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$500 cans on, this is how you dream right - Official Headphone Thread
- Thread starter HiResDes
- Start date
Phat Michael
Banned
Only one is my audiotechnica ath 900s. Not comparable. I didn't get the open back because I have the LCD3's.
It's not portable at all. Honestly you can walk with them around the house but they are heavy and large, I think audeze mean they don't need a dedicated desktop amp to be driven so therefore "portable". They're pretty cumbersome.
Chance Hale
Member
Those Oppos are gorgeous, definitely going to have to look into them as I've been thinking about getting a closed back pair one of these days.
Anyone tried Tidal and felt the difference was noticeable? Thinking about trying it for a month.
Anyone tried Tidal and felt the difference was noticeable? Thinking about trying it for a month.
aw yis
Also I noticed someone on reddit linked your EL 8 comparison, Michael.
http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/2z4git/audeze_el8_vs_oppo_pm3/
Also I noticed someone on reddit linked your EL 8 comparison, Michael.
http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/2z4git/audeze_el8_vs_oppo_pm3/
Phat Michael
Banned
aw yis
Also I noticed someone on reddit linked your EL 8 comparison, Michael.
http://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/2z4git/audeze_el8_vs_oppo_pm3/
Man is that the Stax and Blue Hawaii? Can you list all the components there and also your impressions?
Phat Michael
Banned
They are gorgeous. They also sound amazing and are super light and comfortable. I have not heard a better portable unit than them. It's amazing that they are the price they are. The only thing they lack of the Audeze is the massive bass slam - the highs, mids and vocals are lovely on the oppo.
Dragonfly is great for driving most headphones. Only something super high impedance may be tricky.
If you can get past the build quality (sharp edges), the schiit Fulla is as good, more powerful and cheaper. I've used both with Sennheiser headphones and both did a great job
Oveja Negra
Member
I haven't tried the Fulla, but I agree about the DragonFly, it's truly great (specially if making the transition from PC DAC, the improvement in sound quality is so noticeable).
Haloid1177
Banned
Ordered a Magni 2/Modi from Amazon.
So the earpads on my HD 380 Pros are seriously bad and I can't put off replacing them any longer, but they cost $38 shipped on amazon (after shipping it would be about the same as from senn's website), meanwhile an entire new pair is only $99, seems really absurd. I'm tempted to just buy a new pair of something comparable or better than the 380s if I"m gonna be spending this much :/
So before I do anything crazy, I guess I want to know if anyone can recommend third party earpads for the HD 380 Pros? I see third party pads seem to be a thing so... please help!
I don't mind paying a LITTLE bit more if they are more durable because I didn't care for the stock pads. See, I shave my head and it unless I'm super on top of it and keep my head smooth at all times it gradually causes me to shred through the pads. it really sucks.
So before I do anything crazy, I guess I want to know if anyone can recommend third party earpads for the HD 380 Pros? I see third party pads seem to be a thing so... please help!
I don't mind paying a LITTLE bit more if they are more durable because I didn't care for the stock pads. See, I shave my head and it unless I'm super on top of it and keep my head smooth at all times it gradually causes me to shred through the pads. it really sucks.
Try sennheiser directly rather than Amazon, they sell spare parts. The US store has the pads for $26 + $6.50 shipping. Not sure where you are or if you have a local sennheiser dealer in country.
Edit: Sorry, I appear to have lost the ability to read all of your post. Never mind.
It's fine, I appreciate any replies at all. if I can't get any good suggestions I'll order a stock pair I guess. Can't believe it's going to be nearly $40 for what costs them probably $3 but that's the world we live in I guess :/
What I really need is to find something to move up to from my 380 Pros. I'd like something a little better, but not absurdly so. Then I'll modmic it. I'm wondering if I should just get the Senneheiser Gamer Zeros but I'm not sure how they sound compared to the 380 Pros. I need them to be very similar or better, otherwise it's something else for me.
I'm not the kind of guy who has multiple headsets around. I need something that is a good all-around pair for gaming and music. $300 range or thereabouts.
