Fostex TH610.

Hd820s

I've heard really good things about the Aeon Noire

I have the Z7M2, they're alright but it's not mind blowing. I really like my msr7b.

I went to Montreal Audiofest this weekend and tried a few. Focal Stellia and Celestee were pretty nice but i fell in love with the Meze Liric. Beautiful headphone, beautiful sound. I'll probably grab them at some point.

Dan Clark Stealth and it's not even close. It sounds like an intimate open back.

Medium price have definitely got to be DT770 Pros

The Noire is my personal favorite, but I can understand why some people might not enjoy it as much tbh

My favorite is the Focal Stellia, love the sound and the looks too

I guess the top of the line options are Focal Stellia, Dan Clark Audio Stealth and ZMF verite closed. Maybe the new Hifiman Audivina?

Kennerton Gjallarhorn GH50 JM Edition

they like cancel no noise and have an awful midrange

Dan Clark Audio Stealth

TH610, EMU Teak, Aeon Noire, Dan Clark Stealth, the closed ZMF lines are what come to mind

DT700 Pro X vs the 770 Pro which would be a better purchase for music?

Sony MDR Z1R

Hifiman HE R9 because they are a slightly better fostex th900 for $250.

Comfortable, reliable, cheap spare parts (after 3.5 years or about 2000 of hours usage, I need only to change headband which costs about 10 euros) -

​

all these features makes DT770 Pros 80ohm (with velour pads) my recommendation for anyone who wants to enjoy music and not having headaches with reliability or "clamped" head like m40 (they sounded good but worse than DT770 Pro and they wasn't comfortable for more than an hour of listening) and don't let me start with their plastics and headband quality....

​

IEM Shure SE215 , closed back DT770Pro 80 ohm and Earfun Air Pro 2 are perfect trio which I'm going to use until they are dead.

K371

Ultrasone Ed.15 veritas. Tried the DC Stealth: did not not like it. It sounded artificial.

ZMF Atrium Closed

Focal Radiance/Stellia, Denon AH-d9200, ZMF Verite closed, Meze Liric.

The following list from Malevolent @ head-fi -

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-closed-back-headphone-thread-plus-comparisons-reviews.939901/

- Under $100

Beyerdynamic MMX-100

Creative Aurvana Live!

Samson SR950

- Between $100 and $300

AKG K371

Audio-Technica ATH-GL3

Audio-Technica ATH-M40x

Beyerdynamic DT 150

Beyerdynamic DT 700 PRO X

Meze Audio 99 Noir

Shure SRH-840A

V-MODA Crossfade M-100 Master

- Between $300 and $500

Austrian Audio Hi-X60

E-MU Teak

Meze Audio 99 Classics

Shure SRH-1540

V-MODA Crossfade 2 Wireless Codex Edition

- Between $500 and $1000

Apple AirPods Max

Audeze LCD-2 Closed Back

Beyerdynamic DT 1770 PRO

Beyerdynamic T5 (3rd Generation)

Dan Clark Audio AEON 2 Closed / Noire

Denon AH-7200

Drop + MrSpeakers Ether CX

Focal Celestee

Focal Elegia

- Between $1,000 and $1,500

Audeze LCD-XC

Audio-Technica ATH-AP2000Ti

Audio-Technica ATH-AWAS

Focal Radiance

Kennerton Rognir Dynamic

ZMF Atticus

- Between $1,500 and $2,000

Audio-Technica ATH-AWKT

Dan Clark Audio Ether C Flow 1.1

Denon AH-D9200

Fostex TH900 Mk2

Meze Audio LIRIC

Sony MDR-Z1R

ZMF Eikon

- Over $2,000

Focal Stellia

Kennerton Rognir

ZMF Vérité Closed

I love my Stellias. Heard them at a show a couple years ago, along with several other high ends, and knew those were the ones I wanted to save up for.

More often than anything else, they carry me off to that special place where I get lost in the music and forget to listen to the gear.

And, yeah, they're gorgeous to look at as well. Bonus

Especially the bass! Just something about it

For my taste nothing beats the px8. Even them being Bluetooth.

