/hpg/ - Headphone General

>Headphone purchase advice
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I have m40x headphones and was wondering what is a good wire to get that has a mic in it

I've been using the grado sr225i's for a while now and I really like the emphasis on the high and mid notes. What is a headphone in the $150-$250 that will be more bottom heavy?

Are you looking for something that's like the opposite of the sr225i, or something that's like your grado, but with more low end?

Well the Senns and ATs are gonna get sold off, they didn't make the cut.

>buy new headphones and audio-gd dac amp
>decide to upgrade music library as before I always got music off youtube
it's been barely two months send help

what are you upgrading them to?

Headphones and amp? or music library?
The headphones are the gen 2 t1 teslas
The dac is the NFB 11 with TCXO upgrade

The music library mainly consists of flac, DSD, and WAV files. A few of the masters are kinda bad though like bakers street sucks shit and so do a few post modern jukebox songs

It gets worse.

Eww, 518.

"Deep bass", says it all.

HD558 or HD598 would have been decent, but HD518 are plebphones.

Redpill me on the X2s, e10k, and modmic setup

Hey anons, are the SHP9500S' worth it for ~$75 or are they just memes?

Pic related looks comfy, should I do it?

75 american? pushing it at that price point.

Sorry, I meant $75 Canadian including tax. Are they still worth it? Or are there better headphones for under $100?

...

not sure about maplebux but what I can tell you about them is that they are absolutely mediocre. they 'compete' with ~$75(US) headphones because they aren't particularly bad at anything, but like wise they aren't good at anything either. While other headphones might shoot to do a thing real well or try a gimmick only to fall off elsewhere due to cost constraints the 9500s are a very conservative design. They are basically your Toyota Camry or Honda Civic or Vanilla Ice cream. They 'win' head to head not because they truly win but because the other guy fucks up somehow.

Sound wise they are bright and lacking any bass.

And because they are usually around ~$20 cheaper from their competitors a bit can be forgiven and overlooked.

Just my 2 cents for what it's worth

>3 anime ops in a row

what to drive the DT 990 250 ohm with?

Any of the recommended sub $100 amps (E10K, M3, Fulla2) will be plenty

How do I go about equalizing my MDR-1A? They sound a little odd out of the box. No amp.

Fulla2 looks nice, but cant seem to find it in the EU online shops/sites. Shipping from the US is $50, jeez
E10K seems to recommend up to 150 ohm headphones, so I am wary of that...
For the M3 - cant find it anywhere really

Holy shit dude

>up to 150 ohm
That's just garbage on the spec sheet. The DT990 250 ohm take 100mW to power sufficiently from Beyer's spec sheet while the E10K supplies 200mW at 32 Ohms so you should be fine driving those DT 990's unless you want something more powerful to make you deaf.

Try what you have first? But any of these would already suffice if you are on a budget.

>didn't make the cut.
Which one did?

If I can connect the dots correctly from last thread, He's keeping his HE-350's with the bass port opened.

Fulla 2/E10k/Micca Origen+ if you dont already have a DAC
Magni 2 if you do

Let's bring these back

Template in case you don't have one

Whatever here's mine
Would add Jessica Chastain to waifu section but can't be bothered

albums are a bit off since i rarely listen to whole albums other than when i initially acquire them
i just pick my favorite songs

These cans are starting to wear down after 3 years of use but I can't decide on what else to get.

just get some new earpads lol
and/or a zmf/beyer pad if the headband is wearing down

Sure dude.

Does anyone have interest in Knowledge Zenith earphones?

M40x or 9500s what should I get

just got a g930
what i am in for?

/csg/ loves kz shit. KZ ZS3 is best thing they make that i've heard so far. better than the ATE or even ZST

ED9 is also pretty great for soundstage

Yeah. He-350s, 668bs and 9500s. 350s going next to the comp, 9500s on the night stand and 668bs out in the living room.

Senns and at will most likely go to help fund some budget planars, either the 400s(maybe 400i), oppo pm-3 or m560s(I think I'll hold off on the m1060s till the next batch)

Good morning, /hpg/.

Damn, I just remembered that you're the one, a couple years back, who had the three albums that looked like a Coke bottle, when viewed from the thumbnail.

I have some old headphones and the pads are peeling off, kinda like pic related. (There are no replacement pads available, some really old Teac headphones.)
Is there a simple and quick way to peel this shit off completely?

