Which headphones are best for under 1500

[Mika1612]

My two fave genres I mostly listen to:

 

Indie/alternative - eg Foals, Boy & Bear, Of Monsters & Men, Silversun Pickups, Alt-J, Ben Howard, Manchester Orchestra, Bon Iver, Ocean Alley, Chvrches, Gang of Youths, Milky Chance, Portugal. the man, The Ruben

 

Electronic/Ambient - eg Flume, Pnau, Rufus Du Sol, Disclosure, Duke Dumont, Fisher, Golden Features, Hermitude, Hayden James, Odette, Peking Duck, The Presets, Zhu
 

Appreciate other genres too but country and heavy metal don’t really do it for me

[Bengineer]

Hmm. Try "In Another Life" album by Active Child. Weightless prob pick of the tracks.

 

Then check Tame Impala new album if not already. Last track "One More Hour".

[elisiX_]

1 hour ago, Mika1612 said:

My two fave genres I mostly listen to:

 

Indie/alternative - eg Foals, Boy & Bear, Of Monsters & Men, Silversun Pickups, Alt-J, Ben Howard, Manchester Orchestra, Bon Iver, Ocean Alley, Chvrches, Gang of Youths, Milky Chance, Portugal. the man, The Ruben

 

Electronic/Ambient - eg Flume, Pnau, Rufus Du Sol, Disclosure, Duke Dumont, Fisher, Golden Features, Hermitude, Hayden James, Odette, Peking Duck, The Presets, Zhu
 

Appreciate other genres too but country and heavy metal don’t really do it for me

My kinda music  + a lot more lol.

 

I only bought the RME RDI-2 yesterday because of the feature set it brings over the $500-$1000 DAC/AMP combo's. It is better than those cheaper stacks, but not 2-3 times better.

[Mika1612]

Active Child and Tame Impala both great recommendations.

 

Elisix_ the RME RDI-2  looks like a great piece of kit.

 

Just got a message that my goods are getting delivered today. Soo pumped!

 

 

[Bengineer]

47 minutes ago, Mika1612 said:

Active Child and Tame Impala both great recommendations.

 

Elisix_ the RME RDI-2  looks like a great piece of kit.

 

Just got a message that my goods are getting delivered today. Soo pumped!

 

 

Becks Modern Guilt album is excellent. Gamma Ray, Chemtrails.

SBTRKT has well recorded stuff.

Little Dragon too.

Anything TOOL. Lateralus album excellent. Drums in Ticks n Leeches. So good.

[sly_bastard]

11 hours ago, elisix_ said:

My kinda music  + a lot more lol.

 

I only bought the RME RDI-2 yesterday because of the feature set it brings over the $500-$1000 DAC/AMP combo's. It is better than those cheaper stacks, but not 2-3 times better.

The RME is awesome for a single unit, but it is behind on some cheaper stacks now due to some improvements since it has come out.  Great bit of kit though always  considering getting one.   It does have feature nothing else has which is what justifies the price, it is not technically a audiophile bit of equipment though more leaning towards the sound engineer side.  I see a lot of people adding a cheap powerful amp to the RME, like a THX amp. 

 

I got my 4.4mm cable to rca today so can now comfortably plug my ZX507 into my amp.  Now to buy another DAC and AMP combo.  Im thinking of the Topping A90 with a Topping E30 (this will be mixed with my current setup of the SMSL su8 V2 and the SMSL SP200), so the amps and Dacs with be crossed between old and new as such but I heard of some issues with the Topping A90 amp as it does hiss on the RCA side so maybe reconsidering it.  Thinking of waiting for the EOFY sales and decide then. 

[anandpkumar]

16 hours ago, Mika1612 said:

Sound advice. I’ll spend more time finding more chuuuuunes to listen to and enjoy on my Elegias instead of looking what to buy next. I’m a sucker for researching and wanting new gadgets though haha.

 

Any particular tracks you guys are really digging listening to on the Elegias?

