Headphones

Honestly the hd600. Sounds good on almost every track except bass heavy music tbh

Hd600 and zmf autuer OG. the most emotional I’ve ever been listening to music. Not great for every genre but for music that does not need a microscope for there’s always 6xx

I’m gonna get downvoted like a MF but 😞😞 AirPods Pro and Sony M9 for real listening.

I know they aren’t “high-fi,” but the Meze 99 Classics. I enjoy the warmth and richness to them, especially when listening to classical or jazz. I also enjoy when I am listening to more modern music, they handle it well. Sure, they’re a bit more bass heavy, but the mids and top end are still beautiful with them in my opinion.

Z1r for iem and stax l700 for headphone

Nuraphone, but i don’t think that is an acceptable answer on this sub…

Hd 560's

Focal Utopia is close, but it’s not great for metal music or anything else with a ton of electric guitars… waiting to stumble over a pile of cash to throw it in the direction of a Susvara or Abyss, they seem to bring punch into the world of highly resolving planars.

Audeze unfortunately has a flagship that might sound good but is sized for toddlers in my wobbleheaded opinion

Abyss 1266 TC+20k in gear tube amp(viva egoista) and tube dac(lampizator)

STAX SR-X9000 with T2 and Weiss 501/502 dac i havent heard the grand cayman yet and blue hawaii is very decent

For me, it was the M50x. Sucked me to completion in a dennys parking lot. I was completely satisfied after.

At first I thought it was my hd660s but I've since got he1000s and I adore them

AKG k371. Did a lot of research before buying but was still suprised how good they sounded. Bought them 2 years ago and till this day i cant believe how nice they are.

HD 650, though it took me trying out some wider headphones afterwards to realise I was satisfied

Hifiman HE6se, with velour pads and an old-style Hifiman headband.

They're always comfortable, and I can always fall back on their tuning, no matter what I'm doing. Just a perfectly pleasant pair of headphones that I can use for pretty much everything.

If I could only keep one pair of open backs, it would be them.

grado sr60e are so good

58x

I'll say my Abyss Diana TC because it was the first headphone that made it easy to notice the minute sound differences between sources and cables. Prior to this headphone I thought that was a myth. Plus like the Moondrop S8 it's extremely detailed yet never gets too ear piercing.

Only ever used IEM's but on the fence between these three.

meze 99 classics, fiio FT3's or some sundara's.

currently rocking cra's and castor bass.

For a long time I was completely happy with my HiFiMAN HE560 -but only after equipping it with an Artisan Silver Cables upgrade cable. That was the biggest and best acoustic upgrade from a cable that I’ve ever experienced, and I have done a ton of experimenting with cables of all kinds over the years, with many other great sonic improvements.

However, I always lusted after a pair of HE1000 and finally got the Stealth Magnet version recently. They are the closest to perfection I’ve ever heard, and my trusty old Astell&Kern AK240SS can drive them nicely! Next step is a couple of custom cables… I sent the 2.5mm balanced cable for my HE560 back to Artisan Silver for re-terminating with 3.5mm plugs and am discussing with Alister (head honcho at Artisan Silver and a real nice guy, always happy to help with my unusual cable requests) a new cable to drive the HE1000 Stealth with my big Plinius SA100 mk3 power amp, since I know the HEK appreciates serious amplification! So, in terms of source and power, in bed it’ll be very simple with just the AK240SS (can’t wait to hear them together with the pure silver balanced cable, considering the vast improvements it made to my HE560!) and in the main HiFi listening room when it gets too late for my Martin Logan hybrid electrostats (I have neighbours!), I’ll just unplug the speakers and plug in the HE1000 Stealth -careful to turn the volume down first! Can’t wait to hear what that sounds like!

I’ve been a part time headphone listener (just at night when I frequently can’t sleep) since getting my ML’s 9 years ago and building the best system possible for them. They’re only the old Aerius i but they’ve kept up with every single upgrade and I love them: so clear, detailed and dynamic, with the legendary Martin Logan soundstage and imaging, but these headphones are so much better that they’re forcing me to upgrade my speakers (to ML Masterpiece range Classic 9)! Sorry to go off onto speakers but I had to put the performance of these headphones in context and this is the only way I personally can do that. Btw, I have no relationship with Artisan Silver Cables other than as a very happy customer - I do not benefit in any way from saying good things about them.

BD Amiron Home with oratory EQ. While these aren't as accurate as the 1990s and tend to be warmer, they're extremely comfortable and non-fatiguing for long listening sessions. Great soundstage and imaging. Got them for a good price on sale, too! (at their msrp probably a load of better options)

Hifiman Sundara's

I really liked the Superlux HD330 I blindly picked. In my country you have to go to the capital or something probably if you want actual specialist hifi audio gear, otherwise most shops just sell cheap junk or display absolute mind blowing thousand dollar gear with no fucking nuance in between.

Can't blame the average layperson if they just shrug and grab their 7th replacement of a cheap pair of barrel bottom XB450s. How tf are we supposed to figure out better when only garbage quality gear exists in the affordable end? I'm certainly not gonna shell out a couple Gs, unknown, on a pair of supposedly high end cans. It's not like reviews are universally in agreement either, it's not like, say, buying a monitor, where people might nitpick details but still agree that 240Hz is a great refresh rate. Buying headphones is like navigating a fucking minefield unless you somehow have access to a place that well let you demo a variety of them.

STAX SRL-700.

Just fucking amazing. If a cult member wants to hear their god, give them STAX. They'll hear god and then more

HD 58X.

I kept them longer than most headphones I owned (also had 560s, 599, 6xx, 660s, and 800s from Sennheiser, but held onto the 58X the longest), and I went through quite a few trying to find one (or a few) that fit my tastes (I like bass and "fun" sound, but in an open back). Edition XS almost fit this bill for me and was my first planar, but both units I got both had driver buzz/crinkle under bass, so I gave up on those. HD 800S were cool, but far too bass light for me. Dipped my toes back into planars, but with Audeze this time. Got an LCD-GX open box for $600 and damn. With some EQ and HeSuVi, these would vibrate on my head in games and music w/ heavy bass, and the sound... amazing. This led me to getting the 2021 LCD-X for $900, and recently got a Maxwell for wireless gaming. Listening to the LCD-X as we speak, just a wonderful headphone.

Fidelio X2 non HR, I haven't find anything like it until today.

Very good for immersive gaming and movies. For music is not bad too!

The AKG K3003 in-ears. Many years later it was the Arya stealth through the balanced output of an Oppo HA-1. I've had several other cheaper headphones that sounded great, but the Aryas are the first ones that really hit right on the sound signature.

64 Audio u12t. Was in an audio shop trying $50-$300 IEMs and fully just could not tell the difference between any of them. Asked the dude at the counter what I might try if I wanted to notice a difference and he took me straight to the u12t. Had the very surreal experience of an actual tear forming in my eye as I heard new details in James Blake's Retrograde while I sat at a counter next to some other dude trying out another set of IEMs.

HD 650 hands down. Still a beater for me, without spending close in 1k

Wait, do you guys have single headphones that fully satisfied you?

Koss ksc75 lol

Koss ksc75 lol

My first ever pair of Sennheiser HD400s. They were the first pair of over-ear headphones, and the first headphones that'd I'd ever spent more than about $20 on. Lifechanging. Now I'm onto AudioTechnica ATH-40s and love them so much but I'm still kind of patriotic to Sennheiser.