The Andromeda 2020 is possibly the single best most general rec in portable audio right now. I just sold my Solaris yesterday and may pick up another Andro down the road as an “out and about” IEM.
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That’s a fantastic lineup jrockwell.
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I have favorites for different things
- Fostex TH900 (I can use these for anything)
- Focal Stellia (For Music/Movies/TV)
- Sennheiser HD800S (for watching TV/Anime, I love the mids to highs for vocals) w/ Dekoni Elite Hybrid Earpads (I hate the stock pads)
- HiFiMan HE-6SE
- Sennheiser HD700 (only for gaming though, they’re still my favorite gaming headphones)
A runner-up for me would be the Klipsch HP-3
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Bit late to this one but:
- Fostex TH900/600
- Final Audio D8000
- Hifiman HE6-SE
- Focal Clear
- Hifiman Arya
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1a. Hifiman HE6 SEv2 (Properly amped)
1b. Focal Clear
1c. ZMF Aeolus
4. Stax SR-L300 (BluTak mod)
5. Fostex Purplehearts (When ya gotta have bass…)
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What are your favorite headphone/stack combos in the following price ranges:
Sub-$500
$500-1,000
$1,000-2,000
$2,000-5,000
$5,000-Plus
If this is in the wrong place, please move to appropriate category. Looking forward to the answers!
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Sub $500
-
Audeze iSine 20 w/cipher cable and iPhone/iPad. If you can’t find it, then the cheaper sibling, iSine LX or iSine 10. Cipher cable has it’s own DAC.
-
Dragonfly Black w/Jitterbug, Grado SR 60/80/125 with tape mod OR Sennheiser HD-58x
$1k-2k
Schiit Lyr3, Schiit Bifrost 2, Sennheiser HD-6xx
$2k-5k
Schiit Bifrost 2, STAX SRM-T1S (used, Mjolnir modified), Hive Nectar eStat headphones
No experience above that.
Reasoning. That mid price point is tricky. I went for best DAC and AMP and scalable headphone, but the Schiit stack can be used with much better headphones to good advantage.
I’m not recommending stuff I haven’t heard. The STAX amps show up from time to time on Birger’s site, and there are alternatives.
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Please keep in mind I don’t have the experience of others here. But from what I’ve used
Sub 500
Modi 3+ → vali 2+ or millet nuhybrid → hd6xx
Sub 1000
Mimby → lyr 3 (BHC?) → hd6xx
1000-2000
Bifrost 2 → neurochrome hp-2 → ananda
(Give me 100-200 more and it’s bifrost 2 → something good → Aeolus. I need to try Mimby → lyr 3 → Aeolus)
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- Focal Utopia via DNA Amp
- RAD-0 via TT2/HMS
- ZMF Verite Opem via DNA amp
- Sennheiser HD650 aka “The Irish” via Woo OTL
- Audeze LCD-2.2 PR via Bryston BHA-1
Just for @bigshel99 
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Not quite ready to update but, in honor of @Roark …Time to update my top 5. 
Previously it was: 1. LCD3; 2. Aeolus; 3. Verite Closed 4. Emu Teak;
- LCD-R (On Jot-A) - This may end up being a recency bias pick but it’s good. solid across the audio spectrum… and the speed, my the speed. Leaves me feeling the headphones is more capable than what we’ll ever truly get though. Also leaves me looking at my other Audeze’s thinking “I don’t need these anymore”.
- Verite Closed (FA-10 or Echo) - great stage, all around good sound. Favorite closed back
- LCD-3 (On most SS amps) - Still my OG loves but really… the LCD-R pushes these down a bit, quite a bit.
- (tie) HE6se V2 (on FA-10) - Stage and instrument separation are pretty great.
4 .(tie) Aeolus (On Felik Echo) - This setup is another that I just really enjoy listening.
I don’t own it or it might be a tie with the Aeolus but the Clear off the Echo was also super enjoyable
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What I would buy for my personal use in each range:
Sub-$500 → Apple AirPods Pro
Not sure any explanation here is necessary.
$500-1,000 → Ananda / Magni / Modi
I hate the 6xx, but the 6xx, a chip dac and a BottleHead Crack would be a solid contender for second place.
$1,000-2,000 → Aeolus / Matrix Mini I Pro3
If you can tweak the budget a bit and get a BottleHead Crack and a Bifrost 2, that’s pretty compelling.
$2,000-5,000 → Rad-0 / Mojo
Other options: Replace the Mojo with a Matrix M, or a Hugo2. It would be interesting to hear a Verite Open with a Bryston BHA-1 and a Bifrost 2.
$5,000-Plus → ?
Still a work in progress at this level. Like what I have, but haven’t heard nearly enough to say it’s my choice above all else.
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.1. Oppo PM-1. Still the most cohesive and subjectively pleasing headphone I’ve heard. A beguiling combination of mid-range intimacy and planar separation.
.2. Dan Clark Ether 2 = Sennheiser HD 800S. Polar opposites, but equally good at what they do: DCAs for dark immersion; Senns for ethereality and life-like mids.
.4. Focal Clear OG. On a good day, the best headphone I own (a slight grittiness in the treble aside); on a bad day, a metallic and congested mediocrity. I still have no idea why.
