[Makiah S]

I bet. Looking forward to your HE-X impressions.

like wise 

 

[Mardrommar]

I might be too late to the party, but...
 
The Grado 325is was my first audiophile headphone. It blew me away at the time and sounded so good for metal. Now I can't listen to it. It's too bright. Grado mids are nice and the bass is tight and punchy, but I think there are much better headphones out there for metal in general, and for the price, I'd rather listen to my Philips Fidelio X1 or X2. 
 
I then bought a pair of ATH-M50 as a second headphone. Sounded very good and bassy at the time. I haven't touched it in years.
 
Then I went with the AKG Q701. It has a lovely soundstage, but I wouldn't recommend it for metal. It doesn't have the proper energy and the bass is too anemic to the point that it isn't any fun. It's great for gaming though, and I've made it into a dedicated gaming headset. Unfortunately, my scalp has experienced permanent (jk) damage from the bumps of lucifer, so it either needs a headband mod or some cloth covering. 
 
If the Fostex TH-X00 are similar to the Denon AH-D5000, they would be very nice for metal, especially the darker, more heavy hitting genres like doom. 
 
But let's be serious, if money wasn't a factor, I'd always recommend a planar magnetic at this point. I'm adjusting to the HE-6 at the moment, but this is looking like it'd be a go to metal headphone for me right up there with the LCD-X. (I still think the LCD-X and Audeze house sound is my favorite.)

 

[shuto77]

The AKG ridges are pretty hard. I had to attach a pad to my K701. I couldn't take it.

A lot of people on the gaming thread love the AKG variants, but many have complained about the bumpy headband.

The revised headband of the K702 Anniversary, K712 and K7XX are quite nice, however.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

  But let's be serious, if money wasn't a factor, I'd always recommend a planar magnetic at this point. I'm adjusting to the HE-6 at the moment, but this is looking like it'd be a go to metal headphone for me right up there with the LCD-X. (I still think the LCD-X and Audeze house sound is my favorite.)

 
Loving the Audeze house sound is why I have the EL-8 and not Oppos or HiFiMan haha.
 
Oh to have an LCD-4...

 

[Makiah S]

  I might be too late to the party, but...
 
The Grado 325is was my first audiophile headphone. It blew me away at the time and sounded so good for metal. Now I can't listen to it. It's too bright. Grado mids are nice and the bass is tight and punchy, but I think there are much better headphones out there for metal in general, and for the price, I'd rather listen to my Philips Fidelio X1 or X2. 
 
I then bought a pair of ATH-M50 as a second headphone. Sounded very good and bassy at the time. I haven't touched it in years.
 
Then I went with the AKG Q701. It has a lovely soundstage, but I wouldn't recommend it for metal. It doesn't have the proper energy and the bass is too anemic to the point that it isn't any fun. It's great for gaming though, and I've made it into a dedicated gaming headset. Unfortunately, my scalp has experienced permanent (jk) damage from the bumps of lucifer, so it either needs a headband mod or some cloth covering. 
 
If the Fostex TH-X00 are similar to the Denon AH-D5000, they would be very nice for metal, especially the darker, more heavy hitting genres like doom. 
 
But let's be serious, if money wasn't a factor, I'd always recommend a planar magnetic at this point. I'm adjusting to the HE-6 at the moment, but this is looking like it'd be a go to metal headphone for me right up there with the LCD-X. (I still think the LCD-X and Audeze house sound is my favorite.)

let me ask how in terms of resolution how does the LCD X an HE 6 compare, I need an upgrade to my HE 4, an the only thing I'm REALLY wanting is better mirco details, I had an LCD 2 Fazor which pulled out some amazing details from my classical, I was floored at what the HE 4 was missing :/ but for every new detail I got in the low mids, I lost one in the top end
 
so Ideally, I need a headphone that has amazing resolution through an through without losing any of the speed I have with the HE 4, I don't need something that's equally agressive, but I do want something that's really go yank out the last bits of details my HE 4 is missing from time to time, I need a headphone that will get that 1/10 song that my HE 4 doesn't pull everything out of 

 

[shuto77]

For metal, how close are the Hifiman he400i to the He-560? Are the latter worth the premium?

