[lifeson]

You have a nice selection there.

I would bet that a lot of those people would happily take your collection over theirs if they only could get back the money they have spent over the years

Ha maybe, but I think this particular rabbit hole is drawing me in, I'm already deep in the guitar related GAS rabbit hole and now this one on top will probably be the end of me.

 

[Sandro Sena]

1. AKG K1000 BH
2. AKG K1000 BL
3. Raal SR1a
4. LB mySphere 3.2
?. Stax SR-009 (the orange among the apples)
5. Stax SR-Sigma 404
6. Stax SR-Sigma NB

 

[jsk ksj]

I think I have achieved my "endgame" list.

My "endgame" definition: If any of these were to break, I would buy exactly the same model to replace them.

1. Audeze Lcd-x 2021 revision
2. Sennheiser HD600 marble
3. Grado RS2e

 

[Harmonican]

One of these is my endgame in its category so I'm putting it on top.

1. Focal Stellia. As far as closed-backs are concerned, this is the last one I'll ever need. Financial hit was steep, I hope I never have to replace it. Not ideal for all kinds of music though, but when you feed it what it likes it's a heck of a nice ride. Very subtle yet detailed and amazing dynamics from the feather-light berylium drivers.

2. Hifiman Arya stealth magnets. If they had a tiny bit more clamp I could wear these all day. If they weren't so noisy to others I could probably live with them as my only cans since they are good at all sorts of music.

3. Hifiman Edition XS stealth magnets. I call it the Ananda killer because it costs less yet sounds better, almost as good as the Arya imho, but the tuning is different. Also it has a Focal-style headband that may look a bit awkward initially, but is far more sturdy than the strap-on-frame suspension type found on almost every other HFM model. Every time I look at my good ol' Sundara I am reminded of when the strap became detached from the frame and was such a PITA to fix.

4. Focal Clear with Dekoni Hybrid pads and good quality balanced XLR terminated cable. I don't care much for Focal cables, they are not suited to such high quality phones, imho. The alacantra/microfibre fabric covering the pads was not comfortable and the memory foam flattened prematurely, the Dekoni replacement is far superior, at the asking price it better be lol.

5. Focal Elegia. This closed-back is based on the Clear, not on the Elear like some reviewers believe due to the similarity in naming. This was confirmed by Focal's agent for the US, whose name I forget. It was the result of Focal's effort to have a closed-back and (relatively speaking) affordable unit in their upper-tier offerings. The cup's fairly complex "wave abyrinth" design must have been the costlier part since the global research came from the Clear. As is, it has important flaws and does not sound that good. It's not that the plastic cups on an expensive phone are to blame, they had no choice to use it because the pattern required molding and doing it in metal would have cost a small fortune without sounding any better, and the plastic appears to be of good quality. The phone's aesthetics pretty much matches that of some other Focal models. That being said the pads and the single, extra-short cable are simply horrible. I knew that in advance so ordered hybrid pads from Dekoni and a balanced Pentaconn terminated cable even before I bought the (discounted) Elegia. Such equipped it sounds very sweet and can be EQ'd to sound like the Clear but I prefer a different sound profile for it. When it was still available and discounted it was probably the best value on the market, even ahead of the Sundara, quite an achievement. I like it a lot.

6. Audio Technica ATH-M50x. Super-affordable studio phone with an extra-flat response out of the box. Perfect for low-res listening. A bit of a vise though. Comes with three cables including a 10-ft coiled.

 

[Slim1970]

One of these is my endgame in its category so I'm putting it on top.

1. Focal Stellia. As far as closed-backs are concerned, this is the last one I'll ever need. Financial hit was steep, I hope I never have to replace it. Not ideal for all kinds of music though, but when you feed it what it likes it's a heck of a nice ride. Very subtle yet detailed and amazing dynamics from the feather-light berylium drivers.

2. Hifiman Arya stealth magnets. If they had a tiny bit more clamp I could wear these all day. If they weren't so noisy to others I could probably live with them as my only cans since they are good at all sorts of music.

