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Dr. Fishopolis
Aug 31, 2004

ROBOT

paberu posted:

Might try that, though I did find an optical cable that's long enough to reach my dac. Testing optical out from my motherboard to Modi and so far it seems like there is 0 noise!

Well that's the best possible solution for sure.

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site
Apr 6, 2007

Trans pride, Worldwide
Bitch

Wheeee posted:

I'd look at the 560S in that price range.

There's a new review of the PC38X up as well for comparison.

Unfortunately it seems the Sennheiser 58x, the 560s, the 6xx and that TYGR 300r are all out of stock everywhere. Beyerdynamic DT 770 and 990 are in stock but tbh I don't understand what people are talking about in their reviews to know what the actual differences are between the two and between those and the PC38x

Clark Nova
Jul 18, 2004

site posted:

Unfortunately it seems the Sennheiser 58x, the 560s, the 6xx and that TYGR 300r are all out of stock everywhere. Beyerdynamic DT 770 and 990 are in stock but tbh I don't understand what people are talking about in their reviews to know what the actual differences are between the two and between those and the PC38x

The 6XX and 58X can only be purchased from drop.com and it looks like they're in stock

site
Apr 6, 2007

Trans pride, Worldwide
Bitch

Clark Nova posted:

The 6XX and 58X can only be purchased from drop.com and it looks like they're in stock

Down at the bottom it says they won't ship until March 16 and March 31, respectively. So I guess not out of stock, technically, just unavailable

Dr. Fishopolis
Aug 31, 2004

ROBOT

site posted:

Unfortunately it seems the Sennheiser 58x, the 560s, the 6xx and that TYGR 300r are all out of stock everywhere. Beyerdynamic DT 770 and 990 are in stock but tbh I don't understand what people are talking about in their reviews to know what the actual differences are between the two and between those and the PC38x

DT770 is a closed back with lots of sub bass and treble that's on the verge of too much for a lot of people, but that's sometimes not a bad thing in games as it helps with footstep location. DT990 is the open back version with treble that's definitely too much for anybody period, I have no idea how people play those things at a decent volume. PC38x (like every sennheiser of its ilk) is far more forgiving than either of them in the treble regions, with a focus on incomparably buttery midrange. It's like, drippin off a hot biscuit. sorry, I need a snack

e: honestly the PC38X might be my favorite sennheiser tuning, I just wish it wasn't quite so gamer aesthetic. and I can't betray my vintage 580s.

Clark Nova
Jul 18, 2004

site posted:

Down at the bottom it says they won't ship until March 16 and March 31, respectively. So I guess not out of stock, technically, just unavailable


oh sorry, I didn't know they decided to get cute with the buy/pre-order/request setup they have

site
Apr 6, 2007

Trans pride, Worldwide
Bitch
It turns out that though it never indicated so, a second look at my PC38x order shows that it won't ship til March 1st so I think I'm gonna cancel that one and try the 770

Wheeee
Mar 11, 2001

When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies.

Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life.

That which has become hard shall not triumph.

site posted:

Unfortunately it seems the Sennheiser 58x, the 560s, the 6xx and that TYGR 300r are all out of stock everywhere. Beyerdynamic DT 770 and 990 are in stock but tbh I don't understand what people are talking about in their reviews to know what the actual differences are between the two and between those and the PC38x

There's also the Audio Technica ATH-AD700 which is crazy lightweight and comfortable due to its weird wings, and which is very popular for gaming due to having a nice bright tuning and good positioning and soundstage. I gave mine away some time ago and kinda miss them sometimes.

The DT770 as mentioned are not tuned the best for general music listening but are fine for games, with the benefits of being closed for isolation and very comfortable to wear.

Really pretty much any headphones work fine for games and I wouldn't stress much over it.

Dr. Fishopolis
Aug 31, 2004

ROBOT
DT770 also has the benefit of being built with teutonic determinism out of bus seat plastic and will survive extreme abuse.

Wheeee
Mar 11, 2001

When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies.

Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life.

That which has become hard shall not triumph.

