Yet another headphone thread

Just wanted to jump back in to give a shout-out to Liquidmantis. I used my new Sennheiser HD380s on the flight and they worked great. I'm now using them as I'm working in my hotel room. Thanks for the advice!

I've been using my Senny HD598's more lately as I've been doing work around the house, painting, etc. Been really happy with them, they sound great, even from the headphone jack on my phone.

I saw the HD650's on sale on Slickdeals for $250, seems like a really nice deal, maybe next time though, we have absolutely no budget for more fancy headphones

That's a great price for 650s.

That's not just great, that's an amazing price for 650's. They tend to fetch that much or more even when sold used. The regular 600's might be found for $300 or lower on occasion, but the 650's don't tend to drop that low very often at all.

That said... the 600's are IMO just as good, and the hi-fi community is more or less 50/50 split on which set is actually better anyway. There's a ton of people that will recommend the 600's over the 650's no matter what gear you have, no matter what music you listen to, and just as many that will say the opposite. There's no clear winner.

So if you end up in the market and see the 600's for a low price, IMO they're worth the jump. I rather like my pair.

What's the difference?

At that price make sure the 650s are from an authorized dealer. Apparently counterfeit Sennheisers aren't unheard of.

That said, I've been falling in love with mine all over again since I started listening to them through an Apogee Duet. Three thumbs up.

I just checked again, maybe it was $300. Still, for the same price as HD600's, pretty good.

This was the deal, seems expired now: http://slickdeals.net/f/7602520-back...

So speaking of good headphones and also gaming, what's the best way to have immersive, positional audio on PC as well as a console such as a PS3? Seems like the easy answer is a Mixamp Pro. The HD598'S I have aren't difficult to drive, so I don't need a big amp. I also have a Fiio E7, I think, which is a USB DAC + amp, but lacking optical input . That can be used for music.

So is the easiest and probably cheapest answer an Astro Mixamp?

Citizen86 wrote:

I also have a Fiio E7

Is that one of those things that people attach to their phones with giant rubber bands? That's the only thing I remember when I read about them like 2 years ago.

Citizen86 wrote:

So speaking of good headphones and also gaming, what's the best way to have immersive, positional audio on PC as well as a console such as a PS3? Seems like the easy answer is a Mixamp Pro. The HD598'S I have aren't difficult to drive, so I don't need a big amp. I also have a Fiio E7, I think, which is a USB DAC + amp, but lacking optical input . That can be used for music.

So is the easiest and probably cheapest answer an Astro Mixamp?

The headphone stereo mix in game should be doing positional audio just fine. I wouldn't bother with the 7.1 surround to 2 channel things because it's just going to be effing around with the audio quality.

EverythingsTentative wrote:
Citizen86 wrote:

I also have a Fiio E7

Is that one of those things that people attach to their phones with giant rubber bands? That's the only thing I remember when I read about them like 2 years ago.

Yeah, I believe it came with a rubber band for that, haha. It does also have a 3.5mm line in for things like phones.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
Citizen86 wrote:

So speaking of good headphones and also gaming, what's the best way to have immersive, positional audio on PC as well as a console such as a PS3? Seems like the easy answer is a Mixamp Pro. The HD598'S I have aren't difficult to drive, so I don't need a big amp. I also have a Fiio E7, I think, which is a USB DAC + amp, but lacking optical input . That can be used for music.

So is the easiest and probably cheapest answer an Astro Mixamp?

The headphone stereo mix in game should be doing positional audio just fine. I wouldn't bother with the 7.1 surround to 2 channel things because it's just going to be effing around with the audio quality.

Yeah, I think that might be dependent on the game. Some games handle it very well, others have a very distracting "on and off" sound in each ear, no fading in of sounds or between the left and right. That may also be dependent on the soundcard or DAC though.

I haven't tried them yet with the PS3, hopefully soon I can give it a go.

Citizen86 wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:
Citizen86 wrote:

I also have a Fiio E7

Is that one of those things that people attach to their phones with giant rubber bands? That's the only thing I remember when I read about them like 2 years ago.

Yeah, I believe it came with a rubber band for that, haha. It does also have a 3.5mm line in for things like phones.

I've never listened to anything through one. Is there a big difference?

EverythingsTentative wrote:
Citizen86 wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:
Citizen86 wrote:

I also have a Fiio E7

Is that one of those things that people attach to their phones with giant rubber bands? That's the only thing I remember when I read about them like 2 years ago.

Yeah, I believe it came with a rubber band for that, haha. It does also have a 3.5mm line in for things like phones.

