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

L

leng jai

Member
SolarMystic said:
Got my VE Monks today. I think the hype surrounding these is due to people assuming they will suck since they are $5 earbuds. I will say that I'm kind of surprised, but these in no way outperform even entry level full sized headphones.

The praise on hype-fi for these is complete bogus. No surprise there.

For $5 earbuds though, they are pretty nice.
Click to expand...

Oh they shipped? I completely forgot about these.
 
T

Tommy DJ

Member
Jet Jaguar said:
Speaking of tube amps, what do you think of the below tube amp:

http://feliksaudio.pl/en/products.php

Feliks Audio "Elise"? Have you heard/read anything about it? (Headfi/sbaf etc)
Click to expand...

Never heard it but apparently good. Measurements suggests that the people manufacturing and designing it aren't idiots, with distortion being mostly second order and not higher order.

It has 40 ohm output impedance, which isn't outrageously high so the claim on SBAF that it sounds natural is probably accurate. Hands on SBAF thinks it's a little soft/poorly defined around the bass area though that's sort of expected with most tube amplifiers.

I think the output impedance and relative lack of higher order distortion means Beyerdynamic headphones should pair well with it. It will probably make it sound thicker/softer/less bright, which is only a good thing with most Beyerdynamics.
 
J

Jarmel

Banned
How do you know if you have a good seal? I can sometimes hear/feel my left IEM move if I exaggerate a yawn or move my jaw side to side. However there still seems like a vacuum as I can create a sort of 'pop' sound by very slightly pulling on it.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
That's fairly normal for CIEMs iirc. I think it depends on how soft your canal area is? My aaw customs definitely features that.

If you want it to seal even with excessive mouth movement I think you'll need silicone customs.
 
J

Jarmel

Banned
Antiwhippy said:
That's fairly normal for CIEMs iirc. I think it depends on how soft your canal area is? My aaw customs definitely features that.

If you want it to seal even with excessive mouth movement I think you'll need silicone customs.
Click to expand...

As far as I can tell, I'm getting the full bass response and if I push it in further or try to twist it, there isn't a change. It theoretically seems like it's a good seal but maybe it's not as tight as I'm used to.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Got my monk+ in. Very, very quick impressions: seriously impressive. Mids and clarity is seriously good at this entry point. Bass a bit hollow sounding just due to the lack of sub-bass extension, but there's a decent mid-bass presence that is rarely heard on earbuds. Imaging and soundstage is pretty damn good too. Maybe if you loooooooooove bass don't get these, but it's decent for what it is.

Like from the few songs I've heard, it's a no-brainer purchase at the price it sells at.

Been mostly listening out of my phone for now. Will test it with the dragonfly red and mojo later, though pairing a $5 earbud with sources that goes up to USD$600 does sound pretty ludicrous.

Really makes me want to look into the VE Zen now.
 
L

leng jai

Member
The Monks sound pretty great for $5 or whatever it is. Can't expect world beaters, and they have surprising clarity and soundstage all things considered. The bass is the worst part. Basically anaemic, the best way to describe it would be a soft hollow thud. This is straight out of my Galaxy S7 Edge.

They pretty much perfect buds for stuffing in your pocket and using them with your phone, although I'm not sure how the build quality would hold up that way.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Apparently putting on 2 layers of the covers will increase the bass warmth in exchange of sone clarity.

Also wow, they offer exactly zero isolation.

Which is exactly what i want. It's good to have something that can give me awareness to the outside world. Will be great for my walks.

Just goes to show, you don't need to spend thousands to enjoy good sound.

I'll still do it though.
 
L

leng jai

Member
Antiwhippy said:
Apparently putting on 2 layers of the covers will increase the bass warmth in exchange of sone clarity.

Also wow, they offer exactly zero isolation.

Which is exactly what i want. It's good to have something that can give me awareness to the outside world. Will be great for my walks.

Just goes to show, you don't need to spend thousands to enjoy good sound.

I'll still do it though.
Click to expand...

You need to listen to entry level stuff occasionally to establish an appreciation for all the money you've wasted on high end gear.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Oh yeah, I love collecting entry level stuff for that very reason. :p

Also they make nice backups, just in case.

I'll say this though, with 1 layer of pads on, and with proper positioning (it does matter), the monk+ actually loses some of the hollowness in the bass and it has a pleasant warmth to it. Still not great extension, but I've heard worst.

I'll tell you right now, I like it better than the shozy zero, mostly because I'm still not a fan of the massive midbass hump intruding into the mids the zero has.

So it's at least better than something worth $50.
 
sankt-Antonio

sankt-Antonio

:^)--?-<
84edd5-1469636640.jpg


So my HD800S arrived. Still have to wait on the AMP/DAC combo.
Used them shortly on my old Kenwood stereo that i use for my vinyl listening pleasure.
Compared to my DT 990Pro they offer quite a bigger soundstage, but also quite lower bass output, but that was to be expected given that the 990pro are half closed cans.

So far so good. Cant wait till the rest arrives. Luckily im on vacation the next two weeks and I'm staying home with the wive and kid - so lots of time to enjoy them, i hope :D
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
What the fuck the B&O glitch is fucking nothing compared to this shit someone managed to nab:

eefbfd7b7c.png


Was on slickdeals for a hot second. Odds these ship aren't high lol.
 
LQX

LQX

Member
K.Jack said:
What the fuck the B&O glitch is fucking nothing compared to this shit someone managed to nab:

eefbfd7b7c.png


Was on slickdeals for a hot second. Odds these ship aren't high lol.
Click to expand...
Scam maybe? Ether-way, being that this happened with different third party sellers I think they will get canceled. If it was Amazon there might be chance you would get them but third party sellers cant normally lose that much money.


Also my B&O orders still have not shipped.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
The more I listen to the monks, the more impressed I am with them.

Bass still ain't amazing. Actually midbass is fine, but the lack of subbass extension does make it very lacking for music that requires thumping bass. But that's to be expected. I really enjoy them with more acoustic style music and pop. And the midbass isn't too bad. Fairly good details with enough body to create some warmth even if there's a lack of impact. The clarity of the mids is honestly astounding for the price, and the highs are pretty good, though a tad unrefined, and I think I detect a high peak that is causing a little bit of highs fatigue, but it's better than quite a few IEMs I've heard at the $50-$100 range.

Seriously, it's kinda amazing how much value you get for $5. Especially if you love vocals.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
I ashtrays found it weird that his connectors stick out when most of the time it's recessed.

Those cables look really nice.
 
S

SolarMystic

Member
Tyll has his Focal Elear review up: Link

Think I may have to try this out. I also just ordered the Mimby today. Will be interesting to see how it does against my Bifrost 4490.
 
T

Tommy DJ

Member
Taking Focal's overall size into account, I'm not surprised they took their expertise and budget to produce a nice sounding headphone that isn't built like shit and doesn't cost an arm and a leg like most flagship planars.

That's actually the most refreshing thing about this headphone. In a world where Head-Fi is getting stupid expensive, yet come with issues like poor driver matching, plain shitty build quality or have fundamental problems that make said products feel like multi-thousand dollar beta tests, it's nice that Focal didn't treat the market with contempt.
 
S

Shotterke

Member
In 2 months I'm going to be stuck on a plane for 9 hours. At the moment I use cheap in-ears but they aren't comfortable at all so they aren't an option for during the flight..

So this means I'm looking to buy something more decent. I've never had any in-ears that were comfortable so I would prefer some over ear headphones (I can use my PC headset for hours without noticing it). My budget is around &#8364;150 and I mostly listen to drum & bass and house music. Headphones that don't leak too much would be nice since I don't want to bother other people on the plane/train/bus/ ...

I currently have these 3 that I'm looking at:

Sennheiser HD558 - &#8364;135 (these are open so are going to leak a lot I guess.)
Audio-Technica ATH-M40x - &#8364;110
Audio-Technica ATH-M50x - &#8364;160

Any tips or info on better headphones would be awesome.
 
sankt-Antonio

sankt-Antonio

:^)--?-<
2582dc-1469809220.jpg


a0b88d-1469809247.jpg


YAY.

It drives the HD800's at 2,5 gain just perfect, at around 12 o clock is my sweet spot.

Really liking what i hear so far.
I'm still undecided if the 1000€ difference to my, DT990 directly into the iMAC, setup is worth the asking price, but time will tell.

Any suggestions on good recorded records? I've started with lots of Steven Wilson.
 
S

SolarMystic

Member
shadow2810 said:
Was shopping a new headphone for my dad, then I saw the price tag... had no idea how they screwed up ¯\_(&#12484;)_/¯
Click to expand...

...and you didn't share amazons goof when it was still working with the rest of us! haha

Well, if you ever decide to sell them for a quick sale, let me know.
 
N

NotSelf

Member
sankt-Antonio said:
Thx.
I guess, thats with the 2,5x gain setting.
As hard to drive as the 250Ohm BD 990s i have.

You have the same amp?
Click to expand...

Yes I have two from JDS one with a 1.0 gain and the other with the standard 2.5 gain most of my headphones are pretty easy to drive but I also own some not easy to drive like a dt 770 250 ohm fostex t50rp and akg k702 even with those I never go pass 9 o'clock with the standard 2.5 gain.
 
J

Jarmel

Banned
Is there any good music that tests the soundstage on the right hand side? I want to make sure my Roxannes are working fine as it seems the left hand side is much more expansive in regards to the soundstage compared to the right.
 
S

SolarMystic

Member
Jarmel said:
Is there any good music that tests the soundstage on the right hand side? I want to make sure my Roxannes are working fine as it seems the left hand side is much more expansive in regards to the soundstage compared to the right.
Click to expand...

audiocheck.net

That place has a number of tests to put your headphones through, including imaging and soundstage tests.
 
sankt-Antonio

sankt-Antonio

:^)--?-<
NotSelf said:
Yes I have two from JDS one with a 1.0 gain and the other with the standard 2.5 gain most of my headphones are pretty easy to drive but I also own some not easy to drive like a dt 770 250 ohm fostex t50rp and akg k702 even with those I never go pass 9 o'clock with the standard 2.5 gain.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i had a closer look at my settings. While i had my iMACs volume at 100%, iTunes was at like 60%.

Do you guys use EQ's? Dial up or down? As i guess pumping a freq. would add distortion?
 
Hip Hop

Hip Hop

Member
Are the V-moda M100 good for bass? Looking for a "fun" sound too instead of "neutral". Mainly for Hip-Hop/Rap

Would like to get them for "bass" I guess, and alternatively, the port is a huge plus as I would like to use it for my V-moda boom mic to go with it when gaming.

EDIT:
I guess these pads to go along with them might make for better bass too? If looking at the reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K3K8TKA/?tag=neogaf0e-20
 
Aizo

Aizo

Banned
So my Sony and Audio Technica IEMs have been bad for my ears. I don't think I can wear them anymore. I am thinking of getting some alternative pair of headphones for when I'm out. I've got good studio monitors for listening at home, but I don't want to take those out. Even if I did, they're so hot in the Japanese Summer.

I'm looking for some sort of recommendation for alternative headphones for being out on the go. As long as they sound pretty good, aren't super hot or heavy, and don't go inside my ear, I'm open to anything.
 
N

NotSelf

Member
sankt-Antonio said:
Yeah, i had a closer look at my settings. While i had my iMACs volume at 100%, iTunes was at like 60%.

Do you guys use EQ's? Dial up or down? As i guess pumping a freq. would add distortion?
Click to expand...

I have my soundcard at 100 and my player at 100 I used to have my player at your setting but maxing it out gives a much more full sound at the lowest setting on the amp.
 
H

HiResDes

Member
Hip Hop said:
Are the V-moda M100 good for bass? Looking for a "fun" sound too instead of "neutral". Mainly for Hip-Hop/Rap

Would like to get them for "bass" I guess, and alternatively, the port is a huge plus as I would like to use it for my V-moda boom mic to go with it when gaming.

EDIT:
I guess these pads to go along with them might make for better bass too? If looking at the reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K3K8TKA/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Click to expand...
The pads increase the bass a little and more them more comfortable, but they're more than bassy enough for just about anyone with the stock pads. Also really aggressive sounding upper midrange that works well with some genres like rock and rap but no so much with others. And they have a pretty intimate soundstage that starts to sound even more congested when you throw the pads on em.
 
S

SolarMystic

Member
Cancelled my Mimby order. Impulse bought a Koss ESP950 and Bimby at a fantastic price.

If I like the Bimby more than my 4490, then I'm going to swap the chassis so I can still have a black Bifrost.
 
sankt-Antonio

sankt-Antonio

:^)--?-<
Its such a shame that so many rock/metal records are mixed well into the red - clipping. When you start to be able to separate guitar distortion and the clipping much more, it becomes annoying.
 
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