Use ya fingers. Show us the back of the pad. Other pads may work in replacement.

you have a horrible taste. especially in these 3dpd whores. literally, you have pics of $20 whores and uggo "actresses". you should kys.

Do I buy a pair of HD 558, or save up for the HD 600 + amp?

Save for a 600 and Magni 2

>mfw he doesn't use the headphones from the Wall of Fame: innerfidelity.com/content/innerfidelitys-wall-fame-over-ear-open
What's your excuse?

where do I even look for pads?

Why are all his videos so low quality tho.

Source is a laptop, worth using a dac as well?

Question is, the HD 600 setup is double the price but is it twice as good?

Only if there is excessive noise coming from your laptop.

Ah, generic pads should fit. anything for M50x/MDR7506/Shure should fit, and stuff of similar size. eBay/Aliexpress are good for cheapo stuff. Just google for specific pads. Beyer DT250 velour/pleather pads are pretty great and cheap too. I think sweetwater or Thomann has them.

Coz the best shit is in text, you pleb. Text always wins.

It's not great, can a Fulla 2 drive the HD 600s reasonably well?

>can a Fulla 2 drive the HD 600s reasonably well?
it drives them perfectly.

>Sound wise they are bright and lacking any bass.

If you're expecting nigbass, sure.

I've just ordered a ZS3 too, $9 on gearbest. Looking forward to it.

>Source is a laptop, worth using a dac as well?
I have had Schiit stack. My 8 Chinese PCM2704 DAC is nearly as good as the Modi 2. Only thing I really noticed was a slight extra 'width' with the Modi 2. I sold my Modi 2 and just use the Chinese DAC now. No real sense in having something that for a tenth of the price performs 99% of the task. Next real step for me would be a DAC with optical transfer I guess.

>Question is, the HD 600 setup is double the price but is it twice as good?
No. Price to performance will almost always be reduced at higher price points. Though Chi-Fi kinda is an outlier there, it is generally the case. Its not really quantifiable as the difference can be light or day to some, or quite minute to others. Depends on your hearing.

looking for something the exact opposite i want a completely new experience

Anyone know of some

Big

Wireless

Headphones I can get in Australia? From a brick-and-mortar if possible..

Afaik, Tyll does not own InnerFidelity. I remember reading one comment about the audio quality on one of his videos (there was a loud noise floor or something), and he replied saying that the new $1500 camera and mic he was using shouldn't be doing that, and that he'd complain to management about getting a replacement.

You may want to look into the Fostex T20RP mk3. Most of the darker sounding headphones I'm aware of are north of your budget.

He used some Canon DSLR which had either a broken mic input or some firmware issue causing that bad interference. Tyll hasn't invested into an external capture device.

Can someone help me decide on my next headphone because I am a poorfag and I dont want to make the wrong pick.
I am looking for IN-EAR headphones around 100$ budget, what I require is the following:

1-That they do not fall out of my ear when I walk or move around (secure fit), and that they isolate decent at least.
2-Really comfortable, the type that you can wear for hours and not hurt your ears or give you headache or fatigue.
3-I dont mind if the headphones are durable, they will be tossed around between my bag and pockets, i am generally careful with my things but I want it to at least last 1 year.
4-As for sound, I am no expert but I listen to ALL sorts of music genres, I am not familiar with the terms yet but I want something fun basically with some bass, but not overkill, I dont want to ruin the enjoyment of the less bassy music.

after some research this is what I found :

~ shure se215 (Top pick so far)
~ RHA MA750 (these also seem to tick everything but I read they are very balanced and natural, not that this is a bad thing but again I dont mind some bass)
~ 1 moretriple driver (Second pick, a lot of people have been talking about these lately, their sound is superior to top two picks ? ??)
~Sennhiser momnunemt in ear (mixed reviews about this one, also build quality worries me)

`also considering these too but read they are bass light and aim for a clear signature.
~HiFiMAN RE-400
~Etymotic Research hf5

What does /hpg/ think ? I am open to any other suggestions but I need to buy these tomorrow so would love some help here.

schiit does direct selling in US, and in EU just through a few select distributors.

See: schiit.com/faq/international

forgot to mention that the source would be my sony xperia z3 compact.

Save for HD600 + Fulla2.

You want dac+amp. Fulla2 is a good dac and a decent amp.

>Source is a laptop, worth using a dac as well?

