Author Topic: Headphone Thread.  (Read 1309185 times)

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Offline typo

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #300 on: Mon, 21 February 2011, 12:34:12 »
the k701 can be powered very nicely by the ps audio gcha which is now half price for $499. it was well worth the original $1,000 imo.

there are some other amps which are even less money and will do it good. there are the chinese amps from pacific valve sound very nice but sometimes they explode lol.

the gcha and k701/2 is a reference quality system imo. not the finest there is but darn good.

Offline aynjell

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #301 on: Mon, 21 February 2011, 13:53:26 »
Quote from: typo;298827
the k701 can be powered very nicely by the ps audio gcha which is now half price for $499. it was well worth the original $1,000 imo.

there are some other amps which are even less money and will do it good. there are the chinese amps from pacific valve sound very nice but sometimes they explode lol.

the gcha and k701/2 is a reference quality system imo. not the finest there is but darn good.


Which amps are you talking about specifically?
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Offline .XL

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #302 on: Mon, 21 February 2011, 14:20:13 »
Quote from: typo;298827
the k701 can be powered very nicely by the ps audio gcha which is now half price for $499. it was well worth the original $1,000 imo.

there are some other amps which are even less money and will do it good. there are the chinese amps from pacific valve sound very nice but sometimes they explode lol.

the gcha and k701/2 is a reference quality system imo. not the finest there is but darn good.


Reading your comment made me think of this scene in the movie Infernal Affairs hahah...great movie!

If any of you haven't watched it yet...go. Now.
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Offline manfaux

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #303 on: Mon, 21 February 2011, 15:32:02 »
I'm not familiar with these headphone amps, do they work the same way as an USB sound does? $499 sounds expensive for just the amp... leaves me $1 for headphones.

Offline db_Iodine

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #304 on: Mon, 21 February 2011, 15:45:41 »
Quote from: ripster;298952
Using a amp with most consumer headphones is like the difference between Dark Blue/Light Blue Cherry MX and Dark Brown/Light Brown Cherry MX.

In other words not much but fun to argue about.


I can't agree here at all. Even low end headphones get much clearer sound with a decent headphone amp. And with higher end consumer headphones like the AKG K701 the difference between amp and no amp is like night and day.
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Offline .XL

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #305 on: Mon, 21 February 2011, 16:14:48 »
Quote from: manfaux;298949
I'm not familiar with these headphone amps, do they work the same way as an USB sound does? $499 sounds expensive for just the amp... leaves me $1 for headphones.


You can go for this usb dac which has received high reviews and praise. Alternatively, this one has received lots of praise on here and other places (head-fi I think). Which one is the best, I have no clue, but combining one of these with the AKG701 will give be great and save you ~$90.

I'm stuck in between the two, I'll be re-ordering my ATH-M50S later today and I'll give my self a couple weeks to decide which usb dac to go for :p
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Offline didjamatic

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #306 on: Mon, 21 February 2011, 16:24:53 »
The GCHA has been out for 5 years and lately there is a lot of competition out there.  How does it compare to more recent amps?  I see it's balanced, Class A so that's good.  But I have to wonder about the prices of some head amps when you can get excellent receivers for less money.  (Assuming you're not looking at portable headamps)  It seems any receiver that lacks HDMI can be picked up for next to nothing.  The model I want goes for aroun $700-800 on ebay and was over $5k a few years ago.
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Offline typo

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #307 on: Mon, 21 February 2011, 20:57:55 »
i personally think the gcha is the best thing going for $499. it has balanced now but it is now made in china as well. i have a cullen gcha that is amongst the best ss amps there are imo.

as for the chinese amps you should know something about electronics if you opt for one of those. many examples have been unsafe to the point of exploding. i am not making that up. of course there was singlepower blowing up as well. i like to stick with companies that are known to be legit.

i am highly skilled with electronics. i took 3 years to build my tube amp and i feel there exists nothing better currently. i will not share or sell the design sorry.
some rsa and ttvj pinnacle are all that comes close to mine imo.

i think $500 is where serious amps start out if you get the right one. it does not have to be the gcha. it does have usb though. the dac1 usb is three times the money but probably better sound mainly due to the dac in it. i feel if you get a new amp for $100-$200 you are either taking a safety risk or it just won't sound any better than an av receiver.

as for av receivers, the headphone pcb generally sucks across the board in those.

i am not completely sure about what you get for what money at the entry level.
i have not used those in years.

i also feel to get $400 headphones unamped is a big waste of money.

