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

[QUOTE=The Dovahneer;49638022]Would it be possible to install one of those headset mics onto a HD518 without modding it to remove that lock? I don't exactly feel comfortable modding them.[/QUOTE] It takes like 5 minutes to do it and 5 minutes to put it back in. You just need a very fine phillips screwdriver. [QUOTE=slayer3032;49539653]So I wanted to start out these 558's a little different than the ghetto way most people do this. Instead of just removing the locking cam which also protects the jack/board from damage from jamming the connector into the board. I did the same to my 518's which I only took pictures of. The first time I did it I didn't drill/shave down the tabs as much and it actually puts a little pressure on the adapter which helps hold it snugly. [t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5601782/Computer/2016-01-15%2015.21.22.jpg[/t][t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5601782/Computer/2016-01-15%2015.20.49.jpg[/t] [t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5601782/Computer/2016-01-15%2015.40.32.jpg[/t][t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5601782/Computer/2016-01-15%2015.50.04.jpg[/t] The ghetto way of doing it. [t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5601782/Computer/2016-01-15%2015.55.51.jpg[/t][/QUOTE] [t]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5601782/Computer/2016-01-15%2015.15.42.jpg[/t] It's very simple, you can just take out the locking cam. All you do is remove the left earpad(pull with wide even pressure across multiple fingers. Unscrew the 3 screws holding the driver in, carefully set it aside and then unscrew the 2 screws that hold down the jack board. Now remove the locking cam and reassemble. I modified my locking cam instead because it guides the cord into the jack a little and keeps it from stabbing into the board. If you go buy a $8 dremel knockoff at harbor freight or something it would probably be better to grind down the inner tabs with that instead of jamming drill bits into something I held with pliers. If you don't want to use some screwdrivers, you could always get a modmic.

[QUOTE=Reno360;49636438]Budget: Up to or around $100 eBay: Sure Country: US Isolation: Open back would be nice just so I can hear other people, but it's not an important factor. Purpose: Everything really, but I guess music is the big one. Music Tastes: Power metal, electronic, classic rock Previous Experiences: Some shitty headsets, Phillips-O'neill TR-55LX, Sony studio monitors, and my old faithful Sony DR-ZX701. Comments: I wear headphones a lot, like most of the time I'm awake, a lot. And I guess I just have big ears or maybe they just sit weird on my head, but there's 2 places on my ears that are pressing up against the hard plastic inside the cups. So I'm looking for something with some deep cups and/or some cushy ass pads. I've tried stuffing mine with some cotton, but it keeps slipping out and isn't that effective. Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE] The [url=http://www.amazon.com/NVX-Over-Ear-Headphones-ComfortMax-Cushions/dp/B0093PVTPS/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1454254558&sr=1-1&keywords=xpt100]Nvx Xpt100's[/url] are closed cans with some crazy deep cups and they're super comfortable. (Brainwavz Hm5 / Fischer FA-003 Clone) The [url=http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-558-Headphones/dp/B004FEEY9A/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1454254273&sr=1-1&keywords=hd558]Hd558[/url] and [url=http://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHP9500-Precision-Over-ear-Headphones/dp/B00ENMK1DW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1454254525&sr=1-1&keywords=shp9500]Shp9500[/url] are both open cans and the shp9500 pad is a little more shallow than the Hd558, but the earpad itself is much wider. The Shp9500 is easily the most comfortable headphone I've worn so far. I haven't tried the Hd558 personally, but if the comfort is anything like the Hd650, then it'll be up there near the top. In related news, the Shp9500 are on sale for $85, haven't seen that price in a while.

[QUOTE=KangarooSteak;49635540][url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/Philips-SHP9500-headphones-Black-Circumaural-Head-band/dp/B00ENMK1DW]Shp9500[/url] + [url=http://www.amazon.co.uk/V-MODA-BoomPro-Gaming-Headphone-Microphone-Black/dp/B00BJ17WKK/ref=pd_sim_147_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=41WfbQw%2Bp8L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=1DQYA4SMRHPNXE8436CX]Vmoda boom pro[/url] is right up your alley for great sound with detachable mic.[/QUOTE] I followed this advice seeing as I had eerily similar requirements to X-JIDE. Pretty nifty!

[QUOTE=Willox;49656419]I followed this advice seeing as I had eerily similar requirements to X-JIDE. Pretty nifty![/QUOTE] My friend I'm on TS with 7 days a week has the same setup and he loves it.

my HD650 arrived and... I don't really hear much of a difference from my DT770 Pro to these. that said, I'm pretty exhausted, been drinking today and I should be in bed right now. maybe I'm just not that attentive to the sound of this set at this moment. I think I'm going to invest in an amp as soon as I got some excess cash, I have a feeling I'm not really taking full advantage of the set right now.

