[shaanpf]

That's why I would never consider it. I don't like on-ear headphones. It has to be either in-ear or over-ear, for me!

Lots of alternatives, obviously. What are you looking for in terms of sound signature, open vs closed back, budget?

Well I have 58x which I feel does well with indie, prog rock, post rock, math rock etc. But when I listen to post metal, mathcore, sludge metal, djent, prog metal etc it feel very lacking. Like less exciting? I def liked the sound of the Hemps for those. Don't really have an open/closed preference but don't wanna spend more than 500$. Thanks!

 

[MatW]

Well I have 58x which I feel does well with indie, prog rock, post rock, math rock etc. But when I listen to post metal, mathcore, sludge metal, djent, prog metal etc it feel very lacking. Like less exciting? I def liked the sound of the Hemps for those. Don't really have an open/closed preference but don't wanna spend more than 500$. Thanks!

Others will know more about that price bracket and will chime in. The only ones I own below $500 are wireless headphones from Bose (pretty decent actually) and Sony. And in the past I briefly owned the Meze 99 Classics, which is nice but too bass heavy for me (and I like bass..).

 

[SonicFade]

Well I have 58x which I feel does well with indie, prog rock, post rock, math rock etc. But when I listen to post metal, mathcore, sludge metal, djent, prog metal etc it feel very lacking. Like less exciting? I def liked the sound of the Hemps for those. Don't really have an open/closed preference but don't wanna spend more than 500$. Thanks!

i know the m50x gets a lot of hate but so far, I’ve tried the 58x and the hemps and although they are better headphones overall, the m50x’s (for me) are a must have for heavy music.

With the m50x I can turn them up really loud and get the “slam” or speaker excursion happening and the highs don’t kill my ears, or at least I feel that they wouldn’t cause hearing loss. The hemps have those qualities but when I get them up to a specific SPL, the higher frequencies concern me. I’m using a dongle DAC with my iPhone, so trying to EQ may not be practical

 

[Daimonos]

Greetings fellow metalheads!

I am looking to upgrade my headphone game and I could use some outside point of view. For a reference, I have previously owned Audeze LCD2C and Hifiman Ananda. Out of the two, I think that I enjoyed Ananda more, but it was too fatiguing for extended listening (also a bit uncomfortable). LCD2C had a weird tonality, which made some songs sound heavenly (the bass rumble was great) while others sounded extremely muffled and distant. I also liked the expansive, tall sound stage of Ananda better, although the headphone was sometimes too forward in its presentation. Hopefully I am making sense, I am not experienced in describing the sound, but maybe you get the idea.

My current go-to headphone is, believe it or not, Monoprice M1060C modded to an open back. Even though its technical performance might not be on par with the aforementioned Audeze and Hifiman headphones, I prefer it to both because of how it sounds overall (have been rolling some pads, currently on Audeze-esque sheepskin pads from Aliexpress). I listen to all kinds of metal from progressive and melodic stuff to extreme varieties (death, black, thrash). I like metal that has good production qualities and does not sound congested or super thin. Any suggestions for a headphone? I have already eyed some stuff, but I want to hear your thoughts first and not lead you on

 

[Terriero]

Well I have 58x which I feel does well with indie, prog rock, post rock, math rock etc. But when I listen to post metal, mathcore, sludge metal, djent, prog metal etc it feel very lacking. Like less exciting? I def liked the sound of the Hemps for those. Don't really have an open/closed preference but don't wanna spend more than 500$. Thanks!

Others will know more about that price bracket and will chime in. The only ones I own below $500 are wireless headphones from Bose (pretty decent actually) and Sony. And in the past I briefly owned the Meze 99 Classics, which is nice but too bass heavy for me (and I like bass..).

I don't know what others think about Beyer DT 1990 Pro for metal. @Slim1970 and me like them for this genre. Maybe you could consider them, @shaanpf

I love to listen with the 1990s to "Tristania" or "The sins of the beloved", bands that I really love and sound horrible with other headphones, almost unlistenable.

 

[shaanpf]

I don't know what others think about Beyer DT 1990 Pro for metal. @Slim1970 and me like them for this genre. Maybe you could consider them, @shaanpf

I love to listen with the 1990s to "Tristania" or "The sins of the beloved", bands that I really love and sound horrible with other headphones, almost unlistenable.

Thanks, def will try to get a hold of them! Any amp/dac recommendation for them?

 

[shaanpf]

i know the m50x gets a lot of hate but so far, I’ve tried the 58x and the hemps and although they are better headphones overall, the m50x’s (for me) are a must have for heavy music.