What I really need is to find something to move up to from my 380 Pros. I'd like something a little better, but not absurdly so. Then I'll modmic it. I'm wondering if I should just get the Senneheiser Gamer Zeros but I'm not sure how they sound compared to the 380 Pros. I need them to be very similar or better, otherwise it's something else for me.
I'm not the kind of guy who has multiple headsets around. I need something that is a good all-around pair for gaming and music. $300 range or thereabouts.
Do they have to be closed back? Have to be over-ear?
Edit: and while we are talking about new pads, Audiocubes have stated that Stax shipped them the wrong pads for my SR-5's and are sending me a new pair. How the wrong pads ended up in a bag labeled SR-5 is anyone's guess, but some new pads are on the way.
I've only ever used closed. i'm not opposed to open since i'm in a fairly quiet environment, but i'm just not sure i'd like them as much, i don't know.
but are open a good idea for gaming? especially if I plan on adding a modmic?
I see people jumping on the HD 650s a lot... maybe I should wait for them to drop to $290 again and get those?
HD 598 are on amazon right now for $148 and will be easier to drive than the HD 650's (50 ohm v 300 ohm).
super-famicom
Member
It's because they had a ridiculous sale on Amazon a few months ago and someone made a thread about it in Off Topic. What's the AKG equivalent of the 598s, anyway? Just curious.
Upgraded my SE846's cable today with some silver's. Man on man, these are finally now my favorite IEM's, upping the IE800 and W60 (sold).
The most amazing bass for an IEM (literally feels like woofers), lush mids, and now with the silver, the treble opened up. Gonna be a fuuun few weeks with these.
The most amazing bass for an IEM (literally feels like woofers), lush mids, and now with the silver, the treble opened up. Gonna be a fuuun few weeks with these.
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri
Member
Man, I hated the stock cable on the 846, so frickin stiff. And yup, the bass on the 846 is a ton of fun
There really isn't one.
None of the AKG headphones sound as blurry as the HD598 since they generally don't roll off the treble and combine a broad mid bass hump with a high degree of 4th and 5th order distortion.
Since Sennheiser has enforced minimum advertised prices for all of their products, it's not very good value anymore. I think the Amazon price was $150? I still think that's too much for them havin listened to a pair recently.
Phat Michael
Banned
these look great. Have never heard really "great" IEM's before so that must be awesome.
Im happy with my travel kit now (EL8 / PM3 + HA-2 and phone)
The 598s are a solid first "high end" headphones because they're relatively affordable, comfortable, quite balanced sonically and easy to drive. For $100 they were a steal, and even 150 is a decent price.
The AKG 702 in comparison have a niche sound signature that a lot of people will hate (minimal bass impact, though it goes pretty deep) and they're not that good unamped. I also find their famous 3D soundstage to be artificially large. Even songs that were recorded in an intimate setting sound like an auditorium a times. Definitely not to my taste, which is why I sold them after a month.
Advice taken. Spent some time watching and reading reviews. Looks like exactly what I needed. Everyone was glowing about them and they seem like excellent all-rounders. Thanks.
These two reviews (and the discussions in their comments) swayed me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_RJ3M_v8is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT97GjKRgug
SADLY they are out of stock on amazon with no ship date listed. I read in the comments some people received word from amazon that they'll ship in April... (*edit* okay amazon e-mailed me and said they will arrive betwen april 15th and may 1st... well FML)
Now i'm researching the Boom Pro mic you suggested.
And after that I need to think about an affordable amp...
I have a Soundblaster ZxR which has a built-in Amp though I'm sure it's the sort of amp many audiophiles would laugh into oblivion. It may be good enough for my needs though. Haven't decided.
My point is that AKG makes nothing that sounds like the HD598 so there's no point looking for their version, or competitor, of it. I don't think I mentioned the AKG K702 anywhere in my post.
As for your initial point, I'm not sure how the HD598 could be considered high end. What does a headphone have to do to be considered high end? If we're talking about tonality, HiResDes knows a whole barrel of options that achieve good balanced sound for a lot cheaper.
The problem with the HD598 is that they're obviously veiled and its clear the veil comes from the really broad midbass hump combined with lots of higher order distortion. If push came to shove and I was forced to purchase a cheap open backed Sennheiser headphone from Amazon, I'd probably save the $50 and get a pair of HD558s instead.
