Let's Talk Headphones IV: Should I get Beats? Do I need Noise Cancelling?

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Let's Talk Headphones IV: Should I get Beats? Do I need Noise Cancelling?

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Dr. Fishopolis: Aug 31, 2004; ROBOT

ughhhh posted:

It's 2020, no one is leaving their homes and being in public or an office/library where someone could be in hearing distance of a open back headphone.

while true, it's also august and my AC is loving loud

and also I wear kph30i's everywhere so people can hear the tiny little "oonch oonch" from my headphones and pretend it's the 90s

# ? Aug 14, 2020 01:59

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# ? Jun 5, 2024 20:03

GnarlyCharlie4u: Sep 23, 2007; I have an unhealthy obsession with motorcycles.

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ughhhh posted:

It's 2020, no one is leaving their homes and being in public or an office/library where someone could be in hearing distance of a open back headphone.

idk, my neighbors get pretty pissed off when I use my HE4XX.

# ? Aug 14, 2020 02:37

DancingShade: Jul 26, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

Incoming wall of text, no apologies.

When I first bought my last set of headphones I immediately loved them but wanted to check myself. You know how it is, the initial halo period when you think like something a lot then eventually you go "nah actually my old X is better". So I didn't want to post my opinion until a few weeks had passed and I could be sure I wasn't hyped over nothing.

What am I talking about? Austrian Audio Hi-X55.
Official website and marketing bullshit: https://austrian.audio/product/hi-x55/ plus official YouTube advertisement https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maAxudgNhcY
Where I bought mine: https://www.storedj.com.au/austrian-audio-hix55-professional-over-ear-headphones (Oceanic only, probably, check your regional distributors)

What are they? Reference monitors. Who made them? The Austrian engineers who formerly worked at AKG before Samsung bought and gutted the company which now exists only as a brand label for that Korean conglomerate. They've only been making microphones for a couple years, this is their first over-ear. Yes, made in Austria. Brings a tear to my eye as the first pair of "proper" headphones I ever owned were the AKG701 back when those were still made in Austria as well.

Anyway. Out of the box they're perfect. Enormous earpads (8cm high, 4.5cm wide), special "high excursion" in-house dynamic drivers, soft and thick headband foam, also everything not foam or cable is all metal. Built like a tank. You also get a 3m detachable cable with a quarter inch screw on adaptor.

What makes these different from any other reference monitor? They're flat as a board and.. you know how you get a certain pleasurable feeling from a headphone with a good bass response with regards to how the air moves within the cups? The Hi-X55 does that with all the frequencies because of it's fancy pants "actually a new design" drivers.

I honestly prefer these to my TH610s and Anandas. That hurts to admit. Would still take the LCD-X over these of course but in terms of comfort these win by a country mile due to the weight differences.

Take away? gently caress hi-fi, buy reference.

# ? Aug 15, 2020 10:24

Dr. Fishopolis: Aug 31, 2004; ROBOT

DancingShade posted:

fancy pants "actually a new design" drivers.

In what way? I can't find any info at all on them, they just seem like your usual dynamics with some mystery magnets and coatings from what I can tell.

e: also how's the isolation?

Dr. Fishopolis fucked around with this message at 19:09 on Aug 15, 2020

# ? Aug 15, 2020 18:03

DancingShade: Jul 26, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

Dr. Fishopolis posted:

In what way? I can't find any info at all on them, they just seem like your usual dynamics with some mystery magnets and coatings from what I can tell.

e: also how's the isolation?

Don't think there is a transcript but here is a guy from the company explaining it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTEHkeEi__o. Driver talk starts around 2 min in.

Isolation is pretty good.

# ? Aug 16, 2020 00:43

Dr. Fishopolis: Aug 31, 2004; ROBOT

they look well built for the price I just... don't need... another........ pair.... ffffffff

# ? Aug 16, 2020 01:25

Wheeee: Mar 11, 2001; When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies.

Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life.

That which has become hard shall not triumph.

DancingShade posted:

Incoming wall of text, no apologies.

