I've recently really gotten into audiophilia and perfecting my mobile sound quality - General

[QUOTE=Justin Case;42810500]I was agreeing with you until you purchased more gubbins on top of the ear buds. All I did was buy some mid-range headphones to realise that music sounds far better in good quality products, it made music a far more integrated part of my life. [t]http://en-uk.sennheiser.com/images/656/all/square/3640/square_louped_hd_215_01_sq_dj_sennheiser.png[/t] I purchased these for about £45 from what I remember and have never seen a reason to upgrade anything else. I implore you to stop now before you start buying those little stands which stop wires touching the floor and diamond infused cables.[/QUOTE] these were my starter headphones, they're solid as a rock even after 4 years. :) Wouldn't call them midrange though, they're quite cheap. They have a nice range too, unlike many headphones that crowd you with bass I like the clarity of the highs on them. They're pretty bulky but at least they don't break and don't sound terrible like Skullcandy.

lmao did you seriously think you were somehow going to crank out audiophile level audio from an iphone everything about that seems wrong to me

[QUOTE=FFStudios;42818608]lmao did you seriously think you were somehow going to crank out audiophile level audio from an iphone everything about that seems wrong to me[/QUOTE] with a headphone amp you can make mobile audio better, more stereos have their own dacs too which is cool I wouldn't bother but it could be neat to use abroad though

i only use skullcandy headphones somebody fight me

[QUOTE=Lord of Ears;42818757]i only use skullcandy headphones somebody fight me[/QUOTE] do skullcandy users even try on the headphones before they buy them? they're so damn uncomfortable... all the models.

not all of them i'm currently using the aviators, i tried them on before i bought em, really comfy

[QUOTE=Lord of Ears;42818874]not all of them i'm currently using the aviators, i tried them on before i bought em, really comfy[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/electronics/dp/B0006NL5SM[/url] nothing beats these in comfort... the "leather" used in skullcandy padding is just terrible, for sofas they may be ok, but not for prolonged listening.

dgaf, i think they're comfortable, i can have em on for hours and hours at a time

[QUOTE=Lord of Ears;42818939]dgaf, i think they're comfortable, i can have em on for hours and hours at a time[/QUOTE] are your ears made of steel or something? [editline]10th November 2013[/editline] oh just realised what your username is :rolleyes:

username doesn't have much bearing, i made it up when i was like 12 for runescape and it just kinda stuck what i'm saying is some/most skullcandies might be uncomfortable, but i think you're underestimating this particular model

well touché but you should know by being able to withstand skullcandys you have lived up to your username quite well :v:

i bought headphones at biglots they have amazing sound quality like here is my favorite song ripped from my ipod to simulate these headphones [video=youtube;8E-MtJBAZvw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E-MtJBAZvw[/video]

[QUOTE=Ultraleet;42814008]I have these things here: [img]http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1894/c2ki.jpg[/img] and I have no regrets. However, they sound like shit without an amp. The amps (OP) bought though are useless. I could literally make the same, if not better amp using whatever electrical components I could scrounge for on my desk. Imo, good EQ and amplification is key.[/QUOTE] Those are also about $500 and one of the highest rated headphones out. Great choice. SkullCandy is crap. iPhone earbuds are crap. And as someone else alluded to earlier, iPhone can generate good sound with a quality amp attached to it.

[QUOTE=Padgoi;42830246]Those are also about $500 and one of the highest rated headphones out. Great choice. SkullCandy is crap. iPhone earbuds are crap. And as someone else alluded to earlier, iPhone can generate good sound with a quality amp attached to it.[/QUOTE] gratz you are a true audio expert, you should get a top firm to hire you

Wow this dude is really up his own ass about all of this stuff. If you're using the old iPhone headphones I'd understand why you all say they're a bit naff because they're really tinny, especially with louder music. But I got some Earpods with my new iPhone and they're actually really good. Not the best ever ofcourse but good enough for me to not need to buy new ones. If you really wanted the best sound from your mobile you're probably just better off with actual headphones.

All this thread needs now is an elitist flaunting $600 limited edition Beats™ they won from a Stacker machine and telling people to join the #BeatsArmy.