Yea the DT770 is an actual for reals professional studio use tracking headphone that just became popular on the consumer market, it's made of spring steel and thick milk jug plastic and has rough feeling adjustments and build quality, and if anything on it does break you can get replacement parts

Beyerdynamic is like the anti-HiFiMan, poor tuning but with rugged build quality

Passburger
May 4, 2013

Wheeee posted:

Beyerdynamic is like the anti-HiFiMan, poor tuning but with rugged build quality

That alsmost sounded like a thread title!

Winged Orpheus
May 21, 2010

Domine, Dirige Nos
My current rig has finally died in one ear and I'm too lazy to try and fix it since I wanted to replace it soon anyway. Looking for some recommendations

Budget - Preferably sub $300, willing to go up to $500 if something is worth the cost tho
Source - PC Audio, mostly gaming with some music. I used to care about things like FLAC but these days my sources are Youtube and Spotify.
Isolation Requirements - I've got a fairly quiet area so not a necessity, but some amount wouldn't go amiss
Preferred Type of Headphone - Over ear, and I mean OVER ear. I hate having things in/on my ears. I also want wireless, I'm tired of cords.
Preferred Tonal Balance - Don't have a strong preference on this, probably mostly neutral/slightly bass heavy
Past Headphones - Current setup is ODAC+O2 Dac/Amp combo with Drop K7XXs.
Preferred Music - EDM/indie/synth/pop.

Longer version: I've had K7XXs with an ODAC+O2 combo for a long time, and it's been great but the headphones are starting to die more frequently and I'm tired of cracking it open and checking wiring. I've wanted to replace the whole thing with a wireless headset for a while, and I'm taking this as a sign. I know I'm sacrificing audio quality for convenience here, and I'm at a point in my life where I'm ok with that. I'm looking for a wireless, over-the-ear headset that sounds decent for both music and gaming. I'm not playing competitive FPS games so I don't care too much about being able to hear where footsteps and things are. Convenience/simplicity is the name of the game here, I want something that will do the job fairly well and I don't have to think about for another 5+ years. I'd love to keep it under $300 but am willing to spend more if it's worth it. Built-in mic would be a bonus but not a requirement.

Yuns
Aug 19, 2000

There is an idea of a Yuns, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.
Following up on my earlier post here is probably my endgame portable. Hidittion Viento B and an Astell & Kern SR25. I got the DUNU Blanche cord because of DUNU's awesome quick change plug system not because I believe that cables change sound. I know it's not a Lootoo Paw Gold Touch feeding a Z1R but this is pretty much as far as I'll go on portable audio.

Yuns fucked around with this message at 22:31 on Feb 12, 2021

Wheeee
Mar 11, 2001

When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies.

Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life.

That which has become hard shall not triumph.

all IEM cables should be Sony's IER cables, biggest thing i miss about the M9 are the cables

they the best

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.
A 700$ audio player is a hell of an investment. Is that a difference you can really hear at that price range? I've never really put much thought into the audio player a major element in my own music setup, which is a pretty glaring omission now that I think about it, but on the other hand the digitalization of most audio players also always made me kind of assume that you'd basically get the same thing out of it no matter what you use in specific.

Yuns
Aug 19, 2000

There is an idea of a Yuns, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.
You can get the same sound quality of the SR25 for far less depending on your IEMs/headphones and your needs. In fact many phones like the LG G and V series have good sound. While I do want excellent sound quality, that is not why I chose to go with the DAP. It was mostly prompted by my killing my cell phone by dropping a weight onto it while I was using it as a source in the gym.

I chose to go with a separate DAP because I wanted to separate out my music from my phone (for safety as well as battery life reasons) and the SR25 besides having good sound quality had the features that I wanted including:

being able to drive more difficult IEMs/headphones than a phone can,
super long battery life (21 hours).
LDAC/aptX-HD wireless support,
support for formats including FLAC and MQA,
support for DSD,
support for hi res streaming services,
built in PEQ,
ability to act as a source to another DAC,
ability to act as a DAC through USB-C,
ability to work with AK's AK Connect DLNA control app
2.5 balanced out as well as 3.5mm out
ability to switch the outline to line output instead of headphone output.
support for micro-SD cards,
ability to watch youtube, .

Lastly Samsung and Apple abandoning the headset jack also played into this.