When I first bought my last set of headphones I immediately loved them but wanted to check myself. You know how it is, the initial halo period when you think like something a lot then eventually you go "nah actually my old X is better". So I didn't want to post my opinion until a few weeks had passed and I could be sure I wasn't hyped over nothing.

this post reads like you were paid for it, it's just re-writing their marketing bullshit with your own words

quote:

What makes these different from any other reference monitor? They're flat as a board

source, from an acoustic engineer who keeps an updated database of headphone measurements taken on his professional equipment at work

They appear to EQ pretty well tho

quote:

and.. you know how you get a certain pleasurable feeling from a headphone with a good bass response with regards to how the air moves within the cups? The Hi-X55 does that with all the frequencies because of it's fancy pants "actually a new design" drivers.

those massive humps in the tuning, especially in the bass, are largely what is responsible for the perception of 'slam' that you reference. i haven't dug too much but from their own marketing video the driver unit appears to be the typical flexing poly plastic membrane found in most headphones, just with a higher excursion motor unit; Focal's headphones have been using loudspeaker style high excursion driver designs for a while now, and they have extremely low distortion with amazing dynamics, so i am curious to hear these X55's or see distortion measurements.

Headfi opinions on the X55 are split largely based on tolerance for the wonky tuning, with them failing to generate any hype on a hype-driven board.

With regard to the buying 'reference', monitoring headphones are almost never actually tuned neutrally, long-running popular models used broadly in the professional world like the DT770 and M50 have aggressively v-shaped tuning, they're used because they're durable and comfortable.

If high excursion loudspeaker style transducers are something you're interested in, the Focal Elegia has been hitting ~$420 in online sales now and then as it appears they may be phasing it out.

# ? Aug 16, 2020 21:39

Dr. Fishopolis: Aug 31, 2004; ROBOT

can we all just agree to stop saying "flat" and "neutral" because those mean totally different things depending on what compensation curve you're talking about and there's literally no such thing as a "neutral reference" ideal curve. diffuse field and harman don't exist because they're the "perfect most accurate tuning" they exist as a reference point for comparing frequency graphs, that's it. Harman only exists because literally nobody sticks to diffuse field and graphs just make more sense when everything doesn't look like the sub-bass is boosted off the charts.

e: yeah the Elegia's going for $399 on adorama right now and i'm having a very hard time with that fact.

# ? Aug 16, 2020 22:07

panic state: Jun 11, 2019

Update: The right cable on my ER2SE's broke 5 days after getting them lol. What's a durable replacement to get?

# ? Aug 16, 2020 22:08

Dr. Fishopolis: Aug 31, 2004; ROBOT

I just ordered a set on aliexpress for like $27 because the stock cables are pretty garbage. Etymotic sells replacement cables but the er2 cable is crap and the er4 cable is loving $60.

# ? Aug 16, 2020 22:38

Lowness 72: Jul 19, 2006; BUTTS LOL; Jade Ear Joe

Dr. Fishopolis posted:

can we all just agree to stop saying "flat" and "neutral" because those mean totally different things depending on what compensation curve you're talking about and there's literally no such thing as a "neutral reference" ideal curve. diffuse field and harman don't exist because they're the "perfect most accurate tuning" they exist as a reference point for comparing frequency graphs, that's it. Harman only exists because literally nobody sticks to diffuse field and graphs just make more sense when everything doesn't look like the sub-bass is boosted off the charts.

e: yeah the Elegia's going for $399 on adorama right now and i'm having a very hard time with that fact.

I see $690?

# ? Aug 16, 2020 22:47

Wheeee: Mar 11, 2001; When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies.

Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life.

That which has become hard shall not triumph.