3. Hifiman Edition XS stealth magnets. I call it the Ananda killer because it costs less yet sounds better, almost as good as the Arya imho, but the tuning is different. Also it has a Focal-style headband that may look a bit awkward initially, but is far more sturdy than the strap-on-frame suspension type found on almost every other HFM model. Every time I look at my good ol' Sundara I am reminded of when the strap became detached from the frame and was such a PITA to fix.

4. Focal Clear with Dekoni Hybrid pads and good quality balanced XLR terminated cable. I don't care much for Focal cables, they are not suited to such high quality phones, imho. The alacantra/microfibre fabric covering the pads was not comfortable and the memory foam flattened prematurely, the Dekoni replacement is far superior, at the asking price it better be lol.

5. Focal Elegia. This closed-back is based on the Clear, not on the Elear like some reviewers believe due to the similarity in naming. This was confirmed by Focal's agent for the US, whose name I forget. It was the result of Focal's effort to have a closed-back and (relatively speaking) affordable unit in their upper-tier offerings. The cup's fairly complex "wave abyrinth" design must have been the costlier part since the global research came from the Clear. As is, it has important flaws and does not sound that good. It's not that the plastic cups on an expensive phone are to blame, they had no choice to use it because the pattern required molding and doing it in metal would have cost a small fortune without sounding any better, and the plastic appears to be of good quality. The phone's aesthetics pretty much matches that of some other Focal models. That being said the pads and the single, extra-short cable are simply horrible. I knew that in advance so ordered hybrid pads from Dekoni and a balanced Pentaconn terminated cable even before I bought the (discounted) Elegia. Such equipped it sounds very sweet and can be EQ'd to sound like the Clear but I prefer a different sound profile for it. When it was still available and discounted it was probably the best value on the market, even ahead of the Sundara, quite an achievement. I like it a lot.

6. Audio Technica ATH-M50x. Super-affordable studio phone with an extra-flat response out of the box. Perfect for low-res listening. A bit of a vise though. Comes with three cables including a 10-ft coiled.

I have the Stellia's as well. What genres do you feel that they are not suited for? I think the detailed, yet slightly warm tuning of these makes them a good candidate for majority of today's music.

 

[Harmonican]

I have the Stellia's as well. What genres do you feel that they are not suited for? I think the detailed, yet slightly warm tuning of these makes them a good candidate for majority of today's music.

I feel they are most at ease with music carrying a bit of groove or rythm, funky material like fusion and rock is well rendered, especialy the Focal signature mids and fabulous bass. In jazz with double bass it's so clean you can concentrate on it and not miss a beat, it never, ever wanders into low mids and unlike other phones I tried that have this ability (mostly HFM planars starting with Sundara and up) it creates no noticeable gap betwen lows and low mids, they just blend in without overlapping. I don't know which frenchman was in charge of designed these but he or she deserves an award if you ask me. That said, I find it a tiny bit recessed with chamber music and piano concertos like Chopin but that could be due to the SQ of the source media, those I have were recorded as far back as the 1960's. Interestingly, that material sounds clearer with the Arya and Edition XS (and probably the Sundara as well but I haven't used it recently) . Planars seem to have the ability to rejuvenate old recordings without imparting exacerbating low mid boost, but overall the Stellia is more disciplined and definitely more efficient, it just sounds better.

 

[Slim1970]

I feel they are most at ease with music carrying a bit of groove or rythm, funky material like fusion and rock is well rendered, especialy the Focal signature mids and fabulous bass. In jazz with double bass it's so clean you can concentrate on it and not miss a beat, it never, ever wanders into low mids and unlike other phones I tried that have this ability (mostly HFM planars starting with Sundara and up) it creates no noticeable gap betwen lows and low mids, they just blend in without overlapping. I don't know which frenchman was in charge of designed these but he or she deserves an award if you ask me. That said, I find it a tiny bit recessed with chamber music and piano concertos like Chopin but that could be due to the SQ of the source media, those I have were recorded as far back as the 1960's. Interestingly, that material sounds clearer with the Arya and Edition XS (and probably the Sundara as well but I haven't used it recently) . Planars seem to have the ability to rejuvenate old recordings without imparting exacerbating low mid boost, but overall the Stellia is more disciplined and definitely more efficient, it just sounds better.

