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Audiophiles; Which Headphones are best out of these three?

Apr 4, 2019196 VIEWS

Which similarly priced headphones are best? HIFIMAN HE4XX Planar Magnetic Headphones Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee Headphones Beyerdynamic DT880 Thanks in advance

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SpeleoFool

676

Apr 6, 2019

The best for what? For whom? I’ll assume, given where these sit in the overall spectrum of headphone prices and capabilities, that we’re looking at “a first pair of audiophile cans” for someone who’s not (necessarily) committed to the idea of collecting more. With these parameters, I’d say 58X. They are a great step out of the world of lesser headphones, because they sound good with every type of music, their performance scales well with better equipment, they’re not too hard to drive, and a lot of people own Sennheisers so they’re an excellent reference point from which to learn about other headphones—if you aren’t averse to staring down the rabbit hole. :-) There is a huge aftermarket for replacement pads, cables, etc., for the 600-ish series of Sennheiser cans. You can disassemble them without tools and replace just about every individual piece. If $150 sounds like as much as you want to invest in headphones, and you aren’t yet thinking you need to own more than one pair, then the ability to keep the 58x running nigh on forever, as well as the ease of adapting to portable, desktop or living room use with a variety of cable lengths and styles is probably appealing. Later, when you’ve discovered that high end headphones, uh, procreate, the 58x make an excellent travel or loaner pair. Mine are with a friend who recently wound up in the hospital for a week.

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GunsOfBrixton

912

Apr 6, 2019

They're each "best" at different things. The DT880 provides the most accurate delivery of sound, and is built like a tank, but also very revealing of flaws. Poorly recorded/engineered music will sound bad on them. They are great as a reference set. The 58X is the most all-around listenable workhorse. More forgiving of poor audio engineering, very good build quality, and non-fatiguing. The 4XX excels in the bass - not in being boosted, but in great extension and detail. Just good above the lower mids, and notably lifeless with brass instruments. They're almost goofily huge, with some quality control concerns regularly cited (have had no real problem with mine). All are very comfortable to my head and ears. With these three, it's more a matter of what genres you listen to, and what you're looking for in a pair of headphones. They are all very good at what they do.

Engaged

Apr 10, 2019

GunsOfBrixtonThanks. That's great. Usually rock, indifolk, some house. Think I'll go with the 58x

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LuckyLuke575

563

Apr 5, 2019

I'd go for the 58X everytime. Sennheiser has great build quality without being too heavy or uncomfortable, with a very musical sound signature.

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Emix

Apr 4, 2019

I have these 3 headphones, and the Focal Elex, all from Massdrop. They are all discussed elsewhere, and the descriptions of their characteristics are correct, I'll just tell how I end up using them. First one I bought was the Hifiman 4xx and it made quite a good impression. It remains one of my favorites to this day. Small ensembles are represented within a very precise stage. The 58x is fine for easy listening, but the Sennheiser veil seems to be something real. It takes some time getting used to it. (The Elex has taken its place for another kind of listening, where finesse of the sound texture of the instruments takes precedence over their spatial rendering.) The DT880 are good, but they could not find a place between the others. However, I haven't used them for mixing yet , which I will do as I gather sound clips (a new hobby). They seem to be very revealing of some defects, for one thing they can become very sibilant (as when listening to some pieces by Louis Armstrong: he must have had an interesting relationship with sound engineers...) So, to sum it up: the Elex has supplanted the 58x but the 58x is still relevant, especially when I want to move about instead of sitting and listening. The 4xx proved to be very good for movies and TV shows, better than the others as it places ambient sounds in a realistic fashion.

ko403ok

Apr 6, 2019

EmixIs the Elex really an "over ear" phone, unlike the Elear which is a hybrid of "over" and "on"? This has been mentioned before.

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Emix

Apr 6, 2019

ko403okIt’s an over ear headphones, it doesn’t touch on the ears at all.

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jaydunndiddit

3263

Apr 4, 2019

I'd say either the 4XX or 58X. The 880 lacks body and sounds a bit thin and treble happy compared to the other two which sound more balanced by comparison. My money would go to the 4XX as I think they sound more dynamic overall compared to the 58X which is the more smooth, musical sounding headphone.

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