Yes, I suggest Fulla2. The thing about a DAC is that you might not need it for a given source. But the only way you're going to know that is by having a separate, good DAC. And then, even if your source was good in the first place, another source might be bad... with the external DAC you get good sound no matter where you plug it.

>Question is, the HD 600 setup is double the price but is it twice as good?

With audio, increased cost comes with diminishing returns. However, the HD600 is a super sweet spot, often refered to as "the only headphones you'll ever need".

I'm listening to music right now on HD600 + Schiit stack, and I do agree with that sentiment.

I own both and like both. But if your only buying one, save for the hd600's + Magni 2 unless you don't have a decent dac go Fulla 2

But I suggest getting hd 558 at some point.

How do the HD600s and 558s compare?

>It's not great, can a Fulla 2 drive the HD 600s reasonably well?

Yes, definitely. But not perfectly.

Fulla2 uses opamps and is not 100% flat across the frequency spectrum. It loses some dB on the higher end (not much, and some people hate treble anyway). Fulla2 is really good but not endgame.

There's no issues with the DAC though, as a DAC it is all you'll ever need.

I use Modi2Uber + Magni2Uber with my HD600. Fulla2+Magni2 would have sufficed, but I'm actually using the spdifs of the modi2 (computer via RCA, PS3 via optical, USB free for messing around), and I plan on getting some desktop speakers (plugged to the magni2uber) once I move from where I actually am.

Can someone redpill me on the Philips Fidelio X2s? Are they driveable without an amp? Are there any good alternatives?

After break in, both are about equal on comfort. HD 600's took more work to get to fit right (I have a huge head).

The 558's are darker than the 600's and low end is kinda muddy but the foam mod fixes it. Sound stage is better on hd 600's but not that much. High end is is clearer on 600's. Also if you get a tube amp like little dot mk2 or darkvoice 600's are orgasmic.

I hope that kinda helps in short their frequency response is very similar but they sound is not that similar.

HD600 is an improvement over my old HD598.

Photograph analogy would be that HD600 is perfectly focused, whereas HD598 is very good but ever so slightly out of focus, besides slightly digitally enhanced.

I haven't touched HD558, but what I heard about it is that the bass feels considerably weak vs HD598. HD600 feels the same to me strength-wise over HD598, although I've heard opinions saying HD600 feels stronger.

And, my favourite improvement is that, while already very good in HD598, in HD600 individual instruments seem to affect other instruments less, making them easier to tell apart when listening critically.

As an aside, I used to use HD598 without an amp. Getting an amp was a bigger improvement step than getting the HD600. The importance of having an amp is often understated.

>mfw getting sippy listening to my 600's right now

They're fucking perfect. Think of any song you listen to often, or something nostalgic from your childhood. The hd600's make everything sound 'normal'

No other headphone has ever done that for me, though the 650's are very close.

Definitely agree... after break-in.

First three days, physical pain. It took me two weeks to get there, but they're comfortable now.

HD598 somehow were comfortable right away, and very comfortable after days.

Just don't be an idiot and stretch them with any other method than normally wearing them. That's where pics of broken Sennheiser headbands that get posted here from time to time do come from.

Chihaya's nemurihime... omfg.

Life is good.

Was going Mimby + Magni2Uber a bad decision? Should I have just gone M9XX?

>and is not 100% flat across the frequency spectrum
Any plots? Inb4 it's just the DA-converter's low pass cutting a massive 1 dB from 18 KHz onwards.

Currently using HD650s ampless, they're underwhelming, probably getting an O2+ODAC soon. Will there be a massive difference?

>Currently using HD650s ampless
No you're not.
>they're underwhelming
How exactly?
>probably getting an O2+ODAC soon
Pretty good gear.
>Will there be a massive difference?
How should we know? Unlikely unless the gear you have at the moment is utterly incompetent or broken.

huh, That did not work for me at all. I tried to let them naturally stretch for 3 weeks. Then put them on a box slightly larger than my head for two day's and they were still tight. I ended up extending each side all the way and slightly bent the metal band. Now they finally fit comfortably.

What would you recomment to a casual non-audiophile that just wants decent headphones for both music on the phone, but also primarily for playing games or watching movies on the pc? Any go-to products you could shoot me?
Price range 100€-200€, wires preferred. I'm in germany if thats important.

I know I'm not being very specific so I'm fine with general suggestions as long as I don't get memed.
A friend recommended me pic related, they sounded nice when I tried them but the meme-aesthetic makes me sceptical.

Odd.

