>Headphone purchase advice
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>Sup Forums wiki headphone FAQ:
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tl;dr I'm looking for recommendations on:
>usa
>$99 but flexible
>motherboard audio (msi z170 sli plus if you must know)
>looking for something emphasizing comfort
>preferably closed
>sound signature isn't a huge deciding factor to me but maybe something similar to my old AKG k240's but maybe a little more bassy would be nice.
Closed
Somic MM185, AKG K553, NVX XPT100
Open
SHP9500, ISK HP2010, HD558
>Closed
HD380 Pro, HD598c
>Open
(open sounds better / price) HD598se > DT880 Premium > HD558
To the friend that said that Stax needs a proprietary eq circuit to be better than hd600, that is:
- untrue
- here are the ED-1 parameters, in dB, Q, Hz:
1.8, 2.6, 615
-5.4, 1.1, 1400
6.7, 0.8, 3000
-3.0, 4.0, 6100
1.8, 3.4, 7900
-6.3, 6.1, 10500
However, if you are like me, you will end up preferring the native response, or a slight modification.
I use, in BW instead of Q:
-2.5, 0.55, 1650
-1.5, 0.24, 10500
As you can see, these filters are very small in magnitude.
>As you can see, these filters are very small in magnitude.
Different HD600-loving user here.
I wouldn't call -2.5dB very small. And why does everybody love EQ so much?
I like my HD600 as they are, and would have a hard time justifying the extra latency of an EQ.
Cool, thanks for the input. I'm going to start looking up reviews and whatnot.
>and would have a hard time justifying the extra latency of an EQ
Unless you play viddy gaems, latency is a complete non issue. EQ's dont introduce anything near enough to affect video.
320kbps mp3 files are good enough
Which out of the Status Audio CB-1 or NVX XPT100/Brainwavz HM5 provides the best build quality and neutral sound signature?
Also, what are some good replacement pads for the Sony MDR-V6?
Honestly V0 is good enough, but the prevalence and ease to acquire 320 makes it convenient and good enough.
good enough for what?
Is there big difference between HD600 and HD650?
everything except muh archiving
good enough to the point where it sounds good on a decent pair of headphones
HD600 are flat
HD650 are intentionally colored and more expensive
I do play video games though.
In other words, HD650 has better bass because our hears aren't tuned at all for a flat frequency. They both have utter shit sub-bass though and require a somewhat agressive EQ bellow 60Hz
>our hears aren't tuned at all for a flat frequency.
Neither are sound engineers' ears.
They use flat headphones/speakers as a reference point.
The music they make with flat speakers isn't flat, therefore listening to their music on flat speakers isn't flat
Any decent EQ adds an an utterly irrelevant amount of latency depending on how powerful your CPU is. Delayed sound is not a very realistic problem in video games. We are actually very poor at spotting sound delay even up to tens of milliseconds, multiple times that of what a software EQ would add. We don't rely on sound nearly as much as we do on the visual aspect at spotting events in real time or reacting to them especially when both are present. The visual aspect is far more dominant in games. Even a slight few millisecond added visual delay can be felt in the control if you are very used to the game and gear(mice, keyboard controller + monitor).
>he doesn't know about linear phase equalizers
bruh
wrong guy
meant for
also, the most common type of equalizers only delay the part it is changing. linear phase delay the whole thing as to not change the sound
cool stuff
So this is what I'm gleaming from a lot of the reviews;
Is better bass + worse mids a running theme with the less expensive closed cans?
>Hd 380 pro
Great all arounder for the price range. Harsh mids but one reviewer said a custom EQ kind of fixes it.
>Hd 598c
Boomy bass, very active sound. Subdued mids. Cheap build quality. Another good general purpose. Easy to drive.
>Nvx XPT100
Fantastic build quality for the low price tag but sound quality overall is heavily sacrificed.
>AKG k553
Sound is "flat" or neutral for the most part except maybe just a hint of bass. I can't really find a downside other than high MSRP, but Walmart is selling this at $140.
>Somic mm185
I can't seem to track down any solid reviews of this.
