Let's Talk Headphones IV: Should I get Beats? Do I need Noise Cancelling?

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Let's Talk Headphones IV: Should I get Beats? Do I need Noise Cancelling?

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Is this the place to get reccomendations? I'm getting my sister headphones for christmas, she's looking for bluetooth earbuds that have a wire connecting them (so she doesn't lose them). Most other aspects (like an inline mic) are secondary but would be nice. She said she doesn't care how they sound but I want to get sometbing nice if possible. Any thoughts on what I could grab for <$100?
EDIT: Any thoughts on these? https://en-us.sennheiser.com/cx-150...WUaAqrREALw_wcB

DildenAnders fucked around with this message at 17:19 on Nov 16, 2020

# ¿ Nov 16, 2020 17:01

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 09:45

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

I got a pair of the Massdrop Koss Portapros with the inline mic and music controls, and to my surprise the music controls only have 1 button, which on my Galaxy S8 seems to only activate the horrible Siri equivalent on my phone. Does anyone else with these headphones know how this remote works, particularly on Android phones?

# ¿ Nov 19, 2020 01:03

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

I'm contemplating getting the Sennheiser 58x and I have a couple of questions:
1.Will they need an amp to sound good, or will the drivers from my phone (Galaxy s8) be enough?
2.Are they going to sound noticably better than the Koss Portapros I've been using? I've always heard that they punch above their price point, and was wondering if it'd really be worth the $150.
EDIT:I'm not a huge audiophile or anything but I do think a good soundstage goes a long way.

DildenAnders fucked around with this message at 04:25 on Nov 21, 2020

# ¿ Nov 21, 2020 04:02

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Just got my Hd58X and right out of the box they do sound noticably better than my PortaPros (which I would hope for 3x the price lol). Just a few questions, since I can't afford an amp at this point, what's likely to drive these headphones better, a Galaxy s8 or a 2015 Dell Latitude with no special sound card? Also how long until they're fully burned-in?
EDIT:I also kind of despise Velour, anyone have thoughts on good alternative pads?

DildenAnders fucked around with this message at 18:44 on Nov 25, 2020

# ¿ Nov 25, 2020 18:42

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Ok Comboomer posted:

Hifiman/Drop HE4xx or HE5xx?

this is like HD58x vs HD6xx all over again

How about HD58X vs He4XX? Also wth do all the X's stand for?

# ¿ Dec 4, 2020 19:34

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Any thoughts on the Dolby Atmos stuff on the Galaxy s8? I'm currently using a pair of Hd58x's with no amplification to speak of.

# ¿ Dec 8, 2020 19:28

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Munkaboo posted:

So I get $200 toward some nice headphones for work. I currently rock the Hypercloud II's but looking for something that can give me good gaming + audio + conference call mileage. Any good recommendations?

My brother just picked up the Sennheiser Pc38x for his job, and he's been very pleased with them. He's a musician too and he said music sounds excellent on them. I'm not sure if you were looking to spend more but they're about $170 on Drop atm.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2020 02:02

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Munkaboo posted:

Is the 58x that much nicer from a sound perspective?

I have the 58x, and I've listened to the 38x. The 58x definitley sounds better but the 38x is really nice in its own right. It has better 3-D sound (or whatever it's called) but the 58x seems better in at everything else, if maybe a bit quiet on something like a phone.

# ¿ Dec 15, 2020 05:03

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

How does the Sony MDR 7506 compare to the Sennheiser Hd58x?

# ¿ Dec 17, 2020 07:36

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Anyone have a good, cheap (~$20 or less if possible) turntable needle recommendation?
**EDIT**: It's for a Yamaha PF-800 "Natural Sounding Turntable" if it matters.

DildenAnders fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Dec 30, 2020

# ¿ Dec 30, 2020 01:02

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

The headband on my Massdrop Koss Portapros is getting really loose and can barely stay on my head. Does anyone know if there's a fix?

# ¿ Mar 18, 2021 23:06

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Orv posted:

Started reading this thread to ask a question of my own and then completely forgot to, woops.

I'm looking for some headphones primarily for gaming and while I listen to a ton of music I'm not particularly picky there, if at all. Gaming headsets, studio reference or just regular listening sets are all fine as I've got a mic setup and it's likely my wants would drive me towards an digital 7.1 setup but every single one I've tested in years gone by has been trash. Maybe that's changed and I don't know it.

Ultimately my biggest wants are a really good sound stage, primarily for clarity of picking things out during games if I'm sticking with something stereo or really good digital surround, which I continue to suspect isn't a thing.

Budget - $100-150 USD
Source - Wired, PC with soundcard (probably a bad one)
Isolation Requirements - Not necessary, wouldn't hurt
Preferred Type of Headphone - Circumaural
Preferred Tonal Balance - Neutral accuracy is the concern over any particular balance but I tend to prefer something warmer when that comes through.
Past Headphones - Reams of tras and trash pop, but not overly concerned on the music performance as it has to be actively bad for me to really care on that front.

