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Ultimate Mango
Jan 18, 2005

Agreed posted:

Depends on how important your square waves being square are to you :)

I just want it to sound good and not destroy my headphones. Am I mistaken that having higher output than input impedance is a bad idea?

I suppose I should have taken some EE back in the day to get the square wave comment...

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Midorka
Jun 10, 2011

I have a pretty fucking good palate, passed BJCP and level 2 cicerone which is more than half of you dudes can say, so I don't give a hoot anymore about this toxic community.

grack posted:

I... have to agree. This thread is two pages in and I've already had two people jump up my rear end in a top hat for daring to state that *gasp* Monster has some good quality products that shouldn't be overlooked.

Hey man, I admit Monster does make some good products. The Turbines are in the headphone buying guide. I should add the Tribute as well as I've heard nothing but praise. I'll do so when I get home. There's a lot that goes into me adding a new headphone to the list though so keep that in mind. On the whole though their products are overpriced.

Dillweed posted:

I decided to look into the two amps a bit more. Supposedly the Magni might not be a great pairing with sub-30Ω/really sensitive headphones because of the single gain setting? It also ends up around the same price as an assembled O2 to get it shipped across the border. Hrmm... :shrug: Guess I'll do a little more checking before I commit to something.

edit: Actually, if you're willing to drop the source (in my case sound card) volume control, you can probably still get a proper volume adjustment on the Magni. What effect that has on the resulting sound compared to having the source at 100%, I don't know.

I've used it with my Ad2000, 32ohms, with no problems. I'll try IEMs tonight to let you know how they are with the Magni.

Ultimate Mango posted:

I can't wait to hear Midorka's opinion of the Asgard 2. I am about to get some serious low impedance iems and am considering getting one to go with them. My current amp has output impedance higher than the impedance of my new custom ten driver iems, so I figure that can't be good...

Will do! I'm not sure when Jason is sending that out. I'll e-mail him tomorrow! As for output impedance, if there isn't a buffer then you're going to get odd frequency response issues. If you have 16ohm IEMs you want an amp with 2ohms output or less, always divide by 8. Read this article about it.

Silvain
May 19, 2006

I'm kinda awesome.
Do you guys have another recommendation for closed headphones that do soundstage and mids well besides the KAM HP-1 that sell on Amazon? I ask this because I have some Amazon points that I'd like to spend and it seems like the only place I can get the HP-1's are from the KAM site. That is of course unless the HP-1's are an absolute steal at $150 then I'd guess I would just have to get that.

cigani
Sep 26, 2009

by Fistgrrl
I read as much as I could before I got bored.

I have my headphones in for 12-16 hours a day in my lab. The lab has a constant hmmmmmmmmmmmm sound. Like a big fridge, actually a lot of big fridges. So let me try you'are template.

Budget: Cheap as possible, sound quality doesnt matter.
Noise cancelation: I dont care too much as long as I can turn them up loud enough to tune out "hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm"
Source: My IphonE
The Only Thing I care About : Being able to wear them for like 12-16 hours a day without my ear feeling like agony. Currently im using the Iphone earbud things and the pain is pretty insane. Occasionally I accidently tug on the cable and it almost brings me to tears. I don't want big dorky cans or whatever they're called because that is embarrassing to be seen wearing. So what do you recommend for someone who doesnt care at all about sound quality, but wants headphones that I can put into my ear that will drown out the constant humming of nitrogen tanks, fume hoods, and the warning sirens of low air flow from the latter?

Thank you kindly for your advices.

e; if it matters all I listen to all day is mindless early 90's uplifting trance to drown out the knowledge that I am human garbage.

