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

A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
K.Jack said:
Mind defining "bland" for me. I'm genuinely interested in your opinion.
Click to expand...

For me not enough extension in the low and highs, plus I prefer my subbass north of neutral more than most do. I'm pretty much close to a basshead though so YMMV.

Lovely clarity and closer to neutral than most phones of that ilk, though if I ever want something neutral I'll get an UERM, only the remastered version probably.
 
T

Tommy DJ

Member
Claustrophobic soundstage, way too much midbass (we're talking many, many decibels) if you get screwed by the planar driver lottery. I didn't think the pair I demoed was that bad but it could see how someone could find that combination pretty boring. I still thought it sounded very good, much better than a lot of similar priced "fashionable" portable sets.

A good sounding headphone if you you get one closer to neutral but planar magnetic headphone variation rears its ugly head once again. Which is probably the source of most people punching each other on forums: half of these headphones are pretty loose in terms of product consistency so two people could literally be hearing different things because they are actually different,
 
K

K.Jack

Knowledge is power, guard it well
Antiwhippy said:
For me not enough extension in the low and highs, plus I prefer my subbass north of neutral more than most do. I'm pretty much close to a basshead though so YMMV.

Lovely clarity and closer to neutral than most phones of that ilk, though if I ever want something neutral I'll get an UERM, only the remastered version probably.
Click to expand...
I can see where you're coming from, thanks for sharing.

I'm a weird mix. I'm a basshead, listening to Hip-Hop 90% of my time, but I also love that tight accurate bass that I first encountered with Hifiman's sound signature.

I find the PM-3 have plenty of bass when called for, a song like Drake's Madonna has plenty of boom for me. They extend really low, but aren't ear rattlers like my old AiAiAi TMA-1s, now those would damn near bounce off my head.

Tbh, for that reason (basshead needs) I'd have held out for the X00, if it had a detachable cable.

The B&O H6 would probably be too bass lean for me, though. Sexy cans though.

I am also thinking about picking up an HA-2, eventually.
Tommy DJ said:
Claustrophobic soundstage, way too much midbass
Click to expand...
Definitely can't describe them that way, in my limited experience. Soundstage is at least as good as the HP50 if not slightly better. Mind, I'm certainly not saying the HP50 is the end all of closed headphone soundstage, but it's good.
 
S

SolarMystic

Member
Bloodember said:
A heads up The Philips X2/27 Fidelio headphones are on sale today on Amazon for $199.99
Click to expand...

Anyone on the fence, these are a steal at $199. It is a struggle for me to resist buying again at this price.

Jzero said:
I think i want to trade my Magni 2 Uber for this one.
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If you can sell your Magni at a good price, the Vali 2 supports LISST tubes, so you can have SS or Tube, depending on your mood.

Though at the already low cost of a Magni, buying a LISST vs just buying a Magni 2 at $50 more is rather pointless IMO.
 
U

Unconditional

Member
Bloodember said:
A heads up The Philips X2/27 Fidelio headphones are on sale today on Amazon for $199.99
Click to expand...


I came to post this too. I have a pair DT-990s and just got the X2 for about $160 once I figure in statement credits and gift cards. This will prolly be as far as I go with headphones for a long while.
 
S

SolarMystic

Member
Antiwhippy said:
I dunno man, I don't want to live that life where I have 2 desktop amps at the same time. :p
Click to expand...

The constantly switching of the RCA cables will probably be a pain, but I will probably be adding the Vali 2 next to my Magni 2 Uber soon.

Unless I can find something really nice that will allow me to have them both plugged into my DAC at the same time.
 
W

wilflare

Member
Jzero said:
X2s have crisper sound with different sounding bass. The headband is not as snug as the X1s (Damn you big headed people)
Click to expand...

the larger headband is good news for me. the X1 feels a little stuffy after awhile.

is 199 the same promo price that the X1 fell to on Amazon a few years ago?
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
SolarMystic said:
The constantly switching of the RCA cables will probably be a pain, but I will probably be adding the Vali 2 next to my Magni 2 Uber soon.

Unless I can find something really nice that will allow me to have them both plugged into my DAC at the same time.
Click to expand...

I dunno though, do you really need the both of them?

I myself will compare which one is better and sell the other one.
 
T

Tommy DJ

Member
If you really want both amps for whatever reason, just get an RCA switch and reverse the input/outputs. DAC goes into the output and amps go into the inputs.

