-- PLEASE USE THIS FORM TO GET PURCHASE ADVICE --
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Asking "Hey guys, what's your opinion on x?" is frowned upon.
Wireless is frowned upon.
Headset requests are frowned upon.
Isolation ≠ Noise cancellation
If you dislike a headphone suggestion, try giving a better suggestion to whomever asked instead of going "hurr, brand x sucks"
>Sup Forums wiki headphone FAQ:
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alright, retard alert, get ready.
Why do high impedance headphones exist? If its possible to make headphones that sound decent with low impedance, why make ones with like 600 fucking ohms? Especially because some headphones are offered in multiple impedance levels like DT770s. Is it an engineering thing or is it really just so you can buy $900 tube amps and grow your e-penis a little more?
As far as I know several high impedance headphones connected to a single system produces less heat, than a lot of low impedance headphones. So I guess it's a engineering/studio thing.
IIRC, one of the aspects of low imp. and high sensitivity is they tend to be very unforgiving headphones. You get fatiguing if not painful sibilance and ever artifact and mistake in mastering is glaringly obvious. High imp. headhpones are more difficult to drive but tend to be more forgiving.
FLAC Internet radio: mpv chiru.no:8081
Currently playing anime music
>flac anime music
no matter how many bits, it's still mastered shit.
kek
how do i listen to this stream? do i need a special app?
Just open up your terminal and type in apt-get install mpv
im on windows
Requesting purchase advice.
Budget: Preferably under $130-150, but it's flexible
Location: U.S.
Source: Standard audio jack on my computer (and laptop)
Preferred type: full-sized, closed (for isolation)
Comfort level: definitely prioritizing comfort over sound quality, though obviously don't want them to sound like shit.
Preferred tonal balance: neutral
Past headphones: Razer Kraken Pro. Disliked almost everything about them. I won them in a random giveaway and use them because I don't have anything better. Hugely uncomfortable -- almost like a vice on my head. Broke quickly, sound is worse than Apple's in-ear.
I work in a semi-open environment and my applel earbuds have finally gone to shit after many years, so I am looking for something with decent sound, at a reasonable price point, to use at work.
i don't know what type, exactly, but it can't be obtrusive (so no open-eared shit), and can't make it so i have 0 idea of what is going on around me. what do?
Fostex T50RP Mk3
Shure SRH840
SoundMagic HP150
It says they're "semi-open".
What does that mean in terms of noise isolation?
I'm more worried about irritating people around me than being irritated by ambient noise.
>Budget
~$100
>Location
Canada
>Source
Galaxy S7
>Preferred type of headphone
IEM
>Comfort level
I'd prefer if they actually fit into my ears, but sound beats everything
>Preferred tonal balance
V-shaped, slightly more neutral
>Preferred music
Alt rock, progressive, pop
>Past headphones
apple earpods and some random dollar store things, they both played music so that's why I used them
They wont. Semi open just means that there are three small slits to release some pressure. If you don't want that get the T40RP
Ah. Alright. If you have the time, what are the distinguishing features that lead you to recommend that headphone?
Very neutral, closed, high isolation, planar magnetic, full sized, super detailed, easy to drive.
Nice. Thanks for the info.
If money is a concern you don't need a external DAC. I connected both onboard Z97M and HiFime DAC to my Violectric V100 amp and found no immediate difference.
Just stick with onboard DAC and use a 3.5mm to RCA and connect it to a external amp.
>Why do high impedance headphones exist?
Why not? There are multiple answers to your question.
There are antiquated standards and lazy practices in managing (high) output impedance. Making the load impedance high keeps the spectral balance consistent across a wide variety of outputs, if the load's impedance function cannot be flattened out. High Zout can be seen on many audio interfaces, HT receivers, sound cards, and so on.
Output into lower impedance loads is less linear, and more prone to pushing subpar electronics past tolerable distortion from the increased current demand.
There are many other factors that affect sensitivity besides load impedance, and only a handful of companies still make high impedance headphones; sensitive headphones well suited to portable players with very limited voltage output dominate.
>just so you can buy $900 tube amps and grow your e-penis a little more?
