Talk me out of it or talk me deeper in!

[dudlew]

So I have been hunting for my first open can. And I bounced up on three cans that sound at least to be close to my preferred sound sig and within my budget. These three are the AT R70x, the Audioquest Nighthawk and the Sen HD650. From my amazon searches, I can get these for around the same price... 300 - 350 dollars. I have basically narrowed down to the AT as it seems to match my sig the most. good bass natural mids and unfatiging highs.  All reports say they have better bass than the HD650, but in the mids and highs are not as clean... but still very good. This bodes well for me as I love my bass, not a bass head by any means, but still love my bass. The night hawk is a can I have seen with some of the most mixed reviews I have seen un a headphone for a long time. seems to be a love hate thing with that one, and as I cant try before I buy, it scares me a bit that I might be dissapointed.
 
The rest of my gear will most likely not change for a while bar the DAC, where I am looking at the Mimby. 
 
So... Talk me out of the AT and talk me into the Senns or NightHawk, or talk me deeper into the AT. If anyone has the PM3 as well as any of these phones, that would be an excellent point of reference as I own the PM3 headphones.
 
Thanks

D

 

[NA Blur]

I find the highs on the R70x fatiguing as this headphone is bright-sounding. If you search for R70x measurements you can find a few sites that show the troublesome treble peaks around 6kHz and near 7.5kHz which is what makes it sound bright. Plus the earpads really need improvement so you if you go the R70x route be sure to look for alternative pads as the stock ones feel cheap, are not angled enough to improve the bass, and just detract from the rest of the headphone.
 
One headphone I really love is the HE-400i which with the correct angle of the pads sound fantastic. They sound extremely high-end actually as I have heard some of the best headphones out there including the HE-1000, Ether, and HD800. Out of all of these, including the HE-400i, I only prefer the sound of the modified HD800 over the HE-400i on some tracks, but most of the time I still love the super linear and deep bass of the 400i. It is a headphone everyone should own for a few weeks just to get deep into hi-fi.

 

[dudlew]

I find the highs on the R70x fatiguing as this headphone is bright-sounding. If you search for R70x measurements you can find a few sites that show the troublesome treble peaks around 6kHz and near 7.5kHz which is what makes it sound bright. Plus the earpads really need improvement so you if you go the R70x route be sure to look for alternative pads as the stock ones feel cheap, are not angled enough to improve the bass, and just detract from the rest of the headphone.

One headphone I really love is the HE-400i which with the correct angle of the pads sound fantastic. They sound extremely high-end actually as I have heard some of the best headphones out there including the HE-1000, Ether, and HD800. Out of all of these, including the HE-400i, I only prefer the sound of the modified HD800 over the HE-400i on some tracks, but most of the time I still love the super linear and deep bass of the 400i. It is a headphone everyone should own for a few weeks just to get deep into hi-fi.

Lol.... another option..... but to be honest.... I don't really want a hifiman headphone. Everyone has their taste, but two things turn me off from it....
1. The famed poor build quality. No easy returns where I live. That's also why I am not sure about audeze either. It would cost a pretty penny to ship any of these back for repairs... and a lot of hassle. So reliability is a big deal for me.
2. The looks. It's petty I know but I have not seen a hifiman headphone that looks decent good in my eyes.... except for the EL8... same with Audeze.

But... of the three headphones that I have narrowed it down to.... if u have heard them all and the R70c is not ur pic, which is??

It's also the first time I have seen the 70x referred to as fatiguing.... in the thread.... I have heard lack of clarity and detail... doesn't handle complex music well.... too warm..... sounds a bit grainy compared to HD650 or 600.... not fast enough.... but first I have heard fatiguing.