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.

# ¿ Apr 6, 2021 17:21

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

I can also vouch for a set of Portapros. I got 2 pairs for $20 each last Black Friday, but even at $50 they're a great buy.

# ¿ Apr 12, 2021 23:39

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Sennheiser Hd58x's are smack in the middle of that price range and sound amazing. They're open back so they leak sound but you said that's not a problem. You should definitely consider them.

# ¿ May 10, 2021 02:58

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Hey, my brother is on the spectrum and super sensitive to background noise, what's the best noise cancelling, wireless pair of headphones available for under $150? Comfort is probably the next important thing, aside from that nothing else really matters, he has other headphones to listen to music with so sound quality is completely irrelevant. I would prefer something new with a warranty but something that's high quality on the used market would work too. Over ear is preffered but if the best we can get is in ear it's not a huge deal.

# ¿ Jul 13, 2021 17:56

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

I have a pair of Hd58X's and a Galaxy s8. The maxed phone volume is a bit too quiet for when I really want to listen to music. Can I get like a $50 amp to help it a little bit more?

# ¿ Sep 2, 2021 03:05

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

trem_two posted:

I don’t have this device, but the MEIZU Hifi Pro dongle supposedly has the most power output of all the USB C dongles in that price range, and the review I read said that it had enough power to comfortably drive a pair of HD650 headphones. Might be worth looking into it.

I’m not sure if the Apple USB C dongle would have enough power, but it’s $9 and might get the job done.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll definitely check that out.

# ¿ Sep 2, 2021 16:00

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Have they invented earphones/buds you can use while swimming yet?

# ¿ Sep 11, 2021 01:58

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

My Sennheiser HD58x cable is shorting out bad. Does anyone have a link to a reasonably priced replacement? I can't seem to find it on their website.

# ¿ Apr 20, 2022 03:03

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

https://en-us.sennheiser.com/cable-hd-650-apogee
Does anyone know if I can use this to replace the cable on my 58x? I don't really want to bother with third party, but the 10ft standard 650 cable is way too long.

# ¿ Apr 29, 2022 02:12

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Just got a new phone (Galaxy A14) and while I'm thrilled it still has a headphone jack, for whatever reason it sounds much worse than my old Galaxy S8. I'm using a pair of Hd58X headphones if it matters. Does this make sense, and any idea if I can make the new phone sound as good/nicer?

# ¿ May 2, 2023 04:40

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

I have an Hd58X that I like a lot. They work really well at max volume with my old phone (Galaxy s9) and not so great with my new phone (Galaxy A13, they don't get quite loud enough or strong enough). I think tube amps are cool, would it be a waste of money to buy something like this (https://fosiaudioshop.com/products/...s-fosi-audio-p2)?

I think I also want to get another pair of headphones in the future that may actually require an amp to sound good. Would this be well suited for that?

# ¿ Jun 23, 2023 13:08

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

Ok Comboomer posted:

Just get a Darkvoice. That’s pretty much the only tube amp anybody truly “needs”. Add one to your stable and use it when you want to experience tubes, or sell it for ~$225 if you decide that tubes aren’t worth experiencing.

Down the road you might decide to buy a Willsenton/Cayin amp or build something like an Elekit, or maybe even buy something in the four figure range because you’re collector scum or something like that, but the Darkvoice is basically the gold standard in terms of showing you what tubes are about and giving you a solid platform to dick around with

To be completely honest, that's about double what I'd ideally like to spend on something that I'm getting mostly as a novelty. Anything decent under $100?

# ¿ Jun 23, 2023 13:42

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# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 09:45

DildenAnders: Mar 16, 2016; "I recommend Batman especially, for he tends to transcend the abysmal society in which he's found himself. His morality is rather rigid, also. I rather respect Batman.â

FuzzySlippers posted:

That sounds great. Any suggestions for <= $150 for gaming/music? Wireless would be nice, but it seems like that isn't much of an option for open headphones. They'll just be plugged into the front headphone jack on my desktop computer so no amps or anything.

I had been using a wireless Arctis 7 headset that was kinda crappy but they were comfortable and worked for my heavy discord usage for the last couple years. I suppose now I can just get a desktop mic. When they broke, I switched back to my 10+ year old Audio Technica ATH-A700s which reminded me of how crappy the Arctis were.

My brother got the Pc38x and absolutely loved them, they're great for gaming and video calls, pretty drat good for music too. Open back means they sound cool and background sounds filter in a lot, if that's a plus. They should be ~$110 on Massdrop rn.

# ¿ Jun 28, 2023 04:37

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Inspect Your Gadgets > Let's Talk Headphones IV: Should I get Beats? Do I need Noise Cancelling?