[doublekbang]

I own the ATH-1000x and to my ears it feels the music is best suited for EDM tracks which is nice, but now I want headphones that would be suitable for listening to like pop tracks so I guess headphones with forward mids (like female vocals screaming into your face). I used the AKG501 before and enjoyed them because of their forward mids. But I live in a place where it rains a lot, so sometimes I feel aggravated that I feel I can't immerse myself in the music cuz of too much rain in the background.


So yeah I guess if anyone here can help me recommend or suggest a good set of headphones with forward mids, (and in this case closed I guess is the one I'm looking for) it'll help a lot! Price range I'm thinking 500 USD max.
 
 
Edit: I have a Schiit Asgard 2 Amp thought that was worth mentioning ^_^

 

[Claritas]

ZMF v1 has very good mids. I wouldn't describe it as forward though; it's more balanced.

 

[ajm]

I highly recommend a pair of Phiaton MS400. They have very forward mids, good bass and treble is rolled off and can be had for $100 used.

 

[doublekbang]

I

ZMF v1 has very good mids. I wouldn't describe it as forward though; it's more balanced.

I don't think I would be interested in these.. I own a Senns HD518 as well and after awhile the sound sounded BLAH to me, possibly because of the balanced sound.
 

  I highly recommend a pair of Phiaton MS400. They have very forward mids, good bass and treble is rolled off and can be had for $100 used.

I'll look into the Phiaton MS400 but in the meantime still hoping for more help and recommendation regarding this ^_^

 

[Claritas]

I don't think I would be interested in these.. I own a Senns HD518 as well and after awhile the sound sounded BLAH to me, possibly because of the balanced sound.

HD518 isn't even closed to balanced.

 

[doublekbang]

HD518 isn't even closed to balanced.

 


What are some examples of balanced headphones then?

 

[ajm]

Mad dogs are a great examply of a balanced closed headphone.

 

[Claritas]

I already mentioned ZMF v1. You might look at the new Focals.
 
This chart might give you a better idea of what a more balanced response looks like (except for the steep bass roll off).
 

 

[doublekbang]

  I already mentioned ZMF v1. You might look at the new Focals.
 
This chart might give you a better idea of what a more balanced response looks like (except for the steep bass roll off).
 

What are the new focal headphones? Should I look at the Alpha Dogs/Mad Dogs? I read it's great for EDM and I my current headphones are already EDM-oriented I don't want another EDM-oriented headphone again..

 

[Claritas]

  What are the new focal headphones? Should I look at the Alpha Dogs/Mad Dogs? I read it's great for EDM and I my current headphones are already EDM-oriented I don't want another EDM-oriented headphone again..

 
I meant the Focal Spirit Pro and Classic: http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/two-strike-zone-focal-spirit-professional-and-spirit-classic.
 
I don't consider MrSpeakers' products because they're dark sounding. So I recommended ZMF v1, as it performs best with strings and vocals; but you might find the Focals are better for you.

 

[doublekbang]

Ok so now I'm torn between ZMF v1 and Focal Spirit Classic. Any1 have any idea on how to pinpoint or drop the ball or have any experience with these two headphones? I don't really care about the price as I'm aware the Focal Spirit Classic is more expensive and that is not (so much of) an issue to me.
 
EDIT: After reading a review now I'm leaning more towards the Pro over the Classic cuz apparently the Pro suits better for female vocals, which is what I want, but after reading a lot of reviews it seems a lot favour the FSC over the FSP. Now I need help deciding over the ZMF v1 over the FSP/FSC GAHH. Any1 can give help in deciding between these or had any experiences with these?

 

[Claritas]

I don't know if this matters to you, but Focals have small earcups and ZMF is nice and big.

Is it possible to buy and return if you don't like it? Amazon has a good return policy; a great small company like ZMF has some sort of return policy.

 

[doublekbang]

I read that the ZMF shud have a tube amp with it to properly shine but I only have my Schiit Asgard 2. Shud I get a tube amp or if I get the FSC (leaning more towards FSC over FSP as I looked at more reviews FSP is very neutral as its more for studio purposes and FSC is more for the home user) I don't need a tube amp and just get an FSC so that'd I'd get one item over 2 items
 
EDIT: After doing some more thinking I figured, if I can afford the FSC would it be even worth going for the ZMF as since the ZMF is cheaper wouldn't that be a downgrade? One scenario would be if I go for the ZMF and then get a tube amp and say I like it, but then in the future I decide to upgrade and go for the FSC, but in the second scenario I go for the FSC and then I like it, and then if I go for an upgrade well it wouldn't be the ZMF cuz of price am I right in saying this? As in first scenario I'd be buying three items, and second scenario I'd be buying two or three, but I wouldn't even look at ZMF anymore cuz it'd be a potential downgrade.
 
 

I don't know if this matters to you, but Focals have small earcups and ZMF is nice and big.

I remembered when I first got the ATH-1000 I would use it for long periods of time and my ears did hurt but I didn't care, so I think it's safe to say the size of earcups is not of an issue so much to me, and anyways over time I think the ATH-1000 pads, or rather my ears, or both, got accustomed to each other and my ears no longer hurt when using for long periods

 

[Claritas]

You don't need a tube amp for ZMF: it sounded good with my O2. (You shouldn't need a particular amp for your headphones to sound good; often, that's an indication that the model should have been engineered better.)

In not sure what you mean by downgrade, because price doesn't really correlate with sound quality. I wish it did because these decisions would be a lot easier.

Consider buying both used on the FS board and keeping the one you like more.

 

[doublekbang]

After looking through again I think I'll be going for the FSC. Looking at the ZMF website I am very curious at the Zpex master model but the price kills it for me, hence going for the FSC