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The_D0lph1n t1_j66w5b8 wrote

Let's see, I've owned quite a few headphones, and I've demoed more, so I'll give this one a shot. Some demos were done months ago, and often for only a few minutes, so this is just from memory.

  1. Hifiman Shangri-La Jr. Superlative in comfort, sound, and style. My favorite tuning thus far: airy, bright, yet smooth. Vocals, particularly female vocals, take on this thinner, breathy, "delicate/angelic" sound, which I often like. Bass has some sense of punch and responds well to EQ. Absolutely no regrets buying this one.
  2. Hifiman HE-1000v2. Very similar overall to the SGL Jr, I just really like the Hifiman sound. A bit more bass, the treble is a bit rougher, and the soundstage is different. Comfort is great too, though the earcup extends maybe a bit too far down.
  3. Meze Elite. Only demoed them for a bit, but the sound was full and rich, with lots of energy in the bass and midrange. It was comfortable to listen to sound-wise. Unfortunately, my ears stick out too much and were squished against the metal driver mesh, which was a bit uncomfortable.
  4. LCD-X 2021. Smooth and bassy sound, probably the darkest headphone that I could enjoy listening to. All around good option, and it's more comfortable than its weight would imply.
  5. Stax SR-L700mk2. Very unusual tuning, but it works well for some genres. With a bit of a bass boost, it becomes much more tolerable for a wider variety of music. It's sort of a lowercase-mu-shaped sound, and just needs a bit more bass to shine. Also, it's soundstage is quite unusual and asymmetrical, which works well for live stage-based recordings. I haven't heard anything with that sort of soundstage elsewhere.
  6. Hifiman Arya Stealth. It's got that usual Hifiman open-back tuning, but it lacks some refinement in the upper mids and treble that the HE-1000v2/SGL Jr have. There's just some harshness there. Excellent headphone otherwise.
  7. Focal Utopia (older). The only Focal that I've tried that wasn't immediately uncomfortable. It has a very energetic sound, lots of bass punch and slam, but possibly the weirdest imaging I've heard. Like in one song, there's a little rustle that normally renders diagonally behind my left ear. On the Utopia, it was like inside my left eye socket. Very odd, but a great headphone nonetheless.
  8. Audeze CRBN. This is an outlier amongst electrostatics. Small soundstage, big and punchy bass, plenty of note weight similar to an Audeze planar. Somewhat strident in the midrange, particularly with female vocals, and this trait is shared with the MM-500, so I think it's a "new Audeze" feature. Kind of bulky too. Treble seemed a bit grainy at times compared to the other 2 estats on this list. An estat for people who don't like estats.
  9. Dan Clark Audio Aeon 2 Noire. Well-tuned portable closed-back planar. Decently comfortable, though for some reason it doesn't work that well for my head shape through a combination of unusual pad shape, higher clamp pressure, and a thin, stiff, and narrow headband strap. Generally a good Harman-esque tuning, though quite bright in the upper treble even for me. Bass is elevated, but occasionally lacking in punch, depending on how the track is mastered.
  10. Hifiman HE-R7DX. Sort of a surprising entry, even to myself, showing that good stuff exists at all price brackets. Light and mostly comfortable (big ears strike again!), with minimal clamp force. Good and punchy bass to me despite not sealing well on my head. Emphasized midrange combines with an elevated, though peaky, treble to create an energetic sound. The main problems are that the sound can change quite a bit based on fit, the treble peaks may disagree with someone else (they don't bother me very much), and it's very difficult to EQ. Certain notches in the FR are practically impossible to erase via EQ boosts. This is a love-or-hate headphone, and I got lucky.
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radrod69 OP t1_j67y8tw wrote

Nice, I would love to try the SLJr. at some point, and you actually own one!

I'd also have to agree on the LCD-Xs comfort, weight feels very evenly distributed on my head.

Good to know that about the CRBN - it's the only e-stat readily accessible to me so I don't wanna get the wrong idea about them.

DCA headphones dont really grasp my attention, but I'd love to come across them someday due to their popularity.

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LTHardcase t1_j69jbfd wrote

How would you compare the bass of the Arya SE and the 1000 V2, if as far as visceral impact is concerned?

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The_D0lph1n t1_j69ok3y wrote

Neither were particularly long demos, and the Arya demo was in August last year, so my memory of the particulars are fuzzy. I think the Arya is either comparable or slightly stronger in bass impact than the HEK.

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