I read more words because I like re-reading my own posts a few dozen times because I'm a self conceited narcissist and often times fail to put papers up to publish in time because I'm so busy masterbating to my own writting as I have nothing else to live for. This brings me to my follow up. Are there any good wireless earbuds that I could use. Getting my headphone cable tangled into an erly flask and knocking over a bunch of chloroform is cool but the smell has started to get old and the headaches are starting to last several days instead of hours now. Thanks kindly again for your advices and I hope my posting is to format.

cigani fucked around with this message at 06:58 on Aug 10, 2013

japtor
Oct 28, 2005
Are you just blasting the sound to drown out the background noise? I think just switching to any IEM will help a lot, they'll block out some noise on their own without any sound (like earplugs basically) so you won't have to go as high on volume. Fit might be an issue though since ultimately you'll have something jammed in your ear all day, if whatever included tips don't feel good there's aftermarket ones as well.

Retarted Pimple
Jun 2, 2002

cigani posted:

I read as much as I could before I got bored.

I have my headphones in for 12-16 hours a day in my lab. The lab has a constant hmmmmmmmmmmmm sound. Like a big fridge, actually a lot of big fridges. So let me try you'are template.

Budget: Cheap as possible, sound quality doesnt matter.
Noise cancelation: I dont care too much as long as I can turn them up loud enough to tune out "hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm"
Source: My IphonE
The Only Thing I care About : Being able to wear them for like 12-16 hours a day without my ear feeling like agony. Currently im using the Iphone earbud things and the pain is pretty insane. Occasionally I accidently tug on the cable and it almost brings me to tears. I don't want big dorky cans or whatever they're called because that is embarrassing to be seen wearing. So what do you recommend for someone who doesnt care at all about sound quality, but wants headphones that I can put into my ear that will drown out the constant humming of nitrogen tanks, fume hoods, and the warning sirens of low air flow from the latter?

Thank you kindly for your advices.

e; if it matters all I listen to all day is mindless early 90's uplifting trance to drown out the knowledge that I am human garbage.

I read more words because I like re-reading my own posts a few dozen times because I'm a self conceited narcissist and often times fail to put papers up to publish in time because I'm so busy masterbating to my own writting as I have nothing else to live for. This brings me to my follow up. Are there any good wireless earbuds that I could use. Getting my headphone cable tangled into an erly flask and knocking over a bunch of chloroform is cool but the smell has started to get old and the headaches are starting to last several days instead of hours now. Thanks kindly again for your advices and I hope my posting is to format.

You could try custom mold IEM's, a bit pricier, but they're made for your ear.
The Klipsch X10's are all day comfortable even under a motorcycle helmet from my experience.

Try running the cable under your shirt to keep it from snagging poo poo.

Lowness 72
Jul 19, 2006
BUTTS LOL

Jade Ear Joe
But he said cheap as possible. Probably better to get cheap MEEs and then throw some complys on them.

Personally I've found my klipsch s4 to be pretty comfortable. You can find them on sale for like $30? Though there is a new version so maybe you can't find em cheap anymore

Retarted Pimple
Jun 2, 2002

Oh, missed that, sorry.

grack
Jan 10, 2012

COACH TOTORO SAY REFEREE CAN BANISH WHISTLE TO LAND OF WIND AND GHOSTS!

dB Logic EP-100 with Shure foam tips. Cheap, very small, very comfortable.

cigani
Sep 26, 2009

by Fistgrrl

grack posted:

dB Logic EP-100 with Shure foam tips. Cheap, very small, very comfortable.

http://www.amazon.com/dB-Logic-EP-100-Earbud-Headphones/dp/B004GV49L0

Are these them? The reviews say they are not very loud. Will they be loud enough to overcome to sound of a defective nitrogen valve going pssssst really loud constantly? Thanks Kindly For your Advices so far. Also what are Shure Foam Tips. Do the one's I linked have Shure Foam Tips? If not. Where do I get. Shure Foam Tips.

quote:

Are you just blasting the sound to drown out the background noise? I think just switching to any IEM will help a lot, they'll block out some noise on their own without any sound (like earplugs basically) so you won't have to go as high on volume. Fit might be an issue though since ultimately you'll have something jammed in your ear all day, if whatever included tips don't feel good there's aftermarket ones as well.

Yes. I don't want to have to go to an earologist to get my ears fitted. I just want them to be comfortable. Do they make headphones out of tempurpedic foam?

