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why on earth is a reviewer working with a manufacturer on a product
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Jul 4, 2022 19:05
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None of that is okay if you're covering other products.
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Jul 4, 2022 21:52
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DancingShade posted:I respectfully disagree entirely. It is a conflict of interest. Whether you care about that is up to you, but objectively it isn't something serious coverage allows. This isn't really an "agree or disagree" thing, but more of a "differing professional standards" bit between bloggers and journos. Unlike bloggers, journalists cannot cover a product category while also having a stake (financial or otherwise) in a company's success within said category. If you cover a market for a newspaper and you own stock in Company A, not disclosing that fact when you cover their latest release will get you in trouble for fairly obvious reasons. It's worth thinking about the next time you give someone a pass for behavior that would get someone at a larger outlet canned.
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Jul 4, 2022 23:02
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Very insightful, thanks
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Jul 5, 2022 01:00
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njsykora posted:And everyone in the tech review space who uses affiliate links has that incentive. Crinacle even did a whole video on that subject. Ehh, I used to think that but the way those work is completely user-driven. It's not like an ad or native placement where you are subjected to something against your wishes, you elect to click the button and then the site gets a percentage if you don't return the product. While it's 100% a valid criticism that it's possible the coverage you're reading is tilted to be a little more kid-gloves than people need, there is a slightly bigger incentive to get people to something they're happy with than just gross sales. Those sites also are mandated by law to have a disclosure and an explanation of that relationship somewhere on the site (usually it's a disclosure at the top of the homepage or something). While they're not great, they're not exactly as bad as they've been catching poo poo for recently, and certainly nowhere even close to as problematic as the above things discussed are. Hell, better than walls of ads too. I get the feeling that it's tough to make a living doing this, and being the guy that attacks other sites/methods is probably a good way to capture interest. Mr. Mercury fucked around with this message at 17:02 on Jul 5, 2022 |
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Jul 5, 2022 16:52
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I don't think you disagree as much as you think you do? Read his first posts on the matter
Mr. Mercury fucked around with this message at 17:32 on Jul 5, 2022 |
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Jul 5, 2022 17:30
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Hey it happens, all good And yeah, the keyboard space is even messier haha There are a few of there that hold themselves to those standards, but not in the enthusiast space; mainly mass-market stuff
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Jul 5, 2022 17:44
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Qubee posted:Hey everyone, was about to buy the Sony XM5s but then I stopped and realised I can come and get the collective hivemind wisdom of this thread to make an informed purchasing decision. So basically, I want a pair of headphones that are comfy and have good audio quality, they'll primarily be used for watching TV. I've got two very skittish birds so I don't want to blast TV loudly, so opting for wireless headphones seems like a good choice for when I want to watch an action movie or something that'll scare the two dummies. You may just wanna find an older Sennheiser PXC 550 II instead. Better sound, lower cost, still has ANC but isn't gonna detonate your wallet. If you're okay with a microUSB charger this is a no-brainer. I suggest this one because it's got large ear cups and is very light, as I'm assuming you're gonna use this for a long time in your listening periods.
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Jul 8, 2022 20:27
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The Perfect Element posted:Hi goons, I was wondering if any of you experts could advise whether or not I should get a dac/amp to pair with my Sony mx3s. I know the dac issue is covered in the opening post, but it's very techy for a luddite like me, and the articles it links to are also very techy, and also very ancient. I believe you! Sometimes the language these headphones use to talk to other devices (codec) doesn't really work in the way they're supposed to. On the pixel: Enable developer options, then open that menu. Should be in settings -> advanced -> developer options. Scroll down to where it says stuff like "Bluetooth codec" and while your headphones are paired, see if you can force them to use: "Bluetooth audio codec": LDAC "Bluetooth audio LDAC codec: playback quality": Balanced audio and connection quality (660kbps) It's possible that your phone is defaulting to the really low bitrate version of LDAC and that sounds a bit like butts. If you wanna try other codecs, your iPad is almost certainly using AAC, and you could try that too! Mr. Mercury fucked around with this message at 19:56 on Jul 12, 2022 |
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Jul 12, 2022 19:52
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My guess is battery life/connection stability. If someone isn't aware of anything being amiss, they'll be more pissed if there's dropouts
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Jul 12, 2022 20:01
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I mean, you're already listening to three assholes talking over each other for a couple hours, how can you tell?
