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Headphones, amps and other audio gear


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1 hour ago, zackflag said:

Help out a n00b here. What is meant by the term "open cans"?

Closed backed headphones are sealed, the ear cups are made from a solid material like often wood or plastic so the sound doesn't leak out much and the outside world noise doesn't intrude too much. They will generally have more bass but they also tend to make everything sound closer and smaller. 

Open backed cans have the ear cups made from various materials with holes to let air pass through like some kind of mesh or thatched design or louvers usually that lets in some outside air and lets some of the sound leak out as well. They genetally have a wider soundstage and things sound bigger and more airy although often they can have less bass because of this. 

 

My first few decent pairs of headphones were all closed backs for more bass and less sound leakage. But since then I've tried some open ones as well which I very much prefer. My Fidelio X2's were my first open pair and they became my main every day go-to cans so since they broke I've been hunting for some open backed cans that somehow manage to have good solid bass. That seems to be the trade off in the headphone world, to some extent you sort of have to choose between having more detail and clarity in the midrange and treble or a darker bassier sound. There are so many headphones now that can give you varying degrees of either or both and it's a matter of finding the sound you like best for the music you listen to. Some people have different headphones that they prefer for different genres of music.

 

Thats where I guess I'm lucky, I only need them to sound good with extreme metal and specifically black metal because that's the majority of what I listen to. If I liked more different kinds of music with clean vocals and softer more dynamic parts I'd probably be looking at some very different kinds of headphones. 

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No, I think you will find the LCD-2'S work for every genre pretty well save for synthetic bass music like EDM or rap. They don't do synthesized bass well, but any music with actual fucking instruments sounds great. The only way I would replace those is if 1) they're too uncomfortable, 2) you're unhappy with the sound and have maxed out your signal chain, or 3) you radically change direction in life and go all in with drum & bass music. You may find them a little harsh with poorly recorded music, but you're probably the one chap I know who will like that.

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Saw the price drop for Amazon Music Unlimited HD to $7.99 for prime members, and who the hell isn't, and immediately dropped my Tidal and Pandora subscriptions which in case of the latter was long overdue. Plus 3 months free, and here I am doing free advertising for Jeff Bezos (Obey!)

Something like 50 million albums in 'HD' or 16/44 Lossless FLAC and 'Ultra HD' at up to 24/192, which is obviously absurd imo but hey its no additional cost so fire it up.

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2 hours ago, Hungarino said:

Saw the price drop for Amazon Music Unlimited HD to $7.99 for prime members, and who the hell isn't, and immediately dropped my Tidal and Pandora subscriptions which in case of the latter was long overdue. Plus 3 months free, and here I am doing free advertising for Jeff Bezos (Obey!)

Something like 50 million albums in 'HD' or 16/44 Lossless FLAC and 'Ultra HD' at up to 24/192, which is obviously absurd imo but hey its no additional cost so fire it up.

Funny, I was just thinking about doing the same. I've been test driving Qobuz lately. I like it, but I don't think it brings anything different to the table than Amazon which is actually cheaper.

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On 5/17/2021 at 9:45 PM, navybsn said:

Funny, I was just thinking about doing the same. I've been test driving Qobuz lately. I like it, but I don't think it brings anything different to the table than Amazon which is actually cheaper.

Yo' Navy I finally pulled the trigger on the Meze 99 Classics. $200 on massdrop, figured that's pretty good. $309 on Amazon.

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3 hours ago, Hungarino said:

Yo' Navy I finally pulled the trigger on the Meze 99 Classics. $200 on massdrop, figured that's pretty good. $309 on Amazon.

Hungalicious, you're going to like them. I made a few mods to mine. A new cable (my stock one was a little kinky) that was less than $30 and the Brainwavz pads. They're big and plush. Make them even more comfortable. I EQ the treble up just slightly on mine because they sound a bit dark to me. Just a small bump. I think you'll be impressed with the build, comfort, and sound. Let me know if you need any help with them. The General has a set too if I'm not mistaken.

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....Meze Classics are fantastic for the money...I love mine....

....I'd love to get the Empyreans, but that's just more than I want to spend right now...especially since I have a pair of Focals and a pair of Sennheisers....

....Sennheisers are awesome for CDs and FLAC....but I mostly listen to vinyl, so I use the Meze a lot....

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Sooooo.....yeah I went ahead and got the Massdrop X Sennheiser HD 6XXs for $210 also. I keep seeing that the 650's are nothing short of remarkable for their price, and these are supposedly the same thing with a few minor changes and obviously waay cheaper. My 598 SEs were my intro level open backs - I think this will be a big step up. So I think I have picked up my long term answers for open and closed back HPs at pretty big discounts, but I definitely will need to sell some of my old gear. Circle of life/money.

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2 hours ago, Hungarino said:

Sooooo.....yeah I went ahead and got the Massdrop X Sennheiser HD 6XXs for $210 also. I keep seeing that the 650's are nothing short of remarkable for their price, and these are supposedly the same thing with a few minor changes and obviously waay cheaper. My 598 SEs were my intro level open backs - I think this will be a big step up. So I think I have picked up my long term answers for open and closed back HPs at pretty big discounts, but I definitely will need to sell some of my old gear. Circle of life/money.

