Hey guys, I've been reading through this thread quite a bit and been doing a lot of research on current mid-high end closed backs ($1k and below)
I'm after something to compliment/contrast my Fostex THX00 Purple Hearts which I absolutely love and don't think I'll ever get rid of (I'm thinking of getting some Lawton mods, unfortunately I have the first version with non-detachable cable
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So, something more neutral, with deep bass extension and a lot of detail. And something with good passive isolation (something Fostex sucks at, they're more semi-open). I want to be able to use them for some music production/mixing and recording podcasts/voiceovers etc., but also music listening enjoyment (less work daily driver perhaps more dedicated listening sessions).
To be honest I've kind of got my heart set on the Focal Celestee, they just look so beautiful and seem to tick all the boxes I'm after.. I'm really keen to hear the Focal house sound and dynamic punch for myself. But all the options I'm considering are:
- Focal Celestee $900
- Audeze LCD2 Closed Back $900 - deep bass, planar, heavy, dislike new version Audeze logo on cups)
- Beyerdynamic T5P 3rd Gen $1000 - boring looking, flat sound sig, detailed, I used to love Beyer DT1350 Tesla
- Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noire $900
- Denon D7200 $1000 - I feel like they could be too similar to Fostex in sound and what about isolation?
- Beyerdynamic DT177X - $375 (plus import duty possible to canada for me) - waaay cheaper than the rest, still seem really good???
- Focal Listen Pro - $299 - good for the price but I hear reports that they are shy on bass?
- AKG K361 / K371 - ok really low tier in price and build quality compared to the rest but seems like they do the job for studio use...
Regardless, $1k would be the most I've spent on headphones and I don't really want to go above that.
Although technically Ultrasone Signature DJs are 1k+ closed backs, I got them for a good used-price many years ago - and although I love them I will probably sell them soon because I never use them. They leak too much with the custom pads I put on and they are too Vshaped / aren't suitable for mixing/production stuff. Too similar in sound sig to my Fostex.
I'd appreciate any thoughts/comparisons regarding my list! And is there anything worthwhile that I'm missing in mid-tier $500-600 range ?
I was always interested in the Oppo PM series planars too. My friend who got the Drop Panda's likes them but had some QC issues on multiple pairs...