[aminus]

For the last couple of months I have been stuck with quite a dilemma: I have quite the experience with IEMs and have more or less refined my taste with them, but I don’t have a fraction of an idea of what headphones would suit my preferences and be able to give me an equivalent, if not better, audio experience than my portable setup. This isn’t due to a lack of experience; rather it’s what I perceive as a lack of options on the market. Every transducer type seems to have some sort of fatal flaw.

So here I have been reduced to humbly requesting recommendations. Ironic how all my experience in audio has looped back to me being blind not from ignorance but from being too pampered.

In summary, I need a headphone that has:
1. High technical ability. Think estat or equivalent, extremely detailed and resolving. Clean separation and transients (this puts most dynamics out of the running).
2. Flat, if not subbass boosted, bass. I have a highly specific bass boost preference but reality has unfortunately forced me to accept that this is highly unlikely to be something one comes by in headphones, and as such will have to settle for EQing in the bass I require. But having a flat bass response helps immensely, versus one that rolls off.
3. A high amount of tactility, aka “slam”. This is related to the bass requirement, but they’re not correlated with each other. I want to feel the subbass rumble, not just hear it (this unfortunately eliminates most, if not all, estats on the market).
4. An acceptable enough stock tuning, primarily in midrange and treble regions. In particular treble is a major killer as I cannot tolerate overly peaky or midtreble focused treble responses. Also, I’ve noticed that a large majority of planars suffer from a haze in the treble response, on top of usually being very peaky in those regions. This unfortunately makes them difficult to include into consideration as well.
5. Optional, but I do like a wider soundstage, or at least one that’s spacious enough to not congest or compress dense music.

Let’s pretend for now that there’s no budget. No, I will not be getting a SR-Omega, MDR-R10, HE-90/60 or any other similarly flavored unobtanium. Make it something that’s reasonably attainable.

Eager to hear responses.

 

[Mightygrey]

Meze Empyrean.

 

[aminus]

Meze Empyrean.

The several sessions I have had with the Empyrean have been less than stunning. It’s overly warm and almost gooey, as well as being excessively laidback and inoffensive. On top of that I would consider its technicalities and slam to be less than what I would like.

 

[Youth]

I'd recommend EQ'd HD800/S although that would not meet your 4th criteria.

 

[buke9]

The Abyss will get you close to what you want but you want perfect which will be hard to find.

 

[Monsterzero]

I would recommend the ZMF Verite Closed. Driver is Be coated,so its lightning fast,and doesnt have the metallic flavor of 100% Be drivers,such as the Stellia and Utopia.
They should be available for audition in your part of the world @ Zeppelin & Company.

Theres only one review of it so far,as nobody has it yet...except me. and a few other reviewers. Its the best headphone Ive heard,and by a pretty wide margin.

 

[NZtechfreak]

Sounds like the Abyss Phi TC to me.

 

[aminus]

I'd recommend EQ'd HD800/S although that would not meet your 4th criteria.

I owned a HD800S at one point and simply couldn’t look past the midrange and treble tonality. On top of that there was definitely something to be desired from the technicalities.

I would recommend the ZMF Verite Closed. Driver is Be coated,so its lightning fast,and doesnt have the metallic flavor of 100% Be drivers,such as the Stellia and Utopia.
They should be available for audition in your part of the world @ Zeppelin & Company.

Theres only one review of it so far,as nobody has it yet...except me. and a few other reviewers. Its the best headphone Ive heard,and by a pretty wide margin.

I’m curious about the open version of the Verite and will likely seek it out sometime to hear it, though I doubt it will appeal to me considering my experience with the ZMF house sound. Too warm and midbassy for me, though the Verite is supposed to be less extreme than other ZMFs.

The Abyss will get you close to what you want but you want perfect which will be hard to find.

Sounds like the Abyss Phi TC to me.

My main issue with the Abyss is that not only does it look incredibly absurd and difficult to wear, it does physical slam really well and... not much else. The upper midrange and lower treble are effectively a void on it.

