[acmiller]

Hi all,

been slowly getting into headphones to go alongside the main hi-fi system and and thinking of next steps...

Currently i have a couple of headphones - open AKG 702 and closer beyer DT700 proX. I've been a fan of etymotics for years since the er6i and currently have a set of er2XR for travelling.
Amp / Dac wise, i'm using a vali 2++ with a modi 2 at home with travelling use and sometimes swapping over to a chord mojo (gen 1).

Typically i'll be using iPhone streaming to the dacs with qobuz. sometime directly off the laptop - MBP m2 if I'm working.

I've found AKG's sound pretty awful through the M2 but play nicely with the vali. The dt700's work well with most things but seem to scale quite well.

I mostly listen to indie / electronic with acoustic tendencies and hip / hop.

Was wondering if there was an obvious upgrade path - i'm not too bothered if closed or open as i use both at different times. Been pondering the obvious hifi man Sundara, Meze 99, Senn 660s2 / 6xx/ 600 and i'm assuming at this point, the headphones will make the most obvious difference but happy to be corrected.

LIstened to some higher end meze - empyrean II i think with a phonitor 3 and that was a great combination, just a bit higher than i was hoping to spend at this point - will warrant a further listen sometime in the future maybe, not quite yet though.

Wondering if my assumptions seem fair and if there are obvious choices or if there's something else that would complement my existing headphones? I prefer a clean, tight bass over extension if needs be and probably prefer to err on the warmer side of neutral. Airy natural treble important and wide imaging / soundstage preferable.

 

[Lindholdt]

and i'm assuming at this point, the headphones will make the most obvious difference

Yes, if you want most change in sound for your money, headphones is where it's at.

Airy natural treble important and wide imaging / soundstage preferable.

That kinda rules out the Sennheiser 600/6xx as these are not "wide" staging headphones.

What is your budget?

 

[acmiller]

good question - probably around £400 give or take i think.

 

[MindBreak]

Sundara is a good headphone, and sounds great for multiple genres of music. Your music preferences would benefit from a planar headphone's speed, but bass presence and slam is hit or miss depending on the headphone and audio chain. I have a few planars that do bass well, but a really good dynamic headphone normally does it better. In my case in the form of a ZMF Atrium Open, but there are less expensive options out there. Sundara works well with Schiit Audio gear, and your stack should have enough power to bring out most of the performance of that headphone.

I use to own the Sundara paired with a Asgard 3 and a Modi, but I passed them on to a friend who is enjoying them. He is using a Magni paired with a Topping D50s DAC at the moment. He loves his bass, and the Sundara is delivering for him.

A little disjointed, but I forgot to mention a few things. The Sundara is not the warmest headphone I have heard, but it is nowhere near neutral. The treble has some air to it, and is not as peaky as some other planars. Imaging and soundstage are very good at its sub $300 price point, and it gets you within 15% of the Arya Stealth (in my opinion, granted this is form memory). Other headphones I own have wider and deeper soundstages along with more precise imaging, but they are over your budget.

Good luck with your decision, and Happy Listening!

 

[Lindholdt]

good question - probably around £400 give or take i think.

I think many planars will suit your taste quite good. Excellent bass extension, but a detailed and not bloated bass. Airy treble, and generally a clean and transparent sound. Naturalness might be the biggest issue, but some of them are still quite good here.
I'm thinking HiFiman XS could be a good option. But as @MindBreak also mentions, Arya Stealth is not that far off your budget, and that is a step up in overall quality IMO. I auditioned it when getting my HE1000, and the performance gap between those two is small, which makes the Arya quite the bargain.

 

[acmiller]

thanks both, sounds like some good options to have a listen to - will try to set something up to have an audition. Think i know someone with an XS i might be able to have a listen to as well.

 

[MindBreak]

I think many planars will suit your taste quite good. Excellent bass extension, but a detailed and not bloated bass. Airy treble, and generally a clean and transparent sound. Naturalness might be the biggest issue, but some of them are still quite good here.
I'm thinking HiFiman XS could be a good option. But as @MindBreak also mentions, Arya Stealth is not that far off your budget, and that is a step up in overall quality IMO. I auditioned it when getting my HE1000, and the performance gap between those two is small, which makes the Arya quite the bargain.

I was speaking to the performance between them, but yes the Arya is indeed a bargain at its sub $700 price tag. I purchase mine when it was at full retail a few years back. Its bass performance is not as good as some of the lower priced Hifiman offerings though. I get good bass out of the Arya on my Mjolnir 3, but I am not sure how they will sound on the Vali 2. Arya is a headphone that sounds different on various audio chains. If @acmiller can demo them on the Vali 2 it would help.

 

[MindBreak]

thanks both, sounds like some good options to have a listen to - will try to set something up to have an audition. Think i know someone with an XS i might be able to have a listen to as well.

From what people have told me in this forum and others, the XS has fuller bass compared to some of the other Hifiman offerings. They are definitely worth demoing. There are a lot of Hifiman offerings that are hovering around your budget due to recent price drops, so you are in a sea of options.