[gooeyrich]

Is there anything remotely close to the price to performance ratio of the ksc-75?

 

[Dawgfish]

Top 10:

1a. Atrium
1b. Verite Open
3. Aeolus
4. Auteur OG
5. Eikon
6. Atticus
7. HD800
8. T1.2
9. AFO-X
10. Amiron Home

 

[ikaruga24]

Is there anything remotely close to the price to performance ratio of the ksc-75?

None whatsoever.

On topic. All headphones i use with an Ifi zen dac V1 and a BTR5.

1. Audeze LCD-1 clearly the winner. The sound that comes of it in my ears is pure bliss.

2. Koss Kph30i with the fake Grado pads. What a winner. My go to for my portable devices in the house or as a source through my Ps5 controller.

3. KSC75 - my preferred headphone for going out and i listen to vocal music or going to make some calls. Also use yaxi pads for bass boost purposes.

4. Porta pro - my travel companion outside airplanes. Best comfort and robustness and with yaxi pads the sound is really sweet and smooth if not that detailed. They are unitrusive.

5. Soundcore Q30 - my travel companion that i use for airplane use only or i use when i am vacuuming the house or other heavy and loud chores and jobs lol. Soundwise absolutely crap but i don't use them to enjoy my sound.

 

[igorkashtaev]

1. Fostex TH900 Mk2
2. Beyerdynamic T1 gen.1
3. Audio-Technica ATH-AD2000x
4. Victor HP-DX1000
5. Audio-Technica ATH-W1000x
6. Grado GS1000e
7. Grado GH3
8. Audio-Technica ATH-ESW990H
9. Kinera Freya
10. JVC-HA-FW01
11. Telefunken Audion
12. JVC HA-FD01
13. Fostex TH500RP
14. Audio-Technica ATH-A900
15. Fischer Audio Dubliz Enhanced
16. Koss Pro4/AA

 

[Shane D]

Three years later I am listing my headphones again. The only holdover from that period is the GH2's.

This is Much tougher now and the order is pretty fluid, depending on the day.

1) Focal Elex's
2) Grado GH2's
3) HiFiman HE6se V2's
4) iBasso SR2's
5) Focal Radiance's
6) CFA Cascade's

I REALLY like the above headphones and love several of them. Took me seven years to get this far. I am not done, but a lot more satisfied.

I have three other pairs that are either for sale or being evaluated.

 

[silent-circuit]

Koss ESP/950 - can't be touched with some EQ, only downsides are their leaking so much sound and requiring the energizer.

Hyland Audio Jupiter One - my favorite "casual listen" headphone by far. Easy to drive, warm without being boomy or lacking detail. Beautiful tuning. Still thrilled I got these used on a whim years later.

Dan Clark Audio Aeon Closed X - best closed back I've heard, these make me very curious about DCA's higher end offerings.

Sendy Audio AIVA - beautiful, interesting tuning, hard to beat at their price point. Wish they weren't quite as heavy or the headband distributed the weight a little better. Sad that my stock cable seems to have died with relatively little use.

Audio Technica ATH-R70X - a reference tuned open back is a rare bird. These deserve far more attention than they get, and I think they're a strong contender vs. the more often recommended Sennheiser HD600.

Focal Elegia - I keep them so I'll have a closed back dynamic. They don't do anything wrong, but they're just... Not interesting. I don't know.

Philips Fidelio X2HR - they use a 3.5mm and are easy to drive. Fine for gaming, but I've moved past them for everything else. Get very little use these days. I hate the pads, they're kind of itchy and collect cat fur like crazy.

AKG Q701 - eh. I haven't listened to these in forever, but I loved them once?

Hifiman HE-4XX - a solid intro planar, but if budget will allow, pass them up for something a little nicer.

 

[BobG55]

1-) HD600 (since 2003)

2-) HD650 (since 2005)

 

[dougms3]

Three years later I am listing my headphones again. The only holdover from that period is the GH2's.

This is Much tougher now and the order is pretty fluid, depending on the day.

1) Focal Elex's
2) Grado GH2's
3) HiFiman HE6se V2's
4) iBasso SR2's
5) Focal Radiance's
6) CFA Cascade's

I REALLY like the above headphones and love several of them. Took me seven years to get this far. I am not done, but a lot more satisfied.

