Hifiman Edition XS

(I imagine other Hifiman in that form factor may be similar, but the XS is what I have)

I wonder if they fit much different than Sundaras or it's just my head. I can't wear my Sundaras for more than ~2 hours without having to fight off the discomfort building up.

If it helps, the Edition XS for me is the single most comfortable headphone I've ever used. Comfort is subjective, but I can wear them for hours. They just seem to disappear.

For me, it's one of the least comfortable headphones I've tried. The headband is super-stiff which doesn't work well with its weight and loose clamping.

Stax L700mk2....they are not called earspeakers for nothing....

Maybe Raal SR-1b

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Your question is similar to: Which car is closest to a bike?

or

What vegetable tastes like meat?

Want a speaker like experience? Decent studio monitors five to six inch woofers go for like 350€ a pair.

Anyone who even THINKS any headphone can come close to the speaker experience AND VICE VERSA has NEVER experienced speakers. It's like a lifelong vegetarian telling me that beyond meat tastes like meat. NO IT FUCKING DOESN'T (sorry but that made me angry :) )

In terms of soundstage, AKG K1000. In terms of all three, basically none.

Never tried a Stax, what do they do to mimic speaker presentation than regular headphones don't?

It's like being in space and you are surrounded by music,so much detail, it can scare the hell out of me at night time, you sometimes think someone or something is right next to you.

..Yeah but the HD800 does this too. And it's nowhere near speakers when it comes to staging, separation, maybe a bit more detailed but not by much. And the bass, which is the biggest problem with headphones in comparison to speakers.

Don.t know why people think electrostatic earspeakers have no bass so untrue, it;s also tighter and faster bass, to get speakers to preform like the stax you would need to spend $20.000 on speakers and that much again on room treatments.

Where are you pulling these arbituary numbers from? What I meant with the bass-comment is that headphones simply cannot do bass the same way a speaker can, a whole-body experience.

My speaker-setup has cost me about 2000€ so far, room treatment about 300€ (still more to come of course, gonna shoot up to about a grand in total) and the bass is fast, physical and doesn't ring in the room until the 40-30hz rangle. A couple bass traps achieved this, no need to spend 20k on them as your comment suggests lol. The whole presentation, with Dirac, is simply amazing, sold my HD800 since I simply don't even use them anymore due to this system, grand total of less than 3000.

I prefer my headphones to my speakers. The amount of adjusting, room correcting, acoustic paneling, bass trapping etc. I'd need to do to get even close to sound as good as my headphones is not an option for me. Also I'll take a vegan burger over a "regular" one any day, but that's subjective.

Mysphere 3

Akg K1000

There is much more to room acoustics than a couple of bass traps go get some pricing on wall and ceiling soundproofing, gee turn in a speaker a few degrees and it all can turn to shit, aleast headphones don't have that problem, i can also listen as loud as i like and any time i like without the neighbours wanting to kill me...

Sorry for the (caring) spam. Last but not least : DSP

Well obviously, I do have panels on the side and backwalls and also a few in the ceiling. But I was talking about the bass that you mentioned needed 20k speakers and 20k treatment to sound fast like in headphones, which simply isn't true. Good placement (I used the masters-setup) coupled with capable, half-decent speakers and bass traps will get you there.

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>gee turn in a speaker a few degrees and it all can turn to shit, aleast
headphones don't have that problem, i can also listen as loud as i like
and any time i like without the neighbours wanting to kill me...

Completely beside the point, but you do you. Have fun with the Stax, I'll enjoy my speakers :)

Probably the most correct answer, even the amplification comes close to that of a speaker

In my experience, no headphones has ever come close in comparison to my speakers. And my speakers costs a fraction of how much my headphones costs and yet the way speaker produces sound is just better.

The audioquest nighthawk has speaker-like presentation but some hate it and some like it

What you’re describing sounds like what the marketing team says for the HD600… however I can not speak for the HD600 unfortunately

I've heard headphones that sound close to nearfield monitors (akg N90Q) but not a full room setup.

Grados

Speakers and headphones are different experiences. Why not having both?

None of them will sound remotely close to speakers

SubPac S2 can do bass better than any subwoofer. You'll feel every low note in your body and it's seamless with the headphones. I'll take the S2 bass over a subwoofer any day. No bass traps required and you can have a full body experience even at night without bothering anyone. And best of all, no hearing damage.

Speaker people are always weirdly heated about the speakers vs headphones thing.

I've been a vegetarian all my adult life, and I have the opposite issue... Damn meat eaters asking if everything tastes like meat. I haven't eaten meat for over 20 years, I have no fucking idea!

This. I have both Focal speakers and headphones. The headphones are more precise and detailed. Even the Utopia I had before sounded better than the same price point speakers Focal offers. But I but much of that comes down to room treatment and listening position. And figuring all that out is a nightmare

Nah, you would need to step up to the Arya with the suspension headband. It is legit the most comfortable headphone out there not just Hifiman assuming the egg shape doesn’t push on your jaw weird (only complaint I have heard). Plus you get better bass extension with better detail.

Still not going to sound like speakers tho.

Nothing beats the experience of a well matched hi-fi system in an acoustically well treated room. But yeah, you are correct. You need to invest in a lot of money, time and effort to get high end sound. Headphones are intimate, less prone to listening environment, cheaper and all but, I still prefer the music as if I stand in front of the musicians

That headphone definitely sounds like a headphone (I own the 6XX, more similar to the 600 than different).

I feel the same way. Even if I have really good thousand dollar speakers, if I can't meet the 10 other requirements to make good use of it, it won't sound as good as it's worth. Headphones, just plop it on your head, done.

LCD-2/LCD-2C they just have that grand (speaker) sound to them.

Raal S1-RB, mysphere, and AB-1266 iterations are all basically little speakers that you suspend on your head and toe-in/out to approximate a 2-channel presentation. Very out of your head music experience. There is no earpad seal like with traditional cans.

It's definitely not for everyone.

Tell em how you really feel