Resolve, DMS and GoldenSound each give their headphone tier lists as of the end of 2023 and fight about which headphones are good, which ones are bad, and where your favorite headphones fall.
(In no particular order for the tiers and all subject to change)
DMS's List: tiermaker.com/list/technology...
Resolve's List: tiermaker.com/list/technology...
Golden's List: tiermaker.com/list/technology...
Read more headphone, IEM, amp, and DAC Reviews: Headphones.com/TheAudioFiles
Our Editorial Policy: Headphones.com/TheAudioFiles/...
Join our Discord server: go.headphones.com/discord
How to read the new measurements:
• A new standard for hea...
The 10 stages of headphone measurements
• The 10 stages you’ll g...
00:00 - Disclaimers
06:29 - Abyss
09:18 - AKG
10:09 - Audeze
20:20 - Audio Technica
23:36 - Austrian Audio
26:16 - Beyerdynamic
33:34 - Dan Clark Audio
41:13 - Denon
42:19 - Final Audio
42:24 - Focal
50:33 - Fostex
51:43 - Goldplanar
53:03 - Grado
55:01 - Harmonicdyne
57:02 - HEDD Audio
59:41 - HiFiMAN
1:09:09 - Koss
1:10:49 - Meze
1:15:21 - Moondrop
1:16:21 - Neumann
1:17:11 - Philips
1:18:12 - Raal
1:20:14 - Sendy
1:20:56 - Sennheiser
1:28:16 - Shure
1:29:06 - Sony
1:32:16 - Spirit Torino
1:33:17 - Stax
1:37:01 - TakeT
1:37:32 - Ultrasone
1:38:01 - Warwick Acoustics
1:40:05 - ZMF
1:47:19 - FINAL RESULTS
Just a couple of notes: This list was only made for passive wired headphones. No ANC or wireless headphones were included because that's a separate category and introduces different variables. IEMs also weren't included here, those are separate lists. I expect this video will get folks fired up in the comments, I'd just ask that you please give the disclaimers section a watch beforehand at 00:22 just so you have a sense of where we're coming from. One of the key takeaways from doing this exercise is that there is no definitive ranking list that's going to satisfy everyone and that we shouldn't just base our judgments or understanding of products around the opinions of a single perspective. We all have different preferences and approach this stuff differently from one another, and I think this video shows that as well. If YOU have a different opinion than we do on a given headphone, understand that this is also expected. Our opinions have also changed over time and I also imagine they will have changed again by the next time we do this. And with that in mind, remember that we're just three people on the internet talking about headphones - don't let that affect your enjoyment of stuff you love. Lastly, tier lists or rankings of any kind are highly reductive and give a particularly blunt indication of how products are received. I'm fully aware that this point may be missed when folks are watching this video. This is also the reason why I'm generally not a fan of doing singular tier lists on this stuff. There's far more to each product than just a ranking or a letter grade. But, we've been regularly asked for this list, so here it is.
Also, check the description for the higher visibility tier lists
can i ask a link/ picture of DMS' and Golden's tierlist?
@@MuhammadKharismawan those should be in the description as well. It has my picture because I created them based on what they said in this video but they are titled appropriately.
@@ResolveReviews ah ok, i watched the video right after it was released so i need to refresh the page for it to show up, thanks
will you guys possibly do a wireless / anc / iem ranking seperate to this?
This was a fun concept. We of course skipped ahead to our section, but will finish the rest later. What, no "Surrounder" ranking?? What gives?!?! Haha 😉 See you all soon and Happy Holidays!
Haha yes a clear omission - Happy Holidays!
HD820 with new FR pls
Woah, the real Sennheiser
Cheaper HE 1 when?
@@reykhan233probably never realistically speaking
I always say I won't do a Tier List. But I feel Left out of this monster. 110 minute videos are my specialty..
Resolve here - I'll do a tier list with you... But we will fight!
@@TheHEADPHONEShow Since Z’s face is now free for public consumption, you could set up a fight in the KZhead boxing scene. Get Sennheiser on board for the winner to get a HE-1. The loser must listen to only one headphone (of the winners choosing) for the next month. Would be a battle for the ages!
Most of it appears to be about your life with maybe 20 minutes of it being about headphones 😂 (just playing around btw, no hard feelings)
Please do one Z you actually appreciate Japanese headphones and headphones that don’t all sound the same!
Most controversial opinions: Sennheiser HD800 - S grade What?! I say “C” it has very little bass presence , impact and the treble spike. Build materials and cable connections are mediocre at best. Denon D9200 only a “C” but Z1R is a “B”?! How can Sennheiser hd600 series be anything greater than a “C”? Blob imaging, no sub bass extension not detailed, small stage. Focal Clear a “B”?! You guys gonna make Tyll come out of retirement!
