[kreggurree]

I don't really have any experience comparing headphones, so while I am starting to understand why I might like good imaging or less but crisp bass rather than lots of boomy bass I don't know what will enhance the way I enjoy music. FYI I currently have HyperX Cloud Alpha and RHA MA650.

I am hoping you can tell me the characteristics I should favour in my headphones search.

• I enjoy getting lost in the textures of sound. I enjoy feeling enveloped by large orchestral film score moments.
• I appreciate the detail revealed by CD quality audio at the same time I am not going to strain my ears seeing what I can pick out.
• I want to chill and listen more than I want to analyze.
• I wouldn't call myself a bass head though I enjoy punchy bass, for example in funk/jazz tracks.
• While I enjoy lush vocals like Diana Krall I tend to endjoy instruments more.

I listen to a wide variety of music though generally not Hip Hop or EDM.

• Prog - eg. Porcupine Tree
• Classical - eg. romantic era orchestral work for the big sound, Bach's partitas, Brahms clarinet sonatas
• Jazz - I am a lapsed Saxophonist
• Film Scores - eg. Gladiator OST
• General Rock/indie/pop - eg. Muse, CHVRCHES, Bon Iver, City and Colour
• Acoustic - eg. Damien Rice

My best guess is I am looking for soundstage, a certain amount of clarity, no area being anemic though mids are least important (due to instrument>vocal preference).

ps. a note on gaming - I do game (casually) but I would rather compromise on this than on the music, good enough is all I want.

 

[surfgeorge]

Sounds like you need a headphone with good, well extended but not necessarily boosted bass, clear and transparent, detailed but not too forward mids, and a good presence, detailed but controlled treble which really helps with Classical music, instrumental definition, soundstage etc.

I'd check out the Hifiman's, Sundara at 350, Ananda at 700 and Arya at 1600, see if they would fit your bill. I only heard the Sundara and Arya, and found them very good at their price point

 

[kreggurree]

Sounds like you need a headphone with good, well extended but not necessarily boosted bass, clear and transparent, detailed but not too forward mids, and a good presence, detailed but controlled treble which really helps with Classical music, instrumental definition, soundstage etc.

I'd check out the Hifiman's, Sundara at 350, Ananda at 700 and Arya at 1600, see if they would fit your bill. I only heard the Sundara and Arya, and found them very good at their price point

Thank you. Interestingly the Sundara is the one I think is the best fit based on watching lots of reviews on : Sundara, HD560s, X2HR, HD58x. It is definetely the budget stretcher for me, especially as it needs an amp.

I'd be curious on your suggestions that come in cheaper than the Sundara. (though I am tempted to save and go for it, I intend to get something for all round home use and be good for years)

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

You should check out the Fidelio X3. It seems like it would suit your needs. I know the reviews were kind of lackluster, but I think they missed the point. I think they were expecting just an update of the X2, but instead they got a whole different headphone and didn't listen to it on it's own merits.

The X3 thread has more info.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/philips-fidelio-x3.913807/
(read the thread backwards so you can avoid all the early speculation about how they MIGHT sound)

 

[cycloverid]

Thank you. Interestingly the Sundara is the one I think is the best fit based on watching lots of reviews on : Sundara, HD560s, X2HR, HD58x. It is definetely the budget stretcher for me, especially as it needs an amp.

I'd be curious on your suggestions that come in cheaper than the Sundara. (though I am tempted to save and go for it, I intend to get something for all round home use and be good for years)

I love my Sundara and am definitely biased towards the planar headphones these days, so just understand that. I just love the stock tuning of the Sundara. The HE5XX is an alternative you could look at based on the reviews if the Sundara seems like a stretch. The build quality looks a bit worse than the Sundara, but the measurements are similar.

Some caveats:

-The Sundara does have superb sub bass with EQ (due to incredibly low distortion on planars). It's okay in punchiness though (good for a planar) and many dynamics will do as well here or better.

-It's a very comfortable headphone with a couple minor concerns. Clamp force is strong out of the box and did cause pain for the first couple weeks for me that gradually got better each day. Also, the large earcups don't swivel, making necking them fine, but not as comfortable as smaller swiveling headphones.

-The stock cable is stiff and should be replaced.

Good luck with your search.

edit: As surfgeorge said, the HE400i 2020 is also a very well regarded headphone in the planar market.

 

[surfgeorge]

Thank you. Interestingly the Sundara is the one I think is the best fit based on watching lots of reviews on : Sundara, HD560s, X2HR, HD58x. It is definetely the budget stretcher for me, especially as it needs an amp.

I'd be curious on your suggestions that come in cheaper than the Sundara. (though I am tempted to save and go for it, I intend to get something for all round home use and be good for years)

The Sundara is the cheapest headphone I have recently tested (and found good) but based on 3rd party opinions and the ranking and measurements on Crinacle's site I think the Hifiman HE400i could be a cheaper planar alternative and the Audio technika ATH-R70x is rated highly by Crinacle.
I had some HPs in the 100-350 range in the past but with my current equipment and expectations the Sundara was the cheapest HP I found that I'd consider for myself.

Maybe having to go for an amplifier or even better DAC/Amp is also a good thing, as they can significantly contribute to the total SQ. Maybe get the HP now and use it with what you have, and sometimes in the future you could add a DAC/Amp to take it to the next level?

 

[SilverEars]

R70X doesn't revolve to the level of of 600/650/6XX, the upper-mids are not as full definition, and vocals are better on the Sennys. I find R70X resolution lacking. What R70X does better is in the bass impact and extension, speed seems faster as well. Which is pretty impressive for an open mylar dynamic.

 

[Mhog55]

Do you have a budget in mind?

 

[kreggurree]

I guess this is turning into a recommendation thread rather simply a thread about me grasping the lingo.

I don't have a clear budget in mind as I am fortunate to have a bit of hobby cash to spend but I have other hobbies (saving for a new bike and i would like to upgrade my telescope ). So in each of these I am striving to hit a good value point before I hit extreme diminishing returns.

That said I have been looking predominantly in the £100-200 range for the headphones. Sundara tempt only because they seem to minimize the compromises that all cheaper headphones have, but the need to spend £150 on an amp as well as being £300 probably is too far.

I have been looking at:

• x2hr at £105ish as my super budget option. A safe bet for being fun and I won't know any better with regard to it's deficiencys. Can get away without an amp 9though will still likely get something basic.
• HD560s at £170. Just worried from reviews that I wont enjoy them on poor quality recordings.
• HE400i (2020) at £170 sounds like I would enjoy it, not quite a Sundara but gets me most of the way there. Still needs power though.
• X3 sounds like I would like it but in the UK it is the same price as the Sundara at the moment.

 

[cycloverid]

I think the reason this is a suggestion thread and not a lingo thread is I'm not sure how useful the latter would be.

Since you say you have hobby cash, I'd heavily recommend buying 2-3 of these with a good return policy and an amp to try against one another. There is nothing better than seeing for yourself what you'll like. You can then attach meaning to the words in the reviews with the headphones you've tried. Some amount of this is subjective.