Schiit Bimby came in... coming from the odac RevB, there's some minute differences. Things are a a bit more positionally accurate and spacious. And there's a hint more definition between notes. I'll have to spend more time with it. (Diggin' it so far)

grabbed the album Seven Seas by Emancipator in .flac and tried to compare it with Spotify's version of it and I think there's a difference? hard to tell really, but I think it sounds a little clearer. I'm really not sure if an amp will be able to raise the quality enough to justify spending another 300$. hmm

[QUOTE=PredGD;49660539]grabbed the album Seven Seas by Emancipator in .flac and tried to compare it with Spotify's version of it and I think there's a difference? hard to tell really, but I think it sounds a little clearer. I'm really not sure if an amp will be able to raise the quality enough to justify spending another 300$. hmm[/QUOTE] I just can't tell the difference between flac and MP3 with my HD598's either.

[QUOTE=Havolis;49663365]I just can't tell the difference between flac and MP3 with my HD598's either.[/QUOTE] I don't think I'll bother with different file formats or quality unless it's below 320, it seems to be the limit of my ears anyway. I really don't hear the difference, and if I do, it's so minor it's not really worth the premium price for for example Tidal or building a local .flac library. it's a new day and I decided to try out some new genres and there is a clear difference here. I don't think house and electronic in general really shines on the fidelity of the audio as the music tends to be a little chaotic, might not be the easiest genre to tell a difference with? I've been thinking more of getting an amp and I think I'll get one. right now the choice is the Schiit Asgard 2 as that's the only one I've been able to find for sale. I suppose I -could- stretch to the Schiit Valhalla 2 if there's a big difference between the Asgard and Valhalla. Valhalla is a tube amp while the Asgard is not from what I could tell, is the extra price worth it if it means I'll have tubes? I don't sit on a lot of knowledge of audio equipment in general so I'm pretty green on all of this [editline]3rd February 2016[/editline] also hey, big plus with the HD650's, they look pretty good compared to my DT770 Pro. I feel better looking while wearing these even if it doesn't matter that much as I use them exclusively at home, eh. gotta comment on these being open as well. coming from my closed set to this, I don't really hear much of that "being in the room with the music" feeling that people have been praising with open back sets. the music still feels like it's on my ears and in my head like with the closed set. only difference I'm noticing is that I hear external sounds a lot easier now which is somewhat annoying. I hear my computer fans running, I hear the typing on my mech keyboard, and I'll probably hear other audio disturbances like someone else listening to music in the neighboring room. I had hoped that music or audio in the set would do an okay job of muffling out external sounds but I can clearly hear background noises even with loud music going. I do miss that passive noise cancelling that my DT770 Pro gave. I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually, but in the future whenever that is I think I'll return to a closed set.

I decided to go with the SHP9500s since I need a mic as well. Holy shit are these things comfy, and the sound quality is incredible. Only thing that's ever come close to this level of comfort that I've tried are Sony MDR-XB500s, and those things are rarer than diamonds now. I had a buddy that offered a pair to me for 50 bones back in high school, really wish I woulda taken that deal. The Boom Pro comes tomorrow, can't wait.

Mic update, it sounds magical.

~snip~ In other news my Zmf omni's have been finished and they'll be shipping out next friday! I can't wait!

I know this is the headphone [I]buying[/I] megathread but can I also ask general headphone-care-related questions here? My Philips Fidelio earbuds have gotten really quiet and I can't find a good solution to get them working normally again on Google - the right one is really quiet and the left one is not quite as loud as it should be. Tried cleaning them, used a toothbrush, and I read somewhere I could try sucking on it a bit to create a vacuum in case it was the grill being bent inward but none of that did the trick. I tried them in a couple different devices so I'm pretty certain it's the headphones. Any tips for getting quiet headphones to be loud again?

[url]http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HVLUR54/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=25B55PL8F2SOS&coliid=I2IYQGCABZ8CWF&psc=1[/url] I'm looking to get these, the ATH-M40x. Reviews seem decent but I'd figure I'd ask the headphone buying megathread :v: are they good headphones?

What are you using them for? Fill out the template in OP, or at least a few of the questions.

My KZ ATE's arrived today, great build quality for $15, kind of V-shaped sound with pretty good bass but the mids are only okay, vocals sound unnatural, but overall really good bang for your buck. But god, the eartips that come with it [b]suck.[/b] I'm gonna ask my friend if he can borrow me his Zero Audio carbo tenore small tips so I can try them. [editline]6th February 2016[/editline] Listening to it right now, even though it has its downsides, wow it's really fun to listen to music with this earphone.

