[nvmadamada]

Current_
1a. Ether Flow 1.1
: without the 1.1 tune the EFO was my first over, self-imposed, budget purchase in this hobby. Stock EFO, imo, was near perfect for my preference. The 1.1 tunekit with Mrspeakers' newer pads made them significantly better for me. *Soundstage has more depth and width, bass is tighter, punchier and cleaner, treble seems smoother and more refined. *using 1.1 with no inserts. If I were to keep it short and simple, they sound ethereal.

1b. Focal Clear
: clear, detailed and dynamic! my favorite aspect of the Clear are how well they handle the upper frequencies, imo, they dance around the fine thin line of being too bright but never getting to that point. I prefer the Clear over stock EFO but the EFO 1.1 and the Clear are tied and come down to whether I want something smooth or dynamic, the Clear being the latter.

2. Atticus Zebrawood
: lush, warm, smooth and "audiophile bass" headphone. Zach makes beautiful looking headphones that sound just as nice if not better than how they look. Surprisingly spacious sound for a closed headphone. Currently my only closed headphone for the rotation.

3. HD800 SDR MOD
: analytical, transparent and massive soundstage. amp/dac dependent. I wasn't expecting to like these but the SDR mod and the pairing of my Mjolnir2/Gumby with WE396a tubes; they are very impressive.

4. HD58x Jubilee
: the best $125 Ive spent in this hobby. My go to recommendation for newcomers. I personally think everyone should have this in their collection. I primarily use them to game and for slight casual listening. imo, the sound you get with these hit above their asking price.

5. HD6xx
: another recommendation for newcomers, laid back and are an easy listen for extended periods of time.

6. HD700 ModHouse Mod
: primarly used for more competitive gaming and slight casual listening. For gaming, the soundstage and imaging comes in clutch. The MH mod is an easy recommendation from me to fix the treble issue.

Owned_
1a. EFO 1.1
1b. Focal Clear
2. Aeon Flow Closed
: probably my favorite closed back headphone I've had the chance to hear. Honestly didn't appreciate them as much when I owned them and will probably get ahold of them sometime in the future.
3a. Aeon Flow Open
: my first "high end/mid tier" purchase. At the time I was ecstatic with the whole process of going thru my collection of music and re-listening to them. These headphone made me fall deeper into the rabbit hole of this hobby, amp/dac pairing, music quality, etc. Eventually let go because of getting the Ether Flow.
3b. Focal Elear
: dynamic! soundstage was weird but satisfying, ZReview mentions this on his review. Eventually let go to fund my upgrade to the Clear.
4. Atticus Zebrawood
5. HD800 SDR
6. HD58x Jubilee
7. HD6xx
8. HD700 MHM

 

[silversurfer616]

Currently
1) LCD-4
2) LCD-4 crazy I know but I wanted to compare and living in NZ means one has to buy. Well, this pair is slightly brighter and I prefer the slightly darker one...in terms of tonality. This pair is for sale, by the way...
3) HD-800S
4) LCD-3 heavy bass and deep and 3-D soundstage.
5) HE-6 not holographic enough but resolution which is just 'pure'.
6) HE-500
7) Ether Aeon Flow
8) HD-650

 

[lestatdi]

1- Audeze LCD2 Fazor
2- Fostex TH900 Mk2
3- Focal Elear
4- Audeze EL-8 Open
5- Fostex TH-x00
6- Sony MDR-1A
7- Denon AH-D600
8- Boss Hifiman B8
9- Takstar Pro 82

Thinking in buying a LCD2 Classic and Dekoni pads for Focal Elear... LOL

 

[PointyFox]

(Best to worst)