As for X1 vs X2, don't get caught in the mid-fi purgatory. Unless the X2 offers something very specific and fixes one fatal flaw you have with the X1, don't bother or else you're going to be one of those people who buy like $2,000 of $200 headphones and half a dozen budget Chinese tube amps.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Hey guys, remember how I said the harmony might not be basshead enough?

I was wrong.

Keep in mind that my basshead needs are not that the entire song must be drenched in bass, but that if there is sub bass I want to feel it thump and yes, elevated from neutral, but not to the expense of the other frequencies (well, not too much). Don't need mid bass hump/bleed, at least not to the point where it adversely affects the mids.

These babies absolutely deliver that incredibly well. While keeping the clarity of the mids and highs.
 
S

SolarMystic

Member
Antiwhippy said:
I dunno though, do you really need the both of them?

I myself will compare which one is better and sell the other one.
Click to expand...

I would like to keep a SS amp around for my headphones that don't pair well with a tube.

Tommy DJ said:
If you really want both amps for whatever reason, just get an RCA switch and reverse the input/outputs. DAC goes into the output and amps go into the inputs.

As for X1 vs X2, don't get caught in the mid-fi purgatory. Unless the X2 offers something very specific and fixes one fatal flaw you have with the X1, don't bother or else you're going to be one of those people who buy like $2,000 of $200 headphones and half a dozen budget Chinese tube amps.
Click to expand...

Would something like the Schiit SYS work? Would look nice with the rest of my setup. Here's a link: Schiit SYS


Edit: Did some more searching and it seems that it will work.
 
A

Articalys

Member
Hi guys, I know you usually deal in the fancy stuff but I was wondering if you could help with an ultra budget question. I accidentally dropped my several-year old, beat-up pair of travel headphones (Sony MDR-NC7's) and busted the hinge on one of the earpieces; it's barely hanging on but feels like it could fall off at any time, and doesn't sit as well on my head anymore. So I was looking to see if there's anything in the under-$40 range that I can quickly grab as a temp replacement of similar size/portability; foldable would be nice though not required.

It looks like the JVC HA-S400 series from the OP might be a good match? Is there any difference between the B/W/R variants or is it just the color? Or is there a different set that might work better?
 
G

Gambit61

Member
Damn, just bought the 598 during black friday. Do the X2 really have that much better bass? Wish I could test these all out somewhere.
 
S

super-famicom

Member
Articalys said:
Hi guys, I know you usually deal in the fancy stuff but I was wondering if you could help with an ultra budget question. I accidentally dropped my several-year old, beat-up pair of travel headphones (Sony MDR-NC7's) and busted the hinge on one of the earpieces; it's barely hanging on but feels like it could fall off at any time, and doesn't sit as well on my head anymore. So I was looking to see if there's anything in the under-$40 range that I can quickly grab as a temp replacement of similar size/portability; foldable would be nice though not required.

It looks like the JVC HA-S400 series from the OP might be a good match? Is there any difference between the B/W/R variants or is it just the color? Or is there a different set that might work better?
Click to expand...

I have the HA-S500, the big brother of the S400. The B/W/R models are just different colors. Both are foldable and can fit in a small bag pretty easily. The S500 sound pretty good for the price; nice mids and punchy bass (more than I'm used to since I mainly use the Audio Technica AD900 and AKG K601), great for rock and pop. The soundstage isn't as wide as the other headphones I own, but that's only since they're closed back.

There's a thread on Head-Fi about them here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/621063/the-jvc-ha-s500-thread

The S500 is $35.88 on Amazon right now. The S400 is cheaper ($26.08), but the S500 are better.
 
S

SnakeXs

about the same metal capacity as a cucumber
Gambit61 said:
Damn, just bought the 598 during black friday. Do the X2 really have that much better bass? Wish I could test these all out somewhere.
Click to expand...

A cricket's chirp has more bass than the 598s.

Also just put HM5 pads on the X00s. Gonna give them some attention later. Tight tight fit. Almost thought the mounting ring was gonna snap.
 
H

HiResDes

Member
Yeah I will say that 598s have a much wider soundstage and provide a greater sense of clarity, but in terms of musicality they're no match.
 
A

Articalys

Member
super-famicom said:
I have the HA-S500, the big brother of the S400. The B/W/R models are just different colors. Both are foldable and can fit in a small bag pretty easily. The S500 sound pretty good for the price; nice mids and punchy bass (more than I'm used to since I mainly use the Audio Technica AD900 and AKG K601), great for rock and pop. The soundstage isn't as wide as the other headphones I own, but that's only since they're closed back.