The tube amplifier is suited to a more limited range of loads, normally of the more high impedance variety. Designing a modern linear tube circuit is being inefficient for its own sake.
>several high impedance headphones connected to a single system produces less heat, than a lot of low impedance headphones
Current draw is the more pressing concern, and low impedance loads extensively wired in parallel start to look like a short. Otherwise, the change in dissipation isn't much.
Oh. I also tried without external amp too.
But with different results. I can hear the bass sound thin on onboard audio.
My audio chain was.
Onboard Z97M "or" HiFime 9018 Async DAC>3.5mm curly cord>Sescom switchbox>Dunu DN2000J.
And if I changed it to my Etymotic ER4S IEMs you won't even hear the difference in low frequency because lol Etymotics are not extended below in the lower sub-bass frequencies.
>easy to drive
whoa there, are you sure about that?
Be aware that soundcards probably can't power the T50s very well.
so I just got my CAL in today.
holy shit these blow me away. and I'm kind of hard to impress, I own a lot of good headphones. but just the signature and balance of these headphones for $50 is incredible. for anyone wanting a bassy/warm headphone that doesn't take it to m50 or dt770 levels for cheap, this is it. It's basically 80-90% of the way towards the best denons and the th-0xx for a fraction of the price. the sig feels like the x2 and hp50 with the difference split. it's not as detailed or refined as either of those but it gets damn close. another thing that hit me right away is the weight and unobtrusive design. these are the lightest fullsized headphone I have used. it's comfortable if only because the weight nullify head-spots and clamp. a heavier headphone with the same design would be m50 uncomfortable imo. biggest downside is the cable is fixed and split between both cups, and the pads are at the limit of fullsized, they touch your ears and are not that deep.`
pretty sure and player that can handle streams will be fine. vlc, mpc, mpv.
I love it when people pull out some figures like "90% of the way there" as if to make their subjective opinions more grounded on objective data. No dude, i get the CALs are good budget headphones but you need to be more realistic.
I'm going to buy my first pair of legitimate higher-end open headphones soon, and I think I've narrowed it down to the HD650 vs the Fidelio X2. Thoughts on the two?
For reference, I'll be using them for all genres of music, but especially bassier electronic kind of songs. And I'm planning on getting the FiiO E10K DAC/amp combo with it. Thanks for any help friends, I'm very much a newbie when it comes to any audiophile shit
xpt-100 unless you want to step up to msr7 or hp50
shallow fit IEM. hje-120k is a safe buy. that's what I use at work.
my mad dogs are only a bit harder to drive than my other stuff, I can still get them loud enough even on a cheap player like my PSP. on my e10 I only have to increase the volume knob by one.
why? I think that's fine with headphones with a very similar sig. it would be dumb to say an m50 is 50% of the way towards an ad700, but the fr of the CAL and the th-0xx and the discontinued denons is really close.
for bassier electronic I would get the x2. that's one of the genres that the higher end sennheisers actuall fail at. the bass just isn't there, even on the 650, the extension isn't there and the mild bass rise there is is to much towards the mids, like the 558 it just ends up sounding like a more bloated and veiled hd600. it doesn't give the kind of impact that benefits that kind of music. most open headphones don't. I like the 600 but I would get the x2 or go closed if I were you. unless you know that you don't mind your bass on the light side.
Thanks man
Thanks, that's pretty in line with what I was thinking based on my research.
In that case, do you have a recommendation between the x2 and the m-100 closed back? Leakage doesn't matter to me, so I figure I'd lean towards the x2, but is the bass so much better on the m-100? I like bass but not at the expense of other frequencies, plus the soundstage that comes with opens sounds really interesting
It's not that close mate. I'm very impressed by the sound signature of the CAL!s but the TH-X00 have more bass extension and their bass is really quite emphasized. Where the CAL!s bass starts to subside at around 50hz the bass on the TH-X00 doesn't roll off until at least 20Hz and even then it doesn't roll off as dramatically as the CAL!s.