At around the 150$ mark the HarmonicDyne Athena are amazing

[deleted]

AKG K872

Why do you think some people may not enjoy it?

Rare to hear audiophiles mention Audio-Technica nowadays in my experience, but I will have to look into those!

Seriously folks, don’t drop a sentence like that without elaborating!

my favorite too.

Verite Closed is the only relevant answer

Wow, thanks! Will have a loot at that for sure.

I would love to hear from someone who has tried both as well.

I’ve tried almost all TOTL closed backs and I ended up with the new ZMF Atrium Closed

Fostex th900. Just needs a lot of modifications to be what it's worth

Verite closed is the best money can buy. It’s an amazing headphone and sounds like an open back. Much better than the Stellia in my opinion. ZMF is about to release a closed version of the atrium but reviews have been mixed.

I recently got the Noires and really enjoy them but they def have a high treble peak that's not for everyone. They give you 3 different pads you can insert to curve the treble peak to your liking but you lose a little detail of you do that. Fantastic headphones if the treble doesn't bother you, or you don't mind compromising a little detail to dampen the treble.

My favorite closed back ever would be the Kennerton GH40 ($700-$900 depending on where you buy them from). Super warm and bassy. the closest sounding headphone to it would be the Meze Empyrean, so for people that have heard that imagine it with extra bass, and a slightly more dynamic/less laid back sound (also closed back) and you get the GH40. However, I doubt it could ever compete for best closed back. Soundstage is great and detail are really good, but still not a contender for the objectively “best” closed back.

For soundstage though I can say the best closed back I’ve ever heard for that category would by my Hifiman + Drop R7DX JM edition modded by JM Audio Editions ($240~). The soundstage is absolutely massive and sounds wider than all of my open back headphones

My other favorite closed backs would be the Meze Liric, DCA Aeon 2 Closed, and Sony Z7M2

It's a bit bright and using the foam pads kills some of the details. It's also not the most dynamic or hard hitting bass when compared to some dynamic driver headphones (Focal, Fostex, E-MU).

Best closed-backs I've heard are Focal Stellia, which cost $3,000. About the only closed-back I've heard that can compete with open-backs in the same price range. Magnificent headphones.

The AKG K371 are a very, very good entry-level closed-back for around $125. Blow away the incredibly overrated Audio-Technica ATH-M40x and M50x in the same price range.

Meze 99 Classics are a lot of fun for $310. Impeccable build quality, comfortable, beautiful. But they are bassy as hell, with flabby bass that bleeds into the mids. Good, smooth treble, though. The 99 Classics are an example of a can that has a hideous-looking frequency response curve but still sound fun.

Focal Elegia are a very good deal at $325 from Adorama. Not worth the $900 sticker price because of the always-sketch Focal build quality and metallic and incredibly weird midrange tuning that almost demands EQ. But their imaging is damn near holographic, and the bass, while not always present, really punches and slams when called upon.

I have not heard the Audeze LCD-XC, but people rave about them. I have owned the LCD-2C and own the LCD-X 2021, and both of those are fantastic headphones. So, I bet the hype surrounding LCD-XC is real.

I owned the Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire, which are around $800-900 new. Overrated. Blunted transients, lacking detail or dynamics, especially with the felt filters needed to mute the treble peak. Too much clamping force if you have a big head, too, and the Nitinol headband will not bend. Just get an HD 6XX for about $600 less if you're interested in that sound signature unless you MUST have a closed-back.

DT700 Pro X has definitley the better tonality. But DT770 has better detail retrieval. Personally I prefer DT700 becuase I find the 770 too sharp.

What kind of mod's do you recommend?

I've considered the lawton tune up kit for a while now but have yet to pull the trigger.

You are a man alone on an island with this opinion. :)

DT770pro are great. I don't have them myself but I've used them plenty of Times in the Studio.

I thought it had too much of a bass boost when I heard it. Went home and checked FR - yup, it’s boosted to hell at 100 Hz with possible dips in the sub-bass. I was not a fan of the signature. But it looks the business 👌

Upvoted for this extremely unpopular opinion.

