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Strafe578
Canada67 Posts
I will be mainly using these outdoors (on my phone) hence why I prefer IEMS rather than bulky on-ear/over-ears. My current audio equipment is a (I know =/) Razer Megalodons / Samsung in-ears. The main concern I have is the durability of the earphones, i'm generally a very careful person and take care of my equipment but the Samsung IEMS just broke really quickly. Any feedback/advice would be greatly appreciated, Thank! | ||
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mahnini
United States6862 Posts
the bose qc15 is at the top of my list right now but i'm wondering if the sennheiser amperiors isolation can rival anc? might be a terrible question as most people don't cross shop these but, hey, it's worth a shot. | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
Most decently expensive sets from established manufacturers should have decent durability, but I don't know about the IE80s in particular. No IEMs are really that great at handling really heavy abuse though. There are some models with replaceable cables, if it's the jack or cables that are going bad on you. That said, the connection for the cables to the IEM housings, by necessity, are fairly small on these so that's another potential weak point. These should be fairly robust though. @mahnini No, the Amperior's isolation can't. Check upper-right graph. Of course, results on a dummy head, but it should be pretty representative. Or maybe not. I'm not entirely sure of the methodology used and whether or not it is relatively easy for ANC to work with. http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserAmperior.pdf http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/BoseQuietComfort15.pdf Note that low-frequency isolation (well, in effect) is pretty much impossible without IEMs (canalphones) and/or ANC. That's what you want for plane droning sounds. There are plenty of other sets with ANC these days, but supposedly with respect to the ANC the QC15s are still the ones to beat. | ||
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mahnini
United States6862 Posts
 dropping that much money on mediocre sound doesn't sit well with me, but i can't stand iems for that long. ah well, worth it to save my hearing, i guess. thanks! | ||
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KDot2
United States1213 Posts
Im looking for something very similar to my AD700s just newer any great new models that I might like ? my price range is about 200 | ||
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Bunn
Estonia934 Posts
i'm looking for some cheap, 20-30€ alternative for my sennheiser hd 202's which, unfortunately, are starting to show their age. as i'm wearing glasses, comfort is of utmost importance, as my ears may start hurting with some other headphones. sound quality is also important, but i don't think i can really ask for much in my price range (or are there magic headphones with soundcards in my price range?). I really don't know what is good in the sound world, but i tried looking up some reviews and these caught my eye Pioneer SE-M290 Audio-Technica Audio-T T200 any other suggestions? I found these from my local site: http://www.hinnavaatlus.ee/products/Arvutikomponendid/Kõrvaklapid/?search=ab8a5b88849bc3a1ba78b6e7fbfb5653#results if anyone can suggest some other european shops with shipping to other countries, let me know. | ||
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da_head
Canada3350 Posts
edit: oh im planning to listen to music and game on them. i dont listen to any specific genre of music. | ||
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Bunn
Estonia934 Posts
On December 22 2013 11:19 da_head wrote: hey guys, i recently purchased the sennheiser hd 558s. i was just wondering if there's any software or (cheap) hardware i could get to help improve/boost the sound i get out of them? My motherboard is an asus z871 deluxe. Thanks in advance. edit: oh im planning to listen to music and game on them. i dont listen to any specific genre of music. i don't know what price point's cheap to you, but you could look toward 'creative x-fi' series, those are a pretty safe choice. a more expensive choice would perhaps be NI Traktor Audio 2, but that's probably aimed towards music producers and such but i'm not an expert, so wait for some other people to reply (tho this thread seems pretty dead) | ||
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Denzil
United Kingdom4193 Posts
i listen to literally everything from kpop to classical to dubstep to vocal so a well balanced pair would be nice i'm currently looking at the audio technica ATH-ES55 or the audio technica ATH-WS55i (I think they're correct) firstly i guess is audio technica a decent brand? secondly should i be looking at better alternatives or are they good value? and lastly will they be able to do my varied taste justice in sound quality? the reviews seem pretty good aside from a couple saying no padding or the cable breaks or whatever, but it's the 1 or 2, 1 star reviews that go "bass is awful, treble is awful, everything is awful" that make me hesitant to commit. | ||
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NukeTheBunnys