Not sure what genres you are into - but I love the way the Elegias sound with 'female vocals'. Try out some Katie Melua, Patricia Barber - both have well recorded albums

[elisiX_]

4 hours ago, sly_bastard said:

The RME is awesome for a single unit, but it is behind on some cheaper stacks now due to some improvements since it has come out.  Great bit of kit though always  considering getting one.   It does have feature nothing else has which is what justifies the price, it is not technically a audiophile bit of equipment though more leaning towards the sound engineer side.  I see a lot of people adding a cheap powerful amp to the RME, like a THX amp. 

Agree for the most part. I will add a balanced SS amp at some point.

 

It might even be THX based and I will keep warmer sounds from a separate tube amp (WA22).

[Mika1612]

Update - headphones and hip dac received. Not sure what made them B stock - maybe the bottom left corner of the outer box was slightly squashed? To me it looked like it they hadn’t even been opened. (Excuse the photobomber)

I have a tiny little pea head so didn’t encounter any clamping discomfort others have mentioned. I found them super comfy straight off the bat.

 

The x bass button of the hip dac is a win. The clarity and detail of the Elegias is unbelievable.

 

My fave tracks of my session:

 

https://tidal.com/playlist/a498e0a0-fd52-4cdf-8ebd-34523b1f5d3c

 

Also had a listen to Katie Melula as suggested and agree that the Elegias really make female vocals shine...they basically polished and then rolled everything in glitter  

[elisiX_]

Happy for you mate.

 

Yes, that's how my box was, though a torn through. Inside black box was fine.

[musique112]

Enjoy the headphones, happy listening!

Vancouver Sleep Clinic is similar to the groups you guys mentioned. Their old releases is unreal

[Bengineer]

On 10/06/2020 at 9:52 PM, Mika1612 said:

My two fave genres I mostly listen to:

 

Indie/alternative - eg Foals, Boy & Bear, Of Monsters & Men, Silversun Pickups, Alt-J, Ben Howard, Manchester Orchestra, Bon Iver, Ocean Alley, Chvrches, Gang of Youths, Milky Chance, Portugal. the man, The Ruben

 

Electronic/Ambient - eg Flume, Pnau, Rufus Du Sol, Disclosure, Duke Dumont, Fisher, Golden Features, Hermitude, Hayden James, Odette, Peking Duck, The Presets, Zhu
 

Appreciate other genres too but country and heavy metal don’t really do it for me

Mansionair too if you haven't got onto them already. Got that Rufus vibe.

[sly_bastard]

So atm is the Focal Clear the best headphone in the market for this price thinking of getting some instead of the Sennheiser HD800s.  Considering a set or should I just get the Utopia?  The Clear Professional does come with a case and a better suited cable...hmmm decisions. 

[elisiX_]

Utopia absolutely not worth it over the Clear. 
 

Buy the HD800S and Clear for the price of the Utopia.

[Bengineer]

But then the Utopia is better than both. Neither is as dynamic and pulls out as much detail. Decisions!

 

I'd go the Clear Pro @ $1200

[anandpkumar]

Anything else comparable with the Clears at a similar price of 1200? Dr speakers Aeon open/closed, Audeze LCD-2 classic, Foxtex 610? 

[sly_bastard]

1 hour ago, elisix_ said:

Utopia absolutely not worth it over the Clear. 
 

Buy the HD800S and Clear for the price of the Utopia.

I have the HD820 and they are really good after a little EQ but always wanted open ear as well. 

 

1 hour ago, Bengineer said:

But then the Utopia is better than both. Neither is as dynamic and pulls out as much detail. Decisions!

I hate buying something and love it but regret getting the better model...hmmm. Maybe I should give my wallet a rest though and get the Clear Pro haha

 

Edit: Watched some reviews and some people prefer the clears, might just try them and add in a second amp for the price but might be interesting to see if they can be powered by my Sony ZX507.

Edited June 12, 2020 by sly_bastard

[elisiX_]

Lachlan at Minidisc also prefers the Clears over the Utopia, and he can take whatever he wants home to use. Like you say though, there's plenty of reviews stating the same. Lachlan said specifically the issue he has is the level of detail. He found himself focusing on it too much and not just enjoying the music. 

 

For me with the HD6XX, Elegia and HD800S coming this week, after a session of testing all of these headphones and a lot more last week, I think the Clears are an upgrade to the HD6XX. Not quite as intimate sounding, but an amazing all rounder and absolutely better than the Arya.

