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Reddit Reviews
I auditioned it and I can say that I can pass. It’s pretty much neutralish with emphasis on everything lol so there is bass mids and treble but I would say it has good mids and what I liked the most about it , the rest kinda meh.
I could see that. I don’t really use much public transit day-to-day but my Meze Lirics otherwise get the job done.
I don’t fly that often (1-2 times/yr), but when I do I’m generally passed out off the 1-2 drinks I had pre-flight. But even when I’m conscious, the Meze Liric is enough for me 🤷🏾♂️
probably a shade OTT but i use an ifi gryphon and a pair of Meze Lirics with a balanced cable, its a fantastic setup but people tell me im mental for wearing them out and about, its also not the most compact setup
probably the best i ever will, my current Meze Liric
Wdym koss porta pro is defintely better than the lyric II 2 reviewers didn't even rate anything higher than a 7 are we sure they even like headphones lol
I've actually changed my mind on a lot of these since posting it, but the liric remains in the same spot. I'm not good at giving specifics but the soundstage on the Lirics I found to be very impressive. If I hadn't found the stealth and given them more time, then I'd only be using the Lirics. The Liric II and E3 are often compared due to the similar price point and I'm very comfortably in the Liric II > E3 camp. 1) DCA Stealth 2) Liric II 3) DCA E3 4) Audeze LCD - XC 5) Verite Closed 6) Stellia 7) Maxwell
From best to worst: Mdr-z1r - Best bass I've heard in a headphone and thebest soundstage I've heard in a closed back. Fun treble and a decent mid range. Mezes lyric 2 - absolutely beautiful, made extremely well. Sounded pretty good, decent bass, nice midrange, just the treble was a little wonky. Focal Azurys - fun punchy little headphones. They just felt a bit too cramped for me and the treble didn't sound wrong or anything I just didn't find it interesting. Hd 660s2 - could go either way between these and the Azurys tbh. These are very close to neutral for being a closed back and have the best midrange out of anything here. Sounded about as cramped as the Azurys though and the bass wasn't as fun. I liked the treble and isolation more though, for the price they're really good.
I’ve had the emu-teaks, ft1s, Liric 2s, now have the SJY Horizon Carbon closed back and the SJY are easily my favorite. I’ve tried the dan Clark’s noire x and e3, and the ZMFs at shows (so take that for what it is worth) and like the SJY best, and that’s only using it on the Gremlin amp for now. My favorite open back are ZMF AO.
You're right, they are! Liric 1 is a close second and MDR-Z1R too. Z1R is an advantage in height as its sound stage is taller and deeper.
Analytical headphones are the best for gaming in my opinion, I have the HD 800S and many others say the DT 1990 Pro is almost up the notch. Have had the pleasure to give gaming a try with other pairs like my Sony MDR-Z1R and a Liric 1 I borrowed. They were really close in results but had some flaws compared to the Sennheiser. Not saying they are not great, but I felt like some details were misplaced or were too present due to elevation in specific frequencies (mainly gunshots from 50m towards me felt like they are 10m). Never really tried the Maxwell for gaming because I used it as my go to wireless headphone before getting the FoKus Apollo.
Sony MDR-Z1R is most certainly missing from that list, got mine for $1000 used. Without a doubt my favorite pair of cans. They are a good all-rounder, made for very casual listening and mainly work with the genres you mentioned, The bass is very deep and impactful, but there's still bleeding/bloat (muddy sound) in 250Hz-300Hz. Treble on the other hand might be fatiguing without EQ and I needed to get rid of their 3.5KHz peak You might want to take a look into the prices of replacement parts before considering this headphone. Another headphone that is barely talked about is the Final DX 3000 CL, elevated bass that is tighter and not as bloated as in the Z1R, but they are currently hard to find. Other suggestions would be: Meze Liric 1/2 if you want to increase the bass, and also the Meze Strada if you are more into dynamic drivers. From Focal you got the Azurys, Radiance and Stellia (still on your ballpark if you get them used). Radiance's bass is wider and slammier. The Stellia's mid-bass is tighter and direct with more kick. Focals are a good decision considering you like a neutral sound. Not sure about open backs but I know the Philphone is a good one, and the Focal Claer OG
My brother owns the Focals and he broke one his Stellia's drivers while hot swapping into the Radiance and opposite. Haven't yet gotten to try the Stellia with original drivers, Focals are decent but not my favorite. I like the my Z1R's more because their sound stage depth makes the bass feel like a shockwave coming from the driver to the earcups, especially with their wide diameter.
Rankings by Use Case
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