eduncan911
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 13, 2015
- Posts
- 16
- Likes
- 4
Hello! I have read and used fantastic advice from these forums in the past. It's time for an upgrade.
I've read maybe 40+ reviews trying to determine what to buy next. I have tried several $500-$1000 over the years that friends have and was not impressed by any of them as I have a unique taste. I don't recall any of the model numbers; but, general name brands like Denon, Sennheiser and AKG (though, a set of AKG I tried while in Germany were close - no clue as to what the model number was).
I have a pair of Astro A40s using the beloved Mixamp TX/RX. They are a bit too bass-heavy at low volumes for my taste, and muffled on the vocals/highs at high volume (though bass is about right at high volume). But the biggest negative is the boss runs upstairs to my closed-door office to tell me to turn them down when I am jammin' out (boss=wife). So, I need closed-ear.
I do have two amps I can use as I am looking to upgrade my sound: Fiio K1 DAC and a PA2V2.
My sound preference can be best described as the tunes coming from a set of Polk Audio floor-standing Monitor 70s I used to have. The perfect crispness of highs and screaming vocals, and just the right amount of base from the matching sub to rattle your chest. I have yet to hear another setup like I had, that I carried across to three houses, that all sounded superb to my ears.
I understand PolkAudio floor standing sound is a bit soft for some. But there was just enough vocals screaming through the softness, and enough razer sharp sword fights during movies, that countered the softness. That is the sound I am looking for.
Overall, I would say I prefer flat - flat monitor sound as I keep the EQs flat in all of my music and movies (maybe a touch of bass in the low-end). I prefer to reproduce the sound exactly as the recording artists wanted me to. Maybe at times tweaking the upper mids for women vocals to shout through, and sometimes you just need a bass-head boosts for hip-hop. But mostly, flat EQs generally.
Note: a lot of bass is not a bad thing. But the lack thereof would really piss me off with a $500 set of headphones.
My current up-late-at-night-as-I-can't-decide list is:
Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7NC (may use them for flights)
Audio-Technica ATH-SR9 (afraid of the "v" shape from reviews)
Audio-Technica ATH-W1000Z (I need regular headphone jack though)
Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 (I need regular headphone jack though)
FOSTEX TH610 (reviews don't exactly give me confidence of low-end)
But not having heard any of these in person, I don't want to be disappointed. How well does Amazon take returns if I don't like the sound?
What will I be using them for?
- Movies, lots of movies as I am commuting a lot. (and therefore don't want to disturb people on the train)
- Music taste is extremely eclectic and highly dependent on the mood. From Bach to Korn, from MW2 soundtrack to Freebird to Kendrick Lamar.
And yes, I do get goosebumps and come to tears when I get lost in certain tracks - especially from new artists (read: Evanescence when I got introduced to them in the 90s)... That's what I want to reproduce in closed-back sets.
But I do tend to crank up the volume to max, without distortion, for any of these. The A40s I do have work ok with their ~45 ohm, though too low in volume. I'm hoping the PA2V2 will correct that (when the boss is out of the house).
I've read maybe 40+ reviews trying to determine what to buy next. I have tried several $500-$1000 over the years that friends have and was not impressed by any of them as I have a unique taste. I don't recall any of the model numbers; but, general name brands like Denon, Sennheiser and AKG (though, a set of AKG I tried while in Germany were close - no clue as to what the model number was).
I have a pair of Astro A40s using the beloved Mixamp TX/RX. They are a bit too bass-heavy at low volumes for my taste, and muffled on the vocals/highs at high volume (though bass is about right at high volume). But the biggest negative is the boss runs upstairs to my closed-door office to tell me to turn them down when I am jammin' out (boss=wife). So, I need closed-ear.
I do have two amps I can use as I am looking to upgrade my sound: Fiio K1 DAC and a PA2V2.
My sound preference can be best described as the tunes coming from a set of Polk Audio floor-standing Monitor 70s I used to have. The perfect crispness of highs and screaming vocals, and just the right amount of base from the matching sub to rattle your chest. I have yet to hear another setup like I had, that I carried across to three houses, that all sounded superb to my ears.
I understand PolkAudio floor standing sound is a bit soft for some. But there was just enough vocals screaming through the softness, and enough razer sharp sword fights during movies, that countered the softness. That is the sound I am looking for.
Overall, I would say I prefer flat - flat monitor sound as I keep the EQs flat in all of my music and movies (maybe a touch of bass in the low-end). I prefer to reproduce the sound exactly as the recording artists wanted me to. Maybe at times tweaking the upper mids for women vocals to shout through, and sometimes you just need a bass-head boosts for hip-hop. But mostly, flat EQs generally.
Note: a lot of bass is not a bad thing. But the lack thereof would really piss me off with a $500 set of headphones.
My current up-late-at-night-as-I-can't-decide list is:
Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7NC (may use them for flights)
Audio-Technica ATH-SR9 (afraid of the "v" shape from reviews)
Audio-Technica ATH-W1000Z (I need regular headphone jack though)
Audio-Technica ATH-W5000 (I need regular headphone jack though)
FOSTEX TH610 (reviews don't exactly give me confidence of low-end)
But not having heard any of these in person, I don't want to be disappointed. How well does Amazon take returns if I don't like the sound?
What will I be using them for?
- Movies, lots of movies as I am commuting a lot. (and therefore don't want to disturb people on the train)
- Music taste is extremely eclectic and highly dependent on the mood. From Bach to Korn, from MW2 soundtrack to Freebird to Kendrick Lamar.
And yes, I do get goosebumps and come to tears when I get lost in certain tracks - especially from new artists (read: Evanescence when I got introduced to them in the 90s)... That's what I want to reproduce in closed-back sets.
But I do tend to crank up the volume to max, without distortion, for any of these. The A40s I do have work ok with their ~45 ohm, though too low in volume. I'm hoping the PA2V2 will correct that (when the boss is out of the house).