I have made a written list below! Thank you very much for this tier list! I have had so much fun watching it and listening your opinions. Very interesting results! I noticed many people are asking for the written list so I have made one based on your list (I took average score of 3 of you so the list might be slightly different than the one you are showing to us): S+ 1. Sennheiser HE-1 2. Warwick Acoustics Bravura 3. Warwick Acoustics Aperio S 1. Abyss Diana MR 2. Hifiman he6 OG 3. Hifiman Susvara 4. Meze Empyrean 2 6. ZMF Atrium A 1. Abyss Diana TC 2. Abyss AB1266 Phi TC 3. Audeze MM500 4. Austrian Audio The Composer 5. DCA Aeon 2 Noir 6. DCA Corina 7. Final Audio D8000pro 8. Focal Elex 9. Focal Utopia (newer version slightly better than older) 10. HEDD Audio HEDDphone One 11. Hifiman Arya v3 12. Hifiman Arya Organic 13. HIFIMAN SHANGRI-LA jr 14. HIFIMAN SHANGRI-LA sr 15. Sennheiser HD600 16. Sennheiser HD650 17. Sennheiser HD800s 18. STAX SR-007 MK2! 19. STAX SR-X9000 20. STAX SR-L700 ! 21. ZMF Auteur Classic 22. ZMF Aeolus 23. ZMF Verite Closed 24. ZMF Caldera B 1. Abyss Diana v2 2. AKG K371 3. AKG K361 4. Audeze LCD1 5. Audeze LCD-2F 6. Audeze LCD-3F 7. Audeze LCD-4 8. Audeze LCD-X 2021+ 9. Audeze LCD-XC 10. Audeze LCD-5 ! 11. Audio-Technica ATH-R70x 12. DCA Aoen Closed X 13. DCA Ether Closed 14. DCA Stealth 15. Focal Clear OG 16. Focal Celestee 17. Focal Radiance 18. HarmonicDyne G200 19. HarmonicDyne Zeus 20. HEDD Audio HEDDphone Two ! 21. Hifiman Sundara 22. Hifiman Edition XS 23. Hifiman he6se v2 24. Hifiman HE1000 v2 25. Meze 109pro 26. Moondrop Void 27. Raal requisite CA-1A 28. Raal SR-1B 29. Sennheiser HD580 30. Sennheiser HD660s 2 31. Shure 840 32. Sony Z1R 33. Sony MDR-V6 34. Sony 1am2 35. Spirit Torino Valkyria 36. STAX SR-009s ! 37. STAX SR-L300 38. STAX SR-L500 39. ZMF Atrium Closed 40. ZMF Verite Open C 1. AKG k612pro 2. AKG k712pro 3. Audeze LCD-GX 4. Audeze LCD-2C Classic 5. Audeze CRBN 6. Audio-Technica ATH-m40x 7. Audio-Technica adx5000 (and any other adx line) 8. Austrian Audio HI-X65 9. Beyerdynamic DT770 10. Beyerdynamic DT880 11. Beyerdynamic TYGR 300R 12. Beyerdynamic DT700 pro-x 13. Beyerdynamic DT900 pro-x 14. Dan Clark Audio Aeon Open X 15. Denon AHD-9200 16. Denon AH-D1001 17. Focal Elegia 18. Focal Clear MG 19. Focal Stellia 20. Fostex t50rp 21. Fostex t60rp 22. HarmonicDyne Helios 23. Hifiman HE-400se 24. Hifiman HE-560 25. Hifiman Ananda-Nano 26. Hifiman Ananda-Stealth 27. Koss kph30i 28. Meze Empyrean 1 29. Meze Elite 30. Moondrop Venus 31. Neumann NDH-30 32. Sandy Aiva 33. Sennheiser HD560s 34. Sennheiser HD660s 35. Sony MDR-MV1 36. Sony CD900ST D 1. AKG k701 2. AKG k702 3. AKG 7xx 4. Audeze LCD-2 Closed 5. Audeze EL-8C 6. Audio-Technica ATH-m50x 7. Beyerdynamic Aeron Home 8. Beyerdynamic DT1990 9. DCA Ether 2 10. DCA Expanse 11. Focal Elear 12. Fostex TR-X00 Mahogany 13. Fostex TH-900 14. Fostex TH-909 15. Goldplanar AMT-1 16. Grado Hemp 17. HarmonicDyne Poseidon 18. Hifiman Deva 19. Hifiman HE1000 se 20. Koss Porta Pro 21. Koss KSC75 22. Meze 99 Classic 23. Meze Lyric 24. Neumann NDH-20 25. Neumann Ollo Audio S4X 26. Philips SHP-9500 27. Philips SHP-9600 28. Phiips x3 29. Shure 840 a 30. Sony PFR V1 31. F 1. Beyerdynamic DT990 2. Beyerdynamic T5p 3. Beyerdynamic DT1770 4. DCA VOCE 5. Goldplanar GL2000 6. All Grado except Hemp 7. Hifiman Sundara Closed 8. Sandy Peacock 9. Shure SRH 1540 10. Sony MDR-ZX110 11. Sony MDR-M1ST 12. TakeT H2+ HTHTH 1. Austrian Audio HI-X55 2. Beats Pro 3. Beyerdynamic T1 Gen 4. Hifiman Audivina 5. Hifiman HE-R9 6. Hifiman HE-R10p 7. Moondrop Joker 8. Sennheiser HD820 9. Sennheiser HD700 10. Spirit Torino Twin Pulse 11. Ultrasone 580i X (Not heard) 1. Denon AHD-7200 2. Denon AHD-5200 3. HarmonicDyne Athena 4. Hifiman HE1000 Stealth You mentioned that it was 182 headphones, on my list it is less. The one with ! are the headphones got 3 different tier from all of you, so I have put them into average one. Enjoy!
This is awesome!
thank you!!!
legend
bro why is Koss ksc75 at d tier
Because they're clearly saying it's d tier.
Would love to see one on DACs and Amps! Ooooh and an updated 2023 "what would you buy list" with more price brackets.
Loved watching this especially with the three of you guys comparing your results as a group. We need an IEM version of this please! 😊😊👏👏
I'd say they should get crin on there for that but he already spent so much time on his own tier list lol
Wish you had summarized at the end better. Maybe a scatter plot of tier vs price would be cool. Maybe also share your top picks for different budgets.
Im glad they included Stax in this one because i was always verry curious what their opinions are of the headphones
This is a lot of fun. I enjoy these more casual, long form videos.
same
Fun concept, can be a good starting guide. The only problem is that the list is pictures. Most are low res so for many I have no idea what they are! Some way of having both textual and image would make your list much more useful.
Yeah, I wish they'd post the list.
