[ADUHF]

I just picked up a set. Only one tiny little negative aspect to them. I find female vocals slightly recessed.

But all the above points are valid. I would add build quality as well. These things are built like a tank. QC is important to me when i pay over a 100 quid on headphones.

Interesting. Fwiw, this reviewer did not come away with as positive an impression. And found them a bit over-bright in the treble.



Wheezy is a fan of the Harman curve though. So he probably will tend to prefer somewhat bassier cans, with perhaps a bit less brightness than a typical audiophile.

I know the OP doesn't want to talk sound, but based on looking at the Rtings plots, I would be inclined to put the Philips X2HR in the lower-volume listening category, due to their apparent brightness in the sibilant range between 5 and 9 kHz.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/most-overrated-headphone-brands.532168/page-8#post-15610623

 

[ADUHF]

Actually, Bose and Beats are talked about a lot. Just never in a positive way.

True dat.

 

[ChoColostrum]

Maybe they're too much for the price. I don't know if they will be accepted by audiophiles if they were priced below $100. But that's tough competition, and for that price I will never let go of my K92s (I'm being biased and subjective I know )

 

[IEMusic]

Focal may not be a household name in the US. But they have been making speakers since 1979. So they've been around for awhile. And they cater to both pro-audio users, and enthusiasts...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal-JMLab

Oh yeah, Focal (no more JMLab) is a very well known high-end speaker manufacturer. They make excellent drivers, and also full loudspeaker designs, and are well know in both home audio and car audio. Their drivers are also used by other high-end speaker manufacturers, such as Wilson Audio, and they’re famous for their beryllium inverted dome tweeters. They are just new to headphone manufacturing (within the past decade).

I assure you that they are well known in the US.

 

[ADUHF]

Good points. If you were to name the most popular brands for average consumers vs the audiophile community vs the professional industry, you would get 3 different lists. There would be some on all 3 lists, such as Sennheiser and Sony probably. However, the OP asked what brands “you usually see members HERE have or recommend or often talk about and/or are just popular with other members in this forum?“. So, it would be for the audiophile/enthusiast community.

I would agree about the differences between consumer, pro-audio, and enthusiast.

Gearslutz is one of the more popular sites for pro-audio. Here are their lists of headphone picks under $200, and over $300, selected by members of the site. These are from 2016 and 2017, so they're a little out of date now...

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/best-studio-gear/1103860-best-studio-headphones-under-200-a.html
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/best-studio-gear/1165278-ten-best-studio-headphones-over-300-a.html

There's some interesting info in the comments as well on these. Several members mention the AudioTechnica R70X as one of their favorite open-back HPs, for example. If they did some new updated lists, I suspect there would be some changes or additions on both lists. The closed AKG K371 might also receive at least some mentions in the under $200 category.

The Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Plus is similar to the DT-770 and semi-open DT-880 btw, except it has some adjustments for bass level and tonal balance. It's sound sig is not generally as smooth as either the DT-770 or DT-880. And headphone EQ-ing has become more commonplace in recent years. So I suspect some may now prefer the DT-770 with some EQ-ing to tame its brightness in the treble over the Custom One Pro Plus. The Beyer studio HPs are also known for changes in their tonality as their pads wear. So some adjustability, or an extra supply of replacements pads, may be advantageous with their DT product line (ie Custom One, 770, 880, 990).

Issues such as isolation, comfort, durability and reliability may be just as important, if not more so than the SQ on pro audio HPs. (Though I have to say that the AT M50 is one of the least comfortable HPs that I've ever put on my big head!)

More Gearslutz top picks for other gear (including some studio loudspeakers), in case anyone's interested...

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/best-studio-gear/

 

[Capo Dei Capi]

Interesting. Fwiw, this reviewer did not come away with as positive an impression. And found them a bit over-bright in the treble.



Wheezy is a fan of the Harman curve though. So he probably will tend to prefer somewhat bassier cans, with perhaps a bit less brightness than a typical audiophile.

