Author Topic: Headphone Thread.  (Read 1309154 times)

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Offline NAVIWORLDINC

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Headphone Thread.
« on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 16:01:35 »
Post'em...

My Setup:
Onboard Toslink to JVC-888v To Grado SR125i's.


Offline Brian8bit

  • Posts: 156
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #1 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 16:05:47 »
It's like I'm on 4chan.

Offline Daniel Beaver

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #2 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 18:02:40 »
Koss PortaPros plugged into my motherboard's onboard audio. Supa hi-end, yo.


Home: Topre Realforce 87W45  /  Mionix Naos 3200
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Offline NAVIWORLDINC

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 18:30:21 »
Quote from: Daniel Beaver;269994
Koss PortaPros plugged into my motherboard's onboard audio. Supa hi-end, yo.

Show Image


I just bought a pair of those for my best friend to use on his ipod nano 2nd gen. (The last models before Apple started cheaping out on their DACs)

Offline nmd

  • Posts: 69
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #4 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 20:05:31 »
I use Sennheiser HD 280 PROs for music and Razer Carcharias for gaming. I use the Razer because it's got a real relaxed braided cord and doesn't clamp down on my head, so if I'm wearing my glasses it doesn't give me a headache or distort my vision. The sound isn't as good and the Razer also has a defect in the volume control causing the left speaker to go out after a while but warranty covers it(just takes like a month for a replacement.)

I use Logitech Z-2300s rest of the time.

woody

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #5 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 20:18:04 »
AKG K44, best bang for buck.

Offline jaynoon

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #6 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 20:20:23 »
I have some Audio Technica ATH-AD700s plugged into an Astro Gaming Mixamp.

I don't think the AD700s benefit tremendously from amplification, but the mixamp actually makes the wiring around my desk less crazy, and provides an easy TOSlink->headphone path from my Xbox.

These headphones are ridiculous for the $90 or so you can get them online for.
Home: Filco Tenkeyless Brown | Work: KBC Poker w/ Reds | Laptop: MacBook Air Keyboard

Offline Parak

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #7 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 20:33:49 »
Another ATH-AD700 fan here :D They go into a mixer, mixer connects to a kenwood VRS-7100 receiver, which connects to a soundcard via optical. Easy switching from headphones to speakers this way.

Offline jaynoon

  • Posts: 152
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #8 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 21:20:20 »
Quote from: Parak;270079
Another ATH-AD700 fan here :D


Yeah, they're really fantastic cans for the money. I plug them straight into my iPhone and they sound pretty damn good.

I would totally jump up to the ATH-AD900s just based on my happiness with the 700s, but I don't really have too much to complain about. I suppose they could use a touch more low end response..
Home: Filco Tenkeyless Brown | Work: KBC Poker w/ Reds | Laptop: MacBook Air Keyboard

Offline godly_music

  • Posts: 255
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #9 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 21:24:29 »
Judging from the picture, Grados are just as uncomfortable as Koss Porta Pros. Ear squeezed directly into foam = bad. I've used Sennheiser HD 570s for a good 8 years and bought Koss Porta Pros, which lasted a whole year until the non-replaceable cable broke. My latest babies are These. Running them with an old Sony integrated amp, they sound like NOTHING AT ALL. If you play a ****ty encode, they'll brutally reveal every glitch. If you play from a good source, they are phenomenal. Sennheisers in comparison like to sugarcoat. Some people really prefer that, and there's an argument to be made for either.

