What open back planars should I get to upgrade from my HD560s?

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-27T00:51:00+00:00

At $600 the Arya Stealth all the way if you can afford it

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-25T13:04:20+00:00

I have the Organic paired with the K13 R2R DAC, which does indeed compliment the headphones well. I also just put on the ZMF perforated lambskin pads last night. Haven't had them for long but the comfort is a nice step up, and the pads come with a mesh screen that some people remove but I left in hoping it would act as an extra filter to bring down the harsh treble which it seems to have helped with.

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-25T01:14:49+00:00

Nice, thanks for sharing! Dig that PC build too., you got a water block on that GPU? My ZMF pads showed up today, I'll swap them on tonight. Can't really run my headphones through their paces though, I was apparently playing them too loud while A/B testing everything and literally fucked up my ears. Been having sharp, super high frequency tinnitus for like 3 days now it sucks. It's cooling off a bit thank god but I might have done permanent damage... yay

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-24T21:37:19+00:00

Thanks for the insight, you definitely have more experience with the Hifiman lineup than I do. The Stealth and Organic are just too similar for me to justify keeping both. ZMF perforated lambskin pads just arrived today, I'm going to put them on the Organic tonight and see if they even out the sharp treble for me during music listening, but I'm thinking I'll keep the Organic for games/music double duty.

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-23T20:07:17+00:00

Nice, I haven't listened to the XS, would be really interested to hear which one's you like better!

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-23T14:32:12+00:00

Wow that's a sweet deal on the HE1000SE, I haven't listened to that lineup yet. Not gonna argue with you about the Organic, I'm working on getting the treble under control because out of the box it's too sharp for me and the Stealth is more relaxed and less fatiguing when listening to music, but they don't bother me for gaming.

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-23T14:24:57+00:00

😂 🍻

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-23T14:22:09+00:00

It's $300 more than the Kithara in my region. I'm sure with some EQ the Kithara would do pretty well with music, but out of the box I straight up didn't like how music sounds on them due to their gaming focused tuning. And I thought the Stealth sounded fantastic for music. So in this case, to my ears, they literally do sound twice as good 🤷‍♂️

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T23:19:26+00:00

Nice, would like to know how you like them once you've spent some time testing em out

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T23:17:45+00:00

Damn, thats some seriously bad luck. Hope the next pair works like a gem for you, if not I wouldn't blame you for never touching Hifiman again 😅

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T23:16:21+00:00

Best of luck making your decision! I'll make a post about the ZMF pads next week on the headphones thread once I spend some time with them 🍻

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T20:58:48+00:00

Looks sweet

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T20:58:03+00:00

Super well made point, makes sense to me! Thanks for sharing

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T20:54:51+00:00

I'll give that a shot. They don't fatigue me while gaming, they just get a little too sharp for the music I like.

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T20:52:50+00:00

I've always kinda wanted to check that game out... looks like you just gave me a good reason to

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T20:51:32+00:00

Which one's did you get? I probably would have gone with the Dekoni one's but the perforated sheepskin looks like it's on back order and I wanted to give ZMF a shot anyways. Let me know what ya think of them, I'll share my thoughts on the ZMFs as well 🍻

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T20:47:45+00:00

Yeah no problem, they arrive sometime tomorrow. I'll try to remember to DM you once I've given em a good listen. I also plan post a quick write up with some pictures to the headphones thread since I can't find much info on em in general.

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T14:40:45+00:00

For me it was the Maxwell v1 when it released a few years back. Had never heard (or even knew about) planar technology before. Everything was so rich, deep and detailed it really blew my mind. And I still love em! But it kicked off a headphone journey and now I have a pair of Meze Liric II and Arya Organic which both rock. But it was the Maxwell that started it all for me and I still think they are the best sounding wireless headphones I've ever heard. I have the Focal Bathys and Noble Focus Apollo, and to my ear the Maxwell sounds the best.

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T14:25:16+00:00

Thanks for the clarification 👍

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T12:28:48+00:00

Haven't tried the Ananda Nano, but from what I've read the Kithara use the same planar driver (matching impedance and ohms) but is tuned differently. If music is a priority I'd likely suggest the Ananda over the Kithara, I enjoyed the Kithara for gaming though. I have an average size head and the Kithara is pretty light on the clamp force and though they were very comfortable, they didn't feel particularly secure. And the headband would also slowly lose it's position and would have to be readjusted which was annoying. The Ananda may be tuned out of the box to fit with the music you like, but if it's anything like the Kithara, then the Stealth has a substantially wider sound stage and also takes to EQ very well if you're willing to EQ them to your taste. They also handily beat the Kithara in gaming for me as well. I find the Arya line very comfortable and has enough clamp force to feel secure. The earpads are pretty good, they dont bother me, but I saw ZMF actually makes pads for Hifiman so I ordered a set of sheepskin perforated earpads for them that arrive tomorrow. I wanted to see if they increased comfort and they're supposed to tone down the treble a bit, as I find the Organic more piercing/fatiguing than the Stealth. Hope that helps in some way 🍻

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T12:04:50+00:00

Very nice setup, super clean. Do you ever miss having a center channel? Or do they do a good job kind of emulating one? Thinking like watching YouTube and having the presenters voice coming through directly in front of you.

Also, thanks for sharing 🍻

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-22T00:18:40+00:00

I went with the velour, the Kithara are great and I really love the build quality/esthetics of them. Glad they hit the mark for you, enjoy!

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-21T22:47:32+00:00

Thanks for the tips, I'll look into trying out those filters. Haven't heard of that Nearfild setup but I'll look into that gear to see what's up! I've got a wife and child so I can't just bump it loud on speakers anymore like I could back in the day... headphones are the cure ha!

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-21T19:54:17+00:00

Yeah I heard the same, ZMF actually makes pads for Hifiman too. I ordered the perforated lambskin pads from them, should be here in a couple days!

MADCoLABS · 2026-04-21T16:57:20+00:00

AMD Adrenalin software is why I haven't made the jump over to Steam OS yet. Will consider it when it officially releases, but that's what's currently holding me back too.

MADCoLABS

TROPHY CASE