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560S reviews say it's on par with the 660, apart from build quality and some minor aspects, so yeah probably going to get a pair of 560s
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Apr 8, 2021 14:18
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Any opinions on the HD800S? I know they're divisive but when even Amir at ASR gushes over their subjective performance, regardless of them really needing EQ, it seems pretty compelling. My ATH-R70X are my first open backs and I really like them but the detail is not as good as my IEMs from a subjective standpoint. I'm thinking about returning them for the HD800S as the 5 and 6 series seem like they would be a sidegrade rather than a step up. EDIT: The reason I'm interested in over ear headphones is that my cauliflower ear sometimes flares up and hurts so bad I can't use IEMs.
Yuns fucked around with this message at 16:38 on Apr 8, 2021 |
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Apr 8, 2021 14:40
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Yuns posted:Any opinions on the HD800S? I know they're divisive but when even Amir at ASR gushes over their subjective performance, regardless of them really needing EQ, it seems pretty compelling. My ATH-R70X are my first open backs and I really like them but the detail is not as good as my IEMs from a subjective standpoint. I'm thinking about returning them for the HD800S as the 5 and 6 series seem like they would be a sidegrade rather than a step up. EDIT: The reason I'm interested in over ear headphones is that my cauliflower ear sometimes flares up and hurts so bad I can't use IEMs. I own a pair, and they are very comfy to wear for many hours. The build quality feels a bit cheap and the headband adjustment feels kinda loose. I'm always worried about the aluminum parts of the ear cups that basically feel like they have the structural integrity of a soda can, and like someone being a bit careless with their fingertips could pierce them. I've never heard of them as "divisive", most people seem to call them neutral with a tiny bit weak low-end bass. Sound quality? At this level you can't really get something "better" in any meaningful sense, only something that suits your subjective taste more closely. Soundwise you'd probably be just as happy with a HifiMan Sundara, or for ultimate over-ear comfort you could look into something as cheap as just the Philips Fidelio X2/X2HR/X3.
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Apr 8, 2021 18:53
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evobatman posted:I own a pair, and they are very comfy to wear for many hours. The build quality feels a bit cheap and the headband adjustment feels kinda loose. I'm always worried about the aluminum parts of the ear cups that basically feel like they have the structural integrity of a soda can, and like someone being a bit careless with their fingertips could pierce them.
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Apr 8, 2021 23:02
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The HD800 had sharp treble and resonances from what I heard. The HD800S revision is not nearly as punishing. Many Beyerdynamics are harsher. Most criticisms I see of the HD800S revolve around a lack of bass and that the expansive soundstage and very distinct imaging means that they aren't super versatile and thus are subpar for certain genres, which I can substantiate from my own experiences. They really, really exacerbate bad production in otherwise great albums that sound good on less hyper detail oriented systems. Sad Wings of Destiny for example, sounds like utter poo poo on them, whereas on the LCD-X it still carries the right energy despite the junky production. If you want a pair of headphones that gets close to the HD800S in broadness and imaging, but that have a more versatile sound with significantly more bass in a similar price range, I highly recommend the HiFiMan Arya. It has some of the broadest soundstage I've heard in a pair of headphones and with a proper, high power amp the bass response can do some real work (they're deceptively hard to drive). The Arya has made it very difficult for me to really justify using my HD800S the majority of the time - I mostly pull them out when I'm listening to classical or jazz. The HD800S are considered by a lot of people to be the creme de la creme of the $1400-2000 bracket, but I often feel that's usually reinforced by audiophiles you find during Google searches gushing over how great and detailed they sound playing their audiophile collection of very audiophile records done with audiophile-level sound engineering. They're absolutely amazing in that respect, but they are not the end all, be all for me in terms of making music sound enjoyable. I'm glad I have them, but they're beat out by other pairs I have when it comes to being a daily driver. I wouldn't say they're divisive, mostly just over-represented since they're often seen as THE endgame headphone above all over endgame pairs, which isn't really true.