.5. Oppo PM-3. The introvert’s closed back. Like studying the details in reflections in a dark lake.
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I’ll reply based on personal history, not absolute bests. This is because I don’t have the experience of a full-time reviewer. My experience with top-tier equipment is mostly limited to store demos (and fully inadequate for comments).
Sub $500: Sennheiser HD-6XX or HD-600, plus an iFI ZenDAC and a balanced cable. The 600 series greatly benefits from balanced amps in the low priced gear segment. The drivers generate fluttery movements that can either become hissy and shrill, or (if driven correctly) nice air and ambiance. The warm Burr-Brown chip in the iFi offsets the 600’s brightness. I no longer recommend any HiFiMan product, despite good sound quality.
$500-$1,000: Same as above, but add a dedicated balanced entry level headphone amp. Again, balanced helps tremendously in the low-cost segment. The ZenDAC has shallow and boomy bass on its own, so almost any amp would be an improvement. Also consider balanced interconnects from DAC to amp, but this isn’t a big deal. Pick either a solid state or tube hybrid amp, per personal preference (e.g., measurement kings like Topping/THX, P20, etc.). However, try the alternatives before dogmatically choosing one style based on a reviewer’s opinions or a technician’s measurements. I’d not recommend the Bottlehead Crack or other OTL amps to buyers in this price class because of the narrow OTL use cases. If you decide to explore headphone technologies…well there goes the amp budget… [EDIT: It’d be possible to squeeze in a RebelAmp too, per your personal hearing of 600 series background noise.]
$1,000-$2,000: Focal Clear (OG at $1,000 if still available), RebelAudio RebelAmp, and ZenDAC used as DAC only.
$2,000-$5,000: This is tricky, as the Clear MG may be all that’s available and adding the Bifrost 2 to the setup above makes a big difference. Still, that brings the total system cost to under $2,500 with the Clear OG or under $3,000 with the Clear MG. One has an awful lot of premium choices if adding another $2,000 to the budget. This could go many different directions with both headphones (e.g., Utopia, ZMF, RAAL, Rosson, etc.) and higher priced amps, and there are lots of boutique products I haven’t tried. All of these reflect personal taste. The Bifrost 2 is probably the only firm piece for staying below $5,000.
$5,000-Plus Mostly in-store experience, so no comment. I haven’t heard much price/performance value with my demos. Maybe attach a bunch of $100 bills or a couple ounces of gold bullion to the headband of a cheaper setup? [I’m joking, no offense intended. 
]
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i want to ditto this and say that the zendac is a really good dac and worth trying in addition to or instead of the modi 3+. i like the mimby better but the burr brown chip in this entry level dac has a lot of appeal.
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In the ranges category
Sub-$500 → Emu Teak ($350 with attached cable) + ZenDac ($129). pleasing tone, solid but not overdone bass. If I could get the Denon AH-D5200 on sale in a similar $350 range I’d probably go that route as they’re a bit better with stage
$500-1,000 → Emu Teak ($350 with attached cable) + ZenDac ($129) + Lyr 3 ($499). This is a tough range as a lot of product combos that are ideal push it over the mark for me. So keep the headphone and ZenDac above, add the Lyr 3. Budget wise, that $99 Loxjie tube hybrid wouldn’t be a horrible choice and use the other funds to buy yourself a year of Qobuz, Tidal, or whatever.
$1,000-2,000 → Hifiman HE6se ($650), Flux FA-10 ($750), Schiit BF2 ($650). So this is about $50 over but close enough. Get a headphone that stages and images well, with an amp that can drive that ability out of it. The BF2 adds a little more warmth which can help what I’d call a slightly neutral-bright signature on the FA-10.
$2,000-5,000 → Flux FA-10 ($750), Feliks Echo ($900), Schiit BF2 ($650) [or the iFi micro-BL if you can find it on sale), ZMF Verite Closed ($2500)
My option would probably be the LCD-R ($2500) + Matrix Sabre X (~$2500).
$5,000-Plus → Since the top end is infinite, need to hear more stuff.
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@bigshel99 @generic @PastorOfMuppets @mfadio @pennstac Thank you all so much for your input! Some common ground, and some different opinions, but hey, really cool to get your thoughts! Thanks again!
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On experiencing that with a variety of audio products, I blame my own body. I think it follows from fatigue or diet. If foods can cause headaches they can screw up hearing. Tannins do cause problems and are present in black tea, grapes and dark fruit, some nuts, etc.
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I agree with @generic , I go from loving to hating the HD6XX depending on my mood and inspiration.
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Oh crap. I forgot the $500-1000 range. But I’m only somewhat different than most.
I have the iFi xDSD Dac/Amp. Any iFi combo at about $400-500 would do. Likewise equivalent Schiit, but I’ve not owned that.
Headphones - I got my Hifiman HE-560 on sale new for about $600 (actually free, my wife gifted them to me). You can find them in good shape for $300-400. My GUESS is that the Sundara would also suit. For those that like a wider stage and to actually hear cymbals, I bought my GRADO RS1e used on this forum, not as treble as most GRADO. Could probably find a new RS2e or maybe the Hemp (Which I have not heard, but those I trust reviewed it here and certified it cool.)
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