Considering upgrading my headphones, help appreciated!

[olderroust]

This reddit comparo says that the Monoprice are heavier than the HE400i.

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/6ylfmq/monoprice_m1060_vs_hifiman_he400i_impressions/

I have the 400i and the Senn 598, and I find that the 400i are more comfortable for me, despite being heavier.

I like the sound of both. I haven't tried comparing the sound carefully since I finished breaking in the HE400s.

 

[keilau]

This reddit comparo says that the Monoprice are heavier than the HE400i.

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/6ylfmq/monoprice_m1060_vs_hifiman_he400i_impressions/

I have the 400i and the Senn 598, and I find that the 400i are more comfortable for me, despite being heavier.

I like the sound of both. I haven't tried comparing the sound carefully since I finished breaking in the HE400s.

I had the original HiFiman HE400 (no I or L) which had a push-pull balanced driver like the higher end models. The HE400i is a single ended design which I expect to be lighter. Because of its weight, the HiFiman headband uses tighter clamping pressure than the Sennheiser HD-598. If the tighter clamping pressure does not bother you, the HE400i sound is more open and transparent with a raising treble.

The Sennheiser HD-598 is one of the best value phone. At under $100 at time at Amazon, it is hard to beat. I have both the Sennheiser HD-598 and Sennheiser HD-600. I like both, but prefer the HD-600.

 

[Silentnet]

I've got a pair of these coming to me early next month (damn if Massdrop doesn't require patience) and am seriously considering buying the Monoprice Monolith 1060s after borrowing a friend's pair for a week or so recently. I've already got AKG Q701s though and rarely use them, preferring speakers for most things... So probably best to hold off.

I'd take the Reddit guy with a grain of salt -- he has admittedly little to no experience with higher end gear, but makes regular reference to the sound signature of LCD-2s, etc. They're also being driven directly from a laptop soundcard. The review makes no sense. He's also comparing the 1060 to the HE400i, which is a single ended design (as mentioned above) vs the 1060 and original HE400's double sided design.

 

[keilau]

I've got a pair of these coming to me early next month (damn if Massdrop doesn't require patience) and am seriously considering buying the Monoprice Monolith 1060s after borrowing a friend's pair for a week or so recently. I've already got AKG Q701s though and rarely use them, preferring speakers for most things... So probably best to hold off.

I'd take the Reddit guy with a grain of salt -- he has admittedly little to no experience with higher end gear, but makes regular reference to the sound signature of LCD-2s, etc. They're also being driven directly from a laptop soundcard. The review makes no sense. He's also comparing the 1060 to the HE400i, which is a single ended design (as mentioned above) vs the 1060 and original HE400's double sided design.

What is your current main listening phone for reference before you get the HiFiman HE4XX? How do you feel about the clamping pressure and comfort level of the Monoprice Monolith 1060? I am interested in trying out the Monoprice Monolith 1060 too. But I worry about its resale value if I do not like it.

 

[Silentnet]

What is your current main listening phone for reference before you get the HiFiman HE4XX? How do you feel about the clamping pressure and comfort level of the Monoprice Monolith 1060? I am interested in trying out the Monoprice Monolith 1060 too. But I worry about its resale value if I do not like it.

I've got Audio Technica M50s, Martin Logan Mikros 90s, and the AKG Q701s. Much prefer the AKGs, really only use the ATs when I need closed back, and the Mikros sound nice but I really don't like on-ears.

Clamping force on the Monoliths was greater than I'd like but not skull-crushing. I'd probably try to stretch them somewhat if I end up with a pair.

 

[musichal]

Monoprice said "Weight: 1.1lb", but did not say shipping or gross weight of the phone. Either way, it is quite heavy. For reference, my Sennheiser HD 600 weights 9 oz, which makes it more comfortable to wear. The HiFiman HE-400 is 14 oz. Yes, the 5 oz difference makes a huge difference in comfort.