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Apr 9, 2021 06:34
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Oysters Autobio posted:Thanks, might have to consider upping my budget for those Sony's (I like that they've been making these for years and seem to be well regarded to be built well). I am having trouble now narrowing down to a cheap microphone just to talk to friends I'm gaming with. My first thought was a cheap condenser mic with stand but then I realized if it sits on my desk it would pick up my mechanical keyboard. Though if it's small enough I could put it ontop of my PC tower (my tower sits on my desk so it could sit on top and aim horizontally at my face? It's just slightly over a foot from my face). Another option would be a cheap condenser mic with a mini/small boom arm attached to the back of my desk (I don't want a really big boom arm or anything). Should I just get a gooseneck desktop mic instead? The Antlion modmic setup may work but its a bit expensive for my taste ($140CDN on amazon.ca). So, what's a good enough directional microphone for just chatting with friends on occasional game nights that's budget friendly? Oysters Autobio fucked around with this message at 12:59 on Apr 9, 2021 |
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Apr 9, 2021 12:29
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Oysters Autobio posted:I am having trouble now narrowing down to a cheap microphone just to talk to friends I'm gaming with. My first thought was a cheap condenser mic with stand but then I realized if it sits on my desk it would pick up my mechanical keyboard. Though if it's small enough I could put it ontop of my PC tower (my tower sits on my desk so it could sit on top and aim horizontally at my face? It's just slightly over a foot from my face). If all you want to do is chat with friends any microphone whatsoever including the ones built into your cheap bundled earbuds that came free with your [generic consumer product] will do just fine. Otherwise IDK exactly what you're after and it sounds like you might want something streamer grade. Which would be overkill for your stated needs, though nothing wrong with that. In such a case just go through Audio-Technica's catalogue until you find the usage solution you need in the price you're happy with. Or equivalent from another professional audio manufacturer. Wait until you start thinking thoughts like "well if I got a quieter mechanical keyboard I could..." and I'll now let that brainbug start its work on you. Don't forget to install dampening material on your walls! DancingShade fucked around with this message at 13:47 on Apr 9, 2021 |
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Apr 9, 2021 13:41
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DildenAnders posted:They're just a little more than $150, and have some weird shipping issues, but the Sennheiser Pc38x has a great soundstage and nice mic for the price. They are open-backed, so not much isolation, but open-backed is a lot better for soundstage. After losing my goddamn mind for like a week straight I emerged from my research fugue and ended up with some M40Xs, since I have a mic setup. I appreciate it though, the 38x were one I was definitely looking at. And I fell down a hole where I'm now thinking about amps and stuff so welp. Orv fucked around with this message at 15:29 on Apr 9, 2021 |
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Apr 9, 2021 14:08
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Lil Swamp Booger Baby posted:The HD800 had sharp treble and resonances from what I heard. The HD800S revision is not nearly as punishing. Many Beyerdynamics are harsher. The 800 series is like a two-seater supercar. It’s the tops at what it does, but the things that make it special can also make it uncomfortable, annoying, and limiting in other use cases, and you’re going to want to have another, different, probably much cheaper, car around.
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Apr 9, 2021 15:23
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Thanks for all the information. I was also interested on the Arya and the Focal Clear especially since reviewers like Crinacle like them but the Amir reviews on ASR made me pretty wary of Clear and the most recent review of the Ananda on ASR was not good.
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Apr 9, 2021 17:49
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Placed my order for the Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX today, along with the JDS labs Atom stack. Thanks for the advice everyone! One last question: is it worth purchasing balanced cables for this thing? I couldn’t quite work out if it’s worthwhile for the setup I’ve ordered. If it’s worth it, is there any sort of cable or brand I should get? I know Drop makes one.