Midorka
Jun 10, 2011

I have a pretty fucking good palate, passed BJCP and level 2 cicerone which is more than half of you dudes can say, so I don't give a hoot anymore about this toxic community.
They make Comply Tips, drat near the same.

grack
Jan 10, 2012

COACH TOTORO SAY REFEREE CAN BANISH WHISTLE TO LAND OF WIND AND GHOSTS!

cigani posted:

Yes. I don't want to have to go to an earologist to get my ears fitted. I just want them to be comfortable. Do they make headphones out of tempurpedic foam?

The headphones I mentioned about plus these - http://www.amazon.com/Shure-EABKF1-...shure+foam+tips

It's self-expanding foam, you compress it with your fingers, put it in your ears and it expands to fill the ear canal. Kind of like foam ear plugs, but you can listen to music through these. The passive noise isolation should be more than enough to drown out the background at moderate listening volumes.

cigani
Sep 26, 2009

by Fistgrrl

grack posted:

The headphones I mentioned about plus these - http://www.amazon.com/Shure-EABKF1-...shure+foam+tips

It's self-expanding foam, you compress it with your fingers, put it in your ears and it expands to fill the ear canal. Kind of like foam ear plugs, but you can listen to music through these. The passive noise isolation should be more than enough to drown out the background at moderate listening volumes.

Thanks to you. Youve been very helpful to me in this process. When they invent a good pair of wireless headphones that can last 12-16 hours on a charge please post that in this thread thanks.

sHould I get large medium or small. My ears are average sized. But I am a male. I dont think my ear passage is above normal or less than normal. So medium?

grack
Jan 10, 2012

COACH TOTORO SAY REFEREE CAN BANISH WHISTLE TO LAND OF WIND AND GHOSTS!

cigani posted:

Thanks to you. Youve been very helpful to me in this process. When they invent a good pair of wireless headphones that can last 12-16 hours on a charge please post that in this thread thanks.

sHould I get large medium or small. My ears are average sized. But I am a male. I dont think my ear passage is above normal or less than normal. So medium?

Try the mediums. If your ear canals are small (like mine are) they should still fit, you'll just have to squish them a bit more.

cigani
Sep 26, 2009

by Fistgrrl
If I took a picture of my ear canal would this help you decide what size I should buy? I can put a needle in the picture for size comparison.

grack
Jan 10, 2012

COACH TOTORO SAY REFEREE CAN BANISH WHISTLE TO LAND OF WIND AND GHOSTS!
Umm.... no. I really have no idea how to judge.

Ultimate Mango
Jan 18, 2005

cigani posted:

If I took a picture of my ear canal would this help you decide what size I should buy? I can put a needle in the picture for size comparison.

They used to sell a set with a small, medium, and large so you could try them all for a decent price rather than buying multiple pairs that may not fit. That or just get medium.

cigani
Sep 26, 2009

by Fistgrrl

Ultimate Mango posted:

They used to sell a set with a small, medium, and large so you could try them all for a decent price rather than buying multiple pairs that may not fit. That or just get medium.

This would be very useful for my current situations regarding the purchase of the Shure Foam Ear Plug. I would buy them off a store like EBay as I am sure they have them in Medium, Small, and Large packages. But using used ones seems unhygienic. Thanks much for all the helpful advices so far.

some dillweed
Mar 31, 2007

Alllrighty, I've been going a little loopy over the past day trying to figure out if I should buy or actually need to get a new amp for my new headphones. I know you guys basically said the Magni should be fine (although I don't know if the gain's too much for ~94 dB/mW headphones or if that's fine), but I actually still have an older amp with a less-than-ideal output impedance (supposedly ~5 or 6-Ohm versus the headphones' range of ~25-28). I know the ideal ratio's supposed to be around 1:8+, but how badly would it be distorting the sound at an impedance of ~5 Ohms as opposed to the ideal ~3 or less? It sounds a little "off," but I don't know if that's the amp causing issues or if that's just the way the headphones sound.

grack
Jan 10, 2012

COACH TOTORO SAY REFEREE CAN BANISH WHISTLE TO LAND OF WIND AND GHOSTS!

