[imaniak]

Hi,
I am an avid DIYer and modifier.

I'd like to start a thread, but havn't been able to yet.

Probably you have to wait until the moderator accepts your topic.

 

[Yoyoma]

Oh, ok. And how does that happen?

 

[Letchy]

Howdy all. I created my account here on Head-Fi a while ago, and did not get around to introducing my self.
 
=)

 

[Currawong]

Yoyoma and imaniak, you are both good to go filling in your profile etc. 

 

[Rozenberg]

oh cool now I can change ava pic
thanks admin
 
Quote:

   
I can live with some discomfort, but I do have my limits too! Headphones are such a personal thing, and comfort is really difficult to judge, since everyone's heads and ears are different. So personally, I go with sound quality first (either based on recommendations or trying out in person) and then live with any perceived discomfort later.
 
The ATH-M50 are a good pair, but you might be bored with them if you know you'll be dissatisfied in the long run. I haven't had the opportunity to try Beyerdynamic, but the AKG K701 is pretty comfortable from my brief experience. The AKG K240 that I own are just okay, the "pleather" pads are not as soft as I would like them to be.

 
 
heck, I was waiting too long for my L3 LOD cable and it finally arrived yesterday. The quality difference is actually... noticeable. I'm rather surprised.
That being said, I think I'm reconsidering K701 and DT-990 by the end of this month if I could get part time job, since I've felt Beyer's comfort and AKG looks great too.
 
Anyone can say which one is better ?

 

[Yoyoma]

Yoyoma and imaniak, you are both good to go filling in your profile etc. 

Thank you! When can I create a thread?

 

[406382]

Long time lurker calling in here. Finally decided to create an account. Not sure why it took me so long. I guess I was too busy with the speaker hifi set to also worry about headphone gear.
 
But that'll change now. The good ol' Sony MDR-CD780 definitely needs replacing...

 

[406382]

Oh yes, and one question. Is it normal for new users to be restricted from adding comments to their own reviews?
 
I added a review of my trusty Sony today, but am unable to respond to the comment that was added. I can add comments for other reviews though, which seems strange. 
 
On the page for my own review, the add comment box simply isn't there.
 
I would post a picture as an example to clarify, but it seems I don't have permissions for that yet 

 

[Knight-Reaper]

I've been lurking for a while, and decided to make an account.  This site is helping me understand a lot that goes into quality audio.

 

[jjkuz]

Hello, my name is John and I am new here.  I have been a lurker for a while and find this place VERY informative.  I look forward to learning more and sharing my thoughts!!!
 
Happy listening!!!

 

[blackwolf1006]

Welcome.. Lets take a moment of silence for your wallet.

 

[donniefalcone]

Hi guys. I have been visiting this site for quite some time, but I have registered yesterday because I wanted to contribute in some way .I'm 20 years old, I love music, good sound quality, I play drums, keyboards, and a guitar ( only know basics) ....My favourite music genre is RAP, I love Tigga he is the best in the world, Kanye West, Rebecca Black and Justin bieber.... Just kidding haha, I listen to: Queen,Ramones,Dire Straits,Chic and Nile Rodgers,The Police,Eric Clapton,Ac/Dc,Pet Shop Boys, etc...When it comes to headphones, I have owned a couple , my first ever headphones very some made by Phillips, then I bought Superlux HD 688b, and today I bought Shure SRH440.  I am really satisfied with srh440's, excellent sound quality, great mids and highs, bass could have been better but hey, all in all these are great monitor headphones. I am glad I joined this website, and I hope I will meet some fellow audio enthusiasts , like myself.

