Will the Real Top 50 Headphones Please Stand Up

[cscottrun4it]

I stumbled on a thread here at Audiokarma http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=648853 that I found very interesting. The posters were poking at a piece published in Time Magazine called 18 Headphone Brands Ranked Worst to First http://time.com/74886/best-headphones/ . Unfortunately, while the Audiokarma experts made some very good points, it was hard to follow those points. So I started to poke about for better articles about the best headphones.

First, the problem I have with the Time article isn't what it says, per se. Its that I feel the source of the information isn't credible just because of the publisher that put the article out there. I mean, Time, really? Even if Time did a great job (which I doubt), I couldn't get myself to believe a word of it because it felt like the article was aimed at my Aunt Donna (a well meaning hippie, yes; a comparator of audio equipment, no).

While poking around, however, I stumbled on a piece written by David Mahler, whom I have never heard of before today. He evaluates the 50 headphones he owns in a blog posting called The Battle of the Flagships. Before providing his review, Mr Mahler explains the equipment he used for his test (and he explains why he is the guy to give the review).

I like his consistency when approaching each review. Unfortunately, I don't have the necessary headphone experience to pass judgement on his taste in headphones or the accuracy of his determinations, other than his taste looks out of my household's price range.

So, if the headphone literate here on Audiokarma would like to educate those of us who are not headphone literate based on Mahler's post, I am sure everyone on would find it interesting. At least I know I will find it interesting and educational.

Here is the link to Mahler's blog: http://goo.gl/BDJwYR .

 

[Gang-Twanger]

Interesting article. It IS a bit unnerving to find my $500 Grado RSII's at #43, I mean, cmon. I do realize that he's taking away big points for comfort factor as well as the fact that they are not the sort of neutral-voiced headphones that the author likes most, but I doubt he ever tried them with a Fisher 500C or 800C (The Fisher *00C receivers make one very-serious headphone amp, and they are a great match for Grados). I'll get into electrostatic and/or planar-type headphones eventually, but as far as magnetic drivers go, the RSII's are my favorite and have been keeping me very-happy. The author rated the limited edition HP1000 Grados much higher, but I don't care for their more-neutral offerings. I like the RSII's bass as well.

 

[canuckaudiog]

I've read that list before. Quite a lengthy read but very interesting that he took the time to evaluate that many headphones.

When my Audeze LCD-2s were rev 2s, I definitely agree with his sentiments on the model. No idea where they sit now as mine have the Fazor, but seeing them make it to nearly the top 10 on a list of some VERY venerable headphones is great to see - and they really are that good, so, in a way I'm not too surprised.

GT - I think you'd really enjoy the way planar magnetic headphones sound. What I love about my LCD-2s is the sheer musicality of them - something you write in spades about your W90s. I'm sure the RSIIs are wonderful headphones, though. I wouldn't feel bad about them hitting the spot they did.

 

[RamblinE]

While mine did not place, the closely related AKG K702 was #40.


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[Gang-Twanger]

I've read that list before. Quite a lengthy read but very interesting that he took the time to evaluate that many headphones.

When my Audeze LCD-2s were rev 2s, I definitely agree with his sentiments on the model. No idea where they sit now as mine have the Fazor, but seeing them make it to nearly the top 10 on a list of some VERY venerable headphones is great to see - and they really are that good, so, in a way I'm not too surprised.

GT - I think you'd really enjoy the way planar magnetic headphones sound. What I love about my LCD-2s is the sheer musicality of them - something you write in spades about your W90s. I'm sure the RSIIs are wonderful headphones, though. I wouldn't feel bad about them hitting the spot they did.

Yeah, I'll go there eventually, but I need to get a feel for the sound-signatures of brands like Stax, HiFiMan, and others. That's big money. Double what I paid for the RSII's. Seriously though, if you get the opportunity, try the headphone-out on the *00C series Fishers. What it does to the RSII's is nothing short of magical. The first word that pops into my head is "high-end". The sound of an acoustic standup bass is perfectly-rendered. Plenty of slam, nice, cohesive bass/midrange integration, excellent low-end depth, etc. And super-smooth highs as well. The Grados get on very, very-well with the tube Fishers. Doesn't even make sense. My Fisher is 51 years old, for pete's sake. How can it work so well with a pair of 32ohm Grados that I bought last year?

