[GloriousLettuce]

I have a huge interest in getting headphones that actually match my preference as I've been "burned" already two times by simply buying the "wrong" headphones for my taste.
 
What is my taste? I'm looking for epic soundstage with somewhat neutral sound, but just a slight boost in bass to eliminate any "dead flat" options out there. I just want a full well-rounded sound with plenty of detail, soundstage and separation. Now the issue that everyone knows here is - sound is subjective. For example I've read so much people saying "HD 598 is balanced" - sure, for jazz or classical music, and lastly, your ears. To me they sounded muddy and some frequency spots are overexpressed that just distort a lot of songs I listen to + it's like they give this extra "power" to the music that makes them sound congested in instrument-rich and "loud" music like symphonic metal. For quiet and "simpler" music they sound like heaven.
 
So how to know what you're really looking for? The only solution I can think of is to try them out. But considering we're from all around the world, some shops will let you try out their gear and some won't, so I'm very curious on how you guys try out stuff.
 
It's not like all your friends have an HD600 and an Asgard at home or the shopkeepers are gonna unpack various amps and headphones and let you choose for hours before purchase which is, essentially what you would ideally wish for if you're looking to find out what you really want.
 
How do you guys try out stuff? Do you wear portable amps when snooping through shops? Do you travel for tryouts? Did you make mistakes?
 
So, curious about your tips in purchasing and tryouts.

 

[Music Alchemist]

The way I try headphones is by buying or trading them. I rarely audition them in advance. I'm hardcore like that. But I did audition four four-figure headphones in a shop once.
 
What country do you live in? I'm in the US.
 
Also, what is your budget?

 

[ahunatu]

Really there's no substitute for experience but that doesn't mean you can't extrapolate your experience to other headphones. Once you try enough headphones out and compare their frequency graphs you will get an idea of what frequencies you like more emphasized(not necessarily emphasized but what sounds "correct" to you). This can somewhat help you avoid drastically unfavorable sound signatures to the one you prefer but there are many other factors obviously that contribute to whether you will like the headphones.
 
Integrating that with the many reviews here on head fi generally helps you get a good picture of what to expect. Heed the warnings in the reviews because many times they are correct. 

 

[GloriousLettuce]

  Really there's no substitute for experience but that doesn't mean you can't extrapolate your experience to other headphones. Once you try enough headphones out and compare their frequency graphs you will get an idea of what frequencies you like more emphasized(not necessarily emphasized but what sounds "correct" to you). This can somewhat help you avoid drastically unfavorable sound signatures to the one you prefer but there are many other factors obviously that contribute to whether you will like the headphones.
 
Integrating that with the many reviews here on head fi generally helps you get a good picture of what to expect. Heed the warnings in the reviews because many times they are correct. 

 
That's a good tip there! And how do you generally try them out? At shops?
 

  The way I try headphones is by buying or trading them. I rarely audition them in advance. I'm hardcore like that. But I did audition four four-figure headphones in a shop once.
 
What country do you live in? I'm in the US.
 
Also, what is your budget?
 

 
I'm in Croatia, so Slovenia and Italy are pretty nearby but there's really not big of a choice in here - sure you can get m50s, some entry and upper senn HDs, beyerdynamics 880 and 770 are almost everywhere, and most common akgs but others are scarce or near impossible to find. I'm on vacation this month so I'll take a good look at the shops in Zagreb (capitol).
 
My current budget is around 400$, and I already have a focusrite 24 dsp audio interface with below specs:
 
* Frequency Response: 20Hz-20KHz +/- 0.1 dB
* SNR (A-weighted): 105 dB
* Dynamic Range: 105 dB
* Maximum Output into 32R: +12.4 dBu (+10.2dBV)
* Power into 32R: 250 mW
* Output Impedance: < 70 Ohms
* Load Impedance: > 240 Ohms

 

[Music Alchemist]

 
Well then, you have little choice in the matter, unfortunately. If I were you, I'd read tons of reviews for headphones in your price range, as well as talk to people who have owned many of them. And naturally, you will likely have to import the headphones from another country.
 
If it helps, I ranked the headphones I used to own in order of personal preference on my profile.

 

[cel4145]

I have a huge interest in getting headphones that actually match my preference as I've been "burned" already two times by simply buying the "wrong" headphones for my taste.

What two headphones were those? Can you comment on their bass, mids, and treble? That might help people to offer recommendations.

 

[GloriousLettuce]

What two headphones were those? Can you comment on their bass, mids, and treble? That might help people to offer recommendations.

 
Don't wanna drive the topic to my taste preference, but here it is:
 
I have SoundMagic E10 and pretty happy with them but I'm looking for an upgrade. Something about the same, but with slightly more mids. For example, something to make "Conjure One" sound like heaven. Also I wanna have desktop over-ears for home use, preferably portable and a good pair of IEMs for exercise and portable use (switching them depending on the mood and convenience).
 
Two of my "mistakes" were:
ATH PRO500MK2 - they lacked soundstage totally. I did like the balance, maybe they were just slightly too punchy, but good balance overall (for my taste), but they totally lacked soundstage.
Sennheiser HD 598 - bumpy range, too much mid, bass bleeding into mids, poor sub-bass, too airy soundstage, less separation.
 
I'm looking for some all-rounder basically with big soundstage. Something that doesn't make any genre sound "totally wrong". You can't really play symphonic/prog metal on HD 598s for example. Surprisingly, SOME dubstep artists sounded cool on them, also techno Robert Miles - Children was SUPERB, that's how I learned it's wrong to say they don't have the bass or they lack the punch, it's just about these frequency "bumps" they have, the signature that kind of boosts the musicality of classical and jazz music.
 
So to sum it up:
-SoundMagic E10 + mids and more soundstage (separation needed) and clarity = I suppose SoundMagic E50 or Final Audio Heavens? (example, music like TATU or Conjure One)
-"Flat" over ears or on top - balanced all rounders over-ears with a lot of soundstage, preferably no signature curve that could distort some genres.
 
Music I'm generally listening to (may be too much lol):
 
Symphonic / prog metal - Sirenia, Nightwish, Tesseract, Katatonia, Cradle of Filth, + general metal BMTH, etc some punchy stuff but not my primary preference
Dubstep/Trance - Armin van Buuren, Above & Beyond, Monstercat releases, Nero, Skrillex, Conjure One
Rock/Emo - Saosin, Circa Survive, From First To Last
Pop - Sophie Ellis Bextor (although her last album is evergreen which sounds amazing on senns), George Michael, Kylie Minogue
 
Not a big fan of oldies so this explains my dislike on the HD 598, but still doesn't mean I'm aiming for the "V" shaped sound - I really like balance and nothing added to it - no extra butter or whatever. Just music as it is.

 

[cel4145]

I think E50 is a step up from the E10, and an IEM that people who liked the E10 would enjoy.

Balanced is a somewhat subjective term. So be wary that because one person finds a headphone balanced, you many not.

The DT880 is a fairly netural semi-open headphone with a good soundstage. Look into them.

 

[GloriousLettuce]

Thanks! Will look into beyers, probably gonna have to buy those as well after selling HD 598s. E50s are coming in anyways.
 
Did you make any mistakes in the past?