United States1004 Posts
Since I just broke them I have not really started on my research, so I was looking for recommendations to look into more. | ||
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rkshox
Taiwan536 Posts
So recently my laptop sound card died and I've had to use my horrible horrible laptop speakers for gaming. Ugh, I cringed a little just saying that. Whenever I plugged in a headset or headphones, the speakers and headphones would both have sound. However, with my headphones, only the left ear would emit sound. Super weird. Anyways, I kept looking for solutions to fix it, but I think it just came down to a hardware issue, so I gave up. Since laptops are mostly if not all on-board sound cards, I started looking for an external sound card option and landed with the TteSports Bahamut. Does anyone on TL use these? How are they? Do you guys think it will fix my problem? I asked a friend who works for TteSports, but he may have a bias opinion since he works for Tt haha. I've had a lot of Tt products before and they have never failed me, so I'm not reluctant to buy anything Tt, just wanted some feedback from the community. | ||
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Parametric
Canada1261 Posts
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Lifan
United States73 Posts
I'll mostly be using it for playing games or listening to music while reading. I don't need noise canceling or isolating capabilities. Being able to jog with it is a bonus. I asked one of my friends and he said to get Klipsch S4i (40 on amazon). However, I'm not sure if i should get it since apparently it breaks really easily. Does anyone have any other recommendations? | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
On December 23 2013 09:38 Denzil wrote: + Show Spoiler + I'm looking for some headphones around the £70 - £100 range to use for music when i'm out and about. i listen to literally everything from kpop to classical to dubstep to vocal so a well balanced pair would be nice i'm currently looking at the audio technica ATH-ES55 or the audio technica ATH-WS55i (I think they're correct) firstly i guess is audio technica a decent brand? secondly should i be looking at better alternatives or are they good value? and lastly will they be able to do my varied taste justice in sound quality? the reviews seem pretty good aside from a couple saying no padding or the cable breaks or whatever, but it's the 1 or 2, 1 star reviews that go "bass is awful, treble is awful, everything is awful" that make me hesitant to commit. Audio Technica's a major player that makes all kinds of audio gear including some well-regarded headphones. However, they tend to be overpriced in the UK and Europe in general. Those models mentioned are somewhat popular. In the price range, they should be fine. I don't know much about them. Portable on-ear headphones are probably the most difficult category to engineer to sound decent and consistent (also probably the least comfortable except for on people who can't take IEMs). On December 24 2013 01:19 NukeTheBunnys wrote: + Show Spoiler + Just broke my sennheisers HD 518 by sitting on them (I know stupid) and I am looking to replace them. I'm looking for some circumaural headphones, probably closed but I'm open to open. I'm looking at a US$250 cap, but targeting more like ~150. Since I just broke them I have not really started on my research, so I was looking for recommendations to look into more. Audio-Technica ATH-M50 should be okay so long as your ears are mid-to-smaller size. Otherwise, they're not particularly circumaural, like many so-called circumaural headphones. Beyerdynamic DT 770 is popular but would sound drastically different than the HD 518. Maybe Shure SRH840? There are plenty of other options these days though. On December 24 2013 19:30 rkshox wrote: + Show Spoiler + Ok, I searched all of TL and no one has mentioned the TteSports Bahamut external USB sound card. I hope I'm posting this in the right place. So recently my laptop sound card died and I've had to use my horrible horrible laptop speakers for gaming. Ugh, I cringed a little just saying that. Whenever I plugged in a headset or headphones, the speakers and headphones would both have sound. However, with my headphones, only the left ear would emit sound. Super weird. Anyways, I kept looking for solutions to fix it, but I think it just came down to a hardware issue, so I gave up. Since laptops are mostly if not all on-board sound cards, I started looking for an external sound card option and landed with the TteSports Bahamut. Does anyone on TL use these? How are they? Do you guys think it will fix my problem? I asked a friend who works for TteSports, but he may have a bias opinion since he works for Tt haha. I've had a lot of Tt products before and they have never failed me, so I'm not reluctant to buy anything Tt, just wanted some feedback from the community. There are plenty of alternatives from Creative, Asus, and then audio-only companies these days. So the Bahamut is really not that popular, though that could just be from lack of awareness and the market being crowded. If you're using headphones, some of these