Offline didjamatic

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #308 on: Mon, 21 February 2011, 21:49:12 »
Do you use a portable headamp?

Also, seen the HLLY DMK-IV?  I know the HLLY group is unpopular for knocking off the LittleDot amps but the DMK-IV seems popular.
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Offline aynjell

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #309 on: Tue, 22 February 2011, 01:50:56 »
That was the one place I thought was safe from knock offs... chinese audio gear. But nope.
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Offline .XL

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #310 on: Tue, 22 February 2011, 10:24:41 »
Quote from: aynjell;299210
That was the one place I thought was safe from knock offs... chinese audio gear. But nope.


If you ever go to Hong Kong they have some REALLY good knockoffs. Made in Hong Kong by electrical engineers in their spare time using expensive tube amps as their 'inspiration.' These knockoffs are hand made, good or better quality as $5000 tube amps, for somewhere around $800USD. A fantastic deal if you live in Hong Kong, but I wouldn't want to risk transporting them!

Source: Audiophile friend who lives 3 months a year in Hong Kong
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Offline .XL

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #311 on: Tue, 22 February 2011, 10:42:53 »
Quote from: ripster;299335
I said most consumer headphones.

These days I go for convenience so I can pick up music anywhere in the house.  Nobody sits in their living room listening to music any more - that's why HiFi is turning into an Old Doods hobby.



GET EEEMMMM

I wouldn't want to sit in my living room just listening to music either...that'd be a rare occurence. That's where the appeal in the USB DAC lies...plug it into your laptop or any computer wherever you are and enjoy. Nice for riding the bus, metro, or just waiting in between classes. More bang-for-your-buck IMO.
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Offline .XL

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #312 on: Tue, 22 February 2011, 10:55:52 »
Quote from: ripster;299346
FLAC over Wifi.

Settle for no less.  And jitter my ass.

As mythical as the key transposition errors on my Filco Zero.


And if you were one of those rare-breed of Geekhackers that leaves their house every now and then, what should you do?
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Offline didjamatic

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #313 on: Tue, 22 February 2011, 11:05:12 »
PandoraOne membership for commercial-free 192k streams
Ipod/Zune or other w/high quality or lossless music
One of many portable headamps with USB DAC's built in < this is where I'm researching.

Though honestly, my triplefi 10's are fantastic straight out of an iphone/ipod and no hassle of 12ft cables that are on many premium headphones.


Quote from: .XL;299333
If you ever go to Hong Kong they have some REALLY good knockoffs. Made in Hong Kong by electrical engineers in their spare time using expensive tube amps as their 'inspiration.' These knockoffs are hand made, good or better quality as $5000 tube amps, for somewhere around $800USD. A fantastic deal if you live in Hong Kong, but I wouldn't want to risk transporting them!

Source: Audiophile friend who lives 3 months a year in Hong Kong

This can be true, but you need to know what you're getting or know someone you trust to make a recommendation.  The difference of 1 cap or solder joint can make or break you.
« Last Edit: Tue, 22 February 2011, 11:07:52 by didjamatic »
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Offline db_Iodine

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #314 on: Tue, 22 February 2011, 11:30:16 »
Quote from: ripster;299358
Well, you could stream from home as well.

But I just  grab a Sansa Clip and  a $12 Phillips over the ears (I look like a dork but so does every other Hipster in town with huge cans).  Buy a bunch - the jack will crap out in a few years but at $12 the performance/price ratio can't be beat.
Show Image


 My iPod Touch hates my Shure SE530s - the noise floor is terrible (I assume due to an impedence mismatch).

Plus my motto is always match the headphones to the source and usage.


