[brent75]

I've lurked here and other places for a while and combed through various reviews, unboxings and shootouts. I've narrowed to these options -- I'm curious how they compare for what I'm seeking.
 
What I own now

1. Westone W30 IEMs for gym and sometimes for airplanes (like these just fine)
2. Audio Technica ath-m50x (I bought into all the hype...got these...and don't really use them...they seem sterile to me...may sell or keep as an option for airplanes)

 
Open-back options I'm considering (current Amazon pricing)

1. Philips SHP9500 ($80)
2. Hifiman HE400s ($300)
3. Sennheiser HD600 ($330)
4. Audio Technica ATH-AD900x ($150)
5. Sennheiser HD598 ($150)
6. Philips X2 ($390)

 
Budget

1. $400 or less

 
Music I'll listen to

1. For headphones-on-couch situation, it's almost predominantly "rock" (everything from AC/DC to Fleetwood Mac to Jack White to the Barr Brothers to REM to '90s to mellow acoustic) and EDM (house, downtempo). Like to watch lots of live performances.

 
Source

1. Macbook Air
2. No DAC/amp right now BUT intend to purchase one when I purchase these headphones
3. Probably nothing too expensive -- looking at Micca OriGen

 
Experience I Want

1. FUN TO LISTEN TO
2. Smooth, enveloping, makes me smile, not too harsh, feels like I'm there in the studio or in the audience
3. The descriptions of soundstage I read sound desirable, especially considering the live music I listen to
4. I like presence of bass much more than absence of it, but I don't want anything overwhelming

 
Obviously there's a difference between going from $80 pair to $390 pair, but I don't know enough if based on my uses the lower end would be totally fine...or if I'd eventually get buyer's remorse and wish I had something from the upper end of my budget.

 

[OMGLadyGaga]

The Philips x2 is awesome for what u want but man that's an expensive price for those. The bright side is that you don't really need an amp for them

 

[Me x3]

You should consider the Soundmagic HP-200
http://noblehifi.blogspot.com.ar/2013/05/soundmagic-hp200-review.html

 

[teros1]

HD598 are a terrific bargain. They are a bit mids-centric, and their sins are those of omission not commission (other than a slight treble roughness).
 
But most of all, they get out of the way of the music and are FUN.
 
(You can also buy them in a retro earth tone.)

 

[Wapencio]

Maybe youll want to try first the TH-X00 phones from massdrop.com. They are 400 bucks, and isntead of buying a mid-fi product, youll get a hi-fi product, which is a nice deal. I would recommend you to get the FidelioX2s after you get the X00s. I pretty much researched a lot and concluded the X2s were a good bet as an open can first timer. Ive tried my friends Sennheisers and they are, indeed, a high fidelity product, but I didnt like them, they were boring. There are also chocies like Grados, Byerdynamics, AKGs, etc. My research concluded that the X2s were the best option, because they are: fun, cheap (I got mine for 200 bucks on massdrop), high fidelity audio product, of a luxury design, and didnt need to spend more money on (no amp). Of course, youll need a good audio player to get the best of these (just like with any good headphones), but not really an amp, unless you want an amp+DAC combo.

 

[Me x3]

  Maybe youll want to try first the TH-X00 phones from massdrop.com. They are 400 bucks, and isntead of buying a mid-fi product, youll get a hi-fi product, which is a nice deal. I would recommend you to get the FidelioX2s after you get the X00s. I pretty much researched a lot and concluded the X2s were a good bet as an open can first timer. Ive tried my friends Sennheisers and they are, indeed, a high fidelity product, but I didnt like them, they were boring. There are also chocies like Grados, Byerdynamics, AKGs, etc. My research concluded that the X2s were the best option, because they are: fun, cheap (I got mine for 200 bucks on massdrop), high fidelity audio product, of a luxury design, and didnt need to spend more money on (no amp). Of course, youll need a good audio player to get the best of these (just like with any good headphones), but not really an amp, unless you want an amp+DAC combo.

 
What do you mean with mid-fi?

 

[kaye23]

I have the X2, and I think they fit what you're looking for. But for 390 USD, they might not be the best at the price. I would use my X2 more but its not very practical at work because of the open layout of my office. It's still my primary headphone at my PC, but thats mostly because my A12s don't have a long enough cable...