Offline D-EJ915

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #10 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 22:20:17 »

Offline ironman31

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #11 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 22:41:43 »
Keyboards:
IBM Model M Space Saving Keyboard (Used), HHKB Pro 2 (White, Lettered), Realforce 87U all-45g in White, Filco Majestouch 2 TKL with Cherry MX Browns, Model F PC/ATNoppoo Choc Mini (MX Browns), Model F XT, IBM Model M 1397735 (bought NIB), (2) Siig Minitouch (GHSS) one with XM, one with complicated ALPs (modded),2 Dell AT101W, Cherry G80-11900HRMUS (modded with MX browns)



Pointing Devices:
Logitech G500, Evoluent VerticalMouse 3, Logitech G5, CST 2545W, Microsoft IntelliMouse Trackball, Logitech M570, Logitech MX revolution


Offline NamelessPFG

  • Posts: 373
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #12 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 23:16:00 »
Another AD700 owner reporting in, just with these being directly plugged into the rear of an Auzentech X-Fi Prelude (no dedicated headphone amp). They work great for the exact purpose I bought 'em for-surround sound gaming with CMSS-3D Headphone.

It makes me wonder if all those higher-end cans like properly-amped Beyerdynamic DT880s and anything Stax or electrostatic would really be that much of an improvement in gaming and general music listening (I'm starting to build up a small FLAC collection now that I have the hard drive space) to justify the increased expense.

Offline jnsjr

  • Posts: 71
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #13 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 23:26:17 »
AD900's plugged directly into a x-fi prelude as well... i have always wanted a pair of bassy senns and a pair of grados as well!
Current Keyboards
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WTT & WTS
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Sold ~ Filco Blue Cherry; Majestouch 104 nonprinted keycaps; Noppoo Choco Mini 茶轴 (brown switches);  Topre 87u Variable ; Topre 87u 55g ; MY7000 Doubleshots ; Round 1 Doubleshots    
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Offline cbf123

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #14 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 23:43:04 »
AKG 501s with a self-built PPAv1 amp.  Bass boost is tuned to provide flat freq response lower than the cans themselves would normally provide.
Daily drivers are:
Microsoft Natural (the original, and still going strong)
Microsoft Natural Elite

Offline NAVIWORLDINC

  • Thread Starter
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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #15 on: Tue, 28 December 2010, 23:51:12 »
Quote from: godly_music;270105
Judging from the picture, Grados are just as uncomfortable as Koss Porta Pros. Ear squeezed directly into foam = bad.


Yes! Yes! Let the hate flow though you! lolz :P Actually, I find my grados to be quite comfy, as all it took was a slight bend of the headband to reduce the squeezing of the ears. I actually tend to forget that I am wearing them. Now I could see if you had a fat head, you might run into problems, but I don't exactly have that problem. In all seriousness though, I will agree with you that when I initially bought the pair they were a little uncomfortable. Yet, I knew that before I actually paid for them, as I tried them on in store and made my comparisons versus many other competing headphones. In the end, I choose audio quality over comfortability. After about a month the headband naturally stretched out and I noticed I was able to wear them for much lengthier periods of time then when initially got them. Now after having these headphones for over half a year and having put over 300 hours into them I can safely say I can easily (and have) wear these all day and night long.

Offline Lanx

  • Posts: 1915
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #16 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 00:17:13 »
ad700 plugged in old xfi. Not an audio phile so do you guys really recommend some amplifier thing? most of the time i use my speakers, actually don't know what speakers i got (away) lemme check my woot account.
ok it wasn't from woot, oh well guess i really have to check, it's a really big subwoofer for a computer tho.
ah found it boston acoustics mm226
http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&expIds=17259,27586,27642&sugexp=ldymls&xhr=t&q=boston+acoustics+computer+speakers&cp=20&qe=Ym9zdG9uIGFjb3VzdGljcyBjb20&qesig=C4ATrApZfUnL_t7-AwpMXw&pkc=AFgZ2tkKaBwZb3oVtflaCAD-S8h23UDP4FV8KkC7QvMRExs6N3lWQT1mc5HkAt2dBnbXDWl99Ni19_0oaWvXbV9iVXDwN5mhHQ&um=1&ie=UTF-8&cid=9840360697854834689&ei=8tEaTbngAcL38AajhIzXDQ&sa=X&oi=product_catalog_result&ct=result&resnum=4&sqi=2&ved=0CDcQ8wIwAw#
subwoofer is huge, as big as 4 36o's put together.

