stpope
New Head-Fier
A Tale of 10 Cans
Stephen Travis Pope - Jan-March, 2020
Introduction
This documentation represents a subjective, personal comparison of a diverse collection of headphones and in-ear monitors ranging from relatively expensive new-technology over-ear headphones to old-school dynamics to fitted in-ear monitors. I used several different digital-to-analog convertors and headphone amps, and a broad selection (rock/pop, acoustic/folk, jazz, classic/romantic, contemporary/experimental, renaissance, world, etc.) of CD-quality and HD 24/96 source material in the evaluation. I also tested several software packages for headphone correction, mainly the Sonarworks Systemwide and ToneBoosters MorphIt filtering software (see Attachment 2).
This note summarizes the findings that are detailed in the accompanying documents:
1. A spreadsheet of the listening comments and subjective evaluations
2. Screen shots of the measured frequency responses and correction filters
3. Photographs of the headphones and DACs
The background for this project is that for over a decade I had exclusively used Sennheiser HD-series headphones (HD-600, -700 and then -800) and Westone in-ear monitors. During that time, I was almost hospitalized several times due to bass starvation stemming from the Sennheisers (only joking). I had also read about a whole collection of new-comers making planar magnetic and/or electrostatic headphones, and several other respected companies (Beyerdynamic and Audio-Technica) whose microphones I work with every day, but whose headphones I'd never tested for longer than a few minutes. This all lead me to buy several new pairs of 'phones and start keeping notes on my comparative listening sessions. After a while I'd sell the ones I decided I didn't like and try others, leading to the results summarized here. At the end of the process, I rated each of the candidates on a scale of 1 - 10 according to their sound, fit and value, leading to the numerical ranking shown below.
The bottom line for the impatient is that I kept the following 3 sets:
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x - Open-back, dynamic
Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon - Semi-open-back, dynamic
Westone W30 - In-ear (fitted)
The tested hardware (in alphabetical order)
AKG Q701 "Green" - Semi-open-back, dynamic
Audeze LCD-X - Open-back, planar magnetic
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x - Open-back, dynamic
Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon - Semi-open-back, dynamic
Beyerdynamic DT880 Edition - Semi-open-back, dynamic
Etymotic HF3 - In-ear (fitted)
HiFiMan HE400i Special Edition - Open-back, planar magnetic
Massdrop Noble Luxe - In-ear (disqualified because they fell apart during testing)
MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed - Closed-back, planar magnetic
Polk UltraFocus 8000 - Closed-back, dynamic, active noise cancellation
Westone W30 - In-ear (fitted)
The DACS and Drivers (in alphabetical order)
Antelope Orion Studio - multi-channel Thunderbolt audio interface
Chord Mojo - battery-powered stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp
Fiio Q1 MkII - battery-powered stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp
Focusrite Clarett 8PreX - multi-channel Thunderbolt audio interface
Mytek Brooklyn - stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp
The results (in order of rating, see the attached spreadsheet)
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x
Westone W30
Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon
MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed
Etymotic HF3
Beyerdynamic DT880 Edition
Audeze LCD-X
HiFiMan HE400i Special Edition
Polk UltraFocus 8000
AKG Q701 "Green"
Massdrop Noble Luxe
Comments on the best-scoring 'phones (in order of rank)
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x
Sound 9
Fit 10
Value 10
Total 29
I had bought these on a lark because I found them cheap and have used and loved Audio-Technica condensor microphones for some time. As it turned out, these relatively simple, unassuming dynamic 'phones blew me away and are now my favorites, even compared to models costing up to 4 times as much! They have a unique flying-wing suspension system with spring-loaded padded arms that touch your head to keep the 'phones in place (see the photos in the attachments); the mechanism works better for me than any other form of adjustable band. It also helps a lot that they only weigh 210 grams (that's really light for full-size over-ear 'phones). The cables go to both sides, and they're both TRS plugs, so it doesn't matter which cable goes to which side; what a novel idea! Lastly, the measured frequency response is the flattest I've ever seen in headphones (±3 db from 40 - 20,000 Hz according to the Sonarworks measurements), and hence the required correction filters are the gentlest. The high impedance might be a challenge for some drivers, though, the the slight mid-range suck-out means that vocal recordings sometimes need some help.
