• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Recommendations from those who are knowledgeable about headphone!!!

Siominboris

Siominboris

New Member
Hello all!

I am looking for a new pair of headphones. The primary use of these headphones is going to be for work. I sit in front of a computer all day and listening to good quality audio is essential.

My budget is about 3-400. I was thinking of wireless and the Sony M3’s for connivence since they are wireless and wired and have great noise cancellation. But then I began my endless research into headphones. I am curious about planar magnetic headphones and if they really do sound that much better. I currently own the Meze Classic 99’s, I love the look but the sound is not as good as I was expecting.

Though, I read that those are typically open back and leak a lot of sounds. As I’m in the office the majority of the time, I’d like to keep that minimal.
 
Register to hide this ad
The Monolith M-560's (from Monoprice) are planar magnetic. They have a removable back for times when you don't want the sound leaking.

Full disclosure: I have a pair that I like quite a bit.
 
I don't quite understand your question. Better than what?

I prefer planar speakers in general. I have two pairs of Acoustat's (ESL), a pair of Magneplanars (planar magnetic) and three pair of planar headphones.
 
I second JoeESP9 about the M-560, nice planars with "convertible" backs that actually sound much greater than their price suggests. That being said, they sound even better with the backs removed so you could enjoy them "open" at home and closed at work. The huge majority of planars are open-back regardless of price and I don't know of any other closed-back planar that would fit your budget, not even close. Unfortunately the M-560 are not wireless. Therefore the best solution I know of that would meet your criteria are the Focal Listen. This model comes in three flavors: traditional wired, wireless and Professional (which comes with 2 cables and a hard-shell case but is not wireless).

Focal is known for making smooth sounding dynamic phones that sound so much like planars they're impossible to tell just by listening: the sound is neutral across the full spectrum without any emphasis on lows, mids or highs no matter how loud you drive them. Something else Focal is known for is uber-expensiveness but since a few years they have had a model that goes for under $400 yet features the planar-like sound of the others: the aforementioned Focal Listen which until recently went for about $299 in stores and a little less online, however they are now on sale almost everywhere. But always make sure those listed online at a ridiculously low price come from authorized dealers otherwise you never know what'll be shipped to you. I read about a guy ordering them at $199 and getting tea bags instead. I always check out the original sellers listed on Amazon and such. Amazon itself is an authorized Focal dealership but not all those who sell on Amazon are.
 
Forgot to mention the new Monolith M565C which unlike the "regular" M565 (to which it is not closely related quite oddly), has a closed-back design. Unlike the M560 the backs on the M565C can't be removed but their diaphragm is considerably larger yielding (in theory at least) better sound quality yet costing about the same. Monoprice planar phones usually sound good but I haven't heard this specific model yet and given the price I'm tempted to order it just out of curiosity, we literally swim in headphones at my home so one more set won't make much of a difference. With regards to Monoprice phones in general, one has to be careful in handling them because they are not the most rugged cans, to say the least. Reminds me of HiFiMan's entry-level offerings in this regard.

Maybe worth mentioning the Oppo PM3 planars which are closed back but even though a $399 price is sometimes mentioned the actual price is usually more around $499 and up, and they have no possibility to remove the backs. There is also no wireless option but when it comes to planars I personally prefer them wired and as you'll notice most "planar people" like 'em that way because few, including the very pricier ones, offer wireless technology. There are serious reasons for that the least not being that planars perform best with dedicated headphone amps.
 
While I can't speaker for the M565 I must say I much prefer planar to dynamic driver headphones. My two favourites are the Monoprice Monolith M1060 and M1060C..... I prefer the closed back M1060C however the regular M1060 can generally be found for a fair bit less coin. More than you're looking to spend though.

I do also enjoy the AKG K712 Pro headphones though only with a pair of fenestrated sheepskin ear pads which themselves go over your budget. I'd stick with Monoprice. Extremely hard to beat.
 
I have numerous planar magnetic headphones though only 2 pair are arguably modern products.

