Yeah after switching tips the z1r are very comfortable, and I do love that bass. Ultimately that is what I thought about was build quality, I am familar with sony no so much some of the other iem brands.

I game a lot and am stuck on ATH-AD900. Audio Technica unlocked some kind of god mod treble, combined with an ultra wide soundstage on that model.

X2HR, AD2000x, and HD600 were all let downs recently but I want to try the 800s.

As a man of many hobbies, the best advice I can give you is not to spread yourself thin by buying multiple cheap/mid-range products, but to research extensively and buy a single good to high end product, and if it doesn't suit you just sell or trade it for something similar. It's the best user experience in my, well, experience

Damn that's awesome lol, I didn't even know you could configure it like that. That ease of use makes it very enticing now lol. My current monolith amp/dac unit takes 3 different menus, scrolling and 4 button presses to switch between speakers and headphones.

Grado SR80e, Bluetooth with Fiio BTR3K when I want to move around. As an old guy with tinnitus and loss of some higher frequencies, I don't think I need anything more than the excellent budget Grado. Favorite buds are Soundcore Liberty Air 2 TWS, which sound better to me than other supposedly better TWS that I own. They're great for what they are and down to $25 (Amazon) now a genuine bargain.

Can't argue that, actually close to doing the same thing.

Hey I'm actually in the market for a new amp/dac and i've been sick of the experience that I had with my Monolith THX AAA AMP/dac unit. Do you have any thoughts to share for the DX3PRO and JDS ELEMENT 3? The price difference is almost double of one another but I'm curious if the sound/build quality would justify it. I've gone through 3 rmas on my monolith and my first amp/dac unit from mayflower electronics lasted for 4 years until the audio started producing some popping noises.

For my use case I switch between having my speakers plug in to the dac and my hd660s.

I have the DT770s, Senn 58X, Airpod pro 2, Ikko oh10, and Salnotes Zero. In the past I’ve had Senn 598, M50X, and Sundara’s. I think the “best” sounding I’ve had to my ears are the 58X(I have a very long post about why I disliked the sundara), however, if I had to sell them all except for one, I’d keep the Salnotes Zero. They’re just so good for the price. If they had just a touch more bass, just enough to add some more oomph to things like percussion and explosions in games, I would literally sell everything and keep them. The zeros fit so naturally in my ears, and the sound is just good enough to let me enjoy the music, and not so good that I focus on the headphone rather than the music. I think it’s a psychological thing where they’re so cheap that my brain just thinks “they’re not worth analyzing, just enjoy it” and boy do I enjoy it.

Edit: I can’t live without the AirPods transparency feature at my office job though lol

Hifiman Ananda / Ananda stealth, it does everything I want a headphone to do, i hope it won't die out of the blue, mine are going strong at 1 year and six months paired with toppings l30II and e30II.

I have no desire to upgrade further, the only thing i might do is buying those fenestrated dekoni pads, because of Zeos, when the stock pads start to melt, so far it only has a little peeling on the exterior bottom of the pads almost unnoticeable.

I own about two dozen pairs of headphones mostly in the $150-$300 price range, and if I could keep only one pair, that would be... ATH-M50x, no joke. As much as I love the sound of higher-end and open-back headphones, I haven't found any other wired headphone that is as good when it comes to convenience - closed-back with great sound isolation, easy to drive, good build quality, foldable, uses detachable cables, and comfortable enough for long listening sessions.

I love my Element III and I love JDS. I sent them an email asking if there was a setting to put output switching on the knob click and input switching on the button on the back (default is vice versa) and they said no, not with your early Element III, but if you ship it to us we'll update the board for free. They sent me a label, didn't cost me a dime, round trip was 5 days, and now I can click the knob to switch between my headphones and speakers.

You're gonna love it. Great product, great company.

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Yup. I just can’t bring myself to try anything else…except maybe the Raal sr1a, just because the staging is on another level, and it’s an overall upgrade. Everything else seems like a bit of a downgrade, if the presentation is what you’re accustomed to

I have just the Clear right now, I sold all the pairs I had and kept them, they are amazing.

Hopefully in this hypothetical scenario, it's only temporary, and eventually you can pick up other pairs in the future again. :)

If so, I'd opt to keep the Hifiman HE500, just because they have long been discontinued and getting harder and harder to find on the used market. In a lot of ways, it's more so sentimental reasoning and looking at them through rose-colored glasses. I know I do gush over them a little too much, and in 2023, they're no longer the technical marvel that they once were over a decade ago, but they still embody my definition of what a pair of lush "balanced" headphones sounds like, while tugging at the heart strings a little more than others. I imagine these are similar reasons why people love ZMF headphones, which makes me particularly curious to try them out at some point - especially the Caldera.

With that said, there are a number of other headphones that are vying for a close second right behind the HE500. Depending on the time of day and mood, honorable mentions go to the Focal Utopia, Focal Clear OG, Hifiman HE1000 v2, HE6se v2, Susvara, and of course cannot forget the legendary Sennheiser HD600/580.

Try some open headphone something like akg k701/702/712 or sennheiser 600’s series

Edited: formatting

Fostex TH909,

Fostex TH900,

Fostex Th900 African ebony Lawton cups,

Fostex x00 mahogany,

Ultrasone Edition eleven,

Focal Elex,

Emu Teak,

Denon ah-d9200,

Denon ah-d7200,

Denon ah-d2000,

Vokyl Erupt,

Koss kh30i,

Sash Tres,

Snorry SI mk1,

RikuBuds Grand Rider,

RikuBuds Prototype,

Kennerton Jimo,

Sony MH755,

Mock Borealis DIY (x2),

DIY bass canons,

If I had to keep only one it would be the Koss kh30i. They are cheap and easy to replace.

The Denon 9200 is my favorite closed back. Ultrasone Edition 11 is my favorite open back.

I would be happy only using the DT1990s. I know their sound is not everyone's cup of tea but for me they are perfect.

My favorite Bluetooth headphones are the Beoplay H95s. They sound the best out of any wireless headphones I've heard, beating the likes of the Air Pod Max and Sony XM4s. A con is the lower noise ceiling; still, you'll never nees to have these at 100% when listening to music. I usually am around 70% volume. The ANC/ambient noise is variable. Though, the ANC is not as strong as other BT headphones. The price tag is very high so I’d only get these on a sale.

If you want to try something else (that's budget but sounds good), try the Koss KSC75, or 7hz Salnotes zero

As of yesterday, Meze 99 Classics. I can finally hear stuff properly and I can wear them for hours. They replaced the Koss PortaPro as my default headphones.

Other than that, Sennheiser HD 4.40BT which have served me well for the last four years and Sennheiser HD 599 which have no redeeming qualities to them whatsoever.

For completeness I should mention Sony WI-C200. Great for conference calls, not suitable for music IMO.

the M9 sound way more neutral than the z1r, but the z1r have more impressive concert hall type bass. Both are really good sets, but the z1r comfort is a huge turn off for me. The biggest selling point for me for the M9 was its tiny size and build quality.

Was curious about those and how they compare to the ier-z1r, if the z1r worth the price.

The Element III was running a dead heat with the HifiMan EF400 for me right up until I clicked the 'Confirm' button. The availability of the EF400 was ultimately the deciding factor. I have to say that I am loving the R2R DAC and am super happy with my purchase. Have to say though that it doesn't mean that the Element III will not end up in my collection at some point!
Hope you continue to enjoy it and it brings years of pleasure.

I don't own much, and its all from the same brand (shameless sony fanboy), but I think I would be able to live with my M9s forever and not want anything else.