Headphone Buying Megathread/Guide V4 - Come here for all your audio needs! (New Threads are not need - Hardware & Software

Well considering I'm usually the only one in my apartment, at least in the room when I'm looking at porn, that's really a non-issue. [editline]17th January 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=jung3o;49552250]I'm looking to get an open headphone with a budget of $150. Do you guys have any recommendation? I'm thinking about getting hd598. Would I need a Dac for this? I'd prefer not to buy any.[/QUOTE] No you don't need a DAC for the 598's. Depending on your onboard sound, you may benefit from a lighter AMP, but that's just up to you. If you find it unsatisfactory then get one. You likely won't need one.

[QUOTE=jung3o;49552250]I'm looking to get an open headphone with a budget of $150. Do you guys have any recommendation? I'm thinking about getting hd598. Would I need a Dac for this? I'd prefer not to buy any.[/QUOTE] With a $150 budget I'd recommend looking for Beyerdynamic DT770s. Edit: Aanddd nevermind, didn't read your post thoroughly and apparently DT770s have raised in value by like $60 since I last looked at them. In terms of open headphones the Senn 598s are obviously great and you might also be interested in the Fostex T50RPs if you want to get a bit hands on with your headphones. The T50RPs are incredibly moddable (easily too, no electric work) through adding foam and putty to the ear cups. 2 years ago I went for the T50RPs with a budget of $150 and have never felt bad about it. [url]https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/2c8gf3/fostex_t50rp_what_to_do/[/url] [QUOTE]There is probably more out there about how to mod the T50 than any other headphone. Yes, if done right you will have an awesome sounding pair of headphones. Keep in mind that the mad dogs are in essence modded T50 RP, so you have a sense of what a good mod can achieve.Many headphone mods are one-offs and hard to reproduce but IMO the T50 can be modded in a consistent way to sound good. All you need is time, patience, and a steady hand. In essence the mods for the T50 consist of the following 1) mass load the baffles inside the cup with something like blu-tac (I used uhu-tac) 2) create a bass port by closing off the vent with something like electricians tape. The size of the bass port determines the level of bass you want from the T50s. 3) use sound baffling material to line the inside of the cups (I used acoustimat that I got from an auto repair place. How I got my hands on the stuff is an interesting story, but probably not for this post) 4) Fill the cups with cotton wool / fiberglass insulation etc just like a speaker (I used cotton wool. Be sure to weigh the wool and use the same amount for both cups!) 5) create a reflex dot for the driver with transpore or paper tape, or add layers of transpore over the driver to redirect sound (I used two layers, it worked best for me. Others have used more or less) 6) change the pads (I used shure 840 pads but there are other options) A good place to start might be to search for " bluemonkeyflyer T50RP mod". Do your research, make incremental changes and tune your T50 to just the way you want it to sound like! My T50 is the only headphones I have modded that sound [I]exactly[/I] like I want them to. It took me a while to get there, and some steps were hit and miss and required undoing, but in the end it has turned out to be a fun and enjoyable activity.[/QUOTE] Let me know if you're interested and I can link you some indepth guides.

[QUOTE=Levelog;49531046]These should fit too, nice pads. [url]http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00MFDX4YO/ref=pd_aw_sim_23_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41RSWch-OBL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL100_SR100%2C63_&refRID=1C057E61TB24XB277Q4Y[/url][/QUOTE] So... How the fuck am I supposed to get these to fit? I can't seem to get the material to stretch enough, Just spent the past half hour trying to get this damn thing on. [editline]17th January 2016[/editline] Nevermind, finally got them after much struggle. Was a huge pain in the ass but it got done... At least on the one side... [editline]17th January 2016[/editline] Another 30 minutes later and I have no idea how I got the first one on. The material is actually beginning to tear on the second one and I'm afraid I'm gonna rip it [editline]17th January 2016[/editline] Yeah, the band straight up finally tore. This isn't meant to actually fit. Do you think I should try to attach it with some tape or glue, or just send them back and not bother? [editline]17th January 2016[/editline] Final post, I swear: Using a rubber band and some gumption I managed to work around the tear and secure it. It shouldn't go anywhere anytime soon.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;49553870]So... How the fuck am I supposed to get these to fit? I can't seem to get the material to stretch enough, Just spent the past half hour trying to get this damn thing on. [editline]17th January 2016[/editline] Nevermind, finally got them after much struggle. Was a huge pain in the ass but it got done... At least on the one side... [editline]17th January 2016[/editline] Another 30 minutes later and I have no idea how I got the first one on. The material is actually beginning to tear on the second one and I'm afraid I'm gonna rip it [editline]17th January 2016[/editline] Yeah, the band straight up finally tore. This isn't meant to actually fit. Do you think I should try to attach it with some tape or glue, or just send them back and not bother? [editline]17th January 2016[/editline] Final post, I swear: Using a rubber band and some gumption I managed to work around the tear and secure it. It shouldn't go anywhere anytime soon.[/QUOTE] I have a pair of ad900x's (should be the same size) myself and teased the hm5 pads onto it. It involves loosening up the lip for 5 minutes, then you can slowly pull it on. You can also invert the lip of the pads, and flip back back onto the baffle. I did this the second time around and got both pads in under 4 minutes. But they were pretty loose by then. [editline]when[/editline] Ordered a schiit wyrd to tag along with my odac, and the m50x mod did not go that well, so I reverted them. But the modded XPt100's sound really nice now. Those are definitely a keeper. Also, I decided to hold off on the geekout v2, I might save for a schiit bimby or gumby by summer time. Big things are ahead!

