shadroth Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 HI Guys, Looking to upgrade my headphones, i have owned a pair of Shure SRH1440's for years now and think its about time to try something new. Budget is around $1500 Dont have a preference for closed or open. Will be used for mostly music, but also play games on the pc. A few i've looked at are Hifiman sundara, audeze lcd-2c, mr speakers aeon open. Any opinions on headphones to look at would be most appreciated. Thanks for reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengineer Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 (edited) HD800S Excellent performance. Light. Comfy. The *best* headphone for positional audio. Huge soundstage. Respond well to EQ. Edited July 18, 2020 by Bengineer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroth Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 8 minutes ago, Bengineer said: HD800S Excellent performance. Light. Comfy. The *best* headphone for positional audio. Huge soundstage. Respond well to EQ. I saw these but are a bit out of my budget range, annoyingly i missed a pair that sold on here for $985! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengineer Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 They have been known to go for 1500-1600. Touch under used. Be patient. Hard to beat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rx79ez08 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 What amplifier are you running? HD800/S and LCD-2 will need something slightly beefy, in which case the upgrade path become a lot more expensive. At around that price, Focal Clear is an option and it is not as demanding on the amplifier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWretchedWorld Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 (edited) Id pick the Focal Clear personally. I've previously owned the HD800S SR-009 LCD-2F and the Clear is one of the few headphones that I've held onto. I just seem to enjoy my music way more on these then I did on my previous other high end cans. Sound is subjective though and this is Clears seem to tailor to me more. My advice is to listen to them if you can before taking a plunge. Edited July 19, 2020 by TheWretchedWorld 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xr1st1anos Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 I like open back planars and have the Sundaras as my desktop headphones (ran by a schiit stack modi mb/loki/magni 3). They're reasonably price (in terms of enthusiast grade) and are easy to drive. Can't go wrong with the line up of Audezes. You can also check out Beyerdynamics 1990 pro for non planars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroth Posted July 19, 2020 Author Share Posted July 19, 2020 2 hours ago, rx79ez08 said: What amplifier are you running? HD800/S and LCD-2 will need something slightly beefy, in which case the upgrade path become a lot more expensive. At around that price, Focal Clear is an option and it is not as demanding on the amplifier. I've got an asus xonar essence one, which is old but measures pretty well, i'm looking to upgrade this too but was told to start with headphones as the asus will be fine for the moment. Focal Clears are $2199 at addicted to audio and minidisc at the moment but apparently they sold at $1200 a while ago? 1 hour ago, TheWretchedWorld said: Id pick the Focal Clear personally. I've previously owned the HD800S SR-009 LCD-2F and the Clear is one of the few headphones that I've held onto. I just seem to enjoy my music way more on these then I did on my previous other high end cans. Sound is subjective though and this is Clears seem to tailor to me more. My advice is to listen to them if you can before taking a plunge. Focal clear seems to be a good choice but is way out of my price range currently, i'll keep an eye out for second hand deals though. I'm in melbourne so cant leave the house due to lockdowns, probably just sensible i wait until i can try stuff but im impatient lol 1 hour ago, xr1st1anos said: I like open back planars and have the Sundaras as my desktop headphones (ran by a schiit stack modi mb/loki/magni 3). They're reasonably price (in terms of enthusiast grade) and are easy to drive. Can't go wrong with the line up of Audezes. You can also check out Beyerdynamics 1990 pro for non planars. I've read good reviews about the sundara and its reasonably affordable compared to the audeze/focal cans, have heard some bad stories about hifiman quality but the sundara seems to be better in that regard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rx79ez08 Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 Clear was selling at $1200 for a while, think the price bounce back after the new financial year. Haven't play with a Xonar Essence one, will be interesting to see how you go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
commawaffle Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 As someone who games/streams with his headphones and also listens to music - On 18/07/2020 at 7:45 PM, Bengineer said: HD800S Excellent performance. Light. Comfy. The *best* headphone for positional audio. Huge soundstage. Respond well to EQ. ^^^^^^ This would be the pick for solo gaming. I use a paid of the much-maligned Sennheiser HD700s which are excellent for positional audio. If yo're looking for headphones to upgrade to for listening to music, it really depends on the kinds of music you're listening to. Focal Clears are a great pick if you can find them at the right price, the LCD2C is also a great headphone to upgrade to if you're in the market for a big ol' planar sound. I have the LCD2C and LCD2Closed and they're nice headphones, but they're heavy suckers. You'll need a neck and half to support them for a long listening session. I use them to stream but I'm thinking of upgrading (sidegrading?) to a pair of Focal Elegias simply for the weight loss. As an aside - if you're gaming in multiplayer stuff and using comms open back headphones can be a pain depending how open they are. The Hifimans may cause you some grief. For amps - I've used the ASUS and it wasn't to my taste, so I'm not sure my recommendations will be relevant to you. For what it's worth - I run a Schiit Jot with multibit DAC which works great, but I'm also running a THX 789 from Drop which I very much enjoy through a hideously expensive and absolutely fantastic DAC a friend loaned me by Metrum Acoustics. Love the sound, but can't recommend it at the insane cost. Good luck with your upgrades! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroth Posted July 19, 2020 Author Share Posted July 19, 2020 17 minutes ago, commawaffle said: As someone who games/streams with his headphones and also listens to music - ^^^^^^ This would be the pick for solo gaming. I use a paid of the much-maligned Sennheiser HD700s which are excellent for positional audio. If yo're looking for headphones to upgrade to for listening to music, it really depends on the kinds of music you're listening to. Focal Clears are a great pick if you can find them at the right price, the LCD2C is also a great headphone to upgrade to if you're in the market for a big ol' planar sound. I have the LCD2C and LCD2Closed and they're nice headphones, but they're heavy suckers. You'll need a neck and half to support them for a long listening session. I use them to stream but I'm thinking of upgrading (sidegrading?) to a pair of Focal Elegias simply for the weight loss. As an aside - if you're gaming in multiplayer stuff and using comms open back headphones can be a pain depending how open they are. The Hifimans may cause you some grief. For amps - I've used the ASUS and it wasn't to my taste, so I'm not sure my recommendations will be relevant to you. For what it's worth - I run a Schiit Jot with multibit DAC which works great, but I'm also running a THX 789 from Drop which I very much enjoy through a hideously expensive and absolutely fantastic DAC a friend loaned me by Metrum Acoustics. Love the sound, but can't recommend it at the insane cost. Good luck with your upgrades! Focal clear and HD800's are outside my budget new, but will definitely keep an eye on the classifieds page/ebay etc. A mate of mine has the LCD2C but i cant get to his place to try them coz of the lockdown in melb. My shure headphones are open back and have been fine for comms so far so shouldn't be an issue. I want to upgrade the amp/dac at some point but thought i'd start with the headphones. Thanks for all the suggestions! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elisiX_ Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 The suggestions for Focal Clear and HD800S are excellent for this price range. If you haven't owned a lot of headphones and listen more mainstream, Clear is the better choice. As mentioned, there was a sale recently where new Clear were $1199. A few from that sale sold at that price recently. More will come without any doubt. Don't buy Sundara and other average at best headphones when you already have a healthy budget. Just be patient - Focal Clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroth Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 27 minutes ago, elisix_ said: The suggestions for Focal Clear and HD800S are excellent for this price range. If you haven't owned a lot of headphones and listen more mainstream, Clear is the better choice. As mentioned, there was a sale recently where new Clear were $1199. A few from that sale sold at that price recently. More will come without any doubt. Don't buy Sundara and other average at best headphones when you already have a healthy budget. Just be patient - Focal Clear. I had an old pair of sennheiser somethings, cant remember which, then got the shure headphones when i did my audio engineering degree and have only had them since. Been about 9-10 years so probably due an upgrade. Waiting for focal clear/hd800s sounds like the best option so i'll just have to keep looking. I am kinda interested in the LCD-2C but apparently these are really overpriced at the moment too. Thanks for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elisiX_ Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 They're also just not anywhere near as good. I'm relatively new to the hobby, 4-5 months, but i've auditioned just about everything out there. Focal Clear and some Fostex will go a long way with that budget used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroth Posted July 21, 2020 Author Share Posted July 21, 2020 Hopefully i can get to addicted to audio or somewhere and give them a go once the lockdown ends. What Fostex would you suggest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elisiX_ Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 A2A are back doing auditions again. They have been for at least a month. TH900 (Blue Sapphire, not Red)/TH909, closed and open respectively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rx79ez08 Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 (edited) A2A in Melbourne is not open for auditions. Edited July 21, 2020 by rx79ez08 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elisiX_ Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Right, of course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xr1st1anos Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 14 hours ago, elisix_ said: The suggestions for Focal Clear and HD800S are excellent for this price range. If you haven't owned a lot of headphones and listen more mainstream, Clear is the better