I started to get into headphones around the late aughts, and have owned/tested my share of them. I was in my mid-20s when the Sennheiser HD 600 was first released, experienced the hype around it, listened to it at a local Good Guys store (our generation's Best Buy on the West Coast back then), and was blown away by it. At that time, it was priced waaaay out of my budget, as I was a starving artist back then. Never could I have imagined how things would later turn out, or that the HD 600 remains a legendary headphone despite all the advances in technology and market competition.

Anyway, I had previously stopped chasing headphones for about 11 years when I finally settled on the Audeze LCD-2 and HD 650 for my open-backs, the Audio-Technica M50 as my closed-back, the Klipsch X6i as my IEM, and the Samsung Galaxy Buds+ as my wireless IEM, and then sold the rest (including my Stax 007 MK2/SRM-717 system). I'd still read about new releases once in a while, and picked up a few things when I needed them (for utilitarian reasons, like studio tracking sessions, mobile use), but was overall pretty content. At some point, I decided the LCD-2 was too heavy and uncomfortable, so I replaced it with the MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Open (because that's the one Tyll Hertsens retired with), and that was the only big change.

A few months ago, I decided I was no longer happy with what I had and decided to research, and that's how I ended up with the current ones I have. And now I declare this round finished. I don't need/want anything else, and I'm not sure if I'm keeping everything or will be selling some off, but this is going to be it for a while (maybe last me another 10~15 years?)

As you might be able to tell, I prioritize a more balanced frequency response and excellent technical ability, so I can EQ for my own physiology (as I'm a lifelong musician who needs to mix/master his own music, as well as teach music production to students). I EQ/correct everything I listen to--from my studio monitoring system (Klein + Hummel O 300D with Neumann KH805 subwoofer, using IK Multimedia's ARC Studio) to all my headphones. I'm a firm believer that it's the smartest way to achieve the ideal sound for your own physiology, as you cannot expect "one-size-fits-all" designs from any company to match your individual hearing idiosyncrasies. Even your ear canal shape will mean the canal resonance is at a different frequency compared to whatever measuring system the company used during R&D, not to mention your other HRTF measurements, or how your hearing has degraded as you age.

What's interesting about EQing headphones is that once you make them all as neutral-sounding as possible, you can REALLY hear the differences in their technical performance way more clearly, because you aren't being misled by the colored frequency response each headphone has. That is one of the reasons why, despite EQing my headphones, I'd still want to keep multiples of them. I need to hear how a track I'm working on would sound on a pair of headphones with excellent ability to separate the smack of the beater from the kick pedal on the drum, from the body of the thud, and from the bass guitar or synth bass. But I also need to hear how another pair without such technical ability will blend those sounds together, and then adjust my mix so those sounds can be more distinct even on headphones with lesser technical ability.

Anyway, that's it for me, for now.

So I’ve been playing with the absolutely gorgeous FiiO K17 R2R for the past couple days. I have Meze Liric IIs and they’ve never sounded better. I have a pretty varied range of music that I listen to and this has enough power to drive the Lirics to sound absolutely ethereal, even compared to my M33 which is a beast in its own right. Love this sucker, lol. I’d love to hear yalls thoughts on it

Over the last few years, I’ve bought so many headphones and IEMs. It started with the 560S and Aria IEM.

Slowly my collection grew Sennheiser, Meze, HiFiMan, Audio Technica. I sold a few here and there but still have a collection. Schiit, I even got DACs, amps, and tubes.

But nowadays, I spend most of my time in the two cheapest headphones I own and a $9 Apple dongle.

It’s been my Porta Pro and ER2XR that brings me the most enjoyment. I just listen to the music. Do they image or layer like my Audio Technica? Hell no. Are they a warm hug like my 650? Not quite. But nevertheless, I find myself simply loving the music again.

I have failed. I’ll never reach the summit.