Dr. Fishopolis posted:

can we all just agree to stop saying "flat" and "neutral" because those mean totally different things depending on what compensation curve you're talking about and there's literally no such thing as a "neutral reference" ideal curve. diffuse field and harman don't exist because they're the "perfect most accurate tuning" they exist as a reference point for comparing frequency graphs, that's it. Harman only exists because literally nobody sticks to diffuse field and graphs just make more sense when everything doesn't look like the sub-bass is boosted off the charts.

you are correct about semantics making people talking about these concepts almost useless in general but there are in fact objective empirical truths in audio, once of which being that the ideal and correct frequency response is a flat line when dealing with speakers and rooms, and targets such as the free field, diffuse field, and now Harman are attempts to create an objective baseline to give that perceived flat response via headphones

"an acoustic engineer on Reddit posted:

I could write a long article about this (and I already have as part of my thesis), but I'm gonna try and keep it short, so it's more easy to understand.

The first question is: "what should a speaker sound like?" (in terms of frequency response). The short answer is (after decades of research) is: A speaker should produce a flat frequency response in an anechoic room. When the same speaker is placed in a "normal" (slightly reverberant) room, the frequency response will be a little tilted - about 4 dB more bass, and about 2 dB less treble. The debate about this is basically over, the question has been answered, and indeed, virtually all "good" speakers show this behaviour (flat on-axis, controlled sound power output).
And since recording studios use good speakers (studio monitors) to record, monitor and mix the music that consumers listen to later, it makes intuitively sense to listen to the music on similarly performing speakers - because that is what the music is supposed to sound like, this is what the artist and recording engineers decided "sounded good".
So the target for speakers is: Flat on-axis, controlled sound power output (smooth directivity).

Now, the same question can be asked for headphones: "what should a headphone sound like?" (in terms of: What is the ideal frequency response of a headphone"), and the short answer is: "it's not that simple".
The answer is simple for speakers (not that simple really, but it has been answered), but for headphones it is much more difficult.
The first difficulty is "how do you measure it?". It's easy with speakers - put a calibrated microphone at a standardized distance. With headphones this isn't possible (much of the sound depends on the shape of the head). The general consensus is to measure headphones on artificial heads, with artificial ears and artificial ear canals. The problem with this is, that head shape, ear shape and ear canal have significant influence on the acoustics, most prominently a 10-20 dB boost at 3 kHz

. The important thing is: We "hear" this boost even when listening to speakers - because our ears are always there. When the artificial head measurement shows a high boost at 3 kHz, this sounds "flat, linear" to us, because this is what our ears hear. But how should this boost look like exactly? What is the target frequency response?

There have been many approaches to define the "target" for headphones.
Historically, it started with the ITU's recommendation of a "free field curve". This was measured by placing a good speaker in an anechoic room, and placing an artificial head in front of it
. Then we measure the response of the speaker, but not with a measurement microphone, we measure with the artificial ears of the artificial head, so we can "see" what a human "hears" when he stands where the artificial head stands.
The resulting target frequency response curve has a 15 dB boost at 3 kHz, and is very wobbly above 5 kHz, due to specific resonance and phase effects that occur at specific distances and angles. It's hard to manufacture headphones that reproduce all these wobbles exactly right.
So another approach was taken: The diffuse field curve. Instead of putting a single speaker directly in front of the head, we place the head in a very reverberant room, so that sound arrives at the head from all angles and from all directions equally. The reasoning behind this idea was that sound arrives from all angles as well when wearing headphones - simply because the headphones cover the whole ear.
Diffuse fields are hard to set up, because you need to carefully position a lot of speakers and reflectors in a room with very hard walls to avoid any direct reflections, leaving you with only reverberation. Usually we use speakers that radiate in all directions, to further excite the diffuse field. The frequency response in the room is still linear and flat - but the sound is coming from all directions and not just from the front (as in the free field).
Now, when we measure the frequency response of the diffuse field with an artificial head, the resulting curve is much smoother above 5 kHz.
Free field and diffuse field in comparison

.
When we build headphones that are tuned towards the diffuse-field curve, they sound neutral but a bit bright. Examples are the AKG 240DF, Beyerdynamic DT880 and most famously the Etymotic Research ER4-series. But also the Sennheiser HD800 is tuned for diffuse field response (but a very modified one).

