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Hello thread. I broke my wireless running headphones, please tell me, an audio dummy what a good cheapish replacement would be: Budget - $100 or less Source - mostly my (old rear end pixel 2) phone. I dislike Apple for typical Android user reasons so I'm not keen on getting airpods if I can help it. Isolation Requirements - these will 90% be used for running so having some peripheral external audio awareness is good, but optional noise cancellation the other 10% of the time would be nice. Also, I'm in a hot climate so sweat resistance / them not falling out of my ears as I flop around is a big deal. Preferred Type of Headphone - IEM or over ear Preferred Music - I mostly listen to stuff on the electronic / industrial / metal spectrum, so something that sounds good for those genres would be nice
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Sep 28, 2022 18:47
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metasynthetic posted:Hello thread. I broke my wireless running headphones, please tell me, an audio dummy what a good cheapish replacement would be: I'll throw out the Samsung Galaxy Buds2, which check basically all your boxes. They have good noise cancelling. I've used them on multiple airplane flights without feeling like I'm missing out compared to my over-ears. They also have audio pass-through which I've used on runs before with decent effect for short periods where I need to hear approaching cars, talk to co-workers, etc. I haven't put the Buds2 through their paces in rain, but I have a pair of Buds+ that have seen extensive water and sweat exposure without ill effect. I'm not the most discerning person audio-quality wise, at least relative to others in this thread, but they sound great to me. Your experience with fit is obviously your own, but to me they fit very securely. More secure than my Buds+ and I've run over a thousand miles with those without them ever coming loose. I'm wearing the Buds2 as I type this and I can turn my head completely sideways, so one ear is facing the ground, and shake my head vigorously and they don't come loose at all. MSRP pricing is over your budget, but if you shop around you can typically find them for well under $100. Samsung bundles these with their other devices a lot so there's plenty of unopened pairs on eBay for that price or refurbs on Amazon, etc.
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Sep 28, 2022 21:06
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Budget - $3-400... Can stretch if fully compelled (*I'm feeling like treating myself, and can afford it) Source - Desktop PC, ocasionally something else, perhaps my android phone - I recently bought the Salnotes Zero IEMs and the Apple usb-c DAC.... I used to own a very early gen Fiio DAC, but I can't find it, and it would be ancient anyways.... I'm considering a desktop amp/DAC if needed (or a replacement to my lost Fiio)... Options. Isolation Requirements - Fairly sure I don't want them to be fully isolating, so openback cans? Planning on using to play music and games, zoom calls etc. I have ancient wireless hyper x headphones, and the battery is wearing out. On my hunt for headphones - I've gotten these IEMS, and forgot how good hi fidelity ears work.... I also have a set of Logitech Z625 speakers connected to my desktop - what's the best way to connect cans and them to my desktop, or is that a thing? I'm looking at a Modmic setup, as well - or is a "desktop mic" good enough? I've considered the Drop + Sennheiser HD 6XX cans, some DT990s.... Grados? The JLB "stack" (*does that mean both their amp/DAC?) seems to get a lot of reccs, but if I can get away w not spending $210 on that, that'd be swell. Thanks goons. Part of me is still slightly on the fence about getting wireless headphones for gaming/zoom calls etc. I really like that feature, but I really am wanting to treat my ears to good sound. Not sure if a Hyper X, Razor, Steelseries, etc is going to be quite as good as a reputable set. I'm open to suggestions (*and have been flipping through a bunch of this thread's pages trying to figure it all out --- can't say that I'm any sort of audio hardware expert... Hell, one of the speakers on my logitech speaker setup has a headphone line out - would it be strong/good enough to drive some big boy cans? See, IDK poo poo.) AppleNippleBOB fucked around with this message at 22:27 on Sep 28, 2022 |
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Sep 28, 2022 22:25
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Hifiman Sundara or Sennheiser HD600.
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Sep 28, 2022 22:33
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Just get the 6XX or a 600, those headphones have been a standard among both audiophiles and professionals for decades with good reason; my 6XX are still around while my substantially more expensive headphones are all long gone, because they sound great while being comfortable and durably constructed. If ~$300 is a major purchase for you I wouldn't drop cash on the HiFiMan QC roulette, and while the Sundaras do some things better the HD6xx series both still sound better imo and have vastly superior build quality, aside from replacing worn pads the Sennheisers will last forever.
