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$500 cans on, this is how you dream right - Official Headphone Thread

N

number11

Member
Just got my Fidelio X1s. I've been using Grado SR80s for the past 3-4 years, so these are definitely gonna take some time to get used to (both comfort and sound quality).

One thing I wasn't expecting was how loud the music leaks out from these. I know all open headphones leak sound, but at 50% volume, it feels like I'm playing music through a pair of mini speakers.
 
H

HiResDes

Member
Sound is definitely different though, the lack of aggressive treble on the X1, and extremely forward midrange presentation of the Grado will make them sound worlds apart. I think the SR225i, Sennheiser Amperior, or Soundmagic HP200 would have been upgrades better suited if you enjoyed that Grado sound.
 
H

HiResDes

Member
lupinko said:
I'm looking at probably getting a second pair of cans to complement my AKG Q701s.

Since those are open ear, I'll go for closed now, so any recommendations and Sennheiser or go wih Audio technica?

Here in Japan I see the AT made in Japan models frequently.

I listen to a lot of jazz, r&b, and rap.
Click to expand...

How much are the Yamaha HPH-MT220 where you are, I think those would be an excellent choice.
 
L

lupinko

Member
HiResDes said:
How much are the Yamaha HPH-MT220 where you are, I think those would be an excellent choice.
Click to expand...

They are around the same price as what they retail in the States.

I'll keep them in mind. I gotta find out if there is a headphone boutique where I am. I miss headphonebar from back home.
 
S

super-famicom

Member
lupinko said:
They are around the same price as what they retail in the States.

I'll keep them in mind. I gotta find out if there is a headphone boutique where I am. I miss headphonebar from back home.
Click to expand...

Where in Japan are you? If in the Tokyo area, the huge Yodobashi Camera has a large headphone section, you can demo a lot of stuff there. There is also a headphone store in the Sun Plaza building near Nakano Station. A good idea would be to demo some stuff in a store, then see if you can find it cheaper on Amazon. I was really lucky a few years ago and got a pair of AKG K601 for 29,000 yen from Amazon, they were almost always double that price online or in stores.
 
N

number11

Member
HiResDes said:
IMO Grado's definitely are much less comfortable so I don't get you there.
Click to expand...

The X1s are obviously far more comfortable.. I've just gotten used to the tight clamp force of the grados. Like I said it will probably take some time, but the X1s still don't feel quite right on my head.
 
P

ponpo

( ≖‿≖)
Does anyone have experience with mono IEMs? Kind of weird I know, but was thinking of getting something like this http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B000VB3JS8/

Ignoring reasons, I want to have one ear free and I wouldn't be expecting anything great in terms of audio quality, but would it be so shitty that it's not worth bothering?
 
Dice

Dice

Pokémon Parentage Conspiracy Theorist
Yes, one-ear is basically shit. On the up-side, it is easier to notice if your volume is too loud that way.
 
L

lupinko

Member
HiResDes said:
Soundmagic HP100 are also very good.
Click to expand...

I'll also look for those thanks. :)

super-famicom said:
Where in Japan are you? If in the Tokyo area, the huge Yodobashi Camera has a large headphone section, you can demo a lot of stuff there. There is also a headphone store in the Sun Plaza building near Nakano Station. A good idea would be to demo some stuff in a store, then see if you can find it cheaper on Amazon. I was really lucky a few years ago and got a pair of AKG K601 for 29,000 yen from Amazon, they were almost always double that price online or in stores.
Click to expand...

I live in Sendai but was in Akiba a few weeks ago as well as visiting many random Yodobashis all throughout the general Tokyo area.

Akiba is nice for tourists I guess, but for local people the internet curbstomps it.
 
L

lupinko

Member
I tried out a pair of MDR-7506s and ATH-M50x at Yodobashi tonight.

I thought the tried tested and true Sonys had more punch. I didn't have much time to look for said Yamahas.

K550s were alright too.

I still prefer my Q701s over everything else tho. <3 AKG and Quincy Jones.