I also have more dynamic headphones than you can shake a stick at. And most of them are good in one way or another.

historically planar magnetic headphones have been mostly "vented" designs. Mostly closed, but with some accommodation for big bass notes to move air outside the cup. They may not have -34db of isolation lile a fully closed headphone but they don't leak much either way.

That kind of design can offer really outstanding "in your head" imaging but typically an open-back headphone has better out-of-head imaging and frequently it sounds more "free" or something.

Open-back orthos were rare prior to 2009 or so when Audeze and others started producing the modern wave of planar magnetics. They're harder to make because the driver has to be self-damping in all the right ways. You can't just add acoustic damping until the midbass hump goes away and still have that open sound. They also need to have a lot of bass because the bass backwave will absolutely cancel out the frontwave otherwise. So, a headphone like my HE-400S that just has a membrane with a printed circuit sitting next to some magnets on one side only is a remarkable feat of engineering. Ton of actual bass excursion without having a bass-and-midrange heavy response is hard to do without a lot of damping on the backside.

They wouldn't be making them if they weren't shooting for the stars, yaknow? After the 70's and 80's the only people left making utilitarian orthos was Fostex. And god bless 'em.

Speaking of Fostex, the T50RP Mk3 are still a solid choice. They were the first orthos i ever bought that had a sound signature that didn't make me want to open them up and change the damping strategy.

I haven't heard the Monolith headphones. My only modern planars are my T50rp3 and my he-400s.

I will say that if you prefer a sound signature with a lot of bass slam - kick you in the face kinda bass - dynamic headphones may be better for you. Planars offer cleaner, purer, tighter bass than many have ever heard and many of them have outstanding bass extension. But they might not rock you quite the way that a good quality large-driver dynamic would.
 
Yeah, I have the Massdrop version of the T50RP which is like a modded Mk II with some tweaks. The extension seems to go on forever and the bass textures are great, but it isn't a 'bass slam' type phone at all in the way, say, the VModa M100s are.

They aren't light on the bass end either. They have quite a bit more prominent bottom end that the HD650s and HD600s, but I wouldn't call it even remotely bloated which is what many folks prefer, even those that think they like a flat or neutral bass.

They also really need a proper amp. Even just a modest one like the Magni or Lil Dot Mk II. A phone will put out sound, but you are doing them a radical disservice using them as such.
 
cratz2 said:
Yeah, I have the Massdrop version of the T50RP which is like a modded Mk II with some tweaks. The extension seems to go on forever and the bass textures are great, but it isn't a 'bass slam' type phone at all in the way, say, the VModa M100s are.

They aren't light on the bass end either. They have quite a bit more prominent bottom end that the HD650s and HD600s, but I wouldn't call it even remotely bloated which is what many folks prefer, even those that think they like a flat or neutral bass.

They also really need a proper amp. Even just a modest one like the Magni or Lil Dot Mk II. A phone will put out sound, but you are doing them a radical disservice using them as such.
Click to expand...

Near anything that isn't run on batteries will do, but yeah it does help to have an amp
 
ericj said:
Near anything that isn't run on batteries will do, but yeah it does help to have an amp
Click to expand...

Yeah it does and for someone on a budget I'd say it's worth buying less costly phones just so you can fit a little HP amp in your budget. Most of the times the combo will sound better than the costlier phones without an amp. You can always wait for your next tax return to get the costlier phones but when that happens you'll have an amp waiting for them at home!
 
KarlK said:
Yeah it does and for someone on a budget I'd say it's worth buying less costly phones just so you can fit a little HP amp in your budget. Most of the times the combo will sound better than the costlier phones without an amp. You can always wait for your next tax return to get the costlier phones but when that happens you'll have an amp waiting for them at home!
Click to expand...

If you have a good quality vintage speaker amplifier with a sound signature you like, usually the headphone jacks in those are just the speaker output padded down with resistors. The noise floor will be higher than a dedicated headphone amp but you may still really like how it sounds and it will usually have more than ample power for any orthodynamic headphones.

