I use the Stax setup at home.

Here are the phones list 

Sony R10 (Hard to find), Sr-4070, ZMF Verite, Focal Stellia

 

Any suggestion so far?

DCA Aeon 2 Noire

JH13s

 

ES Labs ES-R10 or JH13s

13 hours ago, greenpips said:

Sony R10

Those were (in excellent condition) for sale here recently... 
The price was... khm.. measly 8500 €

Anyone heard the DCA Stealth? 

Or the (bargain) Meze Audio LIRIC?

 

I vote for a Denon D9200.  More discrete looking than the ES-R10.  Really efficient and great sounding too!  I still find the ES-R10 better but I don’t think it is suitable as an office headphones.

Edited June 11, 20224 yr by purk

Another vote for the DCA Aeon 2 Noire here
Just gave these a short listen yesterday. Might borrow them for longer if I can get a balanced cable as I didn't hear it properly driven, and yet the tuning on these is really-really good. Naturally full, yet not dark.

Where it fails is where basically any closed-back does, is that the bass is not very high quality for instrumental reproduction.
And of course it has very little chance to resolve as well as an estat. But it's not mushy at all and more punchy. Needs some power.
Otherwise, it is isolating (unlike most full-sized closed backs), well-built, folds down a really compact size etc. etc. just a nice sound with a high usability factor.

The AirPod Max is my to go at the office. Easy to use, instant connection with my iphone, noise cancellation when needed, good sound. My Stax is for home.

I am testing the Aeon 2 Noire at home (in balanced configuration, improves dynamics).
I need to revise my opinion. The treble is a bit prominent (as graphs show), but that's not the problem.
I inherently dislike how the bass is reproduced. A real shame, otherwise it would be quite nice.
(Also unsure about the Harman Curve in general, maybe diffuse field is a more natural target for my ears.)

If you happen to be on a Mac, and just a friendly reminder for others, SoundSource has nice built in headphone EQs that help a ton. 

After tried many CB in the past, I am now happy with the Hifiman Sundara closed, although less 'audiophile' such as the Denon 9200,  I enjoy the bass much and no fatigue.

15 hours ago, ivanouk said:

After tried many CB in the past, I am now happy with the Hifiman Sundara closed, although less 'audiophile' such as the Denon 9200,  I enjoy the bass much and no fatigue.

What amp are you using?  Amps make a world of difference, when it comes to bass.  The Headamp Pico Power does a wonderful job of controlling the bass to the point of bondage and discipline, with a dominatrix's hand.

...not that I've ever experienced that.

I agree with Dusty. What electronics are in the chain?

Denon...but not the 9200...

set up camp at hifishark.com & grab some D7000...

them's some choice cans...

@Dusty Chalk  @swt61

At office I use it with the Xduoo XD05 bal, sounds good for my taste, very clean, bass and sub-bass tight and precise, handy size, good in BT too.

In office also have an Arcam Solo I use sometimes to listen classical music with the DT880 600 ohm (in evenings of extra work ), works well with that too, but prefer the Xduoo.

At home I have Stax.

1 hour ago, ivanouk said:

@Dusty Chalk  @swt61

At office I use it with the Xduoo XD05 bal, sounds good for my taste, very clean, bass and sub-bass tight and precise, handy size, good in BT too.

In office also have an Arcam Solo I use sometimes to listen classical music with the DT880 600 ohm (in evenings of extra work ), works well with that too, but prefer the Xduoo.

At home I have Stax.

It doesn't get much handier in size than the Pico Power -- those are 1/8" jacks on the front. 

Funny you should mention the DT880 -- I use my Pico Power with the DT1770.

Also, it comes in purple.

Resurrecting a random thread rather than starting another. I got asked for a closed headphones recommendation and I am out of it on the current market. She is not an audiophile and doesn't want to spend a ton, noise canceling is ok but not critical, and doesn't want ear buds. Any thoughts?

You didn't list a pricepoint, but considering that she's not an audiophile I'm imagining the budget will be on the lower side?

 

One of the guys at work owns these and they're impressive given the cost.

I don't know why anyone, other than the hardest core of audiophiles, would want any headphones with a wire anymore. So no specific recommendation (except that the B&Ws are overpriced for what they are, but you probably assumed that already) but a recommendation to look at Bluetooth phones.

Whatever the current Sony wf1000 series headphones is these days. 

I think Doug is correct, and I would be happy to learn who is making a reasonably priced BT headphone. I don't know the budget but I will pass along Steve's suggestion. If Google directed me correctly, Dan, the Sonys are ear buds and she has some already but gets ear infections and wants something over the ear. If that is not what you recommended then let me know.

I agree about wired, but I will still say:

Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro -- $180-ish

$160 open box at Sweetwater

...because nothing isolates like they do, other than IEMs (nothing I've tried other than the Koss Pro 4AAA or whatever the nomenclature was, and those are uncomfortable as heck)

There's a trick to making them not boom, but I don't remember what it is -- match the impedance?  Headamp pico?

Also, for $200-ish, you can get them in all black.

Dan probably meant the WH1000 XM6 (my current housemate has the XM3s), which are over ear, sound good, and isolate enough that she doesn't hear me if anything is playing.