Best HiFi listening phones for a gift 300-1k USD?

(first time poster!) I'm buying a gift for my partner, who doesn't know much about music, but certainly enjoys listening to it. Personally, I'm using HEDDphones for reference when I can't use my monitors for mixing/recording purposes.

But as a gift for my partner, it's a diff story. He's neither a professional musician nor an audiophile. Once I played him some stuff in my old tracking phones, Sennheiser HD280, and he was super impressed by the sound. I'd like to blow his socks off for his birthday. But I have to think about what he'd like, rather than what I think he 'should' like.

Luckily, I know his priorities: isolation (def closed back), comfort for longer wearing sessions, looks, durability, warm tone, fullness, detail, and total immersion. He also likes convenience, listening mostly on his laptop but at times on iphone too, so preferably something that doesn't need a separate headphone amp or eq plug, though as they make tiny portable amps the size of phones now that aren't that expensive, that could work too.

His musical taste is eclectic, and as he played clarinet for many years, he tends to like music that features it: experimental Finnish Klezmer, Roma influenced French experimental lounge music (w/clarinet), also the occasional Norwegian death metal, quirky minimalist but not lo-fi indie rock stuff (ie: Pinbacker), some Pink Floyd, but nothing EDM or bass heavy. I must admit I may want to steal them for more fun listening on occasion if my reference oriented stuff gets too harsh for listening for fun.

I'd prefer to pay in the 300-400 USD range, but I'd be willing to go higher if he'd be likely to notice a difference that's worth it.

Which would you get him?

I've heard really good things about the following (listed in order that I'm tending towards, highest first) :

Top Tier:
- Oppo PMF-3 (kinda look cheap, vinyl earpads, get great reviews for sound! currently I'm thinking these are perhaps the best bet, but not sure)
- Meze 99 Classic (reviews say super warm and balanced sound, seems great all-rounder, looks great too, will those thingies on the top break?)
-Monoprice M1060C (wobbly assembly, but planar at low imped, supposedly punches way above weight in sound, but perhaps a little grating in upper mids?)

2nd Tier:
- Audeze LCD-2c closed back(requires amp, looks amazing, more refined than monoprice, is the extra cash worth it?)
- Focal Elegia (seems like a good all rounder, seems sturdier than many others, but overly tight fit on the head, breaks easily?)
- ZMF Classic (is this still available, where did it go? requires amp)
-Aeon Flow Closed Back (don't know much about this)


Prob not?:
- Grado Limited Hemp (damn pretty, great sound, but on the ear likely not isolating)
- Neumann NDH20 (great monitors, but too clinical sounding?)
- HiFiman? (seems all open backed, I know he likes isolation)

 

You in NYC? Take him somewhere to audition. It's best if he decides what's comfortable. Also Oppo PM 3s aren't made anymore. Pads are a pain to replace. Most importantly

https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/new-members-introduce-yourself.17/

Edit: second @Lyander , Fostex TH-X00 are great, but heavy as he'll.

 

Welcome to the forum!

Sorry for the poke but generally it's better to put general-purpose requests like these in the all purpose advice thread as that keeps things from getting cluttered: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/the-all-purpose-advice-thread.19/

That all aside, just based on the ones I've demoed among your list you're running the gamut as far as sound signatures go. You mentioned your partner likely wanting a nice warm presentation, and I can kinda say the Meze 99s aren't that— it could just be my head and ears but they're really more a dark and bloopy sorta sound, though with excellent sense of immediacy and detail retrieval. The Brainwavz Microsuede pads do rein in the bass and give it a lovely sound with less-offensive treble (there was always something in the treble that made it a bit unpleasant for me).

The Oppo PM3s are out of production last I checked and there may be some trouble finding replacement pads that will replicate the sound of stock if it turns out you like how they sound normally (dammit, scooped by @Wilson! ).

These are also out of production but pop up on the used market reasonably often: the Audioquest Nighthawk may fit the bill because it isolates pretty well for its being semi-open, and it's certainly warm. Excessively so I think but hey, there are people who genuinely like the sound. The pads may also be a pain in the poohole to replace though, moreso because they've a strange shape.

The Fostex TH-X00 Ebony is nice and clean sounding, pretty level apart from a lower-mid recession (so it's not warm) but impressive sub-bass and an enjoyably overall profile, just a tad too much midtreble. Per Tyll in an old InnerFidelity article the EMU-Teak is a warmer voicing of the same; haven't heard it yet but I've been wanting to. The Foster/Denon/EMU kids are all only semi-closed though, but again with good isolation.