There's a thread on Head-Fi about them here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/621063/the-jvc-ha-s500-thread

The S500 is $35.88 on Amazon right now. The S400 is cheaper ($26.08), but the S500 are better.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the rec, though I must admit in this case I'm trying to be as cheap as possible without drastically compromising a base level of quality. Are the S400s flawed in some way, or is it more a case of "they're alright, but the S500s are better"? Saw there was a headfi thread on the S400s as well that seemed positive. I'm really only looking for something as a spare travel pair that's easy to grab out of a backpack; I have more substantial headphones that I can use for serious listening.

I will add that I realize earphones/IEMs can be cheaper still, but I've never really found a pair that felt comfortable. Plus I like the stability of a headband.

By the way, what does "burn-in" mean? It's in almost all the reviews on that site but isn't in the glossary in the OP.
 
S

super-famicom

Member
Articalys said:
Thanks for the rec, though I must admit in this case I'm trying to be as cheap as possible without drastically compromising a base level of quality. Are the S400s flawed in some way, or is it more a case of "they're alright, but the S500s are better"? Saw there was a headfi thread on the S400s as well that seemed positive. I'm really only looking for something as a spare travel pair that's easy to grab out of a backpack; I have more substantial headphones that I can use for serious listening.

I will add that I realize earphones/IEMs can be cheaper still, but I've never really found a pair that felt comfortable. Plus I like the stability of a headband.

By the way, what does "burn-in" mean? It's in almost all the reviews on that site but isn't in the glossary in the OP.
Click to expand...

It's more a case of the bolded in your post. And the price difference between the two is only ~$9, not really a significant amount.

Burn in is simply playing music/white noise (at a norma; listening volume) with the headphones plugged in for X amount of hours. Some say it's a placebo effect, some believe this properly breaks headphone drivers in and improves the sound. You can break in headphones by simply using them. And even then for people who burn in their headphones, the amount of time is also up to debate. Some say 10 hours is ok, some say 100+ hours.You can try it if you want.
 
B

Blitzhex

Member
That x2 amazon deal is tempting. The build quality on my akg k7xx is atrocious. I've only used them for like 30 hours and the joints squeak and creak loudly.
I like to listen to electronic/synth music and I hear the X2s would be better for this. Wondering how the x2 sound with 80s heavy/thrash/death metal. Anyone here have experience with both of these cans?
 
H

HiResDes

Member
The X2 build is much improved though I believe they still have the ink bleed problem on some surfaces. They're pretty much like the HD650s in terms of sound signature, maybe a bit less refined in the mids and peakier in treble despite being an improvement over the X1 in this regard. The bass on them is nice and has the perfect quantity though the subbass might be slightly rolled off to my ears. The attack on them might be a bit slow for the rock and they don't really have an aggressive upper midrange of say the Grado or Soundmagic HP200 which really make rock and metal sound convincing.
 
RedAssedApe

RedAssedApe

Banned
from a non-audiophile. i've had the x2 since august and got the hd598 on black friday. hd598 has like no bass at all and are really flat sounding in comparison. positional audio and sound stage when playing games was better.

if you're using these for competitive gaming games the hd598, i felt i could pick up things like footsteps and gunfire slightly better but the x2s just sounded fuller and I dunno for lack of better word "fun".

HiResDes said:
The X2 build is much improved though I believe they still have the ink bleed problem on some surfaces. They're pretty much like the HD650s in terms of sound signature, maybe a bit less refined in the mids and peakier in treble despite being an improvement over the X1 in this regard. The bass on them is nice and has the perfect quantity though the subbass might be slightly rolled off to my ears. The attack on them might be a bit slow for the rock and they don't really have an aggressive upper midrange of say the Grado or Soundmagic HP200 which really make rock and metal sound convincing.
Click to expand...

golden ears. lol
 
S

SolarMystic

Member
Got the X2 again anyways. I had a bunch of gift cards I had nothing to use on. Going to use them for my gaming phones because of the great soundstage. Hd650 will stay at my desk setup now full-time.
 
D

DagsJT

Member
Well my very first thought about the Sound Blaster G5's are that these blow the Mixamp out of the water for bass. I knew my Fidelio X2's were meant to have good bass but the G5 takes it to a whole new sound and the bass sounds so much better. Feels really deep, thumping and crisp now.
 