[QUOTE=AK'z;42818893][url]http://www.amazon.co.uk/electronics/dp/B0006NL5SM[/url] nothing beats these in comfort... the "leather" used in skullcandy padding is just terrible, for sofas they may be ok, but not for prolonged listening.[/QUOTE] As I read "nothing beats these in comfort..." I was already looking up these exact headphones to set you straight with a "nuh uh". Then I clicked the link. Yeah, they're great.

[QUOTE=lew06;42835910]Wow this dude is really up his own ass about all of this stuff. If you're using the old iPhone headphones I'd understand why you all say they're a bit naff because they're really tinny, especially with louder music. But I got some Earpods with my new iPhone and they're actually really good. Not the best ever ofcourse but good enough for me to not need to buy new ones. If you really wanted the best sound from your mobile you're probably just better off with actual headphones.[/QUOTE] Bro, I'm not up my own butt at all. I don't know jack about audiophilia, I'm learning, but one thing I do know is that, while the Apple Earbuds are ok for a $30 earbud, they are quite poor in comparison to higher-end earbuds. How do I know this? I own them. [editline]12th November 2013[/editline] Update: I returned the JDS Labs cMOY amp as it got lost in the mail and so I got a full refund. I then purchased this amp: Fiio E17: [IMG]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41WsxX-VERL.jpg[/IMG]

[QUOTE=Padgoi;42840137]Those are also about $500 and one of the highest rated headphones out. Great choice. SkullCandy is crap. iPhone earbuds are crap. And as someone else alluded to earlier, iPhone can generate good sound with a quality amp attached to it.[/QUOTE] The DAC in the iPhone is still shit, no matter how much you amplify it, it will still be shit.

[QUOTE=Padgoi;42840137]Bro, I'm not up my own butt at all. I don't know jack about audiophilia, I'm learning, but one thing I do know is that, while the Apple Earbuds are ok for a $30 earbud, they are quite poor in comparison to higher-end earbuds. How do I know this? I own them. [editline]12th November 2013[/editline] Update: I returned the JDS Labs cMOY amp as it got lost in the mail and so I got a full refund. I then purchased this amp: Fiio E17: [IMG]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41WsxX-VERL.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] Its your money, but you can get some pretty nice headphones for a hundred and thirty dollars.

I worked at an hifi store in my student years. (DJ gear, drive in shows, stage equipment, hifi amps, record players, cd players etc etc.) I tried out a shittload of of headphones and speakers over my years working there. After listening to so much stuff you come to the conclusion that as it is with all things the optimal price performance ratio is always in the middle. You can see this with computers, phones, tv's whatever. For Headphones I would say you get the most bang out of your buck at the 100-250$ pricepoint. For speakers its around 300$ for a single speaker for towers, and 100 for bookshelve. And amps (analog) around 150-250. For digital AV amps the price just goes up the more functions it has but the sound quality stays the same.

Surprised seeing people bitch about apple-earplugs. Not that I've been a fan or nothing (I've never owned anything apple) but I always heard people say they where the "greatest earplugs they've owned". Figures they didn't really know. Also, (like some people already said) one of the most important things is simply knowing how to EQ. Bringing out the parts of the song that you wan't to hear, fattening the bass, making the vocals a bit more clear, whatever. If I TRULY listen to music purely, I never stop fucking with my EQ (honestly, probably a bit too much). Point is every audio-output has better and worse frequencies. (not taking into consideration studio-monitors, which SHOULD have an equal response trough the whole range). Even with the best gear, listening to an album recorded at 160kb/s with a crazy hiss at the top, you're gonna have to EQ out the hiss if you wanna pump the music. Knowing what to EQ where (on your phone, on your HIFI system, on your car-radio) is a whole lot more important than buying an amp for earplugs. Which, by the way, cracks me up. An AMP. For EARPLUGS. AN AMP. FOR EARPLUGS. HAAAAAAAH. Shouldn't in-ears be noise-canceling by default? Thus not needing to amp it up, to block out other sounds? Headphones maybe, but even then all you're doing is pushing the volume up. I can do this on any phone with any regular EQ app. Quality wise, you don't WANNA push up your volume untill the quality degrades anyway, because tinnitus is a thing. tl;dr Get some $50,- / $80,- headphones and learn to EQ first.

