[Malevolent]

Thank you so much for your insight.
Have you got a chance to get your hands on the new Rognir Dynamic?

Sadly, no, I have not. I am interested in auditioning them, though, so if I do get the chance, I'll pounce on it.

Are you looking at this headphone specifically, or do you have a sound/signature that you are looking for? Let us see if we can help you with that.

 

[tonedeafmelomaniac]

Hi!

One or two things upfront: my opinion is just that: personal and maybe not easily transferable. Keep that in mind... Plus: reviews tend to throw around hyperbolic comparisons like "significantly inferior". Take review and other peoples opinions (because most of the time its just that) with the appropriate grain of salt. In some cases that grain may well have dimensions that make it almost indistinguishable from a football

With that out of the way: I don't listen to metal, but electronica (mostly EDM, especially Deep House), but a friend of mine is more into Rock and Metal. While personally I really like the Hi-X60 as a quite truthful studio headphone that's not devoid of fun, he liked the DT700 much better -- which I can understand purely from a fun factor point of view: the DT700 has a bit more character of its own and may make music sound a bit more engaging. Nothing wrong with that, its done with taste and a good eye, i.e. not too much. Both isolate very well (without active ANC, which I don't like much and therefore seldom use) and are very comfortable (to me that is). Both the Austrian Audio as well as the DT700 can be driven with even that minuscule Apple Lightning headphone adapter.

If your usage is mostly on the go I'd really consider wireless headphones: if your source has a decent AAC implementation (my favorite codec due to a good compromise between sound quality and connection stability, and incidentally the codec of choice on my iPhone) I think you won't notice a real difference, especially on the go. I think ANC does more harm to sound quality than a good Bluetooth codec... but having no wires is really really nice. I use a rucksack, and a cable is a bit of a hassle in that context...

My favorite wireless headphones are the AirPods Max (maybe not at the top of the list of you're using anything else than an iPhone though) and the V-Moda CF2W Codex (I also love the M-100 as people here can tell...). I really liked the Aonic 50 while I had it, and I don't think its totally missing bass, but its not throwing it in your face. Actually I think its one of the best sounding wireless headphones, but its smaller brother Aonic 40 has sound signature that's a bit more consumer oriented. Unfortunately its headband did not fit my head that well. Both now offer EQ that's stored in the headphone if that's your cup of tea (personally I prefer to listen to the native sound signature of a headphone).

So for me it comes down to the primary use scenario: stationary a wired headphone is just fine, a bit cheaper maybe for maybe even a bit better sound signature and one less thing that has aging batteries in it. For mobile use I'd prefer wireless, but in most cases I simply use the AirPods 3, which are not only totally hassle-free but sound great and are so compact that I always have them in my pockets. TWS is easier with the omnipresent masks as well...

Hope that helps a bit.

That helps a lot, thank you for detailed response!
Of course I take reviews with the bucket of salt. As for opinions it's all about subjective perception and I use it as a starting point.
I'm Android user. Frankly speaking I thought about buying iPhone 13, iwatch and AirPodsMax but after making calculations decided to spend this money on hi-fi gear
ANC and EQ are not really my things.
I also listen to some deep house once in a while but I'm not a good judge of it.
If I find Aonic 40 in local stores I'll definitely test it. By the way AirPods OG sounded quite well with OnePlus.
I primarily use headphones during long walks so dac and wires won't really bother me. For commuting I'd prefer TWS options.
Anyway I'll give a chance to some top wireless cans and also keep in view relatively compact over ear wired solutions.
And I can't get out of my head the aforementioned Apple trio

 

[mainguy]

As much as I love headphones (over IEMs), the truth is, I think comfort and convenience are pertinent factors that trump sound quality when I'm out and about. I wouldn't have thought this, say, 2-3 years ago, but I've had quite the change of heart over the last 2 years. I've since realized that when I'm traveling, I don't want to be dealing with a separate DAP (that's usually quite chunky), a portable amplifier (possibly), and a thick, unwieldy cable.

