Buddy and I did a big headphone face off, using different amps and music sources. Used a little FiiO amp\DAC combo, the Khadas Tone Board, and as amps the JDS Atom and the Little Dot MKll.
Short summary of some of our findings:
AKG K712 ~180 Euro
The weakest of the bunch. While overall ok and better than some dumb ass 50 buck cans, they sound overall kinda cheap, unremarkable and not very natural, dynamic or engaging. Comfort isn't that good for me.
Phillips Fidelio X2HR ~120 Euro
Build quality felt nice with the materials they chosen and in person, they look pretty cool. The cups are sexy. Sound wise, rather bassy headphones, soundstage was small, fun to listen to. If you want entertaining headphones, these are not bad. Good for movies. But they have a pretty unrealistic sound signature with certain instruments sounding off. Also, separation is not great, sounds tend to bleed into each other.
Sennheiser HD600 ~400 Euro
Very solid build quality and very good sound. Small soundstage, but good imaging, good details, nice vocals, good but not great bass. Good, but nothing exceptional. Overall high quality sound with few weaknesses, really like them. But holy shit comfort is so bad. Clamp force is way too strong, pads are uncomfortable, disqualifies them.
Shure SRH1840 ~540 Euro
The most comfortable of them all. Extremely light weight, soft pads, light clamp force, you can forget wearing them. Build quality is also high, with nice materials. Regarding the sound, good details and stage, good for slower music and vocals. Something about the midrange sounds off though and the driver is very slow, you hear it having issues keeping up with fast songs. Bass is rather weak, with not enough texture to it. Overall not worth the 540 Euro, the Sundaras sound WAY better at 299.
Modhouse Argon MK3 ~380 Euro
By far the most fun and insane headphones of the bunch. Build quality is ok, they are comfortable with these huge ass soft pads. But because they're mostly closed and because of the leather, they do get warm over time, which I don't like. Sound wise, these are dark and bass heavy headphones, but with good details sparkling through the darkness if that makes any sense. Details, vocals and instruments are good but not great. What makes them exceptional is the bass response, it's great in terms of quantity and quality. Also, huge sound stage. Not natural sounding at all, but absolute mayhem when thrown at fun music, games or movies.
Hifiman Sundara ~300 Euro
A lot of plastic, but build is ok. Sound is really good, natural, balanced, joyful. Soundstage is pretty small, these are very "intimate" headphones. For this price, amazing sound quality, very strong. Comfort wise not perfect with the rounded shape of the ear cups not working out perfectly, but good enough. Still, if you only have 299 to spend on headphones, get these.
Hifiman Edition XS ~480 Euro
Build is full of plastic as well, but good. They're light and comfortable with the huge ear cups. The pads are not as soft as the ones from the Sundara. But the light weight and big cups make them very comfortable to wear over time.
Sound wise, these are weird. Because there's so much space between your ears and the drivers, it has a big soundstage, excellent imaging and positioning of the sounds, amazing separation and clarity. But it sounds like you have speakers around your head. While other headphones throw you into the music, being on stage in the middle of it, here it feels like your listening from a distance. Which is great for open world games and movies, they really shine. Also, music like Jazz sounds really great. The vocals especially are lovely. The bass is dry, defined, incredibly on point, deep and controlled. The sound signature is extremely natural and neutral.
But when you throw engaging and insane music like BFG Division from Mick Gordon at it, its weakness gets slapped in your face pretty much. They do an amazing job keeping up with the fast pace of the song, with the great bass response showing off. It all sounds very clear and clinical - to its fault. Especially because you never feel like you're in the song, but like listening from a distance, it feels lifeless and a bit too boring.
These are real hifi headphones. Neutral, extremely capable, enjoyable for "critical" listening, also great for gaming because the positioning is strong, you can blindly hit targets based on their sounds. But when it comes to fast electrical music and plain fun, they don't do that very well. Overall still the best headphones under 500 Euro and highly recommended.
Focal Clear ~800 Euro
Look at it. Build quality is just top notch. Also comfortable despite being rather heavy. Soft and lovely feeling pads from heaven.
Sound is ... well, clear. Very detailed, natural, engaging. Soundstage is medium in size, which is the sweetspot for me. Not too wide, but not too small. It feels like you're in the music, with some sounds being able to create a distance. Imaging is great, sounds can come from many directions and you can clearly pinpoint their position. Compared to the Edition XS, the XS has more scale, verticality and distance to the stage. Not saying one is better than the other, it's a thing of preference for the most part. Bass response is on point, very well defined, really good - and plenty of it. These are analytical, detailed hifi headphones that also are fun as hell - again throwing BFG Division at them, they absolutely rock and generate an exciting experience. They're the best allrounders and are very good at everything. That said, the 300 Euro cheaper Edition XS has a more clinical approach and a wider stage, and for me, the vocals sounded a bit better on it than on the Clear. The bass is also more dry and even more controlled. Still, under 1.5k, you won't find a better allrounder than the Focal Clear.
Summary:
- Focal Clear are the best allrounder and the most expensive ones.
- Edition XS are the best choice for critical listening, if you don't listen to hard pumping music. Amazing performance for their price point.
- Sundara are the best choice under 500 Euro when you want a good allrounder.
- HD600 are only slightly worse than the Sundara, but more expensive and way more uncomfortable.
- Argon MK3 are the fun GOATs.
- SRH1840 are the most comfortable but too slow and too expensive.
- Fidelio have good fun bass for the price but aren't great overall.
- K712 are meh.
www.forbes.com