 

I don't get the Arya, but then again, I wasn't overly keen on the LCD-2 either, so I may just not like Planar. 

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by elisix_

[elisiX_]

So I wrote up the below for a few of the guys on here who I chat with regularly. I'd spent a half day at Minidisc last week trying a bunch of different headphones which sit above or below this $1500 price point. Now I was specifically listening off the RME ADI-2 and WA22, not cheap, but I think it might still be helpful from a headphone perspective. One persons opinion only of course!

 

I jumped into this hobby just 6-8 weeks ago. I've done a lot of reading and even acquired a couple of headphones and a DAC/AMP to kick things off. Yesterday I spent a solid afternoon trying some new gear and here are my thoughts. I'm incredibly new to all of this, so take my opinions with a grain of salt. I wrote this up for a few friends and figured some might appreciate it here.

I've always been a research the hell out of something person, then I buy. I would never normally buy a bunch of products to test and trial to determine which I should end up with. It's a very different approach to what I know. Thankfully we have stores who allow you to come in, sit down and learn about the gear in-front of you.

My current setup includes the HD6XX, Elegia and the iFi HipDAC.

What did I play with?

DAC's/AMP's

• Woo Audio WA22

• RME ADI-2 FS

I ran out of time, otherwise I would have also given the iFi iCAN/iDSD with MQA. I didn't focus on MQA today as I have some idea of this already from the HipDAC, and I can't push MQA to my LSX through pre-outs anyway (as the LSX will always use the built in DAP/DAC when sent an analogue signal).

Headphones

• Sennheiser HD800S

• Audeze LCD-2C

• Sony MDR-Z1R

• Fostex TH909

• Beyerdynamic DT1990

• Hifiman Arya

• Focal Utopia

• Focal Clear

Others I would have liked to sample were the Focal Stellia, Hifiman Ananda, Sennheiser HD820. There's no ZMF to try and outside of people's personal collections, I don't know if I could ever test them out. 

A friends of mine wrote the below statement and it really resonated with me after trialling a few options yesterday. While I really only sampled a number of headphones and not DAC's/AMP's, I still feel like this makes a lot of sense and how I felt after a short period of time with the above options at my disposal. 

QuoteI feel at the start of the "journey", I was all about warmth and midrange, disliked treble peak or sibilance. Now, I like tonal clarity, detail and musicality with some bass depth and extension. I never thought I liked the Focal "house" sound, yet they sound so very good now. Perhaps it was all in the right pairing.

Listening

For each set of headphones I would start with the WA22/RME combo, and then try with the RME on it's own. Each time there were differences with the main being the warmth, as expected. It was more than that though. I wouldn't say it was specifically power related, as the RME is still strong, but the overall sound was 80% of the time better through the WA22. 

HD800S

When I first went in I told the store operator that I had the HD800S on it's way this week, but explained to him that i'd never actually listened to them. I'd only ever heard the HD800 there during a previous visit, with the HipDAC and Mojo. This seemed like a good place to start, and I am glad it was.

After listening to everything, I went back to listen to the HD800S again. It absolutely lacks the deeper bass from the other headphones tested, but it's not completely missing. It results in a clear, detailed and wide experience where I could identify everything individually. Everything sounded unique and independent yet worked really nicely together. 

The WA22 paired with the ADI-2 really makes the most of these headphones. The ADI-2 in solo holds it's won, but the warmth brought in by the WA22 lifts the experience overall, considerably. 

I'm glad i've bought these headphones. They will work brilliantly with acoustic, jazz and a number of other types of music. They're not the best option for EDM, my primary choice for listening, but they're not terrible either. They do leave me wanting to buy something to contrast like the MDR-Z1R or TH909.

MDR-Z1R

I immediately fell in love with these headphones. They really do not feel like a closed headphone. I actually think the Elegia do a good job of not sounding really closed, but these do an even better job. The overall sound is contained, perhaps part of the closed build, but the bass and mids are amazing.

