Help me choose some headphones

[GamerGuy]

So far ive been amazed with gaming on my ad700x’s. I feel like a hacker almost. I do want another audiophile quality set for sure now for music and I’m tossed between hd600, hd650 and monolith m560’s. I modded my ad700x’s to take a v-moda boom pro mic but Amazon lost my shipment. So I need to wait for my refund to order it again. I also added som brainwavz hybrid ear pads to the ad700x last night and now they are super comfy. Haven’t got to game with them yet to see if they changed the sound too much but they seem to have more base now.

Oh, most definitely, earpads do change the sound, and in my opinion, most substantially when compared to changing everything else (other than another pair of cans that is). When I first got a stock Fostex T50RP (stock pads), it sounded terrible.....harsh treble, mids and bass sorta bled into each other, I wondered what so many saw in it actually. But, when I changed the earpads to a MrSpeakers Alpha Pad, what a difference it made! Bass seemed tighter yet ever present, mids a little polite yet not totally laid back, and the treble harshness was resolved........nothing I did before that changed the sound that much!

As for the cans you're looking at, I'd suggest you seriously look into the HD600 or HD650 (or even a HD6XX in the Garage/Used section of your local forum, that's how I'd gotten mine). As for the Monoprice M560, I can't comment as I've yet to try one......I did read of some negative reviews of the sound, but sound is so subjective, it's hard to say whether it'd suit you or not. Do note that the M560 is a closed back can, while the HD6 series from Sennheiser are open back.....each type has its own set of negatives and positives.

 

[Frederik S]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned AKG. I have a (cheaper) pair of and couldn't be happier with my pick.

AKG is closed down so there could be some good deals coming up.

There are so many options just try and listen to as many as possible, preferably A/Bing as ones memory of how stuff sounds quickly disappears.

Amount of bass in headphones has a lot to do with the fit and seal against your ears/head. Pads that seal better will get you more bass. Pads that change the volume in front of the driver can also have an audible effect, but the effect is usually not as pronounced as the change in bass one can get with a pad swap.

 

[bug]

AKG is closed down so there could be some good deals coming up.

What do you mean it's closed down? It's moved from Austria to the US (which could mean there's nothing left of the original company), but I'm not aware of it actually closing down.

 

[Frederik S]

AKG in Austria has laid off all employees and moved all production to China.

 

[bug]

AKG in Austria has laid off all employees and moved all production to China.

Ok. You had me worried there for a while.
Let's see how the new equipment fares, maybe it's not all down the drain.

 

[GamerGuy]

Oh, that's a relief, not all AKG's are made in Austria. My original K812 was from Austria, but it died on me, the replacement AKG Austria so kindly replaced mine with was from Slovenia (no other charges than shipping my faulty K812 to Austria to verify it cannot be repaired). I believe in AKG and wish them all the best with their future endeavor.

 

[Kursah]

AKG in Austria has laid off all employees and moved all production to China.

Shame. I love my K553 Pro Massdrop versions, admittedly they're probably Chinese if that information is 2+ years old. I purchased a spare pair that is BNIB still because I've been so happy with these.

A fellow member also donated some HiFiMan HE-350's my way, after doing the bass mod, and a mild tune with EQ APO, I gotta say these are pretty damn impressive for a budget open-back headphone. They're not ortho's, and can't match what I remember of my HE-400's, they are fun none-the-less. I don't have a good environment to constantly use open backs, and thus my primary cans now are my K553 Pro's.

Fit is everything with these cans, but when you do fit the correctly, which is really easy to do...the sound and isolation is excellent. Comfort is also damn good, these cans are extremely light and the earpads are soft and do a good job sealing around my big ears lol. Sounds decent without EQ, but is also very responsive to EQ tuning to achieve the sound I am looking for. Able to handle bass, clear vocals and highs. Is a great match for my Aune T1 Mk1 DAC/AMP. Plenty of power, plenty of volume, and overall very fun and comfortable to listen to for hours. That's the reason I purchased an extra pair of headphones and also purchased an extra pair of ear pads. None of which I've needed yet...but I wanted to be prepared and had the money at the time, granted the K553 Pro's were $125 shipped on Massdrop, worth every penny IMHO. Would also be quite easy to adapt a boom mic or mod mic to them. I use a desktop though.