Offline Arc'xer

  • Posts: 482
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #17 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 00:33:08 »
Quote from: NamelessPFG;270139
It makes me wonder if all those higher-end cans like properly-amped Beyerdynamic DT880s and anything Stax or electrostatic would really be that much of an improvement in gaming


From what I read on the DT880 600ohm at head-fi and other places. Gaming wise they are monsters for it, especially for very serious competitive gaming while the DT770s are more of a fun cans. There's a ****load of reviews on the DT880s and gaming in particular the 600s which seem to produce the best sound when properly amp'd, hell even some people are using the Xonar ST and saying it's just fine for amplification but I'm sure there's always someone coming out and saying external only.

Either way there's a lot of gaming sayings of use but nothing detailed much like what kind of effect it had, discernibility etc.etc. a little too general for my liking especially considering DT880s price.

One guy mentioned the AD700s are always a considered a can for gaming because at the price point they nearly compete with 200-300+ headphones. But compared to the DT880s the 700s are like a low-definition monitor, while the DTs are like higher-definition monitors. Both have a strong gaming capability but the DT880s just provide so much more detail.

The ones who've used it seem to say that the only thing that would be an upgrade are electostats and whatnot(for gaming for that matter but I doubt many will drop 20K+ for headphone plus a giant amp), I even seem to recall some saying the DT4s the old 1930s-40s version(and a specific version of it due to being analytical neutral headphones) were also another option.

Offline BlueRain

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #18 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 01:09:17 »
What's the difference between A700 and AD700?

Offline Arc'xer

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #19 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 01:14:00 »
Quote from: BlueRain;270173
What's the difference between A700 and AD700?


A = closed, AD = open.

Offline BlueRain

  • Posts: 140
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #20 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 01:14:51 »
Quote from: Arc'xer;270175
A = closed, AD = open.


The retail price seems so far apart for the "minor" difference?

Offline sixty

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #21 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 01:16:18 »
HD595 too since two years or so by now. I finally washed the cushions the other day in the sink, after finding out they cost like $100 as replacement parts. It surprisingly worked quite well.

Offline RoboKrikit

  • Posts: 198
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #22 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 02:07:37 »
I picked up the Grado SR80i for my younger brother for an xmas/bday combo gift.  They seem like a great starter set for rock music.

Myself, I haven't had a decent set of headphones in maybe 15 years.  I only got a few minutes' listening time on the SR80i last weekend, and it seemed really dialed in for rock music.  I listen to a lot of rock, but also a good amount of jazz, mostly acoustic instruments.  For lack of a better word they felt a little claustrophobic with the few jazz albums I tried out.  Anyone got a recommendation for something better?  A breakdown of what I listen to lately might go like:

45% "Rock" (Classic Rock, Metal, Punk)
25% Jazz (Mostly acoustic instruments, few vocals)
15% Classical (Piano, orchestra)
15% Hip-hop

I wouldn't want to spend much over $200 and a significant amount of the listening would be unamped.  Just curious if anyone has similar tastes and a good set of headphones.
Lovely day for a GUINNESS

Offline isp

  • Posts: 159
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #23 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 02:19:15 »
These things have held up pretty well.  Good value.

hhkb

Offline godly_music

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #24 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 02:24:53 »
Quote from: Arc'xer;270164
From what I read on the DT880 600ohm at head-fi and other places. Gaming wise they are monsters for it, especially for very serious competitive gaming while the DT770s are more of a fun cans. There's a ****load of reviews on the DT880s and gaming in particular the 600s which seem to produce the best sound when properly amp'd, hell even some people are using the Xonar ST and saying it's just fine for amplification but I'm sure there's always someone coming out and saying external only.


I bet my fat head (:biggrin:) that there is no difference AT ALL. 600 Ohm is meant for beefy amps. What high resistance does is reduce residual noise. That's all it does. The sound is identical, unless your amp is a noise machine. And then some people even have it plugged into a soundcard and again, it's fine? My head's on backwards!