Makes a huge difference to you, is what you mean. I find the 400i very comfortable for hours at a time. Which of us is right? Both. Feel heavy to you, feel light to me. However, the Senns are also very good 'phones. Rather have either than the Monoprice, as I am biased against the brand due to various products I tried that I didn't like, and must add that I've never heard them, so I mean strictly bias. Doubt I ever will hear them, since I already have my planar magnetics. Now, I do want a pair of Sennheiser one-adeezdays.

I will say that very light headphones seem to get snatched from my head more easily than a snug circumaural design.

 

[keilau]

Makes a huge difference to you, is what you mean. I find the 400i very comfortable for hours at a time. Which of us is right? Both. Feel heavy to you, feel light to me. However, the Senns are also very good 'phones. Rather have either than the Monoprice, as I am biased against the brand due to various products I tried that I didn't like, and must add that I've never heard them, so I mean strictly bias. Doubt I ever will hear them, since I already have my planar magnetics. Now, I do want a pair of Sennheiser one-adeezdays.

I will say that very light headphones seem to get snatched from my head more easily than a snug circumaural design.

Yes, the choice of headphone is very personal, including the comfort evaluation. If you find the 400i very comfortable for hours at a time, all power to you. You may also want to try the original HiFiman HE400 (no I or L) which had a push-pull balanced driver like the higher end models, or the HE560. It sounds better to me than the HE400i single end design. Again, the opinion is straightly personal and subjective.

 

[musichal]

Yes, the choice of headphone is very personal, including the comfort evaluation. If you find the 400i very comfortable for hours at a time, all power to you. You may also want to try the original HiFiman HE400 (no I or L) which had a push-pull balanced driver like the higher end models, or the HE560. It sounds better to me than the HE400i single end design. Again, the opinion is straightly personal and subjective.

I might not want to try. I don't use headphones enough to justify the sets I have now. However, I might wish we'd had this discussion before I bought.

 

[Mamrak1]

Whatever you choose, make sure the headphones are comfortable. If you can’t wear them for an extended period of time, it doesn’t matter how they sound.

 

[runnin']

So, I ended up going with the NAD HP50. I have done 3 listening sessions with them and they are growing on me. Upon first listen I wasn't a big fan compared to my Sonys. But, after the second and third (listening to jazz mostly) they seemed to sound much better. I think it just took a few listens for my ears to adjust to the different sound signature as compared to the Sonys. Seem to have a bit more mid and less bass. Overall I think I'll keep them as they are comfortable on my head (after making a few adjustments to where they sit in my head) and realism they give the music.

Looks like the Nads don't have too many owners around here. They are designed by a renowned sound guy and I bought them several months ago. I wasn't crazy about them at first and have never been a big headphone guy so left them lying around. They seemed overly warm and lacking in highs, but went plenty loud with the easy impedance load.

Fast forward several months when I bought a Schiit headphone amp on a whim( on sale b stock Magni 3) and after reading up on some owner comments of the HP50, plugged it into the Schiit and ran it for several hours over a few days to break it in. Long story short, the Nads opened up and developed a somewhat jaw dropping soundstage. The highs showed up without harshness, and sometimes the soundstage is so good with the phones I just have to smile. They run just fine with your smart phone too.

These days I'm taking public transit to work(got tired of fighting traffic with too many accidents/delays). A train and a bus to work gives me lots of headphone time and I have to smile at the earbud wearing crowd.

 

[geddy402]

Looks like the Nads don't have too many owners around here. They are designed by a renowned sound guy and I bought them several months ago. I wasn't crazy about them at first and have never been a big headphone guy so left them lying around. They seemed overly warm and lacking in highs, but went plenty loud with the easy impedance load.

Fast forward several months when I bought a Schiit headphone amp on a whim( on sale b stock Magni 3) and after reading up on some owner comments of the HP50, plugged it into the Schiit and ran it for several hours over a few days to break it in. Long story short, the Nads opened up and developed a somewhat jaw dropping soundstage. The highs showed up without harshness, and sometimes the soundstage is so good with the phones I just have to smile. They run just fine with your smart phone too.

These days I'm taking public transit to work(got tired of fighting traffic with too many accidents/delays). A train and a bus to work gives me lots of headphone time and I have to smile at the earbud wearing crowd.

