Union Carbine
Member
I ordered a set for my wife but they haven't arrived yet-- I hope to get them before Xmas.Well, to get off-topic about the hi-fi stuff here, I decided to go lo-fi and ordered the xiaomi pistons 2.
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$500 cans on, this is how you dream right - Official Headphone Thread
- Thread starter HiResDes
- Start date
Phat Michael
Banned
Is he not to be trusted on reviews? Is there someone else you would recommend?
threetri333
Banned
I can say, I notice huge improvement with Sennheiser HD 600 listening to Classical music over HD 598.
An Amp can make the 600 even better?
What other music genre does the HD 600 sound great with?
An Amp can make the 600 even better?
What other music genre does the HD 600 sound great with?
Duxxy3
Member
Oh yeah. Night and day if your current output is on the weaker side.
Anyone who doesn't have an amp but has spent >$200 on a pair of headphones should just buy a Matrix M-Stage. They are dirt cheap, can power everything from K701 to an HD800, and have a very neutral sound with a tiny bit of warmth that pairs well with brighter headphones. Use Paypal and if you hook it up and don't think it made a difference, box that shit back up and return to sender.
Oh god, I swore I'd never spend more money on this crap again, but these are sexy as fuck.
Oh god, I swore I'd never spend more money on this crap again, but these are sexy as fuck.
Phat Michael
Banned
Yep I got 3 if those from Amazon. Looks great and doesnt cost too much.
I like Tyll, he definitely has a hard on for warmth, but then again so do I.
And yeah all the ones I can think of are Chinese or Indian. DUNU, T-Peos, V-Sonic, etc.
This guy is pretty garbage as reviewer. The things he says an amp should do... it's either chuckleworthy or horrendous.
Does work for Inner Fidelity and Stereophile so you can know how much to trust them.
Michael, prepare for shocking news: HighResDes or JokerL, noone else of name. Most of all, yourself. Educate yourself about the physics of audio, how your hearing works, listen to as many headphones as you can. Develop an ear for detail, tonality, cohesion etc etc. You want to be as educated and experienced as you can be. It's fun and you will learn a lot.
Also, buy Ethan Winer's "The Audio Expert" if you are really interested in everything about the topic.
Got the Shakes
Member
I got a good deal on an Astell & Kern AK100 II DAP that I received this past week. I'm looking for some open headphones to use with it when I am at home. Probably will be looking to purchase shortly after Christmas. Within my budget I have been looking at the Fidelio X2, Sennheiser HD 600 and 650. I listen to just about everything besides country (although I listen to minimal amounts of classical and EDM as well). What would be the suggestion out of those 3 or is there something else I should be looking at in the same price range?
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
I just sold a pair of those to a local guy lol. They are gigantic headphones for sure. The guy I sold em too liked em a lot more than the HD800/T90Oh god, I swore I'd never spend more money on this crap again, but these are sexy as fuck.
That's a real Omega stand though. AKG went pretty plush on that. And you can trust Tyll, and Purrin of Changstar to not really bullshit you. Although neither are really infallible. I still get a chuckle out of Purrin denouncing the K3003 back then only to go on to praise the 1plus2, which measured very, very similarly and carried an EVEN BIGGER upper treble spike. Use guys like that as a guide to what probably sounds good as they generally won't hype up crap, but in the end, use your own ears cause they'll have different tastes or thresholds than you. (A guy like Tyll seems to have no tolerance for brightness for example)
I like a tinge of warmth. Honestly, once you've heard something like the UERM or even Rockets, it's pretty hard to go back to something too colored as it impairs how realistic the music sounds (although the latter could use some more body/presence down low). Tyll is great, but he definitely has a particular flavor (like anyone else really) that he prefers and he is maybe a bit too hardline objectivist. He's nowhere near as bad as Rin Choi though
The only smaller companies I'm following are Zero Audio and Ostry now. The Dunu, T-Peos, V-sonic stuff is a bit too treble happy and lacks the overall refinement I'm used to. Aside from V-sonic, they'll likely all improve once they ditch the hybrid setups ( TWFKs are notoriously difficult to get right - great detail, good extension, but can sound thin, hard, sibilant/metallic). I'm looking forward to the VSD5, and am curious of what V-sonic can do if they poured their resources into a flagship though. There was news that they were working on a planar IEM a few years back that never seemed to materialize.
