Fast dynamics? (need the list)

OP is gone but discussion continues ... Utopia I thought had massive dynamic impact. Something bothered me about the way it delivers dynamics though ... "harsh" or brash maybe, slightly forced, a little exaggerated. That along with the higher listening levels which it begs gave me nasty ear fatigue.

 

I also found that the Utopia begs to be cranked up high high high!

Utopia has a neat stage very deep. Sounds almost like its coming through tunnel or a stage far in front of me. 3D like but not very wide. Width sounded a bit above avg I guess.

Interesting headphone. Would love to listen to it again out of a real amp (not The chord Hugo that the Utopia owner had)

 

Don't want to start a holy war or something, but on one Russian forum there is a headphone chart

 

Not sure if I would agree with everything on that chart.
I find HE-1000 faster then HE-6.
But a HE-6 is also so liquid magic that one might not notice its speed
Atleast from a FirstWatt amp.

 

That is the thing. I once heard a modified K701 from a very powerful amplifier and it sounded great. Smooth sound, Symphony X sounded fast and detailed and no weird peaks to annoy me. Some headphone and amplifier pairings can make a remarkable difference.

The chart also mentions the HD600 and I agree. A lot of detail but not that fast in general. For it to sound faster it would need a small treble boost off-set with a sub-bass boost without disturbing the midrange coupled to a capable amplifier. In my experience fast sounding headphones have some kind of peak or mid-to-highs boost transition (AKG K500/501!) that does still sounds pleasant, a few decibels at best.

Yet in the end I prefer smooth almost boring sounding headphones. Fast sounding headphones at higher listening levels can give you serious headaches and I am not going through that phase again.

 

@Gleb Lev

Interesting list! But is the fast and detailed dynamics equally fast as the fast and detailed estats? Based on that list it would seem SR009 is equal to a lot of "mid fi" dynamics - which would go against what I've read personally.

 

I'm not the one who made this list. So I can't really answer your question.
Also keep in mind that this list is not like "The Only Truth". It was made by the guy who just spent some time with headphones and came up with this. He also made lists like "Best Metal headphones", "Best EDM headphones" and so on.

 

Try more headphones. After auditioning many headphones from Stax systems, the Sennheiser HE1 to my KSC75 I learnt there are always trade-offs versus preferences and easy answers are not there. Some headphones sound their best with a CMoy and some headphones need dedicated systems for that optimal sound. Assume nothing and enjoy what you have.

There are too many variables...

 

That's true. I guess I will find out for myself once I receive my Stax L300s. At least for my system that is.

I was actually thinking the other day how enjoyable it is to just "discover" new gear, trying it out, researching etc.

 

The newish Beyer DT1990 Pro is pretty darn quick to my ears. It suffers a bit from a slightly recessed midrange (depends on pads used) but the staging is really fantastic and the bass is very taught and punchy for an open back. With EQ or paper filtration over the driver to knock down the treble peak, it can give a few $1k+ headphones a run for their money.

The speed king is the Abyss. Holy Shit, that headphone is nuts. I've never heard track dynamics that explosive. Too bad the ergonomics and price blow.

 

I agree completely. The DT1990A (A-pads) is a great headphone with a bit of EQ. It sneaked up on me and is now my daily driver with my HD600 literally close at hand (just in case - lol).

I'm liking some violin music with the DT1990A right now.