I can't stand wearing that kind of headphones for longer than 10 minutes.
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Offline typo

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #315 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 01:08:39 »
well it is strange about china. what you generally see for consumers usually spells low quality. or even disaster. there are some chinese amps that are original designs and are of  exceptionally high quality. they sell for 5 grand but compete with 20 grand amps! for instance xindak. the 840 series of cambridge audio is going to outperform anything in'ts price range but it can't count as wholly chinese. it is assembled in china. nad, same thing. there are  other very high end chinese products but the names escape me at the moment.

the problem with the china only imported amps is someone has to change the xformer etc. that is where it all goes downhill with these outfits. besides china does not hold companies liable like other countries afaik. i think there are some very nice cheap amps like this. i am capable of checking under the hood if you will. if you are not i'd forget those.

i am certainly not afraid to buy the right chinese products.

as asked: no, i do not use a portable amp. as none of my cans are portable. in the truest sense of the term. try wearing the he90/hev90 "orpheus". :)

Offline Carefoot

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #316 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 04:55:25 »
I am rocking some AKG-701s.  They are pretty.



Can't lie however I want myself a pair of Seinheisers just so I can swap out the sound scape when these sick baller cats get boring for my ears.  Warning that these headphones crave .FLAC and anything less will rape your ears.
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Offline ironman31

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #317 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 06:57:05 »
Has anyone hear tried out/have any electrostatic earspeaker/headphones systems? I've been looking into some for my next upgrade.
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Offline aynjell

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #318 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 11:39:52 »
Quote from: typo;299692
well it is strange about china. what you generally see for consumers usually spells low quality. or even disaster. there are some chinese amps that are original designs and are of  exceptionally high quality. they sell for 5 grand but compete with 20 grand amps! for instance xindak. the 840 series of cambridge audio is going to outperform anything in'ts price range but it can't count as wholly chinese. it is assembled in china. nad, same thing. there are  other very high end chinese products but the names escape me at the moment.

the problem with the china only imported amps is someone has to change the xformer etc. that is where it all goes downhill with these outfits. besides china does not hold companies liable like other countries afaik. i think there are some very nice cheap amps like this. i am capable of checking under the hood if you will. if you are not i'd forget those.

i am certainly not afraid to buy the right chinese products.

as asked: no, i do not use a portable amp. as none of my cans are portable. in the truest sense of the term. try wearing the he90/hev90 "orpheus". :)


Actually most of the products I would be buying (little dot, audio-gd, you know... trusted chinese companies) from wouldn't require one to change a transformer, they come with the right one.
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Offline keyb_gr

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #319 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 11:44:58 »
Quote from: db_Iodine;298958
I can't agree here at all. Even low end headphones get much clearer sound with a decent headphone amp. And with higher end consumer headphones like the AKG K701 the difference between amp and no amp is like night and day.

Maybe it is helpful to give a little background on what makes headphones "fussy". There are several different factors:

1. Impedance variation. Will lead to bent frequency response due to interaction with output impedance. Sound will be "right" for a narrow range of output impedance values only. For example, Sennheiser HD598s (60 ohms min, 280 ohms max) sound right on a plain ol' Clip (<<10 ohms), while a typical integrated amp output jack (330..470 ohms) turns them into basshead cans with a 10 dB boost around 80 Hz. Multi-driver BA IEMs can be even worse - a Super.fi 5Pro's impedance response looks like a rollercoaster with a maximum of over 80 and a minimum of only 8 ohms. They better be optimized for some non-zero output impedance, 'cause otherwise it would take 1 ohm or less for a deviation of under 1 dB. By contrast, something like a lowly Sennheiser CX300 (in spite of its 16 ohms) or a 250 ohm Beyer DT880 are far less critical. I have recently added some impedance data and calculation for FR deviation to the headphone sensitivity table.

2. Low impedance and modest sensitivity at the same time, making an amp break into sweat more easily. K701s, for example, and orthodynamics even more so. In return, those aren't too fussy about output impedance.

3. Very high impedance can be a problem if output voltage swing just isn't too big. Some Euro-capped MP3 players can barely drive reasonably sensitive fullsize cans like my old HD590s (~110 dB SPL / 1 Vrms) to acceptable volumes, while my Rockbox'd Clip gets 600 ohm cans reasonably loud.