choice. As mentioned, there was a sale recently where new Clear were $1199. A few from that sale sold at that price recently. More will come without any doubt. Don't buy Sundara and other average at best headphones when you already have a healthy budget. Just be patient - Focal Clear. Can I ask why the popularity of the Focal Clears (honest question)? Are they that good? I'm a little behind on the headphone updates lately. I mean I know I took a compromise with my Sundara but to say that the Clears are 3-4x better (value/performance wise) might be a bit much. When I last tried the Clears, I found them a bit leaning on the bright side but they were pretty good. I would say they are pretty similar to the Audeze LCD-X (which I also have) and would probably be a better comparison price/value wise. Also the Hifiman Arya as well. Personally, I wouldn't tag any of these as average at best. As you can see, I'm a little bias towards Planars (I have a few of them) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elisiX_ Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 If I had the LCD-X, I wouldn't get Clears. Arya in that scenario instead. I just feel that Clears, at $1200 recent pricing, offer insane value. They're a relatively commercial sound and appeal to the widest audience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rx79ez08 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 (edited) Personally I don't like a lot of planars and dislike most of the Audeze LCD line except for the X, XC and LCD-1. While they have excellent bass, I found them a bit too "veil" for my liking. Also anything beside the X and XC seem to require quite a decent amp to sound good. The LCDs are also very heavy and I found them uncomfortable to wear. I haven't play with a lot of the latest Hifimans so can't comment on sounds and the drive capacity required but I never really like their build quality. Some of their stuff sounds great, HE-6 is a classic, but the build quality is a bit too rough for my liking, especially toward the higher end models. The Clear is easy drive, light, comfortable to use, sounds good even out of a Sony portable player which are generally not that powerful and very good build quality. I think it is great value at $1200, but a bit hard at $2200. As an aside if you like planar try the Final D8000. Will set you back a decent amount and requires a good amplifier, but once it get going it is very good. Edited July 22, 2020 by rx79ez08 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PassionForSound Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 5 hours ago, xr1st1anos said: Can I ask why the popularity of the Focal Clears (honest question)? Are they that good? I'm a little behind on the headphone updates lately. I mean I know I took a compromise with my Sundara but to say that the Clears are 3-4x better (value/performance wise) might be a bit much. When I last tried the Clears, I found them a bit leaning on the bright side but they were pretty good. I would say they are pretty similar to the Audeze LCD-X (which I also have) and would probably be a better comparison price/value wise. Also the Hifiman Arya as well. Personally, I wouldn't tag any of these as average at best. As you can see, I'm a little bias towards Planars (I have a few of them) The Clears are an outstanding balance between neutrality and enjoyment. I've never warmed to the HD800 or HD800S, but the Clears have been in my collection for quite a while now. They have better bass response than the HD800/S and are more enjoyable across a wide range of genres as a result. They don't quite highlight detail or throw a huge soundstage like the HD800/S, but I definitely find them more enjoyable for daily listening. @shadroth, what's your preference in sound signature? Are you happy with the SRH1440 in terms of overall tonality or are you looking for more bass, mids, or treble, etc? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroth Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 56 minutes ago, PassionForSound said: The Clears are an outstanding balance between neutrality and enjoyment. I've never warmed to the HD800 or HD800S, but the Clears have been in my collection for quite a while now. They have better bass response than the HD800/S and are more enjoyable across a wide range of genres as a result. They don't quite highlight detail or throw a huge soundstage like the HD800/S, but I definitely find them more enjoyable for daily listening. @shadroth, what's your preference in sound signature? Are you happy with the SRH1440 in terms of overall tonality or are you looking for more bass, mids, or treble, etc? I'm not entirely sure what my preference is haha, i haven't tried new headphones for probably 8-9 years so i can't really compare to anything. I'm also in melbourne so i cant go an audition anything for the time being. Something a bit more clear but also with nicer bass than the srh1440 would be what im after, but as its been so long since ive tried anything i really have no idea what im after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PassionForSound Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Definitely sounds like the Clears would be a good bet if you can get your hands on a pair at the right price. Beyerdynamic T1s (versions) could be a good option as well. I can't speak to the HifiMan planars as I haven't owned any since the original HE-500s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadroth Posted July 23, 2020 Author Share Posted July 23, 2020 Are the clear professional the same just with a different color scheme and some more accessories? Pair on gumtree for $1395 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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