Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Got new Philips SBC 910 headphones
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Got new Philips SBC 910 headphones

post #1 of 16
1/14/02 at 11:59pm
Thread Starter 
well, I Just got them in the mail today. My first impressions of them were wow! These suckers are way louder than my HD 545s can pump out.

Sadly though I can already predict the future. With louder noise levels available I'm going to want to purchase an amp in the future. alas! Hehe.....I only have so much money.

Anyhow these cans are being burned right now /w an eclectic assortment of music in musicmatch jukebox right now, so I can't test them as of yet. However I have put them on for a minute or so and have noticed these incredibly annoying hissing sound.

I've never had a problem /w my HD 545s and I assumed the cable - connection on the SBC 910s were better than the HD 545s (from looking at it), so what could be the problem? My sound card? I"m using a Hercules Fortissimo II right now.

Or is it just the fact that I'm not accustomed to the higher volume levels? Would an amp help my problem?

Say what causes that hissing anyways? Help would be preciated.
Reply

Head-Fi's Best Sellers

post #2 of 16
1/15/02 at 12:16am
If you ordered from meier-audio? How long did it take to arrive? I'm waiting for my HP890s to get here!

I dunno about hissing. I never noticed it out of my sound card until I put some good speakers on my computer, then it got really annoying. I have a SB PCI512.

Now I use a USB sound device, and it's so much better. I think the fact that the digital to audio conversion happens away from the electrically noisy computer has something to do with it.

Have you tried the headphones out of another source to eliminate them as the cause of the problem?
Reply
post #3 of 16
1/15/02 at 12:22am
Thread Starter 
I ordered them on 1-03. Haven't tried another source yet.
The Hercules Fortissimo II has a dedicated headphone connection, so I figured........ugh.

Say you use the ABIT USB device?
Reply
post #4 of 16
1/15/02 at 12:30am
That's pretty quick, I ordered on the 9th, so I guess I should start looking for mine this weekend.

Actually I use the USB thing that came with my MD player that is supposed to be used to record music. One night my girlfriend was really getting annoyed at the hiss while we were watching a DVD, so I tried playing through that thing, and it sounded so much better.
Reply
post #5 of 16
1/15/02 at 12:38am
Thread Starter 
ahh.......the xitel?
Reply
post #6 of 16
1/15/02 at 12:41am
It would probably help to reduce hiss if you open the audio control applet and mute the line-in and mic inputs...

So any other thoughts on the phillips besides the loudness??
I've been wondering if they were really quite as good as Jan made them seem.
Reply
post #7 of 16
1/15/02 at 12:44am
Thread Starter 
Well, my initial upgrade item after my HD 545s was the HD 600, but Jan's review made them seem killer.

And truth be told I have only heard stuff about the HD 600s, not actually heard them myself. While Jan said the HP 890 was really more similiar to the HD 600s, I decided to buy the HP 910 since he said it was simply more detailed and I'm pretty sure I like detail. I figured I'd buy these phones and depending whether I hate them or dislike them - I"ll know which phones to get later.

Anyhow they're still being broken in, but give me a day or so and I"ll post up my feelings on them.

EDIT: The line in and mic was already muted. However I did open up teh applet and muted everything else that didn't cut the sound off including front, cd player, aux, synthesizer, s/PDIF in, etc.
Reply
post #8 of 16
1/15/02 at 3:32am
I dunno who makes the USB adapter, but it looks like a small dildo and works like a champ. Considering all the hassle for sound card drivers in win2k, the fact that it's instantly plug'n'play makes it that much sweeter.
Reply
post #9 of 16
1/15/02 at 4:06am

Re: Got new Philips SBC 910 headphones

Quote:
Originally posted by jodokast
I have put them on for a minute or so and have noticed these incredibly annoying hissing sound. I've never had a problem /w my HD 545s and I assumed the cable - connection on the SBC 910s were better than the HD 545s (from looking at it), so what could be the problem? My sound card? I"m using a Hercules Fortissimo II right now. Say what causes that hissing anyways? Help would be preciated.
a headphone can't add a hiss itself. the reason you're noticing more of a hiss with the philips' than with the sennheisers is a matter of impedance. the philips' are much lower impedance than the sennheisers, so they make a hiss much more apparent. you'll need a very clean system to make the hiss go away; something much better than a soundcard I'm afraid .
Reply
post #10 of 16
1/15/02 at 10:58am
Dear Jodokast,

The hiss you hear arises from the headphone jack of your sound card. Cheap headphone jacks add a noise signal to the audiosignal that is almost independent of the volume setting. Since the HP910 has a very high efficiency the hiss is most readily heard. I experienced similar problems with my HD25-1 and my portable CD-player.

There are basically two solutions:

Add a resistor (approximately 100 ~ 200 Ohm) to each signal path in series with the headphone. However, this effectively increases the output impedance of your headphone jack and thereby decreases soundquality.

The other option is to use a noise-free headphone amp and connect this one to your soundcard. The volume of your soundcard is to be set to near maximum volume. The SNR (signal to noise ratio) of the signal out of your soundcard will thus strongly improve. (I myself used this solution and added a Porta Corda to my HD25-1/PCDP)

Cheers,

Jan
Reply
post #11 of 16
1/15/02 at 12:06pm
Thread Starter 
I think Im' going to buy a stereo-link 1200
Reply
post #12 of 16
1/17/02 at 12:22am
jodokast:

So, now that you've had the 910s for a few days, what do you think? Specifically in comparison to your Sennheisers? I'm dying to know!
Reply
post #13 of 16
1/17/02 at 1:13am
Thread Starter 
Much nicer, airer. Hehe. Before I write up my comparison I want to get the stereo-link 1200 first though to get rid of the static hiss.


Note: In terms of physical quality, the design was thought out a lot better. Only having 1 cord is nice, plus in terms of comfort - it ranks up to the sennheiser comfort level.

There also feels a good amount of air in the cups. =D
uh.......if you know waht Imean. hehe
Reply
post #14 of 16
1/17/02 at 1:20am
yes, please tell us more. Im tempted to get those, but the HP 890s are so much sexier.
Reply
post #15 of 16
1/17/02 at 1:26am
Thread Starter 
Plus Jan said the HP 890 are more simliar to the HD 600 - however he did say the hp 910 have tighter bass and offer more detail, so I figured hey, why not check out these cans?

Gimme a week or so and I"ll try to post up my impressions along with a few high-res pics. =D
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)

Head-Fi's Best Sellers

Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Got new Philips SBC 910 headphones