Dan Clark Audio - Alpha Prime

The LCD 2 classic was literally the first high end headphone I ever tried close to 1k dollars. It's one of the worst sounding headphones I've tried. No bass weight, dark, slow, lacking dynamics, classic planar thinness to the sound, but detailed and not harsh. All the dynamics I've tried have been much closer to the sound I like. Punchier, snappier, weightier, more engaging, more meat to the sound while still being intricate enough in the details to have nice clarity. My current top headphones, out of what I've tried so far in 15 years, are: EMU Teaks (closest overall, and still my top main headphone. It has the bass weight, speed, engagement, details, smooth treble while retaining clarity, good imaging, and comfortable. It has some areas it could be better like instrument speration could be slightly better, and overall microdetails while not lacking at all could still be bumped up slightly, as long as it didn't sacrifice the overall tuning. But those are nitpicks compared to the other headphones). Denon 7200 (comes in a very close second, price and comfort were the main issues here. Otherwise it's sound has all the same traits from the Teaks that I love) Audio Technica R70x (whatever was the most recent version. Snappy, engaging sound, good details, smooth treble, tight precise imaging, decent enough bass, but a little dry overall as a whole) Fiio FT1 (a little harsh on treble, lacks detail in the mids) Harmonicdyne x Z Reviews Eris (this one surprised me by how much I liked it, the mids are just barely too recessed, and the bass is just barely too boomy, but it's all clean and snappy with good details, no treble issues, and good imaging) Sennheiser HD650 (classic sound, just lacks some bass extension that I'd prefer, but good engagement and smooth treble) Otherwise the only planar I ever liked was the Mr. Speakers Alpha Prime I used to own. It had the bass I loved, good meat to the sound and mids, with only a minor treble peak causing some issues on certain songs. Plus great imaging and details. Comfort was ok, the cups didn't articulate enough to fit my head perfectly. All the other planars I've tried, the LCD 2 classic, the DCA E3, Sundara, all had a thinner lighter sound I didn't enjoy. The Sundara got closest to what I liked, the other two where both similarly lacking dynamics/engagement/too thin and light, but on opposite ends of the tuning spectrum. The E3 is brighter, faster, and tight. While the LCD 2 was darker, muddier, and laid back. I have a Schiit jotunheim and had a magni unity to power everything, so lacking drive wasn't a factor. I'd love to try every headphone that exists, my experience is only limited to what I could buy and return easily so far. Or sell at a reasonable price. Like I'd love to hear the Meze planars, and the Final Audio flagships. Or give the ZMF Caldera Closed a test run. But all of those are way outside my budget now lol.

Yeah trying to find good headphones that had the right amount of detail and clarity, with great bass, that don't have some sort of treble issue was tough. My ears just don't agree with the way treble is presented in many headphones. It just makes headphones that I would've otherwise enjoyed be completely unlistenable. Or many of them had a thinner overall sound than I'd ever want, making my music sound completely unrealistic/anemic. A live concert has tons of meat to the sound, with deep powerful detailed bass, while still maintaining clarity and detail in the mids, and not piercing my ears with obscene treble. I've only ever wanted headphones that could get close to the tuning of those sound systems (obviously within the limitations of what a headphone can do vs a massive live concert setup). The ones I listed that I liked the most, so far, are what get closest to that tuning and experience. It helps connect me to my music better and feels closest to what seeing those artists/bands live sounds like. Where the music just engages you and moves you, but still has all the details and clarity a headphone can provide. I'm just glad there's at least some brands/manufacturers that cater to that preference.