Our old buddy Daniel from the MFi olden days would be so proud of you! He loved the Senn HD 600 series so much. I've never heard them myself, but their house sound is darn good. I do know you will want a good DAC/amp to drive them. Your dragonfly may do the job. If not, you can get a Schiit stack for around $200 new. More than enough. The Meze don't need an amp.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/4/2021 at 5:33 PM, GoatmasterGeneral said:

Received my Amazon Warehouse pair of Sivga Phoenix in the mail today, the ear cups seem kind of small but I haven't actually heard them yet. 

Just agreed to buy a pair of LCD-2C used from a dude on Head-fi for $560. They sell for $799 new on Amazon. He says it's the best bass he's ever heard in a headphone,  so as somewhat of a bass head myself I'm encouraged. Waiting for him to invoice me.

Also put a bid on a used pair of Assdrop Hifiman Edition XX on Ebay last night. $519 was the buy it now price, $399 was the minimum opening bid, I think they sell for about $600 new. It's currently sitting at $410 right now with 4 days to go. $440 was my top bid but I think I'll probably just let someone else outbid me now that I'll be getting the LCD-2C's. But if I do actually get them for the bargain price of $440 I won't be upset about that either. 

Man I hate when I get sucked down into that headphone/audio gear rabbit hole. Now when the 70 ohm LCD's get here that'll be an excuse to hunt for a new DAC/amp. Unless it turns out my Micca OriGen2 will supply enough juice to power them properly to get that good bass, we'll have to wait and see. 

 

How are the new cans working out for ya?

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  • 2 weeks later...

My Sennheiser SD 6XXs came as a nice surprise delivery, just in time for my doctor ordered lay around time, and holy shit, they live up to the hype, big time. I am fairly noobish with better gear, but these are obviously superior to every other hps I have tried. The clarity, separation, sound stage and depth are nothing short of stunning. Really helps cut through the mayhem of a lot of the fast, chaotic goat music I am finding. Most of all is the clarity, I don't know if there is a better descriptor. These are fucking crystal though. Bright, not going to blow you away with bass, but the mids and highs are razor sharp precision. 

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19 hours ago, Hungarino said:

My Sennheiser SD 6XXs came as a nice surprise delivery, just in time for my doctor ordered lay around time, and holy shit, they live up to the hype, big time. I am fairly noobish with better gear, but these are obviously superior to every other hps I have tried. The clarity, separation, sound stage and depth are nothing short of stunning. Really helps cut through the mayhem of a lot of the fast, chaotic goat music I am finding. Most of all is the clarity, I don't know if there is a better descriptor. These are fucking crystal though. Bright, not going to blow you away with bass, but the mids and highs are razor sharp precision. 

I know there are a ton of mids and plenty of tweaks out there to help you tune then any way you like.

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9 hours ago, navybsn said:

I know there are a ton of mids and plenty of tweaks out there to help you tune then any way you like.

I am digging these out of the box. Bad news is the wife put the kabocsh on the Mezes. They were getting delayed until August anyway so I cancelled the order. Might have to be next year.

Update: counter offer was I bought some Koss KPH30is without telling her. But only $30, so really can't argue.

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  • 1 month later...
53 minutes ago, BMB said:

I see a lot of you are mainly using headphones, seems to be quite common for people into metal. Is this to spare your significant other from your music tastes?😄

I like speakers better but I wind up listening on headphones more and more lately. They're good when I'm out walking and more convenient when I'm working around the house and whatnot. And yeah, sometimes it's just so I can enjoy music without an argument. My wife is fine with most of what I play but my son can be a little prince about it and it's totally not worth the oxygen.

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8 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

I like speakers better but I wind up listening on headphones more and more lately. They're good when I'm out walking and more convenient when I'm working around the house and whatnot. And yeah, sometimes it's just so I can enjoy music without an argument. My wife is fine with most of what I play but my son can be a little prince about it and it's totally not worth the oxygen.

The only time I use headphones is when I am out and about. I have a pair of PSB M4U2 (rendered unusable due to the usual faults), and a pair of B&W C5 Series 2 for when I’m travelling light or in the winter when I’ve got a beanie hat on.
 

I have been fortunate, to a certain degree, I’ve usually always been able listen to my music at home through my speakers. I’d never contemplate using headphones at home. 

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Just now, BMB said:

The only time I use headphones is when I am out and about. I have a pair of PSB M4U2 (rendered unusable due to the usual faults), and a pair of B&W C5 Series 2 for when I’m travelling light or in the winter when I’ve got a beanie hat on.
 

I have been fortunate, to a certain degree, I’ve usually always been able listen to my music at home through my speakers. I’d never contemplate using headphones at home. 

I'm kinda jealous, but I have to say noise cancelling has turned out to be an amazing bonus around this little zoo.