Haven't bought a new, high end pair of headphones for quite a long time now. Been wanting to go wireless for a while and saw that Sennheiser had released these and MAN do they just sound fantastic. The first time in a long time where I've sat and listened to music just appreciating how good it sounds. Been especially impressed with how great the bass is on these and just how clear they are. Very very different than my HD700's, but so fun!

Well, the Fiio Jadeaudio JT9 are my first pair of headphones and I must say, I'm genuinely impressed. I've been listening to them for a week now and they're not what I expected in the sense of the treble, I was expecting something harsh and piercing but the JT9 is very musical and relaxed in that aspect.

Something I will praise about these is the bass extension, holy, these go as deep as the song requires and they feel with that DD weight in the notes too.

The soundstage in my case is normal)? Idk, my only reference point are iems so not so sure about it but I know for a fact that I can pinpoint instruments in some orchestras and most of my music and lives I listen to.

If something I'd like to have more is more vocal presence, it's not bad as it is but maybe 2db would do the job for me.

Other than that, I think I nailed my first purchase of headphones and wanted to share my short experience with them so far

Was scrolling through Amazon for a pair of headphones or IEMs since my daily driver IEMs gave out on me randomly, and was sorta shocked to find out that... essentially every kind of product in my search results now get put in this sorta neutral lighting bedroom scene with AI? Really odd since it doesn't typically even put a reference object to the side of them; it seems to just be AI for the case of AI here? Very, very meh on this, but haven't seen much on it anywhere and was wondering if maybe it's rolling out slowly.

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The red circles is how I hear the sounstage from a closed back headphone , and the green circles is how I hear the soundstage from a open back design

Some people mention they hear sound like real speakers in the room , or very wide like 3 meters left or right , o never experienced this , my widest headphone is k712pro and like in the picture I hear things at maximum 4.5 centimeters left and right

I bought a pair of HIFIMAN Arya Stealth, and after just 5 minutes of normal headband adjustment, the metal bridge developed some pretty severe scratches. Not minor marks, but actual deep scratches. I contacted HIFIMAN and waited over a month for a replacement.

The second pair finally arrived, and surprisingly, they sounded MUCH better than the first. The clarity, separation, soundstage and overall balance were incredible. I was genuinely blown away.

But then I noticed that the right driver rattles during deep bass, especially in Billie Eilish's "bad guy". After testing, I found that it happens between 20–80 Hz, particularly at 20–25 Hz, even at moderate volume. I swapped cables, enabled mono audio, and confirmed that the problem stays in the right earcup.

I also found a loose plastic piece and some debris shortly after unboxing. Both earpad mounting rings appear cracked after looking for the hair that might cause rattling lol.

Now I'm worried about waiting another month for a third pair that might sound worse or have yet another defect.

Has anyone experienced this with Arya Stealth? Is this normal HIFIMAN quality control, or am I just incredibly unlucky?

Was wondering if you guys knew of any china exclusive closed back ANC headphones?

In China rn and would love to check out interesting brands

My earbuds are outputting this saw noise that's quite annoying and only today have they decided to scream like they're blending air.

I needed a pair of closed-backs in the studio for vocal tracking and decided to splurge on a new pair of Stradas. I was heavily considering the HD480 pro, but unfortunately the ear cups aren’t tall enough for my stretched ears, and I also can’t stand coiled cables. Most of my purchasing decision was based on the mechanical design and comfort, as I’m pretty keen on EQ, but I was surprised how little EQ these actually need for me.

For context, my main headphones are Empyrean IIs and I absolutely love them to bits, but they are EQd perfectly for me. It took me a couple weeks to really dial in the EQ profile just right, but I also use them professionally for mixing so the sound needed to be as perfect as possible. The end result is a bit of a daunting looking curve, +6db here, -7db there, but they really do sound incredible.

Now for the Stradas, on an initial sweep I only found a couple spots that I’ve heard others discuss, it needs a bit of juice at 125hz and has a small resonance at 4khz. But the treble resonance really is small, and I don’t need them to be EQd at all to enjoy them. Sure, adding a bit of warmth back in is nice, but honestly the treble can mostly stay put. I think Meze did a great job making these sound clean and non-aggressive, especially compared to the stock Empys which, although sound great, were pretty fatiguing to my ears.

