I picked up a pair of Focal Clear OGs used for $700 a couple of months ago, and they’re incredible. I’ve got them paired with a Schiit Lyr+, which really takes the edge off the brightness. That’s a huge win because, for me, that was their one real drawback.
For context, I also own the HD 650s and the Hifiman Edition EX, but to me, those are a tier or two below them in sound quality. I haven’t had the chance to try other headphones in the same price bracket, so I can’t say with certainty that they’re the best in that range but I can say this: I love them, and they’ve made listening to music way more enjoyable.
Sony 7506 with beyerdynamic dt250 velour pads + LG V20 phone with EQ set to W shape EQ. I couldn’t believe the bass could sound that good on the common ol’Sony monitors. Makes me respect Sony again. I had these Sonys in one form or another for 20 years and the new pads, Quad DAC of the LG and EQ made the 7506 sound like new headphones. It completely transforms the sound. They sounded way more energetic. (I have the made in Thailand model)
On some songs, the bass sounded like explosions goes off in my head lol
Hifiman 5xx can be BASS CANNONS with the right source and bass bump. Pleasantly surprised by them. These sound like nukes going off. Lol
Also, Sony MDR-Z7m2 sound utterly sparkly like colorful unicorns are coming out of the drivers. A magical experience. Sound is refined and complex like a fine wine. Fun sound that isn’t muffled like cheaper cans. But that’s a little less of a surprise given the level of cans hierarchy.
For female vocals hifiman Edition XX sounds out of this world. Some sounds gives me goosebumps
my dad had some koss headphones, those sounded really nice. then i got koss sparkplug cuz bass. then i tried i think shure ec3 and those were horrific. thats where i learned what "thin bass" meant. they were completely unusable. then i got the athm50 and finally felt right about it. then hd650 and now hifiman edition XX
I had a pair for a long time and regret selling them.
I wanted an open back planar again and I was debating between another pair of these or the Edition XV that just released. I got the XV primarily because I heard the tuning is perfect out of the box.
Turns out it was. I'm happy I got them I definitely prefer their sound over the 2C.
I would still like a 2C again in the future though. I love the build and the pads.
Actually yeah they don't feel that far removed from an Audeze build. They are nearly all metal and pretty hefty. Even the pads are nice and plush. I always hated the pads on the original Ananda. I would say the bass sounds better to me than the 2C did. Less rolled off, more of a meaty sound all together.
Granted, I'm talking about the XV. I do think things like the Ananda and some of their other sets feel cheap. I've never had the XS but you can tell by the looks they feel cheap.
One thing I will say, when running frequency sweeps above a certain volume, I have noticed some ghost tones creep in at specific frequencies. Not sure what that was about but a lot of it went away as I've been using them. But out of the box it was like there was a tone within the tone on one channel or another at a couple different frequencies. Like 400hz and 1700hz or something.
Seems to have gone away though for the most part. I don't notice anything in every day use like music or games or anything. If I didn't frequency sweep my headphones every so often to check for driver issues, I would have never noticed. I'm thinking it's just because they are new and it will go away, I hope.
I use this set of tests
[https://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests\_headphones.php](https://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php)
well after testing the XV today, they no longer have that weird issue with freq sweeps. It sounds clean throughout the range even at high volume. It was probably just because they were brand new.
I won't argue, maybe some people like the sound of dynamic headphones, but I don't at all. They are not natural to my ears, they are blurry and slow (except, maybe, ADX5000 and Composer, didnt hear them), I can't stand it. The Focal Utopia sounded especially terrible, just disgusting. I also didn't like the Raal ribbons (single ribbon variants, had not listened to Immanis). I like the sound of the Sr Omega the most closely followed by X9000 and 007. I liked a lot Audeze LCD 4z but have no good amp for them. Given this, i judge, to my ears, IMO, dynamic drivers cannot offer me clarity, soundstage, speed, naturality and resolution of estats which is gives me top sounding to my ears.
Itsumcmuffin69