are worse than others. Not sure how the Bahamut would stack up. With speakers, most should be closer to the same. Just look at features and whatever functionality supported that you'd like to have. On December 27 2013 13:49 Parametric wrote: + Show Spoiler + I was given some Sony MDR V600 headphones (a long time ago) and I've enjoyed them a lot I was just wondering (idle curiosity) on how they stack up to most headphones out there since I'm not knowledgeable on headphones. Treble may be a little weird (not as present and with some unevenness) and like many headphones including many that are much more expensive it is missing some of the highest highs and lowest lows. Supposedly it compared unfavorably with the classic MDR V6 (or MDR 7506 now). However, it should easily fall in the not-messed-up-and-bad category, like most cheap headphones do. You can readily do better, even in a closed headphone, under $100 these days though. On December 29 2013 06:54 Lifan wrote: + Show Spoiler + I'm looking to get an IEM that costs between 30-70 (weird ears so wearing headphones hurt) I'll mostly be using it for playing games or listening to music while reading. I don't need noise canceling or isolating capabilities. Being able to jog with it is a bonus. I asked one of my friends and he said to get Klipsch S4i (40 on amazon). However, I'm not sure if i should get it since apparently it breaks really easily. Does anyone have any other recommendations? Most IEMs if abused will die in short order. Klipsch S4i has very exaggerated bass and all the way into the lower mids. They're widely maligned in some circles, mostly because of that, but if that's what you want, it should be a reasonable option. Just to name something else, the VSonic VSD1S. Note: all suggestions somewhat generic based on lack of info (both from me and from the questions). | ||
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IMoperator
4476 Posts
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Lifan
United States73 Posts
But why is there a "burn in " time or whatever for earbuds? Edit: Didn't realize it's an international company. Could you recommend another? | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
The best values tend to be from the Chinese companies, especially Chinese OEMs that make products for others to brand and sell, yeah. Some are decent and others aren't so much. There's some "burn in" time for pretty much any dynamic transducer where the mechanical parts that fit together and provide support wear in with use (think shoes maybe). However, the overall effect is pretty marginal at best according to lab measurements, though many users swear they hear otherwise. It's kind of a controversy in the nutty audio world, and some companies and marketing departments play along or believe so too. For a listener, there's a significant difference psychologically from getting used to a certain sound, which is probably the vast majority of the effect. It's hard to say what has the best durability. Most likely there are just a lot of S4i users out there and thus a lot of failed products, but that doesn't give you a percentage or control. If you just want things to look at, Brainwavz M5, Beyerdynamic DTX 101, Etymotic MC2/3/5. These are kind of wildly different. Brainwavz is a rebrand of something ViSang I think (another Chinese OEM), Beyerdynamic has done audio for ages (also check Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, etc.), and Etymotic was the pioneer of in-ear monitors. | ||
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S3ph
Germany76 Posts
Im getting a Qpad qh-90 headset. Its an analog closed one with 1 x 3.5 mm jack. Question #1: is it a good one? Has someone gotten one already/had experience with it? Question #2: should I get a sound card (like Creative Sound Blaster Z) for it or the onboard sound card (MoBo: Asus M5A97 R2.0 AMD 970) is more than enough? | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
Most of the gaming peripherals brands are ripping people off on the more expensive headsets, but it really depends. It's a crowded market these days. Even companies like Corsair have headset lineups. Most audiophiles emphasizing output audio quality (to your ears) rather than input audio quality (meaning the mic) would suggest normal headphones plus some clip-on or desk mic instead, but there are various compromises going that way. However, having two devices does help if the microphone breaks; you can replace only the thing that broke rather than an entire headset when its mic has issues, for example. Unless you want to turn on and use whatever DSP processing is on Creative's cards these days (some people do), you're better off spending more money in a better headset than diverting funds to both a sound card and a headset. e.g. Sennheiser PC 350, which is maybe overpriced but better known and probably better | ||
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S3ph
Germany76 Posts
I will test this headset thoroughly. If there will be something I wont like, I have 2 weeks time to send it back. The Sennheiser you mentioned is really good. I might give it a try, if the qpad is weak. | ||
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