Great comments, thanks for sharing!

I had a similar experience with my NADs. Seemed like they took a while to open up, or maybe just my ears adjusting to them. Really like what I’m hearing these days with them on.

 

[Stephen77]

I own Sennheiser 650's and Focal Clears. The Senn's at $300 +/- are absolute legends and you cannot go wrong. The Focal's are $1500. Yea, that's a serious investment,
but I love them, they are the last high-end can I'll ever buy. Ridiculous clarity.

 

[bigx5murf]

What are you using headphones on? Many nicer headphones are inefficient and require greater amplification from devices, or external amplification, especially planar magnetic ones.

I'm partial to the various modified Fostex planars. But they're all inefficient and really need external amplification. Unless you have an LG vx0 (I've been stuck on this series of smartphones since the v10 due to beefier headphone amp).

 

[Stephen77]

I own the NAD HP50s myself, listen to them 9 hours a day at work, and love them. Something to be aware of is that they are 32 ohm headphones, and driving them with a vintage receiver like your Sansui will not do them justice. I.E. they will sound way better being driven from a smartphone than by your receiver because of the impedance.

I had the NAD 50's - great headphone!

 

[Stephen77]

Looks like the Nads don't have too many owners around here. They are designed by a renowned sound guy and I bought them several months ago. I wasn't crazy about them at first and have never been a big headphone guy so left them lying around. They seemed overly warm and lacking in highs, but went plenty loud with the easy impedance load.

Fast forward several months when I bought a Schiit headphone amp on a whim( on sale b stock Magni 3) and after reading up on some owner comments of the HP50, plugged it into the Schiit and ran it for several hours over a few days to break it in. Long story short, the Nads opened up and developed a somewhat jaw dropping soundstage. The highs showed up without harshness, and sometimes the soundstage is so good with the phones I just have to smile. They run just fine with your smart phone too.

These days I'm taking public transit to work(got tired of fighting traffic with too many accidents/delays). A train and a bus to work gives me lots of headphone time and I have to smile at the earbud wearing crowd.

I used to have pair of the NAD HP50's - a great sounding can !! Great choice!

 

[Neal K]

Well, I think it’s time for me to get another pair of headphones. With a baby that goes to bed around 7 pm I find about 99% of my music listening inside the house is on headphones.

I listen to records through a Sansui 9090db or Mcintosh 4100 and use a Technics 1200mk2. My current headphone of choice is Sony MDR-7506. The Sony’s have some hours in them and are showing their age.

I like them and think they sound great but feel like there’s better options out there given my frequent use. I don’t know when headphones go from being ok to great, but I figured $300 seemed like a decent place to cap my budget. If there are incredible cans for a little more I’d be open to suggestions.

Looking for comfort too since I listen to them for an hour or two each night while wearing glasses. Also, need them to be portable since I use them when I travel for work listening to videos and music on plane rides.

Anyway, any suggestions would be great. Thanks!

Well, I like the AKG s240 on-ear phones. They have a nice balanced sound, they are not sealed so they do not have hyped bass. The response is neutral and balanced. The transient response is good. You might want to check out the Audio-Technica line if you like or need over ear or closed phones. I like the kind that are not sealed like my AKG's. i paid $100 for them but I am pretty sure you can find them for less. The A-T's have a line up, the models go 20, 30, 40 50, and range in price from $40 to $200. They have one with a bigger driver, a 45 as opposed to a 40 mm, I think it is designated 70, and costs more. I do not think one need spend crazy money for esoteric expensive headphones, it is a dynamic speaker at the end of the day.

 

[twiiii]

I have used Koss, AKG, Beyer, Signet, Stax, Sennheiser and Grado headphones. I much prefer my Electrostatic headphones over the years, be they Koss, Signet or Stax. The Dynamic headphones have all be colored so use of a 12 band graphic EQ with the Hifi system and the 10 band on the Apple computers make the Dynamics tolerable. Stax are my favorite electrostatic and Sennheiser my favorite dynamics I use with my apple computers.