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Apr 9, 2021 18:05
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Yuns posted:Thanks for all the information. I was also interested on the Arya and the Focal Clear especially since reviewers like Crinacle like them but the Amir reviews on ASR made me pretty wary of Clear and the most recent review of the Ananda on ASR was not good. The Clears are very good though and can be found at great prices right now because of the release of the MG. The Ananda I've not had the opportunity to listen to, but honestly I've never found Amir's assessment of headphones to be that reliable as far as my personal tastes. The Clears are held in pretty signifigant regard and for good reason. I don't own a pair but I've had the opportunity to listen to them a few times and they're extraordinarily entertaining sounding headphones, I can imagine that means they might not measure too well. You can find them for $1000 now if you look in the right places which is a great deal if you don't mind that you're not getting the updated MG. The Arya is my undisputed headphone king though. They sound absolutely immense without the sort of clinical distance the HD800S can have, and boy are they vertical. Capable of making virtually any genre sound great and not so forced in the treble that they make poorly produced albums sound like messy junky.
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Apr 9, 2021 18:14
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Yuns posted:Thanks for all the information. I was also interested on the Arya and the Focal Clear especially since reviewers like Crinacle like them but the Amir reviews on ASR made me pretty wary of Clear and the most recent review of the Ananda on ASR was not good. Have you listened to any of these cans? Crinacle has pretty specific tastes and ASR, while arguably more objective tends to hone in on "issues" that often don't make any audible difference.
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Apr 9, 2021 18:16
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Gunder posted:Placed my order for the Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX today, along with the JDS labs Atom stack. Thanks for the advice everyone! The Atom doesn't have balanced inputs or outputs so you wouldn't be able to use a balanced cable regardless. You won't need it anyway, for most consumer use cases balanced cables are just to get more power into your headphones. I use them for my LCD-X and Arya on my THX 789 so I don't have to use high gain, but other than that they're not necessary. The Atom is a total beast as far as power output is concerned, especially when you consider the price point. It can drive the 6XX just fine. More than fine. I use a Khadas/Atom combo on my nightstand to listen to in bed and it's been able to drive anything I throw at it, and I have some hard to drive headphones in my collection. You'll be more than set.
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Apr 9, 2021 18:21
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Dr. Fishopolis posted:Have you listened to any of these cans? Crinacle has pretty specific tastes and ASR, while arguably more objective tends to hone in on "issues" that often don't make any audible difference. EDIT: I just checked Hifiman dealers and there are literally only 2 authorized dealers in NJ and one of them doesn't even carry Hifiman inventory and the other one is mostly online and only allows auditioning by appointment. Lil Swamp Booger Baby posted:The Clears are very good though and can be found at great prices right now because of the release of the MG. Yuns fucked around with this message at 19:27 on Apr 9, 2021 |
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Apr 9, 2021 18:38
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I've got a hum/hiss issue with a new amp and my dumb rear end is having trouble trying to figure out where the issue is. Ordered an Asgard 3 with the built in dac (not the multibit one) and now that it's set up I can hear a hiss at high volumes, and this bizarre distortion sound on certain tones in the right channel of whatever headphone I plug into it. (It's not the headphones' fault, the same sounds at the same volumes on another amp have no such issue) Here's what I've done to diagnose this. ***** When the dac isn't plugged into anything, I get a constant hum on that input. When I put it in my computer, I get a hiss, which occasionally changes in timbre when I do certain things on the computer (a clear indication of usb interference, but it's not persistent enough) When I move the usb cable so it doesn't pass near any other electronics, I get the hiss regardless of whichever plug I put it in. An earlier dac/amp did not have this issue in any usb outlet, plugging my headphones directly into the motherboard results in no hiss at all (though obviously isn't ideal). Plugging the amp into a different outlets doesn't change the issue. Plugging it into a different wall results in the same problem. Plugging it into an isolating power bar gets nada. Plugging that power bar into other wall outlets away from other electronics with the amp being the only thing on it - results in no change. Ensuring the amps power cable isn't routed near other electronics results in nothing. Swapping the input to rca instead of the built in dac, regardless of what the Asgard is plugged into, results in absolutely no hum or distortion regardless of volume - but I don't have a dac to actually plug into this input. ***** Is this a ground loop issue despite all of my (perhaps foolish) attempts to avoid it? Interference (though there's definitely some, it can't be the only issue based on my attempts to route wires away as far from other wires and electronics as possible)? A lovely dac? Do I need to get that ebtech humx thing even with all my attempts to isolate the power cable? Or is it an actual standalone dac I need? Any help would be appreciated. Saturnine Aberrance fucked around with this message at 22:02 on Apr 9, 2021 |
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Apr 9, 2021 19:59
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Give this a go: Don't plug your USB DAC direct into your computer. Wait bear with me here. Plug it into an AC powered USB hub (not a USB powered one). Then connect that hub to your PC. Disclaimer: IDK if it'll fix your problem.
