Focal - Clear MG

I listen to dozens of headphones every month & have worked in audio/music for 30 years. Im immediately thinking that the Focal Clear MG (1500 USD), may be absolutely perfect for you. They're technically an open back, but I have headphones that are technically closed back which are more open. I recently sold mine but ONLY because I have a silly amount of headphones & I have individual headphones that can do exactly all the things that the Clear MG can, but better (but none are an all rounder and all are 3000-4000 except my HD800 which I use almost exclusively for gaming. That doenst mean they're a jack of all trades, master or none - they're a bloody good set of headphones and are extremely versatile. The ONLY issue with the MG (and this is more than likely a blessing in disguise) is that they will clip if you try & push them loud - esp with sub bass... but you/I/we shouldn't really be listening to music at that level anyway. They're *ridiculously* easy to drive. You absolutely do not need a dedicated dac/Amp - just plug them into anything with a headphone jack and bam, there you go... this is to point that you can even plug them straight into a Playstation 5 controller, and they sound great - you can't say that about many headphones! Great for gaming, great for music... NOT good for travel as music will leak out given they are open back. If you can stretch to 2500, you can get the Focal Stellia, which are usually 3000, but I know moon audio are selling them for 2500 USD right now. I did keep these... they are fully closed back & they are IMO significantly better. Some people still prefer the Clear MG. Good review of the Stellia from a a reliable source - https://youtu.be/WvewtNDXDaI?si=iHLSbhZU2k906ZOD I've never needed to see a review of the Clear MG, so I don't know of one I'd recommend.

If you’re willing to EQ for impact the Arya is a good bet. Clear MG probably better tuning for you out of the box. Bit of a left field suggestion but check out the ZMF Bokeh Closed. Seems to fit your criteria. Not sure about shipping/pricing to the EU though.

I had the Clear Mg and liked them so much (EQ’d to Harmon target) that I bought the Utopia 2022 without even hearing them when a shop in Australia had them on a massive discount. I probably should have just stopped at the Mg but it was too good of a deal to pass up. Haven’t really touched another pair since then or had any desire to look. Other than going back to the 6XX from time to time to sort or cleanse my pallet so to speak but I always go strait back to the Utopia. Anyway just nice to meet another headphone enjoyer outside r/Headphones lol.

Yea I only use these to watch YouTube videos, sports on the go and taking calls/FT. If I want to listen critically it’s always going to be on my Focal Clear MG with a Mojo DAC, on a Z Fold 6 tuned with Rootless James DSP. I know the average person will think this is overkill, but if you value something enough and have the means to pay for it why sell yourself short. A lot of people that claim to like music for some reason don’t invest more into enjoying it but will spend exuberantly on more popular hobbies. If you like it enough invest in it if you can.

Out of the options you listed, I would probably say Focal Clear MG, as it definitely fit the bill for the most energetic/dynamic sounding headphone, the only drawback is the small soundstage and comfort. You should def consider Meze 109 Pro as well, its also very energetic/dynamic headphone with lighter/comfortable fit, and soundstage is bigger than Focal Clear.

i dont use bluetooth if i can avoid it. i want wired on all my things. as for headphones i never used earpods. i had FULL over the ear headphones from like 9th grade on.... i never broke a wire. the wire was thick, id say slightly larger than a #2 pencil i also carried an amp with me off a 9v and later a lith ion battery. i built it into an altoids case for use with my creative nomad jukebox which i also took out the 10gb hard drive and copied over the first chunk of sectors to a new 120gb drive. man making playlists ON THE FLY with the volume wheel as a scroll button with modded firmware was A FUCKING GAME CHANGER!!!!! there was a time (10th grade?) that i took a motorcycle battery and put that into my backpack wtih a creative 2.1 computer speaker system. that shit bumped! you could feel it vibrate the floor in the halls when id set it by my friends lockers. anyway yea, i much prefer wired headphones. now days i have two pairs - a focal MG and a pair of beyerdynamic DT1990 iirc back in high school i had Technics DJ1200 K's

