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Arcturas posted:My old JVC HA-S700's broke this evening, and so I need to replace them. I'd like an over-ear pair for general computer use that occasionally lasts for hours on the weekends. Budget's sub-$100, preferably sub-$80. Don't know the other two, but I'll get to listen to the Superlux (not Philips, btw) in a couple days. Really curious about them, though I imagine the hype is - as usual with these things - greatly exaggerated.
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Sep 11, 2015 15:41
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seravid posted:Don't know the other two, but I'll get to listen to the Superlux (not Philips, btw) in a couple days. Really curious about them, though I imagine the hype is - as usual with these things - greatly exaggerated. No, the Superlux are genuinely very good sounding headphones. Not particularly comfortable for long periods, mind you, but very good sounding.
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Sep 11, 2015 18:02
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grack posted:No, the Superlux are genuinely very good sounding headphones. Not particularly comfortable for long periods, mind you, but very good sounding. I replaced the pads on mine with velour pads intended for akg 701s and it really goes a long way in increasing comfort.
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Sep 12, 2015 04:24
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Budget - $200 Source - iPhone for the most part. I'm not opposed to using a DAC or something. These will live at work for the most part. Isolation Requirements - Isolation is pretty important. I'll be using these at work. Preferred Type of Headphone - Over ear. Past Headphones - Shure e2c, currently using iPhone earbuds. Preferred Music - Rock/Classic Rock but a little of everything. Thanks!
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Sep 12, 2015 06:03
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Thanks for the advice, guys. I did want an over-ear set. I ended up snagging the Aurvana Lives since they were a bit cheaper than the $100 ones you all recommended. So far, so good. My only complaint is that I get a bit of noise as I turn my head (the whispering of the cord moving on stuff-kinda a plasticky noise, if that makes sense?) but in general they're solid. If I return it I might get the Sennheiser HD558 phones. They look pretty good and I don't need too much isolation. It's for home office use, but my wife and I share the same room so I'd rather not hassle her with the noise.
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Sep 13, 2015 00:39
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so I did a thing.  Am I doing this right?
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Sep 13, 2015 05:36
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Depends what you're trying to do with all that.
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Sep 13, 2015 06:03
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I have a pair of Sennheiser HD555 that I have been using through the headphone out of my HT decoder (a Logitech Z-580, connected via optical cable), since it was the shortest ditigal->analog route I had available. I've since moved places and now the HT is in the living room so my pc is hooked up to a pair of el cheapo Edifier speakers that have no headphone plug, so my only option is either hooking the headphones up directly to the back of the pc or do some weird RCA to speaker jack cable and unplug/replug the speakers every time I want to use them. Since a friend of mine is traveling to the states next week I was browsing DACs over on Amazon for something with optical in -> jack out (preferably 6.3mm, I have the 3.5 adaptor but the 555 come with 6.3), but I have no idea what to look for, neither brand nor feature-wise. Any recommendations? tl;dr: looking for optical->6.3mm dac for hooking up Sennheiser 555s to my pc's optical out. /edit: volume control would be nice. /edit2: I said optical to hook it up to my pc, but I'm seeing a lot of usb DACs, do those work as a separate sound card of sorts? Should I just get one of those instead? Edmond Dantes fucked around with this message at 18:14 on Sep 13, 2015 |
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Sep 13, 2015 17:52
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Hey thread. So I currently have a pair of Alessandro music series 1s, which are basically tweaked grado sr80s. I love them to death. The thing is they've fit in with my past lifestyle, which had lots of long bus and plane rides where I don't mind the constant background droning going on behind the soundstage. I'm now going to be taking the NYC subway ~20 minutes twice a day, and I'm cognizant that open-back isn't ideal in that environment. So I'm thinking I'll keep the grados in the office and have a pair for the commute alone. That's where y'all come in. Switching to advice-seeking format: Budget: let's say sub-$150, but if there's a serious argument that I'd gain something I'll spend $200 Seeking: closed-back on or over ears. Compact or foldable a plus. Source: iPod classic, I have a cmoy amp with the old grado chip in it that I can carry if there's something that really needs driving Listen to: post-rock, indie, some electronic (what used to be called IDM)
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Sep 13, 2015 19:31
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:so I did a thing. I haven't even heard of the M70. Are they like an upgraded M50?