They're perhaps lacking a bit on the top end, but I came away feeling like this contract the HD800S really well for EDM and later night listening, where I don't want music forced into my head, but to just envelop me. 

Who knows if/when I will buy these - I would find it hard to justify spending over 2k AUD on these when they once retailed for $1600 AUD and sold for 1k AUD. I imagine any that come up for sale used get snapped up extremely quickly. I'd probably sell my Elegia to go toward the Z1R if I did go that route. I only need one set of closed headphones.

Very impressed, but keen to check out the HD820 and compare back to back. There's a lot of negativity about the HD820, but i'd still like to hear for myself. 

LCD-2C

This is quite a snappy little performer. Great value for money but far from perfect. The highs on certain tracks were too brutal and I can only describe this as like looking into the sun. Bass was quite good and a nice contrast to the HD800S. I would consider these as a solid cheaper option. 

TH909

Biggest underdog ever. Seriously good. They were easily the most fun sounding - like get up and dance fun. Punchy, detailed and great vocals. Bass pumps also. Didn't burn my ears on the top end either. Super expensive at $2500 and I don't know enough about Foxtex to understand that price, but it seemed expensive. 

DT1990

Just nothing. Wasn't impressed or moved at all. Felt generic. 

Arya

Probably the biggest surprise for me, and not necessarily in a good way. The hype around these headphones is massive. Along with the LCD-2C, these were my first ever planar experience and I think that perhaps it's not for me. They have this sound to me thats like someone massaging your head with the palm of your hand vs. using their fingers. Weird, but that's what comes to mind.

Very good overall, clear sound and detail with bass, but middle of the pack for me. I came away feeling that if you could only own one pair of high end headphones, this would be a good option. Great at everything, spectacular at none. 

Sound wise I also felt like these was something missing between low bass and mids. I don't know how this area is meant to be described (mid bass?), but it felt like this was one clear area that sounded different to everything else. 

Note: at this point of the afternoon I began to get this sharp throbbing pain in my left ear. Kind of felt like a headache you get behind your eyes, but seemed to be distinctly in my left ear. No idea what it was, but it began happening about 3 minutes into listening to the Utopia and affected my listening of the Utopia and Clear. As I am typing this I still have the sensation on and off, so I might have an ear infection or mild headache.

Utopia

Considering the above issues I was having, I could still hear, feel and understand the detail in these headphones. Incredibly clear, decent bass but just an overall enjoyable sound. Was great out of both the WA22 paired with the ADI-2 or on the ADI-2 solo. 

I don't think they're worth the asking price - $3k AUD for B Stock is much better, and perhaps worth that, but they're not twice as good as everything else I sampled, despite costing double. 

Clear

Really nice - everything you would expect them to be. I cannot complain about anything this headphone did and it too would actually contrast nicely to the HD800S in a collection. Incredibly detailed but really punchy base and mids. The bass wasn't clean like the Sony/Fostex, but impressive overall. 

It was with this headphone where I noticed the biggest difference between using the WA22/ADI-2 combined vs ADI-2 solo. I really disliked them with the WA22 as it made the bass seem so forced and I actually had to drop it down using the ADI-2 bass control on the front panel. No other headphone had that affect. Straight out of the ADI-2 though, amazing. I might have done something wrong as I don't think this is normal for the Clear.

I could very well consider these as a second headphone paired with the HD800S. I'm not sure it suits my lifestyle or listening as much as the Z1R's though. 

Comfort

The HD800S were one of the most comfortable to wear, along with the MDR-Z1R and TH909. All of the others wore fine, but didn't disappear on the head like these 3 seemed to. The LCD-2C is heavy, DT1990 and Arya a little awkward and the Focal's have the most clamp force, even when worn in as much as these were.

Build Quality

• Sennheiser, Fostex, Focal

• Audeze

• Hifiman/Beyerdynamic

Having more or less plastic/metal wasn't part of my ranking - rather the overall quality regardless of materials. 

Overall

I would rank these headphones on the WA22/ADI-2 as follows;

• Sennheiser HD800S

• Sony MDR-Z1R

• Fostex TH909

• Focal Utopia

• Focal Clear

• Hifiman Arya

• Audeze LCD-2C

• Beyerdynamic DT1990

If the HD800S maintained what it is now, but had the punch/slam and bass of the TH909, I think it'd be bloody perfect. 

