[tomaszffffff]

Hi, I'm looking for new portable closed back setup for under 300$. I’ll be using it in 80% for listening and 20% for music production. I said closed back and that would be the best, but sound quality is priority for me, therefore I also consider some open back headphones, which could bring significant improvement in that matter.

Right now I own Shure SRH440 and Fiio E06, but they’re not enough relaxing and a little bit too dry and cold sounding for me. Having to charge the battery is also irritating to me. So far I've been testing the following alternatives and other headphones for reference and here are my findings.

• M50x were too bass heavy and didn’t offer the same quality of highs as my current SRH440 do, but they weren’t burned in, so that may be the reason why.
  
• K550 with Dragonfly Black was the set I counted on the most based on the reviews I read, but once again, highs quality turned out not to convince me.
• SRH840 with Dragonfly Black didn’t seem to be enough of a change or an improvement over my current setup, but probably because they offered the sound characteristics similar to which I’m used to I had nothing against them. It was just not enough to justify the cost.
• SRH840 with Dragonfly Red was pretty convincing, the overall sound quality was finally where I wanted it to be, bass was properly punchy, the headphones finally seemed to be properly driven. The only thing I wish was better is a general characteristics, which could be more relaxing. I simply didn’t fall in love with them.
• HD58X is the pair I didn’t test, but I had an opportunity to give HD660s a try. At the time I wasn’t aware of HD58X existence so I didn’t really consider them as something I could buy, therefore the test wasn’t so in depth. They seemed to be a new benchmark for me, but only driven by Astell&Kern A&norma SR15 which they had in the store for testing. I also tried them with Dragonfly Red, and results where apparently worse, especially when it comes to highs.
• HD600 with Dragonfly Red sounded the way I was looking for, were really relaxing, with smooth highs and proper other frequencies. I was also surprised that Dragonfly did such a good job powering them. Unfortunately they are too expensive. And I wish they were closed back.
• ATH-AD900X with Dragonfly Red sounded really bad
• ATH-MSR7 were bad as well, I'm not a fan of Audio-Technicas apparently
• Koss Porta Pro were a really nice surprise, I definitely like their sound signature, but they're not in the class I'm looking for
• LCD-2 Classic with Dragonfly Red I tested just for pure pleasure, incredible sounding headphones.
• LCD-2 Classic with Moon 230HAD I don't know why but sounded worse to me than with Dragonfly
• DT770 80Ohm with DragonFly Red weren't perfect quality-wise but sound signature was pretty nice, and they weren't burned in

I came to the point where I have Sennheiser HD58X ordered and plan to use Dragonfly Red as source, but I'm still hoping to find something good and closed back. Based on many reviews I came up with the idea of Beyerdynamic DT150 paired with ifi audio iDSD nano Black Label. I hope that it is going to supply the headphones with enough amount of power. My question to you is whether the sound will be comparable or better than of the HD58X? That's also interesting because DT150 are sometimes called closed back HD650 and HD58X are noticeably worse than HD650 according to many opinions. Please let me know what do you think about it!

 

[PurpleAngel]

I think my Massdrop/Sennheiser HD58X is one of the best bang for buck headphones I've ever bought (music/movies/gaming).
I would assume a DragonFly (Red or Black) would improve the HD58X, over whatever source your plugging the headphones into now.
I bought the Xduoo XD-05 last month, so far I found it great for driving headphones and I like the sound.
Keep using the SRH440 for audio production.

 

[tomaszffffff]

Yeah, I'm also sure that they're well worth the price but I'm wondering whether their sound quality can justify them not being closed in my case? Are they worth the sacrifice in context of DT150?

Another option I was thinking about were Meze 99 Noir, but they would require me to have another pair of headphones for production probably. And I'm not sure if they're as good as another two pairs.

 

[boomhaur]

A family member has the Meze 99 Classics, and they are worth the money. So far it looks like it's their end game headphones and I cant find a fault with the headphones really unless you prefer a different sound signature.

For myself I'm probably going to place an order for the hd58x and pair it up with my Audioengine D3. I picked up the D3 for $45 refurbished with the same warranty and 30day trial the new one has. And to my knowledge it's ability to drive headphones is pretty close to the audioquest dragonfly red. There's a few good reviews on it where they test it thououghly. So it may be worth looking into this as well.

 

[tomaszffffff]

A family member has the Meze 99 Classics, and they are worth the money. So far it looks like it's their end game headphones and I cant find a fault with the headphones really unless you prefer a different sound signature.

Classics itself don't fit within my budget and the problem with Noir is the pads controversy.

For myself I'm probably going to place an order for the hd58x and pair it up with my Audioengine D3. I picked up the D3 for $45 refurbished with the same warranty and 30day trial the new one has. And to my knowledge it's ability to drive headphones is pretty close to the audioquest dragonfly red. There's a few good reviews on it where they test it thououghly. So it may be worth looking into this as well.

As I said before, I'm sure Dragonfly Red will fit well HD58X. But I'm not sure about DT150 source. And comparison between HD58X and DT150.

 

[tomaszffffff]

Finally I had a chance to test almost all headphones I have mentioned. If I had to choose based purely on sound quality and signature definitely HD58X would be perfect for me. Comparing DT150 with Topping NX4 DSD and HD58X with Dragonfly Red, Sennheisers offered a little softer, more pleasant and relaxing sound, so everything I was looking for. DT150 were on the other hand more impactful and had bigger soundstage but highs and mids didn't offer the same quality, high sounds like shakers were reproduced especially badly. Unfortunately even though I tried to convince myself, open construction of HD58X was too much of a problem, I turned out to really need isolation of closed-backs. When it comes to amplification of DT150 Topping NX4 DSD did really well, in high gain having enough authority and power. Compared to ifi apart from offering more power, highs were also less harsh sounding on NX4. For HD58X Dragonfly Red was a good mach.

I have tested Mezes 99 Classic and Neo as well. In Classics amount of bass was unacceptable. Neo despite of more pleasant sound signature didn't offer overall quality and resolution in all frequencies other headphones I'm considering do.

Now I came to the point when I try to decide between DT150 with Topping NX4 DSD and SRH840 with Dragonfly Red. What are my thoughts on them?

DT150 offer more lively, bigger sound with bigger soundstage. Their ear cups are also bigger and deeper, so more comfortable even for long listening sessions. Disadvantages include a need to charge NX4, therefore using it on desktop may be problematic. Ear cups regulation tends to change position too easily ass well but the biggest flaw is mentioned above reproduction of high sounds like shakers.

For SRH840 stands slightly lower price, lack of any sonic flaws in all frequencies and no need for Dragonfly to be charged. The problems here are less interesting and thrilling sound, and smaller, possibly uncomfortable after longer time ear cups and pads.

SRH840 seem to convince me a little bit more, but I'm not sure if that is correct, because as far as I remember during short direct comparison DT150 made a little better impression.

That's why I wanted to ask you for help again and possibly your comparison between those two options.