Are you compiling the responses?
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Well, I havenāt documented or tallied the answers yet(which is a good idea!). Just trying to see which models get mentioned most, or what unknowns might be out there. MySphere is clearly shining bright, so far! As well as D8KP and maybe X9000/009/Utopia. (and Sundara for most well-rounded)
I am surprised not to see more LCD mentions for bass, non-Sundara HFM models for treble, or 007/HD600/650 for desert island.
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- Best Bass? DCA Expanse, Abyss 1266 TC (tricky to get a good fit for great bass though, some positions create muddy bass or produce very little bass)
- Best Treble? Shangri-La Sr, Utopia OG and 22
- Desert Island Headphone? ZMF Atrium
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Why this? The easiest to listen to / most generally agreeable sound?
Going to take a shot at this:
Bass: D8000Pro and 1266TC
Mids: mysphere 3.2
Treble: Susvara, Raal CA-1a especially for female vocals, there is an ethereal quality to them.
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- Best Bass? - Fostex TH900 SB
- Best Treble? - Mysphere 3.2
- Desert Island Headphone? - Mysphere 3.2
if mids is also part of question Mysphere 3.2, others I have heard are not even in the same tier for me
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Yeah itās easy to listen too, the bass feels a bit boosted which is always fun and it seems to work with most genres. Itās not really the best at anything but itās just a good all rounder for me. I always reach for it if I just want to relax and enjoy some music but not chase after detail.
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Granted, my rig and previously owned cans are far more modest than many of yours, but here goes:
- Best Bass? - Audeze LCD-2C. Rich, warm, punchy, outstanding, especially with rock.
- Best Mids? - Sennheiser HD 6XX. Outstanding timbre and tone. If you know, you know.
- Best Treble? - Audeze LCD-X 2021. No annoying spikes or brightness but not rolled-off. Thatās a rare needle to thread in this hobby. Just sounds right.
- Best Comfort? - Bose QC 35 II. OK, itās not a wired, audiophile headphone. But Iāve never had a headphone disappear on my head with its combination of lightness, perfect clamping force and pad comfort quite like the QC 35 II.
- Desert Island Headphone? - Audeze LCD-X 2021. Iād need Roon for this. The LCD-X 2021 does nothing exceptionally, nothing TOTL. But it does everything very, very well. One of the few cans Iāve owned or heard with no show-stopping flaws or annoyances once EQād, and itās pretty damn good with stock tuning. My reference standard. My only complaint is the same with all Audezes ā theyāre heavy.
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Whatās your chain for the LCD-X? Which other Audeze headphones have you tried?
Chain: JDS Labs Atom+ amp and DAC stack.
Other Audeze owned/tried: LCD-2C.
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Always liked the ATOM. Never got to hear the DAC. Just tried El Amp II+ and El DAC II, but returned it.
What didnāt you like about those units? Curious. Thanks.
The single-ended only philosophy they have, and the obscure balanced setup the El equipment has, is too far out of line. With IEMs, I didnāt hear noise until around 12 oāclock, and not much more at max vol, which is better noise performance than most amps. However, the noise levels and sound performance were both beaten by my A90D amp, and Cayin RU6 & Questyle M15 dongles. There didnāt seem to be much of a SQ jump in the El stuff over the ATOM stuff, from memory and my extrapolation. I also liked EF400 over the El stuff, but not as much as the A90D, amp-wise.
I tested all of this stuff recently, as part of my quest to find the best IEM system under $1000, which lead me to keep both RU6 and M15, and A90D for headphones/general use.
Are you from Buffalo, too?
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- Best Bass? - Quantity-wise either TH-900 or 1266 TC. Quality is probably D8000 Pro. Overall 1266TC
- Best Treble? - Something Electrostatic probably, but I havenāt heard many. Warwick Acoustics Bravura maybe?
- Desert Island Headphone? - Fostex TH-900 mk2 with Dekoni Sheepskin pads and aftermarket cable.
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Iām going to stick to ācheapā sub $1k or thereabouts used headphones on mine.
Best bass - fostex 900 mk2 or klipsch hp3
Best Mids - hd800s
Best treble - AT ADX5k
Desert island headphone (assuming it would have to be portable) - focal radiance
Most versatile - OG clears
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Iām from Syracuse. GO BILLS!
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Just for fun, Iām updating this lol. This is solely a list based off the linn satie ā crayon cha-1 chain, and it will likely change if it was a different oneā¦
Bass; mysphere 3.2 / yamaha yh5k
Mids; mysphere 3.2 / yamaha yh5k
Treble; mysphere 3.2 / yamaha yh5k
Desert; yamaha yh5k
Whyā¦
Bass; Yup, d8kp is out of the running on this one. The 3.2 bass, to me, has more grip, texture, and tactility, while the yh5kās bass isnāt strictly natural or as organic as the 3.2, it is very (very) clean, tight, and fast. That being said, the d8kp still wins out on sub-bass impact over these two, but because of its relative looseness and the fact that most music I listen to doesnāt have supersonic sub-bass, it gets the boot!
Mids; Yeahhh, the 3.2 still noticeably takes this area with uber amounts of texture, accuracy, and resolution. The yh5k still falls short of the 3.2, but the delta between the two isnāt as far off as I had initially anticipated.
Treble; No utopia on this one I know. But the yh5kās treble is just more impressive and engaging to me, which provides more energy and life to things.
Desert; The yh5k sounds great and is the comfiest by far. Great sound + comfort = damn nice
Interestingly enough, the results were much closer to my initial list which was meant to be a jokeā¦ go figure! The 3.2 and yh5k combo complement each other extremely well (the yin-yang combo lol). I havenāt heard everything but these two practically fill everything I could currently want, and I would be very satisfied owning just these two only. Best combo imo.
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