EPTThe Ultimate Headphone/Audio Thread. Seriously - Page 38
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uriel-
Singapore1867 Posts
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Ercster
United States603 Posts
On May 08 2014 12:09 uriel- wrote: I think people rather have a little more information about your tastes rather than give generic suggestions that may be suboptimal. A very basic piece of information would be whether you have any emphasis on a particular band of sound (do you really enjoy loud, thumping bass, and energetic/"exciting" treble with the cymbals/guitars etc? Or do you prefer a focus on vocals? Or perhaps you like a balance?). I agree the audio terms can be frustrating, but if you can even briefly describe what you look for in your music then people can give you much, much better suggestions. I've said metal before, but if you want specific bands: Metallica Atreyu Avenged Sevenfold Breaking Benjamin A Day to Remember Iron Maiden Power metal (too much to name) I like hearing the vocals and I don't like heavy bass. And if it helps, I don't like them going over my ears; I prefer straight down or whatever it's normally called. | ||
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Thalandros
Netherlands1151 Posts
On May 08 2014 10:18 Ercster wrote: My main problem with the link was that it was extremely intimidating. I'm pretty stupid when it comes to sound and the quality of sound, so reading things like its really balanced, or it has a smooth treble, or whatever else they put has no meaning to me. And reviews constantly have things like "the bass is way to bumpy for me" or "they're uncomfortable for me" and then put no context into those statements so I have no idea what any of it means nor can I find someplace to define them for me. Also, I'm using Astro A40's, which the majority of what I've read, are awful. I don't see the problem with them, but I also don't know what I'm looking for. They're pretty comfortable, I can listen to my music and its sounds fine, the mic works well and sounds fine on the other end. So you can kinda see why I'd rather look at suggestions from people here, rather than going off on my own even with what you've provided. Astro's are ''okay'' sound. I've had them for about two weeks and they work. But NOT for that price. The customizability and the mobility is what you're paying for, as well as the brand. Not the sound quality. I think I've got two headphones I can think of right now that would fit your style. 1. Sennheiser HD 5** series. I personally have the 598, and I love it because it looks amazing as well as the sound is pretty much the best you can get without having to buy an AMP for some headphones to drive it to full potential. There's cheaper models though, 558 I've heard is pretty much the same thing except it looks slightly different and sound is a little bit worse. Look into these models. They're amazing for computer usage. Not so great when travelling around, but I'd rather have IEMs for that anyway 2. ATH-M50. I was deciding between this and my HD 598 when I bought my headphones, and I bought the Senn's because they seemed more comfortable and were very big circumaurals. I like that, personally. The ATH-M50 has way more tight sound on the other hand, and has a more powerful bass. The Sennheiser's open, so your ears get less hot during hot days etc, bedause the air flow is better. That does go at the cost of less ''tight'' sound, but more natural sound. I don't know anything about the ATH's comfort though, you'd have to check head-fi for that. Overall the ATH-M50 have better bass than the HD 598, but the strength of the 598 is warm mids, personally. I love listening to all kinds of music on these cans, I personally listen to Metallica, Sum 41, some OC-remix tracks, Pink Floyd, etc, and these things are amazing for all of that. For the price range that I'm guessing around, $150-$200, you can get yourself one of these and you won't be disappointed no matter what. If you like base more, (which you should at least a little considering you listen to metal mostly), then try the ATH-M50's. If you like very balanced, warm sounds, try the Sennheiser's HD 598. I have a lot of experience with the latter and the main plus point is the overall sound quality as well as the comfort ability. I'd take these to sleep with if I wouldn't crush them accidentally. If you REALLY want an IEM after that, then I recommend Sennheiser CX300II's. They're very low price though, $35, but they are quite awesome for the price I feel. If you want higher than that, I can't really help you much as I have no personal experience. All I can say is stay away from super branded stuff, like Dr. Dre or Bose.(unless you want sound isolation, Bose is pretty good at that.) | ||
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Ercster
United States603 Posts