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Sep 13, 2015 19:40
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JohnCompany posted:Hey thread. So I currently have a pair of Alessandro music series 1s, which are basically tweaked grado sr80s. I love them to death. This is a pretty rear end in a top hat-ish thing to do.
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Sep 13, 2015 21:28
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My last pair of headphones are dying and I'd like to move to a set of open headphones, any recommendations around the $200AU range? Budget - ~$200AU preferred, hard cap of $300. Source - PC Soundcard: Auzentech X-Fi Forte 7.1 (has a dedicated headphone output but shocking drivers so if I need this replaced I wont be torn up). Isolation Requirements - Open headphones are fine. I no longer need the isolation of a closed set and find the lack of airflow tends to make my ears uncomfortable. Preferred Type of Headphone - Over ear. Inline volume control pretty much required or they need to be quiet. No boom mic. Preferred Tonal Balance - Balanced. I have mild hearing loss around the frequencies of human speech so anything that is fairly flat or slightly emphasises mid-treble is good. Past Headphones - First proper pair were Sennheiser PC150's, didn't mind them for basic gaming duties but find they tend to get uncomfortable when worn for a long time since they're on ear. Then moved to Audio Technica ATH-A900's and found them great right up until the right speaker cut out. Only problem with them was they were incredibly loud when driven direct from the soundcard, I had to get an inline volume control and cut it to the point where the levels were barely enough to drive both speakers before it was comfortable. Preferred Music - I listen to multiple genres but mainly prefer instrumental electronica. Usually will rotate between psytrance, industrial, drum and bass, dubstep, big beat, hip hop, instrumental metal, jazz-funk. Also will be used for gaming, mainly racing games or dota-likes with a skype call going. Edit: Reading back through the thread it seems my choices for open headphones are really between the ATH-AD700 or HD558 and I just have to suck it up and control the volume myself. The ATH-M50x look pretty nice as well even though they're closed, that detachable cord would be useful for switching between my laptop and desktop. Any other suggestions would be appreciated (especially with inline volume control). ephphatha fucked around with this message at 10:08 on Sep 15, 2015 |
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Sep 14, 2015 15:20
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Cubemario posted:Depends what you're trying to do with all that. Chat / webcasting / some light recording (not professional) / and maybe gaming depending on how that mic works out. Ultimate Mango posted:I haven't even heard of the M70. Are they like an upgraded M50? Yes and no. They're actually a completely different headphone. Less bass, more neutral response. More of a monitor-quality headphone than the M50x. Actually they look a lot different than the M50x's  Edit: Can anyone give me some info on these? I like the looks and would like a set of styling over-ear for around town/long flights.  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M3NZEE4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl GnarlyCharlie4u fucked around with this message at 18:42 on Sep 14, 2015 |
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Sep 14, 2015 15:26
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So I've owned a pair of HD 555's for the past few years however sadly I destroyed the cable (the cable is way too long and gets stuck under my chair which I forget to check when putting them on, thus the part of where the cord attaches to the headphones disconnected) I've repaired this however it seems like the bass is mostly in my left ear which is pretty annoying. I am looking to upgrade now. Looking to spend $100-150 and listen to a wide arrange of music. Currently looking at the hd 558 vs hd 598. Is there any reason to spend the extra on the 598's? I like the idea of the detachable cable and that alone might sell me, but anything else? I'm also driving this with a behringer Micoamp ha400. Is that fine for these or should I invest in another amp?
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Sep 16, 2015 02:21
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the 598 has the best soundstage . If you're gonna spend the money just get the 598's instead of trying to make the 558's sound like them. (you can mod the foam to open them up a bit but it's still not the same.) as far as amps go, check out Schitt if you're not into DIY.