Dillweed posted:

Alllrighty, I've been going a little loopy over the past day trying to figure out if I should buy or actually need to get a new amp for my new headphones. I know you guys basically said the Magni should be fine (although I don't know if the gain's too much for ~94 dB/mW headphones or if that's fine), but I actually still have an older amp with a less-than-ideal output impedance (supposedly ~5 or 6-Ohm versus the headphones' range of ~25-28). I know the ideal ratio's supposed to be around 1:8+, but how badly would it be distorting the sound at an impedance of ~5 Ohms as opposed to the ideal ~3 or less? It sounds a little "off," but I don't know if that's the amp causing issues or if that's just the way the headphones sound.

Okay... what headphones are you using? If we're talking 25-28 ohms impedance you probably shouldn't need an amp to begin with.

some dillweed
Mar 31, 2007

Err, I mean Fostex. Without the amp in-between, they'd be plugging straight into the line outs on my Titanium HD, which Creative apparently haven't provided impedance specifics for besides "0.01 ohms @ 10K load," and the headphone out's been measured around 36 ohms.

some dillweed fucked around with this message at 08:13 on Aug 11, 2013

grack
Jan 10, 2012

COACH TOTORO SAY REFEREE CAN BANISH WHISTLE TO LAND OF WIND AND GHOSTS!

Dillweed posted:

Err, I mean Fostex. Without the amp in-between, they'd be plugging straight into the line outs on my Titanium HD, which Creative apparently haven't provided impedance specifics for besides "0.01 ohms @ 10K load," and the headphone out's been measured around 36 ohms.

Don't use the line out for driving headphones. Use the headphone jack. The Titanium HD supports headphones up to 330 ohms, you shouldn't need an amp at all.

some dillweed
Mar 31, 2007

Okaaayy... It's just that, that runs counter to everything I've been told elsewhere and read elsewhere (not just Head-Fi) about the basic electronic impedance matching stuff since the headphone out's impedance is even above the headphone's own impedance, that the headphone out is only really useful for higher impedance headphones, and that the line out is a cleaner output to use.

Okay, what I mean is, I've read articles, blog posts, and recommendations on various forums (yes, including Head-Fi but with a caveat) from people who seem reasonable (not over-hyping zealots) with a hell of a lot more of knowledge of audio electronics than I have, and the general advice is: source output impedance feeding headphones at most 1/8 because above that can cause things like distortions of the frequency response, if your source output impedance is too high then get a simple amp like an O2, Magni, FiiO, etc. with a sub-2-ohm output impedance and make sure it's not putting out too much power,, blah blah blah.

My assumption is that a simple amp like a Magni or O2 would fit all of those criteria, I guess I was just curious to know if anyone here knew to what degree an impedance mismatch can affect your equipment.

some dillweed fucked around with this message at 08:59 on Aug 11, 2013

Midorka
Jun 10, 2011

I have a pretty fucking good palate, passed BJCP and level 2 cicerone which is more than half of you dudes can say, so I don't give a hoot anymore about this toxic community.
I'm not good at explaining it, in-fact I really can't, but 94dB sensitivity is not very sensitive. My Audio Technica Ad2000 are 40 ohms and 102dB sensitive and I have no problems using my Magni with it. I have the volume around 9 or 10 o'clock. From my understanding 94dB is significantly harder to drive. Basically your headphones will need more power to reach the same loudness that my Ad2000 are. Here's a quick run down:

The O2/Magni can only send a certain amount of power given the amount of headphone resistance (ohms). Fortunately the scale for power to resistance doesn't shoot up very fast, meaning the Magni will send nearly the same amount of power to an 80ohm headphone that it will to a 32ohm headphone. It's not the same, but it's close enough to not really worry. What matters is sensitivity. If you look at the chart here you'll see that your Fostex would need almost 10 times more power than my Ad2000 to reach the same loudness. The Magni and O2 can easily give more than enough power to make them plenty loud. Your Fostex require more power to reach their sound so you'll actually turn the knob to the right more than I would need.

I hope that makes sense, I just woke up. I will be home tonight to try my IEMs with my Magni though.