On May 08 2014 19:46 Thalandros wrote: Astro's are ''okay'' sound. I've had them for about two weeks and they work. But NOT for that price. The customizability and the mobility is what you're paying for, as well as the brand. Not the sound quality. I think I've got two headphones I can think of right now that would fit your style. 1. Sennheiser HD 5** series. I personally have the 598, and I love it because it looks amazing as well as the sound is pretty much the best you can get without having to buy an AMP for some headphones to drive it to full potential. There's cheaper models though, 558 I've heard is pretty much the same thing except it looks slightly different and sound is a little bit worse. Look into these models. They're amazing for computer usage. Not so great when travelling around, but I'd rather have IEMs for that anyway 2. ATH-M50. I was deciding between this and my HD 598 when I bought my headphones, and I bought the Senn's because they seemed more comfortable and were very big circumaurals. I like that, personally. The ATH-M50 has way more tight sound on the other hand, and has a more powerful bass. The Sennheiser's open, so your ears get less hot during hot days etc, bedause the air flow is better. That does go at the cost of less ''tight'' sound, but more natural sound. I don't know anything about the ATH's comfort though, you'd have to check head-fi for that. Overall the ATH-M50 have better bass than the HD 598, but the strength of the 598 is warm mids, personally. I love listening to all kinds of music on these cans, I personally listen to Metallica, Sum 41, some OC-remix tracks, Pink Floyd, etc, and these things are amazing for all of that. For the price range that I'm guessing around, $150-$200, you can get yourself one of these and you won't be disappointed no matter what. If you like base more, (which you should at least a little considering you listen to metal mostly), then try the ATH-M50's. If you like very balanced, warm sounds, try the Sennheiser's HD 598. I have a lot of experience with the latter and the main plus point is the overall sound quality as well as the comfort ability. I'd take these to sleep with if I wouldn't crush them accidentally. If you REALLY want an IEM after that, then I recommend Sennheiser CX300II's. They're very low price though, $35, but they are quite awesome for the price I feel. If you want higher than that, I can't really help you much as I have no personal experience. All I can say is stay away from super branded stuff, like Dr. Dre or Bose.(unless you want sound isolation, Bose is pretty good at that.) Thank you so much! I'm really looking for IEM's , though. I use "regular" headphones at home and IEM's outside of my house, and my old IEM broke, and I want a nice pair after years of shitty ones. | ||
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z0rz
United States350 Posts
What you're doing isn't much different than asking "What car should I buy? Keep it under $15,000." I don't know how to help you. Do you have a family? Do you commute? Do you want to go fast? Can you drive a stick? Do you like the color blue? We need information, man. I asked before (and uriel- asked too, but he made the mistake of using the phrase "band of sound" which sounds more like "what musicians do you listen to?" rather than "is there a certain frequency range you'd like to emphasize?" To be fair, though, he explained immediately after that and it seems to have gone unnoticed): What do you value? Comfort? Durability? Aesthetics? Booming bass vs super flat, accurate sound? Have you ever sat in a car with an awesome sound system and a good subwoofer? Ever been to a concert? You know when the bass kicks in and you can FEEL it? That feeling is very difficult to achieve in headphones, especially IEMs, but some are actually surprisingly good at producing a sub-bass rumble. Is that something that interests you? Or is that too over-the-top? Some people love it, some people hate it. Would you like to keep it more accurate and analytic so you can hear the tone of the guitar and vocals and pinpoint exactly where those sounds are coming from? Again, some people love this, some people would rather having booming bass and a more "colored" sound. Frankly, I can probably answer the 'sound quality' part for you since you're happy with A40s: you'd be happy with the sound quality of any decent $50 IEMs. But still, maybe you want to experience high quality audio for the first time. I don't know! You're tired of wasting $30, but you seem quite ready to waste $150. I don't get it arhgjfgfhhh helppppppp | ||
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Ercster
United States603 Posts