Especially Rashida Jones. <3
 
H

HiResDes

Member
lupinko said:
I tried out a pair of MDR-7506s and ATH-M50x at Yodobashi tonight.

I thought the tried tested and true Sonys had more punch. I didn't have much time to look for said Yamahas.

K550s were alright too.

I still prefer my Q701s over everything else tho. <3 AKG and Quincy Jones.

Especially Rashida Jones. <3
Click to expand...
The AKG K545 have more punch than their bigger brother if you find those.

See if you can demo the Sennheiser HD 7
 
E

EBE

Member
can anyone recommend me a good pair of open ear headphones to be used primarily for gaming (and some light music)? i will also be buying the xbox one stereo headset adapter to use for that system, so i will unfortunately be on a bit of a budget: sub $90 for the headphones would be perfect.

i would buy the official stereo headset but closed ear headphones are a no go for me. i dislike the feeling on my head and the 'enclosed' nature of the sound. im not a big audio guy but i would like the best quality for my price range.
 
T

terrible

Banned
EBE said:
can anyone recommend me a good pair of open ear headphones to be used primarily for gaming (and some light music)? i will also be buying the xbox one stereo headset adapter to use for that system, so i will unfortunately be on a bit of a budget: sub $90 for the headphones would be perfect.

i would buy the official stereo headset but closed ear headphones are a no go for me. i dislike the feeling on my head and the 'enclosed' nature of the sound. im not a big audio guy but i would like the best quality for my price range.
Click to expand...

Samson SR850 or Superlux HD668B would be my suggestion. I own a pair of SR850s and they are great for the price. The Superlux's are basically the same thing more or less that's why I included them.
 
E

EBE

Member
terrible said:
Samson SR850 or Superlux HD668B would be my suggestion. I own a pair of SR850s and they are great for the price. The Superlux's are basically the same thing more or less that's why I included them.
Click to expand...

HiResDes said:
Good suggestion, I'd also recommend these
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009PIQUB6/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Click to expand...

thanks guys. how does the comfort compare between the two? i game quite a bit so id like something that fits snug but can be worn for hours. just looking at them i would imagine the takstars do? they also look quite nice.

more importanly, how does the soundstage compare between the two? a friend of mine is giving me his old astro mixamp for surround now that hes moved away from consoles to pc. id like the one that creates a more convinving effect. being that theyre both open ear is the difference between them pronounced or more negligible?
 
H

HiResDes

Member
EBE said:
thanks guys. how does the comfort compare between the two? i game quite a bit so id like something that fits snug but can be worn for hours. just looking at them i would imagine the takstars do? they also look quite nice.

more importanly, how does the soundstage compare between the two? a friend of mine is giving me his old astro mixamp for surround now that hes moved away from consoles to pc. id like the one that creates a more convinving effect. being that theyre both open ear is the difference between them pronounced or more negligible?
Click to expand...
The HI 2050 are very comfy and have great detail, but their soundstage is very average especially for an open headphone. If you're looking for something that's going to have a really expensive surround sound their bigger cousin would be the better pick, but they are quite bass light:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FYII5NC/?tag=neogaf0e-20
 
S

Sendou

Member
So total headphones newbie here. I was thinking about getting a new pair to replace my current quite uncomfortable and low quality headphones. So the headphones would be for music (pretty much every genre I can think of) and gaming (on both PC and Vita/3DS). Gaming aspect is also important. Mainly I'll be using them on my computer but handheld gaming console use will be important too. I won't be using the headphones outside my home. Most importantly I want them to be comfortable. I'm using headphones for quite a good chunk of the day so that's behind that. I don't really have any reference point in sound quality. I have only ever owned low quality headphones really. What I rolled with 4 years was SteelSeries Siberia.