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Jul 12, 2022 20:40
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The Perfect Element posted:Thanks for all the advice! I tried the developer options thing before, and literally all the Bluetooth codec options are greyed out other than SBC, which I understand is dogshit. Huh. The app shouldn't be able to do that but hell I'll take good news! Congrats! Come back if you have other questions
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Jul 12, 2022 21:30
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Opioid posted:Are these a decent entry point for open backs? Also is there a site or discord that’s worth following for headphone news/reviews that isn’t too over the top audiophile absurdity? They are! Probably among the best if you're going for sound quality versus your dollar—you'll want some sort of amplifier or interface if you plan on equalizing it though, as it's a little on the power-thirsty side. Of course if you don't like spending 300 bucks, the Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX is also pretty dope at $200, as are any of the less expensive options like the Grado headphones and the Sennheiser HD 5XX series. Depends on what kind of sound you like, really! Should be noted that the Grado options are on-ears and not over-ears, so if you don't like things touching your pinna that rules them out.
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Jul 14, 2022 00:38
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Yeah it's a trip haha ANC owns now
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Jul 15, 2022 05:32
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Elentor posted:How good/bad/worth it are the 598s? My gf is absolutely in love with their beige looks as they fit her room's aesthetics incredibly well and I imagine they're an obvious improvement over the porta pros but now I'm vaguely wondering how they compare to the 600/650s. 5dB too much energy between 80 and 300Hz, but solvable with EQ (or not being a stickler) She'll like 'em I think, most people do
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Jul 31, 2022 04:12
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Cost, mainly. I mean they serve a very niche purpose but if you're in that niche then go for it. However, they aren't gonna sound amazing without the volume turned way up so, tradeoffs
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Aug 19, 2022 17:21
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Honest Thief posted:Is there any system wide equalizer software for mac that isn't crap? I tried a couple, soundsource and eqmac, and while eqmac worked in the end still feels buggy and janky. If you find out let me know, everything I've tried compresses the absolute poo poo out of the signal
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Aug 23, 2022 15:59
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Elentor posted:This ended up being a huge bonus for us. I'm so tired of the harman curve... ahh yeah I think Samsung really needs to work on the messaging for that thing because I think it's not well advertised that this target is a descriptive snapshot of listeners not a prescriptive ideal. While it does appeal to quite a lot of people, there are significant amounts of people who like less bass than the shelf Harman has
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Sep 3, 2022 23:36
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Russian Bear posted:Wow the Sundara's are down to $300. Time to buy (from an easy to return to place). Just be sure to check that the cable is absolutely 100% inserted fully and correctly in each channel. A lot of people returning them over that!
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Sep 8, 2022 18:29
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Drains battery faster and is still Bluetooth so like, "best of the bad" kind of situation wrt audio quality but the tradeoffs in convenience might be worth considering depending on what kind of product you want. True wireless? Probably a bad idea! Big ol' ANC headphones? Probably a good idea!
