehhh... I'm just so depressed at how none of them sounded very realistic to me at all, especially considering the prices and the amazing things I heard about them. I will try and sum it up, though. Keep in mind that this is in the context of wanting accurate, realistic sound.
 
HD 800: Painfully bright and nasty, weak bass.
 
HE1000: Too warm and lazy, smoothed over detail, still had some treble peaks despite this.
 
Abyss: I couldn't even get a proper seal for the life of me, so it was very distorted unless I pushed the pads close to my head. The HE1000 is much more of an audiophile headphone.
 
HE-6: Slightly bright, but possibly had the least problems. HE1000 was still my favorite.
 
I could go into much more detail, but I'm too depressed about it and tired too. *cries*
 
Don't get me wrong, though. They didn't sound bad per se. I could still enjoy them, but there is no way I would buy any of these headphones after having heard them -- and this is coming from someone who wants the best sound regardless of price.

 

[paradoxper]

   
Overture Audio in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
 
Two amp/DAC units: MOON Neo 430HA, Sennheiser HDVD 800
 
I used my own test tracks, with all the genres I could.
 
I listened for about two hours.
 
Ehhh... I'm just so depressed at how none of them sounded very realistic to me at all, especially considering the prices and the amazing things I heard about them. I will try and sum it up, though. Keep in mind that this is in the context of wanting accurate, realistic sound.
 
HD 800: Painfully bright and nasty, weak bass.
 
HE1000: Too warm and lazy, smoothed over detail, still had some treble peaks despite this.
 
Abyss: I couldn't even get a proper seal for the life of me, so it was very distorted unless I pushed the pads close to my head. The HE1000 is much more of an audiophile headphone.
 
HE-6: Slightly bright, but possibly had the least problems.
 
I could go into much more detail, but I'm too depressed about it and tired too. *cries*
 
Don't get me wrong, though. They didn't sound bad per se. I could still enjoy them, but there is no way I would buy any of these headphones after having heard them -- and this is coming from someone who wants the best sound regardless of price.

Thanks for providing context.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Thanks for providing context.

 
Do you think I should get the SR-207 first or just put that money towards an SR-009 system?
 
Some background info, in case you weren't aware or forgot: Imported from Japan, I can get the 207 and amp for under $400 and a final price of around $500. The 009 system would cost a little over $3,000, if I get the SRM-323S amp to start with. I was planning on just using that until I could afford a DIY T2 -- assuming I liked the 009 enough to bother.

 

[paradoxper]

   
Do you think I should get the SR-207 first or just put that money towards an SR-009 system?
 
Some background info, in case you weren't aware or forgot: Imported from Japan, I can get the 207 and amp for under $400 and a final price of around $500. The 009 system would cost a little over $3,000, if I get the SRM-323S amp to start with. I was planning on just using that until I could afford a DIY T2 -- assuming I liked the 009 enough to bother.

No.
 
I really think it's foolish to put big money into any kind of purchase fully blind. That is, you need to first taste stats in some way.
 
The 207 system is obviously more attainable, so that is a better starting point.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  No.
 
I really think it's foolish to put big money into any kind of purchase fully blind. That is, you need to first taste stats in some way.
 
The 207 system is obviously more attainable, so that is a better starting point.

 
Makes sense. I suppose by the time I have thousands to blow on gear, already having spent $500 shouldn't be an issue. Plus, I would be able to compare the 207 and 009 directly.

 

[henkie196]

Define accurate and realistic? Just asking because in the context of metal I have a no real idea of how to define such a thing for myself. I've heard speakers that I thought sounded bright and harsh when listening with metal, but when I later heard Sting live on them, I think I understood why other people would prefer these speakers if they listened to such music. Like you were there. But not pleasant to listen to with my music, to my ears.
 
And not to bring you down further, but speakers are not easy either. I more or less stumbled by accident over my current speakers after spending lots of time listening to other speakers, some of them quite expensive, too. And they're not perfect either, sounding a bit narrow.
 