I mentioned the K702 because they're pretty much the equivalent of the HD598s in price when they first came out (though the 598s dropped a lot more). You're basically complaining about their sound signature when it's just a matter of taste and AKG's offerings are just as flawed but at the opposite end of the spectrum. I don't find the 598s all that veiled, much less so than the HD650s I owned for a few years. I just think they're a relatively safe first foray into higher end headphones, since they are comfortable, can be driven by basically anything and have a relatively inoffensive sound.
I used high end from the perspective of people who are just starting out and coming from stock earbuds or $30 full size headphones. From that point of view they can be considered "high end" but in the full spectrum of things they're probably slightly under midrange since there seem to be more and more $500+ headphones hitting the market. I remember back when I first started the HD650s were basically god tier cans.
Your point about getting the 558s instead is sound though - afaik you can still do the same mod that was found back in the 555/595 to get the practically the same performance.
Though they don't have quite the soundstage I think I prefer the Takstar HI-2050 to the 555/558 at half the price. They get a little too close to the 598s for comfort, and sport a bit more treble extension. The 598s still have been known to crack around the hinge, but definitely are comfortable and fairly easy to amp. I don't think the 598s are too veiled at all, but the bass is also a bit too nice for my tastes. There's very little extension (over-extension) in any range and as a result it makes them sound a bit less detailed and even less exciting than many headphones in the range. I prefer the HM5s to them as well, even though we're talking closed vs open sound signature.
I am not talking about sound signature. The problem is that there is a lot of higher order distortion in the lower frequencies. This higher order distortion is emphasized by their broad midbass humps. This results in the sound being thick and muddy. To borrow the term everyone used to throw at Sennheiser headphones, they sound veiled to me.
At $100, they're pretty solid. But they're just not that good value at $150 since that extra $50 gets you a whole lot these days, especially if you don't mind buying second hand.
At $100, they're pretty solid. But they're just not that good value at $150 since that extra $50 gets you a whole lot these days, especially if you don't mind buying second hand.
I thought the veiled sound was mostly because of people inadequately powering their Sennheiser headphones? I read comments and have personal experience with the HD555 and HD598 to say that's been my case for any thick and muddy sound in the midbass unless there's a different veil I'm unaware of.
If the veil you're thinking of is a lack of detail and resolution, we are thinking of the same thing.
The HD6xx series veil is a whole can of worms. You still have people with very good equipment discussing whether or not the HD650 is veiled or not. The reality is that Sennheiser actually did multiple silent revisions of their HD6xx series, even down to the earpads I think, so I don't think amplification is a major contributor to the veil in this case.
If anyone is arguing that amplification is the reason the HD558 or HD598 aren't the clearest sounding headphones, well that's half true. High output impedance amps will boost the midbass, putting more hearing empahis on the worst parts of the HD598.
shira
Member
http://allhiphop.com/2014/05/13/dr-dres-beats-by-dre-cost-an-estimated-14-to-make/
Beats cost $14 to make LOL
Beats cost $14 to make LOL
Phat Michael
Banned
They didnt really say which ones. But yes, they are hardly made from high quality components or materials.
Theyre inferior in every way to so many headphones on the market, but hey they sell.
Phat Michael
Banned
the EL-8s are probably my favourite headphone now. The sound signature and bass are just fantastic. The whole thing feels so damn well made, well engineered and designed. While they arent portable, the closed backs are just fantastic. Really well priced unit and a much nicer proposition overall to the LCD3's.
Phat Michael
Banned
they must treat their headphones like shit. the HD800s are really well made. That is overpriced though. They retail for $1500USD normally, i got mine for $999. there is a great doco on youtube which shows the design and manufacturing process.
Phat Michael
Banned
The comply set is about $10.if you check their website it tells you which set will fit your iems. I think you get 2 of each per set.
Have you looked into those fairly new Denon portables? I'm just finding out about them, but impressions are overly positive and they look pretty cool as well.
PjotrStroganov
Member
A vmoda boompro. One cable, unlike with the antlion.
Jzero
Member
Awesome, thanks bro. They don't have Ostry on there but they are the same as my old shitty Skullcandy.
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