[IkSak]

Hi all,

I made a trade and now I have a HE4XX and found it voice centric signature very relaxing and pleasant for some of my music. I'm wondering if you know about a headphone with a similar sound signature with strong emphasis on voices that be a step up in quality. Max budget for this would be 900

Thanks in advance

 

[serman005]

What would be a budget?

 

[IkSak]

My apologies, I forgot to enter that information. I edited the first post

I'd like to stay under 900

 

[serman005]

Not sure about your specific sound signature preferences, so, a couple things that immediately come to mind in this range are the Ananda and LCD2/LCD2C, depending on your feelings about warmth, among other things. Also, if you have never heard an HD800, you probably owe it to yourself to give one a listen. You might find a used one in your budget range. I'm sure others will have different ideas, but these are what come to my mind right off the bat. Maybe read about these and see what you think. It is possible one could work for you. Good luck.

 

[IkSak]

Thanks! I have an HD800 which is absolutely outstanding for my classical music, best headphone for that genre, and I was so lucky to find it for US$ 540.

I prefer warm headphones, but the thing that caught me about the HE4XX was its vocal presence, which synergizes very well with some of my music. I do think that it lacks some details and clarity, but hey, at US$ 170 it is simply great and would be unfair to ask for more. For those reasons, I'm looking for a headphone with a similar sound signature that emphasizes vocals in the same way.

 

[Kukuk]

Koss ESP-950s get my vote. A proper top-of-the-line mid-centric headphone. They've become my gold standard for vocals, and that's pretty damned impressive considering my previous gold standard was the CD900ST, a juggernaut in its own right.

I would consider them a well-balanced headphone, though treble and bass are down in level slightly. Good extension on both ends, though. VERY forgiving of poorly mastered music, despite having good detail retrieval. They seem to strike a perfect balance there, which is a rare thing.

Imaging is incredible on them. Not the largest soundstage ever, I think they'd certainly pale in comparison to your HD800s, but I don't think they were going for "big" when they were designed. They sound like they were meant to be an intimate listen, as if the band and singer were pulled up close to you. There's a good sense of depth, with the ability to hear instruments behind other instruments. It's an effect that I haven't heard in any other headphone.

I'm not sure if you can get the Massdrop ESP/95X where you live, but if you can, it's absolutely a steal at $500. I personally would feel comfortable spending the full retail price of $900, I think? IMO they slot in perfectly with modern headphones in that price range.