Stax SR-007A with BluTack mod (best transparency, excellent everything, very smooth sounding.)
Campfire Andromeda (Rivals HD800S / MDR-Z1R in transparency and very even sounding. Good everything. Sound stage is a little smaller than with over ear headphones.)
Sony MDR-Z1R (Closed headphones with great transparency and better bass than HD800S. Amazing for a closed back.)
Sennheiser HD800S (Super transparent with more bass than Stax SR Lambda Pro. Lightweight but ear pads are large but don't conform well.)
Audeze LCD4 (Best bass, good transparency, very heavy, prone to driver failures with pressure changes.)
Stax SR Lambda Pro (Super transparent)
AKG K7XX (Great value. Elastic may go bad over time.)
Sennheiser HD600 (Slightly more realistic frequency response than HD650)
Sennheiser HD650
Beyerdynamic DT880 (Annoying treble peak, ~8.5 kHz)
AKG K702 (Painful headband)
Beyerdynamic DT990
Grado SR-80e with L cushions (L cusions improve sound quite a bit, kind of uncomfortable, tons of midbass, good transparency.)
Denon D2000
Shure SE846 (Terrible value)
Sennheiser IE80 (Good value, but sound a little muffled compared to higher end stuff)
Etymotic ER4XR (Good as earplugs. Sound not very impressive)
Sennheiser HD598 (A little muffled sounding.)
Bose Triport (Good 3D sound positioning. Lightweight.)
Westone W30 (All mid-range. Not very good for listening to music.)
Grado SR-60i (Poor fit, comfort and bass. Decent transparency. Would probably sound better with L cushions.)
KZ ZS6 (Treble is peaky.)
VJJB-V1S (Sound is very good for price.)
ViSang R02 (Sound is very good for price.)
Koss Porta Pro (Very light weight. Sound is pretty good for price. Open back design.)
Panasonic RPHJE120S
Panasonic RP HT355

 

[Kent0]

1. Sennheiser HD 800S
2. Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro
3. AKG K553 (Modded)

 

[Deaj]

Revised list:
1. beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro
2. Custom Grado build (early 90's SR325 cups, no buttons, properly sealed driver seat and inside walls of the cups, SMC coax jacks for removable cable, Symphones Magnum V8 drivers)
3. beyerdynamic Amiron Home
4. beyerdynamic DT250 / 250 ohm

 

[koover]

Almost impossible to list from best to worst as I truly like/love them all for their own unique characteristics. I've gone through so many headphones and "think" I've settled on these.

• Klipsch Heritage HP-3 ebony (hits all the sweet spots for me. Checks off all the boxes for what I look for in a headphone. Very musical, Very live sound....like you're there, sounds close to a set of tower speakers, the bass just kills it, mids just a "tad" recessed but not a deal breaker, nice extended non sibilant treble. Good soundstage, great timbre of instruments, very nice separation, 3D sounding. Organic as it gets sweeping me away in my music. Nothing touches it for my ears. Pretty much unheard of, underappreciated and very underrated)
• Focal Clear (incredibly clear, dynamic, impactful, solid bass, extended treble without sibilance, on and on)
• ZMF Ori in purpleheart (just sweet sounding, euphoric, very musical and organic)
• Audeze LCD2-C (fasted and cleanest bass I've ever heard)
• Denon AHD-2000 modded (unbelievable sounding. Highly modded and I actually prefer it to the TH900.. lol, go ahead, shoot me now)
  
• Meze 99 Classic modded (best bang for the buck)
• Massdrop/Fostex TH-X00 purpleheart modded (still one of my faves once dampening the drivers and swapping out the pads)
• HD650 (still going strong. Those mids)
• HD58X Jubilee (1A best bang for the buck. best starter HP out there)
• 1MTDOE (love it for portable use)
• Grado Nhoord Red drivers w/Rholupat wood cups. (for what I spent on these?... I stole them. Portable only)
• Sony MDR-Z7 modded (Grrrrrr…..the treble just grates on me. Good bass but overwhelming at times and can be very slow/bloated and overweight)

 

[Mhog55]

I really enjoy this thread. I like to research listed headphones that I haven't looked at before. Keep the posts flowing!

 

[George Taylor]

Almost impossible to list from best to worst as I truly like/love them all for their own unique characteristics. I've gone through so many headphones and "think" I've settled on these.

• Klipsch Heritage HP-3 ebony (hits all the sweet spots for me. Checks off all the boxes for what I look for in a headphone. Very musical, Very live sound....like you're there, sounds close to a set of tower speakers, the bass just kills it, mids just a "tad" recessed but not a deal breaker, nice extended non sibilant treble. Good soundstage, great timbre of instruments, very nice separation, 3D sounding. Organic as it gets sweeping me away in my music. Nothing touches it for my ears. Pretty much unheard of, underappreciated and very underrated)
• Focal Clear (incredibly clear, dynamic, impactful, solid bass, extended treble without sibilance, on and on)
• ZMF Ori in purpleheart (just sweet sounding, euphoric, very musical and organic)
• Audeze LCD2-C (fasted and cleanest bass I've ever heard)
• Denon AHD-2000 modded (unbelievable sounding. Highly modded and I actually prefer it to the TH900.. lol, go ahead, shoot me now)
  
• Meze 99 Classic modded (best bang for the buck)
• Massdrop/Fostex TH-X00 purpleheart modded (still one of my faves once dampening the drivers and swapping out the pads)
• HD650 (still going strong. Those mids)
• HD58X Jubilee (1A best bang for the buck. best starter HP out there)
• 1MTDOE (love it for portable use)
• Grado Nhoord Red drivers w/Rholupat wood cups. (for what I spent on these?... I stole them. Portable only)
• Sony MDR-Z7 modded (Grrrrrr…..the treble just grates on me. Good bass but overwhelming at times and can be very slow/bloated and overweight)

When I get to the point that I'm in the buyers market again, I really want to hear those HP-3. I love the design of them, can only hope the sound matches it.

 

[Kukuk]

It's hard to say where the LCD-2C fits in since I just got them, but I'll take a crack at ranking my headphones again.

Beyerdynamic DT1770 Pro - I think this is my favorite at the moment. I've been leaning toward heavier rock lately, so the godly bass these have really adds a lot to the experience. Control is incredible, as is the extension and impact. Despite being bass heavy, they're surprisingly well balanced: mid range is flat, and while the treble is accentuated, it seems to have peaks and valleys in all the right places. I find them to be less fatiguing than both the DT770 Pro and T5p. I'm actually really annoyed that these are so universally maligned. It kind of makes me want to try the T70 and T90, as those were universally panned, too. (Maybe someone has some they'd like to sell? )
Koss ESP-950 - If there was one word I'd use to describe the sound of these, it would be "sweet". Treble is somewhat subdued, but well extended, with bass somewhere around neutral, but slightly rolled off. They just have a consistently nice sound with pretty much everything I throw at them. Imaging is stellar, maybe the best I've heard, with a very intimate soundstage. It's not like sitting in a concert hall, it's more like having all the instruments snuggled up around you. The only reason these are knocked down from the top spot is because I've been digging the bass of the 1770s.
Audeze LCD-2C - I think these land about here at the moment. I posted in the official thread about them, so I won't go on too much about them here, but I generally like their tonal balance. Bass isn't really what I expected, though. Still, there's a lot to like about them, and they'll obviously be seeing more head time.
Beyerdynamic T5p - These always seemed to have a "tuned by ear" type sound. The transition from one frequency range to another isn't very smooth, but I still love the way they sound. They have a forward mid range and treble, with good bass impact. Bass extension is somewhat rolled off, but it's not terrible. Soundstage is very large for a closed headphone, though imaging can be a little off at times.
Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 - Another one that's been meshing well with the music I've been listening to lately. Bass is boosted, but reasonably well controlled, mids are flat, but treble can be a touch fatiguing at times.
Sony MDR-CD900ST - I think my love of these is well documented at this point. Stellar mid range, immensely detailed, very intimate sound. Bass has pretty good impact, but is poorly extended. Treble is somewhat subdued, but well extended. Comfort has really been an issue with me lately: the pads rest on the cartilage of my ear, causing points of extreme pain. Long listening sessions are just not possible. These would probably overtake the DT770s if not for the comfort issues.
AKG K612 Pro - I really like these, the tonal balance is fantastic. Bass is somewhat down in level, but extends pretty well. Soundstage is huge, imaging is very good, treble has sparkle, but the killer is the shouty mids. Sometimes I'm not sensitive to is, and I can enjoy the hell out of them, but other times it's just really grating. These tick a lot of boxes, and I would still recommend them, but I just can't handle them at times.
AKG M220 - I quite like these. Reasonably balanced, decent bass impact, good soundstage, and at a fairly cheap price. They kind of lean toward a darker sound, which was kinda what I was expecting from the LCD-2Cs.
Ultrasone HFI-580 - My main portable headphone. I have other portable headphones, but these have the most consistent sound. Mid range is flat, if unexceptional, bass has very good impact, but is fairly rolled off, and treble is nice and sparkly. I also really like the soundstage and imaging. The S-Logic surround thing that Ultrasone uses really only seemed to work on their lower end headphones, having odd imaging in their higher end ones.
Koss Pro DJ100 - It's actually been a while since I listened to these. I remember liking them, particularly their mid range, but I can't remember a whole lot about them. Might have to dust them off.
Sennheiser HD-25 - I was digging these for a while, but the treble got really fatiguing after a while. Soundstage is small, but they image decently. Stellar isolation, but I haven't found myself in need of good isolation for a while. Headphones are just "meh" overall.
Koss Porta Pro - Another one I'm sorta luke-warm to. Not bad by any means, but too dark sounding to me. I think the KCS-75 sound better. Not sure what happened to my pair of those. Might need to buy another...
Sony MDR-ZX700 - I forget the exact model number of the ones I own, but this is basically what they are, just with an in-line mic and controls. Mids are too shouty, bass extends poorly, imaging is weird, soundstage is small despite the angled drivers, weird peaks and valleys in the treble. Isolation is really good, and they are very comfortable. I think I paid like $30 for them, so they're not terrible for the money, just not very enjoyable to me. Great for gaming and movies and the like. I remember I championed them for a while, but they just sorta went stale for me.
Sony MDR-XB700 - These I own mostly as a curiosity, and for sentimental reasons. They got me into the hobby, so I have a hard time passing them on. Mids are absolutely garbage, and they lack any sense of detail. You can dump infinite amounts of bass into them, though, and it stays reasonably controlled. It's kinda fun just to look at the measurements on Innerfidelity. The 30hz square wave graph actually looks like a square wave. Bass THD hovers around 1%.

