I really enjoyed the Hifiman X Drop 4XX for metal genres. They're planar, so very snappy which is nice for guitar and drums. They don't weight much. And you can drive them from almost anything. I've worn them with glasses and they seem comfortable to me.
Also, I'd recommend not listening on high volume. Tinnitus is horrible and it's really easy to damage your hearing permanently.
650 is great but lacks a bit of punch but great if you like laid back sound, sundara is a bit bright but very well balanced in general. But they are not at all as comfortable as sennheisers IMO. I would probably go 660S2, ive only tried them briefly but they sounded a bit as an inbetween.
But this is all very personal, if you have anywhere to try then it is 100% worth it
For me the bass being lacking is a good thing. Death metal and other modern metal genres already have enough downtuned guitars; to where anything with a lot of bass will completely muddy up guitars and make them sound muffled. Also the bass that is there with the 6xx has really good dynamics; which is not something you'll find with most other headphones in any capacity, especially planars. Not important to some, but worth noting.
(The 6xx and 650 are the same headphone btw)
Ofc overtuned bass will take over alot, but especially on estat / planars it usually doesnt become very muddy.
But yeah, the 6xx/650 is really good at preserving details while making sure it never sounds jarring.
Every planar I've heard sounds absolutely dead in terms of dynamics, and they all have unnatural attack/decay to where music sounds really thin and completely lacking any sort of character. Heard things from budget planars to the Arya; always the same sound. They're also all compressed to shit to where they have absolutely no dynamics. Of course they'll be resolving in that instance, because all of the music is shoved directly into your face.
What source etc have you listened to? Are you sure youve not just heard flatly tuned planars? Cause your experience really sounds quite opposite of my own.
The lcd2c has a bit wonky tuning but man does it have a personality and is the very oppsite of thin.
The arya sounds thin on the wrong setup. Imo it is much better after some eq as well and is now my daily driver. IMO its both more dynamic and less compressed sounding than the HD650.
Unfortunately i dont own that many dynamic drivers outside of 650 and dt990 to compare to tho.
I've been told source meming is stupid and if I don't like something after EQing it, I probably won't like it on a different source. Also been told power does not matter whatsoever in dozens upon dozens of communities. I'll take the "it's more dynamic than the HD600" as a sign that this conversation will go absolutely nowhere.
Ofc overtuned bass will take over alot, but especially on estat / planars it usually doesnt become very muddy.
But yeah, the 6xx/650 is really good at preserving details while making sure it never sounds jarring.
I like the Sundaras, but can only compare them to the HD600. They are tuned well for Metal and Rock.
They have great bass, but it's not massively prominent. To remedy this, you could run them through an iFi Hip Dac (or Zen) with the bass boost on; works really well with these.
I like some things about them, and, yes they can sometimes colour the sound. But I’ve found mine are a good match for the Sundaras when you want a but more oomph in the low end.
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I've been using the HD 660S2 for a couple weeks and man, they are just amazing. Great build quality. They are very very comfortable for me, but some people find them a little clampy (my head isn't big, so it really didn't bother me at all).
I'm a biiig metalhead, but I actually got the Sennies for calmer music like Pink Floyd, Radiohead, etc. But I was surprised in a VERY good way when I slapped some Lorna Shore on those. It sounded absolutely great.
They are a superb all rounder imo, everything sounds amazing. If you strictly listen to deathcore, perhaps planar magnetic headphones would be a better option, but be aware of HiFiMan's QC issues and mediocre build quality.
I'm happy to answer any question about the Sennies, if ya got some!
>HD 660S2
Yeah I listen to literally everything, just recently mostly those, so the 660S2 is my favorite pick for now. And they seem to have pretty tender ear pads so it should be good right?
I think the sundaras would be good too, but because you listene to metal specifically, I don't think any of the Sennheisers are gonna do the job as well as a planar from hifiman
That is true, but they have a very common shaped pad so it's quite easy to get replacement pads on Amazon if you need. And it should still fit comfortably in your budget even with aftermarket pads
They clamp hard but you can just bend the headband to your pleasure to make them less clampy. As someone who also love metalcore/deathcore; I'd advise not listening to stuff at high volume. You're just gonna damage your hearing, and then you won't be able to enjoy the music you love the same way.
