[utkusu]

Hi all,

I can use some advice here. I happen to come across a little bit of money and given chronic upgraditis almost everyone here is inflicted with is also in my blood, I want to upgrade one of my headphones. Here is my two headphones and what I think about them:

1) CAL!: Office headphones. Extremely comfy, nice warm sound, good bass but a bit sloppy. I think I'd rather have a little bit tighter bass, maybe less quantity. So a less warm headphones, hopefully with better bass, which can be used as office or portable headphones. I have HD25s in my mind.

2) AD700: Home headphones: Comfy as well, airy sound and giant soundstage is good and works well for some stuff but it is waaaay to distant. I don't want to be on the stage like Grados but I don't want to be 50 ft away either! Bass could be more impactful and could go deeper and mids could be less grainy. As you see I have bigger issues with AD700, so they are my priority for upgrade. I don't know where to go from them, I see AD900s being suggested, but there are people who are saying they are not a big upgrade. Also it'd be nice to try out a different brand.

Here are my constraints:

1) Money: 200 bucks shipped MAX. I don't mind second hand stuff.

2) Headsize: I have a big head, so I don't want too much clamping.

3) Impedance: I have a uDAC1 and fuze+Fiio E5, that I won't be able to upgrade anytime soon.

4) Music Taste: Eclectic, but mostly rock based music. I listen to most things but not much hip-hop or almost never dance, trance etc.

What would you do? Where would you upgrade to?

Any suggestions and guidance you could offer is greatly appreciated.

cheers,

 

[utkusu]

Also: It'd be great if anyone has any idea about AD700s and Fischer FA-002/3s. Any input is appreciated..

 

[Senpai3330]

Hey there, I own the AD700 and FA-003's (the first for almost a year now and the Fischers for a couple months). The Fischers do have a surprisingly open sound and good soundstage for closed cans. If you've perused the now ~98ish page long thread about them you'll they're very neutral and pretty compatible with many different genre's. The only thing that might get you (it got me) is the clamping force. I also have a very large head and the clamping force on the brand new pair was pretty crazy, but stretch it out over a stack of books for a few days and you're good to go.

It's really not a bad choice at all, but aside from the soundstage, the sound signature of the phones are fairly different. I'm in the same situation as you essentially (Gear wise too), I'm looking at Beyer Dynamic phones as the next upgrade. DT990s can be had under $200 via ebay or amazon warehouse deals quite easily. I'm draining my wallet a bit more and going for DT880 600 Ohm

 

[utkusu]

Thanks, DT880s is something I would want to. But they are a bit of price range, maybe I can get one second hand. I am not sure DT990s I am not so sure, what I read is you either love them or hate them. Too much risk involved for me.

How does your E7 do with FA-003 without his brother E9? Just to see, if uDAC will be ok driving them..