I have made a text list. Please check my comment. ;)
I'm crying for DMS doesn't like the 1990 anymore after I bought them based on his review. But I'm ok with it. It's been half a decade and people and their taste and perception and the technology around change. I'll still like them.
Since hearing my first ZMF at the Dallas CanJam I’ve been planning on a purchase so I was very pleased to hear your comments on their entire line. Thank you!
Definitely get suede (not hybrid or leather) pads, if you get any of the ZMF closed backs.
loved this video thanks. I definitely learned a ton and changed my headphone goals quite a bit. Would love to see an IEM tier list collaboration someday.
It'd be good to have a text based list. The tier list itself is one case where a picture does not infact say a thousand words (or even 1): what the name of the headphones are.
Yes. Googling “headphones that have a bit of orange” isn’t that helpful
yea I don't know what i'm looking at haha just these photos. Give us some labels or links or something
Yep it’s really difficult to figure out what the pics are
Agree, no idea how you are suppose to tell the Audeze's apart
A list is definitely a MUST for anyone interested in buying (or trying out) these headphones! I watched this for info to guide my buying choices. Please, to make the video more enjoyable and easier to follow, give us the names. They could be put in the description of the video, a comment, or provided in a link to your website. You could include the sound rankings in this manner: AKG K371(B,B,B). Feel free to include a "-" or "+", since sometimes you said a headphone was a "low A", making it an "A-". Thanks!
When these type of comparisons are done it would be great to have a list and rankings listed somewhere
very nice tier-list! You mentioned the stealth ananda and the og basically is better than the stealth...!? At which tier would you place the og Ananda then? (just purchased one like new for 350 eur as an upgrade/complement to my good old senni hd599se)
From what I've tried/owned, generally agree with these lists. My only exception was the Verite Closed which felt very warm/"damp" with what I can only describe as a "vignetted" soundstage. Much preferred the LCD-XC ('21) with EQ. I'd be curious how the MySphere 3.1/3.2 would fare in these tierlists since I've only heard good things about them (often compared to the Raal SR-1b and other "earspeakers".) Also didn't see the Campfire Cascades. I personally put them at a D/F tier since they had physically painful slam for me and were quite uncomfortable with their small earcups, but they do have their following among bassheads.
I own one S and two A tiers headphones from the list and I agree of their rankings, this also applies to the other headphones I have heard, except for the DT 1990 Pro which I rank higher, but I am older and am not sensitive to high frequencies, but the bottom line is that 95% of all people would be perfectly happy with either the HD600 or Sundara depending on personal taste.
True, but we are the 5%🙈
yes DMS ranked the DT 1990 much higher (A-tier) just 3 years ago. As anyone would. But his hearing as gotten so much better since then! 🤷♂
My issues with the 1990 was the headband giving me terrible pain, and the sound (same with dt 990, tygr, 770, mmx 300) has an unusual metallic sound to it, I’ve always found beyer to sound unnatural for some reason, but I also found they all excelled when used for gaming, very good for competitive shooters.
@@JOJOSSTAR1 you know you can oly loose hearing right?
@@JohZs77 Ever heard of sarcasm?
I'm glad to see this list, I'm a old head and all headphones were the wired kind when I grew up listening to music and I've always have had a nice pair. I currently own a pair of Focal Clear but going to listen to some of these in the future.
Very entertaining having you all on this - like The Avengers of headphone tier list videos.. sort of. I haven’t heard the vast majority of these but tend to agree with most of the comments, save that the scorn for the DT series Beyerdynamics was perhaps laid undeservedly thick, and the Clear MG sounded unequivocally nicer to me than the old one, but I certainly can’t hear up to 18khz.. Hopefully you do more of these in future, perhaps also for DAC / amplifier units? One minor suggestion, it would help to have in small text in a bottom corner perhaps, the make and model of headphone being discussed at each time. I watched this a second time and was skipping to different units, when going back and forth between brands, it takes a few moments to work out which specific headphone is being discussed. Otherwise that was excellent. Perhaps have Josh Valour or Lachlan Fennen (Passion for Sound) along too next time?
@ResolveReviews I recently picked up some open box but immaculate Elear. I've bought some Dekoni Elite Hybrid pads and I like these easily as much as the Clear I had for a couple of months. Are there any others you would recommend?
I would love to see this list, but bucketed into price groups. This list is great, but I'd like to see how the headphones breakdown by cost. I.E. are all S-tier $1,000+ US? What are the best
Sennheiser HD600 or HD650, calibrated with Sound ID for bass compensation.
Thanks for the nice video 2 remarks : The lists ranking the videos and discussions do not fully correlate. Additionally, the headphones are difficult to identify by icon alone in the attached list, titles would help a lot.
Fantastic video. Thanks so much! I subscribed
@TheHEADPHONEShow Great list! But You are missing some really important headphones that get recommended frequently in the forums. Where would you put the Aurorus headphones (Borealis and Australis)? And what about the Modhouse Tungsten?
This was a great idea and I think a lot of people would enjoy something similar but for DACs/amps! I’ve been invested in this hobby for a few years now, but only recently have I been interested in upgrading from my A50s/E30 stack and am finding the overall decision-making process to be quite overwhelming. I think it would be cool if you guys teamed up again and gave your opinions on a good amount of the best and worst-sounding dacs/amps you’ve tested/heard.
Andrew doesnt hear differences in all solid state amps anymore and dms doesn't think its worthwhile spending a lot. Goldensound is the only one that would have any opinion
Not technically true. Resolve here - I've only said that if there's a perceptual difference then we should expect to find a measurable one as well. Thresholds of audibility for distortion profiles also aren't that well understood, so the door is still open to some of this. But also, other differences do exist that have to do with output impedance, or other obvious characteristics that can explain a heard difference in an ABX.
