[MichaelJames99]

I dont have any stores in Indianapolis Indiana that carry in stock these levels.  All of them stock headphones under $500.  Rest are special order

 

[AxelCloris]

  I dont have any stores in Indianapolis Indiana that carry in stock these levels.  All of them stock headphones under $500.  Rest are special order

There's always the option of going to regional meets, like lenroot mentioned. There's a local meet just south of Dayton, OH and a huge trade show in Chicago in April. The drive to Ohio would be easier, but AXPONA would have a larger selection to demo. If you can make it to Los Angeles, there's CanJam SoCal in March. CanJams tend to have the biggest collection of headphones because they're dedicated to personal audio. Shows like AXPONA are a combination of personal and 2-channel, typically heavily favoring the latter.

 

[MichaelJames99]

I go to Dayton alot.  Where south of Dayton is there a meet?  Whats it called?

 

[AxelCloris]

  I go to Dayton alot.  Where south of Dayton is there a meet?  Whats it called?

 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/800108/ohio-meeting-columbus-cincy-cleveland/90#post_13282795

 

[mbyrnes]

I go to Dayton alot.  Where south of Dayton is there a meet?  Whats it called?

The nice thing is, you have some time until the A8 releases. Plenty of time to hopefully listen and shorten the list yourself. I do own the HEX V2, and I'm extremely happy with them for gaming/movies. They throw a pretty huge soundstage with quick and DEEP bass. They don't have the TH-X00 Ebony volume of bass, but I don't feel it's lacking at all.

I will shortly have the Monoprice M1060, which is an LCD2 clone attempt. Early reviews say the bass and mids are very similar, but soundstage is improved over the LCD2 (bass is slightly not as clean). No owners have burned them in completely yet, as they have been in customers hands since Saturday.

I will say this with much confidence. Reading reviews and impressions only gets you so far. I personally didn't prefer the HEK over the HEX, happily saving me a ton of money. One man's gold is another man's trash. At a few hundred bucks, trying a headphone isn't a huge deal. Spending $1,000+, I have a feeling you'll want to love your choice, and losing $100s reselling them is painful.

Definitely look into meets and shows. Meets are typically smaller, but better for listening. Shows depend on how each vendor sets up. A local Philly meet is where I heard almost every planar headphone (ones I missed were actually there, no time!). I had NO INTENTION of buying a new headphone when I went, but after hearing the HEX I had to own it. Never would have guessed beforehand, and of all the attending headphones, HEX was nowhere on my radar. It's important to listen and make your own judgements. If not possible, subscribe to threads of possible candidates. You'll get a fairly good idea of the sound without hearing it yourself. Not perfect, but things like bass and treble are frequently talked about and compared.

Good luck, this can be a really fun time for you. Lock in some tracks and possible VSS clips, to demo every headphone with the same material. Take good notes on each, as you'll probably still have to compromise with whatever headphone you choose.

 

[lvl8pidgey]

Do you have any information regarding the newer ad900x's and their headset equivalent adg1x's? I'd like to know if you'd consider them as competitive as the 700s? any changes to the other ratings as well? as highly rated as the 700s @Mad Lust Envy 
 
great post, very informative. thanks

 

[rudyae86]

Do you have any information regarding the newer ad900x's and their headset equivalent adg1x's? I'd like to know if you'd consider them as competitive as the 700s? any changes to the other ratings as well? as highly rated as the 700s @Mad Lust Envy
 

great post, very informative. thanks

He doesn't really buy and review headphones anymore. It's been a while. Maybe someone in here may have the older version or the headset but you might be able to find more info around other threads, which I think the AD series might ha e their own.

 

[lvl8pidgey]

Alright thanks!rudyae86

 

[Change is Good]

I'll be streaming Horizon soon as the block comes off if anyone wants to check it out. I'm assuming it will be midnight ET.

 

[TeeReQs]

I'll be streaming Horizon soon as the block comes off if anyone wants to check it out. I'm assuming it will be midnight ET.

I'll definitely check it out. How do you like the game?

 

[Change is Good]

I'll definitely check it out. How do you like the game?

Only about an hour in, but I'm definitely engaged and interested to learn more about the world. Dialogue, voice acting, and character introduction is top notch. Gameplay is super smooth and stealthy, too, but I've yet to engage in any real combat outside the training tutorial (which I just finished). Taking a break and getting back on in about 30 minutes. Hopefully I can stream then.

 

[TeeReQs]

Only about an hour in, but I'm definitely engaged and interested to learn more about the world. Dialogue, voice acting, and character introduction is top notch. Gameplay is super smooth and stealthy, too, but I've yet to engage in any real combat outside the training tutorial (which I just finished). Taking a break and getting back on in about 30 minutes. Hopefully I can stream then.

Sweet! I wasn't really interested in the game, but seems like it's getting good reviews

 

[Change is Good]

  Sweet! I wasn't really interested in the game, but seems like it's getting good reviews

 
I've had my eye on this game since it was announced a couple years back. It looked good and I was getting it, regardless, but the early raving reviews were quite surprising. I wasn't expecting Killzone's devs to knock it out the park in their first attempt at an RPG. Bravo.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Outside of using the KSC35 at work, I don't think I've put on pair of headphones in a long, long time.

That said, this LCD-2 clone from monoprice sounds interesting to me. VERY.

I must be missing a lot of great stuff lately.

 

[Change is Good]

I must be missing a lot of great stuff lately.

Not really. Most of the recent trending "great stuff" is priced over $1000 these days. Only the Aeon is lower priced, but still pricey.