The further I get into this hobby, the more i see that there is no perfect headphone for every circumstance. It's becoming clear to me i need a dedicated metal headphone. And no, it won't be the Sennheiser HD650.

 

[NZtechfreak]

Mshenay and shuto, sounds to me like you are both looking for the HE6.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

The further I get into this hobby, the more i see that there is no perfect headphone for every circumstance.

 
I agree that no headphone is perfect across the boards, but I admit that the top end headphones absolutely can be excellent across all genres and don't agree with the idea of having a stack of headphones depending on what you want to listen to.

 

[Hansotek]

The AKG ridges are pretty hard. I had to attach a pad to my K701. I couldn't take it.

A lot of people on the gaming thread love the AKG variants, but many have complained about the bumpy headband.

The revised headband of the K702 Anniversary, K712 and K7XX are quite nice, however.

Yep. I know. I have the K7XX, too. They are much more comfortable. Never quite got on board with any of the AKG's for gaming, personally. I usually alternate between the Fidelio X1, the HD800 and now the TH-X00.

Lately, my jam has been turning up my sub all the way and then turning the speakers way down so I just get the rumble... Then strapping on the TH-X00 and going to town. The immersion level is insane.

 

[Hansotek]

For metal, how close are the Hifiman he400i to the He-560? Are the latter worth the premium?

The further I get into this hobby, the more i see that there is no perfect headphone for every circumstance. It's becoming clear to me i need a dedicated metal headphone. And no, it won't be the Sennheiser HD650.

I think the 560 is significantly more spacious and resolving. The 400i hits harder. Comparatively, the HE-6 is more resolving and hits harder than either, but you have to feed it the juice.

 

[marts30]

  I might be too late to the party, but...
 
The Grado 325is was my first audiophile headphone. It blew me away at the time and sounded so good for metal. Now I can't listen to it. It's too bright. Grado mids are nice and the bass is tight and punchy, but I think there are much better headphones out there for metal in general, and for the price, I'd rather listen to my Philips Fidelio X1 or X2. 
 

 
Yeah I loved the 325is, I never expected I'd prefer the SR60e but I do so I just sold that 325. Been reaching for my 60e over my X2 lately, it's quite addictive :<

 

[NoxNoctum]

  let me ask how in terms of resolution how does the LCD X an HE 6 compare, I need an upgrade to my HE 4, an the only thing I'm REALLY wanting is better mirco details, I had an LCD 2 Fazor which pulled out some amazing details from my classical, I was floored at what the HE 4 was missing :/ but for every new detail I got in the low mids, I lost one in the top end
 
so Ideally, I need a headphone that has amazing resolution through an through without losing any of the speed I have with the HE 4, I don't need something that's equally agressive, but I do want something that's really go yank out the last bits of details my HE 4 is missing from time to time, I need a headphone that will get that 1/10 song that my HE 4 doesn't pull everything out of 

HE-6 is easily better than LCD-2 or 3 (or X) for details but I personally prefer my LCD-2 for most black metal and certain kinds of heavy and stoner rock (i.e. Kyuss, Queens of the Stone Age, Goblin C*ck, also in doomy stuff like Acid King). The top end will be less present but for that kind of music it works IMO, the bass just envelops you like a warm blanket, or in the case of black metal it gives you fantastic sound without making it sound overly trebly (since BM is already in that direction). Stuff like (early) Immortal or Emperor sounds too bright for me on the HE-6. 
 
For basically all other rock and metal HE-6 is king. If you're listening to death/heavy/thrash/prog/grindcore (and DEFINITELY if you're listening to classical music) go HE-6. Or better yet get both if the budget allows. Nice thing for me is that I'm using a speaker amp that sounds ridiculously good with both cans.
 
I should also mention I had issues with the LCD-2 lacking bite until I got the speaker amp and before that got some very specific tubes for my Schiit Lyr (I still prefer the Lyr over the speaker amp for certain stuff with bad production). Also you're probably already aware but you really have to get a good amp for the HE-6 to show its stuff. I was on the verge of returning mine until I got a decent amp to audition it with (and the rest is history as they say

 )

 

[shuto77]

Mshenay and shuto, sounds to me like you are both looking for the HE6.

I'm wary of headphones that need tons of juice to drive them... But if I'm not mistaken, one Headfi-er successfully powered his HE6s with the speaker outputs of his Soundblaster X7, with good results. Not the most logical approach to driving these, but probably a cheaper one.

Based on what I've read, I imagine a slightly warmer HE-560 would do the job for most genres, and I'd use my X2s for gaming, and bass-heavy genres.

The Alpha Dog Prime would be another candidate, but I'd have to buy used.

 

[trphandle]

Quote:

  I might be too late to the party, but...
 
The Grado 325is was my first audiophile headphone. It blew me away at the time and sounded so good for metal. Now I can't listen to it. It's too bright. Grado mids are nice and the bass is tight and punchy, but I think there are much better headphones out there for metal in general, and for the price, I'd rather listen to my Philips Fidelio X1 or X2.

 

  Yeah I loved the 325is, I never expected I'd prefer the SR60e but I do so I just sold that 325. Been reaching for my 60e over my X2 lately, it's quite addictive :<

I also love my SR60i (haven’t heard the e version) and in fact prefer them to higher models in the line, if we’re speaking specifically about metal.  The problem with the other models, for me at least, is they get progressively brighter as you go up the line.  I have mild tinnitus going back many years, pre-headphone-hobby days, that’s aggravated by aggressive treble, so my opinion is shaped by this.  I’ve been seeking to up-Grado and find the optimal model for metal, but so far it’s been a waste of time.
 

1. SR225e – Good overall but at the end of the day too bright for me.
2. RS1i – Has its charms but also too bright and IMHO has a lighter, less crunchy sound that doesn't synergize with metal.
3. MS2e – Very nice all-rounder but its mids are pulled back closer to neutral, and doesn’t have as much as energy as traditional Grado's.

 
SR60i has mids that are thick and raunchy as hell.  It has some graininess that wouldn’t be welcome on many other genres, but for metal it adds a gritty and raw flavor.  For other types of music, I do find the higher models to be superior, thought I haven’t tried the 60 with L-pads. 
 
I second the recommendation above to start with either SR60e or SR80e if experimenting with Grado.
 
Also picked up the X2's during Amazon's $200 flash sale.  I was looking for a warmer, bassier compliment to Grado with a more spacious soundstage that worked well for metal as well as other genres, and this headphone is exactly what the doctor ordered.  Longer term, I'm interested in HE-6 and the LCD series.

 

[marts30]

  Quote:
 
I also love my SR60i (haven’t heard the e version) and in fact prefer them to higher models in the line, if we’re speaking specifically about metal.  The problem with the other models, for me at least, is they get progressively brighter as you go up the line.  I have mild tinnitus going back many years, pre-headphone-hobby days, that’s aggravated by aggressive treble, so my opinion is shaped by this.  I’ve been seeking to up-Grado and find the optimal model for metal, but so far it’s been a waste of time.
 

1. SR225e – Good overall but at the end of the day too bright for me.
2. RS1i – Has its charms but also too bright and IMHO has a lighter, less crunchy sound that doesn't synergize with metal.
3. MS2e – Very nice all-rounder but its mids are pulled back closer to neutral, and doesn’t have as much as energy as traditional Grado's.

 
SR60i has mids that are thick and raunchy as hell.  It has some graininess that wouldn’t be welcome on many other genres, but for metal it adds a gritty and raw flavor.  For other types of music, I do find the higher models to be superior, thought I haven’t tried the 60 with L-pads. 
 
I second the recommendation above to start with either SR60e or SR80e if experimenting with Grado.
 
Also picked up the X2's during Amazon's $200 flash sale.  I was looking for a warmer, bassier compliment to Grado with a more spacious soundstage that worked well for metal as well as other genres, and this headphone is exactly what the doctor ordered.  Longer term, I'm interested in HE-6 and the LCD series.

 
+1 to everything you wrote there. I have the MS2e (modded in wood cups) and they're a little brighter, but most notably it just misses those thick mids you talk about which are great with metal. Something just doesn't sound quite right. 325is I never found too bright before I got my 60e, but putting them on after using the 60e I didn't find them as appealing as when I first got them.
 
I've also owned most the Grado line RS1i and below, It's just hard to fathom the price of the higher models since the build quality is almost the same, just slightly tweaked drivers. I added bowl pads and a headband to my SR60e too. I was curious about the 225e but if it's only a brighter 60e then I probably won't bother.