[Woee]

Hello to audio enthusiasts and music lovers.
Need some recommendations about audio equipment to use with my LG v30 phone and PC (no specific soundboard or anything hi-fi related).
First of all I want to get great (for the price, certainly) closed back headphones around $300 cost for home/roadtrip/workspace usage (noise cancelling is needed). Music I listen mostly: rock, metal, indie, britpop (live concerts are attended every time any great band comes to my crap country if that can help with the choice).
Options I was looking at A-T MSR7, Meze 99 Neo/Classic, Focal Listen Pro while surfing some forums. Would like to hear any suggestion and opinions.
Also, I am interested in buying some DAC/amplifier some time after that if required to get full potential from my headphones.
Hope you will gladly share your experience and give me great suggestions for a buy. Cheers.

 

[serman005]

I would add a 1More Triple Driver Over-Ear to the list. It is possible it could work for you as well.

 

[Woee]

OK, thanks. Is there anything else to listen?

 

[serman005]

Meze 99 Classics.

 

[Woee]

Still asking for recommendations.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Sennheiser HD 25 II-1

Cheap, durable, sound great. They are not a fashion statement like the Meze, they're just killer headphones and easy to drive to insane levels.

 

[Woee]

Thank you, but they are not available anymore in the local (100km away lol) store. Thats why there is a strong desire to get a list of every possible solution of the best audio experience for the money before going to listen something.

 

[Mhog55]

I'm a little confused. You do or don't need headphones with noise canceling feature? You stated noise canceling is needed, but the headphones you mentioned don't have that feature. Did you mean noise isolation perhaps? At any rate, I'm using the 1more triple driver over ear, Meze 99 Classics, and B&O H6 with my V30. With the 1st two, I recommend tricking the phone into high impedance mode, especially with the 1more. The H6 does well in auxiliary mode, but not as much so as the Classics. The 1more likes a little extra juice to really come alive and sing. Same with the H6, just not as much. I listen to 90% rock and metal, and prefer the Classics and H6 over the 1more. It really depends on your preference regarding sound, and what you want out of a set of cans. If you can kinda break that down a bit, I can steer you in the right direction regarding those 3 options. All 3 sound really good with the V30 as the source. I've listened to several others, and these are the 3 that stuck. Which music player are you using?

 

[Woee]

Yeah I meant isolation, sorry. Just don't want any person near hearing whats happening inside my cans.
Thank you for the time to explain me tricks with high impedance mode, had no idea that this can affect the sound that much with low-impedance headphones. Will definitely try.
As for the sound, I'd like to make guitars+vocals as enjoyable as possible (i'm not really into this low, mid and high freq. stuff, hope those words are enough to choose the direction).
I use stock app for listening. But if you mentioned, I believe it also should be changed?

 

[rredge]

Like Mhog55, I own and like the Bang & Olufsen H6. In April, B&O discontinued all of its wired headphones. These are worth considering if you can find them at a good discount.

Also, Sennheiser has discontinued its HD 6, HD 7 and HD 8 headphones. These are also worth considering if you can find them discounted. I was able to purchase the HD 8 last month from a major retailer for 60% off, so it can be worth looking around.

The Sennheiser HD 25 II-1 mentioned by gimmeheadroom was discontinued at least two years ago and has been replaced by the Sennheiser HD 25 Lite, Standard and Plus. One of the attractions of the HD 25 is that every part can be replaced, the only tool needed being a Torx T6 screwdriver, and parts are easily available. These are probably widely used in Ukraine by film and video sound recordists and by DJs, so they should not be hard to find.

 

[Mhog55]

Yeah I meant isolation, sorry. Just don't want any person near hearing whats happening inside my cans.
Thank you for the time to explain me tricks with high impedance mode, had no idea that this can affect the sound that much with low-impedance headphones. Will definitely try.
As for the sound, I'd like to make guitars+vocals as enjoyable as possible (i'm not really into this low, mid and high freq. stuff, hope those words are enough to choose the direction).
I use stock app for listening. But if you mentioned, I believe it also should be changed?