I know the OP doesn't want to talk sound, but based on looking at the Rtings plots, I would be inclined to put the Philips X2HR in the lower-volume listening category, due to their apparent brightness in the sibilant range between 5 and 9 kHz.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/most-overrated-headphone-brands.532168/page-8#post-15610623

You might be right. But on the rtings site these are rated very highly with an 8.2 score, which is higher than most.
These reviews also rate them very highly as well. Just a few i read before buying them.

https://www.soundvisionreview.com/headphones/philips-fidelio-x2-review/
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-philips/fidelio-x2hr/

I'm not an expert, so i can only go off what others have said.

I spent roughly a 100 pounds on mine. If i spent double the money, do i get double the sound quality?

 

[bettyn]

Love my new Focal Elegia headphones, especially with my new Meze balanced cables.

 

[ChoColostrum]

I would agree about the differences between consumer, pro-audio, and enthusiast.

Gearslutz is one of the more popular sites for pro-audio. Here are their lists of headphone picks under $200, and over $300, selected by members of the site. These are from 2016 and 2017, so they're a little out of date now...

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/best-studio-gear/1103860-best-studio-headphones-under-200-a.html
https://www.gearslutz.com/board/best-studio-gear/1165278-ten-best-studio-headphones-over-300-a.html

There's some interesting info in the comments as well on these. Several members mention the AudioTechnica R70X as one of their favorites, for example. If they did some new updated lists, I suspect there would be some changes or additions on both lists. The AKG K371 might also receive at least some mentions in the under $200 category.

The Beyerdynamic Custom One Pro Plus is similar to the semi-open DT880 btw, except it has some adjustments for bass extension and tonal balance. It's sound sig is not generally as smooth as either the DT-770 or DT-880. And headphone EQ-ing has become more commonplace in recent years. So I suspect some may now prefer the DT770 with some EQ-ing to tame its brightness in the treble over the Custom One Pro Plus. The Beyer studio HPs are also known for changes in their tonality as their pads wear. So some adjustability, or an extra supply of replecements pads, may be advantageous with their DT product line (ie Custom One, 770, 880, 990).

Issues such as isolation, comfort, durability and reliability may be just as important, if not more so than the SQ on pro audio HPs. (Though I have to say that the AT M50 is one of the least comfortable HPs that I've ever put on my big head!)

More Gearslutz top picks for other gear (including some studio loudspeakers), in case anyone's interested...

https://www.gearslutz.com/board/best-studio-gear/

links wont load on my phone.

You might be right. But on the rtings site these are rated very highly with an 8.2 score, which is higher than most.
These reviews also rate them very highly as well. Just a few i read before buying them.

https://www.soundvisionreview.com/headphones/philips-fidelio-x2-review/
https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/brands-philips/fidelio-x2hr/

I'm not an expert, so i can only go off what others have said.

I spent roughly a 100 pounds on mine. If i spent double the money, do i get double the sound quality?

Law of Diminishing Returns. It's all I can say for headphones

 

[Mink]

I don't think I could make a top 10. The current favorite brands, or overall?
But it is safe to say Sennheiser is number one. Till this day the HD650 is referenced in almost any thread at Head-fi.

(At the second place it could be a tie between Audeze, Hifiman and Focal, closely followed by ZMF, Meze and Fostex.
After that brands like Philips, Sony and AKG. Almost making the top 10: Audio Technica and Denon?)

 

[ChoColostrum]

I don't think I could make a top 10. The current favorite brands, or overall?
But it is safe to say Sennheiser is number one. Till this day the HD650 is referenced in almost any thread at Head-fi.

(At the second place it could be a tie between Audeze, Hifiman and Focal, closely followed by ZMF, Meze and Fostex.
After that brands like Philips, Sony and AKG. Almost making the top 10: Audio Technica and Denon?)