Westone W30
Sound 9
Fit 10
Value 7
Total 26
I've owned these for years and have fitted in-ear plugs so that they seal well, and therefore deliver prodigious clean clear bass and crips but never shrill highs. These are pro models where the cables wrap around your ears so they're less likely to get snagged on things and pulled out. They also don't stick our as far as many ear-bud style monitors. Due to the sealed plugs, these also give almost 30 dB of isolation, which can be great (or dangerous; it depends). The cable is cloth-wrapped, making it less fragile and much easier to untangle. There's a reason Westone is the most popular brand of IEM for live musicians. These are my go-to in-ears for mixing and long-term listening, but it's a pain to put them on/off quickly.
Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon
Sound 9
Fit 8
Value 8
Total 25
These were a late arrival to the tests, and I'm really happy I decided to try them out. On the surface, the drivers are typical dynamic drivers, with a fancy molded enclosure and strange-looking suspension. They're a bit heavier. than I'd like, and the stock (Audioquest, of course) cable is both heavy and stiff. They also arrived with a warning to burn them for 150 hours (over 6 days) before any critical listening! Well, all I can say is that I'm glad I obliged; their sound opened up and softened significantly after the burn in, and they're pretty much tied with the ATH-R70x as my favorite. They sound sweeter and have a deeper sound stage, but they're a bit heavier and more subject to cable noise. The sound-stage is so good that I still find myself taking them off to make sure my speakers are turned off. About the construction: the headband is a single piece of stiff cable with a padded stretch band attached to the ends, and the ear-pieces are attached to the headband by 4 thin pieces of plastic. The first time I examined it, I said to myself, "I'm really going to miss these when they break." (Stay tuned...)
MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed
Sound 7
Fit 8
Value 8
Total 23
After being pretty disappointed by the first 2 pairs of planar magnetic 'phones from new companies I tried (see below), these were a welcome piece of good news; I liked the closed-back design, though it did constrict the soundstage somewhat (I'd love to hear their open-back siblings). The Aeon's sound was great, but they tended to be shrill without the correction filters (see the measurements of the weird peaky highs). They were quite comfortable, but I worry about the resizing band getting loose after a while so that they always slip down. I almost kept these, but they're also not cheap.
Etymotic HF3
Sound 6
Fit 8
Value 7
Total 21
These are my other pair of fitted in-ears, and I love their sound, but they're fragile (esp. the cable) and stick straight out of your ears so they're ugly and the cables tend to flap. They have great frequency response, but aren't quite as clear as the (much more expensive) Westones. My pair has a microphone for use with a cell phone, so these are my standard on-the-road 'phones.
Beyerdynamic DT880 Edition
Sound 6
Fit 8
Value 6
Total 20
These had been my intermediate station after leaving the Sennheiser domain (but remaining in Germany). I always liked the sound and found them comfortable and light, but their sound is just a bit unclear, lacking in definition, and the frequency response is a bit hard to correct for (cutting the shrill highs without making it sound filtered). The high impedance might also be a challenge for some drivers. I also missed a removable (and upgradable) cable on these, and the stock cable is 9 ft. long.
Audeze LCD-X
Sound 8
Fit 5
Value 6
Total 19
The Audeze LCD-X is one of the most celebrated recent 'phones, and I can hear why; super-up-front snappy bass and wide/deep sound stages. Unfortunately, these were just too heavy and loose for me, by a lot. Weighing in at well over a pound, they are loose and tend to slip off if you turn your head too quickly or even look down (e.g., at the desk). I had serious thoughts of suspending them from the ceiling by a bungee chord. ...but the bass was to die for!
The rest scored less than 19 and are not discussed in detail here; see the comments in the spreadsheet in Attachment 1.
