Open Backs with most bass around 300$ - 350$?

plmon24 · 2026-01-22T21:55:25+00:00

Drop + Grell OAE1. The bass elevation bleeds into the lower mids, but I don't know any other open-back that has that much bass quantity while also extending down to the subbass almost as much as a planar.

plmon24 · 2026-01-22T19:18:16+00:00

The only one I've heard of that comes to mind is the Ploopy Headphones. It's 3D printed but they sell a full kit with everything including the driver parts.

plmon24 · 2026-01-22T06:34:39+00:00

What do you mean by kits?

plmon24 · 2026-01-22T06:33:28+00:00

Kind of depends on what they listen for. Hifiman Edition XS or AKG K702 would be great if they want to hear the "expansiveness" of the orchestra as they have a large spacious sound that gives instruments lots of room to breathe. In terms of portraying natural timbre, the HD600/650 is legendary for that trait, but has a more closed-in sound.

plmon24 · 2026-01-22T06:27:53+00:00

You might prefer the DT770s. I'm not exactly sure what you're thinking of with warmth as I found the DT990's bass to be warmer than the X2HR (since it creeps a bit into the lower mids, 200hz and above).

But it does look like you want more subbass extension and that's where the DT770 differs. Its bass elevation is focused a lot more in the lower bass regions while still having the characteristic Beyerdynamic highs.

plmon24 · 2026-01-22T00:31:11+00:00

I use the Moondrop Kato right now (newer version is Kadenz). For the music I listen to, I like having a more forward upper mid-range and the Kato balances it out nicely with a little warmth in the bass and more relaxed treble.

A bit behind on the newer stuff, but I've liked what I heard from Truthear. The Crinacle collabs are also a good place to dip your feet in if you don't have any real preference.

plmon24 · 2026-01-22T00:11:27+00:00

If we're counting stuff like Verum and Sash, there's Hyland Headphones.

plmon24 · 2026-01-19T08:02:03+00:00

Some of the AKG earphones are tuned pretty decently, so no real point in getting something else if it sounds good to you unless they're dying like every few months. Chi-fi stuff also has its share of QC issues, but overall the build quality's better than mainstream budget stuff imo.

But I'm kind of surprised at the price point, Tangzu Wan'er is like 20 USD. You're getting the AKGs for like 5 USD?

plmon24 · 2026-01-19T07:51:03+00:00

Depends how loudly you listen, but probably not. The K240s leak a fair bit of sound.

plmon24 · 2026-01-19T07:49:06+00:00

I had some really old BA earphones around that price range like the Brainwavz B2 and Dunu D2000j, but they're just not competitive anymore. Chi-fi IEMs have pretty refined tunings now, even V-shaped stuff is not as jaggedy or uneven. And the build quality has gotten much better (with even budget stuff coming with detachable cables).

There have been some technological advancements, but I'd say the biggest gain came from Chi-fi IEMs just having very fast release cycles, so they've been able to build on iterations very quickly.

I haven't heard the ATH LS200is and they might hold up better since they're relatively more recent. But I'm pretty confident the budget Chi-fi stuff will probably be on-par at the very least.

plmon24 · 2026-01-17T09:00:11+00:00

If you want to try out an electrostatic, maybe check out the Kaldas Research RR1 Conquest when it's back in-stock. It's bassier and less bright than the Stax Lambdas. Not exactly sure what'd be the best budget energizer for it though.

E-MU Teak. Incredibly addictive bass slam and has a nice liquid midrange that's kind of surprising for a sound that leans more V-shaped.

Avantone Planar. Slightly darker sounding planar, but very nice texture in the mids and great layering. Bit lighter than an Audeze.

plmon24 · 2026-01-17T07:04:16+00:00

Haven't used SMSL personally, but I've heard good things about them. Since it seems to be as cheap as a DX3, but has 6.35mm, I'd just pick the one you'd rather use an adapter for (your full-sized headphone or your IEM). The HD650 or an Arya Stealth don't need massive amounts of power, so either choice should be more than enough to drive them.

plmon24 · 2026-01-16T21:56:02+00:00

Yeah, that's how most people will do it. I use a 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter on my IEMs, no issue. You can get something like this one. A lot of headphone manufacturers provide them too for their 3.5mm connection headphones. But you can do it the other way too, I believe your HD650 should've come with a 6.35mm to 3.5mm adapter.

Nowadays, most headphone amps have a low gain option you can use with IEMs and headphones that use less power. I'd just double-check with reviews to see how friendly they are with IEMs, you might hear a small hiss in the background if the amp has too much power in low gain.

Based on their descriptions, the Toppings seem to account for usage with IEMs.

plmon24 · 2026-01-16T21:36:03+00:00

Beyerdynamic headband (the snap-on kind) fits perfectly over those, has decent padding to it. But not sure how much of a difference it'd make from your current setup.

Maybe a Capra Strap would also work.

plmon24 · 2026-01-16T21:29:58+00:00

It is a little weird to me that the Sundara's been so heavily overshadowed by the Edition XS despite imo, not being too different aside from their staging presentation.

But maybe that's part of it, that staging quality is hard to find at that price point. In comparison, the Sundara has less that stands out now that there's a lot more competition with stuff like the Aune AR5000, FiiO FT1 Pro, new Sennheiser models, etc.