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Sep 28, 2022 23:34
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Wheeee posted:Just get the 6XX or a 600, those headphones have been a standard among both audiophiles and professionals for decades with good reason; my 6XX are still around while my substantially more expensive headphones are all long gone, because they sound great while being comfortable and durably constructed. Just bought those HD6XX cans - I suppose we'll figure out if my mobo's 3.5mm line out is big strong enough to drive it (or that line out from my logitech setup.... ?). Anyone have microphone recommendations - I'm not used to using push to talk, and am accustomed to having the thing mounted to my headphone itself (hence the modmic being attractive)... Should I gently caress w a DAC yet? The 3.5 out of my logitech speaker powers my salnotes far stronger than my pixel w/ apple DAC will. Thanks for the help fellow goonz
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Sep 29, 2022 00:14
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Russian Bear posted:Look forward to your review/impressions of the sundaras. Can't go wrong for $300 really. i do wish the earpads were a bit deeper to accommodate by big ol ears, so i might see if Dekoni has anything that fits. TenementFunster fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Sep 29, 2022 |
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Sep 29, 2022 00:46
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AppleNippleBOB posted:Anyone have microphone recommendations - I'm not used to using push to talk, and am accustomed to having the thing mounted to my headphone itself (hence the modmic being attractive)... I use an ATR2100 which I got specifically because it's a dynamic mic that isn't sensitive enough to pick up sounds that aren't directed right at it; when in use mine sits on a little tripod directly over my mechanical keyboard and it never picks up typing or mouse clicking or other misc sounds, though that relative lack of sensitivity means I need to speak more directly and loudly at it, if you're a mumbler it may be a bad choice. Looks like my model has been superseded by the new ATR2100x which has USB-C. Check reviews/sound demos on Youtube for them, in addition to the smaller Blue and Samson brand mics, and pick one you like. quote:Should I gently caress w a DAC yet? No. Your motherboard might be all you need, and it might be kinda lovely, while the technology to make a perfect sounding DAC and solid state amp is cheap these days the implementation still matters and a lot of motherboards are not good. So, maybe. Try them out with what you have and see if you're happy, if you are then stick with it for now. If and when you get the itch to get something dedicated just to see if there's a difference, or because you just want to be sure you've got no limiting factors in your setup, get a JDS Labs Atom DAC and amp. There's several ~$100 dedicated DACs and amps from JDS Labs, Schiit, Topping, and some others these days that are all audibly transparent, meaning they sound as good as solid state gear can sound to your lovely human ears. Of those brands, JDS Labs has by far the best reputation for quality engineering, QC, and customer support, while Schiit used to sell ungrounded units that would catch fire. Just get the Atoms if you go dedicated at some point, but use the headphones on your existing equipment for a while first before deciding if you really want to spend another chunk of cash for what may be little to no benefit in sound.
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Sep 29, 2022 01:23
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Once you hear like 30 AK and Sabre (and also CS) DACs, you start to realize there are differences in the way these things produce sound as it hits the brain. There is no way to test this but they sound different. I can generalize that Sabre tend to have a bit more treble glare and a less 'creamy' upper end sound than AK. CS might be somewhere in the middle. I just find AKM stuff more 3D and it sounds more realistic while Sabre sounds hyperreal for lack of a better word. This impression has repeated itself over a ton of different devices. Now if you ask which one is better, thats up to you. I chose my side, AKM dacs for me from now on. Kinda like Coke VS Pepsi, both are good but you might like one more. Oh and money doesn't mean squat. My benchmark DAC is just a stupid Radsone ES100. If something sounds better than im overjoyed. It cost about $80 on sale. I also just sold a Burson playmate 2 w/ Vivid v6 upgrades because.. I have a better emotional connection to the sound of the ES100.
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Oct 1, 2022 00:16
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Source your quotes
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Oct 1, 2022 00:24
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redeyes posted:There is no way to test this but they sound different.
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Oct 1, 2022 00:34
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I have the atom DAC, which I like for its low noise floor. It was really apparent going from plugging in to my 10 year old iMac to the atom. But when I was plugging my AD1000X’s into my more recently MacBook… ehh it was pretty much the same as the atom stack I think. Not sure I’d be able to tell AB testing. But for $100 may as well.
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Oct 1, 2022 18:26
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Fr, if you can hear the difference a DAC makes: something is broken. Whether that's your equipment or brain is revealed by how you talk about it
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Oct 1, 2022 18:39
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It’s very likely the iMac sound hardware is busted somehow or just sucked back then.
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Oct 1, 2022 18:59
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Russian Bear posted:But when I was plugging my AD1000X’s into my more recently MacBook… ehh it was pretty much the same as the atom stack I think. Not sure I’d be able to tell AB testing. But for $100 may as well. I picked up a Fiio BTR7 a couple weeks ago because I wanted to try out the THX AAA "magic" plus buttons that are actually usable and wireless charging compared to my Qudelix 5k. It sounds the same as far as I can tell through my Elegias and Sony MDR-1R. Maybe because neither are particularly hard to drive? I'm going to keep it and the Quedelix which I'll use with IEMs. I also got a pair of Final E1000s, they're pretty good.