I've never listened to anything through one. Is there a big difference?

Depends on the sources material, and your headphones, and the style of music... I didn't always hear a difference, but I do remember listening to something on I think Koss KSC-75's, thinking "holy crap this sounds good", playing the same song straight from the laptop, and hearing a noticeable degrade in quality.

But there were other times when I did some A/B testing and didn't hear any discernable difference.

Audiophile sound is highly subjective and dependent on so many factors. Almost seems like no two people have the same reaction or taste.

If anybody wants a great pair of fullsize open headphones, Massdrop has a custom version of the K702 65th Anniversary for $199.99.

The 65th Anniversary set is considered by many to be the best set AKG has ever released in the 700 series.

They even got rid of the bumps on the head strap and just went with nice leather.

*One note, that deal expires when the massdrop ends which is in a day or two. So not much time to make a decision. And they won't ship until AKG is done prepping the entire order, which means several weeks.

Still a really great price though.

Thin_J wrote:

If anybody wants a great pair of fullsize open headphones, Massdrop has a custom version of the K702 65th Anniversary for $199.99.

The 65th Anniversary set is considered by many to be the best set AKG has ever released in the 700 series.

They even got rid of the bumps on the head strap and just went with nice leather.

*One note, that deal expires when the massdrop ends which is in a day or two. So not much time to make a decision. And they won't ship until AKG is done prepping the entire order, which means several weeks.

Still a really great price though.

I've just started looking at Massdrop lately for other things. Ordered a car mount for my wife's Note 4 and then a knife for me. Neither have gotten here yet, but it's an interesting site. I had noticed the headphone section seems pretty varied.

Massdrop is definitely interesting. Headphones make regular appearances for generally very good prices.

Tempted to get those as backup for my regular K702s.

Thin_J wrote:

Massdrop is definitely interesting. Headphones make regular appearances for generally very good prices.

Ever since they hired a dedicated audio buyer there has been a ton of related drops.

I browse there fairly often, but it's always good to check what prices are at amazon or elsewhere - sometimes prices aren't always better.

jollyeskimo wrote:
Thin_J wrote:

Massdrop is definitely interesting. Headphones make regular appearances for generally very good prices.

Ever since they hired a dedicated audio buyer there has been a ton of related drops.

I browse there fairly often, but it's always good to check what prices are at amazon or elsewhere - sometimes prices aren't always better.

True. I mentioned this one because the other equivalent models, the K702 65th Anniversary and the K712, are around $400 everywhere.

These are HD600/HD650 equivalents for $200. Cannot be beat anywhere IMO.

Thin_J wrote:

So. My Etymotic MC5's that have seen use roughly five days a week for multiple hours for a solid couple of years finally got broken. I was at work and I failed to put the left one all the way in my shirt pocket, and later when I leaned over a conveyer it fell out and caught on a drive sprocket. Yanked it right out of the connection on the cord where the two cords for the left and right meet. I was... unhappy.

After a little impromptu surgery on that cord with an exacto knife I discovered rather quickly there's close to zero chance of me managing to repair the things on my own. It's this super tiny braided cable, and I'm still not sure I ever managed to see exactly how it was connected. I've never been all that precise with a soldering iron so I gave up, committed them to a garbage can, and started looking into replacements.

After a lot of browsing around and digging on Head-Fi and other places, I ended up ordering the Brainwavz R1 from Amazon for $30. At about half the price of the MC5's I wasn't expecting a ton, but people on Head-Fi and other places rave about these things continuously so I took a flier.

And they're great. If you want some IEM's and don't want to pay a ton of money these things are kind of amazing. They're particularly strong on the bass end of things, which is something I've never experienced before with any other IEM's, be they from Sennheiser or Etymotic or Shure. The R1's just own them all at low end. Now as a result, and this is probably based heavily on me being so accustomed to the MC5's after such prolonged use, the highs do seem a little recessed. I experimented just a little bit with using EQ to tone down the bass a little and then just raise the volume a little, to balance out the highs, and it was helpful, but I backed off as I'm not generally a fan of using EQ on anything.

I'll see how I feel after some more use.

But seriously guys, Brainwavz R1. They're excellent. I can't believe they were only $30.

This has me super, super interested in getting the Brainwavz HM5's (which also get excellent reviews) to replace my slowly deteriorating Sennheiser HD 280 Pro's.

So I bought a set of Brainwavz, but not the MC5s. I bought the ones that were recommended by Wirecutter as the best IEMs under $40.

Meh.