DAC/amp comments
My work (mixing and mastering music) entails listening to my Antelope Orion Studio or its predecessor Focusrite Clarett 8PreX (both multi-channel Thunderbolt audio interfaces) much of the time. The Mytek Brooklyn (stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp) had been in my living-room system until this testing. The Fiio Q1 MkII (battery-powered stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp) had been my "travel kit" for long plane flights, and the Chord Mojo (battery-powered stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp) was acquired (based on a friend's recommendation) during this testing; it is my favorite portable DAC and rivals any computer interface I had before the Antelope Orion.
My initial assumption (based on my experience with other professional studio-oriented multichannel audio interfaces from the likes of Apogee, Universal Audio, Focusrite and RME) was that the headphone amps in the Antelope Orion were not really "hi-fi" and would not stand up well in comparison to "audiophile" gear such as the Mytek Brooklyn. Much to my surprise, I was able to clearly hear the difference between CD-quality and HD 24/96 source material with the Orion with most of the 'phones under test, something I can't say about mid-fi the Fiio Q1 MkII (or most of the other studio interfaces I've used).
The big revelation during this test was switching between normal computer DAC/drivers and the Chord Mojo, running on batteries and connected by an optical TOSLINK connection from my Mac host (i.e., no electrical connection to the rest of the system at all). There are several important design features that are unique to the Chord family of DACs, especially the DAC structure and reconstruction filter (ask your favorite search engine), as well as the multi-stage discrete headphone amplifier. This was especially effective on music with extreme transients (e.g., finger-picking and electroacoustic music) and very dense textures (e.g., Mahler's Symphony of a thousand, other large choral pieces, and electroacoustic music). It has a couple of strange quirks (like the UI), but I'll be keeping the Mojo within arm's reach for the foreseeable future (like until I can spring for the Chord Hugo).
Summary
There were several major surprises in this process, and I ended up revising my opinions and expectations several times. While I started out expecting to hear great things from the new class of large planar magnetic headphones, I was generally pretty disappointed. The most comfortable ones (MrSpeakers Aeon) sounded pretty good at best, the best-sounding ones (Audeze LCD-X) were nearly impossible to wear due to their weight and poor fit, and the best-value ones (HiFiMan HE400i) almost fell apart in my hands. In the mid-range of prices (for musicians, these are all cheap by hard-core audiophile standards), I liked the Beyerdynamic DT880, though they were a bit timid in the low bass and lacked in clarity, and I didn't like the AKG Q701s at all, though I expected to be thrilled with them since I use their microphones and cheaper 'phones all the time in the studio. I ended up liking the cheapest of the old-school dynamic 'phones the best (a real eye-opener), and am keeping the Audio-Technica ATH-R70x (which were also the only Japanese 'phones in the test) and the equally wonderful Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon.
With the in-ears, there were fewer surprises; nothing I've heard beats the mid-range Westone W30s IMHO, though I should add that I always use custom-fitted ear-pieces because I have quite non-circular-cross-section ear canals, so regular ear buds rarely seal well enough to deliver any bass at all. The Etymotic HF3 is a close runner-up (less soundstage definition), but the housing and cable are just a bit strange and fragile. There are some new products in this field coming on line (NAMM was last week as I write this) so stay tuned for easier and cheaper fitted in-ears using optical scanning (see pro.meeaudio.com).
I also did a good bit of cable-rolling during the testing, and bought cable upgrades (to silver-plated OFC balanced cables with premium connectors) for several of the premium 'phones. Sometimes it helped, sometimes not. Interestingly, with the Audio-Technica ATH-R70x, the stock cable is AOK.
In summary, this was a gas; I've settled for a while and have some projects that will keep me real busy for the next few months, but I just might try some other planar magnetics or electrostats or new fitted multi-actuator IEMs over the Summer.
