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Open back headphones - recommendations

If your budget is £1000 and you really want to spend all of it, you could also get an upgrade on the DAC/headphone amp to something like the Topping DX7 Pro
 
Do the higher-end Grados have full size earcups or do they sit on the ear? I had some of their entry level 'phones years ago and would frankly rather clamp cheese-graters to my ears than go back to them!

The big G cushions go over your ears. I have a big head and quite big ears and I manage just fine with them.
 
The GS1000e is within your budget. This is pretty much the definitive Grado headphone.

Full disclosure: I am a Grado dealer.
 
Or, you could go for second hand to get within budget, I purchased some Grado PS1000E for under £1000, mainly because they can be driven by my A&K portable player.
 
My own experience with higher end Grados was limited to the RS-1 several years ago..... "where's the bass?" , it either wasn't there at all or was so fast I couldn't actually hear it. All within the context of my very first comment that headphone listening is very subjective to the listener.
 
Perhaps my ears are just oddly shaped, but I've never understood the appeal of on-ear headphones from a bass performance perspective. IME good low frequency performance from headphones relies on the ear cup housing making a good air seal around your pinnae, something an on-ear design is surely unable to achieve? This is why I'd choose circumaural headphones every time.

Many years ago, before getting serious about headphones, I was looking for upgrade candidates from my Sennheiser HD201 (which cost me £12.95 new!). I demo'd the Grado SR80 and was very disappointed to find the HD201 had the more balanced presentation! I upped my budget and ended up with the HD600 and for £250 it turned out to be one of the best purchases I ever made. It can still hold its own against many pricier competitors.
 
Perhaps my ears are just oddly shaped,
Is this you ???
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Perhaps my ears are just oddly shaped, but I've never understood the appeal of on-ear headphones from a bass performance perspective. IME good low frequency performance from headphones relies on the ear cup housing making a good air seal around your pinnae, something an on-ear design is surely unable to achieve? This is why I'd choose circumaural headphones every time.

But in open-back headphones - like the HD600 - there is no air seal - they are open, whether circumaural or not. And they produce bass no problem.
 
I’ve used HD800s very successfully with both Hugo 1 and 2. Think there’s a pair going at a good price in the classifieds. The HD800s are a very good and the consistent breadth of opinion about their presentation is accurate and would need to be taken into account.
 
But in open-back headphones - like the HD600 - there is no air seal - they are open, whether circumaural or not. And they produce bass no problem.
Yet if you lift the pads slightly off the head the bass level drops significantly IME, a phenomenon also confirmed by measurements from headphone enthusiasts like Tyll Hertsens.

FWIW - I've never been able to get as much bass from my HD800S as I do from my HD600, despite measurements showing the opposite. Assuming my 800S aren't faulty (which is unlikely since I bought them new), the only thing I can attribute this to is the much looser fit of the 800S.
 
Yet if you lift the pads slightly off the head the bass level drops significantly IME, a phenomenon also confirmed by measurements from headphone enthusiasts like Tyll Hertsens.

FWIW - I've never been able to get as much bass from my HD800S as I do from my HD600, despite measurements showing the opposite. Assuming my 800S aren't faulty (which is unlikely since I bought them new), the only thing I can attribute this to is the much looser fit of the 800S.
The pads are quite thin and not very compliant. I wonder what after market, deep and compliant ones would do?
 
Despite the Elears supposedly having an articulate but deep bass, I didn't come across it for months. Then a TV prog. or CD or record (can't remember which) had rather deep bass notes which rattled the wax in my ears. It's waxed and waned since, but hasn't fully recovered from that subterranean blast ! I look forward to it happening again ! Def. lower and clearer than my 650s.
 
Despite the Elears supposedly having an articulate but deep bass, I didn't come across it for months. Then a TV prog. or CD or record (can't remember which) had rather deep bass notes which rattled the wax in my ears. It's waxed and waned since, but hasn't fully recovered from that subterranean blast ! I look forward to it happening again ! Def. lower and clearer than my 650s.
I found phones in the HD600,650, Breyer DT990 range all sound fat and cuddly. It’s a very nice effect but when you strip it away...
 
I found phones in the HD600,650

Dec, my 650s sounded okay plus in my Naim Headline powered by/from my 552 pre. More than okay but not enough to have music sessions of any length. The Headline is not a cheap amp when you need a quality p/supply and Slic cable too. Bought a (very cheap as discontinued) Myryad Z40 h/ph amp cum pre. Wow ! What a difference ! I have other lesser amps (office, kitchen) that I tried with the 650s too.

My lesson from this rather limited experience is that the h/phone itself is not an entity. Not a great revelation, I know, but I guess impedance matching, power available and design format (the better s/s ones tend to be class A) are important factors to achieve potential.
 
Have Grado upped their game recently? I remember trying a few pairs about 10 years ago and wasn't impressed at all.

Don't know about that, but I do know from recent experience that you want to leave them playing continuously pretty loud for 2-3 days and then give them a serious listen.
The drivers definitely sound a bit pinched and constricted fresh from the box.
They are a naturally brightly lit headphone and that doesn't change, however once broken-in the bass end develops and fill out which brings the overall balance closer to flat.

As you go up the range it's fit and finish which improve, plus driver tolerance. I'm pretty sure the same driver goes into the Prestige, reference and statement range - just better tolerance as you spend more, plus niceties such as wood and leather. This follows the openly stated model for the cartridge line.

Blow £90 on a pair of SR80. If you like them, it's your call if you want to go on up the line but don't expect the performance to greatly improve - it's small increments. Then again, the cooking models sound excellent IMO.

If you want to hear what expensive Sennheiser, Beyer, AkG, HiFiman, Focals sound like, try this chap: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DQTjYICjBd5ZtLQU3Z1dQ

Recording made via a binaural head and always referenced to a source direct feed. But be warned, some of the expensive 'signature' cans sound pretty shit - boom and tizz definitely rules even with audiophile cans which is a shame.
 


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