The bass on the TH-X00 is at least 3db higher above the CAL's upper most. I'm not knocking down the CAL!s by any means i think they are two different presentations which you're trying to group. That being said i am really impressed by the graph and i'm wondering what the catch is. This seems unbelievable at the price they sit.
meant for
got my X2's yesterday. can confirm, pretty fucking fantastic bass. Been listening to deep house and some other stuff and I'm very satisfied with the base response.
Albums that you love but were recorded terribly:
The Antlers: Hospice
I thought i finally found a spotify album that made think spotify's premium streaming sounded like garbage. Nope, i have the flac version of it and it still sounds badly recorded.
>anime music
Regular flushing the toilet sounds better than this mastered orgasm of asian women
the problem I have with the m100 is the sig is just a huge bass boost, bigger than the x2, and then just a severe slope into straight up lowered/rolled off mids and highs. it favors the bass too much. the x2 is not as well extended in the bass but the hump is more reasonable, and the highs are more present, even if they are a tad uneven. it does bassy well. the m100 is a bass cannon, bad for anyone who isn't a "basshead" who only listens to bass-dominated music like some kinds of hip-hop/electronic, doom, etc. if your electronic has a mix of high and low elements, and especially if it has vocals, I would not get the m100. spend $100 more and get the th-0xx, or spend a bit less and get the hp50 which is mildly warm, both sound much better than the m100 imo.
I don't have enough time to say for sure, but I think I'm just not noticing the worse bass extension because not that much music makes use of it. like I would have to pull out stuff with artificial bass drops to make it really noticeable. plus I think the impact of them, the driving sound the hump makes covers for the lack of extension some. same way I feel about the x2.
the catch is the bass is good but not super tight and controlled. it's a tad bloated, goes a bit too much into the lower mids. the result is it seems to muffle the upper mids and highs just enough to be noticeable. but it's really a small thing and something that should be fixed with eq. I think some stiffening of the insides of the cups could help. totally a personal nitpick, some will like that. but to me it's not a very "clear" sounding headphone. hp50 is warm and really clean sounding but it's not as bassy. this has an x2-like thump to it, it honestly sounds bassier than it measures.
Thanks for all the help - I just made an impulse decision after all my review reading and got a pair of TH-X00s for electronic listening. But I just got a really well-paying tech job and tfw no gf to spend money on so I'll probably get an open pair like the X2 soon also.
Fidelio X2: non-existent sub-bass, exaggerated mid-bass, recessed mids, uneven treble.
HD650: dark veiled wall of sounds, it's the degenerate evolution of the slightly better and still overrated HD600.
I would choose the X2 between the two, but in the first place I would consider different headphones, which are cheaper than those two.
you'll like it. and it will probably fulfill your bass wants. if you were to get a second pair I would get an hd600/he400s/he400i.
Sounds good, I am curious what a really neutral and open sound is like for songs that are more like acoustic/orchestral
I think you're on the money about it not lacking bass, again you are comparing them to a headphone (TH-X00) that in many ways overemphasizes bass. The CALs have a hump mid bass hump but it's not on the level of the TH-X00. The subass might be there but it's softer and not as strong as the TH-X00. You have to listen to some electronic music to notice the difference if you don't have music that utilizes much sub bass. The TH-X00 caters specifically to bass lovers and EDM fanatics. You're right about the X2s sounding bassy, it's due to the mid bass hump they have but as you can see by the FRQ it rolls off inmidiatly after, even stronger than the CAL!s. Having a mid bass hump resonates stronger so you think there is more of it than there really is. The HP50s don't have that hump and are more linear i'm surprised you think they aren't as bassy when they clearly have the best bass extension out of all of them, might just be how linear they are. How many headphones do you own exactly?
What's a good Lambda model/system?
Both HD600 and HE400S/i aren't "really neutral". No headphone is neutral, what you want and you have to look for is a headphone that sounds balanced to your ears.
it's the mids and highs that really benefit, though the extra sense of space and the removal of that more "confined" sound of a closed headphone it everywhere. the x2 benefits from being open, but not as much as something like the hd600. the mids just become fucking delicious. in acoustic and vocal stuff it becomes really apparent and once you've heard it you just want more. it makes you notice nuance in the mids that you probably overlooked with previous headphones. but there is a downside.as much as it lends to some kinds of music other stuff sounds a bit neutered, especially stuff than relies more on bass. metal, a good amount of electronic, etc. don't sound bad but just a bit dull. this is why I switch headphones fairly often. it's not sensible to own multiple headphones but I like it.
yeah it's the linearity. same thing with the mad dog. it's full-bodied and has a thump to it, but not as much as stuff with a hump in the bass. not that that's a bad thing. plus just general less resonance and stiffer cups in those headphones I think.