So I was thinking about getting Sennheiser HD 598. Reading about them seems that mostly everyone has nothing but positive things to say about them. Many people seem to say they're very comfortable. Of course this is something I would test out before buying them. They're right at my price range too. Also I would be buying a shorter cable (made by Sennheiser). I'm guessing changing the cable like that doesn't really affect the sound quality? In any case I would be looking for over-ear design like HD 598's have. OP didn't have a straight answer but I would want to buy a Amp+DAC, right? I mean the other choice would be plugging the headphones straight to my motherboard with no extra soundcards or use the USB soundcard that came with my SteelSeries Siberia and I don't think either of them is optimal. So for that I was thinking about NuForce Icon uDAC-3. Actually I just started going through the list in the OP from least expensive seeing what I can find locally. So any feedback about these choices? That is about my price range although I think I can go 100&#8364; over too if it's really needed. It's just that because I haven't had experience with any decent headphones I think even a small investment is going to result in a much better experience. Oh and I would like that the headphones would be somewhat long-lasting. Meaning that I'd like them to last me closer to 10 years than 4. Thanks in advance for any input you people can offer.

This has to be the dumbest question of them all but is there any other function in having a headphones storage that spreads the headphones a bit (like this) other than keeping things tidy? Also is Spotify's higher streaming option (Ogg Vorbis ~320 kbps) considered a "good enough" audio source?
 
T

terrible

Banned
EBE said:
thanks guys. how does the comfort compare between the two? i game quite a bit so id like something that fits snug but can be worn for hours. just looking at them i would imagine the takstars do? they also look quite nice.

more importanly, how does the soundstage compare between the two? a friend of mine is giving me his old astro mixamp for surround now that hes moved away from consoles to pc. id like the one that creates a more convinving effect. being that theyre both open ear is the difference between them pronounced or more negligible?
Click to expand...

I can wear the SR850s all night without any issues myself. Some people stretch the headband so the fit is more loose but it's never been an issue for me.

They're great with Dolby Headphone too which is what the Mixamp uses. If I were to guess I'd say they're at least 90% as good as the much praised AD700s for gaming while being waaaaaaay better for music. I own both.

I can't comment on the Takstars since I've never heard them.
 
J

JCX

Member
Broke my wireless headphones the other day and I'm looking for a replacement. It looks like most anything of quality starts around $200. Any suggestions?
 
H

HiResDes

Member
Sendou said:
So total headphones newbie here. I was thinking about getting a new pair to replace my current quite uncomfortable and low quality headphones. So the headphones would be for music (pretty much every genre I can think of) and gaming (on both PC and Vita/3DS). Gaming aspect is also important. Mainly I'll be using them on my computer but handheld gaming console use will be important too. I won't be using the headphones outside my home. Most importantly I want them to be comfortable. I'm using headphones for quite a good chunk of the day so that's behind that. I don't really have any reference point in sound quality. I have only ever owned low quality headphones really. What I rolled with 4 years was SteelSeries Siberia.

So I was thinking about getting Sennheiser HD 598. Reading about them seems that mostly everyone has nothing but positive things to say about them. Many people seem to say they're very comfortable. Of course this is something I would test out before buying them. They're right at my price range too. Also I would be buying a shorter cable (made by Sennheiser). I'm guessing changing the cable like that doesn't really affect the sound quality? In any case I would be looking for over-ear design like HD 598's have. OP didn't have a straight answer but I would want to buy a Amp+DAC, right? I mean the other choice would be plugging the headphones straight to my motherboard with no extra soundcards or use the USB soundcard that came with my SteelSeries Siberia and I don't think either of them is optimal. So for that I was thinking about NuForce Icon uDAC-3. Actually I just started going through the list in the OP from least expensive seeing what I can find locally. So any feedback about these choices? That is about my price range although I think I can go 100€ over too if it's really needed. It's just that because I haven't had experience with any decent headphones I think even a small investment is going to result in a much better experience. Oh and I would like that the headphones would be somewhat long-lasting. Meaning that I'd like them to last me closer to 10 years than 4. Thanks in advance for any input you people can offer.