Budget: Up to £50, preferably less as I need to get a few other things for my computer (though none of them are probably as urgently needed as the headphones). eBay: Sure, I don't mind where I get it from as long as I don't need to pay a lot for shipping. Country: England. Isolation: Definitely circumaural. I've had closed air headphones for a while so I'm used to those, but I'm not against open/semi-open ones. Purpose: Games, music, watching TV shows/movies, voice calls. Music Tastes: Pretty varied. Stuff like Cage the Elephant, Daft Punk, Caravan Palace, along with a bunch of other things without vocals. Previous Experiences: Creative Fatal1ty Headset, Asus Vulcan ANC. Comments: The seams on one of the earpads of my Vulcans has started coming apart lately, and I wanted to get a replacement set before it falls apart entirely. I was going to get the Superlux HD668B, but I found out that the earpads are too small for me, so I really need a larger set. The opening of the earpads need to have a height of at least 6cm/2.4 inches, as that's about how tall my ears are (though I'd guess that having larger than that would be better). I'd like the option to be able to have some form of detachable mic (like the ModMic or the BoomPro at the top of the page), but I don't need to get one urgently. Any recommendations for one to go alongside the headphones would be appreciated, though.

gotta update my feedback on my HD650. I had a pretty weird experience the other day when I put the set on. I don't know what I was listening to or what sounds were playing, I think I was playing some game, but wow! I put them on and it really sounded like the sounds were in the room kind of? the sound was so clear and distinct that it really sounded like something in the room could have produced it. it's clear that some genres really don't play well with this set. they don't sound bad but I know they can sound better. I'm not exactly sure what genre is most suited for this so far. I haven't found a genre that consistently produces great sound, just single songs here and there. EDM in general doesn't sound too good but I'm not sure if that's because of the source quality or because of the genre. I find a lot of EDM tracks to sound rather low quality. [editline]8th February 2016[/editline] I gotta ask, what exactly does a DAC do to the sound? I understand that it's a digital to analog converter (duh) but is it really necessary? I could understand it being important if your current DAC (the onboard one for example) produces noticeable hissing, distortion or other symptoms of a bad quality signal, but what if these things are not there? what if the onboard DAC is more than good enough to produce signals that have no noticeable distortion / hissing?

I'm a bit surprised how loud my DT990 250ohm's can get on my Nexus 6.

[QUOTE=PredGD;49698552]gotta update my feedback on my HD650. I had a pretty weird experience the other day when I put the set on. I don't know what I was listening to or what sounds were playing, I think I was playing some game, but wow! I put them on and it really sounded like the sounds were in the room kind of? the sound was so clear and distinct that it really sounded like something in the room could have produced it. it's clear that some genres really don't play well with this set. they don't sound bad but I know they can sound better. I'm not exactly sure what genre is most suited for this so far. I haven't found a genre that consistently produces great sound, just single songs here and there. EDM in general doesn't sound too good but I'm not sure if that's because of the source quality or because of the genre. I find a lot of EDM tracks to sound rather low quality. [editline]8th February 2016[/editline] I gotta ask, what exactly does a DAC do to the sound? I understand that it's a digital to analog converter (duh) but is it really necessary? I could understand it being important if your current DAC (the onboard one for example) produces noticeable hissing, distortion or other symptoms of a bad quality signal, but what if these things are not there? what if the onboard DAC is more than good enough to produce signals that have no noticeable distortion / hissing?[/QUOTE] If you want to take your Hd650's to the next level, you should consider [url=http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/sennheiser-hd650-love-appreciation-thread.44/]modding them[/url]. The reversible foam mod really opens up the width of the Hd650's. I went kinda crazy and did the foam, coin, and dynamat mod and now they sound extra fantastic. In terms of DAC's (subjectivity incoming): When you get into big bucks DAC territory, I wouldn't describe it as "coloring" sound, but rather, each DAC has their own method of conveying information, which comes off as a slightly different sound signature. My knowledge is limited to the Bimby (Schiit Bifrost Multi-bit) and the Odac RevB. But I noticed that the Bimby has a few positive aspects that make bass more enjoyable. In that on the Odac, the sub blast that begins at :52s on [url=https://overwerk.bandcamp.com/track/canon]Cannon by OVERWERK[/url] sounds like a hot bloated mess (same results on my onboard). But the Bimby provides a much more cohesive hit. This might also be attributed to the smoother sound that the Bimby which I talk about in a second. The Odac has a slightly leaner sound compared to the Bimby. Recordings with piercing highs are almost fatiguing on the Odac, but the Bimby has a sort of upper smoothness that makes the same recordings very enjoyable to listen to w/o fatigue. The Bimby also has clearer instrument placement, with each instrument having not only defined locations in space, I can also attribute rough distances of each instrument. On the other hand, the Odac provides a more smothered image, it's a bit harder to pick out instruments, but at the same time, it sounds more "together". Saying this, the differences are supremely minimal, and it's certainly not as an extreme change as swapping out your headphones or amp. [editline]when[/editline] Added mod link

is there a difference between a DAC and a headphone amp? If I bought one, how would that affect how my headphones sound (I have an HD518) vs. my desktop's built-in audio?