[QUOTE=POLOPOZOZO;49552057]0 privacy can't listen to porn in them [editline]17th January 2016[/editline] I mean it sounds great to everyone within 20 feet[/QUOTE] One of my workmates brought his Steelseries Siberia into work for listening to shit. You can generally work out what he's listening to from a good few desk banks away on a quiet day. I vaguely remember there being a list of "generally good shit in this price range" in previous versions of this thread? Is there anything like that going around anywhere still? Because I'm getting kinda tired of leaving my PX-100 IIs at work, and they kinda suck for extended listening anyway at home. So I'm thinking of getting something a bit more substantial. Mostly gaming and various forms of alt/rock music. But preferably something a phone can drive at the same time as a shitass VIA audio chipset. No idea about exact budget, but I'm gonna say around £60 is my toppish end unless you can really convince me the extra cash will be worth it. (however feel free to throw out anything cheaper if you can :v: )

[QUOTE=hexpunK;49559467]One of my workmates brought his Steelseries Siberia into work for listening to shit. You can generally work out what he's listening to from a good few desk banks away on a quiet day. I vaguely remember there being a list of "generally good shit in this price range" in previous versions of this thread? Is there anything like that going around anywhere still? Because I'm getting kinda tired of leaving my PX-100 IIs at work, and they kinda suck for extended listening anyway at home. So I'm thinking of getting something a bit more substantial. Mostly gaming and various forms of alt/rock music. But preferably something a phone can drive at the same time as a shitass VIA audio chipset. No idea about exact budget, but I'm gonna say around £60 is my toppish end unless you can really convince me the extra cash will be worth it. (however feel free to throw out anything cheaper if you can :v: )[/QUOTE] I'd recommend the [url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/BRAINWAVZ-HM5-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B006MA9XXM/ref=pd_sim_sbs_23_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41vAaUSyTdL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR132%2C160_&refRID=08B7X9J6VG3MPW0APVFP]Brainwavz Hm5[/url] if you don't mind shelling out the extra £10 for £70 total. Super mega comfy, great isolation, a lot of nice accessories, runs off portable easily, and they're modable (They sound great w/o mods too). I own an Hm5 clone (Xpt100's) and they're my favorite pair of closed cans. I also hear a lot of good things about the [url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Takstar-Portable-professional-Headphone-Computer/dp/B0062TV73M]takstar hi2050[/url] for £34, but I haven't tried them myself personally. These headphones are open so they leak sound.

I got a pretty odd question, but do you guys think I'm able to salvage a set of headphones that has been exposed to a lot of pus from an ear infection? they literally stink because of this and I'm not sure if just replacing the pads will be enough. I am considering to just buy an entirely new pair, but these are some good headphones. if I end up just buying a new pair, what would you guys recommend? Budget: no more than $300 eBay: no Country: Norway Isolation: closed air Purpose: music listening, occasional random video, light gaming, movies from time to time Music Tastes: electro house, metal, rock, pop Previous Experiences: Razer something something, was some old razer headset. Sennheiser HD something which was wireless. Sennheiser PC350. Bose QuietComfort 25. Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro (current set). if I buy something new, it'll definitely have to either surpass or be equal to the DT770 Pro in terms of sound quality. I think it's on the high end of things though, not sure if it's possible to surpass this when I just use it on a regular computer with no extra audio equipment? I also enjoy bass a lot, so a bass heavy set is okay. too much is not okay, but somewhat more than your average headset is just preferred. I spotted the DT990 Pro, I was thinking of buying that since I've been fairly happy with my DT770. it's the sames series, just newer, it's bound to be an improvement, right? what do you guys think?