Union Carbine
Member
Just bought it, thanks for the heads up. I could definitely use education. I feel like I haven't been lead wrong on any of the purchases I've made yet but any tools to be able to drill through audio hype/marketing/baloney are welcome.
Phat Michael
Banned
Post some pics on the A&K and some impressions. Have you listened to a colorfly before to compare?
Got the Shakes
Member
I'm at work so it will be a bit before I can get to posting pics. I haven't listened to a Colorfly, my only other DAP experience was with the FiiO X5 which I sold because I couldn't stand the UI.
Union Carbine
Member
I've got an X5-- I certainly don't love the UI but I don't find it that egregious.
Phat Michael
Banned
My audeze lcd3 should arrive Wednesday. So excited to compare these to the HD800s.
I should wear them around my neck like those beats by dre dickheads at the mall.
I should wear them around my neck like those beats by dre dickheads at the mall.
Phat Michael
Banned
Don't buy them. Unless it's just a necklace then do what you want.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
I think the Studios are supposed to be pretty decent now actually. And lol, I never got the audio>interface guys. There are even guys who'll put up with NO interface at all (Tera Player, Shozy Alien) if it means it'll sound a bit better. One of the Shozy guys approached me awhile back about reviewing the Alien and I was like, a player that only supports WAV/FLAC and has no screen? Yeah, fuck that lol. Honestly, if A&K charged like... $400-500 for one of their players, I might actually buy one.
Phat Michael
Banned
Mine were real omega too?
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00F2L1NOO/r...SY200_QL40&dpPl=1&dpID=41SBfDgqHbL&ref=plSrch
These were the ones I got.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Real Omegas sell for $150 USD and are crafted in Germany
There's a section on chinese fakes here
http://www.sieveking-sound.de/equipment/detail/id/16
A reviewer on your link said his came with Chinese packaging. I'm sure the copies have gotten better over time though. The Chinese are pretty damn good at that after all. I was stunned by a pair of fake IE8s back in the day. They replicated Sennheiser's packaging nearly perfectly.
There's a section on chinese fakes here
http://www.sieveking-sound.de/equipment/detail/id/16
A reviewer on your link said his came with Chinese packaging. I'm sure the copies have gotten better over time though. The Chinese are pretty damn good at that after all. I was stunned by a pair of fake IE8s back in the day. They replicated Sennheiser's packaging nearly perfectly.
Phat Michael
Banned
Ah no worries then obviously not the real deal.
Overall they are pretty good headphones for the price. You are paying for brand and a headphone that looks good and won't be embarrassing in public. There are other options for around the same price or less but if you want them just buy them and enjoy.
Got the Shakes
Member
I didn't find the X5 to be unusable or anything, just not as intuitive and I would have like for a device that I was planning on using regularly. I sold it a few months after a bought it for basically what I paid for it. In doing my research, I found the AK100 II to be a pretty good mix of sound, interface, and features but wasn't willing to pay what the retail price was for one. A week or so back I was able to order one at a price that was much more reasonable so I decided to pull the trigger. So far I'm glad I did as I really love the sound and the ability to stream music directly off my NAS when at home. Being able to download music to the player over wifi from my NAS and over the air firmware updates are nice as there is really no reason I have to hook it up to a computer to do anything except if I'm using it as a USB DAC.
So, uh, instead of working I spent the last hour or so looking through Chrome's implementation of WASAPI audio and it looks pretty solid. Actually gets the hardware sample rate and uses that to set the output. I honestly see no reason for a dedicated desktop music client like JRiver. Just upload all your FLAACs to Google Music, set Chrome to exclusive-mode, and enjoy.
If you're doing it for the fashion, go ahead.
If you want some seriously good sounding headphones, describe your setup, music preferences, price range, and some people in here will chime in.
He thinks the interpretation of audio measurements is completely subjective and not really useful. He's a complete idiot who is really representative of most people in the consumer audio industry.
It's an industry filled with people who believe in what most would consider to be new age voodoo so there are very few reliable sources. Tyll is one of the few who isn't a complete tool and actually does the occasional investigative article like a real journalist should.
Like its 2014 and there are still a frightening number of stereo audiophiles who don't really believe in the importance of room measurements. If you do a measurement of your room, especially if it's small, you'll find out that it's possible for whole frequencies can be "sucked" out so to speak.
