[ddlo]

i plan to stop purchasing new headphones for a while as i think i already getting too many but spent too little time in enjoying music

to warp up at this stage, i reflected on myself and found in my current setup (and from the headphones i own/owned), my preferences (purely subjective) are:

1. Susvara - no doubt the best. and could handle most music genres beautifully and never sounds offensive
2. 1266 phi tc - great fun, second to none bass, spacious sound, probably the most sturdy built of all, just the wearing comfort is near bottom
3. ATH-L5000 - really great, luxurious leather cladded outlook, fun tunning, hard hitting and tunned for ACG music and female vocal i loved! and it's very easy to drive to adequate listening volume (something SUS and 1266 notoriously known for on the opposite side)
4. HA-WM90b - new toys syndrome. fun, very good bass and warm tuning also well suited for pop music. the leather storage case and 100yrs water submerged wooden cup are both very well made
5. DCA expanses - i bought several mr. speakers/DCA headphones (expanses, stealth, ether2, aeon open, ether cx ) and this is easily their best for me and the only one i really like! everytime i listened to other headphones and switch back to the expanses, i was amazed by how clean the sound is. this is also supplemented with a tasteful boast of bass and really enjoyable.
6. YH-5000SE - from the look alone, this should be on the favourite list of most people of my era! it just looks like the headphone for darth vader. very light weight and built quality is second to none. sound is good but not the best strength of these attractive headphones.
7. Pioneer SE-master1 - very well built and i got mine brand new at a heavily discounted price last year. the marketing seems hinting this is a studio monitor type thing and carried the air studio collaboration mark. i personally found it bass boasted and more of a fun tuning for the public.
8. HD800s - from my own perspective, the original hd800 is the one headphone that shaped the headfi landscape into what we know now. i bought my hd580 new for less than us$100 and yet after the very successful hd600 family, sennheiser released this landmark product at us$1500 (i bought the contemporary k812 at just us$600)!!! the industrial design and built quality are second to none. despite adopting a futuristic design approach, it is still one of the best design after 14 years. except for hair yanking, there's also no complaint at all for the comfort. i wish for a bit more bass, but otherwise there's nothing i'm unhappy about the sound of this excellent product.
9. D8000 - i bought d8kpro in silver first but got a 2nd hand d8k in black at an very attractive price afterwards. the d8k has better bass and sounds a bit more spacious. this is another headphones which the industrial design is top notch! the headphone stand also are very cleverly design.
10. ML no. 5099 - this is really a gem! such convenience of being wireless (and also true passive mode available if you care to drive it by headphone amp) with truly decent sound quality (tuned to harman target curve - so you could guess if you'd like it). the convenience of being wireless is so great this is my daily headphones. it also got the best wireless stability/range for all wireless headphones/tws earbuds i got.
11. adx5000 - the effort went into package is excessive (also true for most high-end ATH cans). i think it aims squarely at hd800s but sadly it sounds less attractive to me and priced a bit higher than hd800s which makes this seemingly not a good choice to most people

 

[jsk ksj]

i plan to stop purchasing new headphones for a while as i think i already getting too many but spent too little time to enjoying music

to warp up at this stage, i reflected on myself and found in my current setup (and from the headphones i own/owned), my preferences (purely subjective) are:

