[balvan]

Are tube amps a good choice for metal?

 

[sebek]

Are tube amps a good choice for metal?

For me no

On Metal, especially the most extreme and fast one, for me cleanliness is essential, and tubes don't have it

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Whereas I say that the heft and touch of warmth tubes provide makes them perfect for metal, especially when you get into doom/sludge/post.

 

[PapaIV]

Hello,

I ´m new around here, as to the audiophile world. This thread caught my attention but it will certainly take me a while to catch up.

Anyway, I always listened to music but without passion. In the 90´s I was more into classic metal and progressive rock. In the last few years, I "discovered" Instrumental progressive metal but it was only when I found a band called Scale the Summit that I finally discovered what passion for music means. Go figure! So much, that at 46 years old, and for the first time in life, I feel the need to step up the game in order to appreciate even more this amazing band that shook my world.

I will use, at home, My Imac 24 as a source for streaming Apple Music, ALAC High-Res. Plan to get an external DAC and amplifier (or 2 in 1) to connect to an headphone. In the future possibly get a CD player just because I plan to get all the albums in CD.

For now I will need your help in choosing the best possible Headphone (I could go up to 600 / 700 Euros more or less, but won't mind cheaper options for the same sound quality) to listen to this specific band.

For those who never heard about Scale the Summit, I will try to define the style, in my ignorance the best I can. Sorry for the lack of technical terms and please just be patient with me.

It supposedly is integrated in the Instrumental Progressive metal / Rock genre but in my opinion is different of what most consider when thinking of progressive metal.

It can be fast paced at times but the band concentrates mostly in technical melodic leads and riffs instead of shredding. Especially the albums until 2016 (and "Migration" and "V" more than anything else) have a more organic sound with an almost perfect mix between both the guitars, bass and drums.

The last 2 albums is much more about the leading guitar, consequence of the band "transformations" and former problems, but I still love it no matter what.

I hope I was specific enough for you to be able to help me choose a nice set of headphones to appreciate even more their sound.

Thank you very much and cheers!

Thanks for this, I checked our Scale the Summit and they’re awesome, listening through my studio monitors they are very enjoyable.

I don’t have any recommendations regarding headphones - I just joined as well. All I can say is if you wanna save some money the Beyerdynamic 900 Pro X that I have provide a spacious yet very accurate sound, very mastering-like, which sounds great with prog. Definitely demo them first tho as the treble can be a bit fatiguing for extended listening at higher volumes.

Also, if you need a DAC and a headphone amp in the future, in my experience it’s best to skip all the budget and mid-fi purchases and save some money for an RME ADI 2 DAC FS - for me (and many others) it’s the best audio purchase I ever made! I wish someone had warned me before I purchased all the other stuff

 

[Mhog55]

I really think this is a case of hearing differences between people because if you were to take an array of headphones, from the warmest and darkest all the way up to the brightest and coolest, the Clear would absolutely land in the latter category, even if the Ananda is higher up on that spectrum. The fact that the Ananda is well under the target on the bass but significantly over the target on the treble is, at least IMO, illustrating its relative brightness. From the graphs, the Clear is far more neutral simply by virtue of not having this big tilt between treble and bass alongside the mids not being scooped out as much.

Yeah, that graph would certainly dictate that the Ananda is not exactly balanced. But then again, everyone has a different idea/opinion of what balanced sounds like.

 

[glpsace]

Thanks for this, I checked our Scale the Summit and they’re awesome, listening through my studio monitors they are very enjoyable.

I don’t have any recommendations regarding headphones - I just joined as well. All I can say is if you wanna save some money the Beyerdynamic 900 Pro X that I have provide a spacious yet very accurate sound, very mastering-like, which sounds great with prog. Definitely demo them first tho as the treble can be a bit fatiguing for extended listening at higher volumes.

Also, if you need a DAC and a headphone amp in the future, in my experience it’s best to skip all the budget and mid-fi purchases and save some money for an RME ADI 2 DAC FS - for me (and many others) it’s the best audio purchase I ever made! I wish someone had warned me before I purchased all the other stuff

Thank you very much for your answer! I really appreciate it and I'm really glad you're enjoying them!

Thank you very much for the advice about the RME. A little steep for me right now but surely interested in understanding why as I learn more about all these pieces of gear.

For now I'm not worried because as I plan to get straight away a CD Player (I want one and have none), I was leaning in my ignorance towards the Marantz CD6007 which has a decent Internal DAC and amp. so for a start I could just plug the headphone directly on the Marantz and later on, once I understand more about this stuff get an external DAC if I feel the need for it. I just cross my fingers about the Marantz sound produced but from what I have read it usually impresses in a positive way. Just hope it will serve my musical taste, or an external DAC could come sooner than expected!

