[NaiveSound]

Empire Ears Zeus XR
Hd800s
T1 2nd ed
He400i
Se846

 

[ranfan]

Empire Ears Spartan 4
Empire Ears Supra 2
audio-technica ATH-W1000x
Noble Savant
Grado SR225e
Grado SR125e
Co-Donguri Shizuku
Grado SR80e
Sony MDR-MA900
audio-technica ATH-WS1100
Zero Audio Zero Bass ZB-03
Zero Audio Carbo Tenore
Radius HP-NEF11
Philips Fidelio NC1
--

And now, am looking for an upgrade to:
Alessandro MS2e (Headphone)
Hibino Oriolus (IEM)

Or do you have any other recommendation similar to above?

 

[pila405]

1. Sennheiser HD650
2. HifiMan RE400
3. Sennheiser HD800
4. Etymotics HF-5
5. AKG K702
6. Westone ES3X
7. Logitech UE900
8. Koss Porta-Pro

 

[marts30]

  Empire Ears Spartan 4
Empire Ears Supra 2
audio-technica ATH-W1000x
Noble Savant
Grado SR225e
Grado SR125e
Co-Donguri Shizuku
Grado SR80e
Sony MDR-MA900
audio-technica ATH-WS1100
Zero Audio Zero Bass ZB-03
Zero Audio Carbo Tenore
Radius HP-NEF11
Philips Fidelio NC1
--

And now, am looking for an upgrade to:
Alessandro MS2e (Headphone)
Hibino Oriolus (IEM)

Or do you have any other recommendation similar to above?

 
I'm not sure you're gaining much by getting the MS2e, I just sold mine. I prefered the 60e over MS2e, 325e, 325is... YMMV. MS2e and 60e just sounded so similar to me with the same pads, preferred the bit more bass on the 60 but other than that... unless you want the better build.

 

[god-bluff]

Collection of fairly modest but enjoyable headphones. All time favourite Focal Spirit Classic finally gone forever

1)Beyerdynamic DT440 (old favourite, beautifully balanced engaging open & speaker-like sound. Massively underrated)

2)Musical Fidelity MF100 (bright Grado-like low level listening, amazing detail)

3)Sony mdr10rc (ultra comfortable, smooth but dynamic easy listening, come alive with amping)

=4)Sennheiser HD25 1-II (absolute classic with seemingly limitless potential. Try with Mojo; WOW!!)

=4)Sony MDR100aap (natural Musical easy listening, easily driven; perfect portable)

6)Jays v-Jays (pocket rocket)

7) B&O Form2 (design classic)

=7) Sony SBH 60 (amazingly good Bluetooth phones for tiny price and size)

IEMs Musical Fidelity EB50 (want for nothing else)

(PS Apologies for all the clichés used in above)

 

[wafflezz]

  My ratings do not reflect the actual performance between each headphone, but just my preference of each based on the sound, comfort, and value (price I paid)
 
10  Sennheiser hd800 
10  AKG K601 
9.5  AKG Q701 
9  B&O H6 
8  Sony mdr ex1000 
8  Hifiman he560
8  Brainwavz hm5
8  Koss ksc75
8  Havi b3 pro1
7 Logitech ue900
7  Audio technica w5000
7  Beyerdynamic dt1770
7  Sennheiser hd700
7  Audio technica msr7
7  Hifiman re400 
6  Beyerdynamic t1
6  Etymotic er4pt 
6  Akg Q701 bass modded
5  Sennheiser hd600
5  Akg k551
5  Sony ma900 
5  Beyerdynamic byron BT 
5  Meelectronics m6 pro
4  Philips s2 
4  Hifiman edition s
4  Zero audio carbo tenore 
2  Fiio ex1 

Wow! Sennheiser and Fiio ex1 that low?
I have both the hd650 and the ex1 and those are two of my favorites. Shouldn't the ex1 be somewhat similar to the AKG signature actually?
 

 

[akg fanboy]

  Wow! Sennheiser and Fiio ex1 that low?
I have both the hd650 and the ex1 and those are two of my favorites. Shouldn't the ex1 be somewhat similar to the AKG signature actually?
 

The ex1? Yeah that's what I bought them thinking lol. The soundstage isn't nearly as wide as reviewers state.... I was very disappointed, the only reason why the typical iem sized soundstage even exists at all is because of the withdrawn mids which fools you into thinking the vocals are further away, but in a very irritating manner. Speaking of mids, this iem has the most empty, lifeless, hallow, v shaped mids in an iem I have ever tried. I love mids and this thing has none, I wasn't expecting this after seeing all the positive reviews and the one from cnet claiming it performs well over its price (lesson learned, don't trust cnet). The treble is more bright than an akg, it honestly doesn't bother me too much but combined with the hallow mids, just exaggerates the lack of mids even more. Then comes the bass, BOOM BOOM BOOM. The bass isn't controlled at all, and nothing about it resembles the akg sound in the end lol. There are better iems for bass, better iems for clarity, better iems for soundstage, and of course a billion better iems for mids. So I don't see the point of this thing really.
 
There is 1 thing I loved about them though and it had nothing to do with the sound..... they were fairly comfortable but they NEVER fell out. It is honestly the best non custom iem I have ever tried in my life for fit... too bad the sound doesn't live up to that.
 