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Sep 16, 2015 02:58
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Contacted the place where I bought my last pair and they suggested getting a set with 80-ohm impedance to cut the levels a bit, they recommended the beyer 250-80. Apart from looking a bit goofy is there any reason I should avoid this pair? Any other suggestions?
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Sep 16, 2015 07:53
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The sound has gone from the right bud on my MEElectronics M6 pair of earphones and it looks like it's because the cable has come apart from the little plastic block (does that have a name?) where it separates. Had them for about a year and a half with very regular use and for the £16 I paid for them it didn't seem like it was too bad value. I was having a look at replacing them and noticed that the Pro version has a slightly different block where it continues to extend over the cables individually for a little bit. Has anyone used these before and able to confirm if they're likely to be more durable? Also, are the worth the price considering here they're more than double (£48) the regular version?
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Sep 16, 2015 12:49
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The HD 558 and 598 use the exact same drivers, just in a different housing and a pad in the 558 that you can remove. If the 598s are on sale and the 558s aren't, or you really like the way the 598 looks, I'd say go for it, but otherwise it's probably not worth the increased cost.
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Sep 16, 2015 15:24
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Looking for recommendations: Budget - $350 or so, less is ok too. More would require a good reason  Source - iPhone for the most part. Maybe a Surface Pro. Isolation Requirements - Isolation is very important - noise cancelling. These are primarily used for long flights. Preferred Type of Headphone - Over ear, comfort is key. Past Headphones - Right now, Bose QC25. I like them, but I'm starting to have problems with what sounds like a loose connection internally, and want to replace them. Preferred Music - Rock/Classic Rock but a little of everything. Thanks!
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Sep 16, 2015 20:56
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GokieKS posted:The HD 558 and 598 use the exact same drivers, just in a different housing and a pad in the 558 that you can remove. Yeah this is what I'm reading, I'm just thinking the detachable cable might save me in the long run. Is there any difference to the comfort of these? Looks don't really matter as I'm not using them in public. I'm probably going to get one of these from Amazon unless there is somewhere else that I should look? edit: Wait I think the 558 has a removable cable as well. If that's true, than I guess they are the better buy unless there is some other reason to get the 598's? Harminoff fucked around with this message at 04:33 on Sep 17, 2015 |
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Sep 17, 2015 02:56
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All 3 models in the HD 5x8 headphone lineup use the same cables. And there's no noticeable difference in comfort - the earpads and headband cushion are the same type. Amazon generally will have the lowest everyday price. Occasionally other places might have a sale for one of them (B&H, Adorama, etc), but if you are planning to buy immediately Amazon is usually your best bet.
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Sep 17, 2015 06:43
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Dear thread, my Meier Audio Corda Arietta headphone amp has begun to malfunction and is crossfeeding 80/20 into the left side of my headset. Completely clueless on electronics, I am looking to replace it. I've heard the thread mention Schiit's stuff, what's good? Does any of them offer crossfeed?
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Sep 17, 2015 18:29
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This seems like the place to ask, maybe you guys can help explain some things to me about how DACs and USB mics work. The short backstory is that I like HQ audio and I have all my music ripped in flac, so I have an ibasso dx50 for portable use, I love it, it sounds great. I recently decided to get a decent set of IEMs to go with it, so I got a set of Sony XBA-H1s that blew me away. Now I've got two problems: I'm already eyeing up the XBA-H3s and when I use my computer it sounds horrible, so I kinda want to upgrade my setup for that. I've tried using my IEMs with the normal soundcard output and it's not as good as the ibasso, plus my computer has always done an annoying audio-tearing effect intermittently which (after testing a bunch of sources including youtube to make sure it's not hard drive latency or something) I assume is just my crappy mobo soundcard being crappy. Also, I need a microphone for online gaming, and I like to leave a set of powered speakers connected that I can turn on and off when I don't want to wear headphones. The questions I have are: 1: It a DAC just basically just a USB soundcard as far as my computer is concerned? I think this is the way they work, but I'm not sure. 2: If I'm using a dac/amp combo like the O2+ODAC to bypass my soundcard for my headphones, will I be able to keep the speakers plugged in the dedicated line output (on the ODAC) and continue to use powered speakers whenever I want by unplugging the headphones (I'm almost 100% sure the answer to this is yes) 3: I assume since my headphones and mic are now separate, I want to either get some kind of desktop mic and plug it into my soundcard (I've used these before I know they suck) or just go bonkers and get a fancy USB mic like the Blue Yeti or Audiotechnica AT2020. Is this an OK idea? 4: If so, am I going to have a bunch of compatibility issues with what looks like multiple usb sound devices connected through windows? Should I be looking more at something like the Scarlett 2i2 that was posted earlier on this page because it's an all-in-one thing?