Oh, and ripster may want to look at a current-generation (4G) Touch. Along with the iPhone 4G, they are supposed to be near noiseless (noticeably better than a Clip+, which is not a slouch to begin with).
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Offline aynjell

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #320 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 12:25:49 »
Quote from: keyb_gr;299867
Maybe it is helpful to give a little background on what makes headphones "fussy". There are several different factors:

1. Impedance variation. Will lead to bent frequency response due to interaction with output impedance. Sound will be "right" for a narrow range of output impedance values only. For example, Sennheiser HD598s (60 ohms min, 280 ohms max) sound right on a plain ol' Clip (<<10 ohms), while a typical integrated amp output jack (330..470 ohms) turns them into basshead cans with a 10 dB boost around 80 Hz. Multi-driver BA IEMs can be even worse - a Super.fi 5Pro's impedance response looks like a rollercoaster with a maximum of over 80 and a minimum of only 8 ohms. They better be optimized for some non-zero output impedance, 'cause otherwise it would take 1 ohm or less for a deviation of under 1 dB. By contrast, something like a lowly Sennheiser CX300 (in spite of its 16 ohms) or a 250 ohm Beyer DT880 are far less critical. I have recently added some impedance data and calculation for FR deviation to the headphone sensitivity table.

2. Low impedance and modest sensitivity at the same time, making an amp break into sweat more easily. K701s, for example, and orthodynamics even more so. In return, those aren't too fussy about output impedance.

3. Very high impedance can be a problem if output voltage swing just isn't too big. Some Euro-capped MP3 players can barely drive reasonably sensitive fullsize cans like my old HD590s (~110 dB SPL / 1 Vrms) to acceptable volumes, while my Rockbox'd Clip gets 600 ohm cans reasonably loud.

Oh, and ripster may want to look at a current-generation (4G) Touch. Along with the iPhone 4G, they are supposed to be near noiseless (noticeably better than a Clip+, which is not a slouch to begin with).


I know this from personal experience. my I+ can drive HD800's but not HD580's. The HD800's and HD580's have the same impedance, but marginally different sensitivities.
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Offline keyb_gr

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #321 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 14:02:11 »
Quote from: aynjell;299877
I know this from personal experience. my I+ can drive HD800's but not HD580's. The HD800's and HD580's have the same impedance, but marginally different sensitivities.
But how can a few dBs make such a difference? Nominally their sensitivity should even be the same, and impedance differs by maybe 10%.

And a headphone amp that can't drive HD580s, the quintessential "OMG you need an amp!!!1" cans back in the day (and, to be honest, hardly an extremely critical load)? What did they construct that one for, martians? Or do you merely have a very quiet source?
Apparently the LD I+ has an opamp gain stage and output buffer with reasonably beefy transistors, which at least on paper seems OK and not something to fail driving a measly HD580. Of course it still has the tube stage, thus the THD+N of .2% @ 1 Vrms and .6% at 3 Vrms, so distortion will be higher for higher-impedance, lower-sensitivity cans. Still, 1 Vrms should be plenty loud on '580s, and 0.2% with a presumably 2nd-order-dominated distortion spectrum isn't anything tragic by any means.
« Last Edit: Wed, 23 February 2011, 14:22:50 by keyb_gr »
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Offline .XL

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #322 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 14:02:16 »
Just got my ATH-M50 in the mail! I ended up ordering the M50 instead of the M50S, the extra stretch seemed like it might come in handy.

I'm listening to them right now, they sound great! I can really feel the bass, and I'm picking up sounds in songs I love that I hadn't heard before. I'm a true believer now :p And this is all with onboard audio LOL so I'm only assuming it just gets better from here :p

I'll make sure to run some white and pink noise through them too to burn them in correctly.

I have two issues with the headphones:
1.) The earpieces swivel really easily when you grab them. With conscious effort this doesn't matter, and I'm sure I'll eventually get to the point where I just naturally grab them without issue.
2.) They are a little tight. I don't have a huge head, but it's fairly big. The band has plenty of flex to it, so I'm sure after some wear it'll loosen up.