Looking like a tough decision between the 598c, the k553, and the 380 pro
Status Audio CB1
The Somic version is the OEM version
I'm trying to get redpilled on amps.
Isn't the entire point of an amp to take the analog signal and make it louder? if so, why do I see people claiming a certain amp "pairs up nicely" with their headphones compared to other amps?
The way I see it amps should be completely transparent, unless they have an EQ switch like Fiio amps.
If you have two amps that can delivers the same power into your headphones there should be no audible difference between the two at the same volume level. Is this statement wrong?
>Is this statement wrong?
no, a powerful enough amp shouldn't work better with different types of headphones
different amps innately have different sound signatures and different power output ranges they're good at
my schiit stack (modi + magni, both 2u) has a crisper sound and goes well with stuff like fostex th x00
So whenever i see somebody claiming his 1000 dollars amp works better than something like an O2 with his HD 650s I can dismiss him as a retard?
>different amps innately have different sound signatures
How is this possible? I thought their principle was to take the analog waves and make them louder. How can this change the sound quality unless there's some internal fuckery going on to deliberately alter it?
as I understand it, the choice of each component involved in building the amp card will in theory have the potential to alter the signal ever so slightly. though wether or not any of this is perceptible is another matter. from my limited experience, I'd say that unless you're using a piece-of-crap amp, any upgrade is likely placebo, assuming you had enough power to properly power what you were trying to power in the first place.
>I can dismiss him as a retard?
yes
Don't spend less than $100 though. Magni is great. #USAEsNumeroUno
>thumbnail looks like she's holding her dick while jizz shoots out
I've been here too long
Some good advice here. Dude has configured 24-bit audio for his highest-quality VBR mp3s. Sup Forumsentoomen, pay attention.
r3dux.org
Anyone that actually brings up the ED-1 as though it were necessary isn't worth the time of day.
Most equalizers will operate in the minimum phase, and have zero inherent latency in their operation.
>the most common type of equalizers only delay the part it is changing
Discontinuous, piecewise smooth response filters are not realizable. In any case, a linear phase EQ is not only unnecessary for headphone equalization, but undesirable.
>linear phase
As suggested by its name, linear phase has a linear phase relation to frequency, such that d/df of θ(f) is a constant.
A linear phase filter necessarily has a delay line. The delay line is made equal to half the length of the FIR sequence; the linear phase filter has the property of coefficient symmetry.
>aren't tuned at all for a flat frequency. They both have utter shit sub-bass though and require a somewhat agressive EQ bellow 60Hz
It's... complicated. Bass is also exhausting/headacheinducing on prolonged periods, particularly sub-bass.
So does this shitty sticker mean anything at all?
My RHA 750i had it in the box and now Fiio products are shipping with it.
no, not really
its just some shit that means its capable of certain irrelevant frequencies
>We are actually very poor at spotting sound delay even up to tens of milliseconds
Try playing llsif sometime.
Also, protip: Any audio chain is long, and every component adds some latency. Latency is a fucking cancer, and anything that adds to it better be worth it.
And beware that a latency as low as 3ms is already too high for voice monitoring feedback. Don't underestimate latency.
It lets the customer think he just got something premium.
> Fiio chinkshit
> Premium
You wot
Hi-Res = A lot of treble peaks
>different amps innately have different sound signatures
No. Amps are either transparent or flawed.
>my schiit stack (modi + magni, both 2u) has a crisper sound
No, it doesn't. It's just pretty good in terms of transparency, and whatever you're comparing it with is flawed (not transparent).
Neutralish treble for comparison
Definitely.
There's many a sub-$100 usb dac+amp that will drive the HD650 transparently, and there's absolutely no benefit on spending any more than that.
So is fulla2, and is overall a much better return / money.
Which DT880 is that?
Pro, Premium, 35Ω, 250Ω, 600Ω... it gets really complicated. And they all seem to have different response curves.
It's most likely the 250ohm. They're reponse curves, although slightly different, are very much similar adn they're all very sibilant
any HD600 vs HD650 graphs?
see for compensated
This is raw
Wait, so HD650 have double the bass?
Here's more!
no
Yeah that's a steal right there.
whoah, that K712 is all over the place.