I liked the Beyerdynamic DT1770 Pro save for a bit of treble weirdness (which is... typical of Beyer), but I did think an overall warm listen, and it's fully closed besides. Not bad resolving capability per demo, but yeah I'm planning to maybe revisit that once things calm down on my end. There is a new DT177X GO variant released on Drop that appears to be a better-voiced version of the same, and it's honestly rather exciting to me because that would make for a compelling closed-back.

The DT880 (stick with 250ohm or 600ohm versions, the 250 works well enough out of a mobile) has a similar profile and is significantly less pricey. It was my daily driver for years and it wasn't until I got into the "bass + hyperresolution" camp that I decided to finally let go of it. Warm and pleasant listen, just a slight elevation in the low-midtreble on modern units, but the headstage can be a bit odd. It's semi-open and isolates reasonably well.

Do you think he'd be willing to look into IEMs? +1 what Mr. Volleyball said about demoing gear being the best way to figure out what'll really work for your partner.

 

... and also consider Airpods Pro.

 

Consider the Beyerdynamic 1770 Pro (available through Drop as the tweaked/improved 177X Go) or Sony WH-1000XM4.

 

Hello All!

Seems I didn't realize there was a set of rules here that differ from some other forums I'm on. My bad, sorry about that. I will introduce myself in the appropriate thread ... also, sorry this thread is in the wrong place. Can a mod move it to all purpose advice where it belongs?
Thanks for the quick and warm welcome! I'm used to Gearslutz (gasp, I know), which is a bit more rough and informal ...
basically, I was stumbling around looking for advice, saw this forum, liked its advice better than some others, decided to join, didn't realize it was more of a club of sorts. I do appreciate the warm welcome.

(Reading the rules, I must admit that I'm a white guy that thinks the term "Chi-Fi" is racist. The partner I'm buying for is Chinese-American. Should I need to have to say that? I don't think so, though perhaps its relevant. Regardless, I think anyone should be enraged by racism. And I don't think 'no harm meant by it' is harmless.)

Back to phones. In normal times, yes, audition in person, but with covid, even with masks, I really want to limit time indoors with others in public, not even sure most places like this are open to the public yet. Honestly, hadn't even thought of going to a physical store these days, been hiding from covid in cabin in the poconos. Seems safest to have it shipped here, audition, sell/return what doesn't work.

I briefly used a DT-880 once in a tracking situation, 250 ohm, no headphone amp (would figure something rated for 250 ohms would need one tho, but you can run one out of a mobile what, amp, phone, computer?), mixes sounded fine, but damn it made synths sound harsh and shrill.

Oppo went out of business?! Wow. Pm-3 got lots of great reviews on line not long ago. There are still units available tho. So are the vinyl earpads so bad they will likely need to be replaced? And Nighthawk seems similarly discontinued despite getting great reviews. Is this normal in this industry?!

I had no idea IEMs were now being used for audiophile purposes. Wow. Maybe that is the best way to go. Where to start learning about those, eek.

Basically, I've got a ton of recording and synth experience, but very little experience with headphones. Any advice or input recommended, I def feel out of my depth here!

Fostex makes good headphones? I thought they only made second rate home recording gear... emu? Aren't they an out of business synth company (that also made some stunning voice chips)?

 

I wouldn't recommend the DT 880. Unless Beyer has drastically changed the tuning since I bought mine, they are kind of bright and nasty, and isolate poorly.

 

It all may be overkill if he's listening out of a laptop/ phone. Might be better off with some https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...heart-headphone-review-and-measurements.3511/

 

While I find myself in disagreement with a lot of the politics expressed by some here, that's part of why I've chosen to stick around— keeping an eye on different perspectives keep me from turning into a bigot in my own way, and if nothing else it's a quick n' easy method to temper my... temper!

I get what you mean, though, but perhaps my being Asian and having grown up inured to certain unpleasantries has led to my developing different sensibilities when it comes to being quite blasé about talking doodoo about other people, specifically with regard to race and ethnicity. I've grown Westernised in my twenties, however, and get pissed when people on my end make myopic and hateful remarks as befits current social trends. It does get stressful at times, not gonna lie, but there's something to be learned from candid but polite (not a contradiction!) discourse where people learn why we have differing beliefs the way we do.

Just not necessarily here, as politics as a topic of discussion is discouraged. We're mostly here to have fun with music I suppose. Do hope you stick around, the forum does seem to be headed in a generally kinder direction... much to the chagrin of some people who liked being assbutts.