This has to be the dumbest question of them all but is there any other function in having a headphones storage that spreads the headphones a bit OGG(like this) other than keeping things tidy? Also is Spotify's higher streaming option (Ogg Vorbis ~320 kbps) considered a "good enough" audio source?
Click to expand...
598 are a very good choice. They definitely scale well but don't sound bad unamped. You could probably get away with just using an upgraded soundcard like the Xonar or Soundblaster, but the UDAC would make music sound the best. 320 OGG VORBIS is more than good enough
 
S

Sendou

Member
HiResDes said:
598 are a very good choice. They definitely scale well but don't sound bad unamped. You could probably get away with just using an upgraded soundcard like the Xonar or Soundblaster, but the UDAC would make music sound the best. 320 OGG VORBIS is more than good enough
Click to expand...

Thanks! Ordered 598 and that UDAC. I don't want to add anything inside my computer I don't have to so this will do nicely. Excited to see how the headphones are.
 
P

PhoenixDark

Banned
My brother is looking for some good (over the ear) headphones for under $60, any suggestions? He mainly listens to hip hop, EDM, and some rock.
 
O

otapnam

Member
Hey guys I know this is the headphone thread but I wanted to get your expertise on a cheap mini-amp.

Im thinking about setting up some outdoor speakers (yamaha aw350) and would like to find a small, cheap amp to power them (and even just leave mounted under the gutters outside).

I've looked at the lenpai and some pyle mini-amps but wanted to get some opinions from audio-gaf

Thanks for any help!

Here are the specs of the speakers:

Power: Power Handling (Music/Nominal)- 130 Watts/40 Watts. Driver Size: 6.5" High Compliance Poly Propilane mica filled woofer and 1" PEI Dome Tweeter. Frequency Response: 55Hz to 40kHz, ±3dB. Sensitivity: 87dB/2.83 V/m. Impedance: 6 ohms.
 
T

Tonza

Member
Tonza said:
I am thinking of getting a pair of open full-sized headphones for home as all my current ones are closed. (except Koss PortaPros)

I currently have Sennheiser RS170, V-Moda M-80, Koss PortaPros and Logitech UE6000. I will most likely try to sell the UE6000 though. I really like the sound signature of the M-80. Punchy bass and good clarity. The Sennheisers are alright but sound a bit flat compared to the M-80s or even the UE6000.

Given that, any recommendations for open headphones? The price range is around max 200 euros. I have been looking at used Hifiman HE-400 or Philips X1's. Though the X1's are hard to find at a good price. They are 250 euros here, which is a bit too much.

I would probably have to get an amp too for those as I do not have one currently.
Click to expand...


So I went with the Hifiman HE-400. At first listen the highs were a bit too in your face but that may have been just my headache/migraine yesterday. Other than that, they sound great and after having only closed cans, there is a feeling of space in these. I am running these off a Macbook Pro Retina with no amp though. The volume is easily loud enough on the mbpr. I still might get a portable amp so I can use it with these and the V-modas on the go.
 
H

HiResDes

Member
I'm surprised the X1s cost so much and the HE400 cost so little there. The HifiMan definitely scale with an amp and sport more forward treble
 
T

Tonza

Member
HiResDes said:
I'm surprised the X1s cost so much and the HE400 cost so little there. The HifiMan definitely scale with an amp and sport more forward treble
Click to expand...

Well they are around the same price new but I got the Hifimans used (couple months old) with a trade. No used X1's going around.
 
N

number11

Member
I guess I spoke too soon. I don't know if it's the burn in period or if my ears have simply gotten used to them... but the X1s sound incredible. I'll probably bring out the Grados when listening to classic rock, but for 95% of the time they'll be collecting dust.
 
G

GorillaJu

Member
I know they aren't 'cans' but I just picked up some JVC HA-FXZ200s last week and these are by far the best earbuds I have tested at this price. I used to use Ety ER-6i's before mine finally busted, and these are even better. Crazy good bass, soundstage, balance and clarity for the price range (about $150). Tried out a boat load of different earbuds and these were the last ones at the store I tried. Very, very impressed.