> as much as it lends to some kinds of music other stuff sounds a bit neutered, especially stuff than relies more on bass. metal, a good amount of electronic, etc. don't sound bad but just a bit dull.
A really balanced and truly good headphone should make any music genre sound great.
> it's not sensible to own multiple headphones but I like it.
Eh, you could say the same for any hobby. If you enjoy it, then there's nothing non-sensible about it
I kind of agree but I've yet to hear a headphone like that. even the best stuff, and my favorite stuff has major drawbacks. and I think maybe just design limitations make it hard to make a headphone that does everything right. hd600 looses on bass. closed headphones typically handle bass better but the openness is lost. something like the x2 tries to do both but runs into it's own problems despite succeeding in a lot of ways. bass is looser, not as linear. mids are a bit recessed, highs not as even. I have yet to try top-tier stuff like the hd800, or ether, or he1000. or LCD-X. maybe that's where that level of balance is but judging on what people say those all have their problems too.
totally. if I had no money I could get by on an hje-120k and be damn satisfied, and that's a fucking $7 IEM. th-02, $15 and incredible. but when you get "into" headphones you want to try new thigs and get that little bit more even if it's a bad value. at least I'm not at all-out abyss placebo level.
Top tier headphones on the market right now are generally specialized to excel in one area rather than be good all rounders. Whether this is a limitation of engineering or a ploy to prey on 'audiophiles' because so many of them collect multiple headphones I'm not really sure.
Although, recently they're also trending toward balanced sounds, something that can be seen with headphones like the HD800S, the HE-1000 and Audeze with their Fazor add-ons. Speaking of the HE-1000, I'd say it probably best fits the bill of "a really balanced and good headphone that does everything well". Try listening to it if you ever get the chance, I really really liked it (still wouldn't ever pay $3k for it). LCD-X is not that great IMO, the LCD-3 is way better. HD800 is too brutal with recordings to enjoy.
Also try the T1 if you can. It's like a better HD600 but it can get really bright if you don't power it well.
edition-x looks like a more laid-back he-1000 for half the price, which puts it right into competition with the hd800 and ether.
except the ether and hd800 compete with (and beat) the he1k
What are the tonal balances on these headphones:
HD800
HD800S
MSR7
SE535 (advertised as v shaped)
SE846
Fidelio X2
ETHER
ETHER C
RHA MA750
DT 770 pro
DT 990 pro
DT 780 pro
SRH1540
SRH1840
Oppo PM3
Oppo PM2/1
The early Guns N' Roses stuff, i mean, most of the recording is good, but the drums are by far the weakest link in that particular production.
is there an IEM guide?
looking for something el-cheapho (sub-£40). don't really listen to much music on the go these days so don't want to put down another couple hundred on audio gear.
In the wiki
my bad, never scrolled to the end.
What said is true, the more expensive the headphone, the more specialized and less all-arounder it gets. Personally I find the best all-arounders to be in the sub 300$ cathegory. For how hard it is to know and experience a balanced sound, I consider a balanced headphone the headphone that lets me taste the details and timbre of each instrument in the most complex music genres (like orchestral music, some kind of jazz music and some kind of rock music.) without sacrificing frequency linearity too much. Headphones that do a good job with a complex music usually do a great job with more simple music. I found the K702 as the perfect and most balanced headphone for me, after testing different songs on different headphones and speakers (even monitor speakers) for months.
>What are the tonal balances on these headphones:
About 10 or so EQ filters away from where I'd like them to be. I don't get the aversion to EQ.
>HD800
Moderate V-shape. People tend to focus on the treble part of the V.
>HD800S
The same as HD 800, with a little EQ filter subtracting at 6 kHz.
>MSR7
Mildly peaky highs. Balance is fairly flat, especially for a closed headphone.
