halfhearted
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2013
- Posts
- 9
- Likes
- 10
So I'm looking to upgrade to a pair of headphones in the $0-$300 range. I'm not really on a strict budget, mind you, I just feel that above $300 and especially past $500 lies the realm of diminishing returns for me, I'd go higher than the $300 mark but not unless there are large performance gains or the perfect sound signature. I've already got an amount set aside for both an AMP and a DAC that should power any headphone in this price range, so the $300 or so can be devoted entirely to the headphones.
Feel free to skip to the bolded list at this point if you'd rather not read a small wall of text.
For a little background, I've owned the HD515s, then the AM-90s (iem), next the DT770s, and finally the M6s (iem). None of the four have really wowed me, aside from the initial step-up from terrible earbuds and clip-ons to the HD515s. In fact, after the newness of them wore off I didn't particularly like how any of them sounded either. At the time, I thought it was because they had too little bass (the HD515s and the AM-90s) but I was proven wrong when I got the DT770s and enjoyed the comfort and sturdy construction as well as the improvement in detail, but disliked the sound signature. After that, I only purchased the M6s because they were cheap, well-regarded, and I needed a comfortable, ergonomic option for the gym. I'm now fairly certain the cause of my dislike were the recessed mids, which don't play well with my love for clarity and detail in that area.
For reference, I listen to a little bit of everything (polka and other extremely esoteric genres aside) including more bass-heavy genres like rock and hip-hop but I tend to value the vocals, lyrics, the electric guitar, and the upper lows of something like the bass guitar over all the other instruments in that music. I'd like to hear some improvement in the sound of my more instrumental music as well, like post-rock, electronic music (excepting most dubstep), classical, and such. So I guess I'd prefer a pair of headphones that really lets the mids and highs shine, with a well-extended, tight, and neutral bass.
So to sum it up and for those of you with little time, I believe I'm looking for a headphone with these traits:
- Neutral bass, but I'd accept something with recessed bass as long as it's not loose or rolled off
- Excellent clarity and detail, especially in the mids and highs
- Good comfort, although this can be very subjective so feel free to ignore this point entirely
- Solid construction and build quality, I don't need a tank like the DT770s but preferably something that won't fall apart like my HD515s did
- I'm not too familiar with what a good soundstage or good imaging sounds like, so they aren't a necessity, but I certainly wouldn't turn them down
- Open rather than closed, as I think the DT770s feel a bit... I dunno, claustrophobic
- Good for vocals and bass-light instrumental genres like post-rock, electronic (dubstep and other bass-heavy electronic music aside), classical and other genres in the same general frequency range
- Preferably under $300 street value, although I'm willing to go $50-$100 higher if necessary
I'm currently looking into the K701/K702/Q701, ATH-AD900, DT880s, and finally the HD558s as a value for money option but other suggestions are more than welcome.
Thanks for any help you can offer me.
Feel free to skip to the bolded list at this point if you'd rather not read a small wall of text.
For a little background, I've owned the HD515s, then the AM-90s (iem), next the DT770s, and finally the M6s (iem). None of the four have really wowed me, aside from the initial step-up from terrible earbuds and clip-ons to the HD515s. In fact, after the newness of them wore off I didn't particularly like how any of them sounded either. At the time, I thought it was because they had too little bass (the HD515s and the AM-90s) but I was proven wrong when I got the DT770s and enjoyed the comfort and sturdy construction as well as the improvement in detail, but disliked the sound signature. After that, I only purchased the M6s because they were cheap, well-regarded, and I needed a comfortable, ergonomic option for the gym. I'm now fairly certain the cause of my dislike were the recessed mids, which don't play well with my love for clarity and detail in that area.
For reference, I listen to a little bit of everything (polka and other extremely esoteric genres aside) including more bass-heavy genres like rock and hip-hop but I tend to value the vocals, lyrics, the electric guitar, and the upper lows of something like the bass guitar over all the other instruments in that music. I'd like to hear some improvement in the sound of my more instrumental music as well, like post-rock, electronic music (excepting most dubstep), classical, and such. So I guess I'd prefer a pair of headphones that really lets the mids and highs shine, with a well-extended, tight, and neutral bass.
So to sum it up and for those of you with little time, I believe I'm looking for a headphone with these traits:
- Neutral bass, but I'd accept something with recessed bass as long as it's not loose or rolled off
- Excellent clarity and detail, especially in the mids and highs
- Good comfort, although this can be very subjective so feel free to ignore this point entirely
- Solid construction and build quality, I don't need a tank like the DT770s but preferably something that won't fall apart like my HD515s did
- I'm not too familiar with what a good soundstage or good imaging sounds like, so they aren't a necessity, but I certainly wouldn't turn them down
- Open rather than closed, as I think the DT770s feel a bit... I dunno, claustrophobic
- Good for vocals and bass-light instrumental genres like post-rock, electronic (dubstep and other bass-heavy electronic music aside), classical and other genres in the same general frequency range
- Preferably under $300 street value, although I'm willing to go $50-$100 higher if necessary
I'm currently looking into the K701/K702/Q701, ATH-AD900, DT880s, and finally the HD558s as a value for money option but other suggestions are more than welcome.
Thanks for any help you can offer me.