Attachments
1. A spreadsheet of the listening comments and subjective evaluations
2. Screen shots of the measured frequency responses and correction filters
3. Screens of the correction software packages
4. Photographs of the 'phones and DACs
Stephen Travis Pope - Jan-March, 2020
Introduction
This documentation represents a subjective, personal comparison of a diverse collection of headphones and in-ear monitors ranging from relatively expensive new-technology over-ear headphones to old-school dynamics to fitted in-ear monitors. I used several different digital-to-analog convertors and headphone amps, and a broad selection (rock/pop, acoustic/folk, jazz, classic/romantic, contemporary/experimental, renaissance, world, etc.) of CD-quality and HD 24/96 source material in the evaluation. I also tested several software packages for headphone correction, mainly the Sonarworks Systemwide and ToneBoosters MorphIt filtering software (see Attachment 2).
This note summarizes the findings that are detailed in the accompanying documents:
1. A spreadsheet of the listening comments and subjective evaluations
2. Screen shots of the measured frequency responses and correction filters
3. Photographs of the headphones and DACs
The background for this project is that for over a decade I had exclusively used Sennheiser HD-series headphones (HD-600, -700 and then -800) and Westone in-ear monitors. During that time, I was almost hospitalized several times due to bass starvation stemming from the Sennheisers (only joking). I had also read about a whole collection of new-comers making planar magnetic and/or electrostatic headphones, and several other respected companies (Beyerdynamic and Audio-Technica) whose microphones I work with every day, but whose headphones I'd never tested for longer than a few minutes. This all lead me to buy several new pairs of 'phones and start keeping notes on my comparative listening sessions. After a while I'd sell the ones I decided I didn't like and try others, leading to the results summarized here. At the end of the process, I rated each of the candidates on a scale of 1 - 10 according to their sound, fit and value, leading to the numerical ranking shown below.
The bottom line for the impatient is that I kept the following 3 sets:
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x - Open-back, dynamic
Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon - Semi-open-back, dynamic
Westone W30 - In-ear (fitted)
The tested hardware (in alphabetical order)
AKG Q701 "Green" - Semi-open-back, dynamic
Audeze LCD-X - Open-back, planar magnetic
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x - Open-back, dynamic
Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon - Semi-open-back, dynamic
Beyerdynamic DT880 Edition - Semi-open-back, dynamic
Etymotic HF3 - In-ear (fitted)
HiFiMan HE400i Special Edition - Open-back, planar magnetic
Massdrop Noble Luxe - In-ear (disqualified because they fell apart during testing)
MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed - Closed-back, planar magnetic
Polk UltraFocus 8000 - Closed-back, dynamic, active noise cancellation
Westone W30 - In-ear (fitted)
The DACS and Drivers (in alphabetical order)
Antelope Orion Studio - multi-channel Thunderbolt audio interface
Chord Mojo - battery-powered stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp
Fiio Q1 MkII - battery-powered stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp
Focusrite Clarett 8PreX - multi-channel Thunderbolt audio interface
Mytek Brooklyn - stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp
The results (in order of rating, see the attached spreadsheet)
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x
Westone W30
Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon
MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed
Etymotic HF3
Beyerdynamic DT880 Edition
Audeze LCD-X
HiFiMan HE400i Special Edition
Polk UltraFocus 8000
AKG Q701 "Green"
Massdrop Noble Luxe
Comments on the best-scoring 'phones (in order of rank)
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x
Sound 9
Fit 10
Value 10
Total 29
I had bought these on a lark because I found them cheap and have used and loved Audio-Technica condensor microphones for some time. As it turned out, these relatively simple, unassuming dynamic 'phones blew me away and are now my favorites, even compared to models costing up to 4 times as much! They have a unique flying-wing suspension system with spring-loaded padded arms that touch your head to keep the 'phones in place (see the photos in the attachments); the mechanism works better for me than any other form of adjustable band. It also helps a lot that they only weigh 210 grams (that's really light for full-size over-ear 'phones). The cables go to both sides, and they're both TRS plugs, so it doesn't matter which cable goes to which side; what a novel idea! Lastly, the measured frequency response is the flattest I've ever seen in headphones (±3 db from 40 - 20,000 Hz according to the Sonarworks measurements), and hence the required correction filters are the gentlest. The high impedance might be a challenge for some drivers, though, the the slight mid-range suck-out means that vocal recordings sometimes need some help.
