This is a question I was thinking about during one of our staff meetings today, and I figured I’d open it up to the community.
When it comes to the headphone I want but doesn’t exist yet, there are two I really wish existed:
a lightweight, comfortable over-ear headphone with an incredibly open acoustic design and a neutral tonality, without large bass or treble boosts.
a true-wireless IEM with Apple-level Active Noise Cancelling/Transparency mode, but with more neutral frequency response tuning (or the ability to use Parametric EQ to tweak the sound to my preference on iOS)
The former would likely look something like one of the large diaphragm Hifiman planars, but without the typical “warm midrange + bright treble” tuning they usually have. The latter would ideally be something like an AirPods Pro 2 but with better tuning or EQ.
How about y’all? Anything you know you want, but can’t get because it doesn’t exist currently?
I wish existed a real Overear Bluetooth ANC Headphone that has the same good comfort as my Meze Empyrean II with the hybrid earpads. Most earpads of Overear Bluetooth ANC headphones are too small, even the Bathys or the Dali iO12 and they do not have such a good comfort at all.
Dude, same LOL. In general I feel like the cup/pad sizes of most ANC headphones is way too small for me, but they also never have suspension straps like the Empyrean, which is a shame because my head essentially only works with suspension straps.
DMS Project Omega? I think you commented at one point that you find it bright.
Also Hifiman Mini Shangri-La except you may want to cut back on the 3k-4k and it does have some of the Hifiman scoop around 1.5k.
Word. When can we have PEQ Apple?! Or even custom EQ settings?!
For me, besides agreeing on the Airpods Pro w/PEQ, it would be a headphone. I like my Meze Empyrean II so much with your EQ + my own tweaks that I find it hard to imagine something better. A lighter version that achieves the same tuning without EQ I guess.
I’d also like to see a headphone with convincing speaker emulation. Like an Airpods Max with better tuning. Ideally much lighter even if that means giving up wireless and ANC.
Yep, too bassy, too lean in the mids, and too bright. Unfortunately there’s not really any part of that headphone I find to sound good.
Don’t think that’d fit the bill. Too uncomfortable on top of head and too bright.
Honestly I feel like not enough people comment on how heavy the Empy chassis is. Hard agree!
Dude for real, if AirPods Max just didn’t stink tonally and comfort-wise, it’d actually be an amazing offering just for how decent the speaker emulation is.
Oh wow, “too bassy” is surprising to me. I find them neutral to a fault. But then the Empy2 is my current favorite so obviously I index heavily to a V shape FR.
Add a Capra strap and these are the most comfortable headphones I own. More so than even my Sennheiser HD800S.
Apologies, though. I shouldn’t be trying to solve your headphone problem. That isn’t the point of this thread. Back on topic!
Interesting. I’ve never encountered something that was “neutral to a fault.” Maybe its the overly-lean mids?
Re: Shang Jr, makes total sense to me. So light!
And no no no! Don’t worry, all participation welcome Part of the fun of this is almost certainly going to be people suggesting options that other people may not have considered would suit their needs.
That would make sense. IIRC it measures very close to DF w/10db tilt but that probably makes the mids lean compared to something like Harman. But “too bassy”? I don’t see where that could come from.
Both exist. I think we’re both talking about the Mini Shangri-La since you said it is uncomfortable and it does have that cheesy strapless Hifiman headband, but I want to be sure.
I’m often rather unhappy with most headphones that use the common Peerless driver, and its because the lower Fs shifts the “warmth hump” typical of open-back dynamic driver headphones, which means the 1 kHz bump doesn’t get enough warmth to balance it. This in addition with the dryness from the 4 kHz peak and the fact that the bass is still above target (and has a fair bit of distance in magnitude from 500 Hz) means it’s bassy, lean, and dry for me. But for some, the bass is distinct in a nice/desirable way while the headphone remains “fast.”
Too many Shangs You are correct, the one with the HE400se headband.
Haven’t tried any of the following. But aside from the neutral tuning, you seem to be describing the HD800S. (I don’t think it’s quite as far from neutral as alot of folks assume either, based on the measurements.)
Another headphone with similar tuning and reported comfort that also comes to mind is the new HD490 Pro (with Producer pads?).
Maybe some planars like the Auribus Sierra or FiiO FT1 Pro would also be in the ballpark?
This is maybe a bit OT and rhetorical, but I wonder why Sony doesn’t design more headphones with good tuning, when they can design something like the MDR-MA900.
I’m still lookin for pretty much the same thing I’m always lookin for btw-- comfortable, passive, wired, open over-ears with low distortion dynamic or planar drivers, neutral tuning (sans EQ/AMTS), good LF/HF extension, build quality, driver symmetry, and 2-sided cables, under about $300.
a true-wireless IEM with Apple-level Active Noise Cancelling/Transparency mode, but with more neutral frequency response tuning (or the ability to use Parametric EQ to tweak the sound to my preference on iOS)
Yes, they do exist: Huawei’s FreeBuds and FreeBuds Pro series .
I own the FreeBuds 4i, and they outperform the AirPods Pro’s ANC -without producing any noticeable background hiss. Their tuning follows an almost perfect Harman curve: the highs are smooth rather than harsh, and the bass is punchy (not boomy) with excellent extension into the sub-bass region.
I should point out that I also tried the FreeBuds 5i, but found them inferior to the 4i. I haven’t tested the latest 6i.
As for the FreeBuds Pro series, I’ve only tried the 1st and 2nd generations. Both were even better than the standard models, nailing the Harman curve more precisely and adding a slight sparkle to the highs.
The headphone I wish existed would be a closed-back planar model with a natural, virtually diffuse-field-accurate response -like the Fio FT1 Pro- and with passive noise-blocking system such as the 3M Peltor allows. With such headphones, I could listen to music and carry out mixing and mastering tasks completely isolated from the real world, wherever I happened to be.
If it’s Harman, it’s instantly disqualified for me. Opposite of neutral for me, definition of V-shaped.
Still would be interested to try them if the ANC/Transparency is that good, though.
For open-back headphones, there’re a few options that I found to be quite excellent already without any EQ. Further EQ I’d made for those is more because of programme materials themselves. I can’t say the same for closed-backs and IEMs. Focal Lensys and Hidition Viento are what’d call my favourites, but no where near excellent like open-back options. Aside from just generally well-tuned bass-light closed-backs and IEMs, I’d like to see attempts for very low acoustic impedance and positional variant closed-backs, as well as small IEMs that sit flush in my ears like Shure or Westone.
A HP like the Raal Requisite SR-1B ribbon that sits off the head, like the AKG 1000, if that actually allows room-soundstage via HP listening. When the SR-1A/B came out, I thought I had found my holy grail, but it seems to have disappeared.
Ionic driver, quantum tunneling, ethereal headphones that receive the inter-galactic music of the spheres, and that can be purchased for $4.99 with 10 boxtops.
Great topic. I’d love a true HD 800S successor - something as comfortable but with a tuning so agreeable to the masses that EQ isn’t necessary. Two pad options would be a great inclusion as well.
Second choice is what @Rael67 mentioned: a truly well tuned and comfortable over-ear ANC wireless headphone. How has no one figured this out yet?
Part of the fun of this is almost certainly going to be people suggesting options that other people may not have considered would suit their needs.
You are correct, the one with the HE400se headband.
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