[MikkiT]

Blimey! I think M&D are quite inconsistent, I had the MW65 and they had all the complaints you mentioned (especially the shoddy vocals) so they got returned. I picked up the MH40s as an impulse buy, wired ones, and am actually pleasantly suprised. The clarity is the second best of any cans I own after the focal clears to my ear, so very interesting to hear you're having the opposite vibe - perhaps you have the wireless version. They're not great by any stretch, but beautiful build and for £90 new I wont complain.

Heard very good things about the senns.

Your comments have prompted to me to pull my MH40s back out of the box to give them another try. My “new” first impressions are pretty much the same. Bass is good and tight, but the rest of the spectrum seems to be an afterthought. Mids are very muffled and vocals are so recessed that Ms Morissette seems to be singing in another room. The high end...well there almost isn’t one. I’m going to connect them to my iPod nano and try a long burn-in to see if that helps.

 

[mainguy]

Your comments have prompted to me to pull my MH40s back out of the box to give them another try. My “new” first impressions are pretty much the same. Bass is good and tight, but the rest of the spectrum seems to be an afterthought. Mids are very muffled and vocals are so recessed that Ms Morissette seems to be singing in another room. The high end...well there almost isn’t one. I’m going to connect them to my iPod nano and try a long burn-in to see if that helps.

Super interesting, that's exactly what I had with the mw65, was awful. I wonder if there's variation in units, I found Tyll's review of the mh40 closest to what I hear - everything feels super close and they have a lot of attack. Flawed but fun

 

[MikkiT]

Super interesting, that's exactly what I had with the mw65, was awful. I wonder if there's variation in units, I found Tyll's review of the mh40 closest to what I hear - everything feels super close and they have a lot of attack. Flawed but fun

Possibly there is some variation in the units produced. The MH40s I have are from NetJets, and are the headphones they give to customers onboard their private aircraft. I got them on eBay for £60 a about 18 months ago.

 

[Vaughn]

GL2000/HE500 a tie for first
SR2
Argon MKIII/Emu teak tie for third
Monoprice M1060C open modded (very good for the price and I could probably live with just these if I had any sense)

 

[Oregonian]

HD800 has poor bass response.

Not when fed right. I feed mine via a vintage speaker amp from the speaker taps and the bass is outstanding.................

 

[ThanatosVI]

Not when fed right. I feed mine via a vintage speaker amp from the speaker taps and the bass is outstanding.................

It is objectively spoken, less than on most other headphones.
Most other headphones fed from the same source and amp will have a stronger bass

 

[HBen]

Time flies and things have changed quite a bit once again ... so here's the actual list (only over ears):

Tier 1A
Stax SR-009
Hifiman Susvara

Tier 1B
Stax SR-007
Abyss Diana (V2 Pads)

Tier 2A
LCD-4Z
Hifiman HE1000
Focal Utopia
Sennheiser HD800

Tier 2B
Audeze LCD3
Hifiman Edition X V2
ZMF Eikon

Tier 3
Sony MDR-Z1R
Hifiman HE560
Stax SR202
Stax SR404
Beyerdynamic T90

Tier 4
AKG K872
MrSpeakers Ether C
Sennheiser HD580
AGK K702
Grado PS500e

Tier 5
and a bunch of others not really worth mentioning.

Everything in Tier 1A until Tier 2B gets listening time on a regular basis. The rest also from time to time but much less.

Next on the wishlist is a Shure KSE 1200/1500 or a eventually a Verité ... after that not much else actually.
Well there are always potential new releases coming up (Maybe Abyss will release a more lightweight phi tc version one day) or if I get some unexpected cash like winning the lottery I might just get rid of everything and aim directly for an orpheus That would definitely make my office much more presentable

Disclaimer: things change, all depends on music style, system synergy etc. Rankings are considering my music style and synergy with my preferred amp/dac combination. Well sometimes preference changes from song to song so nothing is set in stone

 

[ThanatosVI]

In terms of musicality
1. Meze Empyrean
2. T+A Solitaire P

In terms of technicalities
1. T+A Solitaire P
2. Meze Empyrean

 

[rbreakiron]

Just getting started!

1) Beyer Amiron Home
2) Hifiman Sundara
3) Meze Classic

The rabbit hole opened a bit. Just got LCD-3 so new order goes:

1) Audeze LCD-3
2) Beyer Amiron Home
3) Hifiman Sundara (depending on the day I like these better than Amiron)
4) Meze Classic

 

[Martin79]

Not when fed right. I feed mine via a vintage speaker amp from the speaker taps and the bass is outstanding.................