I would like to have a listen to some Stax as well, but finding a place to audition them is very hard (at least reasonably close to where I live). And the amps are relatively very expensive.

 

[paradoxper]

   
Makes sense. I suppose by the time I have thousands to blow on gear, already having spent $500 shouldn't be an issue. Plus, I would be able to compare the 207 and 009 directly.

I still say get to a meet and search out a stat rig. More than that, it'll provide the opportunity of trying out more variety gears. Could be the Moon DAC didn't cut it, etc.

 

[Hansotek]

 

  Thanks for providing context.

 
Do you think I should get the SR-207 first or just put that money towards an SR-009 system?
 
Some background info, in case you weren't aware or forgot: Imported from Japan, I can get the 207 and amp for under $400 and a final price of around $500. The 009 system would cost a little over $3,000, if I get the SRM-323S amp to start with. I was planning on just using that until I could afford a DIY T2 -- assuming I liked the 009 enough to bother.

 
I would get the SR-207 and use that until you save up for the SR-009 system... or something else you want. You can always sell it when you're ready to upgrade. Stax HPs tend to go pretty quick on the Head-Fi sale forum.
 
Otherwise you're going to be waiting forever to upgrade... but that's just what I would do.

 

[Hansotek]

 
I would like to have a listen to some Stax as well, but finding a place to audition them is very hard (at least reasonably close to where I live). And the amps are relatively very expensive.

 
I think the issue for many people (me included) is that they require a totally different amplification system investment. I only recently discovered the SRD-7 adaptor as a viable alternative. You just plug it into a speaker amp and you're good to go. You can get ahold of one for about $100 or less (I got mine for $65). This at least gives you the option to get your headphones and use them immediately while you save up for the amp you want.
 
(Or if you have a really great Class-A speaker amp, you may not even want to upgrade from the SRD-7 at all, from what I've heard.)

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Define accurate and realistic? Just asking because in the context of metal I have a no real idea of how to define such a thing for myself.

 
If every single recording in every single genre sounds bright and harsh (or warm and smooth), you can rest assured that you are not listening to accurate audio reproduction.

 

[flipper2gv]

   
Overture Audio in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
 
Two amp/DAC units: MOON Neo 430HA, Sennheiser HDVD 800
 
I used my own test tracks, with all the genres I could.
 
I listened for about two hours.
 
Ehhh... I'm just so depressed at how none of them sounded very realistic to me at all, especially considering the prices and the amazing things I heard about them. I will try and sum it up, though. Keep in mind that this is in the context of wanting accurate, realistic sound.
 
HD 800: Painfully bright and nasty, weak bass.
 
HE1000: Too warm and lazy, smoothed over detail, still had some treble peaks despite this.
 
Abyss: I couldn't even get a proper seal for the life of me, so it was very distorted unless I pushed the pads close to my head. The HE1000 is much more of an audiophile headphone.
 
HE-6: Slightly bright, but possibly had the least problems. HE1000 was still my favorite.
 
I could go into much more detail, but I'm too depressed about it and tired too. *cries*
 
Don't get me wrong, though. They didn't sound bad per se. I could still enjoy them, but there is no way I would buy any of these headphones after having heard them -- and this is coming from someone who wants the best sound regardless of price.

 
I don't know what to say. Realistic? What do you mean by that? I've heard the HD800 and HE-6, and although they definitely had their own flavors, they were very much realistic to my ears.

But, if you want a sound that is without a flavor, this doesn't exist, even a live show doesn't sound realistic by that standard. Most likely each of us perceive sounds differently and by this each of us have a "built in" flavor.

I say, get something that sounds good to you, have tons of detail and some soundstage and you should be fine. I absolutely can't see what could be wrong with these headphones so that you would find them sounding bad. 

Also, electrostats don't have a lot of impact. Like really not a lot. Keep that in mind.