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Reddit Reviews
This really is one you have to figure out for yourself. For me personally, nothing beats speakers (there's just no substitute for filling a room with sound to me plus absolutely nothing touching your face). The further away from speakers the presentation is, the less I'm interested. So as you can probably imagine, open-back headphones are my first choice when speakers aren't possible or practical. Closed-back would be my 2nd choice. IEM's are my last choice to the point that I have essentially stopped using them in my life (do note that I rarely listen to music on-the-go these days). I'm personally not a big fan of the recent IEM trend. I love that it has caused IEMs to get a lot better very quickly, and they do offer amazing value, but I really don't find them to be great for home use. My high-end headphones journey started with IEMs (Shure SE530's specifically). I wore them for hours every day. Then I got my first pair of decent over-ears (I randomly bought some Sennheiser HD 700s for a good price). Man, I never looked back. Not only do I much prefer the presentation, but my ears were a lot happier too. Long-term comfort was better (granted, most over-ear headphones are not as comfortable as the HD 700 or HD 800) and there was a lot less wax buildup to deal with. Even when I demo high-end IEMs that people rave about, such as the Forté Ears Macbeth, which overall sound great, I just am not a huge fan of the presentation or having things jammed in my ears. That ship has sailed for me. Also, do keep in-mind that electronics come into play here, both with over-ears and IEMs. Over-ears tend to benefit from the additional power that a good quality amplifier can bring. IEMs on the other hand are not power-hungry, but are low impedance and very sensitive. This comes with its own requirements (mainly an amplifier with a very low noise floor and output impedance). I'd say that you get into the territory of benefiting from upgraded electronics a bit quicker with over-ears than you do with IEMs. Ultimately, this stuff can get a bit complicated. For example, with my own personal gear collection, I own 2 planar magnetic headphones, a Dan Clark Ether Flow 1.1, and an Audeze LCD-X. With one of my amps, my Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies, the LCD-X sounds fantastic, while the Ether Flow 1.1 is just okay. The bass is kind of loose and flabby. Ultimately, my other amps are a better choice for that headphone, and it's not because of a lack of power. All of that said, there are plenty of people that absolutely love IEMs, and if you're one of them, great! There's no need to feel bad or like you're "listening wrong" or something. You do you man! No one figures out their audio tastes right away. It takes time, experience, and usually some effort.
I had Sennheiser HD700s until they died and then got some DT770s to replace them. Studio headphones sound infinitely better than gaming headsets.
Sennheiser hd 700. The best for gaming. Y play PUBG.
Sennheiser HD700/800/800S AKG K612/702/712 Phillips SHP9500/SHP9600
Agree, I'm quite sure I will never get to even hear the best over the ear cans available let alone afford them. A friend brought over his HD800S (they were great), I own HD 700's ,Arya's and XS editions. I'll be 70 in three weeks so they will probably have to do..
I had the hd700’s as well. Great sound stage. Those are great cans. I would love to be able to test great headphones but I live in the sticks. No hifi stores within 2 hours. I’m not 70 yet but I’m getting closer. 😎
I have the HD6xx from Drop along with an HD700. The HD700, though discontinued, were my favorite headphones with great dynamics and tone. To me, the Arya's are more full in the midrange and lower-mids, and just sound a bit more musical than the HD700's. Although I have to admit that I'm curious to try out the HD700's again.
whatever I put on my head and it disappears. edition XS, no matter how they sound, are clunk for me so I ended up getting rid of them. and their replacement? the xv, they sound fine but they're still bulky to me, they feel like they're on my head for the entire duration that they're on my head same with a ton of cans I own but Sennheiser HD700? they go on my head and completely disappear. I can handle almost any frequency imbalance because I love music, not gear. that said, for me, the best cans are the most comfortable cans. but I reach for them all, I'm 30ish pairs deep and I don't reach for any one more than any other fir regular listening as I don't listen for long sessions. gear is just a pathway to music and I love music.
whatever is most comfortable. because I can use EQ to make almost anything sound the way I like. but I can't make hifiman egg shape cans fit and I stopped buying them because unlike EQ, I can't form them to my head. right now, most comfy is probably a senn HD variant... 6xx 600 700 etc. those go on and almost immediately disappear. and again, as far as sound. well, the best sounding cans have DSP because it's basically built in EQ/signal correction. so THE best sound isn't coming from any default pair minus that correction. it's why old school audiophiles are shocked when they try new BT cans with anc and DSP. real talk the momentum 4 or ak9 n9 sound "better" than anything in your collection because they come out the box with EQ applied. way too long, probably didn't make it this far? I prefer comfy cans cause sound can be manipulated, hardware can't
Rankings by Use Case
Top recommendations from others in the same boat
Best for Audiophile music listening

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Sennheiser - HD 6XX
Best for Bass-heavy music

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Sennheiser - MOMENTUM 4 Wireless
Best for Competitive FPS gaming

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Sennheiser - HD 560S
Best for Guitar practice

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Best for Long-haul flights

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Sony - WH-1000XM4
Best for Marathon gaming sessions

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Sennheiser - HD 560S