Enthusiast forums are full of both incredibly in-depth reviews and on the other hand, wishful dribble that justifies excessive spending. You find this phenomenon everywhere. "I really can feel the 2g extra tactile force, they make such a difference, and the little rubber rings made from the African Bloop-de-doo tree make for a much smoother bounce than the old regular rubber, my migraine has VANISHED!"

With my awesome sound setup and these fine ears that get me laid regularly, I still can't hear the difference between a FLAC and a well-encoded V0 Mp3 or a ~192kbps Vorbis. Oh no he didn't! Well, problem samples used for blind comparison are a different matter, these exist and you will definitely hear them if you ABX. But that's between lossless and lossy, not between headphones and not about music.

The Beyerdynamic lineup. Roughly it goes 770 (closed), 880 (halfopen) and 990 (open). 770s got more bass, 880s are called neutral and the 990s are a bit more forward and fun. Pro versions have a coiled cable, more rugged and less fancy construction, higher headband pressure and as a result, bit narrower soundstage and more bass. Honestly, I wouldn't have bought mine if I didn't think they would last me for 20 years. They're expensive and solid. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative, it's often said that the AKG K701 is similar to the DT 880.

Oh and if you have the luxury,
going out and testing > all.

woody

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #25 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 03:06:25 »
Quote from: godly_music;270186
Oh and if you have the luxury,
going out and testing > all.

I would. :) But the equipment to do so is couple more digits.

Offline Zen

  • Posts: 96
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #26 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 04:17:53 »


Emu 0202 USB soundcard
Penguin Amp 'Caffeine'
- AD8397 opamp
- LM6171 ground driver
Connected via home-made cable made of
Mogami 2549 cable &
Neutrik angled stereo mini-jacks
AKG K240 MkII
« Last Edit: Wed, 29 December 2010, 04:20:34 by Zen »

Offline db_Iodine

  • Posts: 656
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #27 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 04:29:27 »
My babies:

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Offline Senor_Cartmenez

  • Posts: 264
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #28 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 05:14:42 »
AKG K240 MKII for me as well.

Just recently bought them. Love those.

Offline Brodie337

  • Posts: 414
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #29 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 05:23:26 »
Sennheiser HD555s with the 595 mod. I've considered marrying them.

Offline YpoCaramel

  • Posts: 58
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #30 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 05:35:17 »
K701 and D5000, but they're not my favorites really. I prefer the HD600 and HD650 over it either, and probably the DT880 as well (yes, I've heard them all). The ESW-10JPNs are lovely, but the clamp gets tiring fast. Want to purchase some custom in-ears and full-sized.
Keyboards: IBM Model M M13, Filco Majestouch Tactile 104, PS3 Wireless Keypad, Logitech Dinovo mini
Other Input Devices In Use: Logitech G9, Razer Orochi, Fragnstein, MX Air, Orbita
Not on hand: Evoluent Vertical Mouse, Logitech G5, Razer Diamondback, Wacom Graphire 3

Offline 42.tar.gz

  • Posts: 33
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #31 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 05:43:49 »
Currently using: some keyboard

Offline ironman31

  • Posts: 834
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #32 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 07:08:33 »
Quote from: NAVIWORLDINC;270145
Yes! Yes! Let the hate flow though you! lolz :P Actually, I find my grados to be quite comfy, as all it took was a slight bend of the headband to reduce the squeezing of the ears. I actually tend to forget that I am wearing them. Now I could see if you had a fat head, you might run into problems, but I don't exactly have that problem. In all seriousness though, I will agree with you that when I initially bought the pair they were a little uncomfortable. Yet, I knew that before I actually paid for them, as I tried them on in store and made my comparisons versus many other competing headphones. In the end, I choose audio quality over comfortability. After about a month the headband naturally stretched out and I noticed I was able to wear them for much lengthier periods of time then when initially got them. Now after having these headphones for over half a year and having put over 300 hours into them I can safely say I can easily (and have) wear these all day and night long.