 

[timofred]

Stax has to be in that list, surely.

 

[Gang-Twanger]

Yeah, they are... Multiple times, along with every other well-known 'stat or planar-type brand out there.

Man, I wish I could find a portable headphone amp that makes my Grados sound as good as my Fisher. I have the bass and treble set flat, and yet the bass is slamming with these right now.

 

[Rprokop63]

Quite an expensive list of cans there! I think, like anything, it is subjective to the listener as well as source and amp. I have a pair of T1s that I love and to me they sounded better than the higher rated Sennheiser 800s. The T1s paired with my Cary SLI80 amp are absolutely amazing to my ears but the next person could come along and say Blech! I sure would like a chance to try all of them out though. That is one heck of a collection if he owns them all.

 

[Whaddup]

Quite an expensive list of cans there! I think, like anything, it is subjective to the listener as well as source and amp. I have a pair of T1s that I love and to me they sounded better than the higher rated Sennheiser 800s. The T1s paired with my Cary SLI80 amp are absolutely amazing to my ears but the next person could come along and say Blech! I sure would like a chance to try all of them out though. That is one heck of a collection if he owns them all.

He got rid of allot of them recently. Probably the biggest head-fi sale in its history. I wonder if his Orpheus/ headamp stat amp ever sold? He wanted $25k for the pair. Hd800's are really tough to get right amp and dac wise but once you do it's pretty dern delightful.

My next purchases:

Schiit yggy
Apex Teton
Allnic hpa-5000
Mjolnir kgsshv
HD800
SR-009
HE-1000

Total around $25k. Expensive yes but still less than most Orpheus setups you will see go on sale around once a year and speaker wise that's probably entry level totl wise.

 

[kerlionos]

This is crazy amount of money. For that kind of money you can invest in real estate and get passive income for life Spending $1000+ for headphones you have to be loaded or slightly irrational about your buying behaviour.

 

[RamblinE]

Judgements like that are wrong in a hobby like this. If the owner is happy then it is not a crazy amount of money and there is nothing irrational about it. It is money well spent.


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[Whaddup]

This is crazy amount of money. For that kind of money you can invest in real estate and get passive income for life Spending $1000+ for headphones you have to be loaded or slightly irrational about your buying behaviour.

You make a great point. It has not been this good of an interest rate and home value wise since the 1950's. To go even further the stock market has not been this good in the U.S. since probably the 1920's. Still because of foreclosures and penny stocks just about anybody can turn real estate and the stock market into a hobby just like headphones. On the other end really rare sought after headphones like the r-10 and Orpheus can def. be viewed as investments and there are a few people who buy them and never use them, although I think that is sad, there is one gentleman that I know of that has a never opened factory sealed r-10 that he bought for $2500 back in 2000 and who knows how much it's worth today, it's literally the only one so one could say priceless.

I have been on head-fi for quite a few years now as a member and lurker and out tens of thousands of posts I have read I have only come across one gentleman who said he was in over $20k in credit card debt and head-fi ruined him financially.

Have you ever tried buying and selling speakers? About the best your looking at if you decide to upgrade is 25% of what you paid for them and selling them off craigslist and it could def. take you a year. Headphones can usually be tried out for a month and returned for only a 10% restocking fee. If you would like to try out some highend headphones the cable co. has only a 5% restocking fee, lowest that I know of. Even if it takes you a year to figure your stuff out like it has me recently I still bet I can get 60% of what I paid for my headphones and no craigslist or sketchy shipping.

Have you tried powered speakers? I have tried 30 p.speakers and 20 powered subs and the only powered speakers I liked were my own adam a7x's and adam sub8. The m-audio bx8's deserve a mention as well as the krk expose's but that's it out of 50 different speakers. Even inside of adam's own lineup I can't stand the a5x's/sub7 or the a8x's/sub10. Pretty much all the powered speakers sounded bad to me, not even average, and as far as a totl headphone vs powered speaker road, just me but give me the totl headphone road all day everyday.