1. Susvara - no doubt the best. and could handle most music genres beautifully and never sounds offensive
2. 1266 phi tc - great fun, second to none bass, spacious sound, probably the most sturdy built of all, just the wearing comfort is near bottom
3. ATH-L5000 - really great, luxurious leather cladded outlook, fun tunning, hard hitting and tunned for ACG music and female vocal i loved! and it's very easy to drive to adequate listening volume (something SUS and 1266 notoriously known for on the opposite side)
4. HA-WM90b - new toys syndrome. fun, very good bass and warm tuning also well suited for pop music. the leather storage case and 100yrs water submerged wooden cup are both very well made
5. DCA expanses - i bought several mr. speakers/DCA headphones (expanses, stealth, ether2, aeon open, ether cx ) and this is easily their best for me and the only one i really like! everytime i listened to other headphones and switch back to the expanses, i was amazed by how clean the sound is. this is also supplemented with a tasteful boast of bass and really enjoyable.
6. YH-5000SE - from the look alone, this should be on the favourite list of most people of my era! it just looks like the headphone for darth vader. very light weight and built quality is second to none. sound is good but not the best strength of these attractive headphones.
7. Pioneer SE-1 - very well built and i got mine brand new at a heavily discounted price last year. the marketing seems hinting this is a studio monitor type thing and carried the air studio collaboration mark. i personally found it bass boasted and more of a fun tuning for the public.
8. HD800s - from my own perspective, the original hd800 is the one headphone that shaped the headfi landscape into what we know now. i bought my hd580 new for less than us$100 and yet after the very successful hd600 family, sennheiser released this landmark product at us$1500 (i bought the contemporary k812 at just us$600)!!! the industrial design and built quality are second to none. despite adopting a futuristic approach, it still is one of the best design after 14 years. except for hair yanking, there's also no complaint at all for the comfort. i wish for a bit more bass, but otherwise there's nothing i'm unhappy for the sound of this excellent product.
9. D8000 - i bought d8kpro in silver first but got a 2nd hand d8k in black at an very attractive price afterwards. the d8k has better bass and sounds a bit more spacious. this is another headphones which the industrial design is top notch! the headphone stand also are very cleverly design.
10. ML 5099 - this is really a gem! such convenience of being wireless (and also true passive mode available if you care to drive it by headphone amp) with truly decent sound quality (tuned to harman target curve - so you could guess if you'd like it). the convenience of being wireless is so great this is my daily headphones. it also got the best wireless stability/range for all wireless/tws headphones i got.
11. adx5000 - the effort went into package is excessive (true for most high-end ATH cans). i think it aims squarely at hd800s but sadly it sounds less attractive to me and priced a bit higher than hd800s which makes this seemingly not a good choi

nice collection !

 

[Alucard1]

i plan to stop purchasing new headphones for a while as i think i already getting too many but spent too little time in enjoying music

to warp up at this stage, i reflected on myself and found in my current setup (and from the headphones i own/owned), my preferences (purely subjective) are:

1. Susvara - no doubt the best. and could handle most music genres beautifully and never sounds offensive
2. 1266 phi tc - great fun, second to none bass, spacious sound, probably the most sturdy built of all, just the wearing comfort is near bottom
3. ATH-L5000 - really great, luxurious leather cladded outlook, fun tunning, hard hitting and tunned for ACG music and female vocal i loved! and it's very easy to drive to adequate listening volume (something SUS and 1266 notoriously known for on the opposite side)
4. HA-WM90b - new toys syndrome. fun, very good bass and warm tuning also well suited for pop music. the leather storage case and 100yrs water submerged wooden cup are both very well made
5. DCA expanses - i bought several mr. speakers/DCA headphones (expanses, stealth, ether2, aeon open, ether cx ) and this is easily their best for me and the only one i really like! everytime i listened to other headphones and switch back to the expanses, i was amazed by how clean the sound is. this is also supplemented with a tasteful boast of bass and really enjoyable.
6. YH-5000SE - from the look alone, this should be on the favourite list of most people of my era! it just looks like the headphone for darth vader. very light weight and built quality is second to none. sound is good but not the best strength of these attractive headphones.
7. Pioneer SE-master1 - very well built and i got mine brand new at a heavily discounted price last year. the marketing seems hinting this is a studio monitor type thing and carried the air studio collaboration mark. i personally found it bass boasted and more of a fun tuning for the public.
8. HD800s - from my own perspective, the original hd800 is the one headphone that shaped the headfi landscape into what we know now. i bought my hd580 new for less than us$100 and yet after the very successful hd600 family, sennheiser released this landmark product at us$1500 (i bought the contemporary k812 at just us$600)!!! the industrial design and built quality are second to none. despite adopting a futuristic design approach, it is still one of the best design after 14 years. except for hair yanking, there's also no complaint at all for the comfort. i wish for a bit more bass, but otherwise there's nothing i'm unhappy about the sound of this excellent product.
9. D8000 - i bought d8kpro in silver first but got a 2nd hand d8k in black at an very attractive price afterwards. the d8k has better bass and sounds a bit more spacious. this is another headphones which the industrial design is top notch! the headphone stand also are very cleverly design.
10. ML no. 5099 - this is really a gem! such convenience of being wireless (and also true passive mode available if you care to drive it by headphone amp) with truly decent sound quality (tuned to harman target curve - so you could guess if you'd like it). the convenience of being wireless is so great this is my daily headphones. it also got the best wireless stability/range for all wireless headphones/tws earbuds i got.
11. adx5000 - the effort went into package is excessive (also true for most high-end ATH cans). i think it aims squarely at hd800s but sadly it sounds less attractive to me and priced a bit higher than hd800s which makes this seemingly not a good choice to most people

Pioneer SE Master 1 above Final D8000? Interesting. For me Pioneers after Finals sounds little bit shallow, lightweighted, not so full. But i agree, both headphones sound like products clearly designed for audiophiles, not for professionals. Strong bass, big sound, fun to listen. I prefer D8000, they sound like you seat in a movie theater, everyrhing is deep, bold and heavy with this specific open space. Sound kinda from 80's, not smoething to test tracks or equipment, just full music. Pioneers are great but more ordinary.

