Great job!!! My journey ended with Grado RS1i and RS2i. I had the opportunity to bought them used. Yes!!! I listen Jazz Fusion and Classic. It paired with AT-HA22 tube amp with Phillips PCC88 tubes.

Thanks a lot, I am gonna try some around ears that i have in mind. But for now you could help me a lot if you give me your opinion about some headphones (just name me what you think better for rock, hard rock, rock and roll and stuff like artic monkeys mostly). I am between these:
Brainwavz M2
Audio Technica SJ55
Rock Jaw Alfa Genius
AIAIAI Tracks
Jays V-Jays
I know that these are quite different stuff, but I need an opinion about their sound on my kind of music. Thanks a lot in advance!

It would help if, when you read of the different types, portable or not, on-ear or around-ear, open or closed, type of music you play, then you could describe that better so everyone knows what you need.

Yeah, it’s a stupid question, just wanted to know 😀 guess I’ll be buying the D-Zero! Thanks again!

You can’t compare these

Thanks! Oh, and BTW, the Fiio X3 2nd Gen just became in stock in the headfoniastore, should I buy that instead or buy the D-Zero? Again, DAP and DAC/Amps are very different, just want to know :p

D-Zero mkII, probably over the next few months

I like my so far

Playing T51p only, using different amps just to cross-check, no tone controls or EQ:

Monkey Trick: The cymbals etc. have a lot of extended highs, but they’re a little soft. The bass guitar tone is quite good, but it doesn’t have a strong bass impact. Piano is mostly soft in the background, but when a riff starts around 1:26 the piano really sings.

Blue Penguin: The guitar string tone, mostly on the right side, is really good. The deeper percussion sounds have a modest upper bass impact. Vocals are veiled due to the recording methods.

Colomb: The drum, if that’s what it is, has a very good and tight percussive impact. The voice is perfect – sounds real – fits the mood. The “clop” sounds are great – very realistic tone. A lot of headphones fail on this type of sound due to irregular midrange.

This is better than I thought it would be. Worst case is the T51p won’t have the excitement of the more “V”-shaped headphone sounds, but you’ll hear more of what’s actually in the recording. The more neutral headphones are most often a little bright (that’s what most users say), and can irritate on electronic and improvised music, but the T51p didn’t show any of that with these 3 tracks.

If you end up with a T51, give it ample burn-in time.

I will get to these today. Just imagine the sound you hear is a line stretching left to right, with bass at the left and treble to the right. Now the line is tilted toward the right so the bass is higher (stronger) and the treble lower (weaker). That’s an example of getting darker. It’s not a perfect analogy, since any complex combination of sounds or balance is possible, but in general when something sounds darker you’ll have less influence of the treble.

If you happen to have both the Aedle VK-1 or the T51p, would you consider checking them with three tracks ?:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBzdKwMi6mQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-au–UCShEQ&

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2B5jETn2sk

If you can’t, then… thanks anyways for the information!

Question: what do you mean by the Aedle VK-1 sounding slightly darker?

Personally I find the T51P better than the Aedle, sound wise and comfort wise. After all the years, all my headphones still look brand new except for the HD650 where the classical paint chips on the headband have come off. I do use that headhones for 7 hours a day though

A good headphone should last 25 years. The first thing to replace is earpads usually, since wear affects the sound. Sometimes the cable will get a loose connection and need replaced. The drivers should be good forever, but in some rare cases a hair can work its way in and cause a buzz or rattle. If that happens it’s usually easy to remove an earpad and pull the hair etc. out.

The Aedle VK-1 was also reviewed here, and we agree on the sound. I think it’s a little better than the T51p, but it’s slightly darker, so I’m not sure if it’s as good as the T51p for your preferred music. The VK-1 also has leather earpads if I remember correctly, which can be as hard to break in as genuine leather boots.

One thing I suggest to prospective customers for a specific headphone, if I have that headphone on hand, is for them to suggest 2 or 3 music tracks by a particular artist and composer that I can sample on that headphone, not so much for me to suggest how it sounds, but mostly to check if that headphone has any real sonic issues with that music. For example, a headphone that’s ideal for classical and acoustic music might sound too harsh with metal and industrial goth.

Thank you so much for the clarification on those other headphones! I had two last questions for you:

1. I think I saw a youtube video in which you reviewed the the Aedle VK-1.. They looked looked perfect (again, this is from my very limited knowledge of headphones). While I realize that they are way over my budget but my question is…. are they worth the 500 USD? or in terms of price/quality are the T51P a better deal?

2. Realistically, how long do like those headphones last if a person takes good care of them?

Sorry for bombarding you with questions. I really appreciate that your help!