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Apr 9, 2021 22:28
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Ordered the open box Arya. It has a full 1 year warranty plus a 30 day return policy so if there is an issue or if I don't like it more than the R70x I can always return it.
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Apr 10, 2021 01:45
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DancingShade posted:If all you want to do is chat with friends any microphone whatsoever including the ones built into your cheap bundled earbuds that came free with your [generic consumer product] will do just fine. Sorry I should have been more clear. I got a new pair of headphones (Sony MDRs) that do not have a microphone built in. I would prefer not to have to use earbuds when I'm gaming, so whats the next best cheap alternative that (1) Has decent filter to cancel out background noise (so I don't have to use Discord push to talk), (2) is USB or just Mic-jack compatible. It seems my options for under $50CDN are basically (1) A desktop gooseneck-type conference microphone, (2) A desktop-mounted condenser mic, (3) A boom-arm mounted condenser, (4) some type of lapel attacheable mic or I up my budget and splurge on an Modmic It seems for both options #2 and #3, my mechanical keyboard would likely be an issue based on reading reviews of cheaper-end condensers. #3 seems a bit overkill because I'm not streaming, nor doing music, and I don't have a ton of real estate on my desk to mount something like this. #4 seems okay possibly? Seems kind of hokey though. #5 is probably the simplest but I guess if I'm being picky I hate that there would be an extra cable dangling from my headset (there's one style of modmic that actually replaces your audio cable with a mic built into a separate cable but my Sony MDRs don't have detachable cables). I feel like I'm missing another obvious cheap solution but I don't know 
Oysters Autobio fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Apr 10, 2021 |
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Apr 10, 2021 18:48
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DancingShade posted:Give this a go: Don't plug your USB DAC direct into your computer. Wait bear with me here. Plug it into an AC powered USB hub (not a USB powered one). Then connect that hub to your PC. Giving it a shot; will report back when the hub arrives. I'm honestly not expecting much, but fingers are crossed. Sucks to get an amp 'upgrade' and then wind up with universally worse audio quality.
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Apr 10, 2021 19:15
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Ground loops are a bitch. The worst ever. I end up going fully balanced and my system has zero noise but it took years to get to that point. Also, you can break the ground pin off your speaker amp power cord,. .. it did work for me. No warranty implied.
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Apr 10, 2021 22:29
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Oysters Autobio posted:Sorry I should have been more clear. I got a new pair of headphones (Sony MDRs) that do not have a microphone built in. I would prefer not to have to use earbuds when I'm gaming, so whats the next best cheap alternative that (1) Has decent filter to cancel out background noise (so I don't have to use Discord push to talk), (2) is USB or just Mic-jack compatible. https://www.v-moda.com/us/en/products/boompro-microphone Make sure they fit your headphones before ordering (3.5mm input). Also I can't help you with your local money CDN budget aspect, not in your supply chain so the rest is up to you. DancingShade fucked around with this message at 00:59 on Apr 11, 2021 |
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Apr 11, 2021 00:57
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DancingShade posted:https://www.v-moda.com/us/en/products/boompro-microphone Those would be perfect but unfortunately I got a pair of Sony MDRs that don't have a detachable cable, so I wouldn't be able to use this.
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Apr 11, 2021 01:14
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Yuns posted:Ordered the open box Arya. It has a full 1 year warranty plus a 30 day return policy so if there is an issue or if I don't like it more than the R70x I can always return it. Awesome! I hope you like them as much as I do.