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.
Thank you for taking the time to explain. That's a nice feature set and I can see the benefits.

Lil Swamp Booger Baby
Aug 1, 1981

Cardiovorax posted:

A 700$ audio player is a hell of an investment. Is that a difference you can really hear at that price range? I've never really put much thought into the audio player a major element in my own music setup, which is a pretty glaring omission now that I think about it, but on the other hand the digitalization of most audio players also always made me kind of assume that you'd basically get the same thing out of it no matter what you use in specific.

No, not really, I've a cheaper one and the biggest benefit is that it enhances portability since they often have more capable amps to drive headphones and DACs that measure better than your typical phone (though whether or not you could even hear that difference is debatable.)

They also tend to have longer battery lives. I do like not having to stick a chunky amp onto the end of my phone and drain the poo poo out of the battery. It's more practical for me.

Oftentimes they also have better interfaces for transferring music and managing music files, their DACs can handle higher bitrates (another thing with diminishing returns in audibility), they can come with more robust EQ functionality (though arguably any Android phone can get the software for that) and they allow you to have more fine control over volume than the crappy method on your phone.

They DO have benefits, but are you going to hear the difference between that and your phone with a capable $100 (or less, even) amp connected to it? Probably not.

Lil Swamp Booger Baby
Aug 1, 1981

Beat by someone saying the same thing as me but better lol.

Dr. Fishopolis
Aug 31, 2004

ROBOT
I have an LG V30. It's great having a phone that doubles as a proper headphone amp, it would be perfect except for LG's dogshit software support. I guess that's the price of all pre-treble android devices though, whadyagonnado.

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

Lil Swamp Booger Baby posted:

Beat by someone saying the same thing as me but better lol.
It's still appreciated. :)

I bought a cheap little USB-C DAC for my phone recently and the experience of using that with my over-ear headphones has been pretty good overall, so I was just wondering. The only reason I don't use it more than I do is because wireless headphones have spoiled me a bit on convenient and because the contact is a bit loose so it tends to disconnect occasionally while on the go. I've had that issue with standard audio jacks as well at times, though, so it's not something I consider an issue with the DAC or even the phone specifically.

Sacred Cow
Aug 13, 2007
On the subjects of DAPs - anyone have any opinions on ones that are in the $150-200 range? My father in law lives in a country where internet is extremely expensive so his music options are limited to what he can fit on a 16GB iPhone 6s so I’m sending him an audio care package. I think it’s down to a Fiio M6 or HiBy R3 pro with a 1TB SD card but I’m guessing at this with limited knowledge of the subject.

Dr. Fishopolis
Aug 31, 2004

ROBOT
no experience with DAPs but i've never had a bad experience with bluetooth gadgets and IEMs from Fiio, they're typically good value.

Yuns
Aug 19, 2000

There is an idea of a Yuns, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.
I haven't used either so I'm sure we'll have more experienced voices contribute but they seem very similar and I'm sure your father in law will be happy with either but the Fiio has a 3.5mm jack but not a balanced 2.5mm jack (no normal people will care) and the Hiby has both 3.5 and 2.5mm and the Hiby claims 20 hours of battery life vs Fiio claim of 13+.

Wheeee
Mar 11, 2001

When a tree grows, it is soft and pliable. But when it's dry and hard, it dies.

Hardness and strength are death's companions. Flexibility and softness are the embodiment of life.

That which has become hard shall not triumph.

Cardiovorax posted:

Thank you for taking the time to explain. That's a nice feature set and I can see the benefits.

Another plus to a DAP is that unlike phones they don't really go obsolete, so while $700 is a lot the thing will also be a good piece of audio gear for like a decade unless the battery shits the bed

Yuns
Aug 19, 2000

There is an idea of a Yuns, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.

Wheeee posted:

all IEM cables should be Sony's IER cables, biggest thing i miss about the M9 are the cables

they the best
The M9 cables can be ordered separately as replacement parts:

z1r cables
https://sony.encompass.com/item/12434619/Sony/1-912-774-21/
https://sony.encompass.com/item/12434618/Sony/1-912-775-21/
M9
https://sony.encompass.com/item/12319321/Sony/1-912-704-11/
https://sony.encompass.com/item/12617876/Sony/1-912-703-11/

Pricey but within the range of other premium cables.

