General purchase advice: Ask your questions/for advice here!

Purchase Advice
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Nice first post. You’ve laid out the pros and cons well. If these 3 cans represent your universe of options, it will likely come down to what cons you’re willing to risk living with in order to enjoy the pros that you prioritize. For me, unfavorable comfort and build quality can be showstoppers regardless of sound quality I might enjoy for 60 minutes a day or for less than X years.

To the extent you’re open to expanding your universe of options, I also was going to recommend looking into the Heddphone or Final Audio D8000 or D8000 Pro. @Currawong has a good video where he compares the D8000 to the Empyrean and Utopia. Good luck.

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@voja Great review, I’m new here and need help please, I’m looking for a headphone between 150 and 250 dollars with the following characteristics: bass present, good extension, good detail and fast, sweet detailed mids with good presence of voices and good detail and resolution, treble with good detail extension but without being hiss, in short balanced sound with good clarity and high resolution. my options are hifiman deva 219 hifiman he400i (2020 version) 169 sivga phoenix 255 monolith m570 199 . Which of them best fits the description? Thank you very much in advance and excuse me, my English is not my native language.

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I’m sorry to say that I don’t think that any of the headphones you listed do all of the things you want, they all have drawbacks.

I am just finishing up the review of the Deva (wired only version, which is the one you list) and there is a roll off in the lower bass regions, so extension is not really there.

I started listening to the HE400i 2020 yesterday and have only spent a few hours with it so far, so I can’t give detailed impressions yet. However, I feel it has more bass extension and presence (in the bass) than the Deva but falls behind in almost everything else (again, these are just first impressions).

I don’t know anything about the Sivga Phoenix in afraid, so I can’t help there.

The Monolith m570 I haven’t heard personally but I seem to remember reading it is recessed in the mids. If I am not mistaken, I think @antdroid tried them and could maybe give more info.

One question… What would you be powering these with? I think they all need a fair bit of power (except the Phoenix which I have no idea).

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Great to see you enter the hobby. I would always recommend the Sennheiser HD 598, but they are definitely bass light.

I wouldn’t be the best to give advice since I didn’t listen to all that many options. The Phoenix is definitely a good pick, it might be better than the Deva because it’s not as hard to drive (planar-magetic headphones need a very good source) - I would suggest you wait for the release of the new pads before buying the Sivga Phoenix.

No other headphone is popping up… there is Thieaudio Phantom, but I don’t know much about them, cannot comment.

The Phoenix is a very great headphone, but those pads… Just give Sivga some time, they will send me the pads when they are completed, so I will be able to immediately post if they are any better.

Monolith is targeted towards the masses, not audiophiles… and I didn’t hear anybody mention that Monolith product is their favorite, at least not on audio enthusiastic forums.

I am getting the Dekoni Blue next month, I have yet to see how they perform. They are planar magnetic, so you might have a problem powering them. However, they are using the Fostex T50RP MKIII (I believe), and Fostex headphones have been some of the most respected in the industry. There are also some Audio Technica models, but I didn’t have any experience with them. You have the Dekoni Blue for around 250 bucks, and that’s a pretty good deal (you also get the best pads from Dekoni).
Just like Dekoni, there are other companies that have produced their version of the T50RP headphone - for example, the Argon MK3 ($245). The Argon is highly respected in the community, but I haven’t read about it, so I cannot tell you about how it sounds.

Then you also have the two headphone models from ESS Labs which is using the Heil AMT driver.

These are just about all the option you have (that I consider the options worth of your consideration). I did my homework and know the majority of the market, but I do not have experience with the mentioned products. This being said, I hopefully helped you by bringing these models to your attention, it will hopefully lead you in the right direction.

@TylersEclectic @Resolve @Torq - ask these guys, they are the founders of this forum, they have some experience in the field, so they might be of help. Andrew is the owner, but I assume that he is mostly taking care of the business side, so he doesn’t have too much time.

If the above mentioned people cannot help you, go on Head-Fi or HiFi guides, ask there - people should come to assist quickly.