Westone W30
Sound 9
Fit 10
Value 7
Total 26
I've owned these for years and have fitted in-ear plugs so that they seal well, and therefore deliver prodigious clean clear bass and crips but never shrill highs. These are pro models where the cables wrap around your ears so they're less likely to get snagged on things and pulled out. They also don't stick our as far as many ear-bud style monitors. Due to the sealed plugs, these also give almost 30 dB of isolation, which can be great (or dangerous; it depends). The cable is cloth-wrapped, making it less fragile and much easier to untangle. There's a reason Westone is the most popular brand of IEM for live musicians. These are my go-to in-ears for mixing and long-term listening, but it's a pain to put them on/off quickly.
Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon
Sound 9
Fit 8
Value 8
Total 25
These were a late arrival to the tests, and I'm really happy I decided to try them out. On the surface, the drivers are typical dynamic drivers, with a fancy molded enclosure and strange-looking suspension. They're a bit heavier. than I'd like, and the stock (Audioquest, of course) cable is both heavy and stiff. They also arrived with a warning to burn them for 150 hours (over 6 days) before any critical listening! Well, all I can say is that I'm glad I obliged; their sound opened up and softened significantly after the burn in, and they're pretty much tied with the ATH-R70x as my favorite. They sound sweeter and have a deeper sound stage, but they're a bit heavier and more subject to cable noise. The sound-stage is so good that I still find myself taking them off to make sure my speakers are turned off. About the construction: the headband is a single piece of stiff cable with a padded stretch band attached to the ends, and the ear-pieces are attached to the headband by 4 thin pieces of plastic. The first time I examined it, I said to myself, "I'm really going to miss these when they break." (Stay tuned...)
MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed
Sound 7
Fit 8
Value 8
Total 23
After being pretty disappointed by the first 2 pairs of planar magnetic 'phones from new companies I tried (see below), these were a welcome piece of good news; I liked the closed-back design, though it did constrict the soundstage somewhat (I'd love to hear their open-back siblings). The Aeon's sound was great, but they tended to be shrill without the correction filters (see the measurements of the weird peaky highs). They were quite comfortable, but I worry about the resizing band getting loose after a while so that they always slip down. I almost kept these, but they're also not cheap.
Etymotic HF3
Sound 6
Fit 8
Value 7
Total 21
These are my other pair of fitted in-ears, and I love their sound, but they're fragile (esp. the cable) and stick straight out of your ears so they're ugly and the cables tend to flap. They have great frequency response, but aren't quite as clear as the (much more expensive) Westones. My pair has a microphone for use with a cell phone, so these are my standard on-the-road 'phones.
Beyerdynamic DT880 Edition
Sound 6
Fit 8
Value 6
Total 20
These had been my intermediate station after leaving the Sennheiser domain (but remaining in Germany). I always liked the sound and found them comfortable and light, but their sound is just a bit unclear, lacking in definition, and the frequency response is a bit hard to correct for (cutting the shrill highs without making it sound filtered). The high impedance might also be a challenge for some drivers. I also missed a removable (and upgradable) cable on these, and the stock cable is 9 ft. long.
Audeze LCD-X
Sound 8
Fit 5
Value 6
Total 19
The Audeze LCD-X is one of the most celebrated recent 'phones, and I can hear why; super-up-front snappy bass and wide/deep sound stages. Unfortunately, these were just too heavy and loose for me, by a lot. Weighing in at well over a pound, they are loose and tend to slip off if you turn your head too quickly or even look down (e.g., at the desk). I had serious thoughts of suspending them from the ceiling by a bungee chord. ...but the bass was to die for!
The rest scored less than 19 and are not discussed in detail here; see the comments in the spreadsheet in Attachment 1.