>SE535 (advertised as v shaped)
Something something lacking treble.
Shure tends to prefer bass or high frequency response, at least with their in-ears. This is an example not of boosted bass, but cutting away large chunks of the treble.
>SE846
Filters available for tuning. Always somewhat bassy, regardless of filter. Only the white filter gets near an treble response. Other filters leave it as bassy and dark.
>Fidelio X2
V-shape. Bass boost centered at 60 Hz, peaks in response in upper treble. More lows than highs here.
>ETHER
Slightly dark. Less so than the much darker T50RP mods he sells.
>ETHER C
Don't know it. Measurements put it around the ballpark of Ether.
>RHA MA750
Like most IEMs, very bass heavy once you get the seal. The upper end response is uneven and peaky, a roller coaster of I don't like it.
>DT 770 pro
>DT 990 pro
770 and 990 are both sold as V-shaped phones. Notable midbass boost. 990 is the more trebly of the two. 770 has more subbass.
>DT 780 pro
DT 880? It has some sound similarities to HD 800. Has peak further up, around 9-10 kHz.
>SRH1540
Bassy. Once you get past that, the mid and high response isn't too uneven.
>SRH1840
A very flat balance, very rare with over-ear headphones. But if you wanted this, you can just take a dollar store set of and EQ it. The linearity is very poor considering most of its price peers.
>Oppo PM3
Mildly thick, the low end and low mid are lifted by shelf EQ.
>Oppo PM2/1
PM2 and 1 pretty much the same sound, but you probably knew that already. Dark.
Unlike Audezes, these actually do have a rolled off treble response (above 10-12kHz).
So none of these are neutral? What are the most neutral open and closed headphones(2) and iems? Pointed out the K702
The Shure 1840 is close, and very likely the flattest headphone in current production. It just has other significant problems.
I'm out of touch with the closed headphone market, although some of the popular sets around here (MSR7, Sine, PM3) loosely approximate it. Loosely.
The traditional answer for in-ears is the Etymotic ER-4S, with a modified ER-4B being even flatter. 4B has problems with being (un)listenable if you don't swap out filters.
Etymotic is replacing the ER-4S and 4PT with some new models that have a modified response, the 4SR and 4XR respectively. 4XR adds the bass boost people seem to have wanted Ety to do for decades, 4SR is closer to the 4S with peaks shifted around.
ER-4B and the Sine have a very simple EQ filter built in to get their response, which brings me to my next point: why not just use EQ?
I'm taking the plunge this weekend but I still can't 100% decide.
I want a neutral or v-shaped sounding headphones for portable use. Something like my K550's but easier to lug around outside.
I've narrowed it down to the MSR7 and the HD25-II. The HD25 are on-ears but all the reviews seem to agree the noise cancelling is great.
Anyone got any thoughts or suggestions on which I should get?
>HD25-II
>noise cancelling
Did you stole them from old russian man?
That's what the reviews say famallam. If you know better I'm all ears.
>That's what the reviews say
Link to one of said reviews?
What's your commute like? The HD25 are legends in their own right but this is among professionals, broadcasters, djs and field recorders. They are incredibly isolating but this stems from the vice like grip they have against your ears to give you a seal. Of course the HD25 will best the MSR7 in isolation but at the cost of some comfort. As far as durability goes without a doubt the HD25s will outlast the MSR7 and if anything were to go wrong you can easily change the parts on the HD25.
Isolation ≠ Noise cancellation, although some do reffer to Isolation as "passive noise cancellation",but it isn't a very accurate term.
Other than that that, yeah, not a bad option, except perhaps for the inherent lack of comfort on on-ears.
Could I have some advice on what earphones to purchase?
