sloowhand
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2017
- Posts
- 22
- Likes
- 12
Hey all!
So I've kinda jumped into the world of headphones with both feet and bought a few sets for different purposes:
Headphones
AKG K712 Pro - For gaming and movies
Meze 99 Classics - For portable/public use and travel
MEE Pinnacle P1 IEMs - For everyday walking around/keep 'em in my pocket use.
DACs/amps
Schiit Modi 2 Uber / Schiit Magni 2 Uber
Fiio Q1 Portable DAC/amp
After listening to all of them I've found that the element that most affects my enjoyment of using them is a wide soundstage. The clarity and immersion of feeling like I'm in the room with the musicians and not even listening to headphones. Of the sets that I have, they all achieve this really well with certain tradeoffs.
The K712s are well known for their soundstage and accuracy, which is why they're nearly always at or near the top of the list for gaming headphones, however they're also well known for their lack of low end. The bass is tight and accurate, there's just not a lot of it and the sub-bass is nearly non-existent. Again, still great for gaming which is what I use them for, but they don't exactly knock my socks off when I listen to music. It's almost more like someone is reading a very detailed description of the music rather than hearing the music itself, if that makes any sense.
The 99 Classics are a fantastic set of headphones, but they're closed-back and come with the associated characteristics of closed-back. The soundstage is surprisingly satisfying and full, but not so amazing that you forget you're listening to closed-back headphones. All of the sound is definitely confined inside the cups and all of it goes into your ears. It's much more liquid than airy and, as expected, the bass is much fuller and stronger than the K712s. After listening to them, my fears about the bass are long gone. A lot of reviews made the observation that "the bass isn't huge but it's definitely there". That made me a bit concerned that they'd be like my K712 Pros. Not at all. If these qualify as bass that's "not huge but definitely there" then I can definitely say that I'm not a basshead. The only thing I could ask of the bass is that be a bit cleaner and more precise, but I certainly have zero complaints about quantity. But again, the soundstage is surprisingly good for closed back. I definitely prefer listening to music on these.
The Pinnacle P1s. Wow! What a pleasant surprise these were. I don't know if I had just been listening to garbage in-ears my whole life (very likely) but these literally startled me the first time I put them in my ears and started the music. The first song I listened to was the Postmodern Jukebox version of "Creep" which opens with Haley Reinhart's sultry vocals. I honestly freaked out for a second because I thought I had forgotten to plug them in and was hearing the music from external speakers. It turns out they just have remarkable clarity, soundstage, and imaging that I had never heard from a set of IEMs. When I switched over to Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, I was delighted to hear that clarity and fullness extended well into the mid- and sub-bass. More proof that I'm not a basshead because these had been described in much the same way as the 99 Classics. I have zero complaints.
So why am I posting in the recommendations forum?
My goal now is to find a set of headphones that will be my at home music headphones. I'm not going to give up my K712s because they're just too good for gaming. The best description I've heard for these is that in CS:GO, these headphones are almost cheating because you almost can't help but sound whore. They're that good. I'm also not going to give up my 99 Classics because I love them and need closed back for use on plane/train/bus trips.
So now I need to find a set that come closest to the best of both worlds. As stated in the title, clarity and soundstage win out over everything, but for music I need more fullness and reach into mid- and sub-bass than my K712s give me. The 99 Classics have that reach, but being closed back they're never going to have the airy quality of an open back. I realize that soundstage vs bass is the eternal question is there a set that someone would recommend that would be better for music than the K712s?
Here's what I've been leaning toward:
HiFiMan HE400I or 400S - Like some planars, lack of bass is considered a drawback but will it be like my K712s or can it compete with my 99 Classics? Are they only disappointing to a basshead?
Philips Fidelio X2 - Everyone talks about how bass-y these are but I haven't been able to find a good description of the soundstage and clarity. And is the bass just hard hitting and booming or is it clear and precise?
Beyerdynamic DT990 - Better soundstage than the X2s? Same?
Just save up until I can really upgrade? - Should I just wait until I can spend $800-1000 on a set of Audeze or the like?