Any cabled Headphones Beats the Heck Out of Bluetooth nastiness.

A900LTD, but good luck finding one. (I acquired mine in Tokyo many years ago)

It was an AT A900 made with a firmer metal which cleaned it up to open back levels while retaining all the closed back bass.

DT770 these days, because I love the dirty bass.

I 100% about what they receive. But, for what they deliver, the PX8, for my taste, put an step up to the game. Considering been closed back and they price range.

I find them a bit boring compared to some other headphones, or at least compared to others I own. They are very competent tonally (and come with tuning pads for minor adjustments), but they lack the impact and dynamics I would normally look for. It doesn't lack bass, but it has a somewhat polite feeling and presentation to it.

As I described it to a friend once, it's like a butler was bringing my music to me rather than a normal waitress. It's the same song, just more polite

Tell me more...

You know how with the stock pads it can sound a little grainy? You'd be surprised how much detail they can put out just by switching the pads. Clarity goes through the roof. It does change the tonality though making it a bit flatter but still retains most of its soundstage and imaging capabilities.

They sound bright, flat, and have a compressed quality to them. Granted, I feel the same about Hifiman orthos - though that's not a popular opinion.

Fostex mods.

I hate closed backs since IEMs are just a better buy in general, but here are some actual good ones:

​

AKG K371

Auroros Audio Astralis

Anything ZMF makes

​

That's kind of it. I've never heard the Stellia, the hifiman closed backs are just horrid, and Dan Clark Audio stuff always sounds compressed.

Why not just EQ them, instead of changing the pads?

DCA Aeon 2C

Monolith M1060C

Your mileage may vary. I suspect I got a golden unit

Fostex th900 (ÈQ 5khz-16kHZ minus 2db)

Indeed! To me, it's one of the best closed back company out there but i know it's not a popular opinion among audiophiles. The m50x were overhyped but they are not that bad. I liked the sound but the comfort was not for me. Msr7b sounds better and are more comfy. This weekend i also tried the ATH-WP900 and the ATH-AWAS at the Audio-Tech boot of the Audiofest. They are both really awesome headphones but the WP900 really impress me. Incredibly lightweight, portable and great, great sound. Gorgeous looks too. Definitely my second choice of the weekend after the Meze Liric.

I have the Sennheiser HD569 and am perfectly happy with them. I lightly EQ the bass up a bit when listening to music (drum and bass needs a hefty low end lol) but otherwise no complaints.

Denon d7200 with zmf Ori pads. I prefer them over any open back I have owned, they sound fun and have a wide soundstage with those pads and are comfortable to game or listen to music for hours. Also love the wood look

Both the Beyer DT 700 Pro X and Aeon Noires have been great for me. The Noires are my endgame closed back and easily my most used set of headphones

Stellia. my endgame— excellent detail, great tonality for my tastes, and great for a ton of musical genres and movies

EMU TEAK

Not heard much closed backs to compare, but I have SRH 1540 and it’s great for my taste.

Dan Clark aeon 2 noire Was the best for me. Most comfortable, great noise isolation and banger Sound in all frequencies. Was my overall winner testing headphones from 400-2500$.

The single best I've heard is Focal Bathys.

I've tried Aeon X Closed and K371 and both are far behind imo.

I can see someone still preferring to own the XM5's tho, which don't sound as good but have better noise cancelling

What type of foam do you use? I love my DT770 and while I don't mind the sibilance at all, they can get a bit fatiguing in one long sitting.

Hey, right now I'm using the stock DT 1990 Foam, but only because they become sibilant with the Dekoni Elite Velours. If you find the stock 770 pads sibilant, I'd recommend trying the DIYAudioHeaven Paper Towel Mod. It's exactly what it sounds like, just cut out a circle of paper towel and stick it between the driver and the stock 770 Foam.

Paper towel is more precise than the foam because it's less drastic of a change, and you can add as much paper towel as you need until you find the sound you're looking for. It doesn't affect anything noticeably except for the peak in my experience.

