Some context: I’ve been an audiophile for 16+ years, primarily into full-size (speaker-fronted) systems, but have owned and listened to a variety of headphones over the years. (A sampling… Owned: Senn 495, 600, 650, 25-1 II; Denon D1001, D5000; Stax 2020; AKG Q701, K550. Listened extensively: Beyer 880, Grado SR60, 80.) Over time, I’ve come to the conclusion in audio that accuracy, neutrality, detail, dynamics, frequency extension, soundstaging – all those “hifi” qualities – are nice ‘n all, but come a distant 2nd place to “musicality” and enjoyment.
With that in mind, I like my current office rig very much: iPhone 6 (Tidal) -> Pure i-20 digital dock -> Cambridge DacMagic -> Rega Ear Mk I -> AKG K550. It’s by far the most enjoyable closed-back headphone rig I’ve heard, and I really enjoy it. The K550s sound open, accurate, clean, dynamic, punchy, and fun. The Rega Ear fills out the (slightly anemic) midrange, and gives it real bounce and groove (traditional Rega qualities). It can hold a tune like nobody’s business. It also has great “presence” and solidity – instruments and vocals sound substantial. The frequency extremes aren’t massively impressive, but are present and inoffensive – they mostly get out of the way of the mids.
However, I recently moved to New York from the UK, and I can’t get the system to work together without nasty buzzing from the Ear – some sort of bad ground loop coming from my office’s awful under-desk mass power strip, I presume. So I want to replace the electronics with a one-box system (no ground loop possible!) And I have some money to blow on upgrading the cans.
As much as I enjoy this rig’s sound, it is decidedly “mid-fi”, and I’d like to see if I can improve the “hifi” qualities without sacrificing the fun/musicality factor. There is lack of detail and considerable grain in the treble & upper mids. The soundstage is a bit flat and constrained. Dense passages can sound congested and muddy. And, worst of all, the mids are fairly grey, lacking my most prized of the hifi attributes: tonal color. I want my mids to drip with rich, liquid, beautiful tones.
For reference, my home hifi is almost all Audio Note: DAC3 -> M2 pre -> P1 power -> AN-E HE. Audio Note is one of those magical companies that has a distinctive house sound which, for me, is just “right”. Musical, fun, punchy, lively; but with rich, lush mid tones; agility & delicacy when required; great scale and dynamics when called for. The emphasis is not on hifi qualities (though they are very good in most regards), but on letting the system get out of the way of the music. Above all, they’re just eeeeeasy to listen to, and *everything* sounds good, including poorly-recorded pop/rock/whatever. They don’t sound like “neutral” speakers or studio monitors, but (other than a somewhat plummy bass) they sound really right, natural, real. You’re caught up in the music, not the equipment.
So… that’s what I want to try and replicate with my headphone rig.
Requirements:
1. Must be closed-back (don’t want to piss off my colleagues.)
2. Must have one-box DAC/amp (preferably with digital Lightning compatible input, but not necessary as I can use my Pure i-20.)
3. Budget: $6-700 for the cans, maybe similar for the DAC/amp.
4. Must be able to either hear them in the flesh (B&M store in NYC), or have a no-quibble return policy. Or second-hand!
5. Desktop-only – portability not needed.
6. Must accommodate my big head (AKG Q701 was slightly too small for comfort!)
7. Must not sound closed! So many closed cans fail here…
8. Must be reasonably neutral. Not studio monitor “ruler-flat”, but no glaring deviations from neutral/natural/believable.
9. Resolution must match/exceed Sennheiser 650.
So what do the experts on here suggest I look at?
My top candidates from a bit of reading are:
1. Audeze EL-8
2. Mr Speakers Alpha Dog
3. Fostex TH600
4. ZMF Blackwood
5. Mr Speakers Mad Dog
6. Audioquest NightHawk
I like the sound of LFF’s Paradox/Slant, but no returns policy, so not really an option…
Denon D2000/D5000 would seem like good candidates, but I owned D5Ks for a while and didn’t really like them. Their sound was too “massaged” for my tastes – sounded sort of overly thick/syrupy in the midrange, bass was woolly, and they couldn’t hold a tune. Might be able to tune that with amp/DAC selection, but I’d rather keep things simple and rule them out.