 

[DarknessEclipse]

For music listening:
1. Focal Clear Professional
2. Focal Elegia (Dekoni Limited Stellia)
3. Focal Bathys
4. Sennheiser HD6XX (Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin)
5. Audio Technica MSR7b

For gaming:
1. Focal Bathys
2. Sennheiser HD6XX (Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin)

 

[HWB3]

Sundara's, HD6XX's, Grado SR225X's, K702's. The Grado's and AKG's change places depending on what I'm listening to. The top two pretty much stay the same.

 

[Thomasr]

For music listening:
1. Focal Clear Professional
2. Focal Elegia (Dekoni Limited Stellia)
3. Focal Bathys
4. Sennheiser HD6XX (Dekoni Fenestrated Sheepskin)
5. Audio Technica MSR7b

Stock pads on the MSR7b?

 

[bagwell359]

1. DCA expanses - i bought several mr. speakers/DCA headphones (expanses, stealth, ether2, aeon open, ether cx ) and this is easily their best for me and the only one i really like! everytime i listened to other headphones and switch back to the expanses, i was amazed by how clean the sound is. this is also supplemented with a tasteful boast of bass and really enjoyable.

Try the Voce? My favorite can.

1. D8000 - i bought d8kpro in silver first but got a 2nd hand d8k in black at an very attractive price afterwards. the d8k has better bass and sounds a bit more spacious. this is another headphones which the industrial design is top notch! the headphone stand also are very cleverly design.

d8k is right up near the top for me.

Some collection....!!

 

[ddlo]

Try the Voce? My favorite can.

didn't have chance to demo voce. but have listened to both x9000 and 009s for a few times. x9000 is really great too. just they've a very long queue and hard to maintain (most people told me i need a humidity controlled cabinet) so gave up this idea . . .

 

[DarknessEclipse]

Stock pads on the MSR7b?

Yes, stock pads. Now they are all cracked and dry.

To be totally honest, I don't like those headphones. Not sure why, they are too fatiguing for me - maybe it's their sibilance?
I kept them because I had a great deal at the time and my wife likes them. Should buy some new pads.

 

[bagwell359]

didn't have chance to demo voce. but have listened to both x9000 and 009s for a few times. x9000 is really great too. just they've a very long queue and hard to maintain (most people told me i need a humidity controlled cabinet) so gave up this idea . . .

Have not heard 9k, but, 009's - yes. Voce with the new pads has better bass impact and has a very natural treble decay, the 009 is too shimmery for me (but it is still an amazing headphone, just needs very careful matching to head that off - not sure what combos however). So overall timbre is just better, and details seem lesser, to most, but with reference recordings of acoustic music that I heard the artist in the same setting, its an artifical and ever present coloration that is like home for people whose reference is only music played back. The Voce does need a lot of juice, so the older Stax amps can't do the job.

 

[jasonb]

Etymotic ER4SR(with a little EQ) > everything

 

[Alucard1]

didn't have chance to demo voce. but have listened to both x9000 and 009s for a few times. x9000 is really great too. just they've a very long queue and hard to maintain (most people told me i need a humidity controlled cabinet) so gave up this idea . . .

Ive heard Voce once. For short time sadly. Very 3D but small sounding. Not shy. Sounds wet and realistic, with metalic silver like signature. Lots of highs, they dominate absolutely, midrwnge fair visable, bass hard, textured and samll. Under 100hz almost non existing. Headphones build to sound clean and reaviling. Nothing in your bassy taste i think. But is just impressions after 1 hour session maybe.

 

[nieveulv]

Heres my rank. All are owned/extensively demoed at some point

I may miss a few

1. HD800s EQ - Soundstage and space....have special sauce for me that hits my preference perfectly. (my backend is created for the hd800s)
2.1 Susvara - flawless tonality and technicalities
2.2 Caldera stock pads - A fun engaging susvara
3.1 Atrium Unipad leather - Makes almost all music sounds good and pleasant
3.2 Verite universe pads leather - Special sauce and tuning, cant be replicated by other systems. Spacious and cozy
4. LCD - XC EQ - EQ King. once dialed in almost flawless in sound. Very heavy so lower score
5. Utopia 2022 - Tonal and midbass is addicting, restricted by small width of soundstage.
6. HE1000v2 - Wide spacious and wonderful tonality. Sometimes can sound unnatural to my ears and system
7. Verite closed auteur leather - i prefer the open for the lower midbass which makes song piano sounds too thick for me. I prefer The VO space rendering
8. Arya v3 - good at everything, master of none
9. Beyer t1.1 - Liked stock tonality with otl, but sometimes brightness can get attacking for me for rock and metal music
10. Ananda - Nice pleasant listen.
11. Audeze Lcd 5 - I cant seem to enjoy these, clamps hard and too mid forward and shouty for my preference
12. hifiman r-10D - Fun and bassy for some tracks, lacks technicalities (BT mode only)