Thanks for the help guys! I'm very happy with my purchase. I'm looking forward to 'discovering' my music like never before :p
« Last Edit: Wed, 23 February 2011, 14:34:26 by .XL »
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Offline aynjell

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #323 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 14:31:12 »
Quote from: keyb_gr;299918
But how can a few dBs make such a difference? Nominally their sensitivity should even be the same, and impedance differs by maybe 10%.

And a headphone amp that can't drive HD580s, the quintessential "OMG you need an amp!!!1" cans back in the day (and, to be honest, hardly an extremely critical load)? What did they construct that one for, martians? Or do you merely have a very quiet source?
Apparently the LD I+ has an opamp gain stage and output buffer with reasonably beefy transistors, which at least on paper seems OK and not something to fail driving a measly HD580. Of course it still has the tube stage, thus the THD+N of .2% @ 1 Vrms and .6% at 3 Vrms, so distortion will be higher for higher-impedance, lower-sensitivity cans. Still, 1 Vrms should be plenty loud on '580s, and 0.2% with a presumably 2nd-order-dominated distortion spectrum isn't anything tragic by any means.


based on your statements I have a hard time believing you know what you're talking about.

The I+ gives approximately 150mw to 300ohms, and barely approaches listenable volumes at full volume pot. My source is not quiet, it's actually quite loud. An ipod headphone manages to be quieter than my source. The closest I can get to actually driving my 580's is plugging them into the headout of my klipsch speakers. oh well, I'll be getting a FUN soon, and it should drive everything I've got with aplomb. :)
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Offline keyb_gr

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« Reply #324 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 14:45:23 »
Quote from: .XL;299920
I'm listening to them right now, they sound great! I can really feel the bass, and I'm picking up sounds in songs I love that I hadn't heard before.

A quote commonly heard from those picking up their first decent headphones. ;) The second time usually is when upgrading to a top-class open dynamic model. (Speaking of which, the "natural" upgrade path to ATH-M50s would seem to be HD650s.)

Another side-effect typically is that you start listening to things that never struck you as very attractive before.
Quote
I'm a true believer now :p And this is all with onboard audio LOL so I'm only assuming it just gets better from here :p

ATH-M50s aren't terribly picky and quite sensitive, so anything that doesn't mind their low-ish impedance should drive them pretty well. Unless you already have top-class onboard audio (like a decent ALC889 implementation), a $50-ish soundcard should bring another small improvement.
Quote
2.) They are a little tight. I don't have a huge head, but it's fairly big. The band has plenty of flex to it, so I'm sure after some wear it'll loosen up.

Closed cans have to be somewhat tight for best isolation, no way around that. At least these big circumaurals are reasonably comfortable, their mid-sized supraaural cousins can be quite bad since they press on the ears themselves.
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Offline .XL

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« Reply #325 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 16:33:19 »
Quote from: keyb_gr;299939
(Speaking of which, the "natural" upgrade path to ATH-M50s would seem to be HD650s.)


They're not closed though :/

Quote

Closed cans have to be somewhat tight for best isolation, no way around that. At least these big circumaurals are reasonably comfortable, their mid-sized supraaural cousins can be quite bad since they press on the ears themselves.


I hate on-the-ear headphones for this reason. Can't stand the feeling I get after maybe half an hour with them squeezing my ears!

I have another question...what is the best media player for both OSX and Windows? I prefer to use the same program for both OS's. I've got Foobar2000 on my desktop right now, but I'm still looking for one that works on both (just for reasons of familiarity, I guess).

I might just end up using iTunes since I do quite like Genius...but I hate how the program makes my music files retarded. I don't know how to explain it...it seems like it retags all my music and splits them in so many different folders. Is it possible to just use the source folders? Or will it not use Genius correctly?

It seems like finding a good all-in-one media player is quite tough. I know ripster loves MediaMonkey, but it doesn't work on Mac.
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Offline aynjell

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #326 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 17:09:24 »
Quote from: .XL;299983
They're not closed though :/



I hate on-the-ear headphones for this reason. Can't stand the feeling I get after maybe half an hour with them squeezing my ears!

I have another question...what is the best media player for both OSX and Windows? I prefer to use the same program for both OS's. I've got Foobar2000 on my desktop right now, but I'm still looking for one that works on both (just for reasons of familiarity, I guess).