It is but the detail is amazing. It's a very sharp and fast headphone with detail everywhere and amazing separation of everything to the point of being annoying at times. So far, these have had my favorite bass of every headphone that i've listened to. It's a shame the treble feels like needles puncturing the hear drums and the low mids are a bit too fat and a fatiguing when listening to something like Type O Negative
>Budget - $80
>Location - UK
>Source - phone
>Type of headphone - in ears/buds
>Open or closed - n/a?
>Comfort level - p comfy
>Sound signature - like my hd 600s signature
>Past headphones - hd 600, ath-ad900x, hd598, dt990, samsung in ear buds
For some reason the little circular earbuds dont fit in my ear and fall out, but samsungs dont because of shape
Here comes a bit of a pleb question from someone who doesn't know that much about headphones.
Looking for a decent set of headphones for running, but sick of just finding wireless headphones with a battery life less than 4 hours. As I don't like running with my a smartphone strapped to my arm, I'm desperately in need of a set of wired headphones, that are sweat resistant, and sound "decent".
Any recommendations?
(Budget sub $100)
Be honest guys
Do i look like a doof wearing these in public?
If anyone here owns them, please give me a quick rundown on them.
Oh, and not unsupported in ear buds. having one drop out mid run is such a hassle.
hyperxgaming.com
Can anyone give me a quick rundown on these?
...
Headset. On top of that, gaymer.
2 red flags.
Asked it before, but never really got an answer... If I connect a media device of some kind to my TV through HDMI, then connect my TV to my DAC with optical, is it safe to assume that the signal will be transmitted unaltered from media device to DAC? Or will it have to pass through my TV's own internal DAC before being turned back into digital and passed out again?
Likely fine.
As retarded as hardware can be at times, I haven't seen anything behave that badly.
really on a low budget at this point, but the current headphones broke.
>$65
>comfort and sound
>semi-open or closed
>have only listened to music through cheap chink headphones so this will be the first in this price range
>looking at akg 240, samson sr 850 currently
>listen to swans, wittr and midori etc
How about ATH-M30x? Better?
So I bought a pair of HD600's but they don't have bass
what do?
EQ
>Isn't the entire point of an amp to take the analog signal and make it louder?
It's the idea of an amplifier but they can have other benefits too, depending on what is the comparison. Amplifying signal without altering it in any other way is how an ideal amplifier would function. How well an amplifier functions is dependent on the load, too. Mainly you want low distortion, low noise, no interference, minimal output impedance, flat response and of course enough gain.
>why do I see people claiming a certain amp "pairs up nicely" with their headphones compared to other amps?
Wrong ideas about amplification and loads of confirmation bias. "Pairing" is nonsense.
>If you have two amps that can delivers the same power into your headphones there should be no audible difference between the two at the same volume level. Is this statement wrong?
Power isn't the only factor but as long as the parameters I mentioned earlier are satisfied, the amplifiers sound identical(transparent). As long as both amplifiers exceed a certain level of performance, both are transparent. These human audible limits are complex and hard to define, especially ones that have to do with nonlinear distortion audibility. They are relatively easy to test however as long as you can setup a proper double blinded listening test.
What a troll.
No.
They'll drop down to the equivalent of $100 on here on occasion:
>elgiganten.se
Last I saw them at that price was this weekend. Only useful if you live in Sweden, I guess, although you could always ask a swede to buy a pair for you and ship them if you're willing to go out of your way to save some cash
To add, building an amplifier that operates transparently on a headphone load is a rather simple task and inexpensive given competent design.
>So I bought a pair of HD600's but they don't have bass
Do you have an amp? If not, get one.
How long have you been using them? If less than a month, you're simply not used to them. Beware you'll never get used to them if you EQ. Give them a fair chance without EQ. These are quite neutral headphones, which is pretty much pointless if you EQ.
>Given competent design.
Objective2 is open hardware and decent enough. No need to even design anything.
It's quite nice and has exceptionally low self noise. For most loads it's definitely transparent.
Sound signature might be on par, but the build quality of the CB-1 is dreadful.
Too bad about the price the prebuilt ones are going by.
