[Stewardess2]

Looking for headphones with a large soundstage PLUS:

- not bright or shrill sounding
- decent bass
- not terribly hard to drive

Not considering price at this point, because finding a can that fits those criteria is hard to begin with.

So far the best match in my search were Hifiman Arya or HEKse(albeit a slightly leaner tonality than my liking)

Any suggestions?

 

[dunring]

A great value is the hifiman he5xx with the autoeq profile for it. I have one for daily use and it's a great value and easy to drive with most amps.
Easier to drive, but less bass and fantastic female vocals is the Audio Technica adh1000x which needs no amp and big soundstage.
The Beyerdynamic MMX300 is really good with new DT770 pads. It's a headset but much easier to drive than the DT770 250ohm which has really deep bass extension and good soundstage as long as the pads are new.
The Hifiman he400i is so good for music too. The Arya needs at least 2 watts, and the upper mids are forward. I've had them, and at that price I don't think any headphone should require eq.

 

[ibanez76]

A good example are the Sennheiser headphones.

 

[Stewardess2]

A great value is the hifiman he5xx with the autoeq profile for it. I have one for daily use and it's a great value and easy to drive with most amps.
Easier to drive, but less bass and fantastic female vocals is the Audio Technica adh1000x which needs no amp and big soundstage.
The Beyerdynamic MMX300 is really good with new DT770 pads. It's a headset but much easier to drive than the DT770 250ohm which has really deep bass extension and good soundstage as long as the pads are new.
The Hifiman he400i is so good for music too. The Arya needs at least 2 watts, and the upper mids are forward. I've had them, and at that price I don't think any headphone should require eq.

Thanks for the suggestion, will see if I can have a listen

A good example are the Sennheiser headphones.

Which products specifically?

 

[HWB3]

Look at drop.com. The Sennheiser HD6XX's and 58X's are good headphones. $239 and $179 respectively.

 

[Stewardess2]

Look at drop.com. The Sennheiser HD6XX's and 58X's are good headphones. $239 and $179 respectively.

I wouldn't call the bass of the 6XX 'decent', having a sub-bass rolloff

 

[GREQ]

A good example are the Sennheiser headphones.

Only 2 sennheisers have big sounstage.
HD800/HD800S and HD700.
All other sennheisers do not.

Regular large planars do not have a large soundstage. It's simply a limitation of the technology that stands true all the way up to headphones like Final A8000 Pro and Meze Empyrean.

Best stick with large dynamic driver headphones like the above post by @dunring

 

[Brad Fio]

A great value is the hifiman he5xx with the autoeq profile for it. I have one for daily use and it's a great value and easy to drive with most amps.
Easier to drive, but less bass and fantastic female vocals is the Audio Technica adh1000x which needs no amp and big soundstage.
The Beyerdynamic MMX300 is really good with new DT770 pads. It's a headset but much easier to drive than the DT770 250ohm which has really deep bass extension and good soundstage as long as the pads are new.
The Hifiman he400i is so good for music too. The Arya needs at least 2 watts, and the upper mids are forward. I've had them, and at that price I don't think any headphone should require eq.

How do the DT 700 Pro X compare to the MMX 300?

 

[Monsterzero]

ZMF Verite open
ZMF Atrium
ZMF Auteur classic
AKG K701/702< might be too bass light for OP

 

[dunring]

How do the DT 700 Pro X compare to the MMX 300?

The DT700 were pretty good when I had them, but it wasn't as expansive of a soundstage as the MMX300 with fresh pads. The pads on the DT700 were so hard that I could only wear them half an hour at a time. They aren't compatible with the DT series pads so you're really stuck with them too. Easy to power though, same requirements, and they look good as long as you don't have to wear them for longer than maybe an hour at a time.

 

[CT007]

The pads on the DT700

Do you mean DT770? DT900 and DT700, the new ones, have very soft, plush pads IIRC.

 

[CT007]

Only 2 sennheisers have big sounstage.
HD800/HD800S and HD700.

HD660 sounds quite spacious & open. Part of the reasons I like it a lot more than HD600 & HD650. I'm sure it's not HD800 level expansive, tho.

 

[tomb]

In my experience, there are two headphones with really, really wide soundstages: the original AKG K701 and the HD800/800S. Both have their deficiencies, but at least one can be remedied - the HD800. With poor amplification, the HD800 can sound a bit shrill because of a treble peak in its response. Better amplifiers, usually those with output transformers (either tube or digital topology) will remedy this. Others have had great success in equalizing the HD800. A few years ago, there was a company that specialized in software equalization, especially for the HD800 - can't remember what it was, but everyone was using it for a while.

There is also the SDR - Super Dupont Resonator, a very scientifically approached mod that was sold and works quite well. All of these things work well to some degree on the original HD800, a bit less so on the HD800S.

The issue with the AKG K701 is the lack of bass. It is difficult to overcome that in the K701 (but not the HD800).

A final important point to remember - no amount of mods are going to substantially improve a headphone's soundstage. You have to purchase a headphone that already has that soundstage. Once you have that soundstage, it becomes a lot easier to mod the response. That's why the HD800 still sits atop world-class headphones in popularity and achievement.

 

[cantcacheme]

The Beyerdynamic MMX300 is really good with new DT770 pads. It's a headset but much easier to drive than the DT770 250ohm which has really deep bass extension and good soundstage as long as the pads are new.

Can confirm, MMX300 (gen 2) is excellent for soundstage and bass, especially for the price. Stock pads are ok but you really want the Dekoni pads with it, choice leather (or real leather for a little more $), elevation in bass as well as enlarged soundstage. On the budget end it doesn't get much better .. no balanced and an annoying mic, but for the price these annoyances are easily tolerated

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Easy to drive, GREAT bass, even better Soundstage and non fatiguing treble? You're describing one of my favorite headphones:
Beyerdynamic T 1.3.
A really great headphone that a lot of 'audiophiles' sleep on because 1) it's too different than the previous generation. 2) its a very low ohm/ high sensitivity headphone. The snobs hate it because you don't have to have a mega buck amp to make it sing.