[deleted]

this is what i do

How does that compare to VC? My focus is female vocal, rap, bass. I have heard the AC has better female vocal cause it is more ‘organic’?

from my own take, compressed soundstage and lack of dynamics is the simplest i can put it.

detail is great and everything is soft except the treble

they take eq well and are the most comfortable headphones ive ever worn, which negates most of the con's for me

If Sennheiser made a closed back HD560s that sounded basically the same (or at least same tonality, maybe deeper subbass extension, it would probably have smaller soundstage) I’d die a happy man. I currently use the 770s EQ’d to shit when I need closed back usage, but I’d love something that I didn’t feel the need to EQ (like the 560s) and that could be more portable (non-detachable coiled cable on 770 😭 it’s great on my desk but no where else) but still isolate nicely. I think I’d like to try the BeyerDynamic T70 - it’s pretty flat aside from the typical Mount Beyer treble spike

M1570C

Neat! Thanks for the tip!

VC has a bit more impact than the AC. I think the AC sounds more analogue with a bit more natural presentation. I think it sounds more organic than the VC. The bass is absolute bliss on the AC maybe even too much for some people, it is weighty and textured but may feel a little slow compared to the VC. I have Olive wood on my AC which is harder than the default wood that ZMF will release so that can contribute to the speed of the drivers as there would be more decay in softer woods. The suede pads can make the AC sounds cleaner and more accurate compared to the stock pads but I prefer the stock pads.

A lot of the DCA headphones lack in dynamics, in other words they lack the punch and slam of say Focal headphones. My opinion (and that of many others) btw

My favorite of those i've tried are the hifiman he r9, just plain bassy fun with a huge soundstage and good imaging. Problem is: it's from hifiman with all the cons and none of the pros

I wish sony z7, denon 7200, monolith m1570c or dt1770 sounded like the r9

Hard to find the proper love for WP-900 here. They have a good following on forum somewhere can't remember but it's there. But not on reddit. True portable higher end cans.

Meze Liric. Had to eq every other closed back, but the Liric are fantastic from start to finish even without eq

Audioquest Nightowls are the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn - period, not even close. Weird, hate-it-or-love-it tonality, but takes EQ extremely well. Perfect marriage with the Qudelix 5K.

Blue Ella are some of the most unique planar headphones you can experience. They come with a built-in rechargeable amp, which means you can drive them on anything. They’re fairly comfortable to me, but the unorthodox design means YMMV. Pretty neutral, warmer with the on-board amp.

Neither of these are made anymore, as both Audioquest and Blue left the headphone game. If you can pick these up for $200-300 on the used market, I’d recommend them. Both retailed for $700 on initial release. I’d say they’re both about equal to the Elex/Ananda-tier of headphones in terms of technicalities, maybe slightly behind.

Best $8 ever spent

Lcd-xc. They are like a white canvas. They can be whatever you want them to be. They simple dont have distortion and you can eq the hell out of them. Yes. I have them, so my opinion is biased.

Focal Stellia

DCA Stealth by a mile

The SE215 has stayed with me for 6 years. I don't care what anyone says about the sound, but it's a survivor. It's only starting to fail recently, which prompted me to buy a couple of upgrades and a 3rd that came very quickly (in case the SE215 fails forever).

I really love my Denon AH-D9200

From those I’ve heard - Fostex TH900

Cheap - AKG K361/371 or Rode NTH-100 (if you get a good one)

Medium - DCA Aeon Closed X

High End - LCD-XC

Premium - DCA Stealth

I'm not into closed backs, so haven't tried many. But the DT 770 sounded pretty good to me. And man, those pads! Stock top of the head makes my head hurt though, but easily bought top pad from Sennheiser glued on top and it's fixed. It might nokk look til great, but I've used this on several headphones.

I'm very limited in my closed back experience as I found what works for me. In my experience, I've tried:

Beats Pro: with a little bit of bass tightening and darkening of the upper mids, it has a really nice crunch. It's like using WF-1000XM3s but as a headphone. I've tried many other Beats, but this is one of the only two I'll ever positively talk about.