The Grado doughnut ear pads are much more comfortable than the flat ear pads that come with the sr60-sr125. At least to me, my ears barely touch the pads themselves, they fit completely inside the hole while the pads rest on my head. (small ears)
Keyboards:
IBM Model M Space Saving Keyboard (Used), HHKB Pro 2 (White, Lettered), Realforce 87U all-45g in White, Filco Majestouch 2 TKL with Cherry MX Browns, Model F PC/ATNoppoo Choc Mini (MX Browns), Model F XT, IBM Model M 1397735 (bought NIB), (2) Siig Minitouch (GHSS) one with XM, one with complicated ALPs (modded),2 Dell AT101W, Cherry G80-11900HRMUS (modded with MX browns)



Pointing Devices:
Logitech G500, Evoluent VerticalMouse 3, Logitech G5, CST 2545W, Microsoft IntelliMouse Trackball, Logitech M570, Logitech MX revolution


Offline keyb_gr

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #33 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 11:03:37 »
Quote from: Senor_Cartmenez;270217
AKG K240 MKII for me as well.

Just recently bought them. Love those.

Made in Austria or already made in China?

Stuff here:
HD580 @ comp
HD590 mainly for Rockbox'd ClipV2 @ home
SE420 for portable use on ClipV2
HD420SL for radio (600 ohm hiss busters)
HD540 (old 600 ohm) for standalone CD player

A bit heavy on Sennheiser, I know.
Hardware in signatures clutters Google search results. There should be a field in the profile for that (again).

This message was probably typed on a vintage G80-3000 with blues. Double-shots, baby. :D

Offline jpc

  • Posts: 363
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #34 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 11:21:30 »
HD580's are great. Love em. Too bad they are out of production.

RSI prevention recipe:[/B] Kinesis Contoured, Colemak layout, touch typing, Contour Design Rollermouse,  Logitech TrackMan Wheel, Logitech m570 trackball, "workrave" break timer software, "awesome" window manager, tenkeyless boards, cherry browns, Wang 724 with "ghetto green" ALPS, standing desk and/or comfy adjustable chairs, stress reduction, computer time reduction.

Fun non-ergonomic things: bolt modded Model M Space Saving Keyboards with new springs, Kensington Expert Mouse v7, Unicomp Endurapro, Northgates

Offline kidchunks

  • Posts: 496
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #35 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 11:52:21 »
JVC HAS-700 (best bang for the buck!) @ Work
link

HD555's (no mod) connected to my x-fi xtreme gamer @ Home (best $87 I spent on cans!)

Looking at the A700s, they have them on sale!
link

AD700 cheaper!
link

I love my JVC's but considering the A700, but I work in a quiet environment. Anyone use them for work?
« Last Edit: Wed, 29 December 2010, 11:57:17 by kidchunks »
Topre || BS > *
my root : kidchunks[dot]com

Offline BlueRain

  • Posts: 140
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #36 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 11:56:56 »
Any reason for no mod? The YouTube looked really easy to convert to 595 which is $50 more expensive on Amazon and two times the MSRP?

Offline kidchunks

  • Posts: 496
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #37 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 11:57:55 »
Quote from: BlueRain;270325
Any reason for no mod? The YouTube looked really easy to convert to 595 which is $50 more expensive on Amazon and two times the MSRP?


Haven't broken them in yet. Too lazy to run the noise samples lol
Topre || BS > *
my root : kidchunks[dot]com

Offline didjamatic

  • Posts: 1352
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #38 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 13:03:51 »
I need to spend some time reading this thread and over at head-fi, you guys should post your opinions of what you have.  I'd like to get some nice cans in the $100-300 range for use with an amp and some good audio gear that I've recently scored. :biggrin:

I use these Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10vi (has mic for phone use) on my commutes, doing yard work and general portable use.  Picked them up for $100 last year during the Amazon gold box sale and they are one of the best purchases I've ever made.  If I lost them I would pay full retail ($350-420ish) to replace them.