 

[Rprokop63]

He got rid of allot of them recently. Probably the biggest head-fi sale in its history. I wonder if his Orpheus/ headamp stat amp ever sold? He wanted $25k for the pair. Hd800's are really tough to get right amp and dac wise but once you do it's pretty dern delightful.

My next purchases:

Schiit yggy
Apex Teton
Allnic hpa-5000
Mjolnir kgsshv
HD800
SR-009
HE-1000

Total around $25k. Expensive yes but still less than most Orpheus setups you will see go on sale around once a year and speaker wise that's probably entry level totl wise.

My daily use headphone rig is lossless files on the laptop>Cambridge Dac> Marantz 2226b>Sennheiser 600s. Got the 600s on a closeout a few years back for $200 and worth every penny. The headphone out on the old Marantz was good enough that I sold my dedicated headphone amp. The vintage Marantz also looks sweet sitting there. The other rig I mentioned sounds way better but was way more expensive too. If you get all the stuff you have listed that should be a really nice setup!
The one advantage of headphones over speakers is you cna a few pairs and they don't take up much space.

 

[Whaddup]

My daily use headphone rig is lossless files on the laptop>Cambridge Dac> Marantz 2226b>Sennheiser 600s. Got the 600s on a closeout a few years back for $200 and worth every penny. The headphone out on the old Marantz was good enough that I sold my dedicated headphone amp. The vintage Marantz also looks sweet sitting there. The other rig I mentioned sounds way better but was way more expensive too. If you get all the stuff you have listed that should be a really nice setup!
The one advantage of headphones over speakers is you cna a few pairs and they don't take up much space.

I think I can pull off a mini version of it. Spending $5k on an added wheatfield and my already owned apex peak/volcano and 727ii used/new and keeping my demo $1k auralic ark mx+ dac rather than getting the yggy. The $15.7k on the allnic, Teton, kgsshv and yggy new would be sweet but I'm a driver first kind of guy and the auralic along with $4k in 3 amps is still very badass imo .

I also do not have the space on my audio stand for the $15.7k amp/dac setup as you mentioned and pulling off a dynamic, stat, planar speaker setup is just not going to happen. I can barely fit a powered speaker setup in my space.

 

[Dissonant]

Stax SR-009. Unforgettable. And it wasn't even with the most optimal source and amplification. Overall the most revealing transducer of any sort I've ever heard. Don't knock it till you try it. Yes, it lacks the full-body slam of speakers, but the soundstage was nigh-indistinguishable from the very best speakers - and with the added perk of unparalleled speed and control. Staggering to say the least.

 

[OmegaHyperio]

I am quite astonished that Beyerdynamic is not in the list, their headphones are hard to beat in my opinion. The T1 (the one i own) is a very nice headphone, better then almost everything i have heared before (and i tried over 100 headphones to get to the T1).

 

[twiiii]

After all there is a reason Stax are called ear speakers and not earphones. They are that much better. When I go auditioning headphones its with the memory of my Stax headphones burned into my brain. I've owned Koss electrostatics, still have my Signets, but even my original Stax that are over 40 years old are better that 95% of everything else. My latest Stax lead by a wide margin, 3170. I've owned over 50 headphones over the past 50+ years and would put Stax on the top my Buckett list if I were you.

 

[Dissonant]

After all there is a reason Stax are called ear speakers and not earphones. They are that much better. When I go auditioning headphones its with the memory of my Stax headphones burned into my brain. I've owned Koss electrostatics, still have my Signets, but even my original Stax that are over 40 years old are better that 95% of everything else. My latest Stax lead by a wide margin, 3170. I've owned over 50 headphones over the past 50+ years and would put Stax on the top my Buckett list if I were you.

For me, only Stax presents a compelling case to supplant loudspeakers totally.

 

[Rprokop63]

The T1s made number 14 on the list. ( My personal favorite set so far.)

I am quite astonished that Beyerdynamic is not in the list, their headphones are hard to beat in my opinion. The T1 (the one i own) is a very nice headphone, better then almost everything i have heared before (and i tried over 100 headphones to get to the T1).