With the m50x I can turn them up really loud and get the “slam” or speaker excursion happening and the highs don’t kill my ears, or at least I feel that they wouldn’t cause hearing loss. The hemps have those qualities but when I get them up to a specific SPL, the higher frequencies concern me. I’m using a dongle DAC with my iPhone, so trying to EQ may not be practical

I've honestly never tried them because of the hate they get. Maybe I should get a pair and return if I dislike it - they're not too expensive

 

[Terriero]

Thanks, def will try to get a hold of them! Any amp/dac recommendation for them?

I don't know... I'm looking info to upgrade my DAC/AMP to run a few headphones, not only the DT 1990 Pro. Maybe you can find info in it's thread, I think that lately some people where asking about there.

Sadly, my 1990 Pro is stucked somewhere in Spain, I ordered in Thomann Germany on april 9th and was shipped on 16th (they didn't have stock when I ordered), arrived to Spain on 19th and got stucked on 20th. I asked to Thomann to do something about and they answered that I have to wait 9-10 labour days since the last update, so tomorrow I'll email them again... I hope to get them next week.

(Last year, I had them for some months but sold to purchase T1.3 which I returned, and I miss the 1990s specially for metal)

Edit: Finally, they are here. I have missed them a lot for metal music... I've just listened to "Metallica - Black album" and right now "Tristania - World of glass", these are the best headphones that I've tried for the latter album:

 

[SonicFade]

Not very many mentions of Audeze LCD’s in recent posts.

The LCD4z seems like a good portable option for some heavy music. Would be easy to drive.

The store here in Portland has just about every other LCD.. but they aren’t open to audition anything. I can’t wait till this crap gets better

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Audeze doesn't get nearly enough love I've found. It drives me bonkers. The LCD-3 is still my favorite headphone of all time, I'd take those in a heartbeat over nearly anything, and definitely over anything I've actually heard myself.

 

[SonicFade]

Audeze doesn't get nearly enough love I've found. It drives me bonkers. The LCD-3 is still my favorite headphone of all time, I'd take those in a heartbeat over nearly anything, and definitely over anything I've actually heard myself.

I just watched an interview and the guy said they are a bit darker. Which is great for me. That means I can turn them up and not kill my ears so I can get that chonky low/mid bass.

would you say that is their “house” sound? Darker?

 

[shaanpf]

I don't know... I'm looking info to upgrade my DAC/AMP to run a few headphones, not only the DT 1990 Pro. Maybe you can find info in it's thread, I think that lately some people where asking about there.

Sadly, my 1990 Pro is stucked somewhere in Spain, I ordered in Thomann Germany on april 9th and was shipped on 16th (they didn't have stock when I ordered), arrived to Spain on 19th and got stucked on 20th. I asked to Thomann to do something about and they answered that I have to wait 9-10 labour days since the last update, so tomorrow I'll email them again... I hope to get them next week.

(Last year, I had them for some months but sold to purchase T1.3 which I returned, and I miss the 1990s specially for metal)

Edit: Finally, they are here. I have missed them a lot for metal music... I've just listened to "Metallica - Black album" and right now "Tristania - World of glass", these are the best headphones that I've tried for the latter album:

Nice! I just got mine today (picked up used ones for 350$) and I'm loving it! They're so comfortable too. Currently running them off of my laptop directly but will probably get some setup soon and see how much better it can get. Thanks a lot for the recommendation! Also, feels so much more premium than the Grados.

 

[Terriero]

Nice! I just got mine today (picked up used ones for 350$) and I'm loving it! They're so comfortable too. Currently running them off of my laptop directly but will probably get some setup soon and see how much better it can get. Thanks a lot for the recommendation! Also, feels so much more premium than the Grados.

I'm so glad you are liking them with metal. When I was looking info about Beyer headphones (1990 Pro and Amiron Home) the path that @DW75 followed -I think he posted that in Amiron thread, because he had the Amirons and purchased the 1990 Pros later- helped me a lot to decide the best of the two for metal music.

But not all is metal, I really enjoy neoclassical, symphonic rock or dark ambient with them. For other genres (pop, jazz, osts) I prefer my other headphones.

 

[SonicFade]

Alright Meze Empyrean. Is the bass enough? I’ve heard a few people say they are good for metal

 

[Arcayne]

Alright Meze Empyrean. Is the bass enough? I’ve heard a few people say they are good for metal

I absolutely love my Empyrean for metal. It's not my main genre, so I didn't decide on the Empyrean specifically because it's ideal for metal, but I've naturally been listening to metal more regularly since owning the Empyrean, and gained a new appreciation for it.