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S
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RaynAudio Lyre
|
Totally neutral, incredible timbre, great build quality. The planar
magnetic drivers can take an insane bass boost, more than you could ever
want.
|
|
S
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Drop PC38X
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I use the velour pads with the volume knob around 80%. Sounds absolutely
incredible, with slightly more preferable mid-treble on my ears than the
RaynAudio Lyre, but the overall package is much less desirable due to
the cheap build quality and inconsistent QC.
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|
S-
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Audio-Technica R70x Refine
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A direct improvement on the original R70x. Brings back some of the
missing upper treble and adds a touch more warmth.
|
|
A+
|
MayAudio Sword
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Endlessly customizable. Because it’s 3D printed, it doesn’t exactly
scream “build quality,” but it sounds fantastic.
|
|
A
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Audio-Technica R70x
|
Comfortable, lightweight, and sounds awesome, even if it lacks some
upper treble.
|
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A-
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Sennheiser HD 6XX
|
I get some colorations in the treble, but a touch of EQ and an OTL tube
amplifier makes this a warm, rich, smooth experience.
|
|
A-
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Stax SR-X1
|
With a minor boost in the mid treble, this becomes an S tier headphone
based on sound. Unfortunately, I get really sweaty with it, and it has a
bad habit of farting on my head.
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|
A-
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FiiO FT1
|
A surprisingly decent closed-back headphone which redefined the price
bracket for closed-backs when it came out.
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|
B+
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Ugreen Max5C
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For $40, it’s impossible to go wrong with this bluetooth ANC headphone.
|
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B+
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Aune AC55
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The best sounding on-ear I’ve ever tried. Shame that it’s so
uncomfortable, though.
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|
B
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Focal Clear OG
|
Treble sounds a bit off for me, but it’s a fun headphone that strongly
resembles the Focal Elex.
|
|
B
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Focal Elex
|
Treble sounds a bit off for me, but it’s a fun headphone that I used for
a long time.
|
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B
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Hifiman Sundara
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Peaky metallic treble, but an energetic, fun entry into planars.
|
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B-
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Focal Utopia 2022
|
Sounded like a hole in the treble, tonally it wasn’t great, but the
sense of “speed” was unlike anything I’d ever heard at the time.
|
|
B-
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Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
|
Super uncomfortable, but they sound pretty decent, especially for the
price.
|
|
B-
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Koss KPH30i
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The best of the Koss on-ears under $50.
|
|
C+
|
Sony WH-1000XM5
|
Much improved from the XM4, but still not something I’d want to use
regularly.
|
|
C+
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Koss Porta Pro
|
Darkpoo, warmpoo.
|
|
C+
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Moondrop Old Fashioned
|
Not much bass, but surprisingly competent for the price. More
comfortable than any of the Koss on-ears.
|
|
C
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FiiO EH11
|
Build quality is laughable. Sound wise, it’s just really V-shaped, and
not in a good way.
|
|
C
|
Philphone
|
As much as I hate putting such a cool and unique product here, it
sounded very wrong on my head. Unrelated to its ranking, it was nearly
impossible to get a seal.
|
|
C
|
Koss KSC75
|
Decent for the price, but I don’t like the treble on them.
|
|
C
|
Focal Hadenys
|
The headphone of all time. Sounded like a headphone, didn’t do anything
worth remembering.
|
|
C
|
Focal Bathys
|
Annoying treble, always sounded wrong. ANC is among the worst in class.
|
|
C-
|
Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro
|
Awful treble mountain. Painful to listen to. Shame, because Beyerdynamic
knows the meaning of “build quality.”
|
|
C-
|
Audeze LCD-2F
|
Needed a lot of EQ to sound right. Very uncomfortable, very heavy.
|
|
C-
|
Pioneer SE-505
|
Surprisingly non-peaky response for being from the 70s, but so
mids-forward that they’re kinda difficult to listen to without EQ.
|
|
D+
|
AKG K1000
|
An extremely soundstagey experience, at the expense of murderous treble
that is way brighter than any human should be able to handle.
|
|
D+
|
Skullcandy Crusher Evo
|
Wet fart bass, though somehow manages to be fun for about an hour once
every 3 months.
|
|
D+
|
Sony WH-1000XM4
|
A total irredeemable mudfest.
|
|
D
|
Pioneer SE-Q404
|
Similar thoughts as the SE-505 (surprisingly non-peaky, stupidly
mids-forward) but they have absolutely horrid positional variation.
|
|
D
|
Grado SR80e
|
Absolutely no bass and horrible, grating treble.
|
|
D
|
Audio-Technica M50x
|
Sounds totally compressed, no dynamics whatsoever. A “wall of sound” as
I’ve come to describe it.
|
|
D-
|
Focal Clear MG
|
Horrible. Sounded broken on my head. Focal should have never released
this product.
|
|
F
|
Sansui SS-10
|
Crinacle put it best when he said this was a simulation of what it’s
like to have hearing damage.
|