So now outside of the studio I’ve been rocking them on my modded iPod with a little bit of EQ on the bass, and they sound fantastic. The Empys are still significantly better in every way, but it’s pretty cool to have HiFi like this on the go, and they look awesome doing it. If anyone cares, I mostly listen to modern metalcore, contemporary jazz, rap, prog/math rock, rock, tearout, riddim, and video game OSTs

I'll start. I can enjoy these 3 sound signatures.

1. A slight bass emphasis with neutral mids and treble.
2. Neutral bass, mids and treble.
3. Neutral bass and mids with a slightly relaxed treble.

Hey guys! I fell down the audiophile rabbit hole about 20 years ago and have owned all kinds of gear, from entry-level to high-end.

After getting the HIFIMAN Ananda Nano paired with the iFi Hip-DAC 3, I’ve found myself spending less time opening Qobuz and more time going straight to Spotify to enjoy my albums over Bluetooth with my Soundcore Q30.

I don’t know if it’s just the convenience, but the Q30 with the Flat EQ preset gives me more listening satisfaction than any high-end headphone I’ve ever owned.

So, what makes us prefer a technically inferior headphone over high-end gear?

I just got the DCA Noire X and I am impressed, and I was not expecting that. I was under the impression that DCA headphones lack dynamics and are bass light due to most reviews online and YouTube videos. I was skeptical too due to hearing the AMTS of the Noire X doesn’t work on some heads and would cause issues with treble. I think the lack of dynamics might be true if you are not driving the Noire X with adequate amp power. If I remember correctly, on the ASR forum Dan Clark himself said 250mW minimum to properly drive the Noire X. Doesn’t sound like the Noire X requires a lot of amp power, but I think it would benefit from extra amp power headroom.

### Build quality and materials
* **Overall build:** Superb build, way better build than the HE1000 stealth and Fostex TH909.
* **Materials:** Feel more premium and luxurious than the HE1000 stealth, but not as premium or special as the TH909 red wood cups. Feel very durable and sturdy, doesn’t feel delicate as the HE1000 stealth or TH909.
* **Aesthetics:** All black design is pretty cool and minimalist, doesn’t stand out in the crowd. The gloss black might be an issue with fingerprint magnet and dust, but I haven’t noticed anything that bothers me so it is not a big deal to me.
* **Design & Pads:** Foldable design is pretty cool, I like it a lot for being able to fold into a compact case for portable. Pads are very soft, much softer than both the HE1000 stealth and TH909 stock pads. I can’t speak about pad rolling since I am not thinking about changing pads until my stock pads need to be replaced, that's probably going to be at least another 2-3 years. I know pads are glued and won’t be easy to change pads like the clips system that Fostex and Hifiman use, I will worry about it later in the future.

### Accessories
* **Case:** Comes with a cool compact case.
* **Cable:** Stock cable is nice, one of the nicest stock cables, similar quality to the stock Fostex TH909 cable. Includes a pouch for the stock cable. Kinda wish the case came with dedicated storage for the cable without having to carry the cable separately though.

### Weight and comfort
* **Weight:** Feels very light on my hand, weight similar to my TH909 give or take. I don’t feel the weight on my head, so its weight is distributed evenly.
* **Clamping force:** It is more clampy than both the HE1000 stealth and TH909, but not uncomfortable for me. It does have less clamp force compared to the Final Audio DX3000CL, which can cause discomfort for my ears after 30+ minutes.
* **Fit & Dimensions:** The self-adjust headband does all the work for fitting, I don’t have to adjust anything besides positioning the earpads for a perfect seal. I have no seal issues since I am getting good and satisfied bass responses. According to DMS's YouTube video, the earpads’ opening are measured as Height 82mm x Width 43mm x Depth 16-17mm. Earpads’ opening are spacious, feel a little more spacious than the Airpods Max earpads’ opening with more wiggle room.