Axel Grell from Sennheiser is the designer of HD800.
He listened to his HD800 with his personal HPA V100. I have HPA V100.

 

[PointyFox]

(Added Focal Clear MG Professional, Nectar Audio Hive, Razer Opus)

Tier 1 - Almost like the headphones aren't there
Stax SR-009 (Has increased imaging and separation over the SR-007. Dynamics seem slightly better. Unmodded has "Stax fart" similar to modded SR-007A and I assume the original MK1.)

Tier 2 - Near perfect
Nectar Audio Hive (Similar to Stax SR-009 except is more forward sounding and not quite as "ethereal". Slightly more bass impact. Requires at least 400 V RMS energizer.)
Stax SR-007MK2 with Blu-Tack mod (like the SR-007A but with less "Stax fart" for some reason.)
Stax SR-007A with Blu-Tack mod ("Stax fart" a little annoying.)
Stax SR-L700MK2 (VERY similar to Focal Clear. Has slightly more mid-bass impact, midrange is not quite as thick. Instruments seem slightly more separated. Soundstage slightly wider. Very similar to SR-007. Soundstage is a little wider on the SR-007 and it has more lower bass until you do the Blu-Tack mod which evens it out.)

Tier 3 - Excellent
Focal Clear MG Professional (Pretty similar to the non-MG version. Excellent extension.)
Focal Clear Professional (Not the widest soundstage but excellent tonality, dynamics, and extension. Treble could use a little boost.)
Sennheiser HD800S (Super transparent with more bass than Stax SR Lambda Pro. Lightweight but ear pads are large and don't conform well. Great soundstage.)
ZMF Eikon (Similar to the MDR-Z1R but with more even frequency response but less bass extension.)

Tier 4 - Excellent with minor imperfections, beginning of summit-fi
Focal Utopia (Slightly wider soundstage than the Clear. Sounds very similar. A little too thick sounding for me resulting in a "wall of sound" and less instrument separation.)
Sony MDR-Z1R (Closed headphones with great transparency and better bass than HD800S. Amazing for a closed back. Similar to ZMF Eikon but with slight peaks in freq. response that sound a little unnatural at times and better bass extension.)
Sennheiser HD820 (Comes close to the HD800S but isn't as tonally even and soundstage is slightly smaller. Has better comfort, isolation, and bass volume though.)
Sony IER-M9 (A little uncomfortable. Sounds nearly perfect if you can get the fit right. Has more lower-midbass than Z1R which increases impact.)
Sony IER-Z1R (A little uncomfortable. Sounds nearly perfect if you can get the fit right. Could use a little more bass impact.)

Tier 5 - Great with slight annoyances
Campfire Andromeda (Rivals HD800S / MDR-Z1R in transparency and very even sounding. Good everything, except bass is a bit light. Sound stage is a little smaller than with over ear headphones.)
Audeze LCD-4 (Best bass, good but not great transparency, very heavy, prone to driver failures with pressure changes. Mine had a driver failure.)

Tier 6 - Very good but not quite impressive
SendyAudio Aiva (Great build quality, looks good, good frequency response except bass extension is lacking.)
Audeze Mobius (Some of the best bass I've heard but soundstage is small.)
Audeze LCD-2 closed back (Heavy, bass extension and impact are lacking, isolation is poor for a closed back.)
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
Razer Opus (Very good timbre and frequency response. Treble and bass are could use more clarity.)

Tier 7 - Good, beginning of hi-fi
qdc Neptune (Good value, sounds like the Andromeda, but a little more muffled and more bass and bass extension).
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.)

Tier 8 - Pretty good
Denon D2000
Shure SE846 (Terrible value. Sounds similar to the IE80.)
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. A bit muffled overall.)
Koss Porta Pro (Very light weight. Sound is good for price. Open back design.)

Tier 9 - Slightly better than average
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.)

Tier 10 - Average, but not bad
Panasonic RPHJE120S
Panasonic RP HT355

 

[ThanatosVI]

(Added Focal Clear MG Professional, Nectar Audio Hive, Razer Opus)

Tier 1 - Almost like the headphones aren't there
Stax SR-009 (Has increased imaging and separation over the SR-007. Dynamics seem slightly better. Unmodded has "Stax fart" similar to modded SR-007A and I assume the original MK1.)

