After playing around and owning many of the most recommended and respected TOTL headphones I have been mostly unimpressed with most, that’s the reason almost all are off my list, I would say though that my headphone collection is curated with what I think is very specific chains that get the most out the headphones selected. Slapping these on any random SS or DAC won’t give you the proper results.
One and Done: HD800
Two: HD800; HD580/650 (depending on setup)
Three: HD800; HD580/650; HE60
One and done: STAX SR-X9000
Two: STAX SR-X9000; ZMF Verite Open
Three: STAX-SR-9000; ZMF Verite Open; ???
Welcome to the community!
I’d be keen to read your impressions of this headphone!
It’s nice to see some love for the HD 800, I’m glad they’ve worked out for you. Mine aren’t going anywhere. I won’t sell them until I’ve heard them from a full-on chain, and other than possibly the SR1a, I’m not sure there’s much out there that bests them at what they do so well.
Given your post and @bpcarb’s, I need to keep an eye on the classifieds for a 580.
One and done - Susvara
Two: Susvara and Utopia
Three: Susvara, Utopia, and maybe LCD-5; jury is still out on that…
Also have ZMF VO’s but I’m going to be putting those up for sale…
So I have recently purchased the LCD-5 and it’s the best I have heard.
1 lcd5,
2 fostex th900 love the sound stage
3 Hifiman HE6se v2 modded with pad chg. And grill change
Need to try Focal Utopia and ZMF Verite
1 Hifiman He6 se v2
2 Hifiman He6 se v2 + Verite Closed
3 Hifiman He6 se v2 + Verite Closed + LCD 5
Ah, a fun question. I can think of 3 use cases that drive my picks: alone, in the vicinity of others, and traveling.
Though, admittedly, IEMs are heavy contenders for use cases 2 and 3. In which case I change 3 to
Notes: (a) all owned, and none listened to as extensively as I would like :)) (b) for general listening, I do use a DAC/AMP, but no EQ, (c) I like the idea that for 3 HPs especially I might consider complementary choices, but couldn’t really see a way to come up with a collection of n that would not include my previous n-1 (unless I go well above n=3)
Good approach. I confess my choices were not so well thought out.
Interesting… Why would you keep HE6v2 as your “one and done” but LCD5 only if you could keep 3?
One: LCD-5 w/EQ. Utopia w/out EQ.
Two: LCD-5 + Utopia
Three: LCD-5 primary, Utopia Incisive, ZMF Aeolus Fun.
I really appreciate that we’ve gotten to the point where there are a number of flagships and increasingly mid-priced headphones that are so good and make me feel like my search is very close to complete. Tonal balance has come a long way, when I started the Hobby 13 years ago we had the HD600/650 and then a whole lot of expensive stuff that didn’t have such a hot FR…
lol well i only own He6 se v2. The verite closed and LCD 5 is aspirational. But I guess if I only had all the money in world and I only had one it would probably be LCD-5
Gonna do three categories
The Unobtainable: Can’t justify this kind of money
Aspirational: My wife can’t justify this kind of money, but I can.
Current…
this looks like fun ill play
The Unobtainable: Can’t justify this kind of money
Aspirational: My wife can’t justify this kind of money, but I can.
Current …
I have the Blackwood Verite open as well and find them very enjoyable. The sonic imprint of these sounds better to my ears versus my Verite closed.
The Blackwood Verite and the Ekion were Christmas gifts for me I love the sound of the Verite still waiting on the Ekions to be delivered…
One and done headphone: LCD-5
Two headphone collection: LCD-5 and Stellia
Three headphone collection: LCD-5, Stellia, and Susvara
I don’t currently own the LCD-5s nor the Susvaras.
Great idea for a thread, and I’ve learned a bit already. Really interesting.
At the moment I have an all ZMF collection, driven by a DNA Stratus that I plan on keeping for a long time. I’m thinking about adding either a Utopia or LCD-5 but I’m not sure where either would fall on the list.
VC
My favorite all around headphone. I can listen to any genre of music at any volume and the sound signature is perfect for my preferences. In addition, the isolation comes in handy at times.
VC, Auteur
I’d say the Auteur is slightly better than the VO as a complement to the VC mostly due to more pronounced differences between the two. I love the tone/timbre, especially matched up with the Stratus. It does well with live recordings, acoustic music, small groups, etc.
VC, Auteur, VO
The VO adds an extremely relaxing listening experience that can still get up and go when called for. The soundstage has the most holographic presentation, really a cool effect.
I wish I’d known about the reliability issue when I bought a used pair. But they are back at the manufacturer’s repair shop in Canada, so hopefully the fix will stick and I can enjoy them going forward. Would definitely rank them as a one-and-done.
Mine:
One fish Hifiman HE6SE V2 via RebelAmp
Two fish Hifiman HE6SE V2 via RebelAmp, Beyerdynamic DT880 via Ray Samuels Emmeline II The Raptor
Red fish, blue fish Hifiman HE6SE V2 via RebelAmp, Beyerdynamic DT880 via Ray Samuels Emmeline II The Raptor, Grado Hemp via Darkvoice 336SE
I shall look up what aspirational means in the dictionary. Until then here are my goals.
Goals:
Listen to more ZMF Aeolus to see if it is the one
Solder OPA1611 to brown dogs so I can finally upgrade my Ray Samuels HR-2.
Audition non-memory foam pads on my Audeze LCD-X 2021
Audition Audeze LCD-XC based on Resolve’s take
Audition Sennheiser HD800S recommended by all that revealed that I am a lover of sound stage
Audition ZMF Verite Closed based on Resolve’s take
Audition ZMF Verite pads and Universal perforated suede pads
Tear down and build a new listening station
That is it. I shall then ride contently into the sunset with my Koss Porta pro.