My recommendation would be the 2nd generation H6 if you can find one. Guitars, vocals and kick drums sound really good with these. They also have the largest Soundstage between the 3. By that I mean the music doesn't sound like it's directly in your head. They also have the best instrument separation imo. I'm not convinced the 99 classics are worth the extra money over the H6, but the wooden ear cups do create a different sound, and it's pretty awesome. Both headphones are fun and lively, and I think that's the sound you are after.
I also have the Sennheiser HD 25, and it's rather remarkable for rock. It's a very dynamic, in your face kinda sound. That's why people recommend them for rock and metal. That being said, they do have their downfalls. They have no Soundstage at all, the sound is directly in your head, but that's not all bad for rock music. They're pretty uncomfortable as well.
The stock LG music player isn't bad, but I use the Neutron music player app from the Google play store. It sounds much better. It's just more musical with a ton of options to tinker around with, so you can dial it in to custom taylor more specific desires.
Whether you go with the 99 classics or the H6, I believe you will be happy. There isn't much not to like regarding their sound qualities.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Like Mhog55, I own and like the Bang & Olufsen H6. In April, B&O discontinued all of its wired headphones. These are worth considering if you can find them at a good discount.

Also, Sennheiser has discontinued its HD 6, HD 7 and HD 8 headphones. These are also worth considering if you can find them discounted. I was able to purchase the HD 8 last month from a major retailer for 60% off, so it can be worth looking around.

The Sennheiser HD 25 II-1 mentioned by gimmeheadroom was discontinued at least two years ago and has been replaced by the Sennheiser HD 25 Lite, Standard and Plus. One of the attractions of the HD 25 is that every part can be replaced, the only tool needed being a Torx T6 screwdriver, and parts are easily available. These are probably widely used in Ukraine by film and video sound recordists and by DJs, so they should not be hard to find.

I did not know the II-1 was discontinued. It is still available here, maybe I should pick up a few more pairs before they become unobtanium. I still regret not getting the aluminum model but at the time it just looked kinda like a bad idea.

I asked the distributor in CZ what the difference is between the II-1 and the Basic model and he admitted he had no idea. Do you happen to know if there is any difference of whether this is just dumb marketing to rename an existing product? The specs appear identical...

The Lite model has different specs, is flimsier because it doesn't have the goofy-looking but surprisingly comfortable and stable astronaut headband setup and is probably not suitable for music. I am mentioning this for the benefit of the OP, I am sure you already know it. I bought a pair to use with my shortwave radios and it is good for that. I guess since Ukraine should be in more or less the same shape as we are here in Czech Republic, they should have plenty of NOS Sennies at various shops.

 

[Woee]

Wanna get full potential out of v30+headphones duo, so will probably wait for a discount for h6 or 99 classics. Appreciate everyone`s involved in this thread comment.
Can basic PC drive them or I need extra power? Or will the sound improve significantly with the amplifier?

 

[rredge]

I did not know the II-1 was discontinued. It is still available here, maybe I should pick up a few more pairs before they become unobtanium. I still regret not getting the aluminum model but at the time it just looked kinda like a bad idea.

I asked the distributor in CZ what the difference is between the II-1 and the Basic model and he admitted he had no idea. Do you happen to know if there is any difference of whether this is just dumb marketing to rename an existing product? The specs appear identical...

The Lite model has different specs, is flimsier because it doesn't have the goofy-looking but surprisingly comfortable and stable astronaut headband setup and is probably not suitable for music. I am mentioning this for the benefit of the OP, I am sure you already know it. I bought a pair to use with my shortwave radios and it is good for that. I guess since Ukraine should be in more or less the same shape as we are here in Czech Republic, they should have plenty of NOS Sennies at various shops.

See John Willett’s posts in the following thread. He was the Technical Manager for Sennheiser U.K. until about eight years ago: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-...sennheiser-hd25-vs-hd25-1-ii-differences.html

Willett has made a good number of posts on the internet about the HD 25 and is an excellent source on the history and specs for these headphones.

I don’t see any reason why the HD 25 Lite wouldn’t be suitable for music, although its principal attraction is that the single headband makes it cheaper.

A fun video that Sennheiser released when it launched the current variation, even if it ignores the fact that these headphones were in fact originally developed for broadcast use, where they remain widely used, and that the ones used on the Concorde were just a variation:

 

[gimmeheadroom]

See John Willett’s posts in the following thread. He was the Technical Manager for Sennheiser U.K. until about eight years ago: https://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-...sennheiser-hd25-vs-hd25-1-ii-differences.html

Willett has made a good number of posts on the internet about the HD 25 and is an excellent source on the history and specs for these headphones.

I don’t see any reason why the HD 25 Lite wouldn’t be suitable for music, although its principal attraction is that the single headband makes it cheaper.

A fun video that Sennheiser released when it launched the current variation, even if it ignores the fact that these headphones were in fact originally developed for broadcast use, where they remain widely used, and that the ones used on the Concorde were just a variation:

Thanks! He does say "It's only the HD 25-SP and SP II that sounded different as they were down-rated and had a cheap headband instead of the split one." The SP has a different frequency response and I have not heard anybody say it was worth buying for music.