Is there a consensus headphone choice?

I have 2 headphones I swap between:
  • Audeze LCD-X (2021): recently got these and have immediately become my favorite. Open-back so not exactly silent if others are around. Supplied cable is fairly short (4.5 ft) and longer replacements are pretty expensive.
  • Sony MDR-Z7M2: really good sounding headphones, closed-back for when I need more sound isolation. Solid overall.
 
Of the ones I’ve tried, my favorites are Sennheiser HD600 (same pair for 20 years, I dont think one can buy consumer electronics with longer lifespan nowadays) and Meze 109pro and Empyrean. Both Mezes are a bit too bright but not in silly territory, but they best the Sennheiser in the bass region.
 
I tried the Ollo S4R's and found them incredibly bright and harsh, lacking balance in the bass and low-mids. Sennheiser 650's are more balanced, but they're very neutral (i.e., not enjoyable for tracking or playback) and require an amp to drive them. I'm currently using the Beyerdynamic DT 990 (250 Ohm Version) which is still bright, but strikes a decent balance between the two mentioned above. But yes, the general consensus is no. I'd recommend trying different out models and deciding for yourself.
 
Ollo S4R 1.1

https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/ollo/s4r-1-1/

fr-s4r.png
 
I’ve been paying more attention to the difference between my iLoud micro monitors and my beyerdynamic DT 770 pro’s. For the volumes I play at, I quite enjoy the iLoud micro monitors; it’s a smooth and balanced tone for what they cost. The DT 770s though… they’re not bad but they’re doing something to the eq I don’t like. Almost like makes each preset brighter but flatter or duller at the same time. Makes my playing worse as well. My ears can tell something is different about the eq from the DT 770s but they can’t specify what. Except that it ends up being a duller weaker tone
 
I just use the Audio Technica MSR-7 that i use everyday to listen to music. Reson i already have them & know how they sound and enjoy how they sound with the music i enjoy to listen to & play so why not use them when im playing late at night as well. There affordable and have decent sound quality.
 
Received my Ollo S5x today and am thrilled with what I'm hearing. High gain tones now sound tight and articulate, which is something I could never quite achieve with my HD 660S. And everything else just sounds refined and pristine. The sonic difference between my headphones and FRFR speakers has virtually disappeared. As I think someone else mentioned, the cord is shorter than I'd like, but I'll take it.
 
walnutzz said:
Received my Ollo S5x today and am thrilled with what I'm hearing. High gain tones now sound tight and articulate, which is something I could never quite achieve with my HD 660S. And everything else just sounds refined and pristine. The sonic difference between my headphones and FRFR speakers has virtually disappeared. As I think someone else mentioned, the cord is shorter than I'd like, but I'll take it.
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I will research these a bit because I need to get to this point. The sonic difference between my iLoud micro monitors and headphones is just too different. Tones I like through my monitors I dont like through my headphones and vice versa
 
hensh!n_vfs said:
I tried the Ollo S4R's and found them incredibly bright and harsh, lacking balance in the bass and low-mids. Sennheiser 650's are more balanced, but they're very neutral (i.e., not enjoyable for tracking or playback) and require an amp to drive them. I'm currently using the Beyerdynamic DT 990 (250 Ohm Version) which is still bright, but strikes a decent balance between the two mentioned above. But yes, the general consensus is no. I'd recommend trying different out models and deciding for yourself.
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I received a pair of the Ollo S5X this morning and am listening to them right now… SUPER smooth and solid lows with a big stage. I just replaced my Blue Mix-Fi because they're heavy, and suspect my Sennheiser HD 650 and Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 250 Ohm will gather dust.

walnutzz said:
Received my Ollo S5x today and am thrilled with what I'm hearing. High gain tones now sound tight and articulate, which is something I could never quite achieve with my HD 660S. And everything else just sounds refined and pristine. The sonic difference between my headphones and FRFR speakers has virtually disappeared. As I think someone else mentioned, the cord is shorter than I'd like, but I'll take it.
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I was going to make a compensating EQ until I looked at the frequency chart for this pair, and they're within 3 dB from 20HZ to 10KHZ which is plenty good for what I want when making presets.

It's time to let my music app play random stuff through them for a couple hours to get them broken in. :)
 
Greg Ferguson said:
I received a pair of the Ollo S5X this morning and am listening to them right now… SUPER smooth and solid lows with a big stage. I just replaced my Blue Mix-Fi because they're heavy, and suspect my Sennheiser HD 650 and Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 250 Ohm will gather dust.



I was going to make a compensating EQ until I looked at the frequency chart for this pair, and they're within 3 dB from 20HZ to 10KHZ which is plenty good for what I want when making presets.