 

[H20Fidelity]

  Hi guys. I have been visiting this site for quite some time, but I have registered yesterday because I wanted to contribute in some way .I'm 20 years old, I love music, good sound quality, I play drums, keyboards, and a guitar ( only know basics) ....My favourite music genre is RAP, I love Tigga he is the best in the world, Kanye West, Rebecca Black and Justin bieber.... Just kidding haha, I listen to: Queen,Ramones,Dire Straits,Chic and Nile Rodgers,The Police,Eric Clapton,Ac/Dc,Pet Shop Boys, etc...When it comes to headphones, I have owned a couple , my first ever headphones very some made by Phillips, then I bought Superlux HD 688b, and today I bought Shure SRH440.  I am really satisfied with srh440's, excellent sound quality, great mids and highs, bass could have been better but hey, all in all these are great monitor headphones. I am glad I joined this website, and I hope I will meet some fellow audio enthusiasts , like myself.

Welcome aboard, and might I say the Shure SRH440 are an excellent headphone, I don't know of a more detailed headphone at $100.

I also own SRH840, SRH940., SRH550DJ, so in general a Shure fan.

There are a few things you can do to the SRH440 to increase comfort and 'upgrade' them.

1) Change the pads out for SRH840 pads to increase the comfort levels. The stock 440 pads are rather hard and stiff, they can tend to hurt your ears after a while.

2) Instead of SRH840 pads you can switch out the stock to HM5 pads which can be found below for about $18 shipped a pair. (they will look something like this)

      

http://www.mp4nation.net/brainwavz-hm5-spare-earpad-1pc


And last of all there are upgrade cables you can buy for about $20 (depending on the length you choose)

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Replacement-Audio-upgrade-Cable-for-SHURE-SRH840-SRH940-440-SRH750DJ-Headphones-/310790201288?pt=US_MP3_Player_Cables_Adapters&var&hash=item485c8a1fc8&_uhb=1


Goodluck!
 

 

[donniefalcone]

Thank you my friend for such a long and detailed post. I will definitely order 840pads, I have heard that they improve bass a little bit and that they are also more comfortable than the 440 ones. I am also in the market to buy a Dac... Can you perhaps recommend a decent dac for aroun 100 bucks? Please send a pm if You have the time, I would be very grateful thanks once again

 

[PrincessZero]

Greetings Head-fiers old and new,
I have been a long time lurker of the Head-Fi community, I've spent countless hours reading through comprehensive threads spanning the gamut of portable audio topics that interest me. I'm around 30 years old and was raised into an Audiophile family who embraced and helped support my habits throughout my youth. I started my collection off with my own portable record player, moved on to Sony Walkmen, transitioned to Discmen and then had my fun minidisc years! I started receiving audio gear as presents as young as 7 years old. I buy and get as gifts "earbuds" and over the ear units for many many years collecting them as someone who at a young age realized they all sounded a bit different. Back then the cable qualities left much to be desired (or I was really rough with them) and I would shred through my favorite pairs in a manner of months sometimes. I've owned so many pairs of headphones of all flavors they all run into each other. Some stood out like my first few pairs of Grado's, some never quite met my expectations like Bose. I know the Bose is "frowned" upon these days, but I remember when I got my first pair of 901 speakers and I loved those speakers for awhile.

Over my audio hobby years I've had home gear ranging from Mcintosh amps connected to B&W Nautilus 800 series speakers to self powered B&O BeoLab 5's, which with all due respect, I personally consider to be the best sounding speakers, I ever had the pleasure to own and enjoy at length. In between the "fancy" stuff I was always buying and selling new and used gear, vintage gear and anything I could get my hands on. I once caught a pair of Jensen speakers on fire much to my parents dismay. Garage sales were the norm in the suburbs of Jersey and as the economy picked up, people upgraded their old pulp cone faux wood cabinet speakers, to newer ones with racing stripes, whilst discarding their old systems at yard sales for 20 bucks. I was insatiable in my quest to 'try it all'. I owned so many pieces of gear from so many companies I wish I had the foresight at that age to keep a running list of gear I owned. Soon as I got a license to drive when I was 15 I was decking out my cars with the best gear I could get my hands on, and the sheer power I could produce in such a small environment always gave me hours of joy. And many noise ordinance tickets. It's hard to claim you didn't know it was too loud whilst getting accosted during a traffic stop, having an officer see you remove ear plugs upon arrival at your window.    

