Asking for Opinions on Headphones / DACs / Balanced Input

[ikgn]

Hello, newbie here. I have been reading a lot of discussions on forums for the last couple of days and learned a lot already. I'd appreciate if I can get some opinions on a few issues since there are a lot of people here with a lot more experience than I have.

My entry level Sennheiser PX100 IIi have died on me recently. I have been using it for 3-4 years connected to Fiio E10K. So, I have been doing some research and decided to upgrade to Drop + Grace Design Standard DAC Balanced connected to Drop + THX AAA™ 789 Linear Amplifier. The sound source is my laptop. But I have read somewhere in the discussions that the DAC is not really balanced because its chip is not capable of it. Does anyone have any experience regarding this issue? If this is true I guess it makes more sense to buy the one without balanced connection since it is cheaper. But I am wondering if the sound quality differs between balanced/unbalanced connections in this DAC in that case.

Also I'd appreciate any headphone recommendations. I mostly listen to electronic music and rock music along with some classical and I like punchy bass. I always had the bass boost switched on with high gain on Fiio E10K and I loved how I could feel the drivers of Sennheiser PX100IIi moving. In search for a new pair, I recently went to a HiFi shop to test some headphones. They only had Sennheiser Momentum 3 and HD4.50BT open for test purposes. Connected to my Fiio E10K with the bass boost on, they felt like they did not have any bass at all. This was my first time trying high quality headphones. Someone in the discussion forums recommended Drop + HIFIMAN HE4XX Planar Magnetic Headphones for their tight bass, would this be a good fit? Any other recommendations are appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

 

[jjbomber]

Audeze LCD-2 is the obvious answer, but may be over budget.

 

[ikgn]

Audeze LCD-2 is the obvious answer, but may be over budget.

jjbomber, thanks a lot for your answer! I just checked its price, unfortunately it is out of my budget. I would love to hear if you have any other recommendations, though.

On the website of Audeze, there is also a cheaper one, LCD 1. Would you recommend that one?

 

[jjbomber]

Certainly needs to be on your audition list. The sooner the better as lockdown 2 is coming.

 

[ikgn]

Certainly needs to be on your audition list. The sooner the better as lockdown 2 is coming.

You are right about that, thank you for your answer!

 

[Gray]

Maybe you fancy an upgrade, but it seems as if you liked your PX100.
You say they died on you, but Sennheisers famously never die!
May be a simple repair.....if I liked them that's what I'd be doing.

 

[ikgn]

Maybe you fancy an upgrade, but it seems as if you liked your PX100.
You say they died on you, but Sennheisers famously never die!
May be a simple repair.....if I liked them that's what I'd be doing.

Gray, thank you for your response! You are right, I love PX100 indeed. The recently broken one was my second set of the same headphones. So I have been using PX100s for almost 8 years now. This is why I feel like it is time for an upgrade. Especially after I tried better headphones like Momentum 3, I realized there are things that I have been missing even in the songs that I am very familiar with. Now if I can find some quality headphones with punchy bass, I will probably be set and happy for many years.

 

[Deleted member 188533]

AKG K712 Pro. Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro. HIFiMan Sundara. The HE4XX is just an HE400i with a different headband.

With the 789 and the Grace DAC you're golden as far as that goes. It's too bad the Massdrop x Fostex headphones are out of production because if you want good bass they're as good as it gets before spending ZMF ( $1200+ ) money.

 

[ikgn]

AKG K712 Pro. Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro. HIFiMan Sundara. The HE4XX is just an HE400i with a different headband.

With the 789 and the Grace DAC you're golden as far as that goes. It's too bad the Massdrop x Fostex headphones are out of production because if you want good bass they're as good as it gets before spending ZMF ( $1200+ ) money.

anort3, thank you very much for your reply and suggestions! I'll certainly be checking out the headphones you mentioned.

Would you recommend the current line of Fostex headphones like T60RP for electronic music?

 

[Deleted member 188533]

I haven't heard any of the RP series to comment. Most people think they can be great....if modded. One mod in particular from Modhouse called the Argon is almost universally liked best of the RP mods.

https://www.modhouseaudio.com/argon-mk3/zimu3wz0oyxlavnprki2jovso6c31v

I listen to quite a bit of electronica and both the 1990 and the K712 are great all arounders. Not Ebony Fostex levels of eye shaking sub bass but enough bass to not feel lacking.

The DT770 is a solid bass headphone. Highs can get sibilant and bright for some though.

 

[Deleted member 188533]

Oh the Philips Fidelio X2HR should be added. Great headphone and pretty cheap right now due to the X3 being released. Soundstage and bass are both very good.

 

[ikgn]

Oh the Philips Fidelio X2HR should be added. Great headphone and pretty cheap right now due to the X3 being released. Soundstage and bass are both very good.

anort3, I appreciate your help, thanks a lot! Hopefully, I can find a place where I can try the headphones you suggested. I will keep Philips in mind as well, it kind of reminded me the look of some of the Grado headphones. Cheers!

 

[Longchops]

Recently bought a set of AKG Y500 headphones based on the 5 star what hifi review and am very pleased with them. they are bluetooth but you can also use a wire for better sound quality so have the best of both worlds.

They retailed at £129 originally but you can buy a brand new set for £45 on eBay at the moment as Samsung gave them away with one of their phones for free so there's loads of people trying to flog them, I don't think you can beat them for that price tbh