105 AER

Just to let you know I bought the Meze 105 aer thanks to your recommendation and a bit of research. They are exactly what I was looking for and I love them so thanks again .

Thanks , exactly the info I was looking for

Meze 105 aer. Great headphones. Super comfortable. Sound is like a 560s with slightly more bass. They're just superb.  And they are easily serviceable if needed

I don't know about the blackshark but I can tell you my experience switching from cloud alpha to 560s. At first the 560s seem to have a lot less bass because of the neutral tuning and open instead of closed back build. The bass punchiness is missing. The sound profile is bright, similar to cloud alpha so I enjoyed the sound from the beginning. It was just perfect, no eq needed  The detail retrieval of the 560s, imaging and soundstage were much better. After using them for about 2 weeks they seem to have more bass. The brain tunes in to the new sound. But I still loved the alphas so after a year of 560s I bought a new pair of alphas (I gave the old one away). But... they did not sound as I remembered :)) Bass was muddy, details were missing, treble was further away. You don't notice so much the upgrade as you notice the downgrade after using the 560s for a while. The 560s are excellent headphones. They have superior soundstage, great detail, great imaging, you hear everything from footsteps to whispers. They are audiophile headphones. People refer to them as mid range probably because they have mid range build quality. But for sound I think they can be considered high end. They can trade blows with the hd600 which are high end. 560s has a wider soundstage and an extended bass response.  Music sounds very good. Voices like Enya, or ballades from Roxette sound divine. I really tried to find a difference between 560s and 600 but apart from soundstage they sounded identically. Same voice, same tonality, same dynamics etc. The velour earpads and open back don't cause much heating. The earpads are bigger than usual, they are lighter than most headphones and are really comfortable. They run just fine on a good motherboard audio or a good usb dongle. No separate dac/amp needed. Beside them getting louder you won't notice a quality or sound difference. I also tested hd599, hd600, meze 99, meze 105aer, beyerdynamics dt770, ananda nano and some I can't remember. In the end the 560s for me is the best pair. With a little bit of desire to also get the 105aer. The reason I gave up my alphas was that the earpad's fake leather broke down and I could not find original replacements. Any other earpad alters the sound dramatically because of different sizes. But the 560s share the same earpad with many other sennheiser models so replacements should be easier to find. Also velour should be more durable than pleather. So yes, at 120 eur they are a best buy. I don't think you could get anything better. 

Secret option #3. Meze 105 AER.

Why not? To my hears it has smoother high end, warmer sound overall, nicer low end, and is levels above in comfort. Build quality also worth mentioning, although the Senn are absolutely well built also.

Hi! Looking to buy a pair of audiophile open back over ears for around 350 eur (must be available in Europe, plus minus 100 eur if there's a strong reason either way). To date I've had every version of airpods / pro / max, shp9500, x2hr, x3, all bose qc, a few momentum and X-phones, iems like Hola which lead to hexa and pure. So Tldr, mostly optimized for ease of use and anc given always on run / lots of travel days with exception for some great deals on Philip cans that I use at the desktop for gaming / bass heavier music. With a new job and more time at desk in closed offices (alone) want to invest in a pair of better open back over ears; however I will still switch offices and rooms so will have to run with a portable amp/dac setup like qudelix 5k or similar. I'm allergic to shitty durability and qc, so unfortunately I can't get myself to buy a pair of last gen hifiman flagships like sundara / xs (:(). Also considered ar5000 but joints seem to break like crazy, and same with f1 pro (better on later versions?). Guess that leaves sennies, ath-r70x/xa, beyers? I have a big head with relatively big ears too, so comfort matters. As a final note, I do most my listening while working, so I want something a bit more fun / warm than purely critical / analytical. Bonus if I can run them straight from Mac / iPhone. Leaning towards hd 550 (easy to drive, seems serviceable, ok for larger heads, good reviews, slightly more fun?) - could that be a solid buy for my preferences? Other ideas? Much appreciate your input and ideas!

Picked them up yesterday! Realize my ears need to break in, but honestly first impression is magnificent. The quality - in packaging, in build, in sound - really impressed me. It's fantastic to listen to music in a relaxed musical way, that still has so much clarity and detail. I think these were spot on for me. And the store offered me an early black friday deal, making it even better!

I’m literally wearing headphones right now. And I wear glasses. 1. Ensure the earpads have good pliability or a suitable adjustment (some headphones have a notch for glasses) 2. Make sure the clamping doesn’t impact an area you’re sensitive to (for example, in my case, the back of my ears) 3. Bigger ear pocket = better. Avoid pressure on the ear when possible. I usually use the HD599 or Meze 105 AER when gaming and both of these are great for long use with glasses. (I also have the PC38X and it’s good, but has a higher clamping force. I did need to stretch the PC38X some, though, using the book trick.) Note that I have bigger ears. 4. Thinner frames = better. Especially if they sit closer to your head. Some of my glasses are by Nike, and their form factor can become an issue because they don’t hook, they press behind the ear. Talk to your friendly neighborhood vision store, and they can help adjust that. I would not recommend a switch to earbuds all the time. I mean you can, but depending on the type (mostly IEMs) you might run into ear infection issues if you don’t use them right or use them too long. Consider also

HD599 lover here. I have a lot of headphones and IEMs: Meze 105 AER, 105 Silva, Empyrean, Elites; Focal Bathys, Azurys, Clear OG; Grado SR80X, sr325x; Sennheiser HD380 Pro, PC38X, Hd599, Momentum 4, Momentum 3, Accentum; Bose, Sony, Master & Dynamic, Bowers & Wilkins… and more. And the HD599’s are my daily drivers. They’re what I base my opinion about everything else on. The other ones that compete? Meze105 Aer, Grado sr325x. So yeah. I get it. Enjoy :-)

1. Comfort. Simply put, great comfort all around. 2. Smooth vocals, big focus on them. 3. Scales well with amps. I use them with my Blue Yeti mic most of the time. But when I’m listening to music, I switch to the iFi Go Link or the Chord Mojo 2. These both sound great, especially with a bit of bass boost. The comfort and vocal focus are why they’re my daily drivers at work: I spend all day listening to voices so the smooth vocals are of utmost importance. The PC38X are great at this, too, but not as comfortable. The music performance is a great bonus, and it’s why I often swap the HD599 for the Meze 105 AER: it has better musical performance with similar smoothness and comfort. But the ear cups are smaller and I have big ears, so that’s why I like Sennheisers. I’ve been considering the HD550’s which I hear are a solid upgrade to the HD599’s, but I don’t see a real need.