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?

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

I bought the klipsch x4i this weekend and I'm enjoying them quite a bit. Most effortless quality fit I've had with any in-ear, nice balanced sound with maybe a bit too much midrange

# ¿ Feb 1, 2014 04:45

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 06:17

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

z06ck posted:

The HE-400's are on sale for $300 at Amazon right now, good pick. I bought them months ago for $400. They're amazing provided you have a good DAC/Amp. Just a heads up.

Given that they have just 35 ohm impedance, what about them makes a good amp particularly desirable? Just curious

# ¿ Feb 12, 2014 05:16

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

Armchair Calvinist posted:

Orthodynamic/planardynamic headphones require a lot of juice to power due to their general inefficiency in design. Imepdance matching is still important but the required power (V^2/R) to produce sufficient volume levels is higher since the dBSPL @ 1 milliwatt is much lower.

Of course HE-6's are a really extreme example, to my amateur knowledge the above is still true.

Ahh, understood. Didn't realize there was another factor. Thanks for that informative post.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2014 01:46

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

http://www.engadget.com/2015/11/03/sennheiser-new-orpheus-headphones/ lol, sennheiser's new ultra-flagship is $50,000

# ¿ Nov 3, 2015 22:46

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

Electronics idiot question: I have a headphone amp with only 3.5mm input. I also have an integrated amp with an RCA tape recorder output. Is it safe to use a 3.5mm->male RCA splitter to get the integrated amp output into the headphone amp?

# ¿ Aug 14, 2016 21:55

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

Dr. Fishopolis posted:

Nope, looks like a special snowflake standard.

yeah, based on what they were saying about beats coming out with special W1-compatible headphones

# ¿ Sep 8, 2016 00:22

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

my modmic works fine tbh, except the sticky pad dried out after like 12 months

# ¿ Sep 14, 2016 18:26

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

I'm going to be working in an open layout ( :rolleyes:

) building immediately after the new year. I'm going to need something closed and comfortable. I own a bunch of headphones but nothing that meets that criteria. I don't like wearing IEMs for long periods.

Budget - ~$300
Source - hopefully Audioengine D1 out of my work PC, though I haven't verified that this works
Isolation Requirements - closed should be enough, don't believe i'll need ANC
Preferred Type of Headphone - Closed circumaural. In-line mic a bonus
Preferred Tonal Balance - per the headphones below
Past Headphones - K712, HD600 should be the relevant ones for this purpose. I had a pair of HD280s but disliked the vicelike tightness and tonal balance
Preferred Music - all over the place, from metal to hiphop to drone/ambient/noise to modern classical

I'm very curious about the MDR-1A but also very open to recs

# ¿ Oct 12, 2016 20:38

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

Lowness 72 posted:

I primarily use my HD598s for my pc (mostly gaming). I'd like to add a mic.

2 questions:
1. Is a modmic still the best option? Anything else I should consider?

2. I'm thinking of picking up the magni/modi stack later this year. Can you hook the mic up to the stack or does it have to connect directly to the pc (which I imagine would be weird since you'd have 2 cables going to different places).

everyone says the boompro is better, i'm not quite sure how you go about adding one though http://v-moda.com/boompro-microphone/

# ¿ Oct 19, 2016 16:28

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

audioengine d1 has an optical input for $170

# ¿ Nov 28, 2016 21:39

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

K712 are so great, love mine

# ¿ Dec 25, 2016 20:59

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

I bought the Sony mdr1000x and I'm in love w them

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 22:34

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

The touch controls work well. They are a bit heavy and may require some expanding if you got a big ol head and don't like a sturdy clamp. I would not say they are bulky compared to hd600/k712 but they are unapologetically circumaural for sure

# ¿ Jan 26, 2017 22:46

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

VelociBacon posted:

I was gifted some Jaybird X3s for xmas and I'm surprised how awful they sound - even with good fit and messing with the EQ in the associated app. Do these take a few hours to burn in before they're decent?