@TheHEADPHONEShow I just took it from your stream when you said you couldn't hear the difference in an ABX test. I completely agree with you here.
Is there any way do get the names of headphones / final list?
I scanned through to hear about headphones I've owned and sold as I didn't enjoy them, headphones I still own and enjoy, and headphones that are possible future purchases. While I may not share the same opinion or preferences as you three your consistency is a good barometer for what I may enjoy, which you may not. Thanks for the video.
Dekoni LCD Suede for Caldera, which one? And does it fit or needs some hackery or something?
Hello! Do this for IEMs as well ❤
This was informative and just fun to watch. Thanks! Put me down for the same thing, but done with wireless headphones!
Great show. I really enjoyed it and found it very valuable. I usually listen to the Focal Utopia I using a 300b tube amp and sometimes a solid state amp depending on what I am listening to. My comment is that to me the amp that is being used affects the sound. If you were all using the same amps or at least a number of amps I feel more comfortable with the results. Thanks, again a great show.
Great review. I’m new to the audiophile headphone world - I’m not familiar with names associated with the headphone pictures. Could you supply the actual name of each headphone with the picture for future reference? Thanks.
I have made a text list. Please check my comment. ;)
Really fun watch! Out of curiosity, is Chrono still part of the team? I enjoyed a lot of his opinions in the past and it's been a while since his last video.
think they changed the amp to lessfox, its noticeably better
Great video although I didn't have time to watch all of it ! Would be nice to have a list with all the names with their ranking. Thanks!
Great video and the perfect intro into hifi headphones. I'm interested in getting the Audeze LCD 2c. Does anyone know which pads DMS is referring to, if one wanted to swap the pads?
Is it possible to see the resulting list somewher?
With the exception of the Expanse which for whatever reason works quite well for me, I pretty much agree with all of these. I'm now going to spend the rest of winter preparing myself for the 72h long IEM tier list, the 9hr Amp tier list, the 6hr DAC list, and the 50-60 hr dongle list 🤣 P.S. I hope you're recovering well, Andrew, and happy almost birthday, DMS!
I watch two-hour videos about as often as I trim my toenails with a chain saw. But this one was excellent. Enjoyed it! Mature, smart discussion from three of the most knowledgeable headphone reviewers on KZhead. Thank you!
I enjoyed this video sooo much. It's exactly what I wanted from you guys. Please do solve whether the empyrean 2 has unit variation or not.
I have a feeling it does. The one I listened month ago seemed to sound differently than the one I was checking now... Both played for a week prior to listening. The second one seems to be bit more recessed in mids... Can someone else confirm if that was his experience too?
I’m loving all my C grade headphones (Sony MDR MV1 - Focal Clear Mg - Meze Empyrean 1). So if anything, this tier list is a great exercise in consistency. Ima look up for more C tier headphones from this list, thanks fellas XD
Some b tier actually cheap tho
@@TheFiveoF.Which ones? I’m working my way down this list and haven’t gotten there yet. Thanks for any help!
Shure 840 and 440 I got both of them less than 100 hundred dollars only 44 ohm no need amplifier but build quality like a crap and when I'm a sleep I use my senheiser hd560s got it like 150 dollars used and done I don't need anything else 3 of them have different sounds signature that bang for all my playlist metal,edm, hip-hop,etc. but just use headphones that fit for you from comfort to sound signatures because other people might be like it but not click for you
I do like the list of headphones chosen but I think when you don't discuss use case you mislead the general public I am a mix engineer and I can tell you for certain that the Neumann NDH 30 are among some of the best headphones for mixing and mastering they are to be thought of as a tool they are not supposed to sound flattering they are meant to tell you what needs to be added or subtracted from a mix and the do that very well.
thanks for these insights, these kinds of videos should happen much more often on youtube, sound is too subjective and seeing people discuss their insights is very helpful to make a better informed buying decision
I'm happy with this because my headphones of choice, the Auteur Classics, did well. I started my journey with the Grado sr80e, then went to the Focal celeste and Audeze LCD-XC, then fell in love with all things ZMF.
man i'm so incredibly happy with my auteur classic, it's litteraly an endgame piece of gear.
I swear I was just watching your 2022 tierlist an hour ago
This was great fun. Thanks for doing it. But the attached TierMaker lists are not much help to someone like me if you can't tell what headphone is in the picture. I'm not familiar with ALL of them from a thumbnail pic size. Any chance of including written lists of these? I get that it's just for fun etc etc, but still useful for canvassing opinion.
Exactly my thought. I've no idea what I'm looking at there, so not much point in posting them
DMS, which hybrid pad did you use with the ZMF Aeolus? Be2 or universe pad? Just ordered an Aeolus and want to try the hybrid pads too. Thanks!
Will you make similar comparison for IEMs? would be really nice! or at least affordable ones like to 200-500 usd?
You guys put the Phillips SHP-9500 & 9600 on the tier list but not the X2HR and X3 that were also mentioned? I own the 9500 and X2HR; 9500 is an excellent gaming headphone, super comfortable, can wear it all day and fantastic at bringing forth the midrange, it even surprisingly has bass when equipped with thicker pads. But as they come, C-tier is deserved, great entry-level open-back. X2HR is better in almost every way; build, clarity, bass extension, greater soundstage and separation, mids take a step back, and the only detractor is it struggles with really high-pitched voices and sharp 'S' sounds, otherwise they sound identical to the Moondrop Variations IEMs which cost 4x more. I'd rank the X2HR high or mid B-tier, imo.
This is one of the most useful video for buying headphones. Thank you all for evaluating all these headphones! Want to see a separate sheet for open and closed back headphones. After watching this video I have hard time to decide get stax 9000 or warwick B as my ultimate set up.