Hopefully AKG continues to push out good headphones, I've been impressed with everything I've tried from them. The budget options I chose have been great, better than expected and are holding up quite nicely. So well in-fact my Denon D2000's are still collecting dust with my other JVC and Sony cans. I never got into the high end stuff, but I've had a lotta fund in the budget up to $400 range. All the more expensive cans are sold and gone, but my budget cans remain...out of them I think the K553 Pros are by far the most capable, dynamic and overall enjoyable.

 

[Frederik S]

I think some of the AKG acoustic gurus are cooking up new interesting stuff at MySphere, looks like a modern AKG K1000. Since they did not retain the engineering staff my guess is that the coming products will be less special. The guys at AKG had so much experience and expertise, they will probably find something new with ease. The already designed products will probably live on until they are not earning Harman any money.

Usually a headphone without major dips or peaks in the FR are pretty easy to EQ, especially if the driver can handle some power without distorting.

Agree on the HiFiMAN headphones they are really good bang for the buck all the way up in terms of acoustic performance. Sometimes there mechanical design is a little flawed but price considered it is totally fine. Still loving the Edition X with the newest HiFiMAN pads which really do wonders on them. Probably the best of the current crop of HiFiMAN headphones to my ears after they got the new pads. Their new in-ears are not bad either!

 

[ShRoOmAlIsTiC]

Finally got it all together. Put back on the stock pads, the brainwavz muddied up the sound too much.
Might purchase some m560's tomorrow for my next set.

 

[Kursah]

Good to see another Logitech G15 v2 user here! Mines still fully functional. Not the prettiest anymore but gets the job done! Not sure what I'm gonna go with when I replace it.

Back OT, please do keep us posted if you snag the M560's. I've been eyeballing them since I've missed my HE-400's. I also like the isolated closed back option which I'd need if they were good enough to replace my K553's as my daily drivers.

 

[KungFoo_Grip]

I have been using ATM50's for about 3 years (coupled with SMSL M6 DAC/Amp) and I just upgraded to the Monolith 560's (I mean at under $150 why wouldn't I try them). As closed headphones the sound is an obvious upgrade, and as open they are in a whole new class. I use the modmic with them and for gaming the combo is damn nice, and for music they deliver...even when pushed to 500mW they don't distort or get muddy (the ATM50s got muddy around 300mW). They are heavier than the M50s, but they are quite a bit more comfortable and you don't notice them as much when wearing them for extended periods (gaming for instance). My opinion would be, if you care about sound and you see these for $150, and don't jump on them you are missing a golden opportunity.

 

[GamerGuy]

HiFiMan HE4XX is a fine planar magnetic can at a very affordable price, and represents quite a bang for buck can. I have it, and I'm testing it against a MD fave, the HD6XX. Running my tests on my OPPO HA1 with a 4pin Balanced XLR cable for the HD6XX, and a 4pin Balanced XLR cable borrowed from my HE1000. Although I am not quite done, I am tilting towards the HD6XX as it is a more balanced sounding can but with a narrower soundstage. The HE4XX has a greater mid bass slam, but its treble can be a tad too hot.

I like both HFM and Sennheiser, and I am not being prejudiced against the China made HFM can as I'm something of a HFM fanboy as can be shown by my collection. The HE4XX is a fun sounding can, but in terms of SQ, it cannot match the HD6XX.

 

[ShRoOmAlIsTiC]

M560’s will be here tomorrow with some Sony mdr-xb500 pads. Can’t wait to here them. Next plan is to find some he4xx’s and hd6xx’s. To bad the he4xx are sold out. Love the different head band on those. Hopefully massdrop will bring them back. I’ll stick with my clip on if I use my M560 for gaming and get a mod mic for the hd6xx’s. I’m blown away by the sound from my ad700x and they are purely gaming sound. Never new how good music can sound and what I’ve been missing. My wife is already yelling at me asking if I’m gonna have a collection of headphone like I collect everyday else. I already have one wall fully of air soft guns. Drawers full of vaping juices and equipment.

 

[Cexyjoe]

M560’s will be here tomorrow with some Sony mdr-xb500 pads. Can’t wait to here them. Next plan is to find some he4xx’s and hd6xx’s. To bad the he4xx are sold out. Love the different head band on those. Hopefully massdrop will bring them back. I’ll stick with my clip on if I use my M560 for gaming and get a mod mic for the hd6xx’s. I’m blown away by the sound from my ad700x and they are purely gaming sound. Never new how good music can sound and what I’ve been missing. My wife is already yelling at me asking if I’m gonna have a collection of headphone like I collect everyday else. I already have one wall fully of air soft guns. Drawers full of vaping juices and equipment.

