As the title asks, I'm curious what people's favorite laid back and spacious sounding headphones are. Some prerequisites are non-peaky and non-sibilant treble; good stage, imaging, and layering; and a tonality that's not forward or really energetic.
I haven't personally tried any of these, but my shortlist of headphones that I'm really interested in and that I think would fit the bill are:
Meze Elite
ZMF Verite Open
Mod House Tungsten (with the right amp pairing)
Maybe a modded Sennheiser 6x0 like the JAR650 vB
I'm sure there's plenty of others that would fit these criteria, so I'm curious what headphones people reach for when they want this kind of presentation!
Susvara on the high end (smooth all around).
Arya Organic on the mid-fi end (balanced, clean, articulate but not overly so, good timbre).
ATH WP900 on the low mid-fi end (beautiful, light, comfortable, clean, linear, polished sound).
I think they got the Arya Stealth right for tuning. It fixed the forward upper mids on the original. Also the Audio Technica ADH1000X is great with fresh pads, female vocals are hard to beat.
The Hyland Audio Jupiter One is the most pleasantly tuned (but still very technically capable) incredibly comfortable pair of headphones I've ever heard. I was incredibly lucky to find them second hand, took a huge risk buying based on reviews - rare though they are - and have been in love ever since. It's also really cool that they're made my one guy in a shed in the UK. The build is utilitarian, not the prettiest thing in the world, but the builder will sell you any individual piece for repair at a reasonable price, and they're sturdy to start with, so longevity isn't a worry.
Before I heard them I would have said ~$700 seemed steep, but it's honestly not bad for how great they are. That said, they don't command a high price used, so if you see a pair for $300-400 don't be overly surprised, but jump on them quick, they're quite rare!
The Hyland Audio Jupiter One is the most pleasantly tuned (but still very technically capable) incredibly comfortable pair of headphones I've ever heard. I was incredibly lucky to find them second hand, took a huge risk buying based on reviews - rare though they are - and have been in love ever since. It's also really cool that they're made my one guy in a shed in the UK. The build is utilitarian, not the prettiest thing in the world, but the builder will sell you any individual piece for repair at a reasonable price, and they're sturdy to start with, so longevity isn't a worry.
Before I heard them I would have said ~$700 seemed steep, but it's honestly not bad for how great they are. That said, they don't command a high price used, so if you see a pair for $300-400 don't be overly surprised, but jump on them quick, they're quite rare!
They're really something special - I'd love to hear the closed back, and would almost certainly get a pair, but they're a bit too rich for my blood at the moment. Maybe in a year or two.
Susvara on the high end (smooth all around).
Arya Organic on the mid-fi end (balanced, clean, articulate but not overly so, good timbre).
ATH WP900 on the low mid-fi end (beautiful, light, comfortable, clean, linear, polished sound).
Hugely underrated headphone, just like the SR2. Competes with the high-end cans (at least from what some owners are reporting). Give it a listen if you have the opportunity to
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