I have three other pairs that are either for sale or being evaluated.

I am aware of how good the Elex are, especially with sheepskin pads. They are quite close to the clear og.

But its very interesting that you placed the Elex over the Radiance.

I would have thought the Radiance would place first in your list.

 

[Shane D]

I am aware of how good the Elex are, especially with sheepskin pads. They are quite close to the clear og.

But its very interesting that you placed the Elex over the Radiance.

I would have thought the Radiance would place first in your list.

To me, a great closed back will never beat a great open back.

 

[tyk103]

To me, a closed back will never beat an open back.

This is my impression as well. If I had the choice between two models in either variant, I would opt for the open-back if I didn't need the privacy.

 

[Mark Up]

Tried Neumann NDH-30 at AES NY 2022. The best open back under $1,000 USD I'd heard. They'd be a great update to my Drop HD58X I prefer to the 500 and 600 series. Also prefer to horribly peaky HD700, and bass lacking HD800 /800s. HD820 competes, but cups don't extend far enough for my head.

They of course nudge out a bassier - but otherwise nice Momentum 3 Wireless I have. I still have go-to closed special purpose cans to block room noise. AKG K376 for brutally honest and flat from the mid bass up to the lower highs, with an amazing low sub bass bump and sparkle ("U" shaped signature).

Then the Senn HD300 Pro. Carefully but thoroughly bent to reduce the brutal clamp and to extend far enough to my ears. Nearly flat, with a gentle dip in the pain area of high mids, resulting in a slight "V" shape. Accurate ease and honesty, spacious with great treble air and a surprising sub bass extension.

Finally, rare gem with a mod. Audio Technica ATH-SR50 wired, NOT the wireless. $129 USD Amazon. Get $20 Meze Standard pads, NOT the small. Best sub bass of all AT's now. 3D staging. Forward lifelike mids, cool high mid dip for long use / no fatigue and still accurate enough. Clear highs. Indestructible.

 

[tralfaz04]

1. ZMF Cocobolo Eikons
2. ZMF Walnut Burl Aeolus
3. Unique Melody MEST Mk II
4. DCA Aeon 2 Closed backs
5. Hifiman HE5SE

 

[AnamCeoil]

Top 10:

1a. Atrium
1b. Verite Open
3. Aeolus
4. Auteur OG
5. Eikon
6. Atticus
7. HD800
8. T1.2
9. AFO-X
10. Amiron Home

Wow, great collection. I am looking for a closed back complement to the Atticus - do you think the Eikon fits that bill, or are they too similar. Cheers!

 

[Dawgfish]

Wow, great collection. I am looking for a closed back complement to the Atticus - do you think the Eikon fits that bill, or are they too similar. Cheers!

Thank you! Much appreciated! To my ears the Atticus and Eikon are very complimentary. As you are aware the Atticus gives a fun, warm, and mid bass forward sound signature. The Eikon has better sub bass, is more extended in the highs, and has better detail and imaging. At the same time it remains musical like all ZMFs. The Atticus is the more fun listen while the Eikon is the more technical listen. I love both of them and frankly will never get rid of either. All ZMFs bring their own unique thing to the table and all are worth having at the same time depending on mood, music, and equipment.

 

[AnamCeoil]

Thank you! Much appreciated! To my ears the Atticus and Eikon are very complimentary. As you are aware the Atticus gives a fun, warm, and mid bass forward sound signature. The Eikon has better sub bass, is more extended in the highs, and has better detail and imaging. At the same time it remains musical like all ZMFs. The Atticus is the more fun listen while the Eikon is the more technical listen. I love both of them and frankly will never get rid of either. All ZMFs bring their own unique thing to the table and all are worth having at the same time depending on mood, music, and equipment.

Thanks a million for the quick reply and great insight. I really love my Atticus, and its warm and addictive sound... at times I wish for something a bit more detailed and brighter in the highs, which the Eikon sounds like. I have been looking at an LCD-XC as well...but that ZMF sound and experience is so hard to forego I aspire to the VC or Atrium (open I know), but those are a bit too much of stretch at present.

Enjoy the collection - something I am sure that you do at length! Cheers.