Makes sense because the Stellia's don't have that big, open sense of space as an open back headphone would for chamber music or concertos. The Stellia's soundstage is okay for a closed back. Focal headphones in general are know to have smallish soundstaging. This is the Stellia's and Utopia's only limitation in my opinion. Everything else sonically is great.

 

[Harmonican]

Makes sense because the Stellia's don't have that big, open sense of space as an open back headphone would for chamber music or concertos. The Stellia's soundstage is okay for a closed back. Focal headphones in general are know to have smallish soundstaging. This is the Stellia's and Utopia's only limitation in my opinion. Everything else sonically is great.

I fully agree with you.

 

[Harmonican]

Makes sense because the Stellia's don't have that big, open sense of space as an open back headphone would for chamber music or concertos. The Stellia's soundstage is okay for a closed back. Focal headphones in general are know to have smallish soundstaging. This is the Stellia's and Utopia's only limitation in my opinion. Everything else sonically is great.

Spot on about Focal, open-back or closed, they all have a rather narrow soundstage, at least the models comprised between the Elegia and Utopia, I haven't tried the Bathys yet but, bieng a BT headset I suspect compromises were made andd that's why it doesn't have the signature muscular build of the high-end Focals. Still, it is expensive for a bluetooth set and probably sounds better than your typical wireless portable. I will ask for a demo next time I pay a visit to to my favourite audio shop (there are quite a few left in Montreal) but I don't intend to buy it.

 

[Slim1970]

Spot on about Focal, open-back or closed, they all have a rather narrow soundstage, at least the models comprised between the Elegia and Utopia, I haven't tried the Bathys yet but, bieng a BT headset I suspect compromises were made andd that's why it doesn't have the signature muscular build of the high-end Focals. Still, it is expensive for a bluetooth set and probably sounds better than your typical wireless portable. I will ask for a demo next time I pay a visit to to my favourite audio shop (there are quite a few left in Montreal) but I don't intend to buy it.

I’m thinking about adding the Bathys to my collection. Nothing I’ve heard up u til this point has been able to top my old B&W P7 wireless headphones for a Bluetooth headset. Maybe the Bathys can unseat them.

 

[Pesado]

Update:

-Harmonicdyne Zeus
-Beyerdynamic DT990 Premium
-Ibasso SR2
-Fostex TR-X00
-AKG K550
-B&W P7
-Kef Space One
-Philips A3-Pro
-Monoprice M560
-Shure SRH1540
-DCA Aeon 2 Closed
-Oppo PM3
-Shure SRH1840
-Sony MDR-XB1000
-Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 ohm
-Focal Elear
-Bang Olufsen H6
-Sennheiser HD58X
-Philips L2
-Superlux HD562
-Philips Fidelio X2HR
-Denon AH-MM400
-Audio Technica ATH-M50X
-Master & Dynamic MW60
-Sivga Robin
-Meze 99 Noir
-Sony MDR-1A
-V-Moda M100
-Meze 99 Neo
-B&W P5
-Sennheiser Momentum 2 (wired)
-V-Moda M100 Master
-Sony MDR-XB500
-1More H1707
-Audio Technica ATH-MSR7NC
-Sony MDR-X10

*update

-Harmonicdyne Zeus
-Beyerdynamic DT990 Premium
-Ibasso SR2
-DCA Aeon 2 Closed
-Fostex TR-X00
-AKG K550
-Shure SRH1540
-Shure SRH1840
-B&W P7
-Kef Space One
-Philips A3-Pro
-Monoprice M560
-Oppo PM3
-Sony MDR-XB1000
-Focal Elear
-Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 ohm
-Bang Olufsen H6
-Sennheiser HD58X
-Philips Fidelio X2HR
-Denon AH-MM400
-Audio Technica ATH-M50X
-Master & Dynamic MW60
-Meze 99 Noir
-Sony MDR-1A
-V-Moda M100
-V-Moda M100 Master
-Meze 99 Neo
-1More H1707
-Sennheiser Momentum 2 (wired)
-Sivga Robin
-B&W P5
-Sony MDR-XB500
-Audio Technica ATH-MSR7NC