If you need help with other forums or anything else, feel free to shoot me a PM, I’ll do my best to help =)

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Thank you very much for your answer . I’ll feed him a fiio K3. I will discard the m570. Deva and he400i 2020 the design is very similar and the price difference is 50 dollars. he400i 2020 should be the redemption of the original model, great sound but terrible quality control I hope this model corrects the errors of the previous model. Will you post a review of the He400i? and Deva?

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I will post a review of both. It will be a few days before I get the Deva review written and uploaded.

For the HE400i 2020 it will be a little bit longer as I like to spend at least 7 to 10 days of listening before coming to conclusions (and I only started yesterday).

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Just letting you know, I would personally go for Sivga over Hifiman. Sivga truly focuses on both sound quality and build quality.

I also recommend you check the other options I mentioned above. Both the Argon MK3 and Dekoni Blue should be a consideration if you plan to buy better sources (amp/dac) in the future.

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Welcome @koss25. There’s some good purchase advice in this category: Purchase Advice - The HEADPHONE Community .

At that price-point, there usually will be trade offs. Some cans to consider that check some of your boxes/criteria: HD6XX, HD58X, AKG K371.

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Thank you very much for your answer and for the pleasant welcome to this forum of lovers of good sound, I want to update my akg k44 (7 years and a lot of sentimental value) for a headset with better features and that it opens the port to high definition sound from budget. The magnetic planes have drawn my attention for months but I could buy a dynamic (phoenix) I will investigate the Fostex. I read your reviews of the Deva and the Phoenix and they were very positive and very close to the price. which prefer ?

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Excellent, I will wait patiently

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As stated in my Deva review, I prefer sparkle. That’s why I prefer the Phoenix, it just offers more sparkle from the treble.

However, if you prefer tame and warmer higher frequencies, the deva may be the better option due to its airy and dynamic sound. You must set your priorities straight, what is more important than the other.

Would you prefer sparkle or dynamic & airy sound signature?

Another very important point - what volumes do you usually listen to music?

I forgot to mention AKG, I have absolutely no experience with them so I cannot comment at all.
@bpcarb gave you some good recommendations. The HD6XX is highly respected, but (IMO) doesn’t have the best build quality. Cheap plastic was used, and the same goes for the cable, but these things shouldn’t bother you (you can always buy a new cable).

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Out of curiousity, as you say English is not your native language, where are you located?

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Thank you very much for the help. I will review the guide carefully

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Venezuela, yes I know. It’s like Africa but in South America hahaha

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Lol! The reason I asked is because of things like the HD6XX (which is a great headphone in your price range) may not be easy to get hold of.

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I prefer the glitter, the phoenix will be the way to go but I will review the other options. Akg is a great brand but the akg k44 is a very entry level $ 60 model if I remember correctly. I am looking for clarity and details in the 3 frequencies and that they are very good with the voices for vocal jazz Diana Krall etc. I don’t listen to music with a lot of volume so as not to damage my ears, maybe 90-95 db spl maximum

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I buy by amazon and pay shipping by ship

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Sigva is the way :slight_smile: I will review the other options but I think that sigva can offer me what I need, clarity and resolution, bass extension and good voices in mids.

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I think the 6XX is a very good option - especially for vocals. If you value vocals above bass, I think it’s better to go for the 6XX if you can.

I just put the 6XX on my head and am listening to it right now, and I can say that the mid-range and vocals sound heavenly. I am driving them through my EarMen TR-Amp and I am pushing it quite a lot, it’s actually turned 3 o’clock flat (o’clock is just referring to how far the volume knob is turned, “o’clock” is just referencing where the knob is at).

The mid-range is very present on the 6XX, it’s very lovely. It also has the edge and sparkle (the element I love, it’s the element that triggers my emotional connection to music)

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That 6xx model is hard to find on Amazon, I live in Venezuela and I buy through amazon. Senn hd 600 650 have a reputation for being very good with voices but they are worth $ 300 400 Amazon and need good amplification

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