Tier 2 - Near perfect
Nectar Audio Hive (Similar to Stax SR-009 except is more forward sounding and not quite as "ethereal". Slightly more bass impact. Requires at least 400 V RMS energizer.)
Stax SR-007MK2 with Blu-Tack mod (like the SR-007A but with less "Stax fart" for some reason.)
Stax SR-007A with Blu-Tack mod ("Stax fart" a little annoying.)
Stax SR-L700MK2 (VERY similar to Focal Clear. Has slightly more mid-bass impact, midrange is not quite as thick. Instruments seem slightly more separated. Soundstage slightly wider. Very similar to SR-007. Soundstage is a little wider on the SR-007 and it has more lower bass until you do the Blu-Tack mod which evens it out.)

Tier 3 - Excellent
Focal Clear MG Professional (Pretty similar to the non-MG version. Excellent extension.)
Focal Clear Professional (Not the widest soundstage but excellent tonality, dynamics, and extension. Treble could use a little boost.)
Sennheiser HD800S (Super transparent with more bass than Stax SR Lambda Pro. Lightweight but ear pads are large but don't conform well. Great soundstage.)
ZMF Eikon (Similar to the MDR-Z1R but with more even frequency response but less bass extension.)

Tier 4 - Excellent with minor imperfections, beginning of summit-fi
Focal Utopia (Slightly wider soundstage than the Clear. Sounds very similar. A little too thick sounding for me resulting in a "wall of sound" and less instrument separation.)
Sony MDR-Z1R (Closed headphones with great transparency and better bass than HD800S. Amazing for a closed back. Similar to ZMF Eikon but with slight peaks in freq. response that sound a little unnatural at times and better bass extension.)
Sennheiser HD820 (Comes close to the HD800S but isn't as tonally even and soundstage is slightly smaller. Has better comfort, isolation, and bass volume though.)
Sony IER-M9 (A little uncomfortable. Sounds nearly perfect if you can get the fit right. Has more lower-midbass than Z1R which increases impact.)
Sony IER-Z1R (A little uncomfortable. Sounds nearly perfect if you can get the fit right. Could use a little more bass impact.)

Tier 5 - Great with slight annoyances
Campfire Andromeda (Rivals HD800S / MDR-Z1R in transparency and very even sounding. Good everything, except bass is a bit light. Sound stage is a little smaller than with over ear headphones.)
Audeze LCD-4 (Best bass, good but not great transparency, very heavy, prone to driver failures with pressure changes. Mine had a driver failure.)

Tier 6 - Very good but not quite impressive
SendyAudio Aiva (Great build quality, looks good, good frequency response except bass extension is lacking.)
Audeze Mobius (Some of the best bass I've heard but soundstage is small.)
Audeze LCD-2 closed back (Heavy, bass extension and impact are lacking, isolation is poor for a closed back.)
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
Razer Opus (Very good timbre and frequency response. Treble and bass are could use more clarity.)

Tier 7 - Good, beginning of hi-fi
qdc Neptune (Good value, sounds like the Andromeda, but a little more muffled and more bass and bass extension).
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.)

Tier 8 - Pretty good
Denon D2000
Shure SE846 (Terrible value. Sounds similar to the IE80.)
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. A bit muffled overall.)
Koss Porta Pro (Very light weight. Sound is good for price. Open back design.)

Tier 9 - Slightly better than average
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.)

Tier 10 - Average, but not bad
Panasonic RPHJE120S
Panasonic RP HT355

Never heard about nectar before, looking them up Was an interest read.

 

[bcaulf17]

Tier 3 - Excellent
Focal Clear MG Professional (Pretty similar to the non-MG version. Excellent extension.)
Focal Clear Professional (Not the widest soundstage but excellent tonality, dynamics, and extension. Treble could use a little boost.)

I will be looking forward to your comparisons between these two in the Clear thread

 

[hughren]

1, hd800 home use with amp
2, audio technica ad1000x, hone use with mobile
3,sony ex1000 outdoor use.

All old kits

 

[DragonOwen]

1) STAX SR-009
2) AKG K-1000
3-4) Audez'e Sine (custom silver-gold cable)
3-4) UM Miracle CIEM (Whiplash TWcu v3 cable)