I don't know if you ever sprung for these, but my advice would be S02E06. Amazing combination with the best sound stage of any TMA2 configuration. Yes I got everything and tried them all out like a crazy person Thank god for their 30 day return policy but hey that's exactly what it's for, on advice from their helpdesk...
My gold standard right now is the OPPO PM-3 (since I can't afford to pick up AEON yet). Going back and forth with TMA2 S02E06 it's tough picking a favorite.
S02E06 has a better sound stage than PM-3 which I attribute it to the lack of seal on the E06 with the detail from S02. Another bit contributing to the better sound stage of S02E06 is that the ighs come through better than on the PM-3. That airy presence in the upper registers contributes to the sense of spaciousness and where psychoacoustics says we get a sense of positioning even if it's not audible. Anyway better highs on the S02E06 is no surprise, the OPPO is known to be analytical and detailed but also have a midrange leaning to warm and slightly rolled off highs.
Midrange is where the OPPO picks up the slack. That's where the meat of music is and OPPO does an amazing job presenting the range. Balanced (if slightly warm), full of detail, so much presence there. But the presence is all a bit closer to you than on the S02E06. Not claustrophobic but since it's the area of emphasis and everything is presented with equal weight, it can feel a bit cluttered. Definitely more honest and as a reference I trust it above the TMA2 headset, but also less fun. On the OPPO I can pick things apart, find flaws, know when a mix needs some trimming. TMA2 doesn't feel lacking in the midrange in any way but because the HP sounds more fun to me and I've never seen FR measurements, I'm guessing something has to be going on there However, S02E06 transition from midrange down to bass super smooth, and transition from mid to high just as flawlessly. No bleed, and instruments/vocalists sit in space and play off of each other amazingly on the HP. Originally I thought TMA was gelling everything together for that effect (kind of like reverb just makes everything sound "together") but after comparing with the OPPO, I can hear PM-3 has things more gelled/together and the amazing interplay I'm hearing on the TMA2 is something else entirely. Surprised the local HP shop too, their guess was a dual driver design to pull offseparatedd sound like that but from what I can tell S02 is just a well ported single dynamic driver.
TMA2 has a more interesting low end than OPPO. While it's true that OPPO is insanely detailed in the low end with it's planar technology, it lacks impact and even a degree of texture that I find in the TMA2. The elusive PRAT is all over the TMA headset, really get a sense for the energy brought by the low end but it's not so emphasized that you loose detail over the rest of the spectrum or get any boomy/muddy bass sound out of it. The bass is even more tastefully done than the B&W PX which people are claiming is flat enough over in that thread. I personally can't stand the slam of the PX bass, S02E06 really hits the nail on the head for being able to produce texture of bass with just enough impact that kicks aren't lost. It's true the PM-3 goes silent on sustained bass notes before the S02E06 but it's lacking any bounce.
I would be so curious to see more impressions of the TMA2 S02E06, it's a marvel of a headphone I keep returning to.
