runswithaliens
runswithaliens's Community Profile
| Forum Post Count: |
329 |
| Last Online: |
1 week, 3 days ago |
| Headphone Inventory |
Sennheiser HD650 - Was using these straight out of an E-MU 0404usb and thought they sounded pretty dang good. That is until on a whim I ran the E-MU into the back of a 20+ year old Panasonic portable stereo I had sitting around mostly gathering dust except for the occasional listen to the radio. Wow, what a difference the Panasonic amp has made to the HD650s! I have no idea what it's power spec's are, but the music now has much more impact and fullness that the E-MU could ever hope to supply. It also adds a touch of smoothness, or eliminates a touch of digital harshness - depending on how you want to view it. Anyway the Panasonic is no slouch in performance that is for sure. On the one hand it makes me realize what a difference an amp makes, but on the other hand it sounds so good already I'm not sure if I need to get a "real" headphone amp. Sennheiser PX100-II - Having been so impressed by the HD650's I decided to try a pair of these for work and I am glad I did. They definitely sound like the little brother of the HD650's. I prefer the open sound of these compared to the closed-in sounding Yamaha RH-5Ma's. They also edge out the KOSS KTX PRO 1's in over-all sound quality with somewhat less fluffy bass. I do have one complaint though and that is the cord. It is very flimsy and ultra-thin, plus I find that for some reason with the one-sided connection I am frequently snagging it. Maybe I just need time to adjust to it. Fostex T50RP - Great ortho sound qualities; vocals sound lifelike, as do real world sounds such as when watching movies. Compared to my other headphones in the same price range these are much better. I bought a pair of Dennon D5000's at the same time and sent them back but kept these. The Dennon's made my ear's ring and that was at low volumes, where as these Fostex have never made my ears ring. So definitely recommended for anyone to try who suffers from Tinnitus after listening to other headphones. Yamaha RH-5Ma - Very nice solid and tight sounding if not ultra deep bass, extended treble, comfortable, great price. Just lacking in sound stage and the mids are a bit recessed for my tastes. Considering their relatively low price I am surprised they aren't more popular as portable bass-head phones. They isolate well once the music is playing and leak little or no sound. KOSS KTX PRO 1 - Good sounds if your budget is less than 20 bucks. Same driver as famous KSC-35. Just slightly uncomfortable after a while due to the ear cups only pivoting on one axis. Has built in volume control. Audio-Technica ATH-AD700 - I have to EQ the heck out of these to tame the highs and boost the bass (E-MU 0404usb being bright and detailed compounds problem I'm sure). There is a certain metallic sound to the highs that gets annoying even when eq'd. I get these out once or twice a year just to remember why I don't like them. ----------------------- Had but didn't keep: Dennon AD5000 - Made my ears ring, and the bass was over-all very boomy sounding at times. Occasional though at lower volumes I would hear really deep bass notes so they do reach deep. Also they did have good over-all sound 'texture'. I could have probably lived with the boomy bass and/or done the mod to them, but the fact that they were causing my ears to ring even at low volumes caused me to send them back. In general I have found the closed headphones aren't my cup of tea. Audio-Technica ATH-A500 - Have a plastic resonance sound that I didn't like. -------------------- |
| Headphone Amp Inventory |
Panasonic portable stereo from the 80's I believe (Picked it up used at a Pawn Shop in Boise Idaho in the early 90's. At the time the shop keeper told me it had been formerly owned by a construction worker - and indeed it still has some white plaster on it that hasn't chipped off in the decades since then). Can't seem to locate a model name or number but it says on the front of it that its an: "FM-AM STEREO CASSETTE DECK TUNER AMPLIFIER". With a folding carrying handle on top it is fully portable using 8 D-size batteries or a 12 volt cigarette jack adapter in the car. Other features include: detachable speakers with speaker wire clips on the back so you can use alternate speakers, Stereo-Mono switch, Balance control, 5 LED level meter, Phono pre-amp, RCA line in, and out, built-in mic with 2 additional mic jacks, and a 5 band graphic equalizer. I mean what more do you want??? It powers the Sennheiser HD650s with authority. Need to test it with the rest of my headphones as well. |
| Source Inventory |
Computer out to E-MU 0404 USB. |
| Cable Inventory |
My system uses no cables. Everything is done magically. |
| Other Audio Equipment |
JBL LSR2328P Studio Monitors. DIY Room treatments made with Rock Wool Insulation (Fireproof variety) and covered with cloth. |
| Music Preferences |
The way is not difficult for those who have no preferences. |
runswithaliens's Recent Activity
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runswithaliens posted in this thread in Dedicated Source Components 5/14/12 at 10:24am | 11 replies | 469 views
Software volume control for soundcards is bad?
runswithaliens posted in this thread in Computer Audio 5/7/12 at 9:44pm | 2 replies | 64 views
Why the hell cant audio-gd do THIS ??
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runswithaliens posted in this thread in Sponsor Announcements and Deals 4/19/12 at 9:25pm | 331 replies | 7632 views
New Audiolab DAC
runswithaliens posted in this thread in Dedicated Source Components 11/29/11 at 5:33pm | 450 replies | 72896 views
Tube amps daily run times?
runswithaliens posted in this thread in Headphone Amps (full-size) 10/25/11 at 9:19pm | 4 replies | 156 views
New HD650 goes below 400 again.
runswithaliens posted in this thread in Headphone Amps (full-size) 10/25/11 at 9:10pm | 19 replies | 830 views
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