The hd600 is kinda in the same ballpark, except it is pretty balanced. I wouldn't call it very neutral, the mid bass has some exaggeration while the sub bass rolls off, the treble is also rolled off a bit. A lot of reviewers say the hd600 has really good mids, but it was just dead flat.... boring to say at the least. For the price I paid, it is hardly a decent value for me They aren't bad headphones but just don't really have any major strengths, my hifimans are better for neutrality imo. Also the comfort is pretty terrible, the pads aren't soft, the headband bumps are uncomfortable, and the clamp force is high

 

[swspiers]

HD800S- blown away every time I listen to these. Every time!

Alpha Primes- so close to the 800S's in many ways, but the bass is much more present. Still surprised at how good these are.

RE600- how I think IEM's should sound. 2 years, no issues with reliability.

HE 400i- great headphone, especially at recent prices. Simply cannot hang with the top 2 in my collection.

Sr 225i- not much head time. The darn things hurt my ears, not a fan of "on-ear" headphones any more. But still amazing with electric guitar.

 

[RCBinTN]

  Yes, completely agree that open backs sound more natural, even with a similar sound signature, however currawong told me that the xc specifically had the best mids in any headphone he ever tried (more so than the normal x), which is why I am slightly interested. Boomy bass is a huge turn off for me though and I know they are some of the heaviest headphones out there so even if the bass wasn't an issue, I know for a fact that I wouldn't keep it. Thanks for your input ROBERT lol

 
Well, Amos has great ears and reports objectively. I would agree the XC have great bass/mids. I was always more a fan of the X because they don't have that closed, cave-like feeling (to me). However, with recent cable upgrades, the mids of my X have opened up nicely. I sold the XC before making the cable upgrades, so can't directly compare.
 
There's a chance that @Currawong may have changed his opinion on the XC mids, with the HD800/HD800S he's been working on...
 
This is Robert reporting live from middle TN .
 
Cheers All,
RCB

 

[theminstrel]

Headphones I used to own
1) ATH MSR7
2) ATH M50x
3) Sennheiser HD449
4) Shure 750DJ
5) some godawful £20 On-Ear Sony.

 

[atarione]

1. DT880 Premium 250Ohms
2. DT770 Pro 80's
3. ATH M50X  / M50 (own both)
4. Sony MDR V6
5. Griffin Woodtones
6. Pioneer SE-A1000
7. JVC HA-SR85
 
 
If they hadn't have broken at the hinge the JVC HA-RX700's would probably be ranked 5 moving everything else down 1
 
 
and at the veeeery bottom of the list... below the foam covered headphones that came with my cheap AM/FM walkman in the 80's would be the ATH AD700's I owned for a very short period time ...I was allergic to the ear pads and they provide no bass whatsoever... blah

 

[Currawong]

  currawong told me that the xc specifically had the best mids in any headphone he ever tried (more so than the normal x)

 
No I did not. If you're going to say that I said something, please paste the exact thing I said, instead of guessing, and subsequently getting it wrong. 

 

[akg fanboy]

   
No I did not. If you're going to say that I said something, please paste the exact thing I said, instead of guessing, and subsequently getting it wrong. 

yeah ok you said it was the best planar for mids, took a while to search that thread... I was speaking based on rough memory but I did remember you said something along the lines of the xc being the best for mids.... just forgot to add planar. I didn't remember asking specifically for planars which is probably why I mixed it up. Owned the technics which is apparently the best for mids that you said.... they certainly are a king of mids, but was not impressed due to the treble dips lol

 

[Currawong]

 

   
No I did not. If you're going to say that I said something, please paste the exact thing I said, instead of guessing, and subsequently getting it wrong. 

yeah ok you said it was the best planar for mids, took a while to search that thread... I was speaking based on rough memory but I did remember you said something along the lines of the xc being the best for mids.... just forgot to add planar. I didn't remember asking specifically for planars which is probably why I mixed it up. Owned the technics which is apparently the best for mids that you said.... they certainly are a king of mids, but was not impressed due to the treble dips lol

What I might have said is this: If you like mid-forward cans, like Audio Technicas, the XCs sound like what I reckon would result if Audio Technica had made a planar. If you overlay the FR graphs of the W5000 and XC, if both are on HeadRoom's site still, then through the mid-range they overlap. I can't speak for the quality of the mids though, as my original-driver pair has some harshness, which I don't know if it is present on current production models.

 

[akg fanboy]

What I might have said is this: If you like mid-forward cans, like Audio Technicas, the XCs sound like what I reckon would result if Audio Technica had made a planar. If you overlay the FR graphs of the W5000 and XC, if both are on HeadRoom's site still, then through the mid-range they overlap. I can't speak for the quality of the mids though, as my original-driver pair has some harshness, which I don't know if it is present on current production models.

The only quote I could really find was this
" If you want a pair of mid-forward planars, it's pretty much the Audeze LCD-XC, which sound rather what I'd expect if Audio Technica (the kings of mid-forward designs) made a planar headphone."

If technics are the king of mids then the xc should be the king of planar mids since thats what a hypothetical technics planar would sound like right?
I don't disagree because the w5000 far surpasses any headphone i've tried for the mids. And even if I didn't like it because of the treble dips, I learned quite a lot... The most from owning any headphone so I don't regret buying it though. Would probably still want the w5000 if I had not bought it that day lol