On May 09 2014 05:29 z0rz wrote: Haha, this is so much harder than it needs to be. What you're doing isn't much different than asking "What car should I buy? Keep it under $15,000." I don't know how to help you. Do you have a family? Do you commute? Do you want to go fast? Can you drive a stick? Do you like the color blue? We need information, man. I asked before (and uriel- asked too, but he made the mistake of using the phrase "band of sound" which sounds more like "what musicians do you listen to?" rather than "is there a certain frequency range you'd like to emphasize?" To be fair, though, he explained immediately after that and it seems to have gone unnoticed): Have you ever sat in a car with an awesome sound system and a good subwoofer? Ever been to a concert? You know when the bass kicks in and you can FEEL it? That feeling is very difficult to achieve in headphones, especially IEMs, but some are actually surprisingly good at producing a sub-bass rumble. Is that something that interests you? Or is that too over-the-top? Some people love it, some people hate it. Would you like to keep it more accurate and analytic so you can hear the tone of the guitar and vocals and pinpoint exactly where those sounds are coming from? Again, some people love this, some people would rather having booming bass and a more "colored" sound. Frankly, I can probably answer the 'sound quality' part for you since you're happy with A40s: you'd be happy with the sound quality of any decent $50 IEMs. But still, maybe you want to experience high quality audio for the first time. I don't know! You're tired of wasting $30, but you seem quite ready to waste $150. I don't get it arhgjfgfhhh helppppppp http://youtu.be/XmlXU4uK5rA I'm not wasting $150. I haven't spent any money, and I wasn't just going to blindly spend money based on the recommendation. While I do trust the opinions of those who post in these types of forums on TL, I'm not so ignorant to not do a little side research to see what others have thought about them and to see what others have recommended instead. And your car analogy isn't as complicated as you think it is. With the information given, cars can be recommended. The people taking the recommendation go look at the cars based on the recommendation. If they like it, they buy it. If they don't, then they can start from the drawing board or take what you recommended and look for things similar. It's still assuming that they know little but because they know what was recommended to them, they have some idea of what to look for. Also, car salesmen do this regularly, at least the car salesmen I've been around have. You tell them what you need (even if its incredibly vague), and they show you cars that fit those needs. Is it hard to just recommend a handful of different ones with different sounds? Or do you have to know all of the specifics in order to make any form of a recommendation? I don't think I've been that unreasonable when it comes to taking suggestions, which is what originally what I asked for. And while I never originally specified that I wasn't an audiophile, I thought I made it pretty clear I wasn't in later ones. But if you can't help me than that's fine, I appreciate the effort you put in | ||
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Firkraag8
Sweden1006 Posts
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z0rz
United States350 Posts
The people taking the recommendation go look at the cars based on the recommendation. If they like it, they buy it. If they don't, then they can start from the drawing board or take what you recommended and look for things similar. Exactly. The link I gave you already narrows down countless viable options to a solid handful in each price range. Like I said, it's a great starting point. Say you want to stick to the $100-150 price range. Boom, you just got 26 recommendations. Weed out a few that don't have stellar ratings and you'll probably be down to 5-10. Sweet. Go do some research now. I understand the jargon in the linked reviews might be a bit excessive, but you still get numerical ratings (1-10) and a model number to Google for other pricing information and review. And, like you said, you're ready to do research anyway. That's where my initial confusion comes from. You're willing to do research, unless someone provides you with a list to research??? :O Is it hard to just recommend a handful of different ones with different sounds? Guess where you could find that information? Third line of the link I gave you: An abridged buyer's guide containing my some of my favorite earphones by sound signature, can be found here (updated 03/01/14). Sorry for harping on it. I'm not mad and I'm not trying to attack you or anything. I'd leave it alone if you weren't giving me clues that everything you're asking for is actually contained in a single link haha. | ||
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Ercster
United States603 Posts
On May 09 2014 09:36 z0rz wrote: Exactly. The link I gave you already narrows down countless viable options to a solid handful in each price range. Like I said, it's a great starting point. Say you want to stick to the $100-150 price range. Boom, you just got 26 recommendations. Weed out a few that don't have stellar ratings and you'll probably be down to 5-10. Sweet. Go do some research now. I understand the jargon in the linked reviews might be a bit excessive, but you still get numerical ratings (1-10) and a model number to Google for other pricing information and review. And, like you said, you're ready to do research anyway. That's where my initial confusion comes from. You're willing to do research, unless someone provides you with a list to research??? :O Guess where you could find that information? Third line of the link I gave you: Sorry for harping on it. I'm not mad and I'm not trying to attack you or anything. I'd leave it alone if you weren't giving me clues that everything you're asking for is actually contained in a single link haha. I completely missed that, so I apologize. My main issue with everything is I don't understand the jargon or the reviewers put absolutely no context into their reviews. For example, "The bass is a little too bumpy for me." What am I supposed to do with that? I don't know what they're using to test the bass on them. | ||