All of this came to a head about 4-5 months ago when I was trying to juggle between my previous DAP (Hiby R6 2020), my Kindle, and my smartphone - my wife was calling me, and I was simultaneously trying to prevent my Kindle from dropping, remove my IEMs from my ears, and pause my music. I know, this conjures up comedic images, and I must say, if I looked at myself then, I would probably have a laugh. Still, from that moment forth, I came to the conclusion that I was going down the wireless path, and there would be no turning back.

So.... it has been a TWS IEM and headphone future for me. These days, when I'm commuting, I use my Sony WF-1000XM4. It's comfortable, the battery lasts forever, and yes... it's convenient as heck!

I agree. Dap on the go...Meh. Spotify, iPhone, tws, or some wired iems and an apple dongle.

I switched from being a tws diehard to Solaris & an apple dongle 6 weeks ago (from PI7). Must admit it's still so convenient, actually its more for me as i dont have to charge another device haha, and it sounds fricken worlds better. Going from iPhone to WM1A, meh, not worth the inconvenience.

 

[AudioDuck]

So.... it has been a TWS IEM and headphone future for me. These days, when I'm commuting, I use my Sony WF-1000XM4. It's comfortable, the battery lasts forever, and yes... it's convenient as heck!

Thanks mate- that’s very helpful perspective!

I’m not at the same place personally- I’m OK with carrying a DAP, phone, and Kindle, but I’m going to migrate from iPod/portable plus DAC/amp to one DAP unit with wired IEMs or closed cans. But I definitely see/respect your points!

 

[Gevi]

Sadly, no, I have not. I am interested in auditioning them, though, so if I do get the chance, I'll pounce on it.

Are you looking at this headphone specifically, or do you have a sound/signature that you are looking for? Let us see if we can help you with that.

I need a closed back headphone pair with great soundstage and delivery on soundtracks and female vocals

 

[Terriero]

That helps a lot, thank you for detailed response!
Of course I take reviews with the bucket of salt. As for opinions it's all about subjective perception and I use it as a starting point.
I'm Android user. Frankly speaking I thought about buying iPhone 13, iwatch and AirPodsMax but after making calculations decided to spend this money on hi-fi gear
ANC and EQ are not really my things.
I also listen to some deep house once in a while but I'm not a good judge of it.
If I find Aonic 40 in local stores I'll definitely test it. By the way AirPods OG sounded quite well with OnePlus.
I primarily use headphones during long walks so dac and wires won't really bother me. For commuting I'd prefer TWS options.
Anyway I'll give a chance to some top wireless cans and also keep in view relatively compact over ear wired solutions.
And aforementioned Apple trio can't get out of my head

I listen to a lot of metal, but only the melodic variants. My preferred genre is gothic metal (the early Theatre of Tragedy, The sins of the beloved, After forever, Epica, Within Temptation's first album...), heavy metal, melodic doom, melodic black, power metal (and it's variants: symphonic, epic, hollywood -Rhapsody -...) and some melodic death (like Children of Bodom, Eternal tears of sorrow or Dark Tranquility).

I have tried two closed backs that are good for metal, the Beyer DT 150 and the Denon AH-D9200s. Regarding to the Beyers they do most types of metal very good, but lack something, maybe they sound so correct and don't emphasize anything (a little the bass) -they are studio headphones- and at the end they are a little sterile. On the other hand, I love the AH-D9200s but not for all the metal genres I listen to, they shine with heavy metal and melodic death and work very good with Power metal.

My most versatile headphones for metal genre (althought semi-closed) are the Beyer DT 1990 Pro. Today, I have been enjoying them a lot with this genre. I've listened to some Nightwish albums, "Noumena - Myrrys" (I think that was @Chris Kaoss which introduced me to this band and after that I will go with an album that I've recently adquired and I love: "My Dying Bride - The ghost of Orion" that I know sound spectacular with them.

 

[tonedeafmelomaniac]

It's definitely a good thread!
Need your subjective opinion on Beyers 1770 vs 177x vs 700 for fast metal.