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Apr 11, 2021 01:46
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Oysters Autobio posted:Sorry I should have been more clear. I got a new pair of headphones (Sony MDRs) that do not have a microphone built in. I would prefer not to have to use earbuds when I'm gaming, so whats the next best cheap alternative that (1) Has decent filter to cancel out background noise (so I don't have to use Discord push to talk), (2) is USB or just Mic-jack compatible. If you don't want clicky noises from your keyboard then a cardioid microphone set up slightly in front of your keyboard will work perfectly. I use a BM800 cardioid mic (sold with all sorts of brand names slapped on it), a Behringer u-phoria UM2 USB interface and a boom arm with shock mount. All in about £60 with the interface being the most expensive. A Blue Snowball will also be good if you can set it up in front of your keyboard and that is USB so is much less faff and can be mounted on an arm.
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Apr 11, 2021 12:32
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Foxtrot_13 posted:If you don't want clicky noises from your keyboard then a cardioid microphone set up slightly in front of your keyboard will work perfectly. I managed to find the tiny little condenser mic that my partner bought because they watched too many tiktoks of people recording their pets sleeping, and I tried that out and found that it wasn't too bad when Discord had its background noise filters on (it perfectly filtered out the click clack). I figure if this dinky thing works then the cheapest condenser mic knock-off on Amazon will work too so I'll probably look at this.
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Apr 11, 2021 14:41
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My new JDS Labs Atom DAC + Amp should arrive tomorrow, but my Drop 6XX won’t arrive until the end of May. Will I notice a benefit to using the new stack with my Sennheiser Game One headset over the onboard Realtek soundchip on my motherboard, or will it only be noticeable with my new 6XX?
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Apr 11, 2021 23:50
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It probably won't make much of a difference but you might have less noise. Generally nothing prevents a computer from having a decent onboard DAC but in my experience despite having adequate theoretical performance, computer audio tends to have higher noise/interference from the other components of the PC than an external DAC. EDIT: It might actually make a difference. I just checked various Realtek chip numbers and one guy measured an ALC1220 at 85 (computer idle) to 77 (GPU under load) SINAD and Amir tested the Realtek on his Dell desktop at 43 dB SINAD. Amir also measured a Gigabyte AORUS motherboard similar to the one I have with ALC1220 & ESS SABRE 9118 DAC at 91 dB SINAD at line out and 84 dB headphone out. Yuns fucked around with this message at 00:26 on Apr 12, 2021 |
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Apr 12, 2021 00:06
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Oysters Autobio posted:Sorry I should have been more clear. I got a new pair of headphones (Sony MDRs) that do not have a microphone built in. I would prefer not to have to use earbuds when I'm gaming, so whats the next best cheap alternative that (1) Has decent filter to cancel out background noise (so I don't have to use Discord push to talk), (2) is USB or just Mic-jack compatible. The most important thing is having the mic closest to and facing your mouth and further away from your keyboard. The BM-800 mics are more than adequate for voice chat. Though keep in mind that this particular mic has like a 1000 different rebadges and versions. You can easily find it on eBay and AliExpress for like $25ish CAD. Keyboard background noise really isn't much of an issue these days as well. Just set the gain and noise gate appropriately in Discord. Then turn on Krisp to cancel out noise. Or if you have a recent enough Nvidia card, you can use RTX voice.
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Apr 12, 2021 02:33
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Yuns posted:EDIT: It might actually make a difference. I just checked various Realtek chip numbers and one guy measured an ALC1220 at 85 (computer idle) to 77 (GPU under load) SINAD and Amir tested the Realtek on his Dell desktop at 43 dB SINAD. Amir also measured a Gigabyte AORUS motherboard similar to the one I have with ALC1220 & ESS SABRE 9118 DAC at 91 dB SINAD at line out and 84 dB headphone out.