Only if you agree with their opinions or know how you differ for example I know what ever DMS really likes I will not and whatever he dislikes I will probably like!
The Danish speaker brand, Dali, released the io-12; a €1K headphone meant to be used passively or wirelessly. It would be interesting to know your thoughts about it. The Focal Bathys can't be used passively as far as I remember. Very entertaining video and thanks for all your honest thoughts.
@dms which are the pads you like most for the audeze lcd 2C?
You guys should try a new HE1000 SE, apparently it got revised and not near as bright. I went with the he1000 stealth
I have them and they are beautiful and they are not bright. Love them
This was a hugely fun video guys! Thank you so much. I love my HD 600 and 650. I’m still thinking about pulling the trigger on the 660S2. You guys say it’s not as good, but other reviewers say it’s the best of the 6 series, including Jude from head-fi. So I’m thinking about it.
i would say 660s2 it is technically better in driver and try to turned like the hd650. it is a good addition to hd600 and 650 for me personally.
I prefer the war 660s2 over the 650 (have both) although I wouldn't consider the touted extended bass/ sub bass of the s2 as a standout (or even barely noticeable) feature.
The hd490 pro came out recently, might wanna check it out
HD650 with Sound ID, love em. I'd love to try the HD600, but neither of these headphones are sold where I live, bought my cans more than 10 years ago, just replaced their ear foams and headbands, brand new again. Can't complain at all.
Have both hd650 and 660s2. The 660 bass and treble truly is a upgrade vs 650. Along more separation. 650 mids perhaps slightly more detailed. Vastly prefr 660 presentstion
Is the AKG K361 at the same level than Sundara? Do you think they are equally good in terms of sound quality?
Such an amazing video. I feel like I entered this hobby at the best time ever (only a couple months ago)
Really enjoyed this but....Is there any description list or spreadsheet of this ranking? All I can see on my phone is pictures of the headphones. Would be nice to be able to click on the picture and know what they are and a short description of the reviewer's pros and cons.
That's how they get you to spend time on the video
How about a written list besides pics? Could not find one. Thanks.
Thanks so much for including timelinks for each chapter so I can easily skip brands I haven't heard or aren't interested in.
I know this list is only for headphones currently in production but what does DMS rate the LCD 2/3 PF?
Damn, HarmonicDyne Zeus is one of my favorite all-rounders, could listen to it all day. Would’ve been A-tier for me easily.
Can we see a tier list with EQ. I'd love to hear your opinions on the potential of headphones with EQ.
Sennheiser HD600-650 with Sonarworks' Sound ID (EQ) jump to S tier. Don't over think it if you are planning to buy and have the money.
What do you mean by the headphone for ndh30? That's trying hard to fit loudness eq standard orr that it's neumann the brand? Also I was curious what (if anything) could you say about low end on ndh30s?
Thank you - it was fun and entertaining. As if the comparison across ~200 items was not difficult enough another complicating factor is assessing headphones when pairing each headphone with the optimaalDAC/AMP. For me Focal Celeste sounded fantastic connected to AVM Ovation and just so so when connected to lower class RME ADI-2 FS. My DC AEON2 Noir outclassed Celeste on RME but easily lost to Audeze LCD XC and 2 Closed back. However, DC Aeon2 Noir sounds outstanding with RME when the Amp is Ferrum OOR . And even better with Mola Mola Tambaqui. Right pairing is everything (like in marriage 😀).
Nice! It would be nice if you could convert these lists to written lists too.
The rollover does not have the names
Check my comment please. I have made a text list. ;)
Oh this is going to be fun. I only own one headphone at the minute, well technically it's a headset the audeze Maxwell. I listened to it and then realized I don't need the hd600 anymore. The Maxwell is so similar but with sub bass and the convenience of wireless. Add the fact it comes with a mic for gaming it's just an all around win. The rest of my collection is iem's.
Could someone tell me which cable Golden Sound is using in the video? Thank you in advance!
This was fun fun fun and very informative,, 👍🌟🌟🌟👍 Thank you ever so much for your work and time,, 💖🙏💖
Long video, but I hope to see a big list of the headphones with what they were ranked and what their price point is.
The lists are displayed at the end. Price points can't be reflected in the tiermaker but maybe we can add a spreadsheet to the description.
@@ResolveReviews the list with tiny images of the headphones? Not really helpful without the higher resolution one, or possibility to see the names
@@IgorBagayev I added them to the description. But yeah I think we should also add prices and a spreadsheet. I'll work on that next week if I can.
@@ResolveReviews yup, spreadsheets with price points would be great! we can actually see the best bang for buck headphones!
@@ResolveReviews a spreadhseet to go along with this would be HUGE info
Hmmm... Sennheiser HD 600: A/A/B Sennheiser HD 660S: C/C/C That's quite a drop-off. Yet initially, DMS called the 660S "absolutely phenomenal" and "some of my favorite in the line." Yes, the world of headphones has changed in 6 years, but the HD 6-series hasn't--well, not much. 3 years later, Resolve compared them directly to the Sundaras and preferred the Sundaras but generally had nice things to say about the 660S--except about the price. You're certainly allowed to change your mind over time. But doesn't that put viewers in a bit of a bind, buying-wise?
Back in the time DMS praised DT1990 and DT880... now they make it seem like its garbage
Similar to Meze 109. I actually got them at a store where I A/B them against the HD650 and similarly priced Hifiman gear. To my ears, the Meze was just better. I personally own and love the Sundara, but would never classify it higher than the 109, the amount of nuance on that set is not even close.