I might just end up using iTunes since I do quite like Genius...but I hate how the program makes my music files retarded. I don't know how to explain it...it seems like it retags all my music and splits them in so many different folders. Is it possible to just use the source folders? Or will it not use Genius correctly?

It seems like finding a good all-in-one media player is quite tough. I know ripster loves MediaMonkey, but it doesn't work on Mac.

For MAC, I know of lot of audiophiles still rely on itunes.

For WIN, Foobar is the goto app and is by far the best. Anything I need to do with music i seem to be able to do with foobar with minimal fuss.

Some people use Exact Audio Copy to rip CD's. I use foobar with the integrity verifier plugin, it checks the same sources in the same fashion. Providing you get an accurate rip and it checks out, the end result should be exactly the same. That's one app down.

I love foobar's ability to be any type of player, a playlist style player, a media library style player, etc. I prefer the media library approach and I can totally do that with foobar, albeit configuration can be a bit difficult it's pretty darned powerful.

The verifier also works for files you didn't rip. As long as it's gapless, it can check the integrity of an album you get, whether by friends or otherwise.

Also, it works with audioscrobbler, a feature that while pointless is fun to have available. It's nice to be able to actually QUANTIFY your favourites.

You can even edit tags using foobar, albeit the tagging in mp3tag is ultimately more powerful, and I still haven't figured out how to add album art to the files with foobar.
« Last Edit: Wed, 23 February 2011, 17:14:33 by aynjell »
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Offline .XL

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« Reply #327 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 17:42:04 »
I guess until a better alternative presents itself, iTunes is the best bet for me?

And I also guess my issue with foobar lies with my complete lack of knowledge of how to do anything in foobar haha...it seems like it needs at least some sort of scripting ability. I can't really make heads or tails of it so I just use the basic black layout :/
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Offline keyb_gr

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« Reply #328 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 18:17:29 »
I didn't have to delve into scripting at all and still found Foobar to be plenty powerful. Even the default UI customized nicely in "layout editing mode". (Then again, I'm not that picky with the visuals. It's got to be readable and functional, and that's about it.)


My most important plugins: Audioscrobbler and Lyrics Show 2. I have ASIO output installed but use plain ol' DirectSound since it allows the "output front stereo on all channel pairs" feature to work.

In order to take advantage of a full Replaygain implementation when using iTunes, you want to be using qNormal or iVolume.
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Offline aynjell

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« Reply #329 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 18:21:45 »
Quote from: .XL;300030
I guess until a better alternative presents itself, iTunes is the best bet for me?

And I also guess my issue with foobar lies with my complete lack of knowledge of how to do anything in foobar haha...it seems like it needs at least some sort of scripting ability. I can't really make heads or tails of it so I just use the basic black layout :/


Start an album up and while you're doing that start fscking around with it a bit in layout editing mode. After that, start looking for things it wish it could do. Since it's the audiophile's first choice, odds are it will have a plugin or the feature by default to do what you want to do.
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Offline Daniel Beaver

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« Reply #330 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 20:34:12 »
Quote
I guess until a better alternative presents itself, iTunes is the best bet for me?


*spit take*

Anything but iTunes. Why people put up with that software mystifies me.

Foobar is a wonderful program, but it is intimidating to use at first (and it runs well on wine. You use a Mac, correct?) Otherwise, Songbird is a good choice. Not sure about replacements for Genius, though...

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Offline .XL

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« Reply #331 on: Wed, 23 February 2011, 22:18:57 »
Thanks for all the tips...

@keyb_gr and aynjell: I'll just play around with it and work it to my liking, once I get my library in order...no mean feat :/

So, turns out iTunes destroyed almost all my tags (when I first started my music collection I was careful with about the first 15 gigs, then just stopped caring). What was tagged correctly was turned into a mess by what I can only assume is iTunes.

I'm about 50% through my library right now, I've gotten most of the music in the right folders, now have to organize it and then get it all tagged in MP3tag.

@Daniel: Are you using it through WINE? That's the only feasible solution I've found.

