4 ms·

Please suggest better alternatives

by senshan 9mo ago

bee_rider 9mo ago
If you were going to consider Bose, you should at least take a look at Sennheiser. They are similar in a “can’t really go too wrong” sense. Nice build quality, generally pretty flat and analytical usually. They are such a standard response that presumably a real audiophile will come along to point out that their favorite model is much better, than a particular well known Sennheiser model, but as far as one can say in brand terms they are solid.
- dundundundun 9mo ago
  I loathe analytical sound. It destroys all listening pleasure for me. Give me nice warm coloured midtones and I'm happy!
- DiabloD3 9mo ago
  Sennheiser sold out to a Chinese factory, and recently even stopped producing their flagship stuff in-house. They're even shutting their "cheap" Irish factory down (where modern HD650s and HD660Ss were made). All the Chinese-made Sennheiser stuff has awful QA.
drnick1 9mo ago
Beyerdynamic DT1990s run circles around consumer-grade stuff.
- DiabloD3 9mo ago
  Beyerdynamic announced earlier last year they're finally exiting pro and flagship tier stuff, and selling out to a Chinese equity firm. Their build quality is exceptional, and they're built like tanks. The only problem, imo, is the Beyer house sound is very shouty and fatiguing, especially with the "990" versions of the product line over the years. Disclaimer: I owned a Beyer DT880/600ohm (the neutral one of the 770/880/990 siblings), paired with an amp that could properly handle it. Its one of the few headphones I sold and did not retain in my collection, it deserved someone that could love it. The new Tesla-based drivers are better (such as that 1990), but still retain that Beyer sound.
  - cjk 9mo ago
    Oh man. I missed that announcement somehow. Where'd you see they're exiting pro/flagship tier stuff? Everything I can find says they're continuing to hand-make their higher-end stuff in Germany. One such source: https://www.whathifi.com/headphones/100-year-old-headphone-brand-beyerdynamic-is-being-bought-by-a-chinese-manufacturer https://www.whathifi.com/headphones/100-year-old-headphone-b...
- deleted 9mo ago
  [deleted]
- astrange 9mo ago
  I can't stand Beyerdynamic audio and don't understand why anyone recommends it. It has an awful treble peak you can't stop noticing once you hear it, and you can't drive their headphones without an amp. I recommend HiFiMan Sundara/Ananda if they fit your head and there aren't any CPU fans in your room.
  - DiabloD3 9mo ago
    I don't. Hifiman QA is exceptionally bad, and they tend to not stand by their warranty, and their US repair facility is just some dude's house. The threads on /r/headphones over Hifiman shafting them are numerous. Disclaimer: I too had a Hifiman pair, they sounded great, but their physical design just didn't hold up to daily use, no matter how much I babied them.
    - astrange 9mo ago
      That's probably true, they do look hard to repair. My best sounding headphones are a pair of old Stax with the worst construction I've ever seen on anything, so I mostly keep them locked up assuming they'll break if I breathe in them.
      - DiabloD3 9mo ago
        My Stax 207s, unfortunately, died on me. I may just end up replacing them with something from ZMF.
DiabloD3 9mo ago
Sure. What exactly are you looking for? Also, there are multiple forums and subreddits you can ask this question on. You will get more answers than you would from me and the rest of HN.

Please suggest better alternatives

by senshan 9mo ago

Please suggest better alternatives

If you were going to consider Bose, you should at least take a look at Sennheiser. They are similar in a “can’t really go too wrong” sense. Nice build quality, generally pretty flat and analytical usually. They are such a standard response that presumably a real audiophile will come along to point out that their favorite model is much better, than a particular well known Sennheiser model, but as far as one can say in brand terms they are solid.

dundundundun 9mo ago
I loathe analytical sound. It destroys all listening pleasure for me. Give me nice warm coloured midtones and I'm happy!
DiabloD3 9mo ago
Sennheiser sold out to a Chinese factory, and recently even stopped producing their flagship stuff in-house. They're even shutting their "cheap" Irish factory down (where modern HD650s and HD660Ss were made). All the Chinese-made Sennheiser stuff has awful QA.

drnick1 9mo ago

Beyerdynamic DT1990s run circles around consumer-grade stuff.

DiabloD3 9mo ago
Beyerdynamic announced earlier last year they're finally exiting pro and flagship tier stuff, and selling out to a Chinese equity firm. Their build quality is exceptional, and they're built like tanks. The only problem, imo, is the Beyer house sound is very shouty and fatiguing, especially with the "990" versions of the product line over the years. Disclaimer: I owned a Beyer DT880/600ohm (the neutral one of the 770/880/990 siblings), paired with an amp that could properly handle it. Its one of the few headphones I sold and did not retain in my collection, it deserved someone that could love it. The new Tesla-based drivers are better (such as that 1990), but still retain that Beyer sound.
- cjk 9mo ago
  Oh man. I missed that announcement somehow. Where'd you see they're exiting pro/flagship tier stuff? Everything I can find says they're continuing to hand-make their higher-end stuff in Germany. One such source: https://www.whathifi.com/headphones/100-year-old-headphone-brand-beyerdynamic-is-being-bought-by-a-chinese-manufacturer https://www.whathifi.com/headphones/100-year-old-headphone-b...
deleted 9mo ago
[deleted]
astrange 9mo ago
I can't stand Beyerdynamic audio and don't understand why anyone recommends it. It has an awful treble peak you can't stop noticing once you hear it, and you can't drive their headphones without an amp. I recommend HiFiMan Sundara/Ananda if they fit your head and there aren't any CPU fans in your room.
- DiabloD3 9mo ago
  I don't. Hifiman QA is exceptionally bad, and they tend to not stand by their warranty, and their US repair facility is just some dude's house. The threads on /r/headphones over Hifiman shafting them are numerous. Disclaimer: I too had a Hifiman pair, they sounded great, but their physical design just didn't hold up to daily use, no matter how much I babied them.
  - astrange 9mo ago
    That's probably true, they do look hard to repair. My best sounding headphones are a pair of old Stax with the worst construction I've ever seen on anything, so I mostly keep them locked up assuming they'll break if I breathe in them.
    - DiabloD3 9mo ago
      My Stax 207s, unfortunately, died on me. I may just end up replacing them with something from ZMF.

DiabloD3 9mo ago

Sure. What exactly are you looking for? Also, there are multiple forums and subreddits you can ask this question on. You will get more answers than you would from me and the rest of HN.