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Cyro
United Kingdom20274 Posts
For example, "The bass is a little too bumpy for me." What am I supposed to do with that? Haha i would be mad at that too, it makes no sense unless you are (presumably) already informed | ||
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z0rz
United States350 Posts
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issh
Netherlands96 Posts
So i'll be going out into town tomorrow to look for a pair of headphones. I currently own the Steelseries Siberia v2, but im definitely looking to upgrade, as i think the sound just isnt good. I play games and music pretty much whenever i have the time, my games range from dota2, starcraft2, to counter-strike1.6/go ect. I could say the same for my music tastes, i listen to alot of different genres, so its important for me to get a pair of headphones that can run everything decently, though if i had to choose i would prefer the bass to stand out. Love me some bass. Might be worth noting that im currently running my siberia's on a Xonar DX 7.1 sound card. I'll be buying off http://www.saturn.nl/mcs/productlist/Koptelefoons,95952,451075.html?langId=-11 since it's the only store in my town with a wide range of headphones. Last but not least is my budget of 200eu. (could go abit higher if its really worth it) | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
I would watch out for the Sennheiser HD 518 and HD 558, as well as the AKG K551. Those Sennheisers are open back. The HD 518 should have more of a midbass / lower midrange emphasis. Both HD 518 and HD 558 are going to have a bit of trouble with the lowest subbass, like many open headphones, but they're not really among the worst offenders there. AKG K551 is closed-back and should have more bass extension down to the lowest frequencies, but that is heavily dependent on the seal you get. I think some people have sealing issues with K550 / K551 based on their head and ear shapes. That's the case for many headphones, but some headphones more so than others, especially closed-back headphones. If you don't need any sound isolation, many people swear by open-back headphones being generally preferred over closed-back headphones for gaming and aural localization. All three are not way far off from relatively neutral and should be okay for most music. | ||
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issh
Netherlands96 Posts
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issh
Netherlands96 Posts
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
By the way, I don't know if it's been changed over time or if possibly the front panel audio connection headphone output is different, but Xonar DX / D1 is known for having 100 ohms output impedance on the front channel stereo output, which would make some headphones sound a bit funny or bloated (midbass bump, slightly more distortion, to be more specific), with Senn HD 5x8 models being some of the most affected out of any fullsize headphones. You can always get a cheap external amp (30 euros range) to bypass that issue though. | ||
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issh
Netherlands96 Posts
Thanks for the suggestions so far! | ||
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issh
Netherlands96 Posts
No issues with my sound card occures of what you discribed as far as i can tell, but i do wonder if its worth getting a cheap AMP to boost the sound abit? | ||
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Thalandros
Netherlands1151 Posts
On May 31 2014 22:13 issh wrote: Ended up testing the headphones in the shop and decided to go with the HD 598, they sound better in almost everyway compared to the 518/558, and they are very comfortable. No issues with my sound card occures of what you discribed as far as i can tell, but i do wonder if its worth getting a cheap AMP to boost the sound abit? It might be. I think the 598's are so amazing because you don't need anything external for basically the best sound possible for a standard soundcard integrated in your mobo. I'm thinking of getting one, but it's really not necessary. | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
If you have a multimeter or maybe just some audio splitters, you could test this for yourself. Or if you're curious, you could just buy a cheap FiiO E6, hook that up, and see if it sounds different. You probably don't need the signal actually "boosted" unless you need a higher volume, right? | ||
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