Different heads yield different results, I guess.

It might also have to do with the height... my general rule with headphones is to extend their arms as little as necessary.

hd598

Haven't found any, just theoretical due to its use of opamps.

>but what I heard about it is that the bass feels considerably weak

I keep hearing the opposite, the 558s are supposed to have a more "fun" sound signature than the 598s, ie they're a little warmer/bassier

Sennheiser HD598se + Schiit Fulla2

That's what I heard about HD518. The HD558 are supposedly identical to HD598, but with weak low end.

Where do you guys buy your audio equipment besides amazon. Are there any especially good sites/stores to buy from that wont meme you?

>The importance of having an amp is often understated.

Without memeing me, can somebody tell me without being hyperbolic, do amps really make that much of a difference to people that aren't sound engineers? I'm not an expert, a tiny nuanced change in sound is not going to impress me at all and I'll consider it a waste of money.

But if you gave a pair of headphones to a normie, played them music without and with an amp would they be able to tell a difference?

I don't want the people that "hear" a difference between 320kbps and flac tell me I desperately need to get an amp to get the most out of my headphones, because biologically speaking you fucking don't, simple as that. I'm tired of this meme, if you're older than 21 chances are you don't even hear above 17kHz.

Local stores because there isn't an Amazon in my country. Thomann is excellent.

They won't meaningfully alter the response in the audio band. Schiit reports +- 0.1dB from 20Hz to 20 KHz. The FR isn't a common issue with amplifiers anyway. It's an easy part to get right.

Redbull me on Superlux. Why does nobody talk about them anymore?

Amplifiers do not matter any more to audio engineers than audiophiles. You can't use headphones without an amplifier. They either work transparently or they don't which is when you have a problem and you should consider getting a better amp.

>Currently using HD650s ampless

From my experience with HD600, they are lower sensitivity than the usual headphones. Meaning that, at the same volume on the source, they sound less loud.

This makes them kinda work with weak amps (all sources have amps, it's just the current they can provide to your device is limited). Kinda, because I'm sure you've probably noticed sweet volume spots, which is a symptom of the presence of distortion caused by your source not providing enough current.

You'll benefit from an actual amp because it'll be able to provide enough current for driving the HD650 at high volume, and enough gain to compensate for the low sensitivity and allow you to get plenty of volume.

>O2+ODAC

Nice and open hardware, although priced not so competitive vs the higher spec'd Schiit Stack.

What annoys me most of the O2ODAC is that if you want the power input in the back and the bigger (more reliable/durable) jack, there's a considerable price premium for that.

>From my experience with HD600, they are lower sensitivity than the usual headphones. Meaning that, at the same volume on the source, they sound less loud.
Yes that's what sensitivity does. But what if the volume is already enough despite the headphones' lower than average voltage sensitivity? This is something only the person owning the headphones can tell as the requirement isn't the same for all people.

Because everyone that initially fell for the hype of decent knockoff has by now figured the longevity isn't anywhere near the original.

I own k240mk2 since 2010? (right after they came out)
My brother owns a superlux knockoff since about 2014.
Mine as new, his headband and pads are cracking.

Sound is ok for the money tho.

redbull enough?

My own experience with HD598 and onboard vs Fulla2 (loaned) made me buy the Schiit Stack shortly after.

Not "probably need to ABX because psychological factor likely" bullshit, but rather, night and day difference. The sort where you can hear the difference (at aprox the same volume) with the headphones sitting on your desk, without even wearing them. Much pleasure wearing them.

Note HD598 has a really odd impedance vs frequency curve, which makes it sound very different with a properly specced (as in not computer onboard bullshit) amp.

Is the same true for the 558s?

>what if the volume is already enough
Sure, gain gets you more max volume, which you might not need.

But the main benefit is from your source being able to provide more current (amperes) at a given impedance (ohm). Which prevents the sort of distortion you'd get from headphones not being able to draw as much power as they want. The drivers do need power to move. Voltage (the signal, which determines the volume) is only one factor. The other is current.

See:

Yep.

graphs.headphone.com/index.php?graphID[0]=2861&graphID[1]=2851&graphID[2]=573&graphID[3]=&scale=30&graphType=7&buttonSelection=Update Graph

Notice there's a huge ratio (~6:1) between the maximum and the minimum impedance in that frequency graph. Also added HD600 for reference, which while much higher impedance, doesn't have anywhere such an issue (actually lower than 2:1).