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The Official Headphone Thread 2.5: We're Making WAVs and Catching FLAC

Abyss ab-1266.

AB-1266.jpg


Those are ugly. And for 5.5 grand? Wow!
 

andylsun

Member
Any agreement on the best headphones for a ps4?
money is no issue.

You can pretty much use anything with a USB DAC and amp.

Sennheiser HD-595 and a Schiit Fulla (yes, really) should be a good combo for around $250 all in.

That's assuming you want open headphones with no isolation

If you want something to connect to the dual shock 4 headphone port, IEM's probably best

Saying money is no issue probably wasn't the best idea! Give us a ball park figure to the nearest power of ten.

Edit: for example Shure KSE-1500 IEM would be amazing and includes a USB DAC and amp, but it's $3,000
 
Any favourites for IEMS for metal/electronica/edm/rock?

I don't really like neutral sounds, tend to prefer V-shaped I think. I love my Denon D2000 and my old Klipsch Image S4.

Cost is open, but probably less than $250 USD. Thanks.
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Probably the one DRM was talking about for V-shape at that price. Might want to have a look at the noble trident too because they're having a sale on now for 20% off all iems. Trinity delta also if you want to take advantage of the current GBP situation. Haven't heard them but I've rec'd them to people who liked it.
 
My ebony cups arrived today! Picture doesn't do them justice, they're gorgeous.

Haven't gotten my TH-X00s back yet, so I can't put them on unfortunately. Crazy thing though, they shipped from Singapore and arrived at my door in less than 24 hours.
 

leng jai

Member
You can pretty much use anything with a USB DAC and amp.

Sennheiser HD-595 and a Schiit Fulla (yes, really) should be a good combo for around $250 all in.

That's assuming you want open headphones with no isolation

If you want something to connect to the dual shock 4 headphone port, IEM's probably best

Saying money is no issue probably wasn't the best idea! Give us a ball park figure to the nearest power of ten.

Edit: for example Shure KSE-1500 IEM would be amazing and includes a USB DAC and amp, but it's $3,000

Anything other than stock earbuds would be a complete waste of money using that connection. The DS4 port sounds absolutely dreadful.

Sennheiser HD800 (open) or Fostex TH900 (closed) are the best gaming headphones around if you want to splash the cash, but they need a DAC and amp to be used properly.
 
Probably the one DRM was talking about for V-shape at that price. Might want to have a look at the noble trident too because they're having a sale on now for 20% off all iems. Trinity delta also if you want to take advantage of the current GBP situation. Haven't heard them but I've rec'd them to people who liked it.

Actually, with all of the mods I've done to it, it now sounds pretty much like a dynamic driver version of the UERM with a tasteful boost to deep bass. Tonal balance feels quite close IMO. Spent some hours A/Bing it against the UERM with Dragon Fly Red and ZX2. A bit warmer, bit thicker in note weight, more weight/body down low, better extension and authority. Edge detail is obviously not as pronounced as it's a dynamic vs. BA, but raw resolution is nearly on par with the UERM. UERM does pull ahead on certain things like portraying room feel, but I prefer the sense of depth I get with the Series 5.

I tend to prefer the way that dynamics sound in terms of presentation, they feel more out of the head to me - better sense of forward projection, and there's more solidity/volumetric qualities to the notes, so it feels... I dunno, more... convincing to me. The Series 5 feels panoramic due to the width and black space in between, center channel on the Series 5 is just plain awesome. Great forward projection and layering. The UERM feels more dissected, sort of in the head, but also weirdly open due to its stronger upper treble. Pick your poison. Anyone who's a fan of something like Rockets, Tenore or UERM will likely feel right at home here. These have more edge to them than the Tenore/Rockets, treble weight is better and there's more sparkle/energy so definitely not as smoothed over as either. This is fuckin great for rock music. Electric guitars sound fantastic.

I respect the hell out of phones like the Rockets and Tenore, however listening to the aforementioned try to reproduce the deep bass on electronic music is fucking cute vs. a modded Series 5. The deep bass beats feel truncated as the drivers run out of steam, (by virtue of their both being micro dynamics and lacking sheer amplitude) just feels hollow and weak. So electronic lovers rejoice! These are what you've loved about your favorite neutralish set of phones with that end of the spectrum restored. It's basically having your cake and eating it too! Rockets and Tenore also definitely feel bottlenecked when you push them - they just lack the headroom and authority of the modded Series 5.

To sum it up, Series 5 are ridiculous phones for the money, and subjectively, probably the closest thing to the UERM I've heard in a dynamic driver format. Genre versatility is simply fantastic with these. Intrepid modders should definitely give these a shot. Again, all these descriptions are pertaining to a modded pair. I did not like the stock signature at all. It felt a bit veiled and way too fuckin bassy.

