[roughavoc]

Hello, I currently have the CAL! love them despite the highs being a bit too sibilant and bass being a bit wooly but nothing an EQ can help with, I'm looking at upgrading, mainly home use so Semi open, Full Open or Closed, they are all fine!
But here is the problem, the way my jaw bone and neck is, very few headphones actually seal on me, let me give you what I have already tried:
 

1. CAL!, these fit fine, though if I tilt my head to the right the left cup doesn't seal.
2. DT770, they are just a joke, I have to raise my shoulders and push the cups in to get a seal. So this rules out the DT990 and other large open headphones ):
3. UE6000, even though they look like they have small cups, they are just slightly longer than the CAL! so on my left ear, they don't seal unless I tilt my head to the left.
4. (Not headphones really but still apply) Steelseries Siberia v2, same as UE6000 just worse and happens on both sides.

So I have a list of headphones I should look into, but living in London, I cannot just go to a shop and try any of these headphones out as there is not any shops that have them on show and I don't think Amazon will take too kindly to me refunding headphones each week.
 
What do you Head Fi'ers recommend me?

Music: From DnB to Trance to Rock to Hip Hop, the whole spectrum
Sound: CAL! sound with a tad more sub bass and less sibilant sounding, found the DT770 horrible mids, UE6000 to be good

I think that with my requirements as well as sound signature taste, finding any headphone is going to be hard for me.
 
Here is an drawing that may help, though I doubt it,

 

[Skar]

How about more oval shaped headphones, like sennheiser or fa003?
 
at least the sennehiser shape should be easy tot est with a store around wherever you live

 

[sinnottj]

Just taking sound into consideration, I'd say your best bet would be some Denon D2000s, which are essentially the 'big brother' to the CAL! (manufactured by the same OEM using a very similar, but larger driver design.) I own both and the D2000s take the CAL sound and improve it in every respect, particularly the bass, with a fantastic sub-bass response.
 
In terms of fit, despite ostensibly being closed, they don't require a seal to work well - I have a bony face which leaves gaps around the pads, but it doesn't affect the sound at all for me. (The reality is they're not a true closed 'phone ...)
 
Only real problem is that they are discontinued and probably impossible to find new. There are usually some going on eBay, but that's probably a bit of a risk unless the seller is happy to accept returns ...
 
Also, I'd have thought that most open headphones don't really require a true seal to sound good. I've got some AKG K601s which have huge earpads that leave plenty of gaps against my jawline, with no apparent effect on the sound.  Same with my DT880s.
 

 

[roughavoc]

See oval headphones is pretty much the exact opposite of what I want, they will for sure not seal

 

[roughavoc]

Quote:

Just taking sound into consideration, I'd say your best bet would be some Denon D2000s, which are essentially the 'big brother' to the CAL! (manufactured by the same OEM using a very similar, but larger driver design.) I own both and the D2000s take the CAL sound and improve it in every respect, particularly the bass, with a fantastic sub-bass response.
 
In terms of fit, despite ostensibly being closed, they don't require a seal to work well - I have a bony face which leaves gaps around the pads, but it doesn't affect the sound at all for me. (The reality is they're not a true closed 'phone ...)
 
Only real problem is that they are discontinued and probably impossible to find new. There are usually some going on eBay, but that's probably a bit of a risk unless the seller is happy to accept returns ...
 
Also, I'd have thought that most open headphones don't really require a true seal to sound good. I've got some AKG K601s which have huge earpads that leave plenty of gaps against my jawline, with no apparent effect on the sound.  Same with my DT880s.
 

Forgot that the D2k existed, after looking for a pair on eBay ended up in my being out bid on a pair for £300 I kinda gave up. Going to look and see if I can get myself a pair!
Also, your talk about the open headphone makes sense, never tried a full open headphone before so never had the chance to see how it affects for me but thank you for your input! 

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

Forgot that the D2k existed, after looking for a pair on eBay ended up in my being out bid on a pair for £300 I kinda gave up. Going to look and see if I can get myself a pair!
Also, your talk about the open headphone makes sense, never tried a full open headphone before so never had the chance to see how it affects for me but thank you for your input! 

If the CAL seemed sibilant to you, the D2k will be worse. If you can try a pair of A900Xs they might be alright for you, where are you located in the UK?

 

[roughavoc]

Quote:

If the CAL seemed sibilant to you, the D2k will be worse. If you can try a pair of A900Xs they might be alright for you, where are you located in the UK?

I will look into those, I live in London. After looking around, only Superfi seems to the place to go, went there, was not impressed with the showing really

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

I will look into those, I live in London. After looking around, only Superfi seems to the place to go, went there, was not impressed with the showing really

Damn. You missed the London Head-fi meet by a couple weeks.(Unless you didn't and came along?) I live "oop North" so I can't really let you try mine.

 

[roughavoc]

Quote:

Damn. You missed the London Head-fi meet by a couple weeks.(Unless you didn't and came along?) I live "oop North" so I can't really let you try mine.

I knew about it but school work and stuff
I might just call up amazon and see if they with be fine with me returning 3~ headphones maybe within 7 days or something

 

[Trunks159]

ATH WS99. I've got bony features and these fit fine. MDR ma900 also. They don't need a seal and they sound amazing.

 

[roughavoc]

Quote:

ATH WS99. I've got bony features and these fit fine. MDR ma900 also. They don't need a seal and they sound amazing.

WS99 not avaliable within the UK from a place I trust and the MDR is over £300.
The A900x is also over budget.

I currently looking at the Philips Fidelio L1 or the Denon D2k if I can get my hands on a pair for under £200. I do wonder however, if they are worth the £200 compared to the CAL! lots of people aren't saying they are worth it, I think the CAL! just struck gold.

 

[Tangster]

Quote:

WS99 not avaliable within the UK from a place I trust and the MDR is over £300.
The A900x is also over budget.

I currently looking at the Philips Fidelio L1 or the Denon D2k if I can get my hands on a pair for under £200. I do wonder however, if they are worth the £200 compared to the CAL! lots of people aren't saying they are worth it, I think the CAL! just struck gold.

A900X for £160ish. I imported mine from Japan through Amazon. Took a while to arrive though.

 

[Trunks159]

Fidelio l1s are nice. Eq'd and amped even better. They aren't comfortable for me though. They clamp ALOT. Mdr 1r sound good, equal to the fidelio l1, maybe a little less fidelity. They have totally different sound signatures though. Mdr 1r is much more forward. I prefer the mdr 1r for comfort.

Hd598 should be considered

 

[roughavoc]

Quote:

A900X for £160ish. I imported mine from Japan through Amazon. Took a while to arrive though.

I am going to pass on them, if I do not like them I am stuck with them.
HD598, people seem to consistently talk about them being bass light so again(You made a thread on it) so I'll pass on those too
Lots of passing..

 

 

[Comrade Penguin]

Probably not worth a special visit but if you're near Tottenham Court Road, Shasonic usually has a half decent selection to try.

Given the seal problems you are having might it be better to with an on ear design like a Grado or the HD25-1? Could give you a few more options.