S

swordfishtrombones

Member
My Fostex TH-x00's showed up today, unexpectedly. According to the tracking website, they're still in Germany, but here they are! No import taxes/charges. Very strange, but I won't complain.

They sound amazing out-of-the-box. I've been listening for an hour or so to random stuff on Spotify straight from my Macbook and they bring out a huge grin. Layers of sub-bass that I hadn't heard before in some tracks. So glad that I jumped on the Massdrop. Anyone in doubt: these are very good for $400. Together with my HE-560's I think I'm done purchasing stuff
sure!
 
O

opticalmace

Member
swordfishtrombones said:
My Fostex TH-x00's showed up today, unexpectedly. According to the tracking website, they're still in Germany, but here they are! No import taxes/charges. Very strange, but I won't complain.

They sound amazing out-of-the-box. I've been listening for an hour or so to random stuff on Spotify straight from my Macbook and they bring out a huge grin. Layers of sub-bass that I hadn't heard before in some tracks. So glad that I jumped on the Massdrop. Anyone in doubt: these are very good for $400. Together with my HE-560's I think I'm done purchasing stuff
sure!
Click to expand...

It would be cool if you could do a comparo between the Fostex and the Hifimans sometime, if you don't mind.
 
A

Antiwhippy

the holder of the trombone
Yeah the sound interesting, though it sounds like the way they are tuned are a step back from the 3.

I can't reasonably buy more iems for now though. :p
 
W

Waikis

Member
Just got my TH X00, I'm in Melb.
Like everyone else has said, this is a bass heavy headphone done right and it complements my SR009 nicely.
BUT, the pads get kinda warm for me. Do the Alpha pads get warm as well?
Are there any other good alternatives?
 
Soodanim

Soodanim

Gold Member
If I'm going to be just plugging into my PC's on-board sound and not amping, is it even worth bothering with something like a Beyer DT770 or DT250 (80 Ohm)? I've seen yes and no answers everywhere. You've got Amazon reviews and whatnot saying they're still great, but then you've got Head-Fi threads saying the 770s eve in 32 Ohm are ridiculously inefficient and still need amping. If a £20 Xonar sound card would help, then I'll probably do that. But if I need to spend another £60+ to make phones work I'll probably get something cheap and wait for sales.

Edit:

I'm starting to consider the 880 and 990. I'm bad enough picking a sandwich for lunch, this is a nightmare.
 
Bloodember

Bloodember

Member
SixFourMike said:
If I'm going to be just plugging into my PC's on-board sound and not amping, is it even worth bothering with something like a Beyer DT770 or DT250 (80 Ohm)? I've seen yes and no answers everywhere. You've got Amazon reviews and whatnot saying they're still great, but then you've got Head-Fi threads saying the 770s eve in 32 Ohm are ridiculously inefficient and still need amping. If a £20 Xonar sound card would help, then I'll probably do that. But if I need to spend another £60+ to make phones work I'll probably get something cheap and wait for sales.

Edit:

I'm starting to consider the 880 and 990. I'm bad enough picking a sandwich for lunch, this is a nightmare.
Click to expand...
What motherboard do you have? Some motherboards have awesome on board sound.
 
B

Blitzhex

Member
HiResDes said:
The X2 build is much improved though I believe they still have the ink bleed problem on some surfaces. They're pretty much like the HD650s in terms of sound signature, maybe a bit less refined in the mids and peakier in treble despite being an improvement over the X1 in this regard. The bass on them is nice and has the perfect quantity though the subbass might be slightly rolled off to my ears. The attack on them might be a bit slow for the rock and they don't really have an aggressive upper midrange of say the Grado or Soundmagic HP200 which really make rock and metal sound convincing.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the impressions.
Thought about it a lot, but decided against getting the x2 as it's another open headphone. Thought I'd get the Fostex TH-X00 next, need some of that semi-closed bass action. That might take another month or two to drop and I still had $200 burning a hole in my pocket, so I ordered the Schiit Vali 2. I've read that the Vali 2 has no microphonics and a low noise floor. Looking forward to it.
 
Ultimadrago

Ultimadrago

Member
I just picked up some new Fidelio X2's, is it recommended to buy a V-MODA cable to replace the OEM cable for this like with the X1's?

I also saw this BoomPro Gaming Mic on Amazon. Is it a good option for having voiceover available while wearing non-headsets?
 
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