But the question is not yet fully answered. Enter a scientist named Sean Olive currently employed at Harman. His hypothesis was that neither the Free Field nor the Diffuse Field curve were "correct" (read: Neither were ideal), since both the concept of FF and DF are very abstract and don't happen when listneing to music. He proposed another way of creating a target curve:
Placing a pair of good speakers in a "regular" listening room similar to the control rooms of recording and mixing studios, and measuring the frequency response with an artificial head. Harman's reference room

is neither fully reverberant nor fully anechoic, it features a reverberation time of about 0.4 seconds, very similar to what professional recording and mixing studios use (the rule of thumb is 0.3 seconds).
Now if we measure a headphone on that same artificial head and the headphone were to have the same frequency response that we measured in the room, then this frequency response would be ideal, or so Sean Olive proposed. And further research proved that he was right, the majority of both trained and untrained listeners prefer this target curve over any other target curve.
The difference to DF and FF curves is that the room will slightly boost low frequencies due to reverberation, but high frequencies do not reverberate as much as they are more easily absorbed.
This comes much closer to what the artist and recording engineer heard in the studio, and what they based their judgement on in order to shape the sound of the music.
In other words: The Harman Target is basically the same sound that the artist and engineers heard when creating the music that we hear.

drat, I did write morethan I intended to, and there's still a lot more to be said about the Harman Target (for example why there are currently four different Harman Targets...).

Yet all three are relatively similar in the mids and upper mids with the disagreement largely coming down to bass response since, as noted above, the free field and diffuse field targets are fairly abstract and developed to deal with the specific resonances encountered in the upper midrange using methods which necessarily result in a less 'natural' sounding bass level; there's a reason even Etymotic in their 'reference' SR line tune the bass up to a more or less flat level.

There's no single 'correct' target with headphones since a truly flat response isn't quite possible at this time but things like that wonky rear end X55 or v-shaped consumer tuning are very much incorrect.

That there is no single absolutely correct answer right now does not make every answer equally valid.

quote:

e: yeah the Elegia's going for $399 on adorama right now and i'm having a very hard time with that fact.

they appear to be back to $690, when they hit $400 again you totally should

Ott_ posted:

Update: The right cable on my ER2SE's broke 5 days after getting them lol. What's a durable replacement to get?

well that's some bullshit; aggressively pursue a warranty replacement while you shop AliExpress

# ? Aug 16, 2020 22:56

DancingShade: Jul 26, 2007; by Fluffdaddy

Wheeee posted:

this post reads like you were paid for it, it's just re-writing their marketing bullshit with your own words

Thanks! That's the style I was going for.

If anyone actually wants to pay me for some reason get in touch.

To be clear the only thing I promise will be disappointment if you send me cash for any reason (the headphones I really like) but hey its your money.

DancingShade fucked around with this message at 08:31 on Aug 17, 2020

# ? Aug 17, 2020 08:22

Plan Z: May 6, 2012

So, my first pair of wireless earbuds were the Jabra Elite 65ts. While the sound quality is okay, I hate them. Reasons why:

-The buttons are mushy and pretty much require you to jam the buds into your ear to operate them.

-The right bud regularly goes insanely quiet while the left one sounds fine. This isn't canal-shifting, it's a known issue. It seems to happen when I pull the bud out of the case shortly after charging it from 40% or below, and only seems to fix if I let the bud charge for a while. That, or if I keep dropping the right bud into the charging case until I see a purple light come from the pause button seems to fix it, but that sometimes takes dozens of tries.

-This wouldn't normally be a problem, but it's one of those sets of buds where you can only use the right headphone in solo mode. So in my 12 hour factory job where I'm allowed to have in one earbud at a time, I have to put away the whole set for one hour twice a day. Which wouldn't be a huge problem if not for:

-The charging case occasionally just does not charge the buds. This was a problem with a brand new set, and is apparently another known issue. I always make sure I see the charging light on the buds flash before closing the case, but still one in ten times, I'll open the the case and find out that they didn't charge, even when the case itself is fully charged.

-Speaking of canal-shifting, these things are aggressive with it. If I cock my head too far forward or to the left or right, I can't hear much.

