Yeah last time I was visiting Japan I used to go to Yodobashi to see keyboards and headphones LOL.

Ah I miss Japan....

Lol I currently has R1 and R2. I think I need to get myself some R3. And Bluetooth does sound very tempting!

To tune between the space inside headphone cup and the space in the earcup. Generally speaking probably affects bass more.

I'd 100% not touch it unless you know what you're doing or used to modding / tuning headphone. 100% will change sound signature depending on material used and how much it's closed.

lol I feel I ran into similar issue as you before. There is a difference between "sound quality" and "tonality". Sound quality I'm referring to technical stuff like separation, sound stage, detail......etc. But after all that there is still a tonality preference.

For example if you come from V-shaped headphone then chances neutral headphone will not satisfy your preference. Reddit has the tendency to suggest neutral headphone because it's the "audiophile" thing to do.

But often people forget people listen to what they like and some headphone will do better than others at different genre. So back to what you said, I don't think mid range is Sundara's strong suit, mid range master is like HD600 or HD650. You could.... as you said, fix it by running a tube amp. I'm currently using Lawton TH900 and running a tube amp to fix the mid range and recessed vocal LOL. Also as much as people say all dac sound the same, I find dacs have their sound too. Though you're already using Zen Dac V2 I think that one is already warm dac so you're probably ok. Maybe try a hybrid tube amp.

Don't feel afraid to try "fun" headphones if that's what you like. There are also high quality fun headphones out there. Though I don't listen to electronic or hip hop so I don't know what's the best headphone for those genre unfortunately. Maybeeeeee just maybe, see if you can find a TH-X00 Purpleheart for cheap to try.

Hmmmmm what do you not like or wish to improve upon the Sundara?

What type of music do you listen to and kind of sound do you like?

Also in this hobby it's common to buy and sell gear, if you're not happy with it then sell your current gear and buy a different gear. Though before we go with this you might have to explain what kind of sound you want.

Also the other 3 headphone you listed are all cheaper than the Sundara so it kind of make sense it's lower tier....?

But yeah if there is a store where you can try all the headphones it helps a lot.

For example I don't like neutral sound so 80% of the audiophile suggestions doesn't apply to me LOL. But I know I don't like neutral so I look for non-neutral sound. I feel like if we know what you're looking for then we can steer you to the right direction.

I have a ginormous head. 😂

I see Filco or Topre it's automatically upvote for me. Filco is like a lost relics in the current generation, but I still keep mine around for memory of the simpler times LOL. I had a Filco Ninja Majestouch 2 MX Red, it was my 2nd mechanical keyboard. First one was Das Keyboard 3.

As for headphone, how do you like R70X? Always want to try audio technica headphone but wasn't sure if I should try R70X or AD1000X/AD2000X.

Yeah tube can seem like sea of information not gonna lie. If you can tell me what type of stuff you're looking for maybe I can help you out.

Do you need something for your Arya Stealth and HD560S? OTL tube amp has high output impedance so it's generally only recommended if you have 300 Ohm headphones. Hybrid tube amp on the other hand will be better suited.

How much do you plan to spend on tube amps? From easier / more mainstream stuff you can probably start with Schiit Vali 2++, Lyr 3, Lyr+, Drop CTH, Monolith Liquid Platinum, to a bit less mainstream stuff such as Project Ember II, Hagerman Tuba, or Shortest way 51+. Personally I don't know much about the last 2 amps but it's been recommended to me lol.

For me personally I'm using Lyr 3 and Project Solstice, those are not bad but I'd imagine there's better hybrid amps out there. But it's "cheap" enough as a starting point lol.

To my understanding that GT and GTA are older production, GTB is newer production so it's really just that it's newer so it's easier to find and cheaper lol.

Some people swear by "the older the tube the better". So generally GT and GTA might be perceived as "better" and cost more.

But it's also not always the case. Tube is like one giant trial and error of randomness there is no set rule that applies for all LOL.

I really like the Sylvania 6SN7GTB on my Lyr 3, in my opinion the stock JJ tube is kind linear so it's not very tube sounding.

The Sylvania would be a better judge how the amp should sound like.

Looking forward to your impressions.

Lol I miss my shuffle, it was amazing for its time.

Yeah basically this.

Also it's not very common for people to swap wood cups on LCD-2C.

However it's very common for people to swap wood cups on Fostex/Denon headphones. But those are different size and will not fit LCD-2C unfortunately.

So the best chance is hoping someone sell their LCD-2 Closed as parts.

Yeah I don't know that much about dac but say headphone for example. People look at response graphs which shows how much amplitude at this frequency.

So it's like saying Honda driving at 40 miles/hour measures the same as Porsche driving at 40 miles/hour, and the same when both car are driving at 60 miles/hour. Therefore Honda and Porsche performs the same lol.

And as you said the response graph people read are the oversimplified version of a very complex matter that needs much more other measurements to compare. Like how fast does it react to change in load, how well does it handle complex signals.... Etc.

But yeah I'd imagine dac is probably similar in that regard.

This will be unpopular opinion at Reddit since everyone here think loud enough is loud enough.