I've gone through a good half dozen Sennheisers like CX 200, CX 300 and IE 4, all of them lost sound in the left ear after a time period between six months and two years, the only exception being picrelated, CX 175, those lost some frequencies in both ears. I've not had any problems with how they sounded, I think I might be secretly deaf too: most earphones I've used sound good. I'm looking for something in the range of one to two thousand roubles here in Russia, which equates to about 15-30$ or 10-20£, for reference - every pair I've bought so far has been in that price range. I'm looking for a good set of earphones to use while riding a train or walking briskly, the buttplug type seem to work best, since they offer more sound isolation than the ones that are inserted pillowy discs. I'm probably done with Sennheiser for now, but I neither Sony nor Phillips, their earphones have a certain air of phoniness about them which I just can't shake, the only other brand of audio equipment I've tried is AKG and those seemed good, but AKG is rather expensive and I've not heard of them making any earphones. Should I shed my prejudice? Are there any good time-tested earphones out there?
Live in a third world country so it's very noisy. I need good levels of noise reduction, and I don't mind if the headphones are uncomfortable as I only wear them for about an hour at a time. At home I got other pairs I can use.
Does the grip on the HD25 loosen overtime? I have a pair of HD202 that had a really tight grip when I bought them but after a year of constant use they loosened until I can just slide them in and feel no pressure.
It loosens a tiny bit. For an hour's commute it's gonna be fine. Also the profile of the hd25 is smaller than the msr7 which make them more portable. Also. The hd25 are less flashy so you won't be targeted.
>The hd25 are less flashy so you won't be targeted.
That's actually a very good point I never considered. In retrospect, the MSR7 look like some really premium headphones which scream MUG ME
I guess I'll go with the HD25 then.
bit of a specific request here.
in ear
must be comfortable
must be able to sleep with them in (on side without them falling out or being too uncomfortable etc)
must stay in the ear even with disturbance
for the purposes of asmr but also music
budget - £50, location UK
as for sound specifics i have little preference within reason.
I'm currently looking at the NVX XPT100s or the Brainwavz HM9s. I want something comfortable, isolating, and durable.
I was leaning towards the XPT100s but I keep hearing complaints of them breaking within a year. Has anyone had a pair for over a year of use still working?
Can someone advise me to get the hd205 ?
i have an Amperior and yes they lose a little clamp over time
you should also try the velour pads, they add comfort, isolation stays great tho
>Budget
770 usd (1000 cad)
>Location
canada
>Source
desktop windows pc, with schiit magni/modi 2 uber stack.
>Preferred type of headphone
full size
>Open or closed
open
>Comfort level
3-8 hours of usage at a time
>Preferred tonal balance
mostly neutral/accurate, but some warmth is nice.
looking for some planars in particular, heard they offered really amazing advantages.
>Preferred music
classical/orchestral/electronic/rock/jazz/blues/d&b
>Past headphones
grado sr80
sennheiser hd558
Shure SE215 or Etymotic Research HF5?
Why those two entirely different options? HF5 if you ask me.
I was looking for a IEM that was around $100 and those two were what I found out to be the best in the range.
I'm trying to decide which is best for my situation. I'll be receiving some AKG K7XX cans from the massdrop and likely a Zalman clip on mic.
I like the idea of having an all-in-one setup with the Fiio E10k, but something tells me having it all together is going to lose some quality you get with having a full setup with something like a Magni/Modi 2 setup.
I'm considering the Asus sound card since I need somewhere to plug in the microphone along with the cans, so having the cables wrap around each other and split at the end to their respective inputs is something I could live with. But, having the sound card means I'd need a something like the SMSL dac for more control/an input
RHA MA750
Don't sleep with your headphones on, you'll damage your ears.
You have them? Do you like them? Have they held up well to what you expected?
"""""Slightly""""" used ATH-AD2000x for $200?
Is there any risk of getting used headphones?
the pads being gross
if that's the case just replace them
Yes, yes, and yes. I don't baby my stuff so I really appreciate the stainless steel construction and 3 year warranty.
Does anyone have any opinions of the DarkVoice 336SE?
Uncomfortable as fuck if you have a broader head. Even after 5 years the clamp hasn't yielded.
This
REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
FUCK. I've already been charged so there's no point in backing out.
There's another tube amp that's half the price of Dark Voices and looks like it. I forgot the brand model.
What did you buy user?
Does the jack get in the way? I noticed it has like a spring stress reliever that is quite big? Does it fit wonky in your pocket if plugged into your phone?
I have a belt holster. Never had a problem with it. Even with a wireless adapter for the gym.