[jordannn15]

Budget - $400. Willing to spend up to $500 if needed.

Source/Amp - DAC/Amp is a AudioGD NFB-11.28

How the gear will be used - Home listening from macbook pro or ps4 for gaming.

Preferred tonal balance - Mostly balanced with just a bit more bass and good bass extension. Nice smooth, kind of intimate mids. Sparkly highs with good extension. Wide soundstage and great imaging like my HD700's.

Preferred music genre(s) - Just about everything besides country country.

What aspect of your current listening experience would you like to improve?
I like the HD700's for their amazing comfort (my ears are kind of big and these don't touch my ears at all, the pads are so nice, and the clamp force is good without being too loose or too strong). The soundstage and imaging is the best I have heard so far. The quality of the bass is very good but want it to extend much more and have more quantity and weight. The mids and highs are very nice also in my opinion. The highs are a little sharp sometimes but just barely. Overall, I just want the bass to extend more and have more quantity and weight.

 

[GREQ]

"Open-back" and "more bass" don't usually go hand-in-hand unless you go planar, or Philips Fidelio X2.

The problem with going planar, is that it's difficult to find them tuned with both sparkly treble AND deeply extended bass... I don't think there is one that exists that has something like a v-shaped sound with treble and bass emphasis.
So they're either warm and missing some treble energy, or 'neutral' and missing some bass weight.
That is just the limitation of a technology which excels at neutrality.
Also overall treble quality and extension in even some really expensive planars can't keep up with treble quality from even some relatively cheap dynamic headphones.

Fidelio X2 will save you money, they'll be a lot lighter on the head and give the v-shaped sound I think you're looking for.
It's also going 'quite cheap' right now, probably making way for the recently announced Fidelio X3, but that's just speculation.

 

[jordannn15]

"Open-back" and "more bass" don't usually go hand-in-hand unless you go planar, or Philips Fidelio X2.

The problem with going planar, is that it's difficult to find them tuned with both sparkly treble AND deeply extended bass... I don't think there is one that exists that has something like a v-shaped sound with treble and bass emphasis.
So they're either warm and missing some treble energy, or 'neutral' and missing some bass weight.
That is just the limitation of a technology which excels at neutrality.
Also overall treble quality and extension in even some really expensive planars can't keep up with treble quality from even some relatively cheap dynamic headphones.

Fidelio X2 will save you money, they'll be a lot lighter on the head and give the v-shaped sound I think you're looking for.
It's also going 'quite cheap' right now, probably making way for the recently announced Fidelio X3, but that's just speculation.

I have tried the X2's a couple of times and I don't mind the way they sound but they are just a big set of cans and they feel weird to me on my head. I also think my ears touched the pads a bit. If I were to take a little darker of a headphone what would you recommend? I just want them to have good detail, the treble doesn't have to be sparkly or forward necessarily. I think LCD-2 Classics might be a good option.

 

[GREQ]

LCD-2 will be about as big as the X2 (in a different way) and much heavier.
They will also therefore very likely feel weird on the head, especially coming from the lightweight and comfy hd700.

I'm sure it will be great for music listening, but big heavy planars are not the best for gaming.
I always take dynamics over planars for gaming. Planars never have the same sense of space or immersion that dynamic-soundstage provides.

 

[jordannn15]

LCD-2 will be about as big as the X2 (in a different way) and much heavier.
They will also therefore very likely feel weird on the head, especially coming from the lightweight and comfy hd700.

I'm sure it will be great for music listening, but big heavy planars are not the best for gaming.
I always take dynamics over planars for gaming. Planars never have the same sense of space or immersion that dynamic-soundstage provides.

I’ve had the LCD-2 back before they released the lcd-2f and lcd-2 classic. They were kind of heavy but didn’t feel as awkward as fidelio x2’s for whatever reason and that was 5-6 years ago when I was smaller and in high school. I also don’t game for too long at one time, usually just a couple of hours. Would they be a good recommendation if the weight wouldn’t bother me? I was also thinking maybe Focal Elex? Not sure what to try.

 

[jimbop54]

HiFiMan HE-560 might meet your criteria. Although some people think the 560s and your NFB-11.28 might be too sharp in the treble.

 

[jordannn15]

HiFiMan HE-560 might meet your criteria. Although some people think the 560s and your NFB-11.28 might be too sharp in the treble.

I am afraid of Hifiman build quality, always seems to be so many issues. I think I might try Focal Elex next unless there are any other recommendations.

 

[jordannn15]

SendyAudio Aiva may be another good option?

 

[tomb]

This is obvious - HD800.

Many lament lack of bass in HD800, but that's not correct. With a good amp, there is no issue. Plus, the HD800 is ridiculously easy to equalize for more bass. There is no better soundstage that can be had, than with an HD800. Likewise, the cups are even larger than the HD700 (if my memory is correct about the HD700) and nothing touches your ears.

All that said, the HD700 gets a bad rap - and undeserved one, IMHO. It's really a fine sounding headphone if you don't pair it with a cheap amp. I think that's the issue in most cases. Also, just to be clear - the differences are minor with the HD800, but there's nothing else that will come close to an improvement, IMHO. You might get slightly more detail with the Focal Utopia, but you will lose that soundstage and imaging with a Focal.

 

[G0rt]

This is obvious - HD800.

Many lament lack of bass in HD800, but that's not correct. With a good amp, there is no issue. Plus, the HD800 is ridiculously easy to equalize for more bass. There is no better soundstage that can be had, than with an HD800. Likewise, the cups are even larger than the HD700 (if my memory is correct about the HD700) and nothing touches your ears.

All that said, the HD700 gets a bad rap - and undeserved one, IMHO. It's really a fine sounding headphone if you don't pair it with a cheap amp. I think that's the issue in most cases. Also, just to be clear - the differences are minor with the HD800, but there's nothing else that will come close to an improvement, IMHO. You might get slightly more detail with the Focal Utopia, but you will lose that soundstage and imaging with a Focal.

Concur. I go back and forth between HD700 & HD800/SDR, and definitely find they only give what they get. I pair with a slightly warm DAC and a slightly warm tube amp, and find the system entirely satisfactory.

 

[jordannn15]

This is obvious - HD800.

Many lament lack of bass in HD800, but that's not correct. With a good amp, there is no issue. Plus, the HD800 is ridiculously easy to equalize for more bass. There is no better soundstage that can be had, than with an HD800. Likewise, the cups are even larger than the HD700 (if my memory is correct about the HD700) and nothing touches your ears.

All that said, the HD700 gets a bad rap - and undeserved one, IMHO. It's really a fine sounding headphone if you don't pair it with a cheap amp. I think that's the issue in most cases. Also, just to be clear - the differences are minor with the HD800, but there's nothing else that will come close to an improvement, IMHO. You might get slightly more detail with the Focal Utopia, but you will lose that soundstage and imaging with a Focal.

Concur. I go back and forth between HD700 & HD800/SDR, and definitely find they only give what they get. I pair with a slightly warm DAC and a slightly warm tube amp, and find the system entirely satisfactory.

I don’t want to have to eq to get them to sound like I want. No other options?

 

[tomb]

I don’t want to have to eq to get them to sound like I want. No other options?

With the right amp, you don't have to equalize. I only said that because so many people buy the HD800 and then pair them with a sound card or $100 amp.

 

[jordannn15]

With the right amp, you don't have to equalize. I only said that because so many people buy the HD800 and then pair them with a sound card or $100 amp.

Is my NFB-11 a good pairing? I also don’t think I can get a used HD800 for $500. They seem to be going for $750 or more.