[breizh]

1- Beyer T1 - Fantastic with the right amp (tubes !) - disappointing with the wrong one
2- Philips fidelio X2: very easy to amp, full bodied sound
3- Beyer DT880 32 ohms: good with warm amp especially (need weight in the bass)
4- AKG K550: very well balanced but closed (generally suffer the comparison with open design in my opinion)
5- Noontec zoro: very easy to amp (16 ohms !) - powerful sound - bad fit
6- Sennheiser px100-II: impressive for the price  - nice bass

 

[Beencredible]

  1- Beyer T1 - Fantastic with the right amp (tubes !) - disappointing with the wrong one
2- Philips fidelio X2: very easy to amp, full bodied sound
3- Beyer DT880 32 ohms: good with warm amp especially (need weight in the bass)
4- AKG K550: very well balanced but closed (generally suffer the comparison with open design in my opinion)
5- Noontec zoro: very easy to amp (16 ohms !) - powerful sound - bad fit
6- Sennheiser px100-II: impressive for the price  - nice bass

I love my closed headphones, but I'm looking for my very first open ones. Can you tell me how much better the X2 is to the DT880 according to your tastes and how they compare to the K550? Those are my top two considerations right now.

 

[takato14]

 

  1- Beyer T1 - Fantastic with the right amp (tubes !) - disappointing with the wrong one
2- Philips fidelio X2: very easy to amp, full bodied sound
3- Beyer DT880 32 ohms: good with warm amp especially (need weight in the bass)
4- AKG K550: very well balanced but closed (generally suffer the comparison with open design in my opinion)
5- Noontec zoro: very easy to amp (16 ohms !) - powerful sound - bad fit
6- Sennheiser px100-II: impressive for the price  - nice bass

I love my closed headphones, but I'm looking for my very first open ones. Can you tell me how much better the X2 is to the DT880 according to your tastes and how they compare to the K550? Those are my top two considerations right now.

The DT880 slaughters the X2 in everything but... well, not having a massive annoying treble peak. The X2 is probably a better choice for someone just starting with open backs because it's not as offensive. It also doesn't require a gigavolt amplifier.
 
The AKG Q701 might be a good choice if you have the right amp. You need a bit more juice than the specs suggest to get it to 100%; try Asgard 2, Magni 2 Uber, maybe Vali. Avoid the Objective2 for this headphone.
 
Btw, never buy the 32 ohm variant if you do decide to get a Beyer; they're strictly worse sounding. 600 ohm is the best, but the 250 ohm is usually within 85-90% of performance of the 600 assuming both are properly amped and the 600 ohm is much more difficult to handle.

 

[Beencredible]

Thanks. In terms of bass quantity and accuracy, which one does it better? And which one does vocals better?

 

[boblt29]

1. Sennheiser HD650 by far the best, this pair is my baby! I'm soon going to buy the HD800 because I'm never disappointed with any sennheisers I've owned!
2. Sennheiser HD280
3. Sennheiser HD202

 

[Barra]

This is a rating for most enjoyable in terms of musical, emotional, lush, euphoric, and detailed - not necessarily in terms of measured performance or cost. This is a mix of my current and past headphones as well as those auditioned long term or numerous times:

• LCD-X (Aud)
• LCD-XC (Aud)
• Hidition NT6Pro CIEMs (Own)
• HD800 (Aud)
• LCD2.2 (Own)
• CustomArt H8P CIEMs (Aud)
• Noble K10 CIEMs (Aud)
• Fostex TH-900
• HD700 (Own)
• PM1 (Aud)
• T1 (Aud)
• HE560 (Aud)
• HD650 (Aud)
• HE500 (Aud)
• HD600 (Aud)
• TF10 IEMs (Sold)
• Monster Coppers IEMs (Sold)

 

[Shaffer]

I had a look at my previous post in this thread, and my ratings really haven't changed:

1. K702 w/bass mod

1. HD600

2. DT880/600

3. DT990pro

4. AD900x

4.5. A900x

5. K550

 

[breizh]

 
I love my closed headphones, but I'm looking for my very first open ones. Can you tell me how much better the X2 is to the DT880 according to your tastes and how they compare to the K550? Those are my top two considerations right now.

I would say it depends on your amp...
X2 vs DT880, it's really a matter of preference - let's say the sound with the X2 is fuller, with significantly more bass and body - more soundstage depth also - the DT880 feels drier and less 3D
The X2 is very good with a neutral amp, a warm amp would fit the DT880 better
 
I would go with the X2 the transparency is very good, and to summarize you'll get more fun with it
 
Now to compare open and closed headphones...i feel that the sound with open design is more natural, it moves more easily, it's airier
From a pure sound quality point of view, I would choose open headphones without any hesitation - really better

 

[stacker45]

I just ordered a pair of new old stock Grado RS1, so these will surely change the pecking order, we'll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile, this is how it looks.
 
1) - Grado PS1000
2) - Grado HP1000
3) - Grado GS1000
4) - Grado Bushmills X
5) - Grado SR80e
6) - Grado SR80i
 
Yes, I am a Grado fan, but i'm not a Grado fanboy, I'm the first one to admit that other companies make great headphones too. It's just that I know myself enough to know the if I had heaphones from other makes, I'd want the flagship models, and it would get very expensive, very fast, that's why I limit myself to one brand.

 

[redogfizbal]

PM-3
DT770 80ohm
Koss Porta Pro
Monster I Sport Victory..for the gym and that's about all they are good for.

 

[ssrock64]

  I just ordered a pair of new old stock Grado RS1, so these will surely change the pecking order, we'll just have to wait and see. Meanwhile, this is how it looks.
 
1) - Grado PS1000
2) - Grado HP1000
3) - Grado GS1000
4) - Grado Bushmills X
5) - Grado SR80e
6) - Grado SR80i
 
Yes, I am a Grado fan, but i'm not a Grado fanboy, I'm the first one to admit that other companies make great headphones too. It's just that I know myself enough to know the if I had heaphones from other makes, I'd want the flagship models, and it would get very expensive, very fast, that's why I limit myself to one brand.

For somebody with an HP1000, PS1000, and GS1000, it astounds me that you don't already have an RS1. especially since many consider it to be their best model of the modern era. How have you waited so long?

 

[leontief]

• Audio-Technica ATH-ESW9A
• 1964 Ears 1964T
• Koss KSC-75
• Apple EarPods

 
Guess which I use most often [by far]? 

 

[noahbickart]

1. Hifiman He-400
2. AKG k701
3. Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 250
3. NHT Superbuds
5. Sony HDR V900
 
All MSB Link III or Musical Fidelity x24k> xCan 2 or Creek obh-11.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

1. Audio-Technica ATH-ESW9A
2. 1964 Ears 1964T
3. Koss KSC-75
4. Apple EarPods

Guess which I use most often [by far]? 

I guess KSC75.

 

[Liu Junyuan]

1. Hifiman He-400
2. AKG k701
3. Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 250
3. NHT Superbuds
5. Sony HDR V900

All MSB Link III or Musical Fidelity x24k> xCan 2 or Creek obh-11.

Creek OBH-11 was my first amp, paired with Musical Fidelity V-DAC.