Hello, I just joined, primarily for the audiophile products. Looking at purchasing the NHT C3 speakers for our new living room. Space is about 15 feet wide by 33 long and they will fire long ways. Space is just for general listening, music room with all equipment is downstairs, so hoping they will fill it with sound nicely. Cheers.
Mar 18, 2024
I suggest you to try at least one pair of open back headphones, just to know how does it feel. You won't regret, trust me. If you're more into gaming, consider the AKG K701/K702/K7XX (very similar), Q701 (better bass) or K712 pro (best bass on AKG K700 family, but lacking some imaging compared to the previous models). If you want a solid all-rounder with a warm&relaxed sound, HD6XX is great. If you prefer a faster and more forward sound with better extension, HE4XX are a steal for the price. And if you're on a tight budget or just wanna go step by step, the legendary Superlux HD668B never fails to impress me given the price tag, they sound really good and the only thing I dislike about them are stock pads (you can get some upgraded ones for $5 and forget about them).
Good luck!
A friend of mine prefers the warm and relaxed sound of the HD6XX, and I also love them too, specially for low quality recordings or poorly mastered songs (a lot of new songs are awfully mastered and sound like shit on very detailed headphones, just listen some vocal trap and you'll know what I'm talking about).
The HD6XX have just enough detail to be revealing enough, but at the same time they forgive some minor flaws and make everything sound "just right". HE4XX are way more detailed, and they can make some well mastered songs sound GORGEOUS, but at the same time low quality music sounds like shit (typical trash in - trash out).
Tonal balance is also quite different: HD6XX have a very balanced sound matching almost perfectly the Harman target frequency response curve, witht a touch less treble for less fatigue and a bit more mid-bass for a warm sound, and they lack some sub-bass; HE4XX have better bass extension, with more sub-bass and treble, but they're not exactly balanced, I'd say they are a bit bright and mids are pretty forward, they can cause some fatigue and a slight sibilance on some tracks.
If you never had open back headphones before and wanna know what's the difference, I strongly suggest you to buy the Superlux HD668B: they're bright, detailed, have a touch of bass, and with better pads (without those thick foams in between your ears and the drivers) they're a keeper you won't regret having. They're super cheap and sound pretty good, you can't go wrong with these, and this way you can wait for the HE4XX drop with something good on your ears ;)
Welcome to the audiophile world, you're gonna feel the urge to buy real quick so get your wallet ready hahaha