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Sep 17, 2015 21:01
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Pursus posted:The questions I have are: 1/2. Yes. 3/4. If you go for the Blue Yeti (which is an excellent desktop mic), it actually includes a headphone port (for zero-latency monitoring) and acts as a DAC, so you could actually just hook it up to the headphones directly (and see if it drives them up to your standards and alleviate the need to use an amp completely). You can also connect that to an amp (if the amp is separate from the DAC). Or if you don't want to use the mic as DAC for audio output, then you can still use another DAC. It really wouldn't cause any issues - most Windows applications will simply use the default audio output device, whether that's your mic or the DAC.
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Sep 17, 2015 21:14
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I'd recommend the Samson Go mic instead of the Yeti if you're just looking for a basic mic for gaming or skype. Great quality at a fraction of the cost. And yeah you're not gonna have any problem with multiple USB audio devices, just go to the Sound options and pick your defaults for playback/recording.
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Sep 17, 2015 21:38
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Awesome, thanks guys! Last question, if I go with the Yeti or Samson (which also looks like it has a headphone out) by themselves for the time being, is there a way to output to both the mic and the computer's soundcard (for the powered speakers) simultaneously? Currently my onboard sound has a rear and a front jack so that I can do this. When I try to turn on the output through HDMI to my TV's speakers it shuts down the stuff connected through my soundcard because it looks like windows only wants to output to one thing at a time. Maybe I can just try something low tech like a 3.5mm Y splitter from the mic?
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Sep 17, 2015 22:10
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If you actually want to use the mic as the DAC (and don't intend to use it portably), I'd still recommend the Blue Yeti over the Samson Go despite it being over 2x the price (you can find it on sale <$100 frequently). Having a volume control on the device right in front of you is a huge usability improvement IMO. And the stand is much better suited for desktop use too. As far as connecting both headphones and speakers go, yeah a Y splitter would be the lowest complexity solution, but you might find that it won't drive the headphones nearly as well when you introduce the splitter into the connection.
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Sep 17, 2015 22:19
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GokieKS posted:If you actually want to use the mic as the DAC (and don't intend to use it portably), I'd still recommend the Blue Yeti over the Samson Go despite it being over 2x the price (you can find it on sale <$100 frequently). Having a volume control on the device right in front of you is a huge usability improvement IMO. And the stand is much better suited for desktop use too. Alright cool, thanks! Yeah, the volume control on the front and the stand are probably better for me. That seems like it's worth a shot and if it doesn't work out I can fully commit to the ODAC plan and I've already got the mic sorted.
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Sep 17, 2015 22:48
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Well poo poo, I have an Audio Technica 2020+ and I completely forgot about the headphone out. Well, didn't forget but I never thought about using it as a DAC. I tried it out with my headphones and holy poo poo my line noise is gone for the first time in forever. Will a dedicated DAC sound better, or did I just throw away money buying one? (still waiting for it to arrive, can't cancel unfortunately). v  v
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Sep 18, 2015 13:47
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Edmond Dantes posted:Well poo poo, I have an Audio Technica 2020+ and I completely forgot about the headphone out. Well, didn't forget but I never thought about using it as a DAC. I tried it out with my headphones and holy poo poo my line noise is gone for the first time in forever. It could sound better, but the line noise is the big reason to get a dac.
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Sep 18, 2015 14:12
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 AUDEZE LCD-2s ARE ON SALE AT ADORAMA FOR 750BUX http://www.adorama.com/AULCD2LBTC.h...affiliate.62905 Do I do it???!