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Sep 9, 2022 19:13
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the threat of becoming fodder for the mock thread is real
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Sep 15, 2022 19:34
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Output, class,
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Sep 16, 2022 17:35
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Probably because the function of each is basically a solved problem, and if you can hear a difference it's broken, not "better" or "worse"
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Sep 16, 2022 17:41
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Legit for an amp you're looking to satisfy a power requirement. If your source or amp can get your headphones loud enough for you then that's all you need. Amps/DACs were popular in the past because sometimes computers were either shittily shielded or couldn't support the files people wanted to listen to, so replacing the soundcard with an external stack was a lazy but effective fix. That's really not much of a problem anymore, so you see a lot less of it. More modern headphone amps that don't use tubes are much easier/cheaper to manufacture to a pretty much perfect model, so things like the JDS labs atom are very close to as good as you can get for most headphones. There are definitely some headphones that need an amp, but they're typically older or more expensive planar magnetic/boutique headphones that are geared 100% towards hobbyists with deep pockets Mr. Mercury fucked around with this message at 18:50 on Sep 16, 2022 |
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Sep 16, 2022 18:43
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Source your quotes
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Oct 1, 2022 00:24
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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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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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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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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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Dessel posted:Oh? Really? poo poo. Including their ANC/Isolation measurements? Obviously ANC is a difficult thing to measure, might include personal differences, what test suite is being used, predicability of noises, head turning, etc. etc. I think the ANC/Isolation plots should be fine, they're just a little harder to read compared to something like what SoundGuys does with their inverted axis. The other stuff though... ehhhhh... sometimes it seems like they're trying to confuse and mystify people with measures of various things that may not be as important as they look. Also, some of those charts like the spatialization/soundstage are not going to ever describe a single human's experience because of the nature of how ears work.
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Oct 10, 2022 21:08
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in general memory foam is pretty forgiving because it directly addresses shortcomings in design, namely the fact that in-ears have the inherent drawback of not being designed for your ears. You roll 'em in your fingers, they compress down, put 'em in your ear holes and they expand to fit. of course, the more features you can have to address fit issues the better (<3 u earhooks), but you're not gonna get that most times with TWS.
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Oct 14, 2022 17:56
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Absolutely not. An amp is for when your headphones aren't properly powered. If you can hear them at a level you like, you don't need an amp. A DAC is for when your computer or whatever can't decode high res files you listen to, or there's audible noise generated by the computer in the signal chain It is almost certain you need neither Mr. Mercury fucked around with this message at 07:43 on Jan 7, 2023 |
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Jan 7, 2023 07:41
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Artelier posted:THAT WAS THE MOST STRAIGHTFORWARD ANSWER I'VE EVER BEEN GIVEN THANK YOU No worries, hope you have fun! Consider spending some of that money on indie artists you enjoy via bandcamp or even just saving for something else cool— audio is way better than it ever has been, and even though it's never perfect spending more is almost always diminishing returns Either that or just treat your room with rockwool and make the jump to speakers haha
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Jan 8, 2023 08:56
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If the k361 is available it's basically the same in every way except the frame material
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Jan 21, 2023 02:48
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The dirty little secret is that lots of manufacturers use the same parts where they can, and AKG just doesn't move as many units as they used to in the face of AirPods. It's a smart business decision even if it didn't always feel the greatest. I will say though you may be happy with the weight savings, because the K371 is a bit hefty!
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Jan 21, 2023 18:11
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"minor at best"
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Jan 21, 2023 21:55
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njsykora posted:Yes, pay no attention to the guy posting a Head-fi thread as proof the K371 is significantly better. You're misreading. The frequency response posted in that thread shows them as extremely similar. Black Griffon posted:ok but the K361 is a good buy yes? you're all suddenly making me doubt. It is one of the best values for that kind of headphones out there! You'll be happy Mr. Mercury fucked around with this message at 17:06 on Jan 22, 2023 |
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Jan 22, 2023 17:01
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The Perfect Element posted:Thanks very much for this. I downloaded the Wavelet app (but have had to put it in 'legacy mode' as it won't work with Tidal otherwise), and have set it to the wh1000-xm4 pre set. wavelet also has some pretty basic limitations as well, as there's only so much dynamic range to play with over BT. If you make cuts or boosts too aggressively you'll hear the drop in quality. Normally it's fine, but as these profiles are based on measurements and not "what's the least bad way to do this" sometimes the presets will introduce wonkiness.
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Jan 31, 2023 18:57
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If I read the original comment correctly—and apologies if I haven't—I think the idea was that the service wasn't the biggest bottleneck in that chain, so it's not as big a deal
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Feb 1, 2023 21:08
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So you've got a hosed schiit stack?
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Feb 3, 2023 16:43
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