The Sennheiser HD-202's are my leave at work on my desk phones which I don't use much since getting the Triple.Fi 10's but they are an Excellent budget headphone.  Really.  For $25 they are very tough to beat and quite comfortable.

« Last Edit: Sun, 13 February 2011, 09:20:00 by didjamatic »
IBM F :: IBM M :: Northgate :: Cherry G80 :: Realforce :: DAS 4

woody

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #39 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 13:12:18 »
I prefer the pear. Mmmm.

Offline wap32

  • Posts: 60
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #40 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 13:28:17 »
At home I have some 601's not currently amped, but I'm just finishing a DIY amp (opamp gain stage w/ MOSFET buffer).

Etys ER4P for noisy environments or high portability, the detail on these is just amazing.

At the University, I usually bring my ESW9's. After owning the A900's I wanted something similar but portable.
They're not quite it, but they're very fun to listen and sound good unamped.

No pics ATM.

Offline Keymonger

  • Posts: 166
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #41 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 13:52:30 »
Quote from: Brodie337;270220
Sennheiser HD555s with the 595 mod.

Same here. Hooked up to a NuForce Icon amp...

I have a question, by the way. Can you guys tell a difference between 128 kbps MP3 and uncompressed? Or 128 kbps MP3 and 320 kbps? Last time I checked, I couldn't, but now I listen to more classical than ever. I remember when I first used an amp with my headphone, I still couldn't tell a difference, but I did hear more in the recordings that I had, and I could make out the lyrics in songs better...

I have what I consider good hearing. But I have read people that can easily tell the difference. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't trust people who say that. There are also people who say that they can tell the difference between digital and analog. I'd like to see them do a little blind trial and see if that is really the case. I've had that in mind for some time, to write a script that plays some music in different quality and then asks the user to guess which sample it was, and then at the end show what the user got right and wrong.

Offline Lanx

  • Posts: 1915
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #42 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 13:58:14 »
Quote from: Zen;270208
Show Image


Emu 0202 USB soundcard
Penguin Amp 'Caffeine'
- AD8397 opamp
- LM6171 ground driver
Connected via home-made cable made of
Mogami 2549 cable &
Neutrik angled stereo mini-jacks
AKG K240 MkII


any reason a non audiophile who uses his droid for workouts or just ad700 to xfi would want to make an altoid cmoy amp?
i'm just asking cuz they look cool and i just learned how to solder so i was thinking about buying a kit! but i have absolutely no idea what it's for and what it can do, pretty much total noob. (i just think it'd be fun to solder)

Offline didjamatic

  • Posts: 1352
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #43 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 13:58:53 »
I definitely can tell 128k vs higher, absolutely.  Now 192k vs 320k is more tricky, and it really depends on the music.  Most modern music sucks majorly and the details aren't there to hear to begin with.

Listen to Dave Matthews Live at Redrocks or Pink Floyd Pulse at low and high bitrate and you'll hear it.
 
There is a McIntosh cd on bittorrent sites that is used to demo their audio gear that is phenomenal.
IBM F :: IBM M :: Northgate :: Cherry G80 :: Realforce :: DAS 4

Offline RoboKrikit

  • Posts: 198
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #44 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 14:17:16 »
I also rip everything to both FLAC and MP3.  If I ever want to change the compressed format to something else, it is not too much effort to convert the FLACs to a new format, but I don't want to get all the CDs back out again.
Lovely day for a GUINNESS

Offline keyb_gr

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Headphone Thread.
« Reply #45 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 14:28:28 »
Quote from: jpc;270315
HD580's are great. Love em. Too bad they are out of production.