The Audio Technica CKR range had a similar '2 in 1' design that had good bass power but a narrower soundstage and were too bright for my liking.

I first replaced my Ety's with some Beyer Dynamic joints that were decent but too muddy and crunchy-sounding. Missed my Ety's so much but now I'm glad they're broken because for the price, these JVCs are god-like.

PZJWkTp.jpg
 
E

EBE

Member
quick update: i ended up going with the Samson sr850s after reading a few more reviews. i think that for the price it was probably one of the better choices i could have made and i even saved myself around 15 dollars from the takstar hi2050s, which also have mostly glowing reviews.

because this will be my first pair of good headphones i think i would have been satisfied with either choice. i only bought them just now as ive been busy with finals; i went with free standard shipping as im no hurry for them to arrive. thank you terrible and HiResDes for your input. great thread.
 
Aizo

Aizo

Banned
I'm still living in Tokyo, and I lost my crappy portable headphones (I keep my nice ones at home), so I need to get a replacement. I'm thinking some Audio Technica IEMs, and I'll just be going to the store to buy 'em tomorrow evening, most likely. Recommendations for what I should try and look for?
 
H

HiResDes

Member
AlabastreAizo said:
I'm still living in Tokyo, and I lost my crappy portable headphones (I keep my nice ones at home), so I need to get a replacement. I'm thinking some Audio Technica IEMs, and I'll just be going to the store to buy 'em tomorrow evening, most likely. Recommendations for what I should try and look for?
Click to expand...
The OP has some good ones.
 
Aizo

Aizo

Banned
Unfortunately, I don't think any of those are in my price range. I'll take pics at the store, and ask for input.
 
T

terrible

Banned
EBE said:
quick update: i ended up going with the Samson sr850s after reading a few more reviews. i think that for the price it was probably one of the better choices i could have made and i even saved myself around 15 dollars from the takstar hi2050s, which also have mostly glowing reviews.

because this will be my first pair of good headphones i think i would have been satisfied with either choice. i only bought them just now as ive been busy with finals; i went with free standard shipping as im no hurry for them to arrive. thank you terrible and HiResDes for your input. great thread.
Click to expand...
Awesome! I hope you like them. I've expanded my headphone collection quite a bit since I first bought them and I'm still impressed when I go back to them.
 
B

BolognaSoup

Member
Anyone tried the Xiaomi Piston 2.0 or VSonic VSD1S? Been reading at head-fi that these are kind of like the Korean LED Crossover monitors (which I own one of and love) of headphones. Looking for a cheap in-ear for isolating while mowing grass.
 
H

HiResDes

Member
BolognaSoup said:
Anyone tried the Xiaomi Piston 2.0 or VSonic VSD1S? Been reading at head-fi that these are kind of like the Korean LED Crossover monitors (which I own one of and love) of headphones. Looking for a cheap in-ear for isolating while mowing grass.
Click to expand...
Zero Audio Tenore are the new budget killers
 
D

Dynamite Ringo Matsuri

Member
HiResDes said:
Zero Audio Tenore are the new budget killers
Click to expand...

I met up with a friend the other night. Had the Tenore, Ostry, DITA Answer and Truth, FX850, and the K812. You know what he spent most of the night listening to? The fucking Tenore. He then proceeded to list his DITA truth and SE846 after listening to that bad boy.
 
S

super-famicom

Member
AlabastreAizo said:
I'm still living in Tokyo, and I lost my crappy portable headphones (I keep my nice ones at home), so I need to get a replacement. I'm thinking some Audio Technica IEMs, and I'll just be going to the store to buy 'em tomorrow evening, most likely. Recommendations for what I should try and look for?
Click to expand...

I have a pair of JVC HA-FXD80 IEMs. It runs around 4,400 yen. I quite like it. It's a little warm, and has a decent amount of punch in the midbass, good treble without sibilance. The only problem I had was finding a good fit. I got Comply tips, but they ended up feeling uncomfotable. Had to switch back to the stock small tips.
 
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