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Oct 1, 2022 19:02
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Apple headphone jacks tend to be good. Think of an Atom stack less as a necessity for good sound and more of a plugin solution if your current setup isn’t sufficient. My PC has one of those stupid expensive military grade stealth audio capacitor warcrimes edition gaming motherboards with hyped up headphone amplifiers and it sounds like a piece of poo poo with an audible noise floor, so getting an external DAC was sort of a requirement. As you found with your Macbook, you don’t always need an external solution.
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Oct 2, 2022 03:56
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Mr. Mercury posted:Fr, if you can hear the difference a DAC makes: something is broken. Whether that's your equipment or brain is revealed by how you talk about it Actually I can tell given enough time. Already done some testing. I know everyone here is just repeating internet stuff, but give it a try. Might be surprising.
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Oct 2, 2022 15:27
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redeyes posted:Actually I can tell given enough time. Already done some testing. I know everyone here is just repeating internet stuff, but give it a try. Might be surprising. a DAC's job is to translate a digital signal to an analog one, so it either works or fails in some way. This isn't something that you do "better" at, just "less bad." Given that modern DAC units have specs that far exceed the limits of human hearing, the bottleneck in a listening setup will be the headphones, source material, or amplifier. There is the outside chance of IM distortion or aliasing, but again that's a failure not an improvement. Even that old audiophile Boogeyman jitter will only likely happen above 20kHz, which you won't hear. Just like the default performance of a wrench is that it can turn a nut on a bolt, or a saw cuts wood: a DAC recreates a waveform with a frequency that's half the number of samples recorded. Mr. Mercury fucked around with this message at 20:36 on Oct 2, 2022 |
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Oct 2, 2022 15:45
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Yes that is what DACs do. I am saying you can't measure differences that your brain can pick up. The human ear and brain is a hell of a machine! on a similar note: HBB x TRI KAI review w/ 4k microscope: (not good) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctmhYktQyWk
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Oct 2, 2022 17:04
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redeyes posted:Yes that is what DACs do. I am saying you can't measure differences that your brain can pick up. The human ear and brain is a hell of a machine! Yes, you're right: you can't measure things that don't exist.
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Oct 2, 2022 18:01
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Mr. Mercury posted:Yes, you're right: you can't measure things that don't exist. It exists. Are you speaking from experience or repeating internet stuff? We can see here that other people have similar impressions: https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/lz9l3k/akm_vs_ess_dac_chips/ And I will say that the DAC itself may or may not be what is making the difference. The analog stage can be different. redeyes fucked around with this message at 18:09 on Oct 2, 2022 |
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Oct 2, 2022 18:06
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Linking to r/audiophile is probably not gonna convince anyone who doesn't already believe in "perceptible-but-unmeasurable" differences between DACs
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Oct 2, 2022 18:11
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Yeah I suppose. Point is it doesn't cost more or anything.
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Oct 2, 2022 18:15
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redeyes posted:It exists. Are you speaking from experience or repeating internet stuff? Do you not see the irony is this?
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Oct 2, 2022 18:17
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101 posted:Do you not see the irony is this?
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Oct 2, 2022 18:24
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See guys the people on Reddit agree with me!
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Oct 2, 2022 18:25
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redeyes posted:It exists. Are you speaking from experience or repeating internet stuff? I came in a little too hot with the sass, and for that I apologize; it really chaps me when I see people doing this particularly because it's simply not true-and people don't immediately shut it down because the stakes are low/requires a fair amount of technojargon that makes people on the outside glaze over quickly. The analog stage is almost assuredly the source of errors/noise if it exists- which at that point the whole unit likely should be bypassed if you're listening with a source capable of the conversion on it's own. It's a common argument and it's frustrating to relitigate often! But it's not your fault that I rehash this on a weekly basis so I shouldn't be bein' a jerk to ya: sorry man, don't mind me Mr. Mercury fucked around with this message at 20:37 on Oct 2, 2022 |
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Oct 2, 2022 18:50
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It is possible to sometimes discern tiny differences between some DACs due to variances in implementation quality and some companies using DAC filters that create audible artifacts for ‘flavour’. You can run filters on some DACs to emulate the effect of tubes. Most of the really expensive stuff on the market is intentionally not perfect because people spending megabucks on this poo poo want to know they’re getting something special even if they can’t actually tell the difference. The actually clean measuring items from companies like JDS Labs and Topping are indistinguishable from each other.