Listening to them as I write this. Technically a fist impression but like I know what I'm listening for and done all my test songs so I feel confident on how I feel. They sound great, shocker right. The big thing is music just sounds correct in these. Good bass extension so still fun. Look if you can spend 500 plus tax on a pair of cans and sound is the most important feature to you it's no brainer my issue kinda everything else. They are comfortable and have decent ANC. For the price though the build is a little disappointing. They silver plastic yokes look a little goofy and I hat ethe fact the ear pads are pleather like yes they are nicer than most for that but I am really upgrading from a momentum 3 which had sheepskin leather pads that are still in great condition 7 years later but these will peel eventually which is sad. Also the size adjustment on the yokes is too loose it gets out of shape easily just jumping is enough to cause a shift. The main reason I'm making this though is that I've realized in my upgrade path from my mm3 I really just wanted better anc the sq in it's probably EQ was good enough and the build was great so it's been kinda disappointing finding all these options are always worse is some or more ways. Like I first bought the focal clear mg( don't have a pic because somehow I forgot take a pic of or I can't find it) which was built and sounded great but the anc boomed a bit when you walked and the suede headband is a bad choice on a headphone I plan to use and abuse so I returned it after a week. Then I decided to get a px8 which. Is builder well* but sounds like doodoo like it's fine for yt but music just sounds wrong most of the time. It was comfortable but the leather" they use is like as thin as possible so it feels like pleather. And now these. For reference I own and have owned audeze Maxwell, LCD 4 Sennheiser hd6xx hd800 mm3 HDB 630 Sony ier z1r, focal clear mg, neaumann kh120 and have owned LCD 2, abyss Diana tc, focal bathys mg and tin p1. The expensive stuff I buy used because it's usually 50% less. So I feel I have a decent ground to stand on I've also heard most good headphones besides hifiman stuff. My personal favorite is a Harmon auto eq like setting for my LCD 4. But recently with these bathys mg and HDB 630 and Maxwell all overall have similar tuning to be in the hrt preference curve. For me when I hear these music sounds right and correct and good but just eh like when I hear it in not blown away ever so maybe it's because I have such nice stuff that the other stuff doesn't excite but it's been kinda a downer and why I don't mind the px8 as much though again to be clear I don't enjoy music on it. But like I have tried Bose qc and they sounded like they were underwater so if I was used to that and tried any of these I can see why they are incredible. Basically my recommendation is buy the best you can afford and don't buy anything else as usually you are disappointed lol. But yeah as a review they are great a little bulky and the yokes have a rattle in hand but not on head and they stick out so far that even with wind mode on their is wind noise when walking from the great walks protruding from your ears. If you have any questions lmk happy to answer. Also I got to say the bathys mg are not worth 1300 or 1500 if you find them used for 400-600 then I would start considering it is definitely a nice pair of cans just not built to the 1500 price even remotely but at least it has leather pads. I might get the px8 s2 if I decide to return these sennys btw the senns have marginally better anc than px8 and no boom when walking but the Bose qc stomps all over both for anc. Best headphone I've probably ever heard is either my LCD 4 or an dca Corina on a blue Hawaii that I hear at my local hifi shop.

Yeah, the HD600 are magical in the mids. Not even my focal clear mg pro can beat it, but in general, it outperforms the HD600 by far. I'm very suprised, that you prefer them over the HD660S2, which sounds much better for instrumentals in my opinion. But glad, you have compared them and now you can sleep well. :D

I haven't tried the DCA, but from everything I've heard, experienced, and seen from reviews, even the best closed planars can't compete with good open-back planars. So if isolation isn't a huge priority, I'd eliminate that. The LCD doesn't have a ton of advantages to Hifiman, and if comfort is a concern, I'd eliminate that as well. I think it comes down to Focal vs Hifiman, and I think for your EQ preference you might prefer the Focal. That said, I personally prefer the Hifiman sound signature. But I just EQ a bit more bass, and the treble peaks for Hifiman don't bother me. The Focals I've tried actually bother me more in the treble. Generally, that part is really subjective.