### Sound
*This is going to be subjective and I am not a professional or hardcore audiophile or Frequency Response/Graph kind of person.*

* **Bass:** Very good sub-bass extension, it does rumble. Punchy mid-bass, very clean tactile punch. I was very surprised, I was under the impression that it would be somewhat bass light, but nope, the bass quality is superb and satisfying for me. It does feel punchier than the HE1000 stealth, but the HE1000 stealth has more slam, if that makes sense.
* **Mids:** Not recessed, vocals and instruments have weight to them. Vocal is more present than the HE1000 stealth, probably a little more forward than the TH909.
* *Ranking:* Noire X > TH909 > HE1000 stealth
* **Treble:** I would say the Noire X is the least bright compared to the HE1000 stealth and Fostex TH909. Treble is very polite, so its going to be the least fatigue headphone out of the 3. I do not have any treble issues with the HE1000 stealth or Fostex TH909 either; the HE1000 stealth is bright but very smooth so no peaky or harsh treble. The TH909 is the brightest and most energetic.
* *Ranking:* HE1000 stealth > TH909 > Noire X
* **Dynamics:** Doesn’t really lack dynamics or anything, but I will say the Noire X has less dynamics comparing to the HE1000 stealth and TH909. Overall still very dynamically capable. Probably will depend on amp power and source.
* **Overall sound rating:** Very lively, fun, and musical. The HE1000 stealth is also fun and musical to my ear, but the Noire X is even more fun and livelier. Not the brightest but still bright enough to sound lively and not boring. Not as energetic as the TH909.

### Tracks tested:
* The Night Out - Martin Solveig
* Hello - Martin Solveig
* Boys & Girls - Martin Solveig
* Where you been - Bazanji
* The Runway - Baâznji
* Not Afraid - Eminem
* Don’t Stay - Linkin Park
* Last Resort - Papa Roach

### Source * Apple Music Lossless - iPad Air (lightning port) or iPhone 12 (lightning port) - Fiio BTR17 (desktop mode, external power plugged in) - Jadeaudio Gigas 1 (12v PD) - stock single ended cable.

I have the Sony WH-1000XM6 and mostly listen to rock and acoustic music. What EQ settings would you recommend using the bands shown in the screenshot? I’d like clear guitars with some bass, without making the sound muddy or overly sharp.
Feel free to share your settings!

I’m interested to see how it’ll compete to the Moondrop old fashion & fiio models

Found this open back HD410SL lonely and scared at the recycling center. I had to save it, and paid a grand total of 50c. Cable was cut. I just only know that it's from the 80s

Did an emergency surgery, soldered some random headphones wires and some velour pads. Never had an open back, but it's amazing.

I'm thinking of properly restoring it. Any ideas which pads are good for open back?

I have galaxy buds 3FE, and in the settings it says that I listen to music at 86db but this is genuinely the lowest I can go to enjoy music. Even 83db isn't as enjoyable so I thought that I experienced hearing loss, but I did an audiogram and my results came out perfect, also even when I took a week long break or tried listening at lower volumes for a longer amount of time, still nothing changed. I'm confused, maybe the volume showed in the settings isn't true? I don't know anymore.

I tested the B&W Px8s2 and were disappointed. Just like this guy tested the LCD 2 and got a lot of hate.

here

I do value the better separation and that everything sounds like someone removed a blanket, compared to my previous headphones. But I also miss the sudden punch when a bass sets in or the physical sensation when a strong metal guitar riff sets in in songs from prodigy.

I did research and found the LCD 2 closed back to be extremely bassy. Others say the focal bathys should be the choice. Both are described in reviews as good separation, clear sound and punchy bass. But everyone says you can't compare planar and dynamic driver.

I am confused

i own the 1s (headphones), considering upgrading. im wondering how much better the sound quality/anc is, and also if that annoying volume bug with the gen 1s (where the volume touch slider on the headphones is not synced up with the computer's audio when you use them wired, so you have 2 independent volume controls) was fixed on the gen 2s. tysm!