Magni2 is much better value for the money.
I want them to skullfuck me
>What a troll.
a master trole if anything, because I thought he was serious...
any good comfy earbuds like the iphone 4 but not overpriced?
Anyone have a recommendation for a desktop microphone? The one integrated into my webcam is cropping out on me. I use speakers almost exclusively and just want something not garbage and looks decent under $50.
FiiO EM3's :^)
Last thread, I posted what I believed were the best budget headphones under $100. I really did believe that, but after being called out on it, I once set myself on another 30 minute journey. I realized, while they are efficient headphones, they also lack speed and power; two of the most important attributes seen in modern day headphones. I must apologize once again, and as such, I will personally repay anyone who believed my shill hungry post.
So once again, after setting myself on another 30 minute journey, I am proud to introduce my pick for the best budget headphones under $100; hopefully you will too.
is there some good smol headphones? like ear-buds or some stuf like that? I don't like having so big headphones while I'm commuting.
help me pls
SHP9500 are within your budget, but they're open.
ve monk, faaeal, and boarseman are all probably good for the price.
Thanks looking into that. if it was between AKG K52 and Behringer HPX400?
Nope, anything in the M series below the M40's isn't worth looking at.
They're fine if you must have a gaming headset.
Pretty comfy, v shaped sound.
Not for big heads.
How to EQ the HD650 for more treble? Not sure what frequencies to raise
(USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
Build quality isn't that bad, just take care of your gear and they have a warranty.
>Behringer HPX400
>Behringer for anything but PA equipment/mixers.
Holy shit, stay away from Behringer user.
Superlux 668b/681, Tascam TH-02, Creative Aurvana Live if they're on sale, ISK 2010/2011 aka basstyle TH5001, SHP's are good as well.
Lot of options in your price range besides Behringer.
>People love the Takstar Pro 80's, hate on the HyperX Clouds.
They're the same headphones.
4-10 kHz.
6-9 kHz is recessed the most, but it also depends on your model and your ears.
Artists: 53754
Albums: 42723
Songs: 1000562
Play Time: 0 days, 0:02:27
Uptime: 0 days, 0:02:37
DB Updated: Wed Mar 1 09:57:52 2017
DB Play Time: 2280 days, 0:45:19
chiru.no now has a million songs
What are you looking for the headphone to do?
Look at an FR graph. The notch in upper midrange alters perceived clarity far more than the upper treble does. Add:
+3 dB @ 2500 Hz Q1.5
For the higher treble range it's best to use sine sweeps for more precise corrections.
Budget - $30-$50 (could go a bit more if there's a much better option)
Source - Realtek® ALC1150 on GA-970-Gaming SLI motherboard
Requirements for Isolation - Not much, I might prefer semi-open, but not much preference (sound quality is more important)
Will you be using these Headphones in Public? - No
**Preferred Type of Headphone - Over-ear (Circumaural), don't like the feel of on-ear
Preferred tonal balance - I want something that is good all-around, I don't plan on mixing/editing very much, but I feel I listen to a fairly wide variety of music. I would prefer warmer/bass heavier than something brighter
Past headphones - JVC FXT90 and Philips SHE3580 IEMs, as well as the Klipsch Image S4i II and the Soundmagic E10. I really liked JVCs and the SHE3580s, and as far as I know they both have somewhat of a V shape to their signature. While the E10s and S4i IIs were good, I didn't feel like they were worth the price. I am currently using the HyperX Cloud Stinger, which is fine but I think could be improved.
Preferred Music - Mostly electronic, but some metal, some rock, classical, and other genres thrown in. I also watch a lot of movies and play games
What would you like to improve on from your set-up - The vast majority of my library is 320k or FLAC, and I feel like I might be missing out with my HyperX Cloud Stinger. To my mostly untrained ears, they don't sound bad, but I think that something in my price range could provide more detail/clarity with better overall sound quality.
From what I've read on Head-fi and reddit it seems like the best options would be either the
Superlux 681 EVO
amazon.com
Panasonic RP-HTF600-S
amazon.com
I'd be open to any other suggestions.
Thanks.