Yuns fucked around with this message at 02:02 on Feb 13, 2021

Yuns
Aug 19, 2000

There is an idea of a Yuns, some kind of abstraction, but there is no real me, only an entity, something illusory, and though I can hide my cold gaze and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable: I simply am not there.

Wheeee posted:

Another plus to a DAP is that unlike phones they don't really go obsolete, so while $700 is a lot the thing will also be a good piece of audio gear for like a decade unless the battery shits the bed
Yes, there's a whole community of people still using Zunes.

Lil Swamp Booger Baby
Aug 1, 1981

If you have your own collection of audio files on your PC elsewhere, it probably is worth buying an inexpensive DAP for the fact they are far better for handling music libraries outside of apps. I have no idea how I'd be able to bring my FLAC library onto my phone without filling up my storage or making an utter mess of things with all the other crap on it. Sometimes it's nice to just compartmentalize your music away from your phone.

Another benefit of a DAP is that you can always hook them up to a proper, desktop headphone amp like the Atom rather than using a Fire Stick, phone, computer, what have you, and use them as an audio interface since a lot of the DACs with usable interfaces on them are expensive and not as robust with their direct interface. Way easier for me to just stick my DAP in and control what I'm listening to from my palm than gently caress around with my computer. This does take some cable fuckery though.

njsykora
Jan 23, 2012

Robots confuse squirrels.


Dr. Fishopolis posted:

no experience with DAPs but i've never had a bad experience with bluetooth gadgets and IEMs from Fiio, they're typically good value.
I have a M3 Pro and it's stupidly nice, also most modern DAPs you can connect to your computer and use as an external sound card which is nice. Fiio's stuff usually isn't the absolute best around, but it's always a pretty significant amount cheaper than the actual top for not being massively lesser.

Yuns posted:

Yes, there's a whole community of people still using Zunes.
iPods too, they're surprisingly easy to repair (the Classics at least, everything else is on full Apple lockdown) and stupidly moddable.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Yuns posted:

You can get the same sound quality of the SR25 for far less depending on your IEMs/headphones and your needs. In fact many phones like the LG G and V series have good sound. While I do want excellent sound quality, that is not why I chose to go with the DAP. It was mostly prompted by my killing my cell phone by dropping a weight onto it while I was using it as a source in the gym.

I chose to go with a separate DAP because I wanted to separate out my music from my phone (for safety as well as battery life reasons) and the SR25 besides having good sound quality had the features that I wanted including:

being able to drive more difficult IEMs/headphones than a phone can,
super long battery life (21 hours).
LDAC/aptX-HD wireless support,
support for formats including FLAC and MQA,
support for DSD,
support for hi res streaming services,
built in PEQ,
ability to act as a source to another DAC,
ability to act as a DAC through USB-C,
ability to work with AK's AK Connect DLNA control app
2.5 balanced out as well as 3.5mm out
ability to switch the outline to line output instead of headphone output.
support for micro-SD cards,
ability to watch youtube, .

Lastly Samsung and Apple abandoning the headset jack also played into this.

the Apple DAC dongle really isn’t that bad/really is that good, I guess?

For $9 it performs way better than it has any right to, but the thinness of that cable tho

Wheeee posted:

Another plus to a DAP is that unlike phones they don't really go obsolete, so while $700 is a lot the thing will also be a good piece of audio gear for like a decade unless the battery shits the bed

you can get an iPod touch for like a third the price of a $700 DAP

That still has an audio jack, plus Bluetooth if you want to go that route (sans AptX)

trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 17:37 on Feb 13, 2021

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Yuns posted:

Thanks for all the recommendations. I didn't realize that there were so many decent options that still kept a retro look.

the Sony cans I couldn’t remember last week are the MDR-7506, btw. $80-100 depending on where you get them.

There’s also a lighter, smaller, recently discontinued but still readily available sibling called the 7502 around ~$50

if they’re too staid looking there’s tons of customizable/replacement parts out there for them too. Pads, cables, headbands, etc.

Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

Ok Comboomer posted:

the Apple DAC dongle really isn’t that bad/really is that good, I guess?

For $9 it performs way better than it has any right to, but the thinness of that cable tho
I bought a Sharkoon DAC and I'm pretty happy with that. 15$ instead of 9$, but with the advantage of having one of these really nice woven fibre mesh coatings instead of stiffer plastic. It also has cute little LED lights that indicate the sample rate, but that has no real practical use. I just like the glowies.

edit: Hah, I didn't think that would actually work, but I just took some pliers to the USB-C end of the DAC and squeezed it a little. Now the wiggle is much less pronounced and the audio does not cut out anymore of I press on the USB end! Do it yourself is king as ever.

Cardiovorax fucked around with this message at 00:23 on Feb 14, 2021

duckdealer
Feb 28, 2011

Sacred Cow posted:

On the subjects of DAPs - anyone have any opinions on ones that are in the $150-200 range? My father in law lives in a country where internet is extremely expensive so his music options are limited to what he can fit on a 16GB iPhone 6s so I’m sending him an audio care package. I think it’s down to a Fiio M6 or HiBy R3 pro with a 1TB SD card but I’m guessing at this with limited knowledge of the subject.

I have a Shanling Q1.

The interface isn't that great but it meets my needs of supporting larger micro SD cards. I can't compare the sound to any other DAP but as far as I know it sounds good.

Dr. Fishopolis
Aug 31, 2004

ROBOT

njsykora posted:

Fiio's stuff usually isn't the absolute best around, but it's always a pretty significant amount cheaper than the actual top for not being massively lesser.

I just gotta shout out my lil BTR1K. I got a short right-angle 3.5mm cable and I can clip it right on the headband of my SHPs or my jack modded DT770s and have lag-free wireless with decent headphones.

well why not
Feb 10, 2009




njsykora posted:


iPods too, they're surprisingly easy to repair (the Classics at least, everything else is on full Apple lockdown) and stupidly moddable.

https://twitter.com/NanoRaptor/status/1360504094679470081/photo/1

duckdealer
Feb 28, 2011

Budget - Under $100 CAD
Source - Shanling Q1 DAP, maybe through my laptop
Isolation Requirements - not really important to me
Preferred Type of Headphone - IEM
Preferred Tonal Balance - not sure
Past Headphones - I had a pair of the Audio Technica ath-m50x headphones and they weren't very good. Now I have a Sennheiser hd 6xx and they sound great.
Preferred Music - city pop, jazz, classical, rock. I'm kind of all over the place

Right now I'm looking at the Tin Audio T2 iems. I'd like to use the amazon gift card I got so if other recommendations can be bought from there it would be preferable.

Also if a usb dac / amp is important for listening from my laptop I would consider one if reasonably priced. I don't know much about iems or how much something like that could effect the sound.

Thanks!

bling bling bilal
Sep 30, 2013
Are these any decent? Wireless earbuds pretty cheap where I am in Australia, but I know nothing about wireless earbuds, just wanted them for convenience, and tolerable quality

https://www.coolmouse.com.au/products/blue-mini-2-wireless-earbuds

njsykora
Jan 23, 2012

Robots confuse squirrels.


They look like the crappy Airpods knockoffs you see in Wish videos all the time. Even if they're not that, every Airpods knockoff is terrible.

Lil Swamp Booger Baby
Aug 1, 1981

Drop is announcing a new set of headphones and it's looking very likely to be the HD800S being redressed 6XX style.
If it's anything like 6XX relative to the 650, then this could end up being a very, very good deal.

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Cardiovorax
Jun 5, 2011

I mean, if you're a successful actress and you go out of the house in a skirt and without underwear, knowing that paparazzi are just waiting for opportunities like this and that it has happened many times before, then there's really nobody you can blame for it but yourself.

njsykora posted:

They look like the crappy Airpods knockoffs you see in Wish videos all the time. Even if they're not that, every Airpods knockoff is terrible.
Getting the same impression. The product page doesn't even tell you how long their battery life is when you're using them and the 'active noise cancelling' claim on a sub-30$ pair of true wireless earbuds is very dubious. You could probably get a better pair of Chi-Fi earbuds from Amazon at the same price.

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