theangelboy
500+ Head-Fier
The only Hifiman planars that I have heard that I would consider "warm" at all would be the HE-500 and to a lesser extent my Edition XX (but that's an oval, so that's out). I've also modded my HE5se to be pretty laid back but that's just because out of the box the tuning was pretty bad to my ears so I put in the time pad rolling/modding them. I definitely would NOT consider the HE6se V2 to be "warm" since there is just too much emphasis 2khz and up. It doesn't have any big treble spikes, so it's not "bright" like a Beyer, but still not what I would consider "warm".Speaking of foray into planars and high end, here’s my story. After years loving IEMs my ears suddenly became intolerant of sticking things inside them- severe itchiness, etc.
I ended up with some Fidelio X2 as first open back. A couple months ago I decided to go for it again with headphones and tried DCA E3 but couldn’t spend much time in a closed can- fatigued too quickly due to perception of Pressure on ears due to enclosure. So returned them and picked up hekse…which I adored but just found intolerable on many songs due to brightness which with extended listening actually triggered tinnitus, so returned and picked up hek2v2 which was much better but still bright at times and lacked bass, plus the oval shape and clamp pressure triggered my TMJ.
So just returned them and picked up JMA XTC2 because the glowing reviews suggested the custom tuning and extreme comfort would solve my TMJ and tinnitus. It’s only been 2 days so way too early to say. I’m hopeful they will work on those too fronts. Tuning wise I’m super confident. Fit/comfort wise not sure yet. The hope is I can wear them long sessions and they are my go to all rounder worn most of the time.
And even if they check all boxes, I can tell already that I dearly miss the planar sound. So considering options for highest value/ bang for buck planar that is warm and super comfortable with round (not the HFM oval) ear pads with light clamp force. This would complement the XTC. I have a powerful enough audio-gd R28 NOS all in one to drive them.
Suggestions?
The Monoprice Monolith M565 is the warmest and darkest planar I have heard, but it's no longer being made and makes some major sacrifices to detail retrieval for the sound sig. My M1060 with Audeze vegan suede pads might fit the sound you are looking for but those pads are unobtainium now and they aren't necessarily low clamp, either, with the stock headband. Stock I found them unbearably shouty.
A Modhouse Argon might be a good option for you. My T60-RP Argon with Xenon suede pads has some crazy bass levels so it comes off as pretty warm. With the ZMF Suede ovals it's more midrange focused with lots of detail, but not particularly bright. Both pads a extremely comfortable. I haven't heard the other Argon versions, but the general concensus on them seems to be "warm" for the most part. The only reason I would hesitate to fully recommend this is they sound very closed for a "semi-open" back so that pressure feeling you mentioned might be an issue.
There are also the Audeze LCD line but I've never owned or heard any of them except the LCD-1 so I can't comment if that's what you are looking for or not sound-wise. But I have heard them described as "warm" before, especially the LCD-2. However, I know they are heavy, so that might be a comfort concern.
Anyway, I hope that helps. If you have any questions about specific cans in my signature, PM me and I can give you more thoughts so it doesn't derail the thread.