 

[jsk ksj]

*update

-Harmonicdyne Zeus
-Beyerdynamic DT990 Premium
-Ibasso SR2
-Fostex TR-X00
-DCA Aeon 2 Closed
-AKG K550
-Shure SRH1540
-Shure SRH1840
-B&W P7
-Kef Space One
-Philips A3-Pro
-Monoprice M560
-Oppo PM3
-Sony MDR-XB1000
-Focal Elear
-Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80 ohm
-Bang Olufsen H6
-Sennheiser HD58X
-Philips Fidelio X2HR
-Denon AH-MM400
-Audio Technica ATH-M50X
-Master & Dynamic MW60
-Sivga Robin
-Meze 99 Noir
-Sony MDR-1A
-V-Moda M100
-V-Moda M100 Master
-Meze 99 Neo
-1More H1707
-B&W P5
-Sennheiser Momentum 2 (wired)
-Sony MDR-XB500
-Audio Technica ATH-MSR7NC

That's a lot of headphones
My family would kill me

 

[tdockweiler]

1) Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro 250 ohm

Sounds great to me with my setup and I don't hear any sort of excessive bass or treble spikes.
I wear glasses though and there is not much clamp at all. The only time I hear any harshness is if it's in the recording itself.
I put this above #2 because it's more comfortable. I could wear it all day easily.
I actually prefer this to the DT-880. I've always wanted to try the DT-770 Pro (not 80ohm version) but I'm worried about it's bass.

2) AKG Q701 (Bass Modded)

This is my old favorite and I refuse to ever get rid of it. Comfort is perfectly OK but it creaks a lot when I wear glasses and move my head.
Someday i'd like to try the K612. I had the K400 LP+EP, K501 and K601 before.

3) Koss Pro DJ 100

I use mine with the M50 pads and it's been by far one of my favorite portable headphones.
The sound signature is near perfect to my ears. I guess they only sell the DJ200 now.
I wish they had a more comfortable version of this with a near clone of it's sound signature.

4) Sennheiser HD-650

It's OK. Sounds very very slightly muffled and closed-in sounding at times.
I actually prefer the first HD-598, but mine broke.
I don't know if any newer versions of the 598 have the same sound or not.

5) Bose SoundLink 1

This is the version with the wireless capsule (?) on the side of it.
There is no noise cancelling at all. Sounds fine to me.
Best of all I scored this at a thrift store in near mint condition for $3.99!
Seems to sound similar to the old Bose Triport 1.
I always loved that headphone and people always gave me crap about liking it
Turns out it's probably close to near neutral sounding.

6) Anker Soundcore Q20

This is a great headphone! But buy it for it's super low price and features, not so much the sound.
The bass is VERY bloated. If you don't listen to bass heavy music, you'll be fine.
For overall sound i'd give it a 6.5/10. I especially like it for youtube videos where i'm at my PC but have to get up a lot.
I also have a job where noise cancelling during part of my work is absolutely necessary.
This does the job for that.

I also take it on long walks when i'm in a noisy environment and when it's safe to block out the noise.
I like the look of it and it has a good design IMO.
I could also wear it all day easily.


7) Cowin E7 Wireless

I only have this because I found it mint at a thrift store.
I personally think it's bad sounding and I wouldn't suggest it to anyone.
It sounds like the darkest phone i've ever heard. Like almost as if some treble range is completely absent.
I don't understand all the praise for these on Amazon etc.

 

[csch92]

Hifiman Sundara 5/10
DT 1770 pro 7/10
HD 660s 2 9.5/10
Meze 109 pro 10/10

 

[Thomasr]

#1 (tie) : Sash Tres 45 / Monolith M1570
#3 : Beyerdynamic DT-880/600
#4 : Sennheiser HD660S
#5 (tie) : Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7b / Sennheiser HD599
#7 : Anker Soundcore Q35
#8 : Sennheiser PX-100