[QUOTE=taipan;42847549]I worked at an hifi store in my student years. (DJ gear, drive in shows, stage equipment, hifi amps, record players, cd players etc etc.) I tried out a shittload of of headphones and speakers over my years working there. After listening to so much stuff you come to the conclusion that as it is with all things the optimal price performance ratio is always in the middle. You can see this with computers, phones, tv's whatever. For Headphones I would say you get the most bang out of your buck at the 100-250$ pricepoint. For speakers its around 300$ for a single speaker for towers, and 100 for bookshelve. And amps (analog) around 150-250. For digital AV amps the price just goes up the more functions it has but the sound quality stays the same.[/QUOTE] Agree wholeheartedly. My earbuds were $240. My amp was $130. And I'm very happy with the output.

Hmm thinking about investing in some really bad boy headphones. Been rolling with AKG 518 and 519 for a while now. Great quality for the price range.

[QUOTE=Padgoi;42853159]Agree wholeheartedly. My earbuds were $240. My amp was $130. And I'm very happy with the output.[/QUOTE] Since it was an HIFI/Prof AV store dont know much about earbuds. But there you go.

To point out a few things to you all. After audio leaves your iPhone/iPod it has already been compressed, down sampled in some cases, and just messed with. Buying an amplifier with it's own DAC isn't going to improve shit. You can't up-sample or improve sound quality if the sound being input is already shit to begin with. It might sound "better" to you guys, because as sound gets louder our ears pick out frequencies differently. Something called the equal loudness contour. The frequency response of our ears changes as sound gets louder. Secondly, I work in professional spec studios and trust me, there is a massive difference between a 50$ amp and a 800$ amp. The difference comes in the amps sonic characteristics. Every amp generates a low level of self-noise caused by the electronics. EVERY amp has self noise, but the more expensive and amp is the lower the self noise will be. More expensive amps use higher quality materials, are better designed to dissipate heat, have higher db per watt ratings, and the list goes on. I do studio recordings, and I can easily distinguish the difference between my 20$ 20ft cheap XLR cable, and the 50$ 15ft Mogami XLR cable I just bought. The more expensive a cable is (usually) the better it will sound. Different materials are used, there is more magnetic shielding, thicker copper, and much higher quality cable jacks. Granted a studio HAS to have this kind of quality because we are responsible for providing the cleanest recordings we possibly can, so that the end listener can enjoy it. However, unless its a shitty gimmicky company like Beats, and Bose, the more expensive the better that unit is gonna sound. With the rare exceptions. EQ'ing does not make your music "sound" better, especially not a shitty coded EQ like the one Apple has on iTunes. EQ'ing an already EQ'd and mastered song ruins it's tonal qualities by introducing artifacts and in-harmonic frequencies. You're changing the frequency range in a way it was never meant to be heard. When a song comes out of the studio, it is mixed and mastered to sound how it's engineer wanted it to sound. The problem is not the shitty mix, it's your shitty equipment playing music through a shitty PC soundcard, and then you fuck it up even more by applying an EQ to it. If you want to hear a song the way it's meant to be heard then buy an interface/dedicated soundcard, get the song in lossy WAV at 32bit, and sit your ass down with a nice pair of OVER the ear headphones.

homie, external dacs override the iphone's fyi

>audio quality from phone >mobile amp making sound better >totally not overpriced earbuds What else. Maybe you also listen to 320kbits mp3's :v:?

[QUOTE=AK'z;42876645]homie, external dacs override the iphone's fyi[/QUOTE] Yeah but this: [QUOTE=Padgoi;42792299]JDS Labs cMoy Rechargeable Portable Headphone Amplifier: [IMG]http://i.ebayimg.com/t/JDS-Labs-cMoy-Rechargeable-Portable-Headphone-Amplifier-Tin-cMoyBB-v2-03-Amp-/00/s/NTE2WDU1MA==/$(KGrHqV,!oME9dQc6YStBPq-djooJQ~~60_3.JPG[/IMG][/QUOTE] doesn't look like a DAC. It's just an analog amplifier.

[QUOTE=Kljunas;42891575]Yeah but this: doesn't look like a DAC. It's just an analog amplifier.[/QUOTE] ah yes, sorry lost the will to care about the OP.