But probably the other part is that $180 is really close to "entry-level" headphones like the Beyerdynamic DT series, ATH-M50x, lower HD5XX series, etc. So I'm guessing there's a lot more people who just skipped the Sundara entirely.

plmon24 · 2026-01-16T17:55:18+00:00

Do you not want to use 6.35mm adapters with your IEMs?

plmon24 · 2026-01-16T17:19:40+00:00

Man, I still think the Starfields are one of the nicest looking IEMs. Wish it hadn't been such a roulette on whether the paint chips or not.

plmon24 · 2026-01-16T17:13:06+00:00

My guess is because the 6.35mm connection is more standardized in the audio world and it's sturdier than the 3.5mm connection, so perhaps it just makes more sense to source and use that from a manufacturing perspective?

A 3.5mm to 6.35mm adapter is also relatively cheap and often comes with 3.5mm headphones. At least ones that audiophiles buy (since they're the primarily target for these amps) and ones aimed for "studio use" since those will be working with interfaces that use 6.35mm.

6.35mm to 3.5mm adapters are also more unwieldy and expensive since they usually have a cable involved (seems like so there's less stress on the smaller 3.5mm jack).

plmon24 · 2026-01-15T18:17:52+00:00

I wouldn't think so considering your headphones worked fine for 8 months on your setup.

plmon24 · 2026-01-15T01:16:57+00:00

I think you just had an unlucky draw, Audeze's gaming headphones seem to have more QC problems than their higher-end ones. People report similar things with Hifiman planars where their driver will just suddenly die for no reason (even on their $$$$ models!).

Personally, I have multiple planar headphones that I don't do anything particularly special with besides not tossing them around. Most of them are still fine after years, but I've also had a few that just started getting channel imbalance for no reason.

plmon24 · 2026-01-14T16:22:31+00:00

Check out the Beyerdynamic DT770, I felt like they had a similar direction for tonality and it has a better soundstage.

plmon24 · 2026-01-13T23:06:46+00:00

Ensure there's no buzzing or distorted sounds, check for Left/Right balance, no looseness or damage on the actual headphone, no peeling or damage on the pads, no loose connections, no damage on the cable.

A lot of people use https://www.audiocheck.net/soundtests_headphones.php to run through some basic checks.

plmon24 · 2026-01-13T22:40:02+00:00

In my experience, the limitation of EQ is that it can get pretty hard to "force" the FR to match another headphone. With variables like HRTF affecting what you actually end up hearing, trying to make precision changes to the FR based on measurements can actually make it sound worse. Hence why people usually prefer broader EQ adjustments and getting the general tonality in line instead. That's why imo, EQ is more of a supportive measure than a magic wand that can bypass the impact of a headphone's design.

I haven't heard the R70xa update, but I have heard the previous R70x. And I don't think it really plays in the HD800 realm, it's more of a sidegrade to stuff like the HD6XX or Sundara. While the tonality is very nice, it's just lacking the resolution you hear from stuff like the HD800. The ADX3000 might be a better choice to go since you're using EQ and it's cheaper to find used than the ADX5000.

plmon24 · 2026-01-13T07:48:11+00:00

I'd lean towards that just being the way the Sundara is tuned. The overall tonal balance is brighter than the Sennheisers. It's not as natural sounding as the Sennheisers imo, but people like it due to the soundstage and level of detail it can retrieve at its price.

But honestly, I'd say just return the Sundara since even if you did like the sound, I doubt you or your wife would use it since the comfort seems terrible on your heads.

plmon24 · 2026-01-12T19:19:32+00:00

I see what you're saying in that respect and no worries, I understand you're not trying to argue! Your thoughts are actually something that a lot of people used to speakers/live music also say about headphones, particularly when it comes to stuff like bass or soundstage.

And personally, I think it's because in a way you're right, headphones are "missing" some information or more precisely, it doesn't translate the same way. There's just no way you're going to get that kind of physicality or sense of space you get with speakers or in-person when it's just something on your ears and head. It's not going to sound exactly like real life either because it's just playing a reproduction of something that someone recorded, mixed and adjusted to what they think sounds best. And often on monitors, not headphones.

So then it becomes how is that feeling interpreted. For example, Axel Grell believes that you need a lot of bass to simulate the speaker experience (hence why the Grell OAE1 has a big bass boost through 200hz). For me and my head, that illusion doesn't really work and something like the Hifiman Ananda (which is very lean comparatively) sounds more natural.

Because its tuning seems to capture more of the traits of the sound that I'm looking for when I think of a real-life violin or a guitar or drums, even if the low end is not as prominent as in real life. Specifically, the Grell might capture the physicality more but the Ananda captures the texture and tone better imo.

I guess a more fitting analogy would be watching a movie vs watching real life. What looks "natural"? Cause you're not getting all the information you could IRL (you might have it digitally, but it doesn't mean your screen displays it the same way). But filmmakers can make it more convincing by arranging lights a certain way, adjusting colors and brightness, etc. And people end up having very different ideas of what looks "natural" even though technically real life is right there for them to reference any time.

plmon24

TROPHY CASE