 

[PurpleAngel]

Sennheiser DT1990, I've been temped to buy it myself.

 

[Hi-Fi-Apricity]

Nothing like a Sennheiser DT1990

 

[NZtechfreak]

My main issue with the Abyss is that not only does it look incredibly absurd and difficult to wear, it does physical slam really well and... not much else. The upper midrange and lower treble are effectively a void on it.

Have you heard the current iteration, most of the feedback has been about substantive improvements to both those areas.

 

[wenbinbin2010]

If you get the chance, you should also look into the new and still rare Rosson Audio RAD-0. Classic planar driver bass slam, with smooth but articulate upper frequencies. Some say Audeze has the best bass tuning, while Hifiman does treble extension the best among planars. The RAD-0 for me did both very well...my only issue became the clamping force, so I ended up returning. If purchased it from a store with free returns, so that let me get a good trial out of them before realizing I couldn't tolerate the clamp (PM me if you want details about where to test it out).

 

[aminus]

Have you heard the current iteration, most of the feedback has been about substantive improvements to both those areas.

I have not. That should be on my list for next year’s Canjam, though fit is still a concern of mine.

If you get the chance, you should also look into the new and still rare Rosson Audio RAD-0. Classic planar driver bass slam, with smooth but articulate upper frequencies. Some say Audeze has the best bass tuning, while Hifiman does treble extension the best among planars. The RAD-0 for me did both very well...my only issue became the clamping force, so I ended up returning. If purchased it from a store with free returns, so that let me get a good trial out of them before realizing I couldn't tolerate the clamp (PM me if you want details about where to test it out).

I’ve heard some very mixed opinions about it, though I’m not one to shoot things down without hearing them. Will keep an eye out for this as well.

 

[NZtechfreak]

I've seen very mixed feedback for the Rosson also, most conserved feedback is that it is good but not playing in the same space as the upper echelon of planars. Like you I won't reject something out of hand without a chance to try it, but I haven't seen anything to make me go out of my way to get ears-on with the Rosson (here in New Zealand you pretty much have to go out of your way to audition anything higher end).

I would add that for your stated preferences the Raal is out of the running. Exceptional headphone, but songs with a deep grounding in very low registers are not done justice with it (really terrific for most anything else though).

Will be interested to see your eventual feedback on the current Abyss, obviously the looks remain the same (not really a concern for me) and comfort potentially an issue (despite a prolapsed cervical disc I still seem to have no problems with heavy cans, go figure). When you do try them make sure to adjust the fit plenty, sound and comfort impressions will be affected otherwise (hopefully anyone showing them will be helpful with setup, as this is not a secret).

 

[aminus]

I've seen very mixed feedback for the Rosson also, most conserved feedback is that it is good but not playing in the same space as the upper echelon of planars. Like you I won't reject something out of hand without a chance to try it, but I haven't seen anything to make me go out of my way to get ears-on with the Rosson (here in New Zealand you pretty much have to go out of your way to audition anything higher end).

I would add that for your stated preferences the Raal is out of the running. Exceptional headphone, but songs with a deep grounding in very low registers are not done justice with it (really terrific for most anything else though).

Will be interested to see your eventual feedback on the current Abyss, obviously the looks remain the same (not really a concern for me) and comfort potentially an issue (despite a prolapsed cervical disc I still seem to have no problems with heavy cans, go figure). When you do try them make sure to adjust the fit plenty, sound and comfort impressions will be affected otherwise (hopefully anyone showing them will be helpful with setup, as this is not a secret).

Yeah, I auditioned the Raal way back in Canjam Singapore and was not a fan of the strong upper midrange focus and lack of lowend extension. Just recently as well a friend purchased a Raal and agreed with my impressions, and also noted that when using EQ to reduce the upper midrange there was a lack of general detail in the lower midrange and bass. Distortion measurements seem to indicate that there is strong 3HD in that region so his and I’s general conclusion was that its resolution was being affected by that.

The Abyss, at least, will be interesting. Though something tells me fit and aesthetics may end up being a dealbreaker.