Sennheiser HD580 - Black Paper, Sony CD900st Umbrella BTL-modded
Sennheiser HD580 - Black Paper, Sony CD900st Umbrella BTL-modded, Sennheiser HD650 - Golden Era
Aspirational:
Sennheiser HD580 - Black Paper
Sennheiser HD580 - Black Paper, Sony CD900st Umbrella BTL-modded
Sennheiser HD580 - Black Paper, Sony CD900st Umbrella BTL-modded, ETA Headphones - Genesis V2
Getting pretty close to endgame. After trying basically all the TOTL out there, itās hard for me to imagine putting all my money in headphones when speakers work much better for me for less.
One and done headphone: HiFiMan HE-400se (open-back planar) Two headphone collection: HiFiMan HE-400se; Focal Elegia (closed-back dynamic) Three headphone collection: HiFiMan HE-400se, Focal Elegia, Drop Sennheiser 6xx (open-back dynamic)
I like the variety of open- and closed-back and planar and dynamic in my collection. Plus thereās a nice mix of sound signatures in my collection.
The HE-400seās sound very musical and energetic with anything thrown at them ā they punch so far above their weight without excess colorization of the sound. There is a small treble peak, but it doesnāt grate. I still canāt believe these cans are only $150.
The Elegiaās are midrange monsters. So much resolution and detail. Wonderful for acoustic, jazz, strings, vocals ā anything that doesnāt need a ton of bass or crunch. But they reveal all warts of all recordings due to the great resolution and detail, so poorly produced or mixed music will sound like sh*t on these.
The 6xx are the easiest headphones to listen to that Iāve heard. Yeah, the treble rolls off, which creates the illusion of the āSennheiser veil.ā Yeah, the soundstage isnāt great, nor is the imaging. But the mids are wonderful, and thereās absolutely no part of the sound spectrum thatās offensive. I never wince while listening to anything on these cans, which I canāt say for the other two in my collection.
Aspirational:
One and done headphone: Dan Clark Audio Stealth (closed-back planar) Two headphone collection: Dan Clark Audio Stealth (closed-back planar), HiFiMan Susvara (open-back planar) Three headphone collection: Dan Clark Audio Stealth (closed-back planar), HiFiMan Susvara (open-back planar), Focal Stellia (closed-back dynamic)
Normally, I would want a second open-back as No. 3 on the aspirational chart. But I heard the Stellia in a shop in early November and fell in instant hot lust.
@Sturosen is where I want to be. My ideal collection would have one totl closed back dynamic driver headphone, one open dynamic, and one open planar, obtained in that order. Iāve got a ways to go!
I canāt respond because I donāt approach headphones this way. If I wanted to I could buy TOTL/aspirational headphonesā¦but Iāve demoed quite a few and find that I often donāt care about the differences.
Iām a satisficer ā I find things that are functionally effective for music and then freeze and dive into new music. Iām happy if the headphones are generally tonally neutral, comfortable to wear, and cause me no fatigue for all day sessions. I try a lot of stuff, but also could have stalled out. I did in fact stall with the HD 600 for several years, and may still be stuck there if Iād had a better DAC/amp setup at that time. Iām currently working my way up the price ladder, but doing this for locally-untestable gear and to compare with lower priced stuff to understand the law of diminishing returns.
I could have stalled with the HD 600, or stalled with the Clear, and now could stall with the HD 800 S. Each gets me to musical enjoyment with an appropriate upstream chain and when starting cold (i.e., habituate to your gear for a few days; no AB comparisons allowed). I do appreciate the Clear/800 S quality tier and would likely not go back to the 600 tier ā but thatās only after tasting poison apples.
Iād also keep a closed back around, but use them only when necessary. That could well be my Sony noise canceling set.
Everything else is for hobby exploration, not a collection.
You might be taking this a bit too seriously. I agree with what youāre talking about but 2-3 headphones if hardly a collection compared to some people I know who have 8 Sennheisers alone or all types of ZMFās like a purple lover we all know .
Props to those that went through the exercise (especially those that understood the definition of one/two/three, I kid!).
Assembling a finite collection typically isnāt about merely performance, favorites, or a best ranking list. Assembling a finite collection generally involves the following:
Executing on a theme/philosophy
Determining taste, preferences, criteria
Achieving specialization versus versatility/diversification with respect to coverage of required mood/musical genre/use cases
The different āthemes/philosophiesā for assembling a collection include:
Open back and closed back
Planar and dynamic driver etc.
Dedicated listening station and portable/isolation
Musical genre
Modern and vintage
Sound signature
One is ultimately forced to make decisions/eliminations and determine whatās important in a headphone as well as a collection.
Iāve revisited and updated my aspirational three headphone collection, essentially promoting the Focal Utopia.