 

[tonedeafmelomaniac]

I listen to a lot of metal, but only the melodic variants. My preferred genre is gothic metal (the early Theatre of Tragedy, The sins of the beloved, After forever, Epica, Within Temptation's first album...), heavy metal, melodic doom, melodic black, power metal (and it's variants: symphonic, epic, hollywood -Rhapsody -...) and some melodic death (like Children of Bodom, Eternal tears of sorrow or Dark Tranquility).

I have tried two closed backs that are good for metal, the Beyer DT 150 and the Denon AH-D9200s. Regarding to the Beyers they do most types of metal very good, but lack something, maybe they sound so correct and don't emphasize anything (a little the bass) -they are studio headphones- and at the end they are a little sterile. On the other hand, I love the AH-D9200s but not for all the metal genres I listen to, they shine with heavy metal and melodic death and work very good with Power metal.

My most versatile headphones for metal genre (althought semi-closed) are the Beyer DT 1990 Pro. Today, I have been enjoying them a lot with this genre. I've listened to some Nightwish albums, "Noumena - Myrrys" (I think that was @Chris Kaoss which introduced me to this band and after that I will go with an album that I've recently adquired and I love: "My Dying Bride - The ghost of Orion" that I know sound spectacular with them.

Thanks for your opinion!
Posted before reading your reply.
Yes, Dark Tranquility is my lifelong love
Have you listened to D7200? Do they differ from 9200 significantly?
And the same question about Beyers 1770 vs 1990.

 

[Terriero]

Thanks for your opinion!
Posted before reading your reply.
Yes, Dark Tranquility is my lifelong love
Have you listened to D7200? Do they differ from 9200 significantly?

Yes, some guys here have tried both and they said to me that they are different. The issue with the 7200s is on the headband pressure distribution that can suit your head or not and if so: it creates a hot spot on the top of your head.

I have not tried the 7200s.

 

[Gevi]

Sadly, no, I have not. I am interested in auditioning them, though, so if I do get the chance, I'll pounce on it.

Are you looking at this headphone specifically, or do you have a sound/signature that you are looking for? Let us see if we can help you with that.

Thank you for trying to help!

 

[tonedeafmelomaniac]

While we are at it, has anyone tried Yamaha l700a?

 

[P007]

I need a closed back headphone pair with great soundstage and delivery on soundtracks and female vocals

Try The Beyerdynamic T5P or T5 gen3 with baffles removed or EQ. The gen3 added a foam baffle to make the sound less 'beyer' (i.e. sibilant) but its easy to remove.
These cans have amazing soundstage and great imaging which is very good for soundtracks....though I haven't thought specifically of female vocals.

 

[bizkid]

While we are at it, has anyone tried Yamaha l700a?

Yes! I auditioned it a few days ago and liked it very much. Comfort was fantastic for me. It definately has a consumer tuning but with very nice and present mids. I decided to buy it but i kept looking out for an unopened one on the local classifieds for a good price. It should arrive today. I can compare them to my harman'd (if that is a proper word...) Shure 50s. The original Shure tuning is useless to me but i bought the 50s for 130€ (2nd hand, 2 month old) as a stationary headphone for one of my PCs so that's fine as it includes a USB Mode with 32bit/384kbps. It replaced an M50x also with Harman Target applied, though the m50x is much closer to Harman from the beginning. The Shure trumps over the M50x by the way when both are EQd to the same target. So much for "Bluetooth Headphones are beaten by cheaper wired Headphones". Not true in my Book.

 

[Gevi]

Try The Beyerdynamic T5P or T5 gen3 with baffles removed or EQ. The gen3 added a foam baffle to make the sound less 'beyer' (i.e. sibilant) but its easy to remove.
These cans have amazing soundstage and great imaging which is very good for soundtracks....though I haven't thought specifically of female vocals.

Thanks a lot!

 

[tonedeafmelomaniac]

I can compare them to my harman'd (if that is a proper word...) Shure 50s.

It would be great