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Apr 12, 2021 04:33
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Gunder posted:I confess, I’m not really sure what this means. SINAD = Signal to Noise and Distortion Basically the ratio of the signal (audio you want) to the noise (hiss) and distortion (extra tones). So if you are listening around 90dB peaks (not continuous), which is a common level, you'll have noise in the 20dB range with the lovely onboard at 70dB. This level is audible. Redbook CD quality allows a theoretical signal to noise of 96dB, for example, which is a good minimum target for a modern device. High quality $100 DACs and AMPs can allow around 110dB and state of the art is up to 125dB. Above 105 you're usually just looking at benchmark wank and engineering prowess The 40dB Dell onboard mentioned is straight up unusable and will sound unmistakably broken. The Apple USB-C dongle, available for $10, can do 100dB SINAD so at the very least you can grab one of those to coast you over until you replace your onboard. Just don't expect it to get very loud with over the ear headphones
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Apr 12, 2021 04:55
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Constellation I posted:The most important thing is having the mic closest to and facing your mouth and further away from your keyboard. The BM-800 mics are more than adequate for voice chat. Though keep in mind that this particular mic has like a 1000 different rebadges and versions. You can easily find it on eBay and AliExpress for like $25ish CAD. The background noise filtering from Nvidia is now part of their Nvidia Broadcast software and I believe there is no longer a requirement for RTX supported hardware to use "RTX Voice" as they called it. When they initially released it RTX hardware was required but there was a little hack available that let me use it with my 1080 GPU. The Nvidia background noise removal works amazingly well with my NT-USB mounted over my very clackity MX blues. Much better than Discord's stuff. The Broadcast software crashed a few times per week which is annoying but I live with it because it finally allowed me to use voice transmit instead of push to talk, much better for fast paced FPS games. I believe you can even have it remove background noise from other people's mics, though I haven't messed with that yet.
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Apr 12, 2021 08:59
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Got the Sennheiser 560S and they're sounding a lot nicer than my ancient 540HDs. Thanks!
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Apr 12, 2021 11:27
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Rust Martialis posted:Got the Sennheiser 560S and they're sounding a lot nicer than my ancient 540HDs. Thanks! Great to hear when someone is happy. I hope you enjoy them for a very long time!
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Apr 12, 2021 12:06
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Not sure if it's just my broke brain trying to justify a purchase, but my new JDS Atom stack definitely has improved the sound quality of my Sennheiser Game Ones. Everything sounds "fuller"? Can't wait to hear them drive the 6XX. Edit: Should I be controlling the volume levels via the headphone amp itself, or is it okay to make changes with the media keys on my keyboard? It's slightly more comfortable to do it via the keyboard. For reference, I have the volume set to about 80% in windows, and the amp at around 45%. Gunder fucked around with this message at 20:23 on Apr 12, 2021 |
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Apr 12, 2021 20:18
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Doesn't really matter, but what you don't want to do is leave windows volume low and then turn your amp up to compensate. If you leave the amp turned up to what you want your 100% to be, then you can use windows volume to attenuate. on a whim I took the foam out of the back of my KPH30i and I think it's an improvement. These are still absurdly good.
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Apr 12, 2021 20:48
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Has anyone used the Sennheiser/EPOS Adapt 660? They look neat, but how quickly can you swap from, say, paired to the dongle and a BT source playing music to a different BT source for a phone call?
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Apr 12, 2021 20:52
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actually yknow what people need to own KPH30i and I'm gonna post about it they sound better than literally anything else under $50 except maybe BLON 03s, and those are a whole other thing. They're absurdly comfortable, they weigh nothing and they cost $25. They have a lifetime warranty. They're the people's headphone.
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Apr 12, 2021 20:57
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I always have my windows volume at 100% and moderate the volume down to an actual listeniable level using my amps.
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Apr 12, 2021 21:33
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Another question: I remember being told that, if you plug a gaming headset into an amp, then you can't plug the built-in mic 3.5mm jack into your PC because of grounding issues? I just tried it, and it seems to work just fine. My current setup: Game One headphones connected to JDS Atom stack via 3.5mm jack, Atom stack connected to PC via USB. Game One mic connected to PC via aux cable that terminates in the PC case front-panel mic input. Is this going to cause issues that aren't immediately obvious? Gunder fucked around with this message at 22:22 on Apr 12, 2021 |
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Apr 12, 2021 22:16
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