But from my experience driving Mad Dog, I own Dragonfly Red (dongle), O2/SDAC, Violectric V200. Mad Dog sounded the best on O2/SDAC in my opinion.

People might argue it's all in your head because you anticipate more cost = better. Well V200 cost the most and it's not the best pairing in my opinion.

People might argue well maybe you like this DAC/amp more so you think it sound better, well my favourite dac/amp is Dragonfly Red for a longgggggggg time and it sounded absolutely TERRIBLE with Mad Dog. Same experience with LCD-2C where Dragonfly Red is just terrible. But on most Denon/Fostex headphone I just LOVE the Dragonfly Red.

So I would actually say K3 is most likely not enough to power it properly similar to Dragonfly Red since both are USB powered. Maybe try a FiiO K7 which is currently one of the better price per performance dac/amp.

Again I based this on my listening experience with no guarantee your experience will be the same, but this is my best guess.

EDIT: Oh and try all the gain setting, quite often low gain at the same volume actually doesn't sound the same at high gain same volume. In theory it should be the same but in actuality it doesn't.

Yeah effectively you have lean/cold headphone driven by lean/cold dac/amp. Otherwise normally speaking DX3 Pro+ is a respectable dac/amp combo.

But over time I realize headphone + dac + amp is a math problem LOL. End result is all that matters.

So yeah probably need a warmer dac or amp. Good luck!

I had the same issue with D5200 upgrade to flagship D9200. I could hear EVERY note. Clarity went way up but it just sounds.... Boring?

I later realize for me at least Tonality > Technicality. So I'd rather listen to something less refined but to my taste rather than something more refined but not to my taste.

So as you said maybe Sundara is just too sterile for your taste. As much as most "audiophile" say they don't want midbass, it adds the extra warmth that's needed in most situations. For myself I also realize I can't use headphones that doesn't have treble sparkle and vocal presence. So first you need to find your preference.

That being said, what are you using to drive the Sundara? Sundara need a lot of power to sing. I've heard of people who switched amp and completely changed the sound. One recent example I read is the new FiiO K7 seems to pair well. Otherwise try to look for beefier / warmer amp. I imagine THX 999 would be a poor pairing since it's said to be cold/sterile. Topping amp probably not good either since it's also lean/clean sounding.

Not gonna lie, part of the reason why I sold Burson Playmate 2 is because I can't handle their digital knob, drives me crazy. Keep bouncing back by 1 when I turn and stop.

Analogue knob is the way to go.

lol this is the most well explained/reasonable counter argument that I read on reddit. I'm being serious, good job.

My EQ on m PC is currently buggy/not working, once I get it fixed I'll look into it again.

Yeah basically this, I've yet to see anyone able to EQ for more accurate imaging, better layering, or faster transients. Though sometimes more treble can give perceived wider/bigger soundstage.

I always think EQ is like saying Corolla at 40 km/h is the same as Ferrari at 40 km/h, therefore they're the same car because they both travel exactly at 40 km/h. To certain extent it's true but doesn't tell the full story.

Ah I generally don't use EQ, but maybe I'll revisit this at a later point lol.

Thanks for the heads up!

LOL yeah seems like Celestee has been an odd headphone in the lineup, only thing got it going is the price point.

Otherwise it sounds like Radiance is much better.

Keep reading Radiance is the best one, might give that a try at a later point. Just not a fan of the Bentley branding.

I was going to ask you how's Elegia compare to the rest of the gangs, then I read reduction in 3k-4k then I'm like NOPE NOPE it's everything I look for in music (string instruments, female vocals).

LOL I was ready to buy Elegia but thanks for steering me away.

To be honest I quite enjoyed my wife's Bose SoundTrue Around Ear (Gen 2, wired and not noise cancelling).

It's the most comfortable headphone I've ever used, 2nd most comfortable I give to Sony MDR-1AM2.

I just really like the sound tuning / balance despite it doesn't have the resolution of my current daily driver Lawton TH900 with Violectric V200.

But I still find the Bose really enjoyable!

Well I know Reddit crowd is more on the "if it's loud enough then it's good enough". And I don't know the exact science behind it but this is my finding:

Hifiman R7DX = Sounds about the same on any source, doesn't scale much with higher gear.

Denon D2000/D5200 = easy to drive headphone, sounds pretty good on anything but sounds better on my Violectric V200. But generally most dongle dac seems to be able to power it decently well.

Mad Dog = I can definitely get it "loud enough" but sounds absolutely TERRIBLE on my beloved Dragonfly Red (my favourite dongle dac) which output 2 vrms. On O2/SDAC high gain it sounds pretty good though.

So I would say depending on headphone, easy to drive headphone will scale a little, but hard to drive headphone will definitely scale more. But it really depending on headphone.

There is no 1 answer for all, just have to try it out yourself. But I do find people who swear by "loud enough is enough" tend to read Reddit / ASR but have never physically tried higher gear. So they've listened with eyes but haven't listened with ear yet.

The way I see it is that Tesla and Civic driving at 40 km/h will both measure at 40 km/h speed. But HOW it got to that 40 km/h speed will be vastly different.

Again, it depends on headphone so it's not a yes/no type of answer.