FYI DT990 are open

Aren't there two versions of the DT990? I remember seeing one with 250 ohm and another one with 80 and getting told that the 250 ohm version is worse than the 80 version.

[QUOTE=KangarooSteak;49561760]I'd recommend the [url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/BRAINWAVZ-HM5-Studio-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B006MA9XXM/ref=pd_sim_sbs_23_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41vAaUSyTdL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR132%2C160_&refRID=08B7X9J6VG3MPW0APVFP]Brainwavz Hm5[/url] if you don't mind shelling out the extra £10 for £70 total. Super mega comfy, great isolation, a lot of nice accessories, runs off portable easily, and they're modable (They sound great w/o mods too). I own an Hm5 clone (Xpt100's) and they're my favorite pair of closed cans. I also hear a lot of good things about the [url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Takstar-Portable-professional-Headphone-Computer/dp/B0062TV73M]takstar hi2050[/url] for £34, but I haven't tried them myself personally. These headphones are open so they leak sound.[/QUOTE] The Brainwavz actually seem pretty interesting. My main concern is a lot of people point out they are quite firm, and due to me wearing glasses I'm not sure how that's gonna play out. I'd expect the padding would just take the arm of the glasses fine, but that is assuming they're soft enough to do that without just collapsing onto your head totally.

[QUOTE=hexpunK;49566108]The Brainwavz actually seem pretty interesting. My main concern is a lot of people point out they are quite firm, and due to me wearing glasses I'm not sure how that's gonna play out. I'd expect the padding would just take the arm of the glasses fine, but that is assuming they're soft enough to do that without just collapsing onto your head totally.[/QUOTE] They 're pretty firm on the head, but I wouldn't call it clampy (my hd650's are more clampy imo). I wear glasses with thin frames and they don't both me at all, but YMMV

Er, are earphones covered in this thread? 'Cause I need some suggestions between an Sennhesier IE 80 or Westone W20

[QUOTE=Kingbob387;49567140]Er, are earphones covered in this thread? 'Cause I need some suggestions between an Sennhesier IE 80 or Westone W20[/QUOTE] You can't beat Sennheiser. Not familiar with the Westones, but I can tell you that you will be very happy with the IE 80s.

[QUOTE=Revenge282;49567208]You can't beat Sennheiser. Not familiar with the Westones, but I can tell you that you will be very happy with the IE 80s.[/QUOTE] IE80 are quite good but they are a bit old so the competition has caught up. Fidue A83 and Audio-Technica IM02 are some other (probably better) options.

closed air vs open air in terms of sound quality? I read that open air will give you a more "spacey" sort of sound as if the music is actually in the room with you rather than it just being in your head like closed air kind of gives. all of my headphones and headsets so far have all been closed air so I have no idea what open air actually sounds like or if I prefer that, but it sounds like I'd prefer open air. if sound leaks in or out probably isn't that bad I guess, I intend to just use them at home and all disturbances in terms of sound when they happen is very noticeable with closed air anyway. soo forget my closed air preference, I want to try something new and go for open air. [editline]20th January 2016[/editline] I saw the Sennheiser HD598 mentioned somewhere that it'd be a definite upgrade from the DT770, however it wasn't very bass-y compared to the DT770. I actually like the bass in this set a lot, but maybe a more natural sound would be more attractive? I'm not sure. [editline]20th January 2016[/editline] also, I've been considering to upgrade audio outside of just headphones. are amps worth it? are dacs worth it? is it worth it to get both? or will one be more useful than the other? [editline]20th January 2016[/editline] Beyerdynamic T90? it's on the expensive side of things, but I should be able to stretch that far [editline]20th January 2016[/editline] it's so hard to pinpoint the "best" set since every top 10 thing I find mentions new headphones. there are some that keep popping up, like the Sennheiser HD800, but that's way too expensive.

HD598 are good, but considering your budget, I'd go with something more expensive. Also the T90 is garbage, don't buy them. For your budget, you should get the Hifiman HE-400S with (if possible) Focus pads.