Speaking from my own experience, I have had a pair of HD600 for about 8 years and bought at least 25 other headphones with a $300+ MSRP (buying used saves a lot of cash) At first, I often preferred the new headphones to the HD600, as they tended to have characteristics that stood out positively. Still within a few weeks/months I would find myself going back to the HD600 because of their all-around high quality. After all this time, the only headphones in my regular rotation are the HD600, LCD2f (2016 ish), and Modhouse Argons. Its possible they had a similar experience.
@@Nick_2i Not a criticism of your response, Nick. But I have to ask, what's the conclusion then? I shouldn't waste my time watching reviews because reviewers change their minds sometimes? Am I supposed to guess which times those are? As it gets more and more difficult to audition stereo equipment, more and more people rely on reviews. But if the reviews aren't reliable in the long term, what's the point? If you're a reviewer and you change your mind, please let viewers know as quickly as possible, preferably through an addition to the original review (I know I wouldn't want opinions I no longer endorse floating around the internet). I bought the HD 660S instead of the 600 because most reviewers said the 660S was a tiny bit better than the 600, but not enough to warrant the much higher price. Then the price decreased so it was competitive with the 600. That's when I bought them. Apparently, I was mis-led. It will cost me another $300 to find out why the 600 is now one or two letter grades higher than the 660S. Thanks?
@@Nick_2i Actually I went in the other direction regarding Sundara/109. I first got the Meze, then got the Sundara to scratch the planar itch, preferred the Sundara for a while, mostly because how open they sound and the fantastic tuning, then started to really notice things like the impact, texture, vocal timbre on the Meze. Again, the Sundara is a safe recommendation at its price point, but not really on par with the 109.
Thank you for the timestamps!!
im new to all this and was wondering if the audient evo 4 mixer would be good enough for hd 600 or should i get the atoms lab amp + and would i need a dac aswell thanks in advance for the help
I would love to see a tier list with EQ and Pad swaps. Wondering how many cheaper headphones would surpass more expensive ones with a little tweaking.
100% agree. I would love a list like that. The potential of headphones with EQ and pad swaps, I'm so curious.
I would like to see EQ to different targets. I started playing around with my HEDD2 ... I try to EQ to other headphone FR response curve because I dont like the Harman target.
Great video. Fostex TH900 in D tier hurt my soul. It's an A tier headphone at least. It just needs a synergistic amp and maybe some pad rolling if the highs are bothersome to you.
Im surprised too. I had audeze lcd2, Sennheisers, audiotechnica and also some comparison's with zmf and fostex th900mk2 wins that. I absolutely love them and they slam bass like crazy, easy to drive, beautiful like an art ( check how they are made). Im not audiophile but how even lcd2 with weight that killing ur neck is on B idk, plus trust me i had lcd2 with mjolnir gungnir schiit audio and i was always thinking where is the bass - with fostex th900 i do not have this questions anymore
Hey DMS! Sony v6 or cd900st? I could easily pad swap.
finally had the time to sit down and go through the full video great list i think Resolve list is the closest one to my preference even though my eargain preference is even slightly lower than him just to add on audeze mx4: it's just a slightly more technical lcd-x (tonally similar), so it belongs to similar tier
one more I notice, is that this tierlist is very useful for someone who is looking to buy one headphone that is at least decent at everything with special sauce at one/two things. for me personally, most of things above C (B and above) is actually worth to try That is since I am not looking for something that can do it all, but something that is different from what I already have and synergizes well with my system
I'm never going to understand the hate for Beyerdynamic and love for Sennheiser. The way these audiophiles nut over the 600s, 560s, etc I was expecting to hear jesus. Instead all I heard was okay sound that was decently clear from an all plastic headphone with not a special soundstage. Meanwhile the 900s and 990s made my music sound special. I'm not old or a bass head. So idk I guess I'm just an idiot.
No, they present their bad takes like that as if they were objective fact. I similarly prefer some beyers over senny's, but not all. For them, if it's beyer it is not allowed to be good, and it's quite obvious.
It's their subjective opinions, after all. What they're saying isn't fact, despite what some would like to think. DMS went from saying the DT 1990 Pro are some of his favorite headphones, with excellent imaging, to putting them in D tier and saying "They're not even good for gaming." Opinions change, and I'm sure it being the cool thing to do doesn't hurt influence those opinions, either.
Beyers feel like stakes through my ears
@jac1968 you keep larping here by C&P the same incorrect fallacious rhetoric over and over again. They made the disclaimer of subjectivity in the beginning. Headfi addicts need to lie to serve their insecurity.
Am I the only one who could love my DT48’s?
Please do an EQ allowed list if possible?
Interesting video. Would have been nice to hear more about "subjective" characteristics for different genres of music of each headphone, but I guess there is a limit on video length! - Don't agree with all your summaries but overall great work! If anything this video just shows how personal headphone choice is. Comfort, Sound, Balance and Build quality all factor and have different weights for each persons use case.
Very nice video, congratulations!. But what if you had to move headphones with a low power device like a smartphone, tablet, dap or so with no external amplification?
As a chew toy, the 1266 is by far the best, but for "training treats"' the Grados reign supreme.
So if we wait two years the S rank headphone you recommended will be a solid B? I felt terribly sad also for the headphones costing a ton of money that got C and even D rankings. Perhaps more revealing about the audiophile hobby than intended. I wonder what the E3 will be next year? Do headphones really improve this much over a year? How much of this is fashion?
Many of the S tier headphones have been around for years. Technological improvements within this field of headphones are relatively slower than in most other modern tech industries. Do you feel sad for those C/D headphones because they’re bad products or because they’re expensive? There are plenty of bad and expensive things in the world: food, clothing, vacations, computers, books, cars, etc. Do these also make you feel sad?
@@KeiS14 yes. I’m not surprised by that. I am a little surprised that some headphones such as the Audeze LCD-X have gone down in the rankings. There are many in the list that were initially reviewed as amazing that are now wallowing in the lower tiers.
