Hi guys, I recently had an attempt to move from HiFi system with speakers to Headphones to get rid of the room acoustics and speaker placement issues to enjoy the music. I am not able to maintain them due to my 2 year old kid constanly moving them and playing with them. My current setup is: Squeezebod touch/Laptop/ChromeCast Audio -> Beresford Cayman DAC -> Marantz 7001 AMP -> QUAD 11L2 speakers. This can give you my taste and reference. I use FLAC files and 320kbps audio files and also use Spotify to listen mostly Indian film music and Indian classic.
As I learned from reviews that the Open back headphones gives best sound stage, imaging and presentation, I purchased Sennheiser HD 599 to use it with my mobile (1plus7) and my laptop. I listened to it for few days and did some burn-in by playing music during whole night. even after around 40 hrs of burn-in it did not impress me. my observation with it is, the sound stage is more of around my head but top to sides, rather than front to sides. imaging is good. there is space between instruments. I liked the tonal quality and smoothness of sound. however did not like the sound stage as I did not feel the soundstage and presentation differrence is huge compared to cheaper headphones(plantations 5220) (or iem (Skullcandy Ink'd plus).
So I have returned it.
Meanwhile I have got an IEM - "Sennheiser Momentum free (renewed)" on Amazon in discount sale as an temporary one. Surprisingly I found it's sound stage is much better than HD599. it is more of 'front to sides around my head' than 'top to sides around my head' I heard on HD599.
Sennheiser HD599 - Priced 20999 - Top to sides sound stage, good resolution, tonal quality, bass, space between instruments.
Sennheiser Momentum Free Special edition - Max price 14,990 - Front to sides sound stage, good resolution, above average tonal quality, low bass, slightly lesser space between instruments compared to Sennheiser. Presentation is also very good.
The source is same for both (1Plus7 mobile)
What confuses me is the open back headphone should have better Sound stage, clarity and presentation compared to the IEMs at similar price range. However I see it reverse. Did I get a defective one in case of HD599? or does it need more brun-in to open up really? or is it something else that I am missing?.
I want to understand this and set my expectations and decisions accordingly as I am looking to buy a good headphone/IEMs to enjoy music without the hassle of room/speaker positioning.
As I learned from reviews that the Open back headphones gives best sound stage, imaging and presentation, I purchased Sennheiser HD 599 to use it with my mobile (1plus7) and my laptop. I listened to it for few days and did some burn-in by playing music during whole night. even after around 40 hrs of burn-in it did not impress me. my observation with it is, the sound stage is more of around my head but top to sides, rather than front to sides. imaging is good. there is space between instruments. I liked the tonal quality and smoothness of sound. however did not like the sound stage as I did not feel the soundstage and presentation differrence is huge compared to cheaper headphones(plantations 5220) (or iem (Skullcandy Ink'd plus).
So I have returned it.
Meanwhile I have got an IEM - "Sennheiser Momentum free (renewed)" on Amazon in discount sale as an temporary one. Surprisingly I found it's sound stage is much better than HD599. it is more of 'front to sides around my head' than 'top to sides around my head' I heard on HD599.
Sennheiser HD599 - Priced 20999 - Top to sides sound stage, good resolution, tonal quality, bass, space between instruments.
Sennheiser Momentum Free Special edition - Max price 14,990 - Front to sides sound stage, good resolution, above average tonal quality, low bass, slightly lesser space between instruments compared to Sennheiser. Presentation is also very good.
The source is same for both (1Plus7 mobile)
What confuses me is the open back headphone should have better Sound stage, clarity and presentation compared to the IEMs at similar price range. However I see it reverse. Did I get a defective one in case of HD599? or does it need more brun-in to open up really? or is it something else that I am missing?.
I want to understand this and set my expectations and decisions accordingly as I am looking to buy a good headphone/IEMs to enjoy music without the hassle of room/speaker positioning.