General Headphone Advice

Why not consider a pair of noise-isolating in-ears like the Shure 215? Smaller, lighter and noise isolating without needing batteries. Just be sure they have the foam plugs and not regular plastic ones.

 

I haven't heard the Momentum so can't comment, but I have owned both the Sine and the PM-3, and they both have strengths and weaknesses. What are your priorities? PM-3 has better isolation and is over ear, but has been accused of having a boring sound signature (which I disagree with, but I agree that it's not the most exciting can out there). Sine has better instrument separation and detail retrieval, but a unique (many here might say poor) FR and is on-ear.

 

i dont need that much isolation to look for active noise cancellation so theres no question of batteries and what not.. and id prefer headphones

my priorities are just that i want something closed and that has less treble and more bass drum impact than my K7XX, which would let me use them for longer periods while working/commuting without needing me to feel as analytical with my music

 

I haven't heard the K7XX, but I can say that the Sine absolutely has more bass impact than the PM-3.

 

okay what im going to do then is order the momentum2, head to a store 70km away, check out the meze 99 and sine against each other and then decide which i want (i can return the momentum if it doesnt make the cut)

Oppo isnt available to listen anywhere so too bad i guess

 

Momentum 2 is quite bassy and also very laid back up top (too much so for me) whereas the PM3 has a pretty neutral signature for a closed back that leans just a hair bassy and a hair laid back up top. Similar to HP50 but I know that's out. PM3 is probably my favorite closed/portable irrespective of price, but it all depends on what signature you're looking for, can't speak for SINE

 

The PM-3 are very.. polite; relatively neutral, and surprisingly detailed.

I have a random suggestion that may get me funny looks, but actually works really well as a commuter headphone- Sennheiser HD-25 1 II. They are light, comfy, but but deceptively good isolation and are deceptively sturdy. They may be 70 Ohm, but drive just fine direct from a phone, as they're very sensitive. Obviously, every part is available as a spare, too. They don't sound bad out of a phone, and sound better when you throw a little portable amp in there, too.

Yes, they have a little resonance in the bass. No, they're not as detailed as the PM-3. However, they are solid, listenable, and the bass can kick like a mule.

Ah, I'm going to disagree, as the owner of SE215s. Sorry to be a contrarian!

I'd not recommend SE215, there are probably far better IEMs for less these days. Right out of a phone, they normally sound like they're drowning in flabby mid-bass with tons of rolloff in the highs, you have to EQ the ever-loving crap out of them to reliably hear much (ducking a chunk at 200Hz is a good start). It's unreal how bad they sound.

Weirdly, out of a portable amp, they do clean up a bit, and the FR becomes a bit more normal- they sound passable out of my Mojo.. well, to a point. They're still undeniably lacking in detail and extension, even taking price into account. The Chi-fi IEM revolution means that we should expect more for our money now.

While my normal daily driver is SE535, I should be receiving a pair of MEE Audio Pinnacle P1, for those emergencies where you just want that dynamic driver bass/don't want those funny brittle BA highs- it'll be interesting to see how they stack up- they appeared to measure quite well.

 

I sold the PM-3 when I got the Sine, but I already have two neutral headphones and enjoyed the different signature, plus the cypher cable made the Sine very easy to pair with my phone and use as a convenient portable system. However, if bass slam is important to you, I wouldn't bother with the PM-3 anyway. It has good bass texture but little slam.

 

@Kattefjaes

No worries. I too own the 215's. I like their noise-isolation and laid back nature when I'm on the go. But I agree it's not a hi-fi sound if that what you're after.

 

It's crazy how depressed the FR is right out of my phone, compared to out of the Mojo though.. any idea of why that might be? Out of the Mojo they're "laid back", out of the phone (Nexus 6), they're basically more Swamp Thing. Most other IEMs sound passable out of it.. so there's some vitamin that they're not getting.

 

@Kattefjaes

No idea, phones are phones. Must be a synergy thing. I have a Samsung galaxy phone and the 215's are very laid back (easy to listen to on the go... it's like car speakers lol). But the bass is actually pretty tight. Just EQ it until it works I'd say.

 

hmm, interesting inputs here. Will put the oppo away for now, no point anyway since I can hear only all the others and thats worth more than just throwing money at a screen and hoping for the best.

Seems like I may end up with the Sine then, or who knows.. maybe the meze?

 

I heard the Meze briefly at Canjam, and they had a nice fun tuning. Definitely worth considering.

 

I've had a bunch of the models mentioned, here are my takes...

Senn HD-25
Great isolation (probably the best passive iso I've heard, FSP is on par), surprisingly flat signature with some extra mid-bass. Pretty forward, almost Grado-like, but in a good way for rock/metal etc.. These basically have zero soundstage and look kinda funny, especially when compared to the other, more stylish options. The build is plasticky, but everything is replaceable. They can take a good beating too. I sold my pair because of the soundstage, looks and a very slight lack of clarity overall. Anyhow, these are a quality pair all around, if you can live with a semi-comfy and akward looking on-ear.

