[Derpus-Maximus]

Intro:

Who I am, and how i listen to music.

My name is Felix and i like listening to music, but with listening to music i mean analyzing the instruments and everything else that i can hear, vocals become less important after the first 5 times of listening to them.

As far as i know i have 3 types/modes of listening that i do.
Type/Mode 1 : Background music while doing activities ( such as gaming and reading )
Type/Mode 2 : Listening to music that suits my mood ( no real precise listening is done when this happens. )
Type/Mode 3 : Listening to instruments and enjoying what i can perceive. ( done in like 90% of the time )
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Most of the time i am in mode 3, so a pair of headphones that DO NOT warp/boost sound ( such as the BEATS stuff... ) is what i am looking for, in other words i am looking for a NATURAL sound.

For years i was content with simple MP3's, about a year ago all of that changed, for reasons unknown i started to hear how flawed my collection ( mixed bitrates etc ) was, distorted sounds, little detail, and lots of low bitrate files, so i decided to change all my songs to mp3 320 CBR,
All these 320kbps files sounded  better and had more detail, but i compared an entire album which i owned and had ripped to mp3 to its lossless counterpart, again differences were perceived.
Things such as more detail in the bass, guitars sounding better, voices a bit fuller/natural, the overall experience was better for me.
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So now i have all my songs in FLAC compression level 0, i also have some Vinyl rips in 24 Bit 96000/192000, they sound different then the CD flacs, but that is normal, i am curious if better gear is gonna make me perceive more differences than the standard cracks and pops and the less trebled sound of the Vinyl.

Now i currently listen to multiple genres of music, Classic Rock, Rock, POP, Classical, Piano, Acoustic.

Current gear:
Sennheiser HD558 with mod. ( without mod the bass was way to intrusive for me, caused headaches )
Simple Realtek ALC892 soundcard, with THX ThruStudio PRO software, only option from THX that is enabled is the Crystalizer, this makes these 558 much more enjoyable for me.
 
I used to always use the equalizer in Itunes, but even at 0db ( very weird, VLC did not had this issue ) it had some effect on my songs, turning it to -12db fixed the issue.
Then i discovered Foobar2000, i never touched Itunes after that again, i am happy with all the features.

Now i have read many reviews on this site, and i see conflicting opinions, i understand that everyone perceives sound in a unique way, after reading these i selected the following headphones to be interesting.
 
Sennheiser
HD600
HD650
 
Beyerdynamic
DT 880 Edition (600 Ohm)
DT 990/600Ohm
T90
 
AKG
K701
K702
 
Now i read on a site that the DT990 is a bassboosted DT880, other then that it is the same.
For the Sennheisers, i always read about the "veil" thingy
The AKG's, i dont really know much about them, but the 702 has warmer sound.
 
Now i dont have a local store that has all of these, so i cant listen to them side by side, and yes i am aware of the possible required burn in that some need to sound the way they should sound.
 
 
So having said all the above, this is what i would like to hear from you fellow members.

What headphone/s would YOU recommend to me, that sound "natural"
Do you own 2 or more of the headphones listed above please tell me what the major differences are ( for you ) between these.
And what AMP/ soundcard would you recommend ( something that can drive 600Ohm cans )
 
Now, i am a total newbie when it comes to serious hifi stuff, but i like to buy myself something nice, i have also looked into the Staxx electrostatic
STAX SRS-2170 (SR-207 + SRM-252s) headphones, but since these are rather expensive ( the combo that is ) i have a hard time justifying buying this.
 
I would love to get some tailor made advice on this issue.
 

 

[NA Blur]

I would vote either the AKG Q701 ( more bass and better comfort over the 701 series ) or the HD600 ( cheaper and almost identical to the 650 ).
 
The first thing would be to try the headphone with your current setup determining whether or not you need to upgrade.
 
The beyer DT990 tend to have a colored midrange making it sound unnatural and tinny at times.
 
I have not heard the DT880 and will not comment on the sound.
 
If I had to pick just one for under $400 I would choose the HD600 as it is the most fun sounding while remaining very detailed.

 

[Derpus-Maximus]

Thanks for your response.

I shall have a look at the Q701.
 

 

[PurpleAngel]

Audio Technica ATH-AD900X, $200
Sound Blaster Z, $80

 

[Derpus-Maximus]

Thanks for the suggestion, i shall look into it, they look appealing!.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Hifiman HE-500
Schiit Modi & Magni to keep budget down (will drive them fine).
 
You want natural, the HE500 is about as natural as I can think of in a headphone.
 
Very best,

 

[Derpus-Maximus]

Thank you for your reply.

It does stand out review wise, but my only issue is that it needs the cable to connect to BOTH cups, instead of the left side.
And the design looks a bit vulnerable to me, can you comment on that?

Thanks in advance.

 

[MalVeauX]

  Thank you for your reply.

It does stand out review wise, but my only issue is that it needs the cable to connect to BOTH cups, instead of the left side.
And the design looks a bit vulnerable to me, can you comment on that?

Thanks in advance.

 
I've been using mine for ... what, two years? Still like it was day one. It's well built. All metal. You're not looking at cheap plastic and little springs and screws. You're looking at solid metal, which is why it's so heavy. But I don't sit on them or throw them on the floor. And the cable is replaceable, instead of permanent. I would rather have dual entry over single entry, cables are heavy, having one side pull more than another takes away from balance and shifts things over time. I've had mine custom cabled at this point. But that's not why I recommended it. I recommended it because it fit your description based on the word open and natural as the HE500 literally is synonymous with the word natural.
 
Very best,

 

[appsmarsterx]

I d definitely add MA900 to this list, more neutral than 880/990/650 imo