So in my previous question I ask for help whit a closed back headphone. but after a lot of contemplation I decided that probably would be a big step down from both my Fir and my previous headphone hifiman Arya. So I’m looking in to the new clear MG and lcd-x. I’m also thinking about going big like Meze ore an Abyss Diana v2
But are the worth the huge upgrade ore are the 1500$-2000$ category of a great value? Ore will the 3500$-4000$ just blow my mind?
A lot of how this question is answered depends on electronics, listening skill, and preferences. The right combination can be pretty enlightening at different stages of the journey, but the higher tier the headphone, the harder it can be to appreciate if the right pieces are not in place to create that ‘worth it’ moment.
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I mean the diana v2 is technicaly above the other 3 by a fair bit but this question realy comes down to preference tbh. You need to decide what sound signature you want (not just FR, but how much do you value timbre, stage size, organicness of stage usage, etc), how much you wnat to spend total, and let us know what gear you currently have for the best possible recommendations.
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Hmm I want something that you just can get lost in the music I don’t need to have something to analyze every second of a song! I like a good stage whit a good bass that hits hard nothing that sounds to lose! I want something that makes the voices of the artist sound real I did enjoy the lcd 2c for rock like Pink Floyd. Since I went kind of all in on iem’s my amp selection sucks right now all I have is a btr 5 and a Mojo.
But my idea is to get a Topping A90 ore A30 and later buy a better dac.
Where are you located, the topping amps wouldn’t be my first choice at their price points.
If your going to spend $3K on headphones, you’d certainly want something better.
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Hello,
the Aeon R/T is quite usable.
I own it as a closed version.
The disadvantage is a bit of a poor drive.
But otherwise quite authentic.
I run it on the Little Dot 1+, and soon on a custom hybrid amplifier.
A Schiit Lyr3 would certainly also do its job with it.
The Lcd 2C is a bit more relaxed in comparison.
It’s really difficult to compare the Aeon R/T with the Lcd2C.
Since they are both close to each other but then again not.
If you are really aiming for the upper headphone section, then I would definitely upgrade the amplifier.
It would be a shame to plug a $3000 headphone into a Topping L30 as an example.
Even if the A90 wouldn’t be bad.
But it’s supposed to be a bit too smooth, the Singxer Sa1 would probably be more to your taste.
Possibly the Asgard 3, a Feliks Echo 2 could be interesting as well as the QuickSilver or a Woo Audio Wa3 that would also run their Iem, at least a part of it.
I don’t know did listen to the abyss podcast and they said the A90 would work well whit there headphones.
And did not say L30 I said A30.
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I think the biggest thing is that with something at the range of headphones you’re looking at, electronics become very important and likely the A30 and A90 become a bottleneck in the chain. Yes the Diana might sound decent on the A90 (have owned Diana V2 but haven’t heard A30/90), but it won’t fully unlock the potential to realize the value of that extra money spent.
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I can vouch for this statement. I own a Diana V2 and although it sounds decent on my Bifrost 2 > Quicksilver Amp, it sounds much better on my Soekris dac2541 > Violectric HPA V281. The difference is night and day, and personally I’d definitely try and find something other than anything Topping sells.
I am also in agreement to this advice and hope to further persuade you in this direction. I know most forum members would agree as well.
As you obtain gear that is able to handle a lot of detail and technicalities, it adds to the importance of your electronics. Otherwise, you are certainly bottlenecking your setup. For example, and again, I know others that join me in this pattern, my DAC and my amp cost far more than my speaker/headphone/iem. I have tried them in entry-level and have compared them to my current electronics. It is a vast difference. More so, then if I had an entry-level headphone. In fact, I tried a DV2 on lower level gear and did not enjoy it at all.
An analogy would be if you bought a TOTL video card in hopes to play the latest and greatest, but skimped out on the cheapest CPU and the least memory. The video card will not be able to perform.
I hope this helps.
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Hi, as many of you are very deep into headphones, here my complete noob questions and someone only ever owned some usual basic Sennheiser (over ear and <€700) and fully into pasive speakers:
- treble, mid tone I can understand it gets closeley to perfect, but mid/deep-bass?
- if I sit in front of my speakers, lower bass <40Hz arrives full body&eaers (room accoustic)
How is this possible/simulated with highend headphones (never tested before, any headphone I had, was for watching TV & noise cancelation purposes, never for serious music listening. Bass was always lacking & dry)?
Thx for enlightening…
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It’s just not the same experience, you’re answering your own question sort of here with the room acoustics… as the room gets taken entirely out of the equation. Whereas for your 2-ch system the room is front and center a part of the equation.
Don’t even try to equate two. It’s also telling the some of the most impressive headphones are ones that in a way attempt to simulate speakers albeit small speakers placed really close to your ears.
Good headphones will allow you to hear great bass, fantastic bass extension but you won’t feel it, you will get some feel in your eardrums but not on your body like you would with a good 2-ch system with subs. It’s a weird feeling to be honest since you’re only getting a portion of the bass impact, meaning the auditory side not the physical side.
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So with my limited experience, and never owned a bass monster fostex or abyss, mid bass i feel there are plenty of cans that can give good kick and slam, the subbass is something that is harder to fully get and on many headphones a bass shelf eq is needed.
As for feel, i have not gotten anything that pulses the body or hits the chest like a real sub. Itll all be positioned in your head. For me the kicks hit the eardrums like someone tapping on them and subbass can rumble your head, but when its good i feel like i feel it more hitting the sinuses down behind my ears and behind my eyes a bit. Like a inner brain massage.
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No headphones are going to replace the full body impact of speakers and subwoofers.
That said, it’s so much harder to dial a room than to figure out a synergistic headphones chain. And when the kids go to sleep so do speakers for most people.
It’s apples and oranges.
That’s why for me there’s a use case for each. And that’s why live music, big concert halls or intimate clubs, and most importantly gatherings in nature for trance music festivals are irreplaceable.
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All of this 2ch talk and hype is perking up my ears 
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But it’s sooooo much cheaper.
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Something that took a while to click for me was bass with headphones. I feel like it is because it is harder for them to have that visceral impact - hard to feel the bass the way speakers can provide. So I always looked for a boosted bass…
It changed for me when I realized there was a different way to experience bass - less viscerally and more about nuance, detail, sub-bass. The depth and quality making up for the difference in the experience. It took a few years though and I only really got it when I started buying more expensive (as in 500 plus) headphones.
I think now that quantity of bass, while it can be fun, is less interesting on headphones than complex bass. All of this is very music dependent though and isn’t often mentioned. It’s one of the harder things to get when you start taking headphones seriously I think because it is a subtle shift in perspective compared to some other adjustments.
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it isn’t possible.
Speakers are speakers, and headphones are headphones.
The “trick” is to realize they are different experiences, and take them for what they are.
The 1266 is the closest thing to slam and visceral feel in a headphone, but it’s not comparable to speakers.
I came into hifi when there was no such thing as a hifi subwoofer, and there was no digital so sub bass was always somewhat muted in recordings anyway. I don’t value Bass Slam or Sub Bass quantity like a lot of newer audiophiles, but even with that, headphones can’t do what speakers do across the board.
Having said that they can provide an intimacy of presentation that is difficult to get out of speakers, and provide an experience all their own.
You really have to accept them for what they are.
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