[EricDH]

I hope that you guys can help me make a shortlist. Currently I use Oppo PM-3 closed back phones. I really love them, although I wouldn't mind if they didn't have that high frequency roll off.

What sound do I like? I like an open, neutral sound signature. Deep bass yes. But the bass has to be taut, no overhang please. I would go for lively but in general neutral, rather than V shaped. I love the planar design I have now with the PM-3, but I have nothing against other designs. Good sound is good sound, no matter how you get there.

I chose for a closed back headphone because I travel quite a lot, and also because I don't want to bother my family members. However, I am now working on a project abroad. So I stay in an apartment alone during the work week. For that purpose, I am thinking of buying an open back headphone, and a step higher in sound quality than my PM-3. My source will be iPhone 7, and I use a Schiit Jotunheim DAC/amp. I think my budget will be around $750, but I am open for suggestions at different price levels (but it has to be a clear step up from my PM-3).

I will do some search myself and put a list in this first post. But I would like to hear your suggestions too.

Edit: the Jotunheim has both single ended and balanced headphone outputs. So balanced headphones have to be seriously considered.

I added the Sennheisers and Beyerdynamic, I will start with looking for reviews.

Now, I am not against buying secondhand per se, but would still prefer new. I know, that will limit the options. We'll see....

Current shortlist:
Hifiman HE-400i
Hifiman HE-560
Audeze LCD2C
Sennheiser HD650
Sennheiser HD800 (secondhand)
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro

 

[Music Alchemist]

The HD 650 is another to consider.

My favorites are STAX, which require an electrostatic amplifier. If you buy from the used market, you can get phenomenal sound within your budget. The SR-L300 or SR-207 (driven by an entry-level amp such as the SRM-252S) are good to start with.

Detailed info here: https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/the-entry-level-stax-thread.676272

 

[buke9]

Well neutral and deep bass ? Those don’t usually go together unless the recording is pushing the bass a lot more than anything else. Neutral is all frequencies are at the same level and the recording would dictate if you would have more bass not the headphone.

 

[Luminance]

You may want to check out the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro.
Monitoring headphones with a neutral frequency response and great detail retrieval. Slightly elevated (but not overbearing) treble and well-controlled bass, that goes very low.
No balanced option for these though (which probably wouldn't matter sonically)

 

[HBen]

used HD800 go around that price - thats what I would go for in your shoes

 

[EricDH]

Well neutral and deep bass ? Those don’t usually go together unless the recording is pushing the bass a lot more than anything else. Neutral is all frequencies are at the same level and the recording would dictate if you would have more bass not the headphone.

Sorry, but you didn't get what I said. I said DEEP bass, as in really low frequencies. I did NOT say BOOSTED bass. I agree with your definition of neutral and that is what I want, but then flat to say 20 Hz rather than 30 Hz.

 

[EricDH]

The HD 650 is another to consider.

My favorites are STAX, which require an electrostatic amplifier. If you buy from the used market, you can get phenomenal sound within your budget. The SR-L300 or SR-207 (driven by an entry-level amp such as the SRM-252S) are good to start with.

Detailed info here: https://www.head-fi.org/f/threads/the-entry-level-stax-thread.676272

Thanks for your suggestions. As for Stax, I never heard them, but I know they are top level headphones. Only, at this point I really don't want to add another amplifier into the equation. Whatever headphone I will buy (IF I will end up buying one, for now merely playing with the thought) will have to match with the Jotunheim.

 

[buke9]

Sorry, but you didn't get what I said. I said DEEP bass, as in really low frequencies. I did NOT say BOOSTED bass. I agree with your definition of neutral and that is what I want, but then flat to say 20 Hz rather than 30 Hz.

I suggest you go to InnerFidelity and take a look at the measurements page you can find what is flat down to 20hz and start there.

 

[cossix]

+1 for the used 800! Deep bass but not overpowering, very neutral headphone with plenty of detail

 

[Music Alchemist]

very neutral headphone

Major bass roll-off, sucked-out upper midrange, and nasty treble peaks of torture = far from neutral.

These measurements coincide with what I've heard from the HD 800, both from someone else's and my own.

Download this frequency sweep and play it in a video player with an HD 800 (paired with a neutral solid state amp) and you can see/hear how blatantly it deviates from a linear frequency response. Mine had the most prominent peak at 5,500 Hz. Of course, EQ can fix the tonal balance, but not its other issues...

 

[cossix]

Have you ever heard the 800 personally? I never found the treble to be very peaky, nor did the bass sound weak. Compared to my LCD2 and HD650 it was very neutral, perhaps if I was comparing it to a well known neutral can then my opinion would be different

 

[Music Alchemist]

Have you ever heard the 800 personally? I never found the treble to be very peaky, nor did the bass sound weak. Compared to my LCD2 and HD650 it was very neutral, perhaps if I was comparing it to a well known neutral can then my opinion would be different

Did you even read my post? I made it clear that I owned it and heard someone else's too. To elaborate, I heard someone else's HD 800 in 2015 on the 430HAD and HDVD 800 and purchased a brand new HD 800 for myself in 2017, which I drove with the Mojo. (It sounded roughly the same in both instances. The treble is so bright and harsh that it causes me physical pain.)

As a musician, my primary reference is the sound of real instruments, but I have also owned much more neutral headphones, such as STAX.

 

[cossix]

Did you even read my post? I made it clear that I owned it and heard someone else's too. To elaborate, I heard someone else's HD 800 in 2015 on the 430HAD and HDVD 800 and purchased a brand new HD 800 for myself in 2017, which I drove with the Mojo. (It sounded roughly the same in both instances. The treble is so bright and harsh that it causes me physical pain.)

As a musician, my primary reference is the sound of real instruments, but I have also owned much more neutral headphones, such as STAX.

I guess I'm just not treble sensitive. I couldn't imagine the 800 being anywhere close to painful. I've tried the 700 for a few weeks and those had way too much treble for me but wasn't painful. Just drowned out the other frequencies and made the headphone sound tinny

 

[Music Alchemist]

I guess I'm just not treble sensitive. I couldn't imagine the 800 being anywhere close to painful. I've tried the 700 for a few weeks and those had way too much treble for me but wasn't painful. Just drowned out the other frequencies and made the headphone sound tinny

I think my hearing is pretty neutral.

The strange thing is, the HD 700 was not painful for me at all despite the brightness (and other weird things going on in the FR; the HD 800 is definitely more neutral than that one), but the HD 800 was. (Only with bright tracks, obviously...but they aren't supposed to be nearly that bright and sound fine on neutral speaker systems.)

 

[buke9]

I find the 700’s more bright than the 800’s and have both.