So, I have Hifiman Sundara, and while I really like the sound, they keep having issues for me. One time I took them off and I heard a loud eldritch noise followed by endless droning. After some troubleshooting, I put them down for like a year out of fear of busting my eardrums if it happened while on my head. I picked them back up for the last few months without issue (I turned my AMP down just incase), until, when taking them off again, I heard a static pop and they constantly hum. I don't know if it's my AMP and DAC that caused the issue or if it's the headphones. I use the Magni Heresy and the Modi. I really just want to get back into the realm of good audio.
Was it mentioned what kind of music selections did you use when testing these headphones?
Thanks guys! This was so good for me because I am in the hunt for an "S" tier headphone. Now I have a reference point! Note - on your list that you guys created, is there a way to see what headphone and model I'm looking at when I bring my pointer to it?
Go to there tier list in the description zoom in on one of the headphones take a screen shot with your phone then take the picture to Google it will show what kind it ism you don't want the s+ is 55grand
And bad new all those headphones average 3 grand plus
I'm surprised at the Meze's given that they receive so much praise from basically everyone.
Take all this with a HuGe grain of salt 🧂. Can be a reference point...but test it out yourself. What you like may not be usual sterile headphones some may like
Hello, does someone know if there are WIRED IEMS with ANC out there? To have both benefits: better sound than bluetooth and ANC? Would appreciate any input. Thank you
Please , help me choose between ZMF Auteur Classic and ABYSS DIANA TC , which is better to buy ? Thank you
Trust your ears instead of KZheadrs
My ADX5000’s are still S-tier for me. I don’t find them too bright at all. But I use them with a WM1Z (OG) with can be warm. Also love my ATH-AWKT and WP-900 as well.
I agree, the ADX5000 are not bright, but the presentation is very airy and a bit lightweight in the lower mids. As for comfort, they're S tier for me.
I really wish I knew what's wrong with me: I spent a decade with HD 600/650 and love the 660S even more. Way more. Not a popular opinion.
Wow I surprisingly agree with your consensus on almost every headphone except the bravura. Something about the way it interacts with my ears or something just didn't sound right to me.
Thank you very much for the very interesting video, I'd like your opinion because I'd like to buy a good hi-fi headphones, I have a budget of around 2000 EUR, I really like headphones with good bass because I mainly listen to hip-hop and electro music, is it possible to have some advice on headphones please?
Yeah - fostex th900. It is A tier for me or higher. They have the best bass j ever heards in headphones. Maybe they do not like bass because a lot of high ranked headphones on this list lack of bass - for me it is crucial. Plus they have better technology then zmfs (tesla plus biocellulose).
I’m so glad the hd800S got the love it deserved here. I think although it is popular it is often underrated. I do disagree on the clear MG though. This is my one hot take lol. I am 20 years old and I got the clear MG when I was 19. The upper treble has never bothered me. Maybe I can’t hear 18k like Cam, but I think it’s truly underrated when compared to the OG. Disclaimer: I actually have the Clear MG PRO but Focals official response is that the MG and MG PRO should sound the exact same, although unit variation exists obviously. To me the MG has what the OG lacks which is proper upper midrange. The vocalist on the OG Clear sounds too warm to my liking and the MG fixes that with an overall wonderful focal focused headphone. OG is a better all rounder headphone with better bass and more even/normal treble, but vocals on the MG are exceptional in my opinion.
It seems that MG was expected to be an upgrade not a sidegrade and it lost a lot of prestige because of that.
I had Clear MG. It's significally better with original Utopia pads.
@@dreamstormPL I'd recommend EQ instead of spending $250-300 on a piece of foam that offers haphazard benefits.
@@hartyewh1 I would quite opposite. Every EQ benefits sound quality. It depends on headphones how do they manege it. Pads are like hardware EQ. Not always a benefit but in this case sound quality improvement is huge. Comfort also improves greatly. I don't have Clear MG anymore, but I can reccomend to check theese pads.
HD700 is a great rock headphone. All the technicals are above the 600-series and bass is far better. EQ's well also to become a good allrounder. Same as Amiron in these ways.
It’s fun to watch these videos. But really it all depends on what you like. I’m not a big fan of Audeze headphones, and I like the Grado RS2e, a lot. The sound, the comfort, not so much. But I agree with pretty much everything you said about the Sennheisers and some of the Hifimans.
I love my LCD-XC'S, they do need an EQ because of the super high treble but ever since I switched to these for gaming from MSR7's it's been a lot more fun. Extremely directional using dolby Atmos. Bass is lacking at times but like they said it's about the seal, and even then it's still meh. My KD has gone up almost .30 since I started using them so I literally can't complain 😂 having an OLED helps too but these headphones are super nice. Also really good for music and movies.