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Sep 19, 2015 21:20
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Tactical Lesbian posted:
if you have a decent amp - Yes
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Sep 20, 2015 05:38
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Man, that price is real tempting. But I'd just spent $700 on the UERMs, and had resolved to not buy any more full-size headphones until I finally give in and get a WA7d + WA7tp.
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Sep 20, 2015 09:21
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I listened to the Superlux 668B and it's hard to believe the sound I heard was coming from 25€ headphones. They feel cheap both in the hands and on the head and comfort is mediocre at best but they sound pretty drat good. As expected, people claiming they're GIANT KILLERS!! and those who sold their high-end cans in favor of the Superlux are out of their minds, but I'll definitely recommend them to anyone wanting decent sound quality on a tight budget.
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Sep 20, 2015 15:16
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The strain relief in my TDK BA-200's wasn't cutting it and the connection is loose near the 3.5mm plug. Not surprising, since I was regularly wearing it while biking. Is there a recommendation for a pair of IEMs that will stand up to a little more abuse? Maybe ones with a replaceable cord? I listen to pretty much all kinds of music, and the TDKs sounded fantastic to me. Edit: Maybe the RE-400's? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AWLEAH6 They seem to review well as a comparable, they look pretty sturdy, and they're cheap(ish)! Double edit: Is there a difference between the RE-400 and the RE-400a besides having the android phone control? They're the same price, so it seems like an no brainer to pick the 400a over the 400. KillHour fucked around with this message at 23:33 on Sep 20, 2015 |
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Sep 20, 2015 23:18
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Budget - Unknown, $100-200 Source - Motherboard onboard audio Isolation Requirements - Not really Preferred Type of Headphone - Over the ear Preferred Tonal Balance - Gaming and music, so balanced? Past Headphones - I bought the Astro A40 audio system about 7 years ago and I accidentally destroyed them earlier this year. Finally got money to get another decent pair. Preferred Music - Pretty much anything. Classical, rock, metal, trance. I'm wondering if I should just buy the updated Astro A40 mic/headset combo or if I should consider something else. Since the first pair lasted so long and had such great sound and mic, I'm tempted to do just that but I thought I might as well see what you think. I'm going to be using them for listening to music, skype/mumble/teamspeak and gaming.
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Sep 21, 2015 05:22
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KillHour posted:The strain relief in my TDK BA-200's wasn't cutting it and the connection is loose near the 3.5mm plug. Not surprising, since I was regularly wearing it while biking. Get a pair specifically for working out if you're going to take IEMs biking. The RE-400s are excellent headphones otherwise but not many are going to stand up to that sort of abuse. Something like the MeElectronics Sport-Fi M6 are a good choice. Alternatively, up your budget substantially and get a set of Aurisonics Rockets.
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Sep 21, 2015 07:54
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Hmm. I might be able to splurge on the Rockets some day, but not right now. If the RE400's last as long as my TDKs did (about 2 years), it shouldn't be a problem. Maybe I'll get the $40 Best buy warranty and let them eat the replacement cost if it goes.
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Sep 21, 2015 19:57
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seravid posted:I listened to the Superlux 668B and it's hard to believe the sound I heard was coming from 25€ headphones. They feel cheap both in the hands and on the head and comfort is mediocre at best but they sound pretty drat good. As expected, people claiming they're GIANT KILLERS!! and those who sold their high-end cans in favor of the Superlux are out of their minds, but I'll definitely recommend them to anyone wanting decent sound quality on a tight budget. How do they stack up to K240's? GnarlyCharlie4u fucked around with this message at 21:05 on Sep 21, 2015 |
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Sep 21, 2015 20:29
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KillHour posted:Hmm. I might be able to splurge on the Rockets some day, but not right now. If the RE400's last as long as my TDKs did (about 2 years), it shouldn't be a problem. Maybe I'll get the $40 Best buy warranty and let them eat the replacement cost if it goes. Or buy the M6Ps for $30 off of Amazon and not worry about ruining a good set of headphones.
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Sep 21, 2015 21:08
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