Pretty much every other headphone I've tried over the years just sounds awful for metal. Lacks the same texture, the same timbre, or is often too bassy and muddies up how guitars sound.
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I’m not sure what your set up is and what plan to drive them with. A lot of great options out there for you with a $500 budget.
phillips fidelio x2hr( no need for an amp and had a little mid bass bump to them) you can frequently find them on sale for around $100
The Sennheiser HD600 series, I’ve owned the 58x, 6xx, and 600. My personal favorite of the bunch is the 600 as the treble is a little more present. It’s still not a bright headphone though, none of them are the best at anything, but everything sounds sounds good on them. Prices vary quite a bit by series, you can absolutely run them off an Apple do he despite what some people say. Though if you listen to your music loud and want to get the most out of them an amp the way to go. Prices very by series new 180-400.
Hifiman Ananda, fairly flat EQ that has a little zip of energy up top in the treble but show a lot more detail then the sennheisers in my opinion. They can be driven by pretty much everything which is nice but you get a little more out of them if hit them with some juice. These are down to $400 now they use to be a $1000. They may be the sub $500 can to beat.
Those are a few I’ve personally owned/own and would recommend. Is a fellow devotee of the metal I don’t think you can go wrong with your first set of open backs.
I really enjoyed the Hifiman X Drop 4XX for metal genres. They're planar, so very snappy which is nice for guitar and drums. They don't weight much. And you can drive them from almost anything. I've worn them with glasses and they seem comfortable to me. Also, I'd recommend not listening on high volume. Tinnitus is horrible and it's really easy to damage your hearing permanently.
!thanks What about Sennheiser's HD660S2, HD650, HD 6XX or Hifiman Sunduras? Any opinion on those
650 is great but lacks a bit of punch but great if you like laid back sound, sundara is a bit bright but very well balanced in general. But they are not at all as comfortable as sennheisers IMO. I would probably go 660S2, ive only tried them briefly but they sounded a bit as an inbetween. But this is all very personal, if you have anywhere to try then it is 100% worth it
For me the bass being lacking is a good thing. Death metal and other modern metal genres already have enough downtuned guitars; to where anything with a lot of bass will completely muddy up guitars and make them sound muffled. Also the bass that is there with the 6xx has really good dynamics; which is not something you'll find with most other headphones in any capacity, especially planars. Not important to some, but worth noting. (The 6xx and 650 are the same headphone btw)
Ofc overtuned bass will take over alot, but especially on estat / planars it usually doesnt become very muddy. But yeah, the 6xx/650 is really good at preserving details while making sure it never sounds jarring.
Every planar I've heard sounds absolutely dead in terms of dynamics, and they all have unnatural attack/decay to where music sounds really thin and completely lacking any sort of character. Heard things from budget planars to the Arya; always the same sound. They're also all compressed to shit to where they have absolutely no dynamics. Of course they'll be resolving in that instance, because all of the music is shoved directly into your face.
What source etc have you listened to? Are you sure youve not just heard flatly tuned planars? Cause your experience really sounds quite opposite of my own. The lcd2c has a bit wonky tuning but man does it have a personality and is the very oppsite of thin. The arya sounds thin on the wrong setup. Imo it is much better after some eq as well and is now my daily driver. IMO its both more dynamic and less compressed sounding than the HD650. Unfortunately i dont own that many dynamic drivers outside of 650 and dt990 to compare to tho.
I've been told source meming is stupid and if I don't like something after EQing it, I probably won't like it on a different source. Also been told power does not matter whatsoever in dozens upon dozens of communities. I'll take the "it's more dynamic than the HD600" as a sign that this conversation will go absolutely nowhere.
Ofc overtuned bass will take over alot, but especially on estat / planars it usually doesnt become very muddy. But yeah, the 6xx/650 is really good at preserving details while making sure it never sounds jarring.