I had tried many "mp3 players" before the ipod came out for PC users. None of them gave me the joy of a minidisc player nor discman. But as my burgeoning digital music collection amassed along came a device called a ipod 3rd generation 20 gig. I bought a few of them to help make my collection portable. But the sound was still not up to my previous albeit lower capacity players. 4th gen came and went, and then, as many of you enjoyed the 5th gem came out. The gem of a device that with a little OEM dock ported out a quite usable line out signal and I must admit, I fell in love. I had a whole collection of 60gb 5th gems I used for different purposes and to house my getting to be ridiculous sized collection. I still own and use my first 5th gem, I just recently replaced the screen, being its only needed repair in almost a decade. Somehow that OEM battery never gave up on me. I bought and sold most of the ipods I tried and kept the ones I really loved which would be the 5th gems and the close to my heart 4th gen shuffle. I intend on upgrading my original 5th gem that was engraved at my choosing through apple with the Latin phrase "inventas vitam iuvat excoluisse per artes". I hear there is a new way of installing a m2 sata drive up to 480gb which is on its agenda. I started traveling for work and pleasure as soon as I left my schooling. That one ipod has traveled with me all over the States. Countless IEM's and headphones met their demise in its tenure. Some died outright in protest, others met unfortunate accidents. But I am at the heart, two things, one who loves clean sounding music, and two; a song capacity whore. I stopped carrying around six, 60gb ipods as each one departed and needed repair, but my first one, seems to be an immortal device. Smart phones came into my life around 2004 and their capacity was lacking, but still offered me the ability to house "fresh" music, my half dozen shuffles in all pretty colors helped me keep new music around and my dwindling collection of 5th gems kept my thirst for capacity satiated. I tend to not be a superstitious lady, but my first ipod 6th gen died in very short order so it left a bad taste in my mouth and I stuck with the 5th gems with the intentions of upgrading the drives someday, a project I have yet to approach with much gusto.

And, here we are today, 2014, I still travel more than I live in single place. I do have a place I rent to basically be my closet and storage unit slash server room but I am maybe 'home' a month out of the year. In this modern era, I work from a very nice Lenovo Ultrabook running multiple virtualized OS's and has 8.1 pro as my host OS. I have four android devices that handle specific needs and services plus have a portable 6 TB linux server that the "computer part" not counting its multiple drives, fits in the palm of my hand. Its a cool device for sure. So all that being explained, portable audio is a needed part of my life. I can't think efficiently without music playing, my health has been poor this last year and I need small things to keep me amused. I don't watch TV or Movies. I do work an average of 14 hours a day, and I make habit of listening to music as close to 24 hours a day as I can, and have done so since I was a little girl. I live a life that requires extreme concentration on my work, a lack of distractions from the outside world and a mind consuming background drone to keep things "right". Constantly traveling means different ambient noise obstacles to overcome and a general desire to maintain consistent soundscapes. It helps me to have semblances of consistency in a life of situational, utter chaos.