@ripster: you really don't like foobar, huh? I'll give mediamonkey a try, since ya endorse it so heavily :p
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Offline aynjell

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« Reply #332 on: Thu, 24 February 2011, 00:48:53 »
Quote from: ripster;300105
MediaMonkey & MagicNodes.  Better tagging than Foobar.  REACT & EAC, better ripping than Foobar.

The ripping wouldn't be any better. I can say that for sure. I explained that in an above post. EAC's primary feature is the ability to verify the integrity of the RIP afterwards. Foobar, with a plugin, can do the same thing without throwing up a red flag in my av program of choice.

Also it's one less program I have to use. Foobar can select from a variety of ripping modes and a even control the speed of the drive so you really have a lot of control over the ripping process and have the capacity of getting assured results just like you would with foobar. So... eac is kind of worthless as a standalone program.
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Offline Daniel Beaver

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« Reply #333 on: Thu, 24 February 2011, 06:29:01 »
Quote
@Daniel: Are you using it through WINE? That's the only feasible solution I've found.

I normally am a windows user, but on my xubuntu rig at school I run it through wine. It is simple to do on linux, so I imagine it would be straightforward on wine for OS X.

In regards to the Foobar vs other media players argument...
I use separate programs for tagging and ripping (mp3tag and EAC), which are somewhat more functional than Foobar. I am not averse to using more than one program for media management. You spend 99% of that time in your media player anyways.

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Offline .XL

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« Reply #334 on: Thu, 24 February 2011, 15:46:14 »
Quote from: Daniel Beaver;300251
I normally am a windows user, but on my xubuntu rig at school I run it through wine. It is simple to do on linux, so I imagine it would be straightforward on wine for OS X.

In regards to the Foobar vs other media players argument...
I use separate programs for tagging and ripping (mp3tag and EAC), which are somewhat more functional than Foobar. I am not averse to using more than one program for media management. You spend 99% of that time in your media player anyways.


I've been using Mp3tag, it seems to work quite well. I don't really need to rip music since I only have a few cds I haven't ripped yet.
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Offline Orphagn

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« Reply #335 on: Thu, 24 February 2011, 15:50:22 »
I have a pair of Corsair HS1's and they feel really nice. Only downside to them for me is that they're USB, but it's required since it has it's own sound processor built in. I haven't messed with the sound settings too much since i'm not really an audiophile, but they sound fine to me. They have a 3.5mm input model (HS1A), without the build in sound processor for those that haven their own sound card.
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Offline YpoCaramel

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« Reply #336 on: Sun, 27 February 2011, 00:55:13 »
Quote from: ripster;299358
My iPod Touch hates my Shure SE530s - the noise floor is terrible (I assume due to an impedence mismatch).

Plus my motto is always match the headphones to the source and usage.

They didn't come with am attenunator of some kind? Wait, that was probably UE.... (sorry! I can't remember what came with my SE530s five years ago!) Well you can try one of those or this is one of those situations where a $20cheap amp might actually come in useful...
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Offline didjamatic

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« Reply #337 on: Sun, 27 February 2011, 09:47:08 »
Carefoot, those are good looking.
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Offline keyb_gr

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« Reply #338 on: Sun, 27 February 2011, 20:35:48 »
Quote from: YpoCaramel;301617
They didn't come with am attenunator of some kind? Wait, that was probably UE.... (sorry! I can't remember what came with my SE530s five years ago!) Well you can try one of those or this is one of those situations where a $20cheap amp might actually come in useful...

Amp is prolly better since SE530s are among the more fussy multi-driver BA jobs when it comes to source impedance. The average UE attenuator has 100 ohms in series and 15 ohms in parallel for like 13 ohms or so, and for those Shures I wouldn't recommend more than 1 ohm (which will give a FR deviation of less than 1 dB).

A little Fiio E5 should already do a fairly decent job.

Yes, an amplifier still makes the best attenuator.
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Offline Chobopants

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« Reply #339 on: Tue, 08 March 2011, 10:21:06 »
HD555s (iphone camera so the color is off and it looks like 595s, haha) into a Rolls headphone amp for home. At work I use HD280s straight into my computer. I used to use Etymotics hf2s for commuting/gym but they got caught on my ebrake as I was exiting my car and they exploded. :(

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Offline panda-R

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« Reply #340 on: Tue, 08 March 2011, 12:17:07 »
my 595's feel so lacking in the UMPH department these days. I've been rocking around with a subwoofer in my near field monitor setup. I need BOOM BOOM BOOM.
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Offline panda-R

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« Reply #341 on: Tue, 08 March 2011, 12:35:48 »
Quote from: ripster;307726

I used to have ButtShakers on my gaming chair and then one day I moved beyond OCN puberty.


