Your Top 5 Favourite Headphones

Headphones General Headphone Discussion
141

My current top-5 is only including stuff I own and there are some IEM’s in there as well, as they ae just a great part of my listening experience.

  1. ZMF Eikon
  2. ZMF Aeolus
  3. Campfire Audio Polaris 2
  4. Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro
  5. 64 Audio A3e CIEM

I am not a basshead as such, but OTG a strong bass is good when there are a lot of other sounds around you, so the Polaris is only used OTG, but outperform all other for that reason.

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142

Wanted to update my top 5 as well, I haven’t been around here in a long time do to continuing chronic health issues, But wanted to update this list, as I have had the fortune of listening to several great headphones over the last several months.

  1. Focal Utopia (Demoed)
  2. ZMF Verite Open (Demoed)
  3. HEDDphone (Own)
  4. Sennheiser HD800 (DuPont mod with Dekoni hybrid pads…Demoed)
  5. HifiMan Ananda (Own)

I hope everyone is doing well! I’ll try and post here more often but continuing health issues will make it sporadic.

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143

Completely agree with u on the polaris v2. The strogger bass does help when say commuting on the train. Whack on some edm or dance and u essentially have a portable disco or club attached to your ears.

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144

I was OTG the other day, with my ikko OH10 which I really like a lot, they have a great and pronounced bass, but there it felt inadequate. I missed the Polaris and getting the same experience OTG as at home requires a very good seal and/or the bass to carry the music.

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145

Those the Atlas and Vega (own) are sub club approved :loud_sound::loud_sound::+1:

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146

You got it.
Proud Atlas owner. Use it almost everyday. It is my commuting best friend.

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147

Have to rejigger top 5 list due to exposure to 3 SoTA type cans this weekend, and more time with another. The four: Susvara, HEKse, Emp, Utopia.

I’m only rating dynamic and planars on 1st list:

  1. Susvara - best, slightly short of low bass hammer - EQ fills it in easily
  2. Hekse - quite close, but its clear, not as as good.
  3. Abyss Phi - Heard under different conditions that top 2. It seems able to do everything. But somehow some microdynamics not quite right. Have to hear again to move it up.
  4. Emp - a little bloomy in the bass. complex passages lose detail in treble. very coherent.
  5. LCD-4 - its like your favorite reclining leather chair. Rich, relaxing, but a little short on details.

Other technologies:

Voce estat
007 estat
RAAL - lacks bass

800S - still #6 on OTC amp. not with SS.

Utopia - quite bright around 5k, EQ probably can fix it.

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148

My top headphone is perhaps controversial and may seem odd to those who have heard it before, but my list of owned favorites is as following:

  1. Pioneer SE-Master 1 (a few reviewers have noted them to be too sharp on the treble w/ the 6k peak, I initially heard some of that as well but over time it calmed down for me and I added some EQ drops in that region too, and now I find them to be the most enjoyable and accurate can of mine to listen to… I’ve heard them described as a love-child between the HD800 and TH900, and I would agree with that for the most part)
  2. Hifiman Arya (they are extremely pleasant and have a great width and depth of the soundstage, they play well with pretty much all genres but I think they aren’t as engaging as the Pioneers to my ears)
  3. Focal Elegia w/ Dekoni Elite Sheepskin Pads (I really like these a lot with the pad change and are quite physical yet with a great amount of space for a closed back set)
  4. Sennheiser HD800 SDR Mod (previously owned and then sold–I really liked these and they were perhaps my favorite until I got the Pioneers which I feel like do everything but soundstage as well or better while being more of an engaging listen, and for what I miss in soundstage I feel like the Arya are close enough for me not to miss these)
  5. Sennheiser HD560S (honestly I tried these with somewhat low expectation but they blew my socks off, I don’t know that they’d scale as well as the classic 650 but as far I’ve tinkered with it, they were just more pleasing for me to listen to, almost like a lift of the classic Sennheiser veil… I find them more coherent and not tilting too warm overall and without the somewhat anemic soundstage of the 600’s series)

Some “high-end” stuff I’ve heard and enjoyed were the Audeze LC4 (A really cool engaging experience, but even with some EQing I wasn’t a super big fan of the tonality), Hifiman Susvara (ridiculous detail and clarity, I heard them out of speaker taps and it was an amazing session, but far too pricey of a system for me), and the Focal Stellia (they sounded very authoritative and were quite engaging, but also a little fatiguing for me, and I actually couldn’t justify spending more for these over the Elegia… at least for my preferences).

Cans I want to try are the Abyss 1266 Phi, Kennerton Thekk and Wodan, Final D8000 and literally anything from ZMF.