HD600s still exist, which are the same with fancier looks. Not a fan of the marble finish though, and apparently it likes to peel off once in a while, too. (When I sold my HD650, this happened during shipping. Bummer.)
Quote from: Lanx;270369
any reason a non audiophile who uses his droid for workouts or just ad700 to xfi would want to make an altoid cmoy amp?
i'm just asking cuz they look cool and i just learned how to solder so i was thinking about buying a kit! but i have absolutely no idea what it's for and what it can do, pretty much total noob. (i just think it'd be fun to solder)

Do you have trouble reaching enough volume?

But certainly a Cmoy makes a nice DIY project. To match the AD700s, best pick an opamp with some oomph that isn't easily impressed by low-impedance loads. ATs are quite efficient, but low impedance tends to drag down open-loop gain and worsen distortion. Buffer capacitors should be reasonably-sized, too (maybe 470µ with a single 9V block, more for lower voltages).

The X-Fi may be able to user some beefier buffer caps, too. I'm not sure whether they were as thrifty as with the Audigy SE, which reportedly does noticeably better on low-impedance cans if the headphone opamp gets a few hundred µF (16V+) from V+ to V-... biggest problem is fitting the thing.

Re: bitrates, 128k CBR tends to be quite OK these days. But who still uses that? My portable stuff is LAME VBR -V 4 or -V 5 these days, even -V 6 I was quite unable to ABX. It is important that Replaygain or equivalent be used, however. Hotly mastered records may result in overshoots of up to +3.6 dB with lower MP3 bitrates, giving additional clipping on playback. (Rockbox rulez!)

Archiving should be lossless only, as ripster outlined.
« Last Edit: Wed, 29 December 2010, 14:37:40 by keyb_gr »
Hardware in signatures clutters Google search results. There should be a field in the profile for that (again).

This message was probably typed on a vintage G80-3000 with blues. Double-shots, baby. :D

Offline NAVIWORLDINC

  • Thread Starter
  • Posts: 81
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #46 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 14:34:57 »
Quote from: Keymonger;270368
Same here. Hooked up to a NuForce Icon amp...

I have a question, by the way. Can you guys tell a difference between 128 kbps MP3 and uncompressed? Or 128 kbps MP3 and 320 kbps?


With my Grados I can tell the difference between 256kbps and 320kbps. Anything less than 224kbps just sounds plain bad. I can also tell a difference between V0, V2, compression. In all honesty when I actually want to hear the album I will often get the CD out and play directly from, I don't have my turntable set up as of right now, but have been interested in getting it out. As for the difference between high quality FLAC and 320kbps I can't tell a difference quality, but they do sound different.

Offline godly_music

  • Posts: 255
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #47 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 18:25:45 »
Quote from: NAVIWORLDINC;270383
I can tell the difference


Blind listening test or it didn't happen.

Offline ironman31

  • Posts: 834
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #48 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 19:18:23 »
Quote from: didjamatic;270348
I need to spend some time reading this thread and over at headroom, you guys should post your opinions of what you have.  I'd like to get some nice cans in the $100-300 range for use with an amp and some good audio gear that I've recently scored. :biggrin:

I use these Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10vi (has mic for phone use) on my commutes, doing yard work and general portable use.  Picked them up for $100 last year during the Amazon gold box sale and they are one of the best purchases I've ever made.  If I lost them I would pay full retail ($350-420ish) to replace them.

The Sennheiser HD-202's are my leave at work on my desk phones which I don't use much since getting the Triple.Fi 10's but they are an Excellent budget headphone.  Really.  For $25 they are very tough to beat and quite comfortable.



the Grado 325is is incredibly bright with a very tight bass if properly amp (it doesn't take much). Jazz music really shines on these headphones, especially by bands where the recordings are top notch, i.e. Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band.

When I say bright, I don't mean they have lack of bass, but the highs are incredibly prominent in all music, but they never feel too shrill.
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Offline Parabellum

  • Posts: 47
  • Location: Sweden
Headphone Thread.
« Reply #49 on: Wed, 29 December 2010, 19:27:44 »
I'm trying to find a wireless pair of headphones that won't cost me a damn fortune..