Demoed shortly and not extensive enough

-Zmf aeolus - Very fun engaging listen. Really musical
- adx5000 - Also very fun and alot of wow. A bit bright when hearing saxophones
- meze elite - Pleasant with nice space rendering
-he1000 stealth - i thought these are really bright but have better punch then the v2/
-Audeze lcd 3 - Romantic and easy to listen
-Abyss diana phi - Have a certain shimmer that i found unnatural
-Auteur OG - i remember really liking this, but prefer the aeolus
-Stax sr009 with srm700ii - I thought its really metallic...
-Focal clear mg - very vanilla
-Zmf atticus - very underwhelmed, maybe amp does not match (woo audio wa3)

Really really want to listen

-ERZETICH charybdis
-d8000 pro / d8000
-he1000se
-Diana TC
-Abyss 1266 tc
-HE6 OG
-he6se v2

 

[hawk13]

Heres my rank. All are owned/extensively demoed at some point

I may miss a few

1. HD800s EQ - Soundstage and space....have special sauce for me that hits my preference perfectly. (my backend is created for the hd800s)
2.1 Susvara - flawless tonality and technicalities
2.2 Caldera stock pads - A fun engaging susvara
3.1 Atrium Unipad leather - Makes almost all music sounds good and pleasant
3.2 Verite universe pads leather - Special sauce and tuning, cant be replicated by other systems. Spacious and cozy
4. LCD - XC EQ - EQ King. once dialed in almost flawless in sound. Very heavy so lower score
5. Utopia 2022 - Tonal and midbass is addicting, restricted by small width of soundstage.
6. HE1000v2 - Wide spacious and wonderful tonality. Sometimes can sound unnatural to my ears and system
7. Verite closed auteur leather - i prefer the open for the lower midbass which makes song piano sounds too thick for me. I prefer The VO space rendering
8. Arya v3 - good at everything, master of none
9. Beyer t1.1 - Liked stock tonality with otl, but sometimes brightness can get attacking for me for rock and metal music
10. Ananda - Nice pleasant listen.
11. Audeze Lcd 5 - I cant seem to enjoy these, clamps hard and too mid forward and shouty for my preference
12. hifiman r-10D - Fun and bassy for some tracks, lacks technicalities (BT mode only)



Demoed shortly and not extensive enough

-Zmf aeolus - Very fun engaging listen. Really musical
- adx5000 - Also very fun and alot of wow. A bit bright when hearing saxophones
- meze elite - Pleasant with nice space rendering
-he1000 stealth - i thought these are really bright but have better punch then the v2/
-Audeze lcd 3 - Romantic and easy to listen
-Abyss diana phi - Have a certain shimmer that i found unnatural
-Auteur OG - i remember really liking this, but prefer the aeolus
-Stax sr009 with srm700ii - I thought its really metallic...
-Focal clear mg - very vanilla
-Zmf atticus - very underwhelmed, maybe amp does not match (woo audio wa3)

Really really want to listen

-ERZETICH charybdis
-d8000 pro / d8000
-he1000se
-Diana TC
-Abyss 1266 tc
-HE6 OG
-he6se v2

The HEKse is not to be missed.

 

[bagwell359]

Ive heard Voce once. For short time sadly. Very 3D but small sounding. Not shy. Sounds wet and realistic, with metalic silver like signature. Lots of highs, they dominate absolutely, midrwnge fair visable, bass hard, textured and samll. Under 100hz almost non existing. Headphones build to sound clean and reaviling. Nothing in your bassy taste i think. But is just impressions after 1 hour session maybe.

hi, what amp? and which pads?

On the BH and the HFM Jr it has bass flat to 60, and only down about 3.5 db at 20 Hz. Not much for a bass head and/or lover of the very bass of the colored 900 v2, etc, . but well ahead of any other estat I've heard including the 007 and 009. Good impact, great timbre, excellent damping/speed - to me. Not a match for the HE-6 6 screw or OG LCD-4, but not much does.