My selections are driven by the following:
intended use with DNA 2A3 amp, which eliminates/demotes lower sensitivity planars/electrostatic/ribbon headphones
I value custom made (my RAD-0ās custom rings, custom bright tuning, and custom engraving on the headband), aesthetics, and artistic design
I donāt use EQ
the HD 580 Precision is a āvintageā headphone and serves as a reference of what was (is) achievable at its respective price point when released over 20 years ago
My current two headphone collection checks enough boxes for me in the headphone listening arena (at the moment), such that Iād allocate any funds to my 2-channel system or music (vinyl/CDs/live performances).
@bpcarb Thanks for proposing this little mental exercise - it definitely helped me prioritize what my future purchases will be and why. As somebody who owns half a dozen different camera systems, I know I have a tendency to collect things. One thing I wonder about is how people plan to go from their current set to their aspirational set?
This might even be a foolish question, but for me, Iād probably add something to my two headphones to fill out the quiver as opposed to replace an item I already have, e.g., purchase closed-back headphones instead of upgrading my open-back headphones, unless there was a substantial sale.
Great, Iām glad you found the exercise worthwhile/helpful.
Iāve found that it is often more effective to evaluate the big picture and seek to build the system as a whole, rather than make gear selections in isolation. One approach is to take a single headphone and optimize the system for that headphone, and then repeat the building of another system for each subsequent headphone, where common electronics may be possible but not necessary. Another approach is to choose multiple headphones first and then optimize the system for those multiple headphones as appropriate (specialize vs diversify).
Iāve adopted the first approach above. Based on that philosophy, I seek to optimize the system for each headphone. Iām all in with Class A single ended, directly heated triode, tube rectified tube amps (made by Donald North), such that I choose headphones that are likely to pair well with such a tube amp.
Adding a closed-back to your current two headphones makes sense and is not foolish to me. It effectively considers and fulfills coverage of your determined required criteria/use cases (i.e., it fills a gap that youāve determined to exist, rather than elevate current coverage).
These are greats points. Where things get tricky for me is in finding headphones - or a collection of them - that do justice to a range of musical genres. Thus far, Iāve collected headphones that work for music with
acoustic instruments, mainly jazz and classical
well recorded rock music, e.g. Led Zep
electronic music
poorer quality alternative/indie rock (released, typically, since the '90s, with compression and other loudness wars issues)
The solution so far has been the following for each of the above:
neutral or brighter headphones (HD 800 SDR, Clear, HD 600)
neutral or darker headphones (Clear, HD 600, now my VO)
headphones that do bass and, more specifically, sub-bass well (Clear, LCD2-Classic, TH-X00 Ebony, maybe VO)
forgiving headphones, which are typically darker (HD 6XX and LCD2-Classic)
Thereās a bunch of overlap, then, and some redundancy. Iāve wondered if a single headphone, like the VO, might work for most of my needs.
The cunning plan, though, is to have my cake and eat it, too: a single amp, the Starlett say, for my dynamic driver headphones; Iād really like a planar, though, for a different flavor and approach, especially if that planar also happens to be forgiving of poorly recorded alternative rock, which leads me to Audeze or perhaps Rosson Audio headphones.
In other words, the first two of the following are my current headphones, the third may be a current or aspirational one:
VO for everything
VO for everything and HD 800 SDR for classical
VO, HD 800 SDR, and LCD2-Classic or, āaspirationally,ā LCD2 (pre fazor unicorn) / LCD4 / RAD-0 / other ?
Or do I go hog wild and get an Abyss 1266 Phi TC for my one-headphone-to-rule-them-all?
Well Iām in the searching category. I have Sony Mdr-z1r, Fostex TH900MK2, Audeze LCDX, Hifiman he6se V2, and waiting for Audeze LCD-5 to arrive.
IEMs, Sony IER-Z1R, They are fantastic.
Headphones that I like, that I have now, Sony, Fostex are good, Hifiman he6se v2 are fantastic.
Build for hifiman is always suspect, Iām hoping the LCD-5ās will workout as my favorite. If so I can start selling the ones I dont listen to often.
Amps RME ADI-2 DAC fs, Chord hugo2/2go, and Chord mojo/poly.
Waitā¦you are choosing the VO over the most beautiful VC (Purple Passion) I have ever seen? I thought you were one of us āclosed backā guys? Great list though. All amazing selections.
Your selections/solutions for particular categories/musical genres are sensible.
I view the headphone landscape as giving rise to the following categories and needs:
All around performer (generalist)
Sub bass specialist
Soundstage, atmosphere specialist
Detail retrieval specialist
To your point, there is overlap and these arenāt mutually exclusive.
The VO is on a short list of headphones that could serve as a single all around performer.
I support this cunning plan.
The above check a lot of boxes - favorable and effective.
A case could be made that these selections sufficiently cover off all of my above stated categories (whether ideally is subjective).
I find the Verite and RAD-0 to overlap, and would probably choose another ZMF for such a complement. From personal experience, the RAD-0 replaced my VC.
While a flagship and top tier headphone, Iām not certain if this could serve as an all around performer for me.
And one of the benefits of having a VO (or other ZMF) as your single headphone is that the different ZMF pads can change the sound significantly, so you can change your headphone simply by switching to a different pad.
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