If you're not into bass the Brainwavz Delta are pretty damn competitive
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Got my m80s today. I was worried about the reports about it being loose with not much clamping but man, they just barely fit me. So the clamping is just about how I like it. Can't really talk about the sound till I hear it more, but smooth is definitely accurate. Highs are less aggressive then I like them to be (coming from the hd25) but it's not too bad.
super-famicom
Member
I guess I'm the only one on GAF who has the Dr Dac2 DX. It drives my AKG K601 fairly well, though I haven't tried them with anything else. They normally retail around $400 but I got super lucky with Amazon JP and snagged it for $250.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Just ordered the ASG-1 Plus. I've been told that it sounds incredibly similar to the Oppo PM-1, a can that I was really interested in.
I think I'm gonna have to start purging some stuff now cause I have amassed far too much stuff that simply just sits there :l #firstworldprobsetc.
I think I'm gonna have to start purging some stuff now cause I have amassed far too much stuff that simply just sits there :l #firstworldprobsetc.
Phat Michael
Banned
Love the case...
Like opening up the briefcase in pulp fiction...
The lambskin is so soft....the cables look awesome. Lovely piece of kit. No manual though which is strange as the HD800s came with quite comprehensive documentation.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Beautiful.
Which revision is it?
Which revision is it?
Love the case...
Like opening up the briefcase in pulp fiction...
The lambskin is so soft....the cables look awesome. Lovely piece of kit. No manual though which is strange as the HD800s came with quite comprehensive documentation.
sweet jesus
Phat Michael
Banned
LCD3-ZW-L-TC (not sure if that is what you mean) - it's the one with the lambskin ear pads.
Phat Michael
Banned
i just realised....to adjust the head piece so it fits me...im going to need a screwdriver i believe..you cant just "pull" at it.
Balanced end connected...you can see above the ear cups there is a big screw i think you need to adjust manually with a screw driver.
Balanced end connected...you can see above the ear cups there is a big screw i think you need to adjust manually with a screw driver.
Phat Michael
Banned
OK i was wrong - dont need a screwdriver to adjust - this guy shows it in the unboxing video.
So I'm thinking of picking up the Sennheiser HD 598s. I haven't used open headphones in years. A large portion of the time where I'd use them, the wife and baby are sleeping. 10-12 feet away. Would the sound leakage have the possibility of waking them?
For the record, I'm replacing/drastically upgrading from some old Creative WIreless headphones and am pretty damn excited.
For the record, I'm replacing/drastically upgrading from some old Creative WIreless headphones and am pretty damn excited.
I just wrapped them around the arm of my couch at my 6AM listening level and it's definitely noticeable, and I'm listening to some pretty chill shit right now.
Phat Michael
Banned
ok got the Audeze's in running on Balanced wires.
Immediate difference: with the single ended sennheisers - i would have to have the amp in high gain at 3 oclock. With the Audeze's running balanced i have the volume knob at 11 o'clock for the same volume output. (-14db)
Also, the bass is a lot stronger and it feels a lot warmer than the Sennheisers...but these are all initial impressions.
HD800s are much more comfortable however, and weigh a LOT less. the lambskin cups are very nice..but the unit itself is quite heavy as compared to the HD800s.
Immediate difference: with the single ended sennheisers - i would have to have the amp in high gain at 3 oclock. With the Audeze's running balanced i have the volume knob at 11 o'clock for the same volume output. (-14db)
Also, the bass is a lot stronger and it feels a lot warmer than the Sennheisers...but these are all initial impressions.
HD800s are much more comfortable however, and weigh a LOT less. the lambskin cups are very nice..but the unit itself is quite heavy as compared to the HD800s.
Hell yeah it would wake them.
This is a pretty baller stand for fifteen bucks - http://www.mp4nation.net/brainwavz-quartz-headphone-stand-for-all-headphone-sizes
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Problem with headphone stands is that they only hold one headphone (which I realise is not a problem for normal people, but alas).
I use a cup stand personally.
I use a cup stand personally.
Union Carbine
Member
The set I ordered for the wife arrived yesterday but I won't get a chance to try them until after Xmas. Glad they arrived in time!
Asked this a week ago or so, still wondering if someone can clear it up for me. Thanks.
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