[Nicolas from France]

Lots of people are talking about mid-fi hell or purgatory....But is there a mid-fi heaven for someone who does not want to break the bank and still have a few different headphone types?

I mean for the price of a ONE Arya, HD800 or Clear, you could get in your collection:

- Sundara
- AKG k702
- Meze 99 Classics
- Grado sr325e


What will you be missing?

 

[TheMiddleSky]

For the price of an Arya / Clear MG:
Something intense - Grado 325X
Something more relax and allrounder - Sundara
Something thick and butter smooth - LCD 2 Classic

Seems nice and complete.

I'd still just pick 1pc of Clear Mg though.

 

[Strayngs]

Sure there is…it is all about your preference. While I would prefer to have a Arya over 4 mid-fi headphones (hell, I prefer the HEKSE over the 3 higher tier headphones you mentioned) but there is no shame in having a collection of mid fi. especially if you have different music types that each headphone excels in. For instance, if you like bassier pop or metal music just as much as say classical….then it makes no sense to only own the HD800. You would be better off with the 4 you mentioned!

 

[KCXT]

I think the notion of 'mid-fi hell' really only applies when people sincerely want improved sound, being unhappy with their current setup, and are aware of the diminishing returns but instead of truly upgrading they constantly side-grade in hopes of finding a diamond in the rough or some killer value that truly 'punches above its weight class' (cliche...).

Not everyone wants/needs/can afford the top-tier headphones and the sometimes only incremental improvements they offer. This is especially true for folks whose collections serve multiple use cases, as users above me have mentioned.

 

[Nicolas from France]

For the price of an Arya / Clear MG:
Something intense - Grado 325X
Something more relax and allrounder - Sundara
Something thick and butter smooth - LCD 2 Classic

Seems nice and complete.

I'd still just pick 1pc of Clear Mg though.

Missing a closed pair no?

 

[dukeskd]

If you ever have the chance to audition it, try to listen to Sony MDR-R10. It has the best midrange of any headphone I've ever heard and is the most realistic.

 

[tudedude]

I think mid-fi heaven can happen once you've tried a lot of the top of the line headphones and discover they ain't all that. At this point I'd be happy with a good mid-fi hifiman and whatever midfi closed back has good bass, something higher end headphones can't seem to get right.

 

[HipHopScribe]

I would definitely take this over having just one high end headphone. Nothing is perfect. I think improvements are pretty steady up to $300-500 for headphones and IEMs and above that diminishing returns hits hard. For DACs I'd put that number around $100-200 and $200-300 for amps. Not that improvements are not happening above this range, just that you really have to ask if it's worthwhile as the improvements gets smaller and smaller.

 

[Dash]

I’ve always tried to balance my setup around budget and use case. A good open headphone for desk work, a good closed headphone and something for portable use. Within those use cases, I think about a planar, dynamic and iem types. I think it’s the endless rotation of gear in a certain price bracket that the cumulative cost ends eclipsing a true upgrade. The problem is finding out what the upgrade really is. So much factors into people’s upgrade path including their preferences. Overall system synergy is also underrated. I think sometime rotating is necessary to figure out preferences and system synergy. I go through phases where I’m chasing something specific from my setup and will buy/sell like a whirlwind. I always chuckle at the hyperbole laden post naming a new piece of gear as the giant killer, best ever and this is end of all other gear. Context is so important in this hobby and so is knowing what you have heard along with the chain you are currently using.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Missing a closed pair no?

Hard for me to liking any closed headphones, I simply can't stand the reverb, even the higher end options like focal stellia or zmf verite close.

 

[Foulcher]

For now my favorite headphones are also the cheapest (of course if we exclude 1$/free iem etc.) and I did not found a more pleasing sound since (of course these are my tastes). However the most expensive I own are only K712 Pro so I do not know how high-end headphones sound.
My feeling is that I would rather buy either under-150/200$ heaphones (which funningly seem to be more neutral than high-end ones if you exclude HD800S for instance) or one pair or above-1000$ (+/- of course 800-900$ is also included) which will be my endgame one. I am not a real audio enthousiast tough, I like quality but casually. Plus I actually prefer loudspeakers.

 

[Nicolas from France]

Energic: Grado SR325e
Planar: Sundara
Large sounstage: AKG K702
Dark Smooth headphone: ?

To complete lhe list what dark and smooth headphone around 350€ to 500€ would you had? Beside Audeze LCD which is too heavy for me...

 

[Malevolent]

One good thing about having mid-fi gear is having access to a greater variety of headphones and signatures.

For the price of 1 high-end headphone, you could have 2 or more mid-fi headphones. Here's an (extreme) example - in place of a $4,000 Utopia, you could easily have 10 mid-fi headphones in its stead. That way, you can enjoy a greater array of headphone types, sounds, and experiences.

With that being said, if you actually love a particular sound, you'd have to step up to the high-end tier to achieve top-level gains. Of course, diminishing returns is an aspect that is very real here; you might find the huge delta in price a worthwhile spend, whilst others may not. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and all that.

Anyway, the most important thing is to enjoy the music, not the gear. That's my personal philosophy anyhow.

 

[Shane D]

I am parked in mid-fi heaven and am quite happy here. I will take a wide variety of sound signatures over a couple of very expensive headphones. I might change my mind down the road, but I doubt it.

 

[Deolum]

I think mid-fi heaven can happen once you've tried a lot of the top of the line headphones and discover they ain't all that. At this point I'd be happy with a good mid-fi hifiman and whatever midfi closed back has good bass, something higher end headphones can't seem to get right.

Same for me. When you only know midfi headphones you think high end headphones are so much better but they won't. When you're at the high end headphones you start with dacs, amps, power cables or whatever. It's like a horse with the carrot in front of its nose but the distance won't change.

Hifiman Ananda and HD600/650 are my favourite midfi headphones. I recently sold my Susvara. Still own the HE1000SE and the Empyrean but i don't think any of those high end headphones is even close to be worth it's price. The one that comes closest to that for me was the Utopia thus far but it has it's own drawbacks.