The Fostex headphones get a fair bit of love around here, and even more when modded to tame some of their idiosyncrasies. While they do have their shortcomings (mostly treble roughness and, in my experience, build quality— have a small scar on the side of my head from when the gimbal hinge cracked and the one cup flew off), the sound you get out of them is grand, all massive and roomy and with surprising detail considering their being closed backs. The X00s I had ran well out of a phone, as did all the other CM Foster gear I've tried e.g. TH-900 and Klipsch HP-3. I know others love the Creative Aurvana Live! headphones as being a lot of that same biodynamic driver sound for much less money and the E-MU Purplehearts linked just above are a snazzier version of the same.

Offhand recommendation, Campfire Cascade. Properly closed back, spectacular build quality, perhaps not the last word in resolution or nuance at its price point but not horrible by any stretch of the imagination. Big honkin ol bass boost that's at least of better quality than the Meze 99 despite being so ludicrously massive, but also with a bit of low-treble hardness that hurt at higher SPLs. Easy to tame the bass with mods.

As for things getting discontinued... pretty much! I have my suspicions about the Klipsches myself because of stocks drying up and if I had the cash I'd buy a backup pair because I do love the sound. Sigh. At the end of the day people make headphones for profit, and when the ROI fails to meet expectations they take what profits they've accrued and decide not to risk another investment; long-lived and well-loved makes like the Sennheiser HD600/HD650 or Koss Portapro/ESP-950 are atypical, heck, even the original HD800 has been discontinued for a while.

Not sure what to say about the DT880 but make sure the one you get has a felt disc on the ear-facing side of the driver as those ones seem to be more tolerable in the upper registers. I have some measurements of my old pair here, and do keep in mind that this is with the front foam completely disintegrated so that's one less layer of damping. These are pretty sketch RAW calibration measurements taken with mics flush against MiniDSP EARS canal opening, both FR traces measure maybe 4dB higher than they should between 7~11kHz, probably reflections from the silicone.

Of course, I could just be deaf

Lastly, good on you for sheltering in place, that's laudable. I've been stuck home since early/mid March and while I do find myself growing more irritable at times, it's for the best. I live with my family and both parents have preexisting conditions, so risking them getting infected is [lots of expletives].

 

So having started looking into IEMs, I must say that while I would probably not get them, I suspect he might like the nura loop IEMs. any thoughts on these?

Oppo PM-3 still seems like a good all rounder, and I guess the Drop Panda is the successor. Wonder how this compares to the Monoprice 1060c.

(and Lyander, agree with what you said, and appreciate your thoughts on politics. The reason I brought up the topic at all was because of a statement about the term in the stuff for new members. https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...af-10-articles-for-behavior.5555/#post-182622 if anything made me not want to stick around, it was seeing that, so I figured it was worth saying something at least.)

So I keep hearing these EMU Purple heart are quite good, but they are so cheap, what's the deal? Biodynamic?

 

What about the Sony wh-1000xm3 or xm4? Can be used wired or wireless. Noise cancelling. Portable. Has decent EQ which you can help him fuss with to fine tune the sound.

Either that or I would second the Emu Teak recommendation, although you will want to replace the stock pads with something like the ZMF suede universe non-perforated pads. The stock pads are too cramped and uncomfortable. Also, order it with the removable cables. Stock cable is hard wired and way too long and stiff for portable use.

 

For non-audiophiles, I second @Elnrik'ssuggestion for a quality pair of wireless NC headphones. They're the most practical gift for most people, work well with smartphones, notebooks, and tablets, and sound good without fussing with DACs or amps. This is also speaking as someone who has given everything from Schiit stacks to a KGSSHV for family and friends and realized that normal people just want something that works, doesn't require arcane button presses and exotic cables, and sounds reasonably good.

You have four options worth considering:

• Sony WH-1000XM4
• Sony WH-1000XM3
• Bose QuietComfort 35 II
• Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700

I'm not familiar with the Bose 700s but the reviews seem to be good. The 700 are better for calls and the QC 35 II are better for audio.

If you want to get wireless IEMs, you have two reliable options unless you want to mess with Anker which I don't recommend:

• Sony WF-1000XM3
• Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2

I think some Costcos may have the WH-1000XM4 in stock if you just want to be done with it and get the 2%+2% cashback. The Sony software is solid and the WH-1000XM4s have LDAC.

 

@fromthepuggle The EMU recommendation was a way of asking if the sound quality of your partner's laptop/ phone would hold back the performance of the other headphones being written about. There are a lot of good portable/ small form factor DAC/ amp combos that may help realize your generous gift's potential.