Anything else I should consider? What do you think matches up best with my priorities?
Cheers,
Dunc
With that in mind, I like my current office rig very much: iPhone 6 (Tidal) -> Pure i-20 digital dock -> Cambridge DacMagic -> Rega Ear Mk I -> AKG K550. It’s by far the most enjoyable closed-back headphone rig I’ve heard, and I really enjoy it. The K550s sound open, accurate, clean, dynamic, punchy, and fun. The Rega Ear fills out the (slightly anemic) midrange, and gives it real bounce and groove (traditional Rega qualities). It can hold a tune like nobody’s business. It also has great “presence” and solidity – instruments and vocals sound substantial. The frequency extremes aren’t massively impressive, but are present and inoffensive – they mostly get out of the way of the mids.
However, I recently moved to New York from the UK, and I can’t get the system to work together without nasty buzzing from the Ear – some sort of bad ground loop coming from my office’s awful under-desk mass power strip, I presume. So I want to replace the electronics with a one-box system (no ground loop possible!) And I have some money to blow on upgrading the cans.
As much as I enjoy this rig’s sound, it is decidedly “mid-fi”, and I’d like to see if I can improve the “hifi” qualities without sacrificing the fun/musicality factor. There is lack of detail and considerable grain in the treble & upper mids. The soundstage is a bit flat and constrained. Dense passages can sound congested and muddy. And, worst of all, the mids are fairly grey, lacking my most prized of the hifi attributes: tonal color. I want my mids to drip with rich, liquid, beautiful tones.
For reference, my home hifi is almost all Audio Note: DAC3 -> M2 pre -> P1 power -> AN-E HE. Audio Note is one of those magical companies that has a distinctive house sound which, for me, is just “right”. Musical, fun, punchy, lively; but with rich, lush mid tones; agility & delicacy when required; great scale and dynamics when called for. The emphasis is not on hifi qualities (though they are very good in most regards), but on letting the system get out of the way of the music. Above all, they’re just eeeeeasy to listen to, and *everything* sounds good, including poorly-recorded pop/rock/whatever. They don’t sound like “neutral” speakers or studio monitors, but (other than a somewhat plummy bass) they sound really right, natural, real. You’re caught up in the music, not the equipment.
So… that’s what I want to try and replicate with my headphone rig.
Requirements:
1. Must be closed-back (don’t want to piss off my colleagues.)
2. Must have one-box DAC/amp (preferably with digital Lightning compatible input, but not necessary as I can use my Pure i-20.)
3. Budget: $6-700 for the cans, maybe similar for the DAC/amp.
4. Must be able to either hear them in the flesh (B&M store in NYC), or have a no-quibble return policy. Or second-hand!
5. Desktop-only – portability not needed.
6. Must accommodate my big head (AKG Q701 was slightly too small for comfort!)
7. Must not sound closed! So many closed cans fail here…
8. Must be reasonably neutral. Not studio monitor “ruler-flat”, but no glaring deviations from neutral/natural/believable.
9. Resolution must match/exceed Sennheiser 650.
So what do the experts on here suggest I look at?
My top candidates from a bit of reading are:
1. Audeze EL-8
2. Mr Speakers Alpha Dog
3. Fostex TH600
4. ZMF Blackwood
5. Mr Speakers Mad Dog
6. Audioquest NightHawk
I like the sound of LFF’s Paradox/Slant, but no returns policy, so not really an option…
Denon D2000/D5000 would seem like good candidates, but I owned D5Ks for a while and didn’t really like them. Their sound was too “massaged” for my tastes – sounded sort of overly thick/syrupy in the midrange, bass was woolly, and they couldn’t hold a tune. Might be able to tune that with amp/DAC selection, but I’d rather keep things simple and rule them out.
Anything else I should consider? What do you think matches up best with my priorities?
Cheers,
Dunc