As it is, these are destined to be among my favorite sounding IEMs. If you can read between the lines here, you can probably tell that I feel these are worthy of TOTL status. I'm actually shocked by how much ear time they've stolen from the Andromeda if that tells you anything.
 
Any Canadians looking for an amazing deal on HIFIMAN HE400S?

Just got notice from camelcamelcamel... $220.99 on amazon.ca!!!

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00Y2EOI94/

Scam confirmed. Was given a tracking number that doesn't work. Seller pulled all items off amazon. Never responded to messages sent to him.

Oh well. No biggie as I'll get a full refund from Amazon. Would have been nice to get, but I'm not hurting for headphones.
 
Scam confirmed. Was given a tracking number that doesn't work. Seller pulled all items off amazon. Never responded to messages sent to him.

Oh well. No biggie as I'll get a full refund from Amazon. Would have been nice to get, but I'm not hurting for headphones.

Your credit card info isn't known to this scammer I hope?
 
Scam confirmed. Was given a tracking number that doesn't work. Seller pulled all items off amazon. Never responded to messages sent to him.

Oh well. No biggie as I'll get a full refund from Amazon. Would have been nice to get, but I'm not hurting for headphones.

Always beware of new sellers. For awhile I keep seeing people selling HD800 on amazon for $200 lol
 

Xeno_V

Member
I am interesting and buying the BeoPlay H6 (2nd gen) from B&O.
Can anyone tell me what's the best price I can get (shipping to Europe)?

I am also trying to find out if the remote control works with android. It is made for iOS but i can't find a way to confirm that at least some basic functions work, as is the case with most iOS remotes over android (one button for play, pause and next track with double click).
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
That you're staying to enjoy the music more than the gear? :p

Personally for me my hi fi journey is discovering that the v-sig is not for me and placing just as much importance on mids as i do on bass.
 

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Just never thought I'd end up here.

I feel my soul calling for a set that's warm and bassy.
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Well my last 2 serious purchases are the mee p1 and the noble savanna c so i feel you.

My endgame goal now though it's either the k10 or the fitear mh334 so i think my final resting place will be warm and bassy. My current daily set is warm and bassy anyway so whatever.
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
I really want to get into loudspeakers, but it's not for me right now.

Once I'm at a stage of life where it makes sense to have loudspeakers though I'm gonna get me some magnepans.
 
I've always been a loudspeakers guy, my relationship with headphones was nothing more than an affair :p and then I went back to loudspeakers.
 

HiResDes

Member
I really want to get into loudspeakers, but it's not for me right now.

Once I'm at a stage of life where it makes sense to have loudspeakers though I'm gonna get me some magnepans.
The crazy thing is that if you know how to solder crazy expensive speakers going for the low in auctions all the time.
 

Tommy DJ

Member
Magnepan's are good value but, like all dipole speakers, you need a fair bit of real estate and room acoustic analysis if you don't want to deal with a sub-par experience. Honestly not worth the hassle unless you're willing to pay someone to help you or willing to go balls deep in room acoustics.
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Haha yeah, one thing about headphones and earphones is that i don't have to consider room positioning, seeing that I'm fairly mobile.

Also got the shozy zero in. Very quick initial impressions straight out of my nexus 6p, it's... ok i guess? Still need to play around with tips, fitting and getting used to the sound, but it's certainly warm and bassy, but compared to my aurisonics harmony (which to be fair is like 10x the price) the mids sound really congested, lending a nearly nasally quality to some vocals, and the highs comes across as slightly... plasticky? Which is not a description that really means much but it's the first thing that comes to my mind. Probably attributed in slightly uneven peaks with a not so natural decay?

Also more mid bassy than sub bassy, and I'll always take sub bass over mid bass.
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Probably not if they have shipped already? Worth a shot asking for it if they haven't, but i doubt it.

On a further listen of the zero, slightly improved now that i got a better fit with the small tips. Still got some serious caveats with it though. I'm a serial basshead, but the bass of these are the kind that really intrudes into the mids, which explains my feelings of conjestion. The tilt towards the mid bass creates the boom, but the sub rumble is seriously not how i would like it in relation to the boom. There's a really wonky dip from either the transition from mid to upper mid or upper mid to treble that causes females vocals to sound nasally sometimes. There's a sharpness to the cymbals that indicate unevenness in the treble, but it's not as bad as some other iems in this price range.

Other than that it's not too bad. Good resolution (though hampered by that bass bleed into mids), it's good fun if you like that boom boom sound. Good sound for the price so far, but does it rival $500 iems like that claim.... well, there are some shockers in this price range, but so far I'm going to say no. I'm going to play around it a bit more though.
 

leng jai

Member
Probably not if they have shipped already? Worth a shot asking for it if they haven't, but i doubt it.

On a further listen of the zero, slightly improved now that i got a better fit with the small tips. Still got some serious caveats with it though. I'm a serial basshead, but the bass of these are the kind that really intrudes into the mids, which explains my feelings of conjestion. The tilt towards the mid bass creates the boom, but the sub rumble is seriously not how i would like it in relation to the boom. There's a really wonky dip from either the transition from mid to upper mid or upper mid to treble that causes females vocals to sound nasally sometimes. There's a sharpness to the cymbals that indicate unevenness in the treble, but it's not as bad as some other iems in this price range.

Other than that it's not too bad. Good resolution (though hampered by that bass bleed into mids), it's good fun if you like that boom boom sound. Good sound for the price so far, but does it rival $500 iems like that claim.... well, there are some shockers in this price range, but so far I'm going to say no. I'm going to play around it a bit more though.

Nah, just want to cancel my order for the Purplehearts. I see the cancel order option isn't there anymore after the drop ends.
 

MoodyFog

Member
Ay guys, I'm looking for new headphones and would like to know if you have some recommandations.

Things to know :

- I listen mostly listen to hip-hop (other genres I enjoy being funk, soul, blues, jazz..)

- I'm willing to go more or less around $300

- Would prefer closed headphones

Found 3 for the moment that seem to be good : Sony MDR 1-1, Audio Technica ATH M-50X, and v-moda crossfade m-100, but I have no idea how they compare to each other or if there are better options..
 

my6765490

Member
Ay guys, I'm looking for new headphones and would like to know if you have some recommandations.

Things to know :

- I listen mostly listen to hip-hop (other genres I enjoy being funk, soul, blues, jazz..)

- I'm willing to go more or less around $300

- Would prefer closed headphones

Found 3 for the moment that seem to be good : Sony MDR 1-1, Audio Technica ATH M-50X, and v-moda crossfade m-100, but I have no idea how they compare to each other or if there are better options..

M50X is not particularly good, so cross that off.

Soundmagic HP150 is $130 on amazon right now and would be a good choice.
 

NotSelf

Member
Ay guys, I'm looking for new headphones and would like to know if you have some recommandations.

Things to know :

- I listen mostly listen to hip-hop (other genres I enjoy being funk, soul, blues, jazz..)

- I'm willing to go more or less around $300

- Would prefer closed headphones

Found 3 for the moment that seem to be good : Sony MDR 1-1, Audio Technica ATH M-50X, and v-moda crossfade m-100, but I have no idea how they compare to each other or if there are better options..

The TH-X00 are definitely the cans I use when listening to hiphop.
 

Xeno_V

Member
Any website that offers international (or at least EU) shipping where I can get Xiaomi Piston 3 for cheap?

In websites like gearbest they are out of stock, in other websites I am not sure whether they will be genuine or not and in Amazon they are a bit more expensive than they should.
 
Any website that offers international (or at least EU) shipping where I can get Xiaomi Piston 3 for cheap?

In websites like gearbest they are out of stock, in other websites I am not sure whether they will be genuine or not and in Amazon they are a bit more expensive than they should.

Purchased my pairs from tinydeal.com
 

Oynox

Member
How disappointing.. my Bose QC35 arrived today. While the noise cancelling is top notch as well as the surround sound and the other functionalities, the sound is not so nice compared to my good old QC3. Maybe it is something modern, but spoken with commercial words, the sound is very crisp and clear. Some people probably appreciate that, but I really love the true and lively sound of the QC3. Additionally to that I feel like around ear is not as comfortable as on ear + it is not as smart.

As much as I would like to have portable wireless headphones with great sound and some kind of noise reduction, I feel like the 380€ price tag is way too much for that. If the sound is not as ideal, I stay with my QC3 (they work again, it was a fake chineses cable which made problems).
 

mephixto

Banned
So the earpads on my good old HD 598 broke (foam exposed) and I decided that it's time for an upgrade. What's the best I can get below $500?
 

HiResDes

Member
Ay guys, I'm looking for new headphones and would like to know if you have some recommandations.

Things to know :

- I listen mostly listen to hip-hop (other genres I enjoy being funk, soul, blues, jazz..)

- I'm willing to go more or less around $300

- Would prefer closed headphones

Found 3 for the moment that seem to be good : Sony MDR 1-1, Audio Technica ATH M-50X, and v-moda crossfade m-100, but I have no idea how they compare to each other or if there are better options..
Check out the Blue Lola.
 
M50X is not particularly good, so cross that off.

Soundmagic HP150 is $130 on amazon right now and would be a good choice.

For the price range they're in, the M50X are fucking fantastic. They're my second favorite headphone behind the 800 S, and the main headphone I use when I travel. They are a great package for the price.
 

Xander51

Member
How disappointing.. my Bose QC35 arrived today. While the noise cancelling is top notch as well as the surround sound and the other functionalities, the sound is not so nice compared to my good old QC3. Maybe it is something modern, but spoken with commercial words, the sound is very crisp and clear. Some people probably appreciate that, but I really love the true and lively sound of the QC3. Additionally to that I feel like around ear is not as comfortable as on ear + it is not as smart.

As much as I would like to have portable wireless headphones with great sound and some kind of noise reduction, I feel like the 380€ price tag is way too much for that. If the sound is not as ideal, I stay with my QC3 (they work again, it was a fake chineses cable which made problems).

Wow, I've never heard anyone say that on-ear is more comfortable than around-ear. Different tastes I guess!

I find that the QC35's additional weight compared to all the other Bose models can slightly hamper its comfort, particularly if you don't mess around and get a good fit. They made the headband cushion thicker to compensate, but on my head it's almost too thick and in constant danger of forming a hot spot on my head. Bose has moved closer to a neutral sound in the last couple of headphone revisions compared to their older stuff, with just a little sweetening to the mid-highs and sub bass.

Also, the QC35 has their volume-based Active EQ tech, which means the EQ profile changes depending on the volume you run them at. Believe it or not, they sound much different at low volumes than they do at medium and high volumes. It's weird at first, but they claim that they want to make sure you don't lose low frequencies if you turn the volume down. I got used to it.

Even though I think the 35's isolate better and sound generally better than any other Bose can I've tried, I still use my 25's slightly more, particularly when I'm out and about, because I like their much lighter fit.
 

Hattori

Banned
hello, I need some input about a future purchase.

I've narrowed it down to,

Hifiman HE-560
Audeze LCD-2

Which one would be the most versatile and quality purchase? I listen to mostly Classical, Rock, VG and Anime Soundtrack and some hip hop. (Would also like to use them for movies, if possible.)
 

leng jai

Member
hello, I need some input about a future purchase.

I've narrowed it down to,

Hifiman HE-560
Audeze LCD-2

Which one would be the most versatile and quality purchase? I listen to mostly Classical, Rock, VG and Anime Soundtrack and some hip hop. (Would also like to use them for movies, if possible.)

The HE-560 would probably be a better headphone if you want a more balanced sound. Personally I wouldn't buy a pair of LCD2s without trying them, they have a very distinct sound signature (smooth, bass dominant, limited soundstage) and the comfort is poor for a lot of people.
 

Oynox

Member
Wow, I've never heard anyone say that on-ear is more comfortable than around-ear. Different tastes I guess!
I guess it is because I wear glasses. It is somewhat uncomfortable that the EarPads are pressing against the side pieces. It feels like the headphones glue my glasses against my head and I cannot move them easily anymore. That is why I prefer on ear or very, very soft around ear. For my home I have got Sennheiser HD558 which fit great but are nothing to take outside.

Also, the QC35 has their volume-based Active EQ tech, which means the EQ profile changes depending on the volume you run them at. Believe it or not, they sound much different at low volumes than they do at medium and high volumes. It's weird at first, but they claim that they want to make sure you don't lose low frequencies if you turn the volume down. I got used to it.
That is interesting. I already guessed that somewhat, because I figured out that they sound is a bit smoother when listening at low volumes.

But I will stay at my decision since I am a poor student and my QC3 fulfill my desire completely :)
 

Dizzan

MINI Member
Definitely not an audiophile, but I purchased a set of these the other day.

Sony-MDRZX770BT-B-Bluetooth-Stereo-Headset-Black

9973b1e8-c8d8-4b7b-a97c-724ecb154b8a_1.e01d81e43b66fb2314652722889861bd.jpeg


After reading the reviews, the sound is acceptable and the battery life is quite good.

Does anyone have any experience with them?
 

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
So some more listening with the zero and they're getting better. They're less stuffy in the mids now with the spiral dots while still retaining that warmth. Still think the treble is pretty unrefined.

I gotta say though this is one of the most difficult iem to fit I've encountered. The lack of a venting port is making it hard to find a seal that isn't a vacuum seal or equal seal on both ears, and you can hear it through the crazy amounts of driver flex there is. Think this might be something that needs complys.

Also it's pretty hard to distinguish the left and right side with not so good lighting.
 
So I just ordered a bunch of stuff to get into making cables. I'll let y'all know if I destroy any of my equipment! I got a multimeter though, so I'll be able to test stuff safely.
 
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