[QUOTE=Schmaaa;49705303]is there a difference between a DAC and a headphone amp? If I bought one, how would that affect how my headphones sound (I have an HD518) vs. my desktop's built-in audio?[/QUOTE] a dac is the thing that converts those zeroes and ones on your computer/device (digital signal) into an analog signal that your headphones/speakers and other audio equipment can actually use. but an amplifier would take that analog signal and amplify it to an appropriate volume level. you probably won't really benefit sound quality wise getting a dac+amp with those headphones. but you may benefit from the features they have. like for myself, I have the hd 598. but in order to use them on my onboard audio, I have to set system volume to less than 10% just to not destroy my ears. this made volume control pretty difficult with them. so I got a fiio e10k (which is a dac+amp combo) so I can easily set the volume I want without fucking with system volume. the amplifier (?) on the unit also has a hardware bass boost switch on it which works really well with the 598s imo, since they're a little light on bass. also has a preamp jack (raw analog signal from the dac that hasn't been amplified) on the unit so I can also plug in my speakers so even they can (maybe) benefit from having a higher quality dac. basically, you probably won't need one. unless A. you eventually want to invest in higher quality (and probably harder to drive) headphones in the future or B. you want certain features to help control your audio better.

[t]http://i.imgur.com/H6XacbV.jpg[/t] And here we go.. (Zebrawood ZMF Omni's) [editline]when[/editline] Some impressions after the first few hours, they're heavy as a planar magnetic in the hand (544g!), but because the weight is well distributed, they're actually pretty comfy on the head. Their sound signature is surprisingly similar to my modded Hd650's, with the exception that the bass and sub bass are visceral as hell and they're a tad bit more laid back. From a general SQ, I'd call them warm with a smooth roll-off that gets all the information you need up top without being sibilant. The planar bass is tight and accurate, and is on a level of insanity that I've not yet heard from any dynamic so far . They require an ungodly amount of power, my Hd650 typically runs at 9 o'clock on my Gustard H10 and screams at 11 o'clock. Typical listening volumes on the Omni's start at 10 o'clock and will climb all the way up to 12.30 before the bass becomes deafening. Imaging and detail extraction is excellent, but I think the Hd650 is capable of extracting more detail compared to the Omni. On the otherhand, Omni creates a more enjoyable and "whole" experience. Overall, these are a fun as hell can that you should totally not do monitoring on. But hell, they're so fun to listen to. They're also gorgeous!

my Schiit Asgard 2 came and um, I don't have outputs for left and right speakers, only one combined on the back of my mobo. I can't power two cups at the same time with this. what do I do?

I ran out to fetch the cable I needed, got them up and running. I think I notice a change but I'm not sure if its that big [editline]12th February 2016[/editline] okay, as said, I think I notice the change but I'm not sure if I even like it. might even make the listening experience worse even from what I can tell right now. it sounds a lot harsher and sharper I think compared to no amplifier but I'm not sure.

Dang, that's kinda a bummer.

[QUOTE=Excalibuurr;49734930]Hey, I'm looking for speakers, budget is about 100$. I'm not sure what to look for when buying speakers. I'll be mostly using it for watching TV shows and movies.[/QUOTE] for about that much you're pretty much gonna pick between a klipsch promedia 2.1 or a logitech z623

Get a pair of Miccas and a Lepai.

[QUOTE=Ca5bah;49736228]Get a pair of Miccas and a Lepai.[/QUOTE] Absolutely love my Miccas, they also have powered versions of their speakers but all the controls are on the back and what not.

Right now I've got a pair of Philips SHP2000 headphones, and I'm looking to replace them as they're held together with insulation tape at this point. My budget would be a absolute maximum of 150, and I generally want to stay at 120 euros. I always use headphones whenever I'm at my computer, listening to all sorts of genres, playing games and voicechatting with people. A detachable cord would be great so I can replace them with longer if required. I'd be looking for a cord longer than two meters so I can easily watch movies from my bed when a friend stays over. I guess detachable earpads would be a plus too so I can run them through the washing machine every once in a while, as I'm going to wear them a LOT. Basically to make this story short, what would be a good all-round performer with a detachable cord and perhaps even removable earpads working on a 3.5mm jack?