The time has come, after 6-7 years of service my Audio Technica ATH-M50 is getting annoying to wear over longer periods of time.
(I will get replacement ear-pads (which is currently the main annoyance and a good excuse to look for an upgrade) and might mod a detachable cable onto it as the current cable is just hard and the 3.5mm jack is kinda broken)
So I am on a quest for an upgrade to use at home while the ATH-M50 will continue to see use on the go, budget is no issue (within certain boundaries, I’m not paying 1000$ for a pair of headphones).
The music in use is mostly Jazz/Metal(+games), so as laughable a task as it might seem, something where you can decipher the words in “Extreme Metal” is a must
I have no idea where to start looking or what resources online are good, Any tips on headphones/trustworthy reviewers would be appreciated.
[Edit 1]
A thing i forgot to ask about was AMP/DAC/Sound-Card/whatever it is called. Not sure what the price bracket or what a decent one would be.
Massdrop HD6XX is a good starting point but going by reviews is tricky. Best is to go to a store or a meet where you can audition headphones and see what you like. You might be a basshead or a treblehead. You might prefer light headphones and cannot bare heavy planars even though the bass is to die for. Some headphones don’t work with glasses(seal) etc, so many variables and preferences.
The one i mention above for example is openback that means no isolation but a more spacious sound. They however scale if you give them a good source and amp. Plugging them into a laptop or onboard soundcard works but they won’t sound the best they can be.
I got the sennheiser hd 558 a while back, I think this is a good pair. If the hd559 is like the hd 558 I would get it. If I can go back to when I was first buying my headphones, I would buy a sennheiser headset.
I have a pair of ATH-M50Xs and a pair of HD 558 both have the stock ear pads. The HD 558 feel lighter than my M50X. The HD 558 sits on my head well and does not clamp on my head as hard as the M50Xs.
Between the two headphones I feel I can wear my HD 558 for longer periods of time than my M50Xs. If I wore my M50Xs for a long time, my ears get sore and my neck get’s tired from the weight of the M50Xs
I also wear glasses, and between the two headphones, the M50Xs feel like they are pressing my glasses frame into my head
I have a pair of HD599 that I use at work. They replaced my old dt-770. I must admit that I prefere the sennheisers, they are much more comfortable and the open design sound quality/response is preferred…
I love the sound stage on my AKG Q701s. They are not very comfortable to wear though. It sounds to me like you might benefit from an open backed design of headphones, which will cost you bass but afford you accuracy and depth.
BTW i would go with an external DAC/Amp if you can as it will deliver cleaner audio with less distortion, internal sound cards are much closer to EMI so it makes the sound a bit veiled to the ears if that makes sense. it doesn’t cost more than any internal Dac/Amp so its just a point of if you got space or not.
If not find a sound card with lots of shielding (not sure if that really does anything so yolo)
To put it simply, it really just manifests as noise. You may get a 60hz hum or whatever but you can test your equipment and personal tolerance by listening for broadband noise.
After spending the day checking out headphones, I went with Beardynamics DT 1990 Pro, liked it’s sound more than the other headphones i found in that price range
Just because it was the only one that store had which wasn’t overkill i also went with the Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 as a Preamp