I got some Airpod Pros instead. They seem fine. It's kind of lovely that they only come with a USB-C to Apple charger, and that the buttons can be hard to operate when I need to pause them to talk to a co-worker in a pinch, but they work fine on an old wireless phone charger I have, so that's nice. They have a way better, less-plungery feel in my ear than the Jabras, and have much better noise canceling. They're the first Apple product I've owned since an iPod Nano in 2007 and I'm happy with them. While I like goofing with and building computers, I loving despise playing around with gadgets that don't just work, and I'll take the hit buying the "trendy" brand if it just turns on and makes sound come out of my phone.

# ? Aug 18, 2020 01:41

Al-Saqr: Nov 11, 2007; One Day I Will Return To Your Side.

Put in an order for the motherfucking Sony Wh-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Headphones, the store I ordered from put in a free wireless earbuds as a pre-order bonus, it's the first time in my life I spend this much on audio anything, so loving excited and I hope it lives up to the hype.

anybody here have them? how are you enjoying them so far?

# ? Aug 19, 2020 17:35

Dogen: May 5, 2002; Bury my body down by the highwayside, so that my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride

Well my x12 cables finally have a short, and I might be able to fix it but it was also a good excuse to try out an ER4SR. I have to say in comparison I do find them more detailed and brighter than the X12, with a bass roll off that is a little bit higher. Also you really gotta crank the volume for them on an iPhone! I think I will keep them if I can get my X12 fixed though they are definitely superior for music with less bass. I wouldn�t even rate their bass performance as bad, just typical for a single BA design, which the x12 family (I had an X10 before) somehow was able to overcome.

# ? Aug 19, 2020 17:39

Dr. Fishopolis: Aug 31, 2004; ROBOT

This might be a weird opinion but I think everyone who likes BA etymotics needs to try the dynamic versions. They trade just a smidgen of treble detail for bass extension and texture that is literally not possible on a BA, or at least not one I've ever heard.

# ? Aug 19, 2020 17:55

Wheeee: Mar 11, 2001; When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies.

Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life.

That which has become hard shall not triumph.

Al-Saqr posted:

Put in an order for the motherfucking Sony Wh-1000XM4 Noise Cancelling Headphones, the store I ordered from put in a free wireless earbuds as a pre-order bonus, it's the first time in my life I spend this much on audio anything, so loving excited and I hope it lives up to the hype.

anybody here have them? how are you enjoying them so far?

they're the best noise cancelling headphones on the market and their app has built-in EQ so you can tune them to your preference

i've used the previous XM3 generation and the noise canceling is impressive

# ? Aug 19, 2020 22:05

panic state: Jun 11, 2019

Wheeee posted:

well that's some bullshit; aggressively pursue a warranty replacement while you shop AliExpress

I was hesitant on returning them when I could just get a new cable but I also got a second confirmation today that the left one gets like 6db quieter at above 10,000 feet.

# ? Aug 20, 2020 03:27

Impromptu Flip: Aug 30, 2008

Hello friends. I run meetings for a living so I�m looking for a headset with a pretty specific feature set, maybe more like a wish list. I�d appreciate some guidance/hopefully what I�m looking for actually exists. I�ve no basis for comparison as this would be the first business headset I�ve bought.

Budget: Soft cap around �300
Source: I�d like to be able to keep the thing on my head and both use webconference platforms on the computer and somewhat gracefully switch to my mobile phone as needed
Isolation Requirement: Home office so really none, I don�t see a serious need for noise cancelling. Funnily enough to the current discussion I have WH-1000XM3 and it's really good but for this use case my current cheap biz headset does the job alright
Preferred Type of Headphone: Over both ears (i.e. not the single ear form) and not in-ear. Wireless as I want to be able to walk around without it leaving my head but I could live with wired. Being able to mute/unmute while I'm walking around would be nice too.
Sound quality stuff: I�m looking for good microphone quality so it sounds good for my clients and it�s good enough for me that I don�t have any problems understanding them/I don't miss anything.

I've had a bit of a look around and the Jabra Evolve series looks like a contender but I'm out of my element and would appreciate some input!