Edit: And to see how much output impedance can effect the sound, read this, or at least look at the graphs.

Midorka fucked around with this message at 14:11 on Aug 11, 2013

some dillweed
Mar 31, 2007

:doh: NwAvGuy's blog had been referenced tons I just never took a deep enough look at it. Thanks for the explanation, Midorka. And I'd appreciate hearing about how your IEMs work with the Magni.

edit: Ah, so at their absolute worst-case highest dynamic range peak of ~118 dB SPL, these headphones should apparently only need around 250 mW of power and 1.7V. So, I'm guessing as long as the amp can supply above that voltage and doesn't go above the headphones' maximum accepted power at that impedance, it should probably be fine? Either the O2 or Magni seem like they'd be fine for that.

some dillweed fucked around with this message at 16:30 on Aug 11, 2013

Protons
Sep 15, 2012

If the resident headphone experts in here were to bet money on the Creative Aurana LIVE! or the Grado SR80i, which would win? The difference on Amazon is about 17 bucks, which is not significant at all. I'm willing to buy the Grado, but will it be worth it?

I'll belistening to Pandora on a GOV computer, and the other times I'll use my iPad/iPod. They seem identical, but I'm not sure which one I should get.

GonadTheBallbarian
Jul 23, 2007


Protons posted:

If the resident headphone experts in here were to bet money on the Creative Aurana LIVE! or the Grado SR80i, which would win? The difference on Amazon is about 17 bucks, which is not significant at all. I'm willing to buy the Grado, but will it be worth it?

I'll belistening to Pandora on a GOV computer, and the other times I'll use my iPad/iPod. They seem identical, but I'm not sure which one I should get.

Depends on where you want to listen and how noisy that environment is, really. The grados have open backs, so their isolation is fairly poo poo. However, they do have an speaking sound quality if isolation isn't a concern.

Lowness 72
Jul 19, 2006
BUTTS LOL

Jade Ear Joe
The SR80i have amazing sound. I was worried about the "Harsh Grado sound" that people like to tote around. However, I took the plunge and could not be happier.

That said - the Grados are open back. Therefore, they will not isolate you and people around you will be able to hear them as well (kinda like people wearing the stock apple earbuds). That openness is part of what allows the Grados to sound so great and have a wide soundstage.

I also like them because I can hear what's going on around me in the living room while still playing games or listening to music etc.


If you want isolation though - CAL would be a better choice.

Protons
Sep 15, 2012

Lowness 72 posted:

The SR80i have amazing sound. I was worried about the "Harsh Grado sound" that people like to tote around. However, I took the plunge and could not be happier.

That said - the Grados are open back. Therefore, they will not isolate you and people around you will be able to hear them as well (kinda like people wearing the stock apple earbuds). That openness is part of what allows the Grados to sound so great and have a wide soundstage.

I also like them because I can hear what's going on around me in the living room while still playing games or listening to music etc.


If you want isolation though - CAL would be a better choice.

Well, I have some MEE's for workin' out, and these will be for sitting around and chilling. I already have some form of Creative headset for gaming with a mic, and I don't really care if others can hear what I'm listening to.

What is meant by a 'wide soundstage'?

Midorka
Jun 10, 2011

I have a pretty fucking good palate, passed BJCP and level 2 cicerone which is more than half of you dudes can say, so I don't give a hoot anymore about this toxic community.
My 2 cents on the two:

I've owned both, sort of, though not at the same time. I currently own the SR80i though. You can read my review here. I meant to write "king" instead of "kind" in the title. I have never reviewed the CAL or owned them, but I did have extensive use with the Denon D1001, which use the same drivers. The Grado SR80i are excellent budget headphones and you can see my opinion on them in the review. The D1001 have more bass presence, by a large amount, without being overbearing. They hold a special place in my mind as one of the most musical headphones I've ever heard. By that I mean you simply put them on and enjoy anything that you play through them.

Neither is better, but I feel the Denon D1001 are the better all arounder. The CAL! are said to be a direct upgrade over the D1001 in build quality and sound because better housing.