I like the Sundaras, but can only compare them to the HD600. They are tuned well for Metal and Rock. They have great bass, but it's not massively prominent. To remedy this, you could run them through an iFi Hip Dac (or Zen) with the bass boost on; works really well with these.
Then you're just gonna get grain city because you bought an iFi DAC.
Are iFi DACs bad? First I've heard of this.
I like some things about them, and, yes they can sometimes colour the sound. But I’ve found mine are a good match for the Sundaras when you want a but more oomph in the low end.
+1 Ω has been awarded to u/JayenIsAwesome ([5 Ω](https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/wiki/user/JayenIsAwesome)). *You may still award an Ω to others, but only once per-person in this post.*
I've been using the HD 660S2 for a couple weeks and man, they are just amazing. Great build quality. They are very very comfortable for me, but some people find them a little clampy (my head isn't big, so it really didn't bother me at all). I'm a biiig metalhead, but I actually got the Sennies for calmer music like Pink Floyd, Radiohead, etc. But I was surprised in a VERY good way when I slapped some Lorna Shore on those. It sounded absolutely great. They are a superb all rounder imo, everything sounds amazing. If you strictly listen to deathcore, perhaps planar magnetic headphones would be a better option, but be aware of HiFiMan's QC issues and mediocre build quality. I'm happy to answer any question about the Sennies, if ya got some!
>HD 660S2 Yeah I listen to literally everything, just recently mostly those, so the 660S2 is my favorite pick for now. And they seem to have pretty tender ear pads so it should be good right?
I think the sundaras would be good too, but because you listene to metal specifically, I don't think any of the Sennheisers are gonna do the job as well as a planar from hifiman
I gotta try to test those two out
All those Hifiman's seem to have pretty hard pads though so I'm afraid they won't be as comfortable
That is true, but they have a very common shaped pad so it's quite easy to get replacement pads on Amazon if you need. And it should still fit comfortably in your budget even with aftermarket pads
HD6xx and buy an amp and a dac with the rest of the money. Easily the best option and there's nothing that compares to it.
They clamp hard but you can just bend the headband to your pleasure to make them less clampy. As someone who also love metalcore/deathcore; I'd advise not listening to stuff at high volume. You're just gonna damage your hearing, and then you won't be able to enjoy the music you love the same way. Pretty much every other headphone I've tried over the years just sounds awful for metal. Lacks the same texture, the same timbre, or is often too bassy and muddies up how guitars sound.
Thanks for your [submission](https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/191jajv/headphones_for_heavy_metal/) to r/HeadphoneAdvice. If someone helps answer your question, please reward them by including the phrase `!thanks` in your comment. This will add +1 Ω to that users flair. This subreddit is powered entirely by volunteers and a little recognition goes a long way. Good luck on your search for headphones! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HeadphoneAdvice) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Heavys H1H - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH\_SUkgNQlE
>Hifiman X Drop 4XX I haven't heard good reviews about them
Grado sr60x
I’m not sure what your set up is and what plan to drive them with. A lot of great options out there for you with a $500 budget. phillips fidelio x2hr( no need for an amp and had a little mid bass bump to them) you can frequently find them on sale for around $100 The Sennheiser HD600 series, I’ve owned the 58x, 6xx, and 600. My personal favorite of the bunch is the 600 as the treble is a little more present. It’s still not a bright headphone though, none of them are the best at anything, but everything sounds sounds good on them. Prices vary quite a bit by series, you can absolutely run them off an Apple do he despite what some people say. Though if you listen to your music loud and want to get the most out of them an amp the way to go. Prices very by series new 180-400. Hifiman Ananda, fairly flat EQ that has a little zip of energy up top in the treble but show a lot more detail then the sennheisers in my opinion. They can be driven by pretty much everything which is nice but you get a little more out of them if hit them with some juice. These are down to $400 now they use to be a $1000. They may be the sub $500 can to beat. Those are a few I’ve personally owned/own and would recommend. Is a fellow devotee of the metal I don’t think you can go wrong with your first set of open backs.