I understand your desires for personal growth but you forgot that buttshakers help promote regular bowel movements. I guess its not a good thing if u poop on ur chair though.
DO YOU FEEL THE BEAT? I DO.
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Offline typo

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« Reply #342 on: Sun, 20 March 2011, 00:45:09 »
if you are able to setup foobar right for your needs the quality is outstanding.
i am streaming 128kbps radio and it is close to cd quality. i know that seems impossible. it is upsampled to meet the soundcard and then further upsampled by the dac. wasapi. i have not lost a packet in over 10 weeks and the station is on the other side of the world. winamp cannot come close.

Offline Roasty

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« Reply #343 on: Sun, 20 March 2011, 01:01:24 »


Schiit Valhalla




Senn HD650 + Zu Mobius & Gamma 2 dac




Alessandro MS2i



.

Offline panda-R

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« Reply #344 on: Sun, 20 March 2011, 01:25:02 »
Quote from: Roasty;314639
Show Image


Schiit Valhalla

Hows the Valhalla go with the HD650? I can't wait for my 650's to get here but now I'm in search of an amp to match them with. Was thinking Crack OTL but imma so lazy for DIY these days.
DO YOU FEEL THE BEAT? I DO.
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Offline .XL

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« Reply #345 on: Sun, 20 March 2011, 01:29:51 »
Quote from: panda-R;314647
Hows the Valhalla go with the HD650? I can't wait for my 650's to get here but now I'm in search of an amp to match them with. Was thinking Crack OTL but imma so lazy for DIY these days.


...panda-R out of character? lolwut?
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Offline Roasty

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« Reply #346 on: Sun, 20 March 2011, 02:42:20 »
Quote from: panda-R;314647
Hows the Valhalla go with the HD650? I can't wait for my 650's to get here but now I'm in search of an amp to match them with. Was thinking Crack OTL but imma so lazy for DIY these days.

i was initially worried that they would be too warm sounding for the HD650, but i'm actually quite happy with the pairing. very lush, full bodied sound and surprisingly large sound stage (.. then again i'm coming from a Corda Headfive which i felt had a really small sound stage). bass is clean and quite fast for a tube amp. i listen to all genres of music and it handles them quite well.

i think the schiit amps are quite hard to beat given the price range. other options i was looking at were the WooAudio amps as well as the Headamps, but they were a bit pricey for me. considered going the Little Dot route but wasnt too keen on their design / look.

quite a few people on head-fi.org have paired the HD650 with the Burson HA-160; i also considered this but decided to give tube amps a try this time round. u may want to look into this if you're thinking of going the solid state route.

if you're getting a HD650, you should look into aftermarket cables.. the Zu Mobius i have is a really good upgrade over the stock cable.
« Last Edit: Sun, 20 March 2011, 02:44:29 by Roasty »

Offline panda-R

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« Reply #347 on: Sun, 20 March 2011, 11:29:15 »
Quote from: .xl;314648
...panda-r out of character? Lolwut?


i love boobs!
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Offline ktkr

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« Reply #348 on: Sun, 20 March 2011, 11:35:30 »
Quote from: Roasty;314639

Show Image


Senn HD650 + Zu Mobius & Gamma 2 dac


Nice picture. AMB y2 sure is a fine piece of gear.

Offline panda-R

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« Reply #349 on: Sun, 20 March 2011, 11:35:45 »
@roasty, thx for the impressions... i was saving up for the audio-gd NFB-10ES as peeps have been saying it pairs well with the HD650 but it's so hard to resist trying cheap options out there considering i already have a dac to boot.

Where did u get the Zu? i can't seem to find anything online.
DO YOU FEEL THE BEAT? I DO.
One Keyboard to DOOM them all, REALFORCE.