So I'm mostly from the IEM world and have largely stayed away from full sized cans. IEMs are just more compact, easy to have a volume of them, and I generally find them more interesting. I've been in head-fi for 15 years, have had more than 50 IEMs and pretty much anything popular under $1k. I even did a little bit of reviewing back in the day like a decade ago. Not being in the can realm always felt like I was missing a whole portion of the head-fi world. Well, I picked up the 6XX from Drop because they were quite affordable. I'm mostly from the IEM space but am casually looking at pickup up a few cans too. The 6XX was a nice step into the can space. But relative to IEMs, it...underwhelms. On my scale of experience, it's like a B to low A tier. Technically, it's competent. It's quite good, subjectively, in many ways. But the sound is just comprehensively...ok. The tone is good but a little warm/thick. The level of detail is good, but it's more so through texture/articulation. Ultimately, there's a thickness to the sound that muddies the space and detracts from ultimate clarity. It's missing the silence in between, the spacing/separation. The sound is in the churn rather than independent sources in space. For an open-back, it's a tiny sound stage. I was surprised by this, both for being a can and an open back to boot. I was expecting more, but...nope. It's not that dynamic and constrained/compressed, even with plenty of amp, and this is a big part of it's marginal competency in soundstage. It's forward and wants to present a lot of stuff and let you mentally sort it out. It's...messy. It's textured, sure, but it's not articulate or delicate. It's detailed and offers high clarity, but it doesn't really scale the energy of it very well well. A lot of it is on a flat plane of existence. It lacks impact and energy. Energy is just turning up the volume and making everything louder. Like you mentioned, the bass roll off should be improved too and shorts it a little. It's detailed, but from a IEM reference, almost all full size headphones are a little sluggish/muddy in relation, to at least some degree. Tone is ok, midcentric with it rolling off on the bottom and top ends. It just drops off and lacks appreciable content at both ends. Funnily, I was in the market for a new gaming headset after my Steel Series broke. I visited my local Micro Center (humble brag, I know) and was trying out the various headsets. From a head-fi world, most gaming headsets are pretty trash, like F-D tier at best, like no redeeming qualities from a technical standpoint. They're just cheap things for gaming consumers, and they very much sound the part. I never really looked at JBL, didn't know they made any. I had been using Logitech or Steel Series stuff for a long time. My brother has one of the Sennheiser ones I've used a little bit. They had the M50X there too that I tried. It sounded horrible, lol, like this sounds broken, but it wasn't. That's just how they sound. What a let down for something so often recommended. Out of everything there, the JBL stuff stood out significantly, like an actual pro-sumer product, and I picked up a Quantum One. The JBL driver is a pretty nice driver too for what's supposed to be a budget product. It basically blew everything else there out of the water, which wasn't hard to do frankly. Now what's interesting is I have the HXX and now have this thing. Well, the JBL is pretty nice, like nicer than it probably should be. Compared to the 6XX, it's a looser, lighter sound, more delicate, more dynamic and frankly, I like it better than a fickin 6XX. But it's also a little sloppier (less damping, less controlled), much less textured (not as thick in note), has more clarity, but has a lot less SPL capability before dynamic compression (often a byproduct of it being tailored to run off low power (just USB power, same issue with most bluetooth earphones too). Still, it's dynamic, actually punchy, articulate, delicate, and still well bodied where it counts. It plays high. It plays deep. The frequency response isn't bad but does like a touch of EQ to even out a 5dB 100Hz bass boost...because gaming. The soundstage is better. The dynamic range is better. It is delicate, articulates, and has body where it's appropriate and not just thick. And at least on sale it's just a sub $200 product (retails at $300), just a gaming headset that just happens to be a rather significant step up from the common liked stuff. Now all of this gives me mixed feelings. I wanted the 600 series to be like B tier or something. From the IEM space, I think they're lacking a bit. They're faulted and missing some performance elements. And it's weird to me to just grab a JBL gaming headset and like that better and feel that that thing does a variety of elements better than something that is A-S tier. It's weird. How bad is everything else if that's good? Now, I should really pick up a few cans and gain more breadth. And it's not like the 600 series is bad. It's good. It's quite good. It just is flawed in ways that I typically detract from. Like it's B tier because it does several big things bad, like actually bad. But here's like 150 cans that are rated worse than that and almost nothing rated better, especially almost nothing "cheap." Like the Sundara is the only thing affordable on your list that isn't comparatively junk. Is the only good can a $2000-$5000 can? Why can I buy a gaming headset for cheap that does so well? Why can I buy a sea of far cheaper IEMs that do so well? The can world is...weird. I also think it's price astronomically high, like a literal joke high. With that said, I still kind of want to try a used HEDDphone or something since they're at least sub $1k used, pick up a Sundara because affordable, and maybe see if any Hifiman stuff is floating around cheap used, just to experience some of it first hand. I used to like their old IEMs, but then the HE-600 came out which was the worst sounding IEM I've ever bought. It left a really sour taste in my mouth with Hifiman who had up to that point been pretty steadily knocking out technical wins. The HE-600 was also the prettiest packaging they've put around an earphone too, often a big red flag. It sounded like a $5 earphone surrounded by $50 of pretty packaging to persuade you it was supposed to be good. It was absolute trash, and they're still selling it today. I stopped buying anything Hifiman after that. However, this tier list renews my idea of Hifiman a little. If I can pick up a used something A-S range for like $500, I'd give it a try and see if there's value in them. I also need to check out ZMF, not a brand I've ever really looked at. If it's all bangers, I'd be curious, again if the price isn't wild.
I love old man rants. So nicely articulated even if it goes on for far far too long (part of the charm, I guess).
@@enjoshi-godrez8775 oh...oh no... I think this is the first time someone's called me an old man. The ramblings are more a byproduct of college like it's 10pm and I've got a 10 page report due tomorrow that I should start, lol. My greatest challenge in writing is to be concise.
@Xmvw2X So you were on head-fi when you were a child? I had a PlayStation gaming headset as my music system until I was 18. Zeos was the first person I saw covering something that wasn't either an m50x or a gaming headphone. You are more sophisticated than me. lol
@@enjoshi-godrez8775 I found Head-fi in my 20s. I don't really remember why I was looking. I pretty quickly got into IEMs and jumped on the often recommended ER4S. I pretty quickly got into running a DAC/amp with everything. A lot of audio stuff just didn't have all that good of output at the time, and many had an audible noise floor. A DAC/amp was the only way to get a decent output plus some power when the market started to really benefit from it.
tldr.
please make a tier list “with EQ applied”!
AMEN!
No V-Moda? Curious about your opinions about their Crossfade M-100 Master and M-200.
Fun video despite the length, please do iems next with Precog