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These expensive planars need additional investment in amplification.There are all low sensitivity.
Hi Steve, having limited experience with headphones, it’s hard for me know exactly what I’m looking for. With all the years I’ve been in this hobby it’s been trial and error. I’m not tech savvy, I usually buy what I think I need, audition it in my home and hope for the best. If it doesn’t work, EBAY..First and foremost is comfort for me and I get that with the Q701’s. I would say I like my sound to be slightly on the analytical side. I want the high’s to be extended but smooth and the bass be tight and well defined… I’m a sucker for detail..Smk, you hit the nail on the head, making a lateral move has crossed my mind. What would I gain by buying another $300.00 set of headphones? To make my next purchase worth while, I’m going to have to go more upscale........ It’s only money, Right
Steve, I looked at those Stax Sigmas on the internet, I don’t think I can choke down the look of those cans. LOL.. I always try have an eye towards esthetics to a degree..
You're not alone, man...Steve has made several attempts to force these fugardly beasts on me several times. I feel that he completely abused my trust, as he knows I credit him for my love of Grados and Peachtree Audio...I never expected he would try to use our friendship in order to trick more of us into buying these things, just so that he could comiserate and share the pain of embarrassment among others. Be strong, man. Don't give in to his audio voodoo!
I don't want to get too into this conversation because I've not heard any planar 'phones... But I'm a little surprised nobody has mentioned the Oppo PM-3 (well, Guy 13 mentioned Oppo). ??? They've gotten lots of positive press, are easy to drive, and only cost $400. The only drawback I see is that they're not open back. Aren't the modded Fostex models also closed, though?Is there something about these headphones that I'm missing?
I received the HiFiMan HE-400i’s that I bought on a Black Friday sale, I got them from Crutchfield for 300 clams. Like I said before in my opening post, I do like bang for the buck. My first impressions out of the box was that I received the old screw on cable connectors, apparently,there are still a few around as stated on the HiFiMan web site. The cable itself is a little stiff and unrulyand only 5 foot long which is not a big problem for me, however, I do like the fit and finish of these headphones.I wore them for a couple of hours last night listening to a variety of music and found them to be very comfortable and easy to listen to.. The Sound quality out of the box is very good so far, paperwork says 150 hour break in period. Compared to the AKG Q701’s the HE-400i’s have a fuller, smoother sound and they also dig deeper. I will have to see what the 150 hour break in period brings but so far, I like what I hear.
I understand the point above about lateral moves,but... one of the attractions of the headphone segment of the hobby is that it is easy to swap out 'phones to get better 'synergy' between a particular recording, headphone, and pair of ears. So maybe to you, 'Kind of Blue' sounds better on Headphone 'A', and Chick Corea and Bela Fleck 'Two' sounds better on Headphone 'B'. And who knows, maybe I think the opposite! Maybe the differences can be EQ'd out- and maybe not. I think of it kind of like tube rolling. Sometimes it may be a synergy thing, sometimes you just want a different flavor. Not so easy with speakers, very easy with headphones. So while the LCD-X may be "better" headphones than the HE400, whether to spend the extra cash may be somewhat of a separate question.