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Oct 2, 2022 18:50
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also that HBB guy is an intellectually stunted sociopath huckster edit to be clear rather than leaving it to implication: if you’re friends with this guy that says a lot about you, none of it good Wheeee fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Oct 2, 2022 |
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Oct 2, 2022 19:18
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I am a poo poo head. No need to pretend otherwise. I am not sure if you noticed I said iem he made was crap. *shrug*
redeyes fucked around with this message at 20:13 on Oct 2, 2022 |
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Oct 2, 2022 20:10
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redeyes posted:Yes that is what DACs do. I am saying you can't measure differences that your brain can pick up. The human ear and brain is a hell of a machine! The idea that there could be differences which you can hear but which can't be measured objectively doesn't hold up to the slightest scrutiny. We live in a world where scientists can take pictures of individual molecules and most of us carry a device in our pockets capable of snarfing up an 80MHz wide chunk of spectrum in sufficient detail to pick out hundreds of millions of bits per second worth of data. Any signal in or adjacent to the audio spectrum is trivial by comparison, if it can't be measured on the wire it isn't actually there.
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Oct 3, 2022 16:00
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there is a ghost in the machine and it is making my treble feel a little harsh
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Oct 3, 2022 16:17
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I had some time to kill before a Broadway show on a trip to New York, so I spent some time at Audio46 listening to kilobuck headphones. I ended up doing all my listening on the iFi Go Blu that they had lying around for demos. My reference point for open-backs is the Hifiman Sundara, which I currently own, and I was primarily listening to modern indie and alternative rock, with some dance and soul music mixed in. Audeze LCD-X: these headphones were really disappointing. I went for these first because some reviewers have recommended just going straight to LCD-X from Sundara. The ergonomics are plain bad. They were uncomfortable to wear for more than about 20-30 minutes due the fact that they're significantly heavier than an iPad. Even putting the ergonomics aside, I'd still take my Sundara every day over the LCD-X. The imaging and soundstage felt like a step up from Sundara, but not the leap that you'd expect given the price point. The worst part about the LCD-X is that I felt like I was listening to the gear, not the music, when listening through the LCD-X. I didn't really feel the impact or slam that reviewers say is the defining characteristic of the LCD-X. And when I put on "Jesus, Etc.," by Wilco, Jeff Tweedy's vocals just sounded wrong on the LCD-X. That was the last straw that led me to ask for another headphone to demo. Hifiman Arya: this is the one. The Arya was comfortable to wear, with deeper earcups than the Sundara, and the build quality felt like standard Hifiman, which is okay. I got the wow factor from the Arya that I expected from the LCD-X. The Arya fixes the biggest problem I have with the Sundara, which is the fact that the bass doesn't have that much impact or definition. (I end up grabbing my Blessing 2s EQ'd to B2 Dusk for hip-hop, and electronic because of this.) I felt enveloped by the sound when listening with the Arya in a way that I hadn't been by a headphone before. I could also hear all the tiny details, for better or for worse. The Arya didn't fall flat on its face when listening to a poorly mastered recording, such as "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers. If the Arya were $700, I would've bought it on the spot. Right now at $1300, I feel like I'd have to wear them all the time to get value out of it. I know I can't do that with open-back headphones given how often I already reach for my B2s over Sundara because of the isolation that IEMs offer. But I feel like I'll eventually talk myself into it given that I can't really get a speaker setup that matches or beats the Arya going for a while.
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Oct 3, 2022 16:44
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I've almost 'treated myself' to Arya's so many times. I really need to go into an audio store and trial those, the HD 800 S, and the Focal Clear, though. Kinda hoping I prefer the 800 S because I trust Sennheiser over the other two for QC
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Oct 3, 2022 16:51
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Try some Focals before jumping into a kilobuck planar.
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Oct 3, 2022 16:55
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Wheeee posted:Try some Focals before jumping into a kilobuck planar. Wary of the people online snapping their headbands though
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Oct 3, 2022 16:56
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Creaking noises are common due to how the internal parts move against each other and can be gotten rid of with a dry lubricant sprayed inside, actual snapping is rare. Yes it’s bullshit that their handbands suck at the prices they charge and it was a factor in me letting mine go last year, but actual failures just happening for no reason are rare. I chatted with a couple Focal dealers before buying mine, their return rates are pretty normal. The one guy in this thread who broke theirs was hopping mad that they broke after only being dropped like three times and uh… Don’t drop expensive delicately made poo poo like fancy headphones, Audezes and HiFiMans aren’t going to fare any better from being bounced off the floor. If I ever betray myself and buy another four-figure headphone again it’ll be Focal despite their issues, if not a ZMF. They sound good.
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Oct 3, 2022 18:14
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Update on the HD 599: I bought the 599 for my girlfriend's cottage core aesthetics and I think that's the best gift I've ever given because I've never seen someone so goddamn excited. She's both in awe at how immersive the sound is and taking a shitload of selfies with it matching her vintage color scheme. I never thought a pair of headphones would be so fitting a gift.
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Oct 3, 2022 19:56
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Give the gift of beige.
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Oct 3, 2022 19:58
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I always wondered who that first run of tan/beige/whatever Senn product is for before they put out the black version… now I know
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Oct 3, 2022 20:05
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