Audeze Sine
Very good instrument separation and neutrality top to bottom. Overall these are my top portable recommendation for fans of flat sound-sigs. The bass doesn't have the hugest slam or punch, but it's enough for most. Mids are quite upfront, so vocals etc. take center-stage (without eq). Marv said & measured some mild boost in the 1-2K region (honk!) and it's definitely there, esp without the few db bass-boosting Cipher-cable. I haven't found it a problem... That EQ-app does great here. Comfort & isolation are ok, but not the best. I bet there will be some fatter pads released in the future. I almost always use 'em with the Cipher plugged into my phone/tablet. If you have an iDevice and the budget, these are a no-brainer. These are my nr. 1 portable.

Senn Momentum (1st gen)
Very cool build quality and comfort for my ears. Not totally over-ear, but with those plush lambskin pads I don't mind. If only Sines had these pads... V2 was even more comfy, sound was pretty close to these originals... Very mellow sound overall, warm and then some. These seem to benefit from amping a surprising amount - my puny Fiio E7 is much better overall with these than my phone (couldn't tell that much of a difference with the HD-25s). Bass gets tighter and the overall clarity increases with amping. I really noticed this following some of Opeth's bass-lines, they kind of vanished into a blur when going lower straight from my phone/iPod.

Here's the less obvious choice...
Focal Spirit Pro
Great isolation here too, but some find them very uncomfy. Pads are more plush than the Sines.. But that clamp can be too much for some. I think, that the tight fit makes them not move around at all... And that's what discomfort is often about. But yeah, not even close to the comfiest. Flat is the thing here too concerning sound-sig. Great for recording drums, micing amps and listening to music in a very revealing way, bad mixes sound just horrible. The upper mids and lower highs are totally upfront. Something is lacking in the last octave, not much air. I wish AKG's much loved and recommended studio-models sounded this good.

 

I went to a store today to check out some headphones, here's what I thought (very briefly):

Audeze Sine: Really nicely built, look great but the clamp and on ear setup does not work for me at all! I noticed this most when switching to other headphones.
The sound is pretty good in terms of FR, bass is enough, mids are a bit much and it maybe lacks a little treble up top but thats it. Tiny things. Needs amplification of course, I checked with a Macbook pro and it was loud enough in the (quiet) store at 80-90%, which means theres no chance I can drive them well enough on a bus/train.

Meze 99 classic: VERY comfortable! Probably the most compared to anything I tried. But also too much bass, way too much that it distracted from everything else. Can imagine people liking this but I would atleast EQ down for sure. I feel like maybe the mids arent at the same level as the bass and treble but I could be wrong - there was something not a 100% alright there though. Spacious sound overall!

Momentum 2: Not bad, but nothing stood out. I think the treble didnt show me everything (not enough treble/detail) that was happening so I ruled them out early on. Middle of the road comfort wise (which means it was quite good), it was not fully over ear if i remember right or maybe my ears juuust about fit in the cups.

Sennheiser HD630VB: I kinda liked the variable bass dial on the earcup.. but it was a bland headphone overall. i turned the VB knob between 2/3 to 3/4 the way depending on what i was listening to i think. At minimum, halfway. They were okay comfort wise, nothing special.

and just for kicks, I tried the LCD-XC (the newer membrane version) - it blew me away completely! I'd say maybe a tad much bass but it was pretty fun at the same time. And after going back and forth with all the other headphones for an hour or so these just were a level higher so they killed everything else. Not sure if it would have the same result if I picked like a Focus Elear or something to compare but I stopped at that point before things got too expensive The one thing that lets them down is the weight of course, but they were really comfortable otherwise. They were driven to good enough voumes by my Macbook though, and that was a bit of a surprise.

Overall in the price range, I guess sound wise I'd rank them Sine>99>HD630>Momentum2.
So in the end, I'm still undecided and might just stay without a headphone for a while and stick to my Klipsch x10 at work for now. Save more and decide later what I want to do.

 

The Sine clamp can be mitigated with some slow stretching of the headband. Additionally the pads break in a bit too and become more comfortable, but it's never going to be the most comfortable headphone out there.

 

Here's my stock silver screen black box HD650 vs my stock HD800 (sn. 22xxx)

HD650: Pink Trace
HD800: Green Trace


HD800 has flatter and cleaner bass, so there's more "sense" of bass extension in my experience, although both have good bass extension.
Same happens with K702 and DT880, both extend quite well, but K702 is flatter and cleaner so the sub bass is more apparent.

 

Hi there.

I'm in similar shoes as @jayeshrc. Looking for closed headphones that I'll be using for work. I'm currently using a AKG k267 with HM5 pads. One of my primary concerns is actually comfort and isolation, I really would like some more comfort. Let's even put it here: I'm willing to pay more / sacrifice in SQ to get better comfort and isolation. I still will not look at is as a worthy investment if I don't believe I'm getting at least a decent SQ improvement over the k267.