I think the problem is that they won't get a seal for me, with any of the included tips (including the nice add on Comply's they include). And I've had a couple of other people try them and find the same things. And if you push them in to force the seal, they still are only OK sound wise.

I've been running Klipsch IEMs for a few years, but I finally got through my last set and past all the warranty. I need to get my soldering iron out and replace the shorted out plugs I guess, because for my ear, those fit better than anything I've tried for some reason.

I guess I should have tried the R1s.

It's not a huge deal, as I listen to spoken word most of all with them. They do appear to be extremely well made for the money. Maybe I just have weird ears, and they'll work for most.

FWIW, with the R1's, the plastic sheathing on the cord after the part where it splits out toward each earbud eventually dried out, cracked, and started breaking. And then the replacement set did the same thing in an even shorter span of time. Both times they lasted a bit after the sheathing started going bad, but once that tiny wiring had kinked it was inevitable and one channel eventually died. I expect the second set will lose one channel soonish. I've taped the wire in a couple spots but it's not going to last.

So you maybe dodged one bullet only to get hit by another

Whatever I buy next will have a braided cover on the cord.

Thin_J wrote:

If anybody wants a great pair of fullsize open headphones, Massdrop has a custom version of the K702 65th Anniversary for $199.99.

The 65th Anniversary set is considered by many to be the best set AKG has ever released in the 700 series.

They even got rid of the bumps on the head strap and just went with nice leather.

*One note, that deal expires when the massdrop ends which is in a day or two. So not much time to make a decision. And they won't ship until AKG is done prepping the entire order, which means several weeks.

Still a really great price though.

Man, why did I stop by this thread tonight?

Couldn't resist:) Thanks, Thin J!

This is a bad, bad thread to subscribe to.

Sooooo tempted to get into that AKG Massdrop. Then I remembered that I have a very nice set of Beyerdynamic headphones with a sound that I enjoy very much, and I can't really afford to start a headphone collecting hobby.

BadKen wrote:

Sooooo tempted to get into that AKG Massdrop. Then I remembered that I have a very nice set of Beyerdynamic headphones with a sound that I enjoy very much, and I can't really afford to start a headphone collecting hobby.

I was right there with you. (Still loving my DT 990 Pro set I also got from massdrop several years back.)

Then I ordered a pair of the AKGs too.

BadKen wrote:

Sooooo tempted to get into that AKG Massdrop. Then I remembered that I have a very nice set of Beyerdynamic headphones with a sound that I enjoy very much, and I can't really afford to start a headphone collecting hobby.

Well, it's over now, so you don't have to feel bad. I didn't really have the cash on hand to participate in this one, but I did put in a request for another drop. If they do another one, I'll get some. I love my regular AKG K702s and would like a pair of these as well.

The Beyerdynamic DT770's and DT990's both hit ~$130 on Slickdeals at Adorama in the last week or two. I'm thinking the DT770's would compliment my HD598's nicely, maybe for more exciting action games and movies.

But then again, wife might not appreciate me spending money on another expensive pair of headphones.

Filthy skimmer here. Apologies. I'm hoping to get a recommendation.

I work in a server farm. I'm typically in our pods for about 8-hours a day. Most of what I do doesn't really require a lot of focus, so I'd like to be able to listen to podcasts or audiobooks or something in there. I'm no audiophile, so "good enough" is good enough. I cannot stress enough how important blocking outside noise is though. I'm basically standing in half a football field full of servers, each row of which is it's own personal wind tunnel. Ear buds are right out (for both noise and comfort reasons). I've got these, which would be fine if they had sufficient noise blocking. They're a little uncomfortable after I've been wearing them for a few hours, but I think I paid $50 so I don't judge them too harshly. I'd like to pay about $100 for a good pair, but I could push the budget to $150 if I had to.

Your input is appreciated! (And will help me do better than Amazon Roulette, which was more or less the plan up to now.)

Bose is generally lousy at everything except that one category. See this for suggestions. Out of your price range, but Bose offerings in your price range may be your best bet.

Edit: These AT's might work and are in your price range.

Zudz, do they need to be wireless? In any case, seems like you could use some active noise canceling headphones. From what I've heard, they work well for constant sounds, like being on an airplane, or in your case, server wind tunnel.

This is a bit of Amazon roulette, but Audio Technica http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-ANC7B-QuietPoint-Noise-Cancelling-Closed-Back/dp/B002HWJT1A/ref=lp_509318_1_9?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1423200981&sr=1-9 is known to be a good brand

Edit: did I really get edit-hausered?