Sony WH-1000XM4: I actually regret owning them. It's almost as bad as Beats studios in sound, but with better tech and repairability.

DT 770s: hated them at first, but with new pads, I really love it's midrange and soundstage. I can tolerate the treble and the dips it has. EQ'd to Harman doesn't take much away from their sound and is honestly the best I've heard under $200 (which is what they cost new nowadays).

Sony MDR-XB500: for cheap little bass cans you can buy today, they are amazing. Unlike the Beats Pro, they're wide-ish sounding and I can listen to most of my library in them if that's all I have at the moment.

AKG K361/371: They're usable. Pretty decent sounding, tuning is mainly what separates them. They just don't sound as clean to me as the dt770s.

AKG K44: for $10, I got my money's worth. EQ'd to Harman, they sound usable but with zero bass extension. Naturally, it's the most interesting tuning I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.

AKG N90Q: there were several listings sub $300 around the time I got them and at that price point, it's amazing. Strong bass with no shelf or rolloff, while sounding smooth going midrange and even into its treble. It has an amazing soundstage and imaging to back it up for a pair of closed backs. There's also the other cool tech stuff to it, but at its core it's highly enjoyable for me, on top of having noise cancelling. At the moment, it's the best I've heard yet for closed backs.

No problem!

You can but not everyone likes EQ or is using a source where EQ is possible. So alternate options are appreciated by some. I use mine with no pads as I love them as they come.

beats solo pro

Feel like I need to give a shout out to the HE R7 here as well. Being the bottom of that line has left them almost invisible to the community. But get them on sale, replace the cables, and give the headband a squeeze to actually fit a normal person's head -- then they're a superb daily driver for ~90 USD. Another well-performing headphone nobody talks about. Love them for movies, meetings, and chamber music due to that lovely cavernous quality.

I'd like to try the rest of the Rx line, despite love-hate reviews.

Bowers and Wilkins P9 Signature

What's the difference between the Meze 99 Classics and 99 Noir? I saw another person who recommended those.

I have heard a lot of good stuff about the AKG K371. Someone near me is selling a pair (from 2022, so not that used) for $100 and was thinking of buying those. How are they bass wise? Anything special about them?

Anything that's special about them or that stands out? I'm considering getting them.

Mind explaining the differences between tonality and detail retrieval - more so what exactly that last one would encompass.

I hope this sub never recovers from bin store week and we keep saying stuff like this for the rest of time

Hahaha it’s going to be so confusing for new members. They’ll be hunting for $8 Abyss cans for the rest of their lives.

I bought a pair on a whim this winter, and they've been my go-to coffee shop work headphone for a few months. I like them for a lot of genres, but the harman bass shelf they have can get to be a little much sometimes. Really depends on the genre and the mix. Also, they're VERY finicky about placement, and the seal on the cable side of mine has to be just so or I lose a good seal, and thus accurate bass response. But I think for the money they're a tremendous value, really.

I will chime in to say the Focal Elegia, because I love them, and I bet I would like the Stellia even more (if I was willing to pay that much for a closed back). I'm more of a fan of open backs, but the Elegia gets really close to the technical performance of an open back, without the weird bass boominess and muffled sound that tends to plague closed backs.

I've also owned and daily driven the HD 569 and a Bose Soundlink (wireless). Night and day difference with the Elegia how much better quality the sound is, it even compares well to Clear MG (not *as* good, but bloody close). I really hoped to save money on a closed back in getting the 569, because I didn't have very high expectations for an outdoor, walking around closed back. I honestly just wanted to keep my ears warm in the cold. But the 569 absolutely drained the life out of music, and I never took the Elegia off my wishlist. And I don't regret it, it's just a delight to listen to.

2021 LCD XC

The Audio Technica r70x is still quite popular here.

Heard tons of good things about Audeze Maxwell.

for mid tier Hifiman R7DX JM Edition Mod

The 99 Noir have black wood; the 99 Classics have brown wood.