# ? Aug 20, 2020 20:41

Lowness 72: Jul 19, 2006; BUTTS LOL; Jade Ear Joe

I've got the Evolve 75. I think it fits the bill though be aware true bluetooth is supposedly not as good. It uses a dongle for your pc. Otherwise it's a fantastic headset. I am literally on the phone all day running projects and I've been very happy with it.

# ? Aug 20, 2020 21:29

The flaming lip: Oct 1, 2005; Likes shitty music

I would love a new pair of wireless headphones and earbuds. I've always wanted earbuds but they always seem to fall out. I've just been using urbanears BT for everything.

Budget: 300 but if I could go cheaper that's cool.
Source: phone 100 percent of the time, galaxy s9
Isolation Requirement: not really? I'd like something that I could wear all day, in a variety of locales so sound cancelling doesn't seem necessary but isolation would be nice.
Preferred Type of Headphone: I've been using over ear so I'm looking for earbuds but I'm flexible on the kind. They need to be super secure for workouts so stability is more priority than the exact kind of bud
Sound quality stuff: sound quality isn't super important. What I really want is something that:
Fits in my ear
That I can wear all day
Good battery life
Stays in while I exercise
Good microphone is a plus

Thank you in advance!

# ? Aug 21, 2020 06:28

Impromptu Flip: Aug 30, 2008

Lowness 72 posted:

I've got the Evolve 75. I think it fits the bill though be aware true bluetooth is supposedly not as good. It uses a dongle for your pc. Otherwise it's a fantastic headset. I am literally on the phone all day running projects and I've been very happy with it.

Thanks, that's spot on. I've ordered a pair. What does "true bluetooth" mean? I.e. the bluetooth I would get going directly to the computer rather than the dongle?

# ? Aug 21, 2020 08:34

Lowness 72: Jul 19, 2006; BUTTS LOL; Jade Ear Joe

Impromptu Flip posted:

Thanks, that's spot on. I've ordered a pair. What does "true bluetooth" mean? I.e. the bluetooth I would get going directly to the computer rather than the dongle?

Ya. I haven't tried it yet but know it can pair to both your phone and your PC. But we use soft phones through our laptops so I just leave it hooked up all the time via the dongle. It occasionally bugs out such that I can't end/accept calls from the headset but I bet that's more a function of lovely Jabber software than the headset. Honestly it's the best headset I've ever used though.

# ? Aug 21, 2020 13:56

wash bucket: Feb 21, 2006

I want to take two audio sources and mix them into one pair of headphones with a built in mic. Like, imagine I want to play online games with someone on a Switch but we want to use Discord on our phones for voice. I want the audio from the Switch and my phone mixed into my headset but I also want to get the output from my headset's mic back to my phone's mic input.

Is that a thing that exists?

# ? Aug 21, 2020 20:17

trilobite terror: Oct 20, 2007; BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

McCracAttack posted:

I want to take two audio sources and mix them into one pair of headphones with a built in mic. Like, imagine I want to play online games with someone on a Switch but we want to use Discord on our phones for voice. I want the audio from the Switch and my phone mixed into my headset but I also want to get the output from my headset's mic back to my phone's mic input.

Is that a thing that exists?

There are a bunch of options:

Option 1 is called a mixer. You�re also probably going to want a breakout cable of some sort to split the mic signal from the audio on the phones. If you�re going so far as to use a mixer tho, I�d probably use separate phones and mic. A mixer will give you a unified master out, but you�ll still need a way to run that to your phone.

There are also more simplified desktop-focused options like the Schiit Fulla or Hel. These will apparently work with Android over USB, but in both cases of Option 1 or Option 2 you�re probably best off switching to Discord on a computer for best results.

# ? Aug 21, 2020 20:36

wash bucket: Feb 21, 2006

Ok Comboomer posted:

Option 1 is called a mixer. You�re also probably going to want a breakout cable of some sort to split the mic signal from the audio on the phones. If you�re going so far as to use a mixer tho, I�d probably use separate phones and mic. A mixer will give you a unified master out, but you�ll still need a way to run that to your phone.

