Sennheiser - HD 505

Thanks! Do you have a budget in mind? Sennheiser has a number of comfortable open-backs that are tuned more on the warm side, such as the HD 505 (though I prefer the more neutral HD 550), HD 650, and HD 650. This is probably a good starting point. Comfort on these is pretty good as well (especially the newer models).

Sennheiser even sells a boom mic for the 500 series now. I got a pair of 505s and its so nice having the convenience of an attachable mic without having to sacrifice sound quality.

Might wanna look at the sennheiser 505, i think it's pretty new, saw a review saying it's like a more refined tuning of the 560s. Also look at pretty much any of the hd600 series. Ive had the hd650 for years and it's great. Hd6xx is only $210 on amazon, thats a solid deal. Iirc its an hd650 with slightly different colored plastic.

Fiio FF1 (sadly mic doesn't seem to work - possibly OMTP vs CTIA incompatibility I've not looked into it) or Sennheiser HD505 (sometimes I hook up the Fiio QX13 for a better audio experience). I don't really do wireless personally.

I’m not an audiophile by any means but rather a casual gamer looking for a premium pair of headphones. I recently picked up the 505 and I’m really enjoying it. I do wish the bass was a bit more bassier for lack of a better word. Everything else is wonderful.

You don't really have to worry about impedance unless you would want to use some super low impedance IEMs. I've checked the spec, but I can't find power output of your player, that is a weird thing to omit when they output impedance and even IMD listed. Since it is based on CS43198, it should be able to get 2Vrms from unbalanced and 4Vrms from balanced into high impedance loads, but if there is more or what is the output into low impedance is unknown. Given the price of the device I would mail/call their support and demand exact information about output power. Anyway if the 250Ohm recommendation you got was DT770/880/990 then, that would not be a very good one as those headphones work only with unbalanced connection and their 250Ohm variant needs 2.5Vrms to reach 110dB SPL (loudness). So among Beyerdynamics models an 80Ohm variants (so only DT770/990, as there is no 80Ohm DT880) would be much better pick since they only require 1.4Vrms for that. You should be fine with anything from Sennheiser from 500 series, so HD560S/505/550, including possibly HD58X from american Drop store, and also HD490 Pro. I would not recommend going for 600 series which will work fine, but in their case I would advise getting balanced cable for those and if balanced output in your player is limited to 4Vrms, I would say 600 series can get better with more. Aside those you might want to take a look at planars like FiiO FT1 Pro and Hifiman headphones, but I do lack experience with those so can't tell much. Spec wise FT1 Pro should run fine even from 3.5mm unbalanced, while Hifimans can vary a lot depending on the exact model. Be warned though, Hifiman is kind of known for poor reliability (but also for not making problems with warranty claims and just replacing faulty units).

I've used these headphones with my R4, and they all sound fantastic with it: \- Sennheiser HD 620S \- Sennheiser HD 660S2 \- Sennheiser HD 505 \- Sennheiser HD 550 \- Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80ohm \- Meze 105 AER

I've used these headphones with my R4, and they all sound fantastic with it: \- Sennheiser HD 620S \- Sennheiser HD 660S2 \- Sennheiser HD 505 \- Sennheiser HD 550 \- Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro 80ohm \- Meze 105 AER

Hey Ten! Great job on this review. That copper colorway is so sharp looking! I have the 505 as well and I appreciate the analytical sound it gives me. It is right now my favorite headphone for critical listening. I'll go back to the 600 series soon enough but this headphone is just stellar! I get great detail retrieval with it!

Asus ROG Kithara is exactly 300$ and comes with everything you need in the box. With EQ it will behave however you would want it to behave. Skip the BD. Treble is sharp as nails to my ears so can’t recommend them. Skip the Senny. If you want a better Senny then a HD505 is significantly more enjoyable than a 560S (IMO). But needs to be paired with a good DAC. In that case you are looking at adding maybe another 130$ for a DAC like K11 or portable DAC like Crinacle Protocol Max for 90$. Then add a BAM 500 mic as well. My 2 cents.

If you don't like the Sennheiser veil then maybe try Hifiman. They're the exact opposite, where the clarity is off the charts to the point of fatigue. Alternatively get HD505, which are in between. If you really want more bass, then Fiio FT3 can have that. It depends on the earpads but they do pump very nice, deep bass. Sony MV1 do bass well. They're a little bright, but you can shape their response very easily with a graphic 10 band equalizer.