The AKG K371 hug the Harman Curve, a sound signature that represents what "most people" sound good. Your mileage may vary. Pretty neutral with slightly elevated bass, but nowhere near as bassy as the Mezes. But they also don't have the bass bloat into the mids of the Mezes.

Good luck.

Aurora Australis

Does anyone have the post that started the whole thing? I searched in vain.

Do you still think the Teaks are still worth the price today?

>TH610, EMU Teak

These are semi-open. The vent is a slit running along the edge of the earpad.

I love my Elegia. Demo’d them alongside the usual closed-back suspects in a similar price range and just fell in love with them - realised I was grinning listening to my demo tracks.

They are all-purpose headphones. Jack of all trades... Very practical.

Currently it's my LCD-XC, but I haven't tried a lot of headphones. My other reference points for closed backs are N90Q, JM modded HE R9 and ATH-W5000. It brings out details and texture best though isn't the most natural sounding.

Atrium closed, kennerton rognir, dca stealth

hot take but the Austrian Audio Hi X60 (with EQ) has single handedly ended my buying and selling spree. Ridiculous value!

Stax 4070

[deleted]

Aeon Closed X

I definitely use EQ. I can’t imagine finding something fatiguing if you EQ out the frequencies that give you trouble (and I’m sensitive to this as well, though more with Beyer stock tuning than Focal stock tuning).

I’ve seen all the people saying “when not if” on the headband breaking, but I’ll deal with it “when” it happens. I also have the Clear MG and no issue with it at all, nor is it as obvious to me as it seems to be to other people that it’s at imminent risk of breaking. Everything can break if you use it, I’m happy to have something that sounds and looks good and not live in fear about it.

My personal favorite, but I can understand why some people might not enjoy it as much tbh.

ZMF Verite Closed. All day.

I agree, best closed back I've ever heard and I've heard most of them.

The real issue is that they're hunting for Abyss cans ^(/s but not really)

My focal elegias are my favourite headphone period.

>Focal Elegia

on sale for $320 at Adorama right now - a steal at that price

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/121s4yd/i_see_your_8_bin_store_sennheisers_and_raise_you/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=1&utm_term=1

Had the VModa M100 and they were ass. Muddy and wonky sounding. Mayeb the Master fixed all of that? Also had the Elegia and they were amazing sounding... With EQ. Stock Elegia was pretty underwhelming

Do you mean Atticus closed? I don’t think there is a closed version of the Atrium.

It's boomy in the bass and has a huge 3kHz spike. I got it acceptable with EQ but never loved it; for a TOTL headphone, the sound is not great. It does have great soundstage for a closed back and is very comfortable.

The bass after EQ is good... but it's not as good as open backs like the LCD-X, HE6SEV2, even the Hifiman Arya or Edition XS. While Focal (Clear, Utopia) are punchier, the bass on the Z1R is distinctly pillowy and undefined.

It sort of decided for me that I don't need closed back headphones, I use IEMs if I need the isolation. I actually swapped it for a Shure KSE1500 which also needs EQ, but is so much better. I have the IER-Z1R as well, it's much better.

It is not officially out yet but was purchasable at Canjam. I believe it is an April release.

[deleted]

Tonality (at least to me) is the balance between bass, treble and midrange. DT700 has a balanced ratio between these three but DT770 has more bass and treble than it has midrange. Detail retrieval is kind of self explanatory, it's how much nuances and fine details you can extract and hear from the music. (sorry for my bad English).

Everyone's answer: "The ones I own!"

Sony MDR-R10

I don't know why you're being defensive, no one is giving you a hard time for having an opinion. But thinking that the headband will break (even though it hasn't) is not an "experience", and I didn't understand your point about the headphones being fatiguing after EQ.

Wow, awesome!

Beats. Better than any closed back, actually, best headphone ever Made. Puts the HE-1 to shame

[deleted]

sennheiser hd25 is super underrated

Some people prefer that more pillowy bass including me. The clean analytical bass from the likes of LCD-X is great but not as fun as the pillowy non analytical ones for some people.

Stax RTX 4070

It's the sort of headphone, that if it was priced $100-300, I could see it- although there are even better tuned headphones at that price. At $2,000...