Thanks for the help!
So I've kinda jumped into the world of headphones with both feet and bought a few sets for different purposes:
Headphones
AKG K712 Pro - For gaming and movies
Meze 99 Classics - For portable/public use and travel
MEE Pinnacle P1 IEMs - For everyday walking around/keep 'em in my pocket use.
DACs/amps
Schiit Modi 2 Uber / Schiit Magni 2 Uber
Fiio Q1 Portable DAC/amp
After listening to all of them I've found that the element that most affects my enjoyment of using them is a wide soundstage. The clarity and immersion of feeling like I'm in the room with the musicians and not even listening to headphones. Of the sets that I have, they all achieve this really well with certain tradeoffs.
The K712s are well known for their soundstage and accuracy, which is why they're nearly always at or near the top of the list for gaming headphones, however they're also well known for their lack of low end. The bass is tight and accurate, there's just not a lot of it and the sub-bass is nearly non-existent. Again, still great for gaming which is what I use them for, but they don't exactly knock my socks off when I listen to music. It's almost more like someone is reading a very detailed description of the music rather than hearing the music itself, if that makes any sense.
The 99 Classics are a fantastic set of headphones, but they're closed-back and come with the associated characteristics of closed-back. The soundstage is surprisingly satisfying and full, but not so amazing that you forget you're listening to closed-back headphones. All of the sound is definitely confined inside the cups and all of it goes into your ears. It's much more liquid than airy and, as expected, the bass is much fuller and stronger than the K712s. After listening to them, my fears about the bass are long gone. A lot of reviews made the observation that "the bass isn't huge but it's definitely there". That made me a bit concerned that they'd be like my K712 Pros. Not at all. If these qualify as bass that's "not huge but definitely there" then I can definitely say that I'm not a basshead. The only thing I could ask of the bass is that be a bit cleaner and more precise, but I certainly have zero complaints about quantity. But again, the soundstage is surprisingly good for closed back. I definitely prefer listening to music on these.
The Pinnacle P1s. Wow! What a pleasant surprise these were. I don't know if I had just been listening to garbage in-ears my whole life (very likely) but these literally startled me the first time I put them in my ears and started the music. The first song I listened to was the Postmodern Jukebox version of "Creep" which opens with Haley Reinhart's sultry vocals. I honestly freaked out for a second because I thought I had forgotten to plug them in and was hearing the music from external speakers. It turns out they just have remarkable clarity, soundstage, and imaging that I had never heard from a set of IEMs. When I switched over to Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, I was delighted to hear that clarity and fullness extended well into the mid- and sub-bass. More proof that I'm not a basshead because these had been described in much the same way as the 99 Classics. I have zero complaints.
So why am I posting in the recommendations forum?
My goal now is to find a set of headphones that will be my at home music headphones. I'm not going to give up my K712s because they're just too good for gaming. The best description I've heard for these is that in CS:GO, these headphones are almost cheating because you almost can't help but sound whore. They're that good. I'm also not going to give up my 99 Classics because I love them and need closed back for use on plane/train/bus trips.
So now I need to find a set that come closest to the best of both worlds. As stated in the title, clarity and soundstage win out over everything, but for music I need more fullness and reach into mid- and sub-bass than my K712s give me. The 99 Classics have that reach, but being closed back they're never going to have the airy quality of an open back. I realize that soundstage vs bass is the eternal question is there a set that someone would recommend that would be better for music than the K712s?
Here's what I've been leaning toward:
HiFiMan HE400I or 400S - Like some planars, lack of bass is considered a drawback but will it be like my K712s or can it compete with my 99 Classics? Are they only disappointing to a basshead?
Philips Fidelio X2 - Everyone talks about how bass-y these are but I haven't been able to find a good description of the soundstage and clarity. And is the bass just hard hitting and booming or is it clear and precise?
Beyerdynamic DT990 - Better soundstage than the X2s? Same?
Just save up until I can really upgrade? - Should I just wait until I can spend $800-1000 on a set of Audeze or the like?
Thanks for the help!