For context since this stuff is relative, I'm not an over-the-top audiophile, but I normally listen to music via Shure SRH1540s or the upgraded sound system in my car (a modern car with a decent surround system and I've added an aftermarket deck, subwoofer). I've also had like $20 skullcandy IEMs and they sounded much better than these jaybirds. The consensus online seems to be that they're fine - did I get a dud pair? They just have no low end and the midrange is really muddy.

i have X2s and they're tolerable at the gym, but i've used MDR-1000X as well and there's a world of difference. It's not clear to me what the differences are--seems like it might be Sony's LDAC thing--but there has to be something very different going on between what the X2 and the MDR-1000X end up playing

point being, not all Bluetooth headphones are created equal

# ¿ Jan 3, 2018 16:57

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

VelociBacon posted:

I was having issues pre-app, the app actually helped a bit but it's still quite poor. I'm going to let them burn in for 10 or so hours and see what they sound like then. I'm also not so hot on the stock silicone eartips, they seem far too thin/deformable.

definitely try the foam ones that hopefully came with it; if not you can get replacement/better foam ones from Comply. I hated the X2s until I got the Comply Comfort tips for them

# ¿ Jan 3, 2018 17:26

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

looks like Philips quit making the SHP9500. What's the go-to relatively inexpensive choice to use with the BoomPro now?

# ¿ Jul 2, 2018 03:49

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

emotive posted:

Also interested in this. Seems like most of the headphone options <$100 either don't have detachable cords or otherwise won't work with the BoomPro without some half-assery or modification. Something over-ear and open back would be cool.

Picked up a Steelseries Arctis 3 and the sound isn't very good, even compared to my old Logitech headset.

seems like Status CB-1 might be a go-to if you don't mind closed. $60 on amazon right now

# ¿ Jul 2, 2018 16:29

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

SHP9500 is no longer made though

might be some new on ebay

# ¿ Mar 27, 2019 20:44

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

Let the thread know what kind of phone you have as it may have a bearing on the best choice

Some BT headphones only support AAC over BT, so they should be used with a phone that supports that; others support only aptX

(all support SBC but you don't really want to be stuck w/that)

# ¿ Apr 10, 2019 17:03

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

Did transparency mode not alleviate that? Or did you try it? Just wondering

# ¿ Nov 7, 2019 23:01

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

I'm sure Comply is planning on releasing tips for the Airpods Pro. They did it for the Airpods, which don't even have something you'd conventionally attach a tip to

# ¿ Dec 5, 2019 21:42

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

"Computational audio" in headphones is usually awful, like 3d audio gamer gimmicks and other BS. I have no idea if it's possible for Apple to do it "right," but it seems unlikely. I would think large headphones are in some sense the ideal condition for the driver-to-ear relationship and shouldn't need magic tricks to sound good.

Of course they'll sell zillions of them though

# ¿ Dec 9, 2020 15:25

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

Sony announced the XM5s, releasing on the 20th of May. Looks like they shrunk the drivers though, from 40mm in all the prior models to 30mm. Seems like a negative, but I guess time will tell

# ¿ May 12, 2022 17:14

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

heavy liquid posted:

I preordered these and should be getting them Friday. I'm upgrading from the XM3 and am looking forward to using them. Seems like most people are upset that they no longer fold up, but that doesn't concern me. I can see if you travel a lot it could be a negative, however. My main concern is getting the best possible ANC to block out people around me in my office.

Nice, please post your impressions!

# ¿ May 17, 2022 16:35

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 06:17

emdash: Oct 19, 2003; and?

WattsvilleBlues posted:

Thinking of getting myself the Sony LinkBuds S for music, podcasts, audio books etc. Currently £120 in the UK. Good price or would I be better with something else ? Was considering the Sony WF-1000XM4 but some reviews say they're quite uncomfortable after a while.

Depends on how long "a while" is to you. I can wear the xm4 for over an hour before i start to notice them, but I also virtually never need to wear them for more than an hour

Also bought the comply tips for mine and they seem to help

# ¿ Nov 29, 2022 20:45

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