It's time to let my music app play random stuff through them for a couple hours to get them broken in. :)
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I’ve made a couple recent posts above about my DT 770 Pro headphones. How would the Ollo S5Xs compare to the DT770? Apples and oranges? Same league? Same ballpark? I’m interested
 
walnutzz said:
Received my Ollo S5x today and am thrilled with what I'm hearing. High gain tones now sound tight and articulate, which is something I could never quite achieve with my HD 660S. And everything else just sounds refined and pristine. The sonic difference between my headphones and FRFR speakers has virtually disappeared. As I think someone else mentioned, the cord is shorter than I'd like, but I'll take it.
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Glad to hear you’re happy.

You as well @Greg Ferguson
 
Jipps0525 said:
I’ve made a couple recent posts above about my DT 770 Pro headphones. How would the Ollo S5Xs compare to the DT770? Apples and oranges? Same league? Same ballpark? I’m interested
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I like the DT 770 Pro, they're good, but unless I'm using a compensating curve, they're not "comfortable" right out of the box. I can tell there are some peaks that are not quite right.

The Ollo S5X are comfortable sounding right out of the box, before breaking them in. They're like nestling into a big couch so I can relax, but, at the same time, it's like I can hear everything around me. The first couple of minutes of listening was interesting. I heard lows I wasn't used to hearing, but they weren't overly emphasized, they seemed to be exactly where I'd place them in a mix.

I started by listening to some Sturgill Simpson tracks, and the slide guitar was amazing, the best sounding I've ever heard. Right now I have some Drive-By Truckers playing pretty loud, and I can make out each instrument, including the muting in the right ear between chord changes in what sounds like a cranked Deluxe Reverb.

We all hear differently, our brains adjust, so I think it's important to have some different-sounding headphones to force our brains to adjust and not get stuck, but these are definitely my go-to now. Seriously serious headphones. They aren't glossing over anything, I hear things with them I'd initially want to adjust in a mix, but on second thought I can understand why they'd want a guitar in the mix to be biting because at the same time the drums and vocals aren't harsh, everything else is just right, so I know it's not the headphones, it's the engineer's choice. Good on 'em, the engineers, and the headphone designers.

Every few years something shows up that makes me glad I ran into it. This is one of those moments.

It's time for some Led Zeppelin and then some Yes.

Several minutes later… Led Zeppelin IV with the Ollo showed how tightly they restricted the frequencies. Um… ick.

But Yes… the Close to the Edge Deluxe Edition… opens up and Squire's bass shows the distortion and growl in his amp, Howe's guitars, both the rhythm and lead tracks and little incidental stabs and inserted riffs are clean, Jon Anderson's voice, Wakeman's keyboards and all the harmonies… things I've never heard before though I've listened to the tracks many times… switching to the Steven Wilson remixes… niiiice…. spot on.

Listening to Starship Trooper… Squire's bass with the tremolo… um… I think I'm in love.
 
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666was999 said:
You can tweak to a certain point, yes, but then you need to reaudition on some bigger monitors.
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I have to use headphones at home, it's a domestic peace thing, but once I'm set up and am doing sound check then I do the final adjustments, and, with careful use of the headphones and compensating curves, I've been really happy with my results.

I just switched to the Ollo SX5 headphones, which are extremely flat, so I'm looking forward to re-EQing my presets to see how they do with these.

It's always an adventure. :)
 
Curious why people went with the S5X over the S4X. It sounds like the S5X are better suited for binaural/immersive/Atmos type work, no?
 
I went with the S4x for that reason. They seemed better suited after looking at the frequency curves for my needs. I love them and they are becoming my favorite headphones. They are easy to drive and I don’t have to mess with the Axe III output like on my AKG 701’s. They also pair well with my Adams A7X’s and sound great with my Axe III.

They have a slight low end boost which is ingenious IMO because to me, it translates to warmth and less ear fatigue. My AKG’s are accurate but sterile (not necessarily a bad thing) compared to the S4x’s.

Overall I think these are great headphones. They are clear, accurate, well engineered and look great!

The frequency curve of my S4x’s

D5101966-970A-452E-A206-F7483DBBFA2F.jpeg
 
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Greg Ferguson said:
I have to use headphones at home, it's a domestic peace thing, but once I'm set up and am doing sound check then I do the final adjustments, and, with careful use of the headphones and compensating curves, I've been really happy with my results.

I just switched to the Ollo SX5 headphones, which are extremely flat, so I'm looking forward to re-EQing my presets to see how they do with these.

It's always an adventure. :)
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One thing to always consider about 'flat' sounding headphones is that the manufacturers design not flattened highs per se for a good reason. A closed headphone makes it's own micro environment around the ear with it's own air pressure. That has consequences for the reception of the highs. Try an opened or half opened headphone and feel how that is an all different animal.
Another thing is that everybody has different unique ear cups with different angles. That matters when the sound is coming from a central spot instead of coming straight directional in a free field.
I could go on but...
All that means there is no guarantee for a flat response for everyone. It has to fit for one personally like when buying clothes.
Adding an eq curve can help some, but it also means you judge the headphone manufacturer to be unable or unwilling to make a better product. What if they took other factors into consideration?

You notice if a headphones gives a true and fair picture when you compare it to other stuff.
 
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