[QUOTE=Havolis;49570826]HD598 are good, but considering your budget, I'd go with something more expensive. Also the T90 is garbage, don't buy them. For your budget, you should get the Hifiman HE-400S with (if possible) Focus pads.[/QUOTE] I actaully just recently got the audio technica MSR7's they are one of best headphones ive ever owned on 300 budget and above for closed cans hell they even beat the HD800's to me and thats way out the 250 price range except well in soundstage and finer detail they are open cans so its espected even compared to very expensive closed cans these are one of best. And they're pretty damn comfy aswel and benifit little from amp but its bit more airy on amp for me. In short they're bright sounding and very analytical headphones with very balanced/forward sound. If you like bass then you might want to avoid these thought, They do have it and its very controlled and decent in low and mid's personally I love these for gaming and for female vocals they really shine here. And the clarity and detail is totally insane on these cans on plus side they look classy aswel. I had the M50X and ATH-PRO700MK2's before and compared to the M50'x the difference is insane. I wont go into detail here unless asked. Definetly a keeper/upgrade this one and worth every penny in its pricerange. If your looking for something different then byerdynamic's bassy sound signature then these will not dissapoint you. (my sister has the DT770's I only tried em for couple min but its what she says so..)

[QUOTE=Brancki427;49571138]I actaully just recently got the audio technica MSR7's they are one of best headphones ive ever owned on 300 budget and above for closed cans hell they even beat the HD800's to me and thats way out the 250 price range except well in soundstage and finer detail they are open cans so its espected even compared to very expensive closed cans these are one of best. And they're pretty damn comfy aswel and benifit little from amp but its bit more airy on amp for me. In short they're bright sounding and very analytical headphones with very balanced/forward sound. If you like bass then you might want to avoid these thought, They do have it and its very controlled and decent in low and mid's personally I love these for gaming and for female vocals they really shine here. And the clarity and detail is totally insane on these cans on plus side they look classy aswel. I had the M50X and ATH-PRO700MK2's before and compared to the M50'x the difference is insane. I wont go into detail here unless asked. Definetly a keeper/upgrade this one and worth every penny in its pricerange. If your looking for something different then byerdynamic's bassy sound signature then these will not dissapoint you. (my sister has the DT770's I only tried em for couple min but its what she says so..)[/QUOTE] My friend has an MSR7 and I do agree that they sound very good. But beating the HD800? That's one hell of a statement. I've never heard the HD800 but yeah... Also the MSR7 is only really comfortable after replacing the stock pads with HM5 pads imo.

Could get a pair of Mad Dogs as well.

Is the creative soundblaster stuff any good? It's def an extreme upgrade the old card I had from asus had so much interference it was maddening.

I wouldn't buy any more than a basic soundcard unless you're needing the IO it provides. An external DAC/AMP is a better buy.

[QUOTE=Levelog;49573746]I wouldn't buy any more than a basic soundcard unless you're needing the IO it provides. An external DAC/AMP is a better buy.[/QUOTE] My basic soundcard was trash is the reason why I got one.

Internal interference is internal interference. A better sound card shouldn't help with it [I]that[/I] much. More likely the ASUS card was bad and you should have RMA'd it.

I don't get any now this one has metal shield cover so I think it's pretty good for interference.

[QUOTE=Havolis;49570826]HD598 are good, but considering your budget, I'd go with something more expensive. Also the T90 is garbage, don't buy them. For your budget, you should get the Hifiman HE-400S with (if possible) Focus pads.[/QUOTE] the HE-400S is literally impossible to get in Norway, not a single retailer has them up for sale. not able to find it sold used either. the HE-400 however is up for sale at a single retailer, are these worth it? whats the difference between that and the HE-400S?

it's pretty weird how everyone is still recommending hd 598's i got mine like 5-6 years ago on a whim. and they still work perfectly

[QUOTE=Rusty100;49574575]it's pretty weird how everyone is still recommending hd 598's i got mine like 5-6 years ago on a whim. and they still work perfectly[/QUOTE] My AKG Q701's broke and my 598's were my previous cans so I had to break those out. Talk about different sounds. They're great though.

[QUOTE=PredGD;49574219]the HE-400S is literally impossible to get in Norway, not a single retailer has them up for sale. not able to find it sold used either. the HE-400 however is up for sale at a single retailer, are these worth it? whats the difference between that and the HE-400S?[/QUOTE] He400 is the old version and have a visceral bass compared to the he400s, they are not too efficient though, so you'll most likely need a headphone amp to get the most out of them. They're also pretty heavy at 440g.

[QUOTE=Banned?;49574588]My AKG Q701's broke and my 598's were my previous cans so I had to break those out. Talk about different sounds. They're great though.[/QUOTE] broke how?

[QUOTE=moesislack;49574910]broke how?[/QUOTE] I don't know. I started listening to music one day, heard a small pop, and then one of the earphones wasn't working. I ended up just getting a refund. Someday I'll pick up the 7XX's.