Overall I feel like the HD800S suits one type of listening relevant to me, and the Z1R the other. Essentially dance music on the Sony vs everything else on the HD800S. 

Result

I came home with the RME ADI-2 with a desire to pair it with the WA22 and for the MDR-Z1R, Foxtex TH909 or Focal Clear to be the alternative listening pairing for the HD800S. 

The ADI-2 just makes the most sense overall and it works brilliantly with a mid-tier tube amp like the WA22 and will pair nicely with other mid-tier solid state amps like the Phonitor XE (based on reports).

I really loved the ability to add/remove bass and treble on the fly and to also preset EQ configurations based on future headphones. It looks smart and I think is well worth the $2200 AUD I paid. I might have saved $300-$500 AUD buying used, but it's an expensive unit so having a full warranty holds some weight.

Before I go ahead and purchase the WA22, I want to understand what alternatives might look like. It's direct competitor looks to be the Cayin HA-6A, which I just love the look of. I don't think I could go wrong with either really, but I just want to research the tube option a little more, as only a week ago I was set on the WA7, which I didn't touch today.

In hindsight, I should have compared it with the WA22 and I might just do that still to further cement spending 3k-4k on anything tube related. 

That took a while to type up. Hope it makes sense. 

[sly_bastard]

8 minutes ago, elisix_ said:

Before I go ahead and purchase the WA22

Is there a particular reason you want the WA22 over the WA2?  Unless you need to go down that balanced path wouldn't the WA2 do?  Also it's half the price.

 

The pain could probably be from the Z1R with the treble spike but could have been any headphone though. 

Edited June 12, 2020 by sly_bastard

[elisiX_]

I didn't try the WA2, but I am yet to really educate myself on Balanced or not. I have also read that there's little difference between the two, though I think maybe better rolling options on the WA2 in additional to more power. 

 

See here; https://www.headphoneer.com/hd800-amplifier-review/

 

I'm totally open to spending less though 

 

Quote

 

Woo Audio WA22 vs WA2

The problem with testing and comparing tube amps is that essential parts of the amplifier, the tubes, can be exchanged, and that most users actually never end up with supplied “standard” tubes. In order to get a sense of how these amplifiers compare across tube changes, I chose to keep the WA2 constant with tubes I have used with it for a long time and know are great. For the WA22 I used three slightly different variations of tubes. I then ran three rounds of comparisons.

1 – WA22 with Rayeton 6AS7G , GZ34, Sylvania VT231 (all NOS)

Ola Kvernberg – Alarums & Excursions: The percussive elements in the into stands out more with the WA22. They are not very different, but the WA2 a tad bit more polite. When the strings set in they have more bite. The deep tones of the cello has a bit more power to it with the WA22. It. Is like everything is a bit louder on the WA22, but raising the volume on the WA2 doesn’t give the same effect.

The Norwegian Chamber Orchestra – Vivaldi 4 Seasons, Winter – I: Surprisingly little difference. Strings are nice, crisp detailed and natural sounding on both, but the WA22 is a tad crisper. Great sense of space, image depth, with both, but I feel the WA2 actually is better at this here.

Floratone – Floratone: There is a slightly sharper tune to the trumpets with the WA22, but frankly I find it difficult to identify significant differences.

Frank Ocean – Fertilizer/Sierra Leone: The WA2 is a bit more polite, but also tend to feel slightly more refined in its presentation. The WA22 is more “up front”, giving you more of an “in your face”-presentation. Both are however great to listen to with a huge image and great level of detail, and they are not that different. Even though the difference is clear, I cannot pick a winner.

Hauschka -Sanzhi Pod City: Again, the WA2 is silky and a tad polite, especially in the mid range, while the WA22 pushes things a bit harder.

Conclusion

These amplifiers are really superb with the HD800. They are however constructed quite differently. I tend to describe the WA2 as polite and silky smooth, and the WA22 is “up front” and has a bit more edge, it feels snappier. There are no way to declare a winner between these two.

