Shopping list: headphones

Hi,
i’ve to buy new headphones (closed) and B&W P9 seems very interesting to me.
I tried new ones, so not very reliable as a test, and i think they have a lot of potential (after doing the right burn-in hours). Opinions or alternatives in the same price range?
Metal, rock, blues and a bit of classical are the genres that i mainly listen to.

Thx! :wink:

You should browse Head-Fi.org and read the reviews. There is also a gift buying guide that is quite good, put together by the site’s founder.

Be careful… Head-Fi is a deep, dark, bottomless money pit… you’ve been warned. or as they say to new members: Sorry about your wallet.

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I’m looking a a new pair of cans too and the Beyerdynamic T5p 2nd Generation are on my list. They’re closed back and most reviews are very favourable.

I have the Clear from Focal and the new LCD 2C from Audeze but my favorite pair are the GH2 from Grado. By far the most musical. Just one man’s opinion.

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I have three recommendations:

  1. Stax
  2. Stax
  3. Stax
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I had a brief listen to Mr Speakers Aeon closed headphones and for a closed HP I thought they were very good indeed. May be out of your price range but there are often second hand offers on HeadFi

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No model recommendations and don’t they need a dedicated Stax headphone amp?

Let me guess. If you had a fourth pick it would be Stax?

Sorry for my humour, too long spent in those dastardly headphones forums…

I have Stax SR-404LE, and SRM-T1 and it’s amazing. Once you’ve heard Staxes there is no going back.

I’d look at 507 or bearing in mind your repertoire SR007. And yes, you need a Stax-compatible energiser.

I’d have to agree. My SR-009s are the only HiFi component I’ve ever heard that I simply could not fault in any way. Not cheap, but actually a bargain compared with speaker based kit. Transparency, clarity, and neutrality are astounding.

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I have the Stax SR-009’s and concur with everything @joel says, I would love to try the new SRM T8000 energiser, I currently have the SRM-007tll Kimik.

As do I (in a roundabout, imported from Japan, kind of way!)

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You guys probably need to step away from Stax own amps. Mjolnir or Blue Hawaii.

Not sure if you guys discussing Stax headphones noticed the original poster said recommendations in a similar budget :grinning::grinning:

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FWIW, I think you could pick up a used pair of SR-507 and energizer for not much more than the price of a pair of new B&W P9 and easily under £1000 (the price of a pair of Beyerdynamic T5p 2nd Generation).

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And they’d sound a whole world better. (Stax fanboy, moi?)

I have a pair of Bowers & Wilkins P7’s; they’re great for all genres, very comfortable, built extremely well, and don’t require a headphone amplifier to run. Though I’ve not heard nor handled the P9’s, I expect they’re an evolutionary step-up in material quality with a similar sound.

Where you intend to use headphones is an important consideration. B&W make great headphones if you have portability in mind, as they offer excellent closed-back isolation and can be powered easily by a smart phone. On the other hand, if your intent is to purchase headphones that will stay at home as a compliment to your existing hi-fi, there’s many alternatives to consider that cost less and perform better, but would in most cases require a proper headphone amplifier to drive them. They most likely won’t exude the same level of luxury and build quality as a pair of P9’s though, but that’s really where most of your money is going with a set of headphones like that.

One last thing to consider: What sort of sound signature do you prefer? Flat and neutral? Emphasized bass? Each headphone is tuned a different way, and some of them can even respond in different ways depending on the source they’re connected to.

Mmmhh… but they are open headphones. Or not?

They will stay at home and no problem adding a headphone amplifier. Suggestions?
I’d like an headphone (I dont know if these are the correct english terms :sweat_smile: ) racy, lively and detailed. Ok for the emphasized bass, but they do not have to cover the other instruments and voices that stand out naturally and clearly.
Last but not the least: wide 3D soundstage (i know, it’s much harder for closed headphones)

Very interesting headphones :thinking:

The Aeon’s seem to be the favourite under-$1000 closed-back headphones these days. I have no experience with Mr Speakers’ products, however.