One of the things I wish more “seasoned” headfi fans would embrace in helping out newcomers to the hobby is that there is no best. Different fit, sound profile and style considerations are only part of what makes a best for you headset. Your personal taste and hearing ability play huge roles as well. It’s like saying what is the best wine? There isn’t a single answer, just a vast array of opinions, biases and preferences.

So I’ll follow that by listing a few I think everyone should get to try out before picking one of them as their ‘best’.

I like the style and feel of the Meze 99s. They are inexpensive for what they are and for quite a few of my friends they are as high-end as they will ever want. So you should bring them into the mix to set your own bar on whether or not doubling or tripling the cost is worth it to you.

Tried the Focal Eligia. Because they are currently more then half off. So you can feel like you are getting a $1000 headphone for $400. Personally I’m not sure they sound 2x better than the $200 Meze 99s. But your experience will be different and you may find them massively better to your ears.

The Focal Radiance, currently closing out around $900, so they reasonably represent the next price tier. I personally find these much more pleasurable then the Elegia. Even though the original prices were similar and they are both made by Focal. I think this proves personal taste plays a huge role. Or that the Elegias were never good value for money. Your call.

Finally of the closed backs I also own the original Audeze XC. While I love the sound of these, the weight and clamping becomes headache inducing after 90 minutes or so. So while they may have the best sound to my ears, other factors make them very much not “the best headphone” for me. Were they lighter or designed differently they would be my favorite/best. But again they represent another big $500 or more price increase over the Radiance. Note I demoed the Stellia and Radiance at the same time. The price step function wasn’t worth it to me. Though someday I’d love to try the Stellia beryllium drivers in the Radiance frame.

So far the Radiance hit the sweet spot more then any other closed backs I own. Soon I’ll pass along my 99 classics and Elegia so I can spend more time trying out these other three.

All of these three are likely great. One may possibly trump my Radiance, in which case I’ll move on because I found a new personal best:

• DCA Ether C (maybe over the more popular Noire)
• The old school Denon D9200
• a set of the always popular Sony Z1R.

Finally, I encourage newcomers to really explore the world of full size wireless headphones. The new Bathys or B&W could short circuit your search for DACs and Amps and make you super happy. After all, best could just as easily be “simplest” to many people.

Akg k553. Insane soundstage and incredibly comfortable, not a lot of bass which I prefer.

I think it is kind of a preference, I heard because of this bass quality of the MDR-Z1R replicates orchestra hall pretty well. It just sounds more natural according to everyone that enjoys their Z1R. Sometimes being too "clean" makes it less natural. I have the ADX5000 and it kills all echoes and sound clean af. It doesn't sound natural but I kinda like it. I am aiming to get the Z1R next.

I’ve really enjoyed the ZMF Atticus. My other closed favorites would have to be TH-X00PH and DCA AEON 2

I had the Aeon Noire for a week and really wasn't sold.
The treble really hurt my ears on many songs, even with the "lvl 3" dampening inserts, even as a Beyerdynamic user.

Speaking of Beyerdynamic: I know this isn't a fair comparison, since it's open vs closed back, but my Dt 1990 completely smacks the Aeon 2 Noire in terms of imaging and resolution for less than, or around half the price.

Koss KPH30i (clear) $29.99

+1 for the Z1R.

The Mdr-Z1R is “easy” to drive. It sounds fine out an iPhone dongle. But with this kind of source the bass can really be a little boomy and slow (despite being super fun like this). Put it after the Mojo 2 or, even better, a Burson amp and will get ver fast, precise and punchy bass (although not as punchy as with the HE6se or a Focal Clear). The bass is much better than the Edition XS, which I’ve had and have great regard for.

I liked it better then the non-EQef LCDX 2021. It’s not an easy headphone, doesn’t wow you at first listen, but it’s the favorite in the many “endgame hp’s” I’ve tried.

I was driving it off a Topping A90. It wasn't lack of power.

I like the Audio Technica A900X but admittedly haven't listened or auditioned many good closed back headphones.