Reco: Closed-back equivalent to Sony MA900?

[tussinette]

Hi,

The Sony MA900 are not so well known. There is a good reason for this: these headphones are not at all for "enthusiasts". The better the amp, the worse they will sound... There is a technical reason for this: very low impedance and a resistance was used in the circuit -if I remember correctly- reacting poorly to powerful amplification.
However, these headphones make "poor" system sound really good.

The sound is... lush... You can completely forget them. I actually never listen to them. I only listen to music through them. These are for me the perfect "studying" or "working" headphones... Exception made that they are open-backs.

These headphones are amazing. After years of using them, I still often look around because I am not sure if a sound I heard was coming from outside or inside the headphones (curious if someone else is experiencing this? and if yes, with which headphones?)

I am in search of a closed back equivalent.

Please, please post your recommendations.

P.S. I thought, if I find my next closed back headphones thanks to this thread, I might pick-up a participant and send him a pair of my unused headphones... (HM5, 1more over ear or a bag with my IEMs...).
Question to the moderators: is that allowed?

Cheers!

 

[silent-circuit]

What are you using as a source? What is your budget?

The Denon AH-D7200 is my go-to closed back recommendation, and not hard to drive at 25 ohms. Mostly neutral with a little bass emphasis, very laid back and easy to listen to without being muddy or lacking detail. They definitely benefit from higher end DACs and amplification, but sound good directly from my LG G8X as well. I picked mine up for around $550 used in excellent condition and have seen them as low as $500 on the FS/FT forum here. They're usually $1000 new, but you may be able to catch them for less during a sale somewhere.

 

[tussinette]

What are you using as a source? What is your budget?

The Denon AH-D7200 is my go-to closed back recommendation, and not hard to drive at 25 ohms. Mostly neutral with a little bass emphasis, very laid back and easy to listen to without being muddy or lacking detail. They definitely benefit from higher end DACs and amplification, but sound good directly from my LG G8X as well. I picked mine up for around $550 used in excellent condition and have seen them as low as $500 on the FS/FT forum here. They're usually $1000 new, but you may be able to catch them for less during a sale somewhere.

Hi,
My source is mainly my laptop through the Monoprice THX AAA Portable.
Budget... probably around 500 Eur but can be doubled if I really find the one.
How heavy are the Denon AH-D7200? They look a bit massive...

 

[silent-circuit]

Hi,
My source is mainly my laptop through the Monoprice THX AAA Portable.
Budget... probably around 500 Eur but can be doubled if I really find the one.
How heavy are the Denon AH-D7200? They look a bit massive...

They're definitely not a light headphone, but I personally find them very comfortable. I'm at work at the moment but will do a weight comparison with my other sets when I get home later.

 

[tussinette]

They're definitely not a light headphone, but I personally find them very comfortable. I'm at work at the moment but will do a weight comparison with my other sets when I get home later.

Just measure my MA900... 195 grams without cord and 228 g with the 3m cord... Even the cord is incredibly light.. 10 g per meter... LOL

 

[plmon]

I've only heard a modded MA900 (resistor mod and some of the dampeners removed), so not quite sure how it matches up to stock. But the general tonality gave me HD598 vibes, though I'm not quite sure what a closed back equivalent of that would be (supposedly the HD598 CS is a bit different sounding).