As for soundstage, it means how the sound is presented. Something with a small soundstage would sound as if you were at a small concert with the speakers close together. A wide soundstage would expand upon that, if that makes sense.

Midorka fucked around with this message at 16:35 on Aug 11, 2013

Protons
Sep 15, 2012

Midorka posted:

My 2 cents on the two:

I've owned both, sort of, though not at the same time. I currently own the SR80i though. You can read my review here. I meant to write "king" instead of "kind" in the title. I have never reviewed the CAL or owned them, but I did have extensive use with the Denon D1001, which use the same drivers. The Grado SR80i are excellent budget headphones and you can see my opinion on them in the review. The D1001 have more bass presence, by a large amount, without being overbearing. They hold a special place in my mind as one of the most musical headphones I've ever heard. By that I mean you simply put them on and enjoy anything that you play through them.

Neither is better, but I feel the Denon D1001 are the better all arounder. The CAL! are said to be a direct upgrade over the D1001 in build quality and sound because better housing.

As for soundstage, it means how the sound is presented. Something with a small soundstage would sound as if you were at a small concert with the speakers close together. A wide soundstage would expand upon that, if that makes sense.

I listen to a lot of metal, lots of genres of it. I also like classical and jazz. Would that help narrow it down between the two?

Midorka
Jun 10, 2011

I have a pretty fucking good palate, passed BJCP and level 2 cicerone which is more than half of you dudes can say, so I don't give a hoot anymore about this toxic community.
If you don't need isolation then I think the SR80i is the best choice under $100 for you.

Lowness 72
Jul 19, 2006
BUTTS LOL

Jade Ear Joe

Protons posted:

I listen to a lot of metal, lots of genres of it. I also like classical and jazz. Would that help narrow it down between the two?

Definitely the Grados

Protons
Sep 15, 2012

Midorka posted:

If you don't need isolation then I think the SR80i is the best choice under $100 for you.

When you say isolation, do you mean sound will spill out of these into the room, and will I hear everything going on around me that I would have to max out the volume to an uncomfortable level?

GonadTheBallbarian
Jul 23, 2007


Protons posted:

When you say isolation, do you mean sound will spill out of these into the room, and will I hear everything going on around me that I would have to max out the volume to an uncomfortable level?

The latter. The former refers to something called leakage, but with open backs the two often go hand in hand. However, a sound source so close to your ear will mask most quiet environmental noise in a house, not so much outside.

Protons
Sep 15, 2012

Ahh, but the grados are on ear, which makes them like bear traps on your head after an hour of use. I guess I'll get the CAL! I can't go wrong with either can I?

GonadTheBallbarian
Jul 23, 2007


Protons posted:

Ahh, but the grados are on ear, which makes them like bear traps on your head after an hour of use. I guess I'll get the CAL! I can't go wrong with either can I?

The ear cups on that are a little on the small side, so it'll still touch your pinna inappropriately, but it's hard to go wrong with either, really. If you're using these by the computer, you'll notice audio quality more, but it's tough to pick wrong between those two. 75% of what makes a "good headphone" is how it works for you in particular.

Lowness 72
Jul 19, 2006
BUTTS LOL

Jade Ear Joe

Protons posted:

Ahh, but the grados are on ear, which makes them like bear traps on your head after an hour of use. I guess I'll get the CAL! I can't go wrong with either can I?

Yes the grados tend to be uncomfortable after a while. If you still want open though you could try the AD700s. Supposedly very comfortable.

Protons
Sep 15, 2012

Lowness 72 posted:

Yes the grados tend to be uncomfortable after a while. If you still want open though you could try the AD700s. Supposedly very comfortable.

Those look like Lazy Boys for your ears! Open air, and big rare earth metal magnets. Bigger is better right?

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Midorka
Jun 10, 2011

I have a pretty fucking good palate, passed BJCP and level 2 cicerone which is more than half of you dudes can say, so I don't give a hoot anymore about this toxic community.
Not necessarily and as much as I absolutely love the Ad700, I don't feel they suit your needs.

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