 

[teros1]

I also own the HE400s. They are competent, comfortable, and a great intro to planars. But I wouldn't call them "fun" -- they are a bit too polite for that.

 

[varzyl]

+1 on the fidelio x2, if you can get it for $200-250.
Micca origen seems a solid choice with it too

 

[Wapencio]

Well, Ive seen many reviewers classifying the X2s, and many other headphones in the "mid-fi" category. These include the PM-3, the Mad Dogs, the HE-400i. I guess "mid-fi" means of a solid quality in terms of materials, comfort and sound, but not as good as the other big brothers, like the PM-1, or the HE-6. Although the X2s have no "big brother", they could be qualified as "mid-fi" because of their quality in overall, according to my research, they are "pretty good", but not "excellent", which would be "hi-fi", like the LCD-2, etc.

 

[varzyl]

Well, with $400 budget you are in the "mid-fi" territory. What is mid-fi? Well, if you ask me it's just a term. I consider it a pretty nice spot to be in, considering that HD6x0, Fidelio X2, Hifiman 400s\i and many others good phones belong here.
What is accepted as hifi usually goes for $1000 or more. Is it worth it? Personal opinion. Consider that after the first $200-300, all increased $ spent brings to lesser increased quality. Over $1000 the slope of diminishing return is even more flat.
 
Your choice

 

[Wapencio]

Yeah, maybe the headphones sound quality, in overall, can be modeled by a log function, where the y axis is sound quality and the x axis is the price for the phones.
 

 

 

[Me x3]

  Well, Ive seen many reviewers classifying the X2s, and many other headphones in the "mid-fi" category. These include the PM-3, the Mad Dogs, the HE-400i. I guess "mid-fi" means of a solid quality in terms of materials, comfort and sound, but not as good as the other big brothers, like the PM-1, or the HE-6. Although the X2s have no "big brother", they could be qualified as "mid-fi" because of their quality in overall, according to my research, they are "pretty good", but not "excellent", which would be "hi-fi", like the LCD-2, etc.

I'm against that term. It's much more logical to me to say mid-priced Hi-Fi or simply mid-priced.
 
The fact that someone decided to price it over 500usd doesn't make the headphone more Hi-Fi, and thus the term 'mid-fi' is confusing.
More so (and in line with your graphs) the idea of a mid-fi world and hi-fi world acts like a good marketing tool to push people to spend a lot of money to 'reach' the Hi Fi / whole new level of performance (which is plain false most of the times)
 
I know many people that prefer HD650 over Audezes, DT880 over T1, HD600 over HD800 and they do all have good reasons.
Almost everyone likes HD650 more than Utrasone (hi-priced) headphones and so on...
 
Most of the headphones discussed here are High Fidelity products in the big scheme of things.
They all have strenghs and weaknesses.
They all have a particular signature that can match your likings/preferred recordings or not, 
 
I see no reason to make such a differenciation (mid-fi/hi-fi) based on pricing.
And it's pretty absurd to me to read that headphones like DT880/HD600/HD650 are considered mid-fi.
They are mid-priced Hi-Fi products (as your graphs suggest)

 

[brent75]

Good conversation.

Would love to see more about the headphones I listed, however.

 

[Me x3]

Good conversation.

Would love to see more about the headphones I listed, however.

There you have pretty much all you need.
 
I can add and clarify a few things.
 
HD598/AD900x sound pretty much as good as the other headphones costing 2 and 3 times their price.
 
- HD598 is smooth, a joy or almost boring depending on your preferences
 
- AD900x is similar but more lively (less soft)
 
- HD600 is a superb headphone, punchy mid-bass, forward midrange, excellent vocal rendering and smooth treble (can be boring if you are looking for a u shaped response)
 
- Fidelios X2 feel and look impressive. They have a boosted mid-bass and slightly raised but still forgiving treble.
  All in all, a really fun but still coherent headphone that's great everywhere except when it comes to treble refinement, where the similar sounding (although less fun) Sennheisers HD600/HD650     beat them with ease.
 
- Soundmagic HP200 might fall in between the more fun X2 and the 'less fun' HD600/HD650