Yes thank you for your input. But couldn't you be lurking in the High-End forum with those you mentioned? Some of them are hot items now, but no Beyer or Grado in your list means they have fallen out of discussions?

 

[Mink]

No just following the posts in the Headphones (Full size) section of this forum (and following reviews on Reddit and Youtube), I never visit the High-end forum.
Grado is barely mentioned nowadays or in a negative way (overpriced) and Beyer didn't cross my mind to be honest

 

[ADUHF]

links wont load on my phone.

?? They seem to work fine on my PC. Maybe an issue with pop-ups?

Fwiw, the lists can be accessed from the Gearslutz homepage. Just go to the area where it says "Best Studio Gear", and click "See More", and it should take you to a list of articles. The headphone articles are near the bottom of the list.

If for some reason you still cannot access the above, here is their list of under-$200 HPs...

- AKG K240 MKII
- Avantone Pro MP1 Mixphones - these are designed specifically for mixing, and have mono and MixCube modes
- AudioTechnica M50X
- BeyerDynamic Custom One Pro Plus - similar to DT-770 & DT-880, but with 4 different acoustical settings for bass and tonal balance as mentioned above
- Grado SR125E
- KRK KNS 8400
- Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
- Shure SRH840
- Sony MDR-7506

And the over-$300 HPs...

- AKG K701
- Audeze LCD-4
- BeyerDynamic DT 1990 Pro
- Grado RS1E
- Sennheiser HD 650
- Sennheiser HD 800S
- Stax SR-Lambda SR-507
- Ultrasone PRO 900I

I am not a fan of the sound sig on the DT 1990 Pro btw. Just fyi.

 

[ChoColostrum]

I see, so is it safe to assume those have a flat response since I haven't tried any of them but am eyeing the K701s.

 

[xRaptorxPunisher]

Most popular? being realistic

1) Beats
2) Apple(technically beats too but they operate desperately.
3) Bose
4) Sony
5) Skull Candy
6) JBL
7) B&O
8) Audio Technica
9) Sennheiser
10) Logitech


On forums? whatever is FOTM. The usual like Beyer, Senn, AKG are properly the big 3 that the majority will know more than others.

 

[ADUHF]

I see, so is it safe to assume those have a flat response since I haven't tried any of them but am eyeing the K701s.

No. I'm not recommending any of the above. Just reporting what their selections were. Many of the above headphones have specialized applications. So they may or may not be suitable for music/pleasure listening,... if that is your application(?).

Rtings has some plots of the K701. And they appear to have a response similar to the Grados. Ie on the brighter side in the treble, and upper midrange around 2.5 kHz...

Raw Frequency Response - Left: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-4/graph#326/4011
Raw Frequency Response - Right: https://www.rtings.com/headphones/1-4/graph#326/4012

You can pull up some plots of the Grados (and other headphones) for comparison using the headphone selectors above the graphs. If you like brighter-sounding HPs, along the lines of Grado, then the 701 may be fine for you. They aren't as neutral though imho as some other headphones.

I am probably the wrong person to ask for recommendations btw, because I tend to focus more on the flaws in a headphone's sound signature than the more positive qualities. If you are looking for a pair of more neutral-sounding open-back headphones though, I can try to point you toward a few that I think would be a little better out-of-the-box than the AKG K701.

If you are ok with some EQ-ing though, then the options may be more broad, and come down to other factors, such as the fit, comfort, feel, distortion, openness of the sound, etc., rather than the tonal balance. Fwiw, I look at all the above when considering a new purchase. Not just the neutrality & tonal balance. (EQ-ability has become an increasingly important characteristic for me, for example, as well as comfort, good extension in bass and treble, and low distortion, among other things.) The Gearslutz blurb on the K701 claims they have "highly-detailed transient response", for example... whatever that means. And a "lightweight frame for great comfort - and great listening pleasure...", again whatever that means.

If you're lookin for recommendations, some more details about your specific applications and requirements would be helpful.