[Strayngs]

Curious why do you find the Verite so much worse?

It is not that I dont like it. The sound is more crisp and clean on both the Rognir and HE1000SE. The Verite is a warmer headphone to my ears. My wife likes the Verite the best. It is just a matter of preference and not necessarily better.

 

[Innoinno31]

i will do my ranking.

- 1 - lsa hp1
2 - focal clear pro
3 sennheiser hd58x jubilee

But i'm in the hunt to buy some new ones

 

[Acodenotti]

Soundwise lcd-x>k340>k240 sextett>m50x
Comfortwise the list is almost the opposite unfortunately, m50x>k240 sextett>lcd-x>k340

 

[Toshu]

I have to break these into 3 groups as they're all on a different level.
#'s 2-4 are all pretty close so for me, they're a toss up. After that, there's a substantial drop off to my ears and tastes.
The bottom 3rd are all quite good too, especially the Porta pro & Grado. Even these very inexpensive HP's are fun to listen too. Ya know?....I like them all.

1. ZMF Aeolus (easily)

2. Focal Clear
3. Klipsch Heritage
4. ZMF Ori
5 Denon AHD200 (but mine are "heavily modded)

6. Audeze LCD2C
7. Senny HD650
8. Senny HD 58X Jubilee
9. Fostex THx00 Purplehearts
10. Meze 99 classic

11. Sony MDR-Z7 modded
12. Koss Porta Pro (I’m still blown away how good these sound for the $$$)
13. 1More Triple Driver on Ear
14. Grado Nhoord Red drivers w/Rholupat wood cups.

Koover
I have to say that I remember listening to your ZMF Aeolus at your mini meet up almost 2 years ago and they were quite impressive, especially for the price.
I'm curious what the details are on the set you own as I am considering a pair?

Toshu

 

[Barnstormer13]

My personal tastes are below and assume a decent tube amp is in the chain:

1) ZMF Verite closed w/ leather universe pads (best imaging, highly detailed, superb microdynamics, fast, euphonic tuning)
2) ZMF Auteur w/ leather auteur pads (very euphonic, not very fast but great detail and staging)
3)Focal Clear w/ stock pads (extremely clear, detailed and dynamic, not as euphonic tuning)
4)Focal Elex w perf lamb skin pads (Not as clear as the Clear but more euphonic)
5)Sennheiser 6XX (very euphonic, great tuning, bass and clarity is a weakness)
6) DCA Aeon Closed (very very fast and detailed, great bass depth. Compressed dynamics)

 

[arielext]

i will do my ranking.

- 1 - lsa hp1
2 - focal clear pro
3 sennheiser hd58x jubilee

But i'm in the hunt to buy some new ones

It's a respectable list already

 

[timb5881]

I am only going to list the ones I actually use currently:
1- Koss ESP950 tied with Stax Sogma Pro
3- Stax Lambda 404
4- Stax iem SR002
5- Nectar Pollinator
6- Koss Port A Pro

 

[Chamade]

1. HE1000SE
2. Arya

I am reversing the order from my last post. My ears must have gotten used to the heavenly sounding HE1000SE. The treble doesn’t bother me anymore.
I leave it as is for serious listening and EQ it for a warmer presentation when listening while working.

 

[Flognuts]

Been in this hobby on and off for a while I will rank the top 10 headphones I have owned

1, R70x (currently own)
2. HE-500
3. T1 (Gen 1)
4. Sundara
5. LCD2C
6. HD600
7. MS Pro
8. AD900
9. HD650
10. Focal Elear

The R70x are truly something special paired with the right amp and dac

 

[lugnut]

Just reading about the LCD2C, your opinion seems to have really changed.

 

[Flognuts]

Just reading about the LCD2C, your opinion seems to have really changed.

I still really like them could have genuinely kept them and been extremely happy...something with a price: performance came along that trumps it.