Conclusion WA2 vs WA22

Across tube changes made I tended to perceive the WA2 as more holographic, giving me a better sense of space, the ambience of the recording. With the GZ34 rectifier especially, I usually found the WA22 to be more forward sounding and a bit “rawer”, and tended to have a tighter but slightly less plentiful bass presentation than the WA2. That being said, I must underline that I often struggled to find any significant differences between them, and when I did, it was seldom obvious which I did prefer. There is of course an unlimited number of potential tube combinations one can arrange, but I have tried out enough tubes on both to say that I feel quite certain that I found some traits that are specific to each amplifier. The WA22 is significantly pricier, but I would put these amp on the same level here: They are different, but neither is objectively better for the HD800.

WA22 is more powerful and has better compatibility with lower impedance headphones. It also has a “high/Low impedance switch” that makes it possible to better tune the amps performance. On the other hand, the WA2 is dead silent, while the WA22 has a slight hum, though not significant through the headphones. If I only owned the HD800 and had to choose one of these amplifiers, I would keep the WA2.

 
 

 

The pain only happened from the Utopia onward. I persisted for about 5 minutes before going for a walk. During that walk, on my return, listening to the Clear, then HD800S and even later that evening, I still had the pain. It was gone the next day and hasn't returned from listening to the Elegia/HD6XX at home. I have no idea what it was. I put it down to a headache from listening to 8+ headphones in 4 hours with varying volumes and variations in how they represent different frequencies. 

 

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by elisix_

[sly_bastard]

25 minutes ago, elisix_ said:

I am yet to really educate myself on Balanced or not

In terms of identical amps there would not be much difference.  It is internal and different amps deal with it differently.  It is to help with noise reduction/floor or grounding issues if you have any but if you are looking at low noise floor amps it is not necessary.  Even the WA2 should have a decent noise floor so technically doesn't need to be balanced.  In the end it is the quality of the amp and doesn't necessarily need to be balanced.  Its like when rug store's having a "sale" its to make the buyer feel all warm and fuzzy in the end but it's more about the quality of an amp is more important then if it is balanced or not.  Although you would expect more from a balanced amp as such as the ground is separated for each side basically.  Also some "balanced" are not even balanced as such. 

 

In terms of the WA22 and WA2 it would have different internals but I would say the majority is a different tube setup.  You could probably get them to sound identical if you spent time tube rolling but from what I have seen they sound similar and both are good. 

25 minutes ago, elisix_ said:

The pain only happened from the Utopia onward

Could have been a million reasons, but both the Sony and the Sennheiser are treble heavy (as you mention they miss a lot of bass and people my compensate for this with a higher volume) with the Sony having a terrible treble spike as many people note but in the end it could have been anything.  But as you say could have been a combination of the headphones or another headphone. 

Edited June 12, 2020 by sly_bastard

[:) Go Away (:]

My Focal Elegia from ATA  got delivered late this evening and just opened it after dinner.

 

OMG, I am just impressed by its packaging. These are really nice looking headphones with a classy carrying case. I had mini happiness burst just opening the package and holding the headphones.

 

I would have to agree with previous comment. This really is the best $500 I have spent in HIFI hobby. As for the sound, it is equally impressive as its packaging. For now, I am driving this with OPPO HA2 DAC/Amp and sounds really nice. Waiting to see how they open up after a week or so.

[anandpkumar]

16 hours ago, :) Go Away (: said:

My Focal Elegia from ATA  got delivered late this evening and just opened it after dinner.

 

OMG, I am just impressed by its packaging. These are really nice looking headphones with a classy carrying case. I had mini happiness burst just opening the package and holding the headphones.

 

I would have to agree with previous comment. This really is the best $500 I have spent in HIFI hobby. As for the sound, it is equally impressive as its packaging. For now, I am driving this with OPPO HA2 DAC/Amp and sounds really nice. Waiting to see how they open up after a week or so.

If you like them straight out of the box, you will love them even more once they are run in for a few hours (50-100 hrs). I felt that mine really opened up with 50 odd hours of break-in time

[Mika1612]

Looks like the Elegia deal is finished on A2A now. Stoked I got onto it in time Interesting to hear about the improvement after running them in too.