DAC/amp comments
My work (mixing and mastering music) entails listening to my Antelope Orion Studio or its predecessor Focusrite Clarett 8PreX (both multi-channel Thunderbolt audio interfaces) much of the time. The Mytek Brooklyn (stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp) had been in my living-room system until this testing. The Fiio Q1 MkII (battery-powered stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp) had been my "travel kit" for long plane flights, and the Chord Mojo (battery-powered stand-alone USB/optical DAC/amp) was acquired (based on a friend's recommendation) during this testing; it is my favorite portable DAC and rivals any computer interface I had before the Antelope Orion.
My initial assumption (based on my experience with other professional studio-oriented multichannel audio interfaces from the likes of Apogee, Universal Audio, Focusrite and RME) was that the headphone amps in the Antelope Orion were not really "hi-fi" and would not stand up well in comparison to "audiophile" gear such as the Mytek Brooklyn. Much to my surprise, I was able to clearly hear the difference between CD-quality and HD 24/96 source material with the Orion with most of the 'phones under test, something I can't say about mid-fi the Fiio Q1 MkII (or most of the other studio interfaces I've used).
The big revelation during this test was switching between normal computer DAC/drivers and the Chord Mojo, running on batteries and connected by an optical TOSLINK connection from my Mac host (i.e., no electrical connection to the rest of the system at all). There are several important design features that are unique to the Chord family of DACs, especially the DAC structure and reconstruction filter (ask your favorite search engine), as well as the multi-stage discrete headphone amplifier. This was especially effective on music with extreme transients (e.g., finger-picking and electroacoustic music) and very dense textures (e.g., Mahler's Symphony of a thousand, other large choral pieces, and electroacoustic music). It has a couple of strange quirks (like the UI), but I'll be keeping the Mojo within arm's reach for the foreseeable future (like until I can spring for the Chord Hugo).
Summary
There were several major surprises in this process, and I ended up revising my opinions and expectations several times. While I started out expecting to hear great things from the new class of large planar magnetic headphones, I was generally pretty disappointed. The most comfortable ones (MrSpeakers Aeon) sounded pretty good at best, the best-sounding ones (Audeze LCD-X) were nearly impossible to wear due to their weight and poor fit, and the best-value ones (HiFiMan HE400i) almost fell apart in my hands. In the mid-range of prices (for musicians, these are all cheap by hard-core audiophile standards), I liked the Beyerdynamic DT880, though they were a bit timid in the low bass and lacked in clarity, and I didn't like the AKG Q701s at all, though I expected to be thrilled with them since I use their microphones and cheaper 'phones all the time in the studio. I ended up liking the cheapest of the old-school dynamic 'phones the best (a real eye-opener), and am keeping the Audio-Technica ATH-R70x (which were also the only Japanese 'phones in the test) and the equally wonderful Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon.
With the in-ears, there were fewer surprises; nothing I've heard beats the mid-range Westone W30s IMHO, though I should add that I always use custom-fitted ear-pieces because I have quite non-circular-cross-section ear canals, so regular ear buds rarely seal well enough to deliver any bass at all. The Etymotic HF3 is a close runner-up (less soundstage definition), but the housing and cable are just a bit strange and fragile. There are some new products in this field coming on line (NAMM was last week as I write this) so stay tuned for easier and cheaper fitted in-ears using optical scanning (see pro.meeaudio.com).
I also did a good bit of cable-rolling during the testing, and bought cable upgrades (to silver-plated OFC balanced cables with premium connectors) for several of the premium 'phones. Sometimes it helped, sometimes not. Interestingly, with the Audio-Technica ATH-R70x, the stock cable is AOK.
In summary, this was a gas; I've settled for a while and have some projects that will keep me real busy for the next few months, but I just might try some other planar magnetics or electrostats or new fitted multi-actuator IEMs over the Summer.
Attachments
1. A spreadsheet of the listening comments and subjective evaluations
2. Screen shots of the measured frequency responses and correction filters
3. Screens of the correction software packages
4. Photographs of the 'phones and DACs