This seems close to what I want but it gets crummy reviews. That's the one device under "mixer" that seems to take two inputs and mix them together for a single output. Every other device seems do the opposite and distribute one input between multiple outputs.

# ? Aug 21, 2020 21:02

trilobite terror: Oct 20, 2007; BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

McCracAttack posted:

This seems close to what I want but it gets crummy reviews. That's the one device under "mixer" that seems to take two inputs and mix them together for a single output. Every other device seems do the opposite and distribute one input between multiple outputs.

Yeah, that thing�s a piece of poo poo. Where do you live? Are there music retailers online in your area? Like a Thomann or Sweetwater or equivalent in your country?

I would say that for plug-and-play with a phone your best bet is gonna be one of those Schiit interfaces (or something similar). A real mixer is going to require either a USB input to a computer or some dongle/interface to get it to play nice with a phone. If you want a �real� USB mixer I�d look at something by Soundcraft or Yamaha or Mackie or Behringer, etc.

Also will a broken-out headphone mic need phantom power? I think yes, and now this is becoming needlessly complicated.

# ? Aug 21, 2020 21:15

trem_two: Oct 22, 2002; it is better if you keep saying I'm fat, as I will continue to score goals; Fun Shoe

I had to order some replacement filters for my Etymotic sets, so I got some of the dual flange tips too when I placed the order. They're definitely the best fitting Ety tips for me, by far. I recommend giving them a shot if the foams and triple flange tips aren't an ideal fit for your ears.

# ? Aug 22, 2020 14:08

Dogen: May 5, 2002; Bury my body down by the highwayside, so that my old evil spirit can get a Greyhound bus and ride

I was gonna use my comply comforts since they have the same size stem as my old klipsch but honestly I tried the larger triple flange and it worked great. I still might try the comply just to not have to gently caress around with the filters since they have one built in.

# ? Aug 22, 2020 18:51

Dr. Fishopolis: Aug 31, 2004; ROBOT

I love the smallish frosted triples, I wonder what size double flange that corresponds to. They could be just a smidge larger, the big triples isolate better but the pressure gets to be too much.

# ? Aug 23, 2020 03:25

Dr. Fishopolis: Aug 31, 2004; ROBOT

McCracAttack posted:

I want to take two audio sources and mix them into one pair of headphones with a built in mic. Like, imagine I want to play online games with someone on a Switch but we want to use Discord on our phones for voice. I want the audio from the Switch and my phone mixed into my headset but I also want to get the output from my headset's mic back to my phone's mic input.

Is that a thing that exists?

Any little 4 channel mixer will do, like a Mackie 402 or something. You'll probably need a small nest of cable adapters, i.e. to split the mic out of the 4-pole headphone out, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

# ? Aug 23, 2020 04:03

powderific: May 13, 2004; Grimey Drawer

With a new baby in the house I�ve found myself wanting something wireless that I can still hear through for casual music listening. A pair of Bose QC 35 filled the role for me before, but with the ANC on they isolate a little too much, I don�t really like how they sound with it turned off, and something earbud style would be a little easier for me to use right now. I�d love to have something that can do hey Siri, is wireless, doesn�t isolate too much / can turn down ANC, and actually sounds good.

The AirPod pros seem like they�d be a good option as the ANC is adjustable, they reportedly sound pretty good, and since they�re not fully closed back if I turn down the ANC. Thinking they could replace the QC35 for travel use too.

For reference, in addition to the QC 35 above, my headphone rotation includes: Oppo PM-3, AKG Q701, Etymotic ER3XR, Koss KSC75, and Porta Pro. The PM-3 are the best sounding of those, I think, though I wind up listening to the QC35 the most due to convenience and my house�s very loud HVAC. The AKG and Etymotic sets I like, but they�re both a little bass shy and brighter than I�d like for most listening.

# ? Aug 23, 2020 23:23

Demon_Corsair: Mar 22, 2004; Goodbye stealing souls, hello stealing booty.

My logitech g933s are finally aggravating me enough that it's time for something new. Looking to get some proper headphones that will be used mostly for gaming.