Now that is all out of the way, the reason I joined Head-fi this late in the game is I don't have much time to chitchat nor do I like being overly influenced into my purchases. However in the last few years I've seen company's like JDS and people like NwAvguy working on properly engineered, no nonsense gear. I've owned some Fiio products which were fine for what they were priced at, and yet left something lacking for me. I want clear audio, audio I can modify by swapping out my IEMs or headphones, not audio colored by someone else's choices. I just ordered a C5 amp in the red color and expect in to arrive in a few days. I'll admit I did purchase an L9 Fiio line out. I know there is some advantages to "fancy" cables but personally I do find the cost VS efficacy rate to be balanced enough. I wouldn't dare knock anyone for how they invest their monies of course, but for me, certain things matter less. I'm more about objective results than subjective ones. Which is what drew me to JDS in the first place. That and seeing the owner constantly supporting his products on Head-Fi, I can respect a guy like that and will try his products just based on that merit, nevermind the overwhelmingly positive reviews by the community here, of which I must thank all of you, for your well placed words and thoughts on many products including JDS ones. I do have an stand-alone ODAC in my near future, me thinks. I tend to buy products and either sell them after deciding I dislike them, or keeping a product till it dies an angry over worked life. I hope my JDS C5 falls into the latter category. I wanted an amp to drive mainly IEM's and some future Grado's I plan on picking up which I'm confident it can handle effortlessly. I had planned on picking up a new pair of Ety E4s since my old pair died years ago, bt I did read they don't work super well with the C5 in some peoples experience, which I could be misinformed about. Whatever, E4pt will suffice. My daily IEM of choice recently is a Shure 215 CL or LTD, I know, gasp at my choice, but at the efficacy of isolation the SE series offers mixed with the comfort the 215 has in my ears, I basically forget I wearing them. Headphones are consumable goods in my world. They no matter how well designed will break or die at the rate of usage I give them. Sometimes my IEM's are in my ears 20 hours a day. (I know what the WHO has to say about that but they can bite me). I have very good hearing and spend most of my listening at low volume, so I need great isolation.

My personal music collection sits at close to a half a million tracks. Stuff worth listening to at high bit rates is stored as such, for example I have like 11gb of Maria Callas in Flac, but The Julie Ruin which is a Riot Grrrl band I have in mp3. I understand a great deal about what I'm personally looking for sound wise and about the limitations of digital formats as well as owning many pieces of "reference equipment" over my short life. I listen to almost every type of music I can get my hands on, I'll go from punk to baroque to modern pop, to classic rock to international rap to EDM in the span of an hour. I love music. All of it. From Butthole Surfers to Bach or from Sarah Brightman to Kurt Cobain; I find enjoyment in most of it. I've stuck with ipods because they easily allow me to keep 10k songs on hand per device, with another 9k on my various androids units.

What I need now, if the technology will support it is a expandable storage space DAP. The X5 looks very promising. Except I am saddened to see it has a under 6k song limit. One I read they may not be able to overcome due to hardware limitations. If that is no longer true, I would buy one in short time. I want a player that can effectively manage 250k songs. I don't get paid for the time it takes to setup a DAP, I pay to use one. I don't want have to spend gross amounts of my free time working out the details of someone elses job. And if I was to do so I would just build a tiny portable server with touch screen and a 2TB portable drive. I could fit such a device into a Pelican 1150 case and call it day. But I want something more compact, more durable and more hand sized. I played around with the Cowons years ago, and while cool devices they weren't for me. What I want is an out of box, decent UI device that is durable and stable. I want expandable storage with no "limits" on allowable file numbers. I want something with a line out that runs clean, which i hear the Fiio X5 is capable in that respect. I've looked at the ibasso devices, but seemingly they are plagued with issues as well. A&K look nice, but once again I see complaints. If a AK1000 suited my exact needs, I would buy one. Whatever company gets a smooth, simple UI with huge storage capacity and file systems that can handle 100K song plus collections of music will replace my ipod. Maybe that device isn't out there yet to be bought. Maybe it is.

I am but one lady in a sea of devices with ever changing firmwares and specs. That is where you the head-fi community come in. I need help finding a DAP that suits my needs. Or I need push into building my own portable device using existing microcomputing technology and products like the JDS C5D to handle the audio end of things. One way or another I need to upgrade my past its prime ipod 5th gem either by getting it over to red wine and getting a M2 upgrade or buy the newest flavor of DAP that handles my needs. 

Thank you for all, being such a valuable contribution to the world of portable audio equipment, I have little doubt this portable world is better and higher quality because of this site and the weight it thrusts upon manufacturers, be it boutique or mass production companies. Your time and input makes things happen, things change and the consumers voice be heard from audiophiles to base end users. All of that matters, and I commend many of you for the time and effort you've put into modifying the world of sound for everyones needs and wants.

Princess Zero  <3