Regarding the Heaphones, thank you for the educated suggestion. I will consider it to heart and will search to learn about those also.

I didn´t have the time yet to research but at first glance I´m considering amongst these options, different from each other sure, but that could all fit the metal "niche". Just not sure yet which one would suit more this style of more instrumental, technical and melodic progressive metal, exception made now for your suggestion obviously!

Ibasso SR2;
Beyerdynamic DT-1990 Pro 250 ohm / 900 Pro X;
Audio-Technica ATH-R70X;
Fostex TH-610;
Denon AH-D5200 / AH-D7200;
Grado The Hemp;
Hifiman Sundara / Edition XS;

Thank you so much for having found the time to answer me. Cheers!

 

[SomeGuyDude]

I am of the firm belief that everyone should have the Grado Hemp at least for a little while. It's one of the most emotive headphones I've ever heard.

 

[Guipnox]

Hifiman HE6seV2 is insane for metal: https://www.adorama.com/hmhe6sev2.html?emailprice=t
They need mods though to really be insane: pad change, open grills, bass mod and cable change.
Get a nice DAC.
A beefy amp.
GG

 

[glpsace]

I am of the firm belief that everyone should have the Grado Hemp at least for a little while. It's one of the most emotive headphones I've ever heard.

Funny you say that because I have been reading and right now it is one of my first choices. No particular reason but I enjoy the passion I perceive when people talk about them.

Hifiman HE6seV2 is insane for metal: https://www.adorama.com/hmhe6sev2.html?emailprice=t
They need mods though to really be insane: pad change, open grills, bass mod and cable change.
Get a nice DAC.
A beefy amp.
GG

Iam in Europe and I cannot seem to find those sort of prices for it. Plus it seems hard to find for some reason. But thank you for the reference. Cheers.

 

[firesign]

Iam in Europe and I cannot seem to find those sort of prices for it. Plus it seems hard to find for some reason. But thank you for the reference. Cheers.

You can buy it directly from Hifiman (I did it, and I am in Spain).

But you will need a powerful amp to enjoy the 100% of it.

 

[glpsace]

You can buy it directly from Hifiman (I did it, and I am in Spain).

But you will need a powerful amp to enjoy the 100% of it.

Thank you mate for the suggestion. I will check them out. Cheers

 

[balvan]

Deleted

 

[cruel]

So, I bought DT 1990 Pro, based on all the recommendations on how good they are for metal music. I was expecting they will complement my collection nicely (DT 770 Pro, AKG K712 Pro, HD600, Sundara), and while I would never call them bad, I feel a little bit... underwhelmed? The problem is that it's hard for me to put my finger on what exactly is missing. What I hear so far:
- a little bit too much treble (not a deal killer, but noticeable)
- I would prefer vocals a little bit 'closer' / screaming in my head
- for heavy hitting tracks, I feel like a still prefer AKG K712 Pro (hard to explain why; but AKGs do get 'lost' with complicated music sometimes)
- for slower / vocal oriented tracks, I prefer HD600
- DT 1990 Pro feel, I don't know... 'cold'? 'low energy'? I know those are not exactly audiophile terms, but hard to put it otherwise
+ just to be fair, I do hear some details in music I didn't hear before
+ they do seem to show instrument separation very well
+ guitars sound very good

So, is this normal, or I'm just deaf? Using JDS Labs Atom stack and default balanced pads. The sample playlist I'm using if it helps:
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/fb6082bf-624b-4808-966c-58fc51fb260d

Should I give them some more time? Or maybe I made a mistake buying them for my music preferences, and should get something different below $1000?

 

[xeizo]

You have to EQ them to get a "correct" sound, either use Equalizer APO(with PEACE AutoEQ presets) and Oratory 1990 or if you have a normal EQ tone down ~6k, tone down 10k and tone down ~80Hz a little to bring forward lower mids, if doing this they sound very good. Yes, they are bright by default, but on the other hand so are slam and detail retrieval very good it's worth it to EQ imo.

Almost any headphone needs EQ to sound really good, HD600 is an exception in having a scary straight curve but on the other hand so is detail retrieval and macro dynamics and slam missing a bit

 

[cruel]

Wow, thank you for that! I went with Equalizer Apo + PEACE + oratory presents (https://github.com/jaakkopasanen/Au...c DT 1990 (balanced earpads) ParametricEQ.txt) and suddenly they sound like a completely different headphone. Hard for me to point anything 'wrong' at this point, but will definitely keep listening. Thanks once again, definitely not returning them.