Hopefully these tired ramblings made sense. Hah.

 

[Tsukuyomi]

1) Beyerdynamic DT1990 pro
2) B&O h6 (gen2)
3) B&W P7
4) Razer Kraken chroma 7.1
5) samsung akg earbuds(came with phone note9)

 

[Oregonian]

Update for the first time in quite a while...................

1. Pioneer SE Master 1 / Klipsch HP-3 - a virtual tie at this point till I get to do some A/B back to back on the two. Just got the Klipsch a week or so ago and could tell right away it was a keeper and a contender for the title held by the Pioneer as my favorite sound signature of all time after over 60 headphones.
2. Denon LA-7000 - my longest owned headphone and one I'll likely never sell. Fully modded and an incredible sound. Bass that is just right and so tight.
3. HiFiMan HE-400 - modded with every mod known to the community, running it out of speaker taps on a vintage speaker amp, it hits like a brick and the sound is so good. A very underrated and forgotten headphone that is still worthy of listening to along with the three mentioned above. I keep it in my family room and listen to it a couple of times a week and never get disappointed - the bass fed right can be mind blowing.
4. Denon MD-2000 - not far behind the other Denon and the HE-400, it is fully modded by Mark Lawton and is used at work a few hours a week. Great bass.............if you haven't figured out by now I'm an audiophile basshead.
5. Ultrasone Performance 840 - for portable use when I'm working in the yard - fed by a Cayin C5 amp and fronted by an iPod Touch, with Mr Speakers Alpha Pads, this thing isolates and hits like a brick.

 

[Focux]

Currently
1) LCD-4
2) LCD-4 crazy I know but I wanted to compare and living in NZ means one has to buy. Well, this pair is slightly brighter and I prefer the slightly darker one...in terms of tonality. This pair is for sale, by the way...
3) HD-800S
4) LCD-3 heavy bass and deep and 3-D soundstage.
5) HE-6 not holographic enough but resolution which is just 'pure'.
6) HE-500
7) Ether Aeon Flow
8) HD-650

Hello, just curious if u got your LCD4 from AV World. I’m heading there tmr and hopefully they have demo for Focal & Audeze..

 

[silversurfer616]

Hi, no... got them both second hand privately( have sold the brighter one in the meantime) but AVWorld should have one.
Tried Utopia there last year but can't say much about it as my ears were blocked from the flight up to Auckland.
Good luck!

 

[Simx90]

1. Dt 1990 pro
2.hd58x
3.fidelio x2

I want to try the akg k712 too