To elaborate on the comfort I'm going to say, I'm extremely sensitive to ears touching cups - the k267 is the first headphone ever where this doesn't bother me. But my ears get too hot from them instead. I have I believe a bit over average sized ears (momentum 1's were not even close , haven't tried 2's), and pretty much any on-ear supra aural things bother me just as much as touching the insides of cups (well kind of the same spot on the ears that is touched).

Now I should talk about sound. Well, I'm not nearly as experienced as most of you. I live somewhere where I don't really get a chance to audition stuff that much. There is no community ETC. But here is what I know: I like the 7xx a lot, also the HD6X0 from auditioning sounds great (would love to spend more time with it). I think I enjoy a slightly darker or warmer signature as I'd have a hard time choosing between the 650 and 600. Anyway, I think I like most things that are close to neutral and not lean in the bass area pretty much.

Anyway I'm going on a business trip to the states beginning of next month and I plan to order a set of closed over ears to the hotel. I finally have some money I can justify on something nice for work and am looking at going for something as high as 500$ headphones and around a 100$ dac/amp to improve my topping (higher if needed, see below).

What I'm looking at:

Oppo PM-3: I'm a little afraid of the fact that it has been called boring by a large portion of those that describe it. I'm also not convinced it is an improvement in the comfort region. It is a headphone I've wanted for a while, but the more I read about it now the less confident I'm in it.

Meze Classic 99: Just discovered these recently. I think I can enjoy the funner signature while at work especially. I'm very unconvinced of the comfort though and one of the more common complaints is ear touching.

Talos: I've read everything from "I consider them semi open" to "they isolate very well, finally a good closed can that isolates well". I believe that these could have some sweet comfort. I understand I might need to put a bit more towards the amp for these, but that's fine, they are cheaper.

ZMF Classics: I don't know - I have absolutely zero comparisons of these two t50rp mods. So these have some seriously high quality pads, but they are leather but they are lambskin leather so maybe they are cooler than pleather? I have no idea

Shure SRH1540: This one has the comfort nailed, holy shit does it look delicious. However the "high volume" (and maybe not even so "high") issues on a 500$ headphone have me on edge. However this one I can actually audition in a local shop, which my plan has been to do this week (still haven't gone, I'll make it tomorrow!)

Okay sorry I kind of just typed away, maybe someone enjoys reading it or gets through it at least Well I'm pretty much just looking for any information regarding comparisons on comfort sound etc, anything anyone wants to throw at me. I'll try to puzzle together the pieces and make a decision. The final twist in this is that I have a very limited time to make up my mind if I want to go for the t50rp mods - but that's just my problem. I'll even have to contact the makers to make sure they can have it delivered in time if I want to do it.

Well then there is the amping. I'd kind of optimally just want a minimal looking amp - I don't really want to be the guy with the brick at work, drawing even more attention to my headphones. I'm at work to work you know, not be distracted by my personal audio setup Here I was leaning towards a fulla schiit but I've seen something of QC issues but don't know if it has been fixed. Any alternatives? and would something in that class drive the t50rp mods?

TL;DR: looking for any interrelated information between the headphones mentioned or of course alternatives under 500$ and finally an inexpensive amp recommendation.

 

Have you considered the Momentum 2? I haven't been following how much they go for new now but that would be my recommendation. Comfort is greatly improved over the first generation, the pads are very plush and pillow-like, and there is a whole lot of room in the cups so there should be no issue with your ears touching the driver. As far as signature goes they do have a slightly darker, warm and smooth sound that does not have much in the way of treble excitement. It has a mid-bass hump and a hint of mid forwardness that can still be really engaging however, and it is pretty forgiving of poorer source quality.

I found the PM-3 super boring sounding as well, and while they sensitive I think they need more power than a phone or even a cheap portable amp gives to sound anywhere near their price point. The pad openings are pretty damn small as well, suitable for little girl ears but they sit more on-ear than over on an average male head.

I don't think the SRH1540 sounds very good at all, but since you have the opportunity to try it you may as well see if it's your cup of tea.

 

@Calibrationist I just tried the PM-3 last weekend, and I've owned both HD 600 and 650 before, so maybe my impressions can help you a little. I've also had problems with earcups touching--Shure 440 and AKG 553--so I understand your concerns there.

The PM-3 was really well built, comfortable, and isolated well. It folds flat too, which can be a boon if you want to bring it back with you from work (e.g. maybe you don't feel comfortable leaving it in the office, maybe you want to use it on the commute).

I only tried this headphone out of a Sansa Clip, so it's possible I wasn't amping them well enough; then again, they're marketed as portable headphones, so it's reasonable to expect them to do decently well without an amp. FWIW I thought they were unexciting. BUT: they didn't do anything poorly, the sound was well-balanced, and I could easily use them long-term without listener's fatigue. The PM-3 is less warm than a HD 650.