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5 hours ago, BMB said:

I see a lot of you are mainly using headphones, seems to be quite common for people into metal. Is this to spare your significant other from your music tastes?😄

I never even had a real set of headphones until the most recent baby came along in 2014. I always had some $25 ear buds to use with my MP3 player for plane rides and waiting rooms and stuff but at home it was always speakers. Baby comes along, he took 2 daily naps of about 90 minutes each and then went down in his crib at 7:30 sharp each evening. Anytime he was in his crib we were tiptoeing around the house, walking on eggshells, whispering & using hand signals like silent burglars afraid to make any noise at all lest we get caught. So I then I bought some real over the ear closed back headphones so I could listen to my music in silence without disturbing anyone.

Little dude's 7 now and we basically live in one room together he and I, and that's the living room because we're renovating this mid-1800's farmhouse so the upstairs is all completely gutted. So I have no choice but to listen on headphones because otherwise his TV and my music would be fighting it out in the same room 8 feet away from each other. And then when he turned the TV off and went to bed my black metal would be disturbing him as I keep vampire's hours and tend to stay up very late into the pre-dawn hours. Thats's partly my personal circadian rhythm and partly because when he's sleeping that's the only peace and quiet I ever get. And even though by 2 or 3am a little voice is saying "go to bed, go to bed, go to bed you fucking idiot..." I fight going to sleep because I just don't want that wonderful peace to ever end. The only time I get to listen to music through speakers now is when he's in school and we have a day off or if we finish work before he gets home at 4:20. Of course it's summertime here atm so there will be no school for another 6 weeks. I'm counting down the days, only 43 to go.

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  • 2 months later...

I was playing with some wired ear buds from a couple of years ago and they sounded ok, which motivated me to check out IEMs and I decided to try some Chinese Shure knock-offs from Amazon and damn they are good. Yinyoo CCZ is the name, same company makes KZ ZSTs that seem to be popular or at least known. Run straight off the phone, and with my phone's EQ I can tweak all I want. Braided wire back over the ear and all that. Huge thing is how comfortable they are. These are going to get a lot of air time. It is unfathomable to me how good cheap audio gear has become.

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I just have a shitty $14 pair of Skullcandy earbuds. I don't tend to use headphones very often because I'm always listening to stuff on my turntable and it doesn't have a port for headphones as far as I am aware.

My turntable is a Fluance RT80. Not the most advanced turntable by far, but does the job for me. I have edifier speakers that are bluetooth capable, but I'm not certain what the model number is for those. I eventually want to upgrade my turntable and give the one I have now to my buddy so he can get into vinyl too, but I'm not sure what I would even buy. Probably an RT81 elite by Fluance as I'm not looking to be shelling out tons of money on a turntable any time soon.

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  • 1 month later...
On 10/24/2021 at 2:29 AM, NokturnalBoredom said:

I just have a shitty $14 pair of Skullcandy earbuds. I don't tend to use headphones very often because I'm always listening to stuff on my turntable and it doesn't have a port for headphones as far as I am aware.

My turntable is a Fluance RT80. Not the most advanced turntable by far, but does the job for me. I have edifier speakers that are bluetooth capable, but I'm not certain what the model number is for those. I eventually want to upgrade my turntable and give the one I have now to my buddy so he can get into vinyl too, but I'm not sure what I would even buy. Probably an RT81 elite by Fluance as I'm not looking to be shelling out tons of money on a turntable any time soon.

I bought some Bluetooth skull candy ear buds and can't get them to work.🤬 The £2 wired ear phones work fine and are ok quality of sound. 

Good luck finding a good turntable at budget. 

In fact I got cheapest ear phones from local store to see how bad they were and they had better sound than the much more expensive Sony ones which had handsfree. Cheap ones could not get so high volume but they had very good bass power. Can't find them anymore 😭

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 10/24/2021 at 2:29 AM, NokturnalBoredom said:

I just have a shitty $14 pair of Skullcandy earbuds. I don't tend to use headphones very often because I'm always listening to stuff on my turntable and it doesn't have a port for headphones as far as I am aware.

My turntable is a Fluance RT80. Not the most advanced turntable by far, but does the job for me. I have edifier speakers that are bluetooth capable, but I'm not certain what the model number is for those. I eventually want to upgrade my turntable and give the one I have now to my buddy so he can get into vinyl too, but I'm not sure what I would even buy. Probably an RT81 elite by Fluance as I'm not looking to be shelling out tons of money on a turntable any time soon.

I got skull candy wireless Bluetooth ear buds. There bit tinny sound. Changed the fittings from other ear buds which has improved sound so there ok sound now but funny enough the cheap £2 ones have better bass and overall sound. Pleased I got a few cheap ones. It was a surprise as thought 💀 candy would be better than budget ones. Another case of paying more for the name I guess.

At some point I will get the overear ones like the pictures goat master general put on previous post as I do listen to alot on headphones or when driving for work and I too often do 200 plus miles a day so lots of music

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