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149

I’ve have no background in music and have never learned to play any instrument, so I don’t know how something is “supposed to” sound and really just go by what appeals to me. Also, I have a lot of closed backs because it’s quite loud at night where I live and windows typically always stay open. We have these invasive frogs which can sound 90 db or more a few feet away, and in some places exceed 10k in the 2/3 acre I live on. I’ve also been to no shows and have mostly only heard what I’ve bought. Was set to go to SoCal CanJam but oh well (thanks COVID!). Mostly listen via Hugo 2 and/or iFi Pro iCAN (with a Glenn being built).

Anyway, in order of purchase, the top 5 I own (Orpheus is the best I’ve heard):

HD 820–Best soundstage I’ve heard on a closed back. Early in the hobby I demoed all 3 with their amp at their SF store. I prefer the increased bass and less hot treble. I use much less since I got into ZMF, but they’re also about the best for movies.

ZMF Atticus (Ori suede)–Probably my most beloved ZMF since it was my first, but the warmer, all enveloping, lush, fun sound brings a smile to my face, even when going from the VC to these.

ZMF Verite Open (Universe or BE-2 suede)–My first experience with something as detailed as the HD 800 series. Had these almost a year before the VC and hoped they were different enough to keep both (for me, it’s a yes). I find them more different than the Atticus/Aeolus.

ZMF Auteur (Eikon suede)–They supplanted my 800 SDR use mostly and despite the smaller soundstage and being a bit less detailed, there’s just so much there, there! Mids/vocals are just stunning. I see why it was the flagship for a time. If I had to, I’d sell the VO before these (largely because they’re more different from the VC).

ZMF Verite Closed (Universe suede)–Newest, by $1000 the most expensive, and probably last purchase for awhile, but it’s my fave and expect it to remain so once new toy syndrome fades. Just so immediate and enveloping and detailed and gets the slight nod over the Open usually. As I’ve read elsewhere, it’s a Verite with more Verite! Like the Open, but more intimate and exciting.

SR-007 MK2–Ok, that’s 6, but hey others have put the Verites together so sue me. I really need to hear these with a much higher end energizer. These are ones I’ve really wanted to love more than I do and am hoping an eventual TT2 driving my energizer will take it up a few notches. They’re amazingly detailed and different from all my dynamics but I’m still waiting for them to grab me emotionally.

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150
  1. Meze Emperyeans. Best all around cans for listening to all kinds of music. Full Bass, Perfect mids, vocals, Large enveloping soundstage. Provide the “missing” magic that I love listening to music with them and not listening to headphones. Easy to drive with most any amp. Feliks Euphoria is one of the best with these.
  2. HEDDs. Enormously heavy, but comfortable for me. Very fast. The AMT drivers move air fast…Very neutral IMO. A little harder to drive but most descent amp will do the job.
  3. Focal Clears. One of the best all around dynamic headphones. Perfect tone. A tad bright, but very resolving. Easy to drive.

Use many amps with them all, Phonitor XE, Liquid Platinum, ECP T4, Hagerman Tuba, Soundaware P1, Schitt Lyr 3, Jotenheim, Asgard 3, Magni 3, Whammy (AD476), etc…All good.

Alex

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151

Yep, NightOwl are my goto close back on the cheap.

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152
  1. verite closed
  2. verite open
  3. Aeolus
  4. Auteur
  5. ? I don’t know yet, probably a sub $1k ZMF

:joy:

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153

I have heard a ton of new headphones since April of last year! I will have to update with my favorites soon :slight_smile:

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155

Elysium
Solaris
Andro 2020
VE8
MEST

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  1. Raal Requisite SR1a from HSA1b with SR728 silver cable
  2. Focal Utopia
  3. LB Acoustics MySphere 3.2
  4. ZMF Verite Closed
  5. Focal Stellia
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157

I’m still breaking two of them in, but for me right now, in no particular order (until the break-in is finished, I can’t do a fair judgement), they are:
ZMF Verite Open
Abyss Diana V2
Focal Utopia
HifiMan HE-1000 V2
Meze Empyrean…

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158

Grado SR225 - CRAZY GOOD on tube amps
HiFiMAN Sundara - Magical
Fostex T50RP - I just got the T60RP, not yet sure if better than T50RP soundwise
Beyerdynamic DT880 - Spectacular with female voices and symphonic recordings
Beyerdynamic DT990 - A DT880 for all genres of music

Those of you that listed a variant of Koss PortaPro SprotaPro KSC75, I have to agree because these are tried and true fun sounding portable classics that are unmatched in value.

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159

Not the Andromeda MW10?!

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160

I loved the MW10 but I only had it for like a week and was never able to figure out if it was the MW10 itself I loved or that I’d just missed the “Andro sound” from the 2020…since I had a lot more time with the 2020 it gets the nod.

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Thanks! It’s interesting that they’re so close to one another and share that same “Andro DNA” - and good to hear if, like me, you’ve got the 2020!