I was reading about the the R70x and was lucky enough to audition them recently and they were an instant buy.
Its a subjective hobby, but to my ears the R70x just do everything right, they have no weakness, the tonality and imaging is perfect and they weigh 200g!

 

[lugnut]

If I remember I never tried the R70X because of weird cable (replacement hassles) and small ear pads, ears touching driver. Are these real issues or have I just passed by a good headphone for no reason ? Thanks

 

[Flognuts]

If I remember I never tried the R70X because of weird cable (replacement hassles) and small ear pads, ears touching driver. Are these real issues or have I just passed by a good headphone for no reason ? Thanks

The ear pads sit on ear....not in ear (for average adult sized ears).
The cable is perfectly fine and doesn't need an upgrade imo.

They do need a good amp.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

1. Verite
2. Sundara

Nothing else needed at this time.

 

[Deolum]

Can't really rank my headphones anymore as they are too different on the one hand and on the other hand very close when it comes to performance. I see it's more a matter of taste and you could actually do this ranking in another way. I can only put them in 2 categories: endgame or no endgame. I still try to do some pseudo ranking but like i said it doesn't really make sense. I rank from bottom to top.

No endgame:

- Sennheiser HD25: Technically of course the weakest of the here listed headphones. While it's not an endgame in the classic way it's an endgame for mobile use, gym, etc. A must have headphone.

- Sennheiser HD600: Long time my benchmark. Other headphones had so surpass the HD600 and only 1/10 of more expensive headphones did so. I prefer the HD600 to all the new Sennheisers, to all Beyerdynamics, to the new AKGs and some strangely tuned planars like Audeze and MrSpeakers. In the end the rolled of bass, the terrible imaging and the sluggy speed bothered me but the tonality is top notch.

- Hifiman Ananda: Best beginner headphone on the market for me. Easy to drive, hard to dislike tuning, just lacking some technicalities for some freaks.

Endgame:

Sennheiser HD650: A bit darker and more musical presentation than the HD600. Somehow doesn't have the technical issues that the HD600 has. It's not fast nor does it have great bass extension or imaging but it's at least decent here. I think it's due to differences in the models. My 650 is from around 2000 while the 600 is from 2016.

Audio Technica ATH ADX-5000: I really have problems ranking this one. Overall a bit brighter, studio like presentation. Extremely comfy and light.

Hifiman HE560: Technically maybe the weakest planar here (not sure in comparison with the Ananda) but the one with the most natural timbre. It sounds extremely musical. Could completely understand if someone likes this one over the Susvara.

Hifiman HE1000SE: Compared to the Susvara an overall leaner presentation. It sounds a bit studio like for me. Soundstage is small-medium sized which i really like. I think some people like this over the Susvara due to it having a bit harder attacks.

Sennheiser HD250 Linear 600 ohm: This headphone is an absolute joke. I paid 100€ for it and it's not only the best closed back i've ever heard but is the only closed back that competes with the absolute best totl open back headphones. Looking at the crappy closed backs that are currently on the market for four figures i wonder how a human could have possibly built this headphone 40 years ago. I guess the Aliens that also built the pyramids just dropped that casually by.

Hifiman Susvara: Pretty impressive allrounder, highly detailed, no flaws. Soundstage is very big, timbre perfect for a planar. It sounds very transparent and open. It's non offensive and on the smoother side. I'd like it to be a bit faster. Build is a joke.

Out of all these headphones the only ones i'm sure i'll not sell are the HD25, the HD650 and the HD250. The HE560 most likely too.

If i had to rank them only by technical performance it would be from top to bottom:

1. Susvara
2. 1000SE
3. ADX-5000
4. HD250

gap

5. Ananda
6. HE560
7. HD650
8. HD600
9. HD25


But after a while in this hobby i came to the conclusion that it's not the question whether a headphone is technically A+ or S- that makes me decide if i want to keep it.

What all of these headphones more or less have in common is a somewhat neutral tonality and a natural sound without treblepeaks (Beyerdynamic), holes in the mid (Audeze) or other quirks all over the place (HD800).