The three contenders so far are

Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohms - not the premium version, but those don't seem to be available in Canada right now
AKG Pro Audio K701
Sennheiser HD 650 - This is definitely a stretch price wise, and may not be that great for gaming anyway?

Since this is going to be running off my computer will I be needing a dac (apple dongle) and/or amp?

# ? Aug 25, 2020 21:47

trilobite terror: Oct 20, 2007; BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Demon_Corsair posted:

My logitech g933s are finally aggravating me enough that it's time for something new. Looking to get some proper headphones that will be used mostly for gaming.

The three contenders so far are

Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250 Ohms - not the premium version, but those don't seem to be available in Canada right now
AKG Pro Audio K701
Sennheiser HD 650 - This is definitely a stretch price wise, and may not be that great for gaming anyway?

Since this is going to be running off my computer will I be needing a dac (apple dongle) and/or amp?

Is DROP/Massdrop available in Canada? There are better, cheaper versions of/alternatives to all of those available through DROP.

They would all definitely be helped by a DAC/Amp, but any of the $100-200 standbys that everybody recommends would be plenty. Idk how you�d use the Apple iPhone dongle with a computer, there aren�t any with Lightning ports.

# ? Aug 25, 2020 22:07

Llamadeus: Dec 20, 2005

Demon_Corsair posted:

Sennheiser HD 650 - This is definitely a stretch price wise, and may not be that great for gaming anyway?

Might as well point out the HD 6XX exists (same headphones but cheaper) as well as the HD 58X (different but even cheaper).

# ? Aug 25, 2020 22:08

Demon_Corsair: Mar 22, 2004; Goodbye stealing souls, hello stealing booty.

Is the HD6XX a better option then the DT 990? One big advantage of the DT is I could go pick it up tonight. The next 6xx drop ships mid Sept, so I probably won't have them until October.

And it looks like apple does a usb-c -> 3.5 adapter.

I saw the JDS Atom posted a few pages back, is that a good option?

# ? Aug 25, 2020 22:21

trilobite terror: Oct 20, 2007; BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Do people, like, hate the DT990/Pro now? I was watching some headphone stuff over the weekend and it was getting all kinds of shade.

Edit: I guess �hate� is the wrong way to put it- more that it was a really outdated design and there were way better options available.

# ? Aug 25, 2020 22:32

ughhhh: Oct 17, 2012

Demon_Corsair posted:

Is the HD6XX a better option then the DT 990? One big advantage of the DT is I could go pick it up tonight. The next 6xx drop ships mid Sept, so I probably won't have them until October.

And it looks like apple does a usb-c -> 3.5 adapter.

I saw the JDS Atom posted a few pages back, is that a good option?

What's your Mobo? If you have a good audio chip then you shouldnt have to worry too much as long as you use the back ports for your audio. My z370 Mobo has a good audio controller which has a built in headphone amp and is sheilded very well so I don't have to worry about interference. You can use a modmic if you don't mind an extra wire going along your headphone wires.

I bought the 58x from drop and it arrived early, but I'm out camping so haven't had a chance to try it out.

# ? Aug 25, 2020 22:38

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# ? Jun 5, 2024 20:03

Demon_Corsair: Mar 22, 2004; Goodbye stealing souls, hello stealing booty.

ughhhh posted:

What's your Mobo? If you have a good audio chip then you shouldnt have to worry too much as long as you use the back ports for your audio. My z370 Mobo has a good audio controller which has a built in headphone amp and is sheilded very well so I don't have to worry about interference. You can use a modmic if you don't mind an extra wire going along your headphone wires.

I bought the 58x from drop and it arrived early, but I'm out camping so haven't had a chance to try it out.

I have the MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX. For the amp, I was planning to wait and see what the quality was without it, then dive in.

Now it's just down to the always difficult decision of waiting versus instant gratification.

E: Because I keep going down the rabbit hole, how does the he400i compare?

Demon_Corsair fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Aug 25, 2020

# ? Aug 25, 2020 22:52

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Let's Talk Headphones IV: Should I get Beats? Do I need Noise Cancelling?

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