Some dynamic headphones sound best with an amp that has an output impedance as low as possible but that is because of how reactive of a load they are for the amp. Planar magnetic headphones are far less of a reactive load than moving coils, though, so don't necessarily have that need.

It's just that their sensitivity and efficiency are often lower than moving coil headphones so you need more "power" in the sense that you need more voltage swing than something with a 3.3v power system can offer.

Something like an Objective2 with a pair of 9v batteries has plenty of punch for almost all planar magnetics. Not quite enough for the single-ended cans from Hifiman.
 
ericj said:
If you have a good quality vintage speaker amplifier with a sound signature you like, usually the headphone jacks in those are just the speaker output padded down with resistors. The noise floor will be higher than a dedicated headphone amp but you may still really like how it sounds and it will usually have more than ample power for any orthodynamic headphones.

Some dynamic headphones sound best with an amp that has an output impedance as low as possible but that is because of how reactive of a load they are for the amp. Planar magnetic headphones are far less of a reactive load than moving coils, though, so don't necessarily have that need.

It's just that their sensitivity and efficiency are often lower than moving coil headphones so you need more "power" in the sense that you need more voltage swing than something with a 3.3v power system can offer.

Something like an Objective2 with a pair of 9v batteries has plenty of punch for almost all planar magnetics. Not quite enough for the single-ended cans from Hifiman.
Click to expand...

Well that explains why my Sundaras sound almost just as good (and louder) on my SX-650 than they do on the HiFiMan hp amp. Not so for my other (non-planar) phones though.
 
ericj said:
If you have a good quality vintage speaker amplifier with a sound signature you like, usually the headphone jacks in those are just the speaker output padded down with resistors. The noise floor will be higher than a dedicated headphone amp but you may still really like how it sounds and it will usually have more than ample power for any orthodynamic headphones.
Click to expand...

Over the last few days I did a comparative test with 21 pairs of HP's by plugging them alternatively in the HiFiMan headphone amp and a Pioneer SX-650 I like the sound of a lot. Well guess what each and every low-impedance (-60 ohms) planar or dynamic phone sounded better on the vintage amp. I figure it delivers the voltage most of the tiniest HP amps lack. The high-impedance units sounded better on the HFM amp especially the DT880 250 ohm I have procured to experiment with semi open-back sound. Almost spectacular with emphasis on "almost" for there was a noticeable dip around 1700Hz and since the EF-100 is standalone I couldn't EQ it out but otherwise the 880's sounded like much more expensive cans. As for the planar Sundaras they suffer from the Microsoft Syndrome, meaning they are not compatible with the HFM amp even though it is made by the same company. My understanding now that I have bothered to research it is that the EF-100 is designed to drive the more expensive/esoteric HFM units and/or high-end ultra-efficient single-driver tiny bookshelf speakers, the kind of boutique item you have to dig deep for.

And to think I had bought that amp specifically for the Sundaras, dammit. But I had done so before the Sundaras had arrived, total newbie move on my part. What was I thinking, HFM phones being a good match to HFM amp? Only an idiot would assume that... and I did assume that. Fortunately the Sundaras sound awesome on the 650, and I mean really awesome, unexpected to say the least. I don't remember the reason why many vintage receivers make excellent HP amps (can't just be the volts or can it?) but one thing for sure, on more recent equipment all cans sound like schlitz (hence the popularity of HP amps maybe) and make even "powerful" mass-market receivers clip. This has never happened with the 650 which delivers a rich, warm yet lively sound regardless of volume settings.
 
Among In-ear, On-ear, and Over-ear, you should choose the one which is the most comfortable for you. Especially if you are going to be wearing the headphones for a while. When you are going to be buying headphones, be sure that they fit you and are easy to use. Best recommended headsets are earbuds with long battery life and noise cancellation.
 
Many people find IEM's to be uncomfortable. And then, there's the problem of hearing no outside sounds. That can be a significant thing if you use public transportation in a big city.

FWIW: I use a pair of Monolith M300's (open back planar IEM's) while using public transportation. IME the foam tips on IEM's make a difference in comfort. The same ones don't work for everyone.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom