Closed or open back of the earcup: https://www.cnet.com/news/what-headphone-buyers-need-to-know-part-2/
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The Official Headphone Thread 2.5: We're Making WAVs and Catching FLAC
- Thread starter HiResDes
- Start date
Closed or open back of the earcup: https://www.cnet.com/news/what-headphone-buyers-need-to-know-part-2/
It drives the Katana and TG334 amazingly well. Not so good with the Andromeda and Zeus-R though, too much hissing going on. I'm not sure how it stacks against other high-end daps as this is my first, and I have to admit I bought it purely for aesthetic reasons.
SolarMystic
Member
Closed back means the ports behind the driver are closed to prevent sound leaking in or out.
Open back means the ports/back of the headphone behind the drivers are open which will leak sound out and in, but provide many other benefits like increased soundstage and imaging, etc.
Edit: Beaten by Aiii
I only recently got this, haha. For the longest time I thought it was available/discontinued.
Chittagong
Gold Member
Getting my two Yggdrasils tomorrow, and finally have confirmation that Schiit are building my Ragnarok. Starting to get pretty excite.
Two months to go until I get to listen to all of them, in our new flat.
Do we have any Stax SR-009 owners here btw?
Two months to go until I get to listen to all of them, in our new flat.
Do we have any Stax SR-009 owners here btw?
Flying Toaster
Member
I had the option of going with the 009's and instead decided to grow my vinyl collection. They are absolutely wonderful.
Two Yggy's extreme but awesome.
I decided to revive my old iPhone 4s and pair it with a TFZ Series 5. The old version impressed me a few months ago, but now I want to see how this budget combo stacks up against the big boys.
I'll perform all 3 mods and see how far I can push these. They should arrive tomorrow and I'll post my impressions soon.
I'll perform all 3 mods and see how far I can push these. They should arrive tomorrow and I'll post my impressions soon.
Chittagong
Gold Member
Nice! The need for a special amp scares me a bit. But they seem amazing.
Bit extreme indeed - one for my headphone corner in our snug, another one to feed lounge Genelec speakers
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Be prepared to possibly trash a few sets. I'm the guy who first applied all three mods on SBAF and I still can't seem to get it consistently after working on maybe 6 sets. A properly modded set pretty much made me lose all interest in audiophile/TOTL IEMs. I will probably never own another kilobuck set after experiencing that. It's just not worth it at all IMO.
Do you know why you're getting mixed results? I know they upgraded the cables and removed the filter behind the nozzle, but I've seen people remedy that with cotton/foam. Are the new ones trash, or is it plain luck?
1st Course
Member
What would be a not very expensive upgrade from the HD 598?
I don't dislike like it or anything (I actually like it very much) but I'm giving it to my brother and looking to getting something new.
I think I can go up to $300.
I don't dislike like it or anything (I actually like it very much) but I'm giving it to my brother and looking to getting something new.
I think I can go up to $300.
Xander51
Member
Since you like the 598, you could always go with the newly-released 599.
https://en-us.sennheiser.com/headphones-high-end-stereo-hd-599
SolarMystic
Member
Do you already have a dac and amp? Whether you do or not will change the recommendations.
If not, check out the Hifiman 400S with focus pads. Also the new Sennheiser 500 series is out, but not much in the way of impressions yet.
Flying Toaster
Member
The issue with them is the damn price tag. Are they worth it? These cans really do bring out the argument of hi end audio and the wonderful world of diminishing returns. One could go all the way and get a pair of the 009's and a brilliant electrostatic amp such as Ray Samuels A10 or Head Amps Blue Hawaii or even Woo Audios WES but at that point you are so deep into the game for what is honestly a 10% improvement.
I know subjective but somewhat true.
I have been into audio for years and it was not until recently that I have decided that at this point my highs from it sometimes are not in the actual listening to music but the chase of the idea of a sound. It is rather depressing and sad. I decided to just do a little bit of overkill instead of full overkill when it came to headphones. I am looking at my listening stack right now and it is still overkill...
Unless you absolutely need to feel like you have the best the Stax setup is not worth it. Go purchase more music or go into speakers. I went into more music and I couldn't be happier.
Chittagong
Gold Member
I'm with you. I decided that my endgame is Yggdrasil + Ragnarok + HE-1000 + Genelec 8351. They're expensive, but not high end audio expensive.
I was gonna suggest the 400S, but if he has an amp I think the Beyerdynamic DT 880 is a solid choice too
Flying Toaster
Member
Yeah the 1000's are great but I just can't give up on my unmodded HD 800. I don't even like the HD 800s as they sound "strange" to me. Although I did get a chance to check out the Mr Speakers Ether flow and those are fun headphones as they have that classic Mr Speakers sound. Great general all purpose headphones.
I do want to track down a pair of Pioneer SE-Master 1's and I would like to add the HiFiMAN HE-6 as the later are harder to drive and my amp can tackle them no sweat. The unique sound of planars are just great all around.
HiResDes is right the DT880's are amazing headphones for the money.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Monoprice to release 2 pretty cheap planar magnetic headphones.
http://gizmodo.com/monoprice-s-new-..._source=gizmodo_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
At that price I'll be interested to see how they sound.
http://gizmodo.com/monoprice-s-new-..._source=gizmodo_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow
At that price I'll be interested to see how they sound.
I'm sure the usuals are all ready to get the head-fi FOTM hype threads in gear.
SolarMystic
Member
Oh it's already started. I'll wait for some sbaf measurements and impressions.
Flying Toaster
Member
Sit down play some music, crack open a beer and read the stupidity that is bound to happen on head-fi.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Wait, which thread?
LQX
Member
They also have a new tube amp for $140 coming and the M560 comes with cups to make them either closed or open.
Build quality seems solid...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5w08zCatkA
Build quality seems solid...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5w08zCatkA
SolarMystic
Member
This one: Link
Some posters are losing their shit.
I'll certainly be looking out for measurements and reliable impressions but I'm not getting excited over nothing until then. I'm mostly interested if this could provide some good competition with the other cheaper planars like the 400S and 400i.
Edit: Just watched the video, they do look pretty solid. Those speakers are also pretty nice looking. Monoprice diving in the deep end it seems. That center channel is huge.
Oveja Negra
Member
Those Monoprice speakers look so dope. Beautiful design.
I'm wondering how good they sound.
I'm wondering how good they sound.
Guy passing on the HD800 to buy these instead.
I see the FOTM giant killer hype train is in full gear.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Just idiotic luck IME. I've had the fortune of modding multiple units now and it's hard to get repeatable results. From a tear down on SBAF I was able to discern that the diaphragm is just underneath the membrane that you have to puncture. I'm not sure if the mod calls for piercing the diaphragm or not since I've not taken apart a working sample. It's interesting since piercing the diaphragm would increase airflow, which should actually INCREASE bass amplitude sooo I dunno.
Another interesting thing is that I helped a friend recable his pair with 7N litz wire. His pair sounds much more mellow than mine. Not sure why that is as there's too many variables at play. I've got like 4 pairs on hand at the moment and they all seem to have varying levels of senstivity as well. Seriously have no idea what to make of all this.
Another very interesting thing I noted was that bass amplitude on my original modded pair dropped in a huge way when I recabled with SPC. I'd originally thought that perhaps there was some sort of leak in the housing but I sealed everything up with glue and it still didn't remedy it. As a last ditch effort, I soldered the old copper cable back on and it sounded exactly the same as it did. I believe dynamic drivers shouldn't be affected by impedance changes in the way that multi BA units are (no crossovers) so... again, I don't know what to make of that.
But a properly modded set has a tonality that's somewhere between the Andromeda and uerm. It's almost like a melding of the two with the Andro's heftier and deeper low end coupled with the uerm's more incisive upper mids but ultimately lacking its more present top end. I prefer the modded set to either since it's simply more cohesive, sounds more natural overall (I've never heard a BA based set outside of Andro that I could love) and it seems to scale better than either out of my desktop rig. I ultimately found the Andromeda to be too susceptible to OI and I still think it sounds a tad muddled in the bass/is prone to congestion, and to sound slightly off with female vocals (that slight dip in the upper mids) vs my modded S5 and uerm.
The uerm beats out the Andromeda and modded S5 in terms of ultimate clarity and transient response (Andro is fantastic where microdynamics are concerned tho) but its note weight can feel kind of plasticky. Couple people who've heard my modded set or whom I've recommended the mods to have gone on to sell off their Andros, K10s etc. After having gone thru the gamut over the years, these days I'm very happy with just an iPhone and the modded S5. I have a Mimby and Neco V5 for when I've got several hours to soak it in, but honestly the iPhone/S5 is pretty much as good as it gets in terms of SQ and simplicity IMO.
That aside, I'm kind of interested in the RHA CL1 due to the piezo tweeter (the Dual driver with piezo tweeter from Radius was supposed to be quite good, like an HD650 type tuning with a wholly out of your head, 2 channel speaker feel) but I'm pretty sure RHA have either super safe consumer tuning or have fucked up the high end of every other phone they've put out so who knows.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
Any interest in flares new iems btw?
I think my next purchase will be the focal elear though, depending if I like the audition.
I think my next purchase will be the focal elear though, depending if I like the audition.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
I liked the R2s a lot but only when modded. The whole pressurized sound blah blah tech was hilariously susceptible to QA snafus due to the cable (some of those cables are soldered on to the drivers really poorly which makes it so some units have imbalanced seals) and end caps affecting the level of bass which leads to channel imbalance. Hell, I honestly don't think there are any quality passes at all with the original R2s since so many pairs leave with imbalance issues. A stock pair of Rockets is much better overall.
That alone makes me kinda wary. I've never heard a beryllium based driver tho so that's kinda cool. I think the CA Lyra and Focal phones have beryllium diaphragms? Obviously it's gonna boil down to tuning, but I'd imagine that has more bearing on its technical capability than Flare's assertion that various housing materials would impart some notable change.
That alone makes me kinda wary. I've never heard a beryllium based driver tho so that's kinda cool. I think the CA Lyra and Focal phones have beryllium diaphragms? Obviously it's gonna boil down to tuning, but I'd imagine that has more bearing on its technical capability than Flare's assertion that various housing materials would impart some notable change.
Which headphones should I consider for jazz and classical? Meaning: not too much (sub)bass, some emphasis on midbass (200-500Hz), neutral mids and not too much treble (can't stand headphones that are very bright).
Looking for both in-ears (<100€ and over the ear headphones (<200€. For reference I've had a Sennheiser HD555 for 6 years and that's the kind of sound signature I like. I'd like a little more midbass though (plenty of emphasis on the lower half of a piano's keyboard).
Looking for both in-ears (<100€
and over the ear headphones (<200€. For reference I've had a Sennheiser HD555 for 6 years and that's the kind of sound signature I like. I'd like a little more midbass though (plenty of emphasis on the lower half of a piano's keyboard).How did that X1 work out for you, or did that not happen?
Didn't like the UI too used to Rockbox, so I sold it back on ebay without much of a loss.
Antiwhippy
the holder of the trombone
I don't think i can use a non-touch based dap ui anymore.
Spent the entire day with the TFZ S5 and I can see why there's so much hype behind it. Not sure if I agree with it being a TOTL killer, but it definitely punches above it's weight. I would be happy to pay double, if not triple of what these things cost. Packaging was all class too.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
I think they sound totally whatever in stock form. Absolutely generic and forgettable consumer friendly tuning with bloated bass and super mushy, veiled mids and MIA treble. Post mod? That's an entirely different story.
Xander51
Member
Me neither. I'm sort of amazed that the old style still exists. But hey, to each their own. A friend of mine swears by physical buttons, no matter what.
EDIT: Also oh good god, why did I click on that head-fi link to the massdrop planar hype thread? I'm sure they'll be decent headphones, but it's completely crazy that every new thing has to be the absolute best ever.
At the same time, I love that head-fi exists to give me a good laugh and some hyperbolic reviews now and again. So maybe I'm part of the problem.
SolarMystic
Member
Chittagong
Gold Member
The audio system to our new flat is currently being installed, so I thought I'd share the spec to Headphone-GAF, all made by myself and inspired by this thread. Will post pics in November!
Oveja Negra
Member
Maybe I'm missing something, but what's the purpose of having a Ragnarok if you're going to connect it to a pair of self-powered Genelec monitors?
Why don't buy the Mjolnir 2 instead? It's cheaper and it allows you to have two kind of signature sounds: tubes or transistors.
Anyways, killer setup
Regards.
Why don't buy the Mjolnir 2 instead? It's cheaper and it allows you to have two kind of signature sounds: tubes or transistors.
Anyways, killer setup
Regards.