Let's talk about headphones. Top 3?


I’ve owned a lot of headphones in the past. Looking to downsize/sell some in my collection. I’ve narrowed it down to a top-10 or so collection in my office. And these ten + headphones are the best I’ve ever heard/owned. After receiving some responses here, I’ll start listing some of the great ones. These headphones were ranked against over more than 100 others plus; and are extraordinary performers.

The best headphones (for me) start with being able to experience neutrality and a sense of realism. Next up is how well it can handle snares, transients, and complex tracks. Headphones that are truly accurate on systems that also play at the same level can sound microphonic/holographic in the midrange-treble, have tremendous detail, imaging, or even sound like speakers being played in a room. And, irrespective of when a headphone was produced, the level of technology and its design ambitions are very important considerations. 

Let us also not forget headphone measurements - Which can tell us about trouble areas like bass distortion, overblown/forward treble/midrange, etc. 

Please use descriptive language to help us your listening impressions with your favorite headphones. This helps because we can match your experience with others online; to see if it’s a universal opinion or a unique vantage point.

thesummit

Sennheiser 800. 

But the headphones are only the last item in a chain of components that must be first rate in order to really evaluate the potential of the headphones. The differences in headphones is highly exacerbated by the electronics you have behind them. Often it is the difficulty in driving different sets them apart. I have top tier, Sennheiser, Focal, Ultrasone, Dennon, Byerdynamic,  and several more. It wasn’t until I had really achieved great electronics was I really able to assess the headphones. My ratio of investment in electronic to headphone is about 8 to 1. So, by far the most money is in the electronics. I was shocked at how the difference between the Focal Utopia and Senheisser 800s dissipated as my electronics got better and I was left with Sennheisser being more open and far more comfortable. Hense for the last few hundred hours of listening I only used the Sennheisers although I have a bunch of other top tier headphones. 

In the long run, to get the incredible sound headphone system I got.. it was the hundreds of hours (and thousands of dollars) that I put into my electronics that got me there... the headphone search was too soon and made much less of a difference. 

You can see my headphone system under my virtual systems. 

Nice! Yes, you've got some great systems. Thanks for sharing. Hopefully others will post more.

 

I'm still very happy with my Stax SR Lambda Professional ESL phones, though I am looking for one of the Stax SRM tube Driver Units to replace the solid state SRM-1 MK.2 that came with the phones.