Hey, how did the gaming experience go with the m560 ? Thinking between that and ad700x. Mostly for FPS gaming

 

[erixx]

Just never buy headphones with faux leather, I had high end Sony, they desintegretad themselves in short time.
Then I had Philips, bought 2 high end, one with faux leather, one with textil finish. The one with less use, guess which one, sarted to disintegrate: the faux leather one.

they may all sound alike, but do not buy faux leather ones!

 

[jboydgolfer]

I get the sennheiser rubber ones. They sound great, & never break. I have dropped mine countless times over four years, and they still work absolutely perfectly , & theey never peel they're not the nicest headphones, but they're made by a reputable brand ,and along with that comes a certain level of quality in both sound and build. HD419

 

[GamerGuy]

Just never buy headphones with faux leather, I had high end Sony, they desintegretad themselves in short time.
Then I had Philips, bought 2 high end, one with faux leather, one with textil finish. The one with less use, guess which one, sarted to disintegrate: the faux leather one.

they may all sound alike, but do not buy faux leather ones!


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Oh yeah, I had that happen to my PSB M4U 2 headphone that had flaky pads, and the rubberized parts sort of got sticky.....oh how I hate that! Don't get me wrong, it's a damn nice sounding can when driven by its own built-in amp, just this piss poor choice of material used in its construction that ticks me off. That's why, when I buy any can, I'd check to see it has such material used in its construction. Is that a Fidelio X1 or X2? Great pair of cans though I find my X1 to be a tad dark sounding, but I like it anyway.

 

[Gorstak]

The most popular over yonder are kingston cloudx. I didn't personally listen to them, but any kingston cloud headphones should be best buy, depending on your specific needs, claim the local experts.

 

[ShRoOmAlIsTiC]

Hey, how did the gaming experience go with the m560 ? Thinking between that and ad700x. Mostly for FPS gaming

The m560’s are great headphones. So great that I bought the m1060c and modded them to open backs. Now those are pretty much all I use now. I do occasionally use the m560 with my rubato dp-s1 around the house.

 

[Cexyjoe]

The m560’s are great headphones. So great that I bought the m1060c and modded them to open backs. Now those are pretty much all I use now. I do occasionally use the m560 with my rubato dp-s1 around the house.

So m560 over ad700x and m1060c over the m560?

 

[Space Lynx]

So m560 over ad700x and m1060c over the m560?

if you have a good headphone amp like the magni 3, I'd recommend HE-4XX on massdrop for $169.99. sounds better than 1060C to me, but you need a powerful amp on high gain for the HE-4XX to sound their best

 

[Cexyjoe]

if you have a good headphone amp like the magni 3, I'd recommend HE-4XX on massdrop for $169.99. sounds better than 1060C to me, but you need a powerful amp on high gain for the HE-4XX to sound their best

I was playing to get the m650 with the Magni and modi along with Loki. I play on ps4

 

[Space Lynx]

I was playing to get the m650 with the Magni and modi along with Loki. I play on ps4

m650 sounds terrible. i love the m560 with sony xbr500 earpads though. but they are not comfortable enough for long sessions. very heavy cause of all the metal.

i have heard over 200 headphones, several amps and dacs.

honestly can't beat the bang for buck of the magni 3 and modi 3 combo + HE-4XX or HD58X. I currently own all of that along with many others. I'd stay away from Monoprice cans. I owned all of their cans as well at a couple points, but the m650 was awful. m1060 is overrated imo.

 

[Cexyjoe]

m650 sounds terrible. i love the m560 with sony xbr500 earpads though. but they are not comfortable enough for long sessions. very heavy cause of all the metal.

i have heard over 200 headphones, several amps and dacs.

honestly can't beat the bang for buck of the magni 3 and modi 3 combo + HE-4XX or HD58X. I currently own all of that along with many others. I'd stay away from Monoprice cans. I owned all of their cans as well at a couple points, but the m650 was awful. m1060 is overrated imo.

So which would you say I should get ? I play a lot of FPS games on console so I want something with good wide soundstage for those footsteps and pinpoint enemy. I’m still going to get the Schiit Magni, modi and Loki

 

[Space Lynx]

So which would you say I should get ? I play a lot of FPS games on console so I want something with good wide soundstage for those footsteps and pinpoint enemy. I’m still going to get the Schiit Magni, modi and Loki

I'd skip the Loki personally, but for FPS games plus a great all arounder I would go with HE-4XX. i run my HE-4XX with my magni 3 on high gain around noon - 100 volume set in windows connected to modi3