[RiceEatin2010GT]

Sorta new here but I'm hoping someone can offer me some advice/help.  Little back story I've used my HD 555's with my asus xonar STX with no gain set and i could listen for hours no issue.  I recently got my HD 650's set the gain to Extra high(+18b DB) and it seems like no matter how low i have the volume my ears fatigue very fast. Ive been getting used to the head band a bit which could be related but not the whole issue.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

 

[muad]

I found the same thing initially, i think the abundant bass takes some getting used to maybe? Either way I let it play for a couple of days and Ive been using them a lot in the last week or two and I'm getting no fatigue anymore.   Do you find the pressure it places on your head makes you feel sick? I found on some phones where I had comfort issue it was more of an aversion to the discomfort than actual ear fatigue. If you want to stretch the head band DON'T pull the earpieces apart. The headband has a tendency to crack. Instead apply pressure to the metal part of the head band where it meets the plastic part and do the same for both sides. These will alleviate the tension it places on your skull and neck muscles!

 

[RiceEatin2010GT]

thank you for the reply! ive tried stretching the band and they seem way more comfortable on my head.  One thing i did notice is i changed the gain to high from very high and the sound seems much more in check.  Before i believe it was the abundant highs that were killing my ears where other parts of the music were at a normal level.  Ill see how it goes for the next few days.

 

[genclaymore]

the JRCs in the STX is what usually do it for people, as when your using the headphone amp on the STX. Only the op-amps in the I/V are used which happens to be the Jrcs. Changing them is what people usually do when the sound signature annoy their ears.

 

[RiceEatin2010GT]

Quote:

the JRCs in the STX is what usually do it for people, as when your using the headphone amp on the STX. Only the op-amps in the I/V are used which happens to be the Jrcs. Changing them is what people usually do when the sound signature annoy their ears.

thank you for the response.  Dont know what it was but ive stretched out my head band and now run the card on high gain opposed to extra high gain and my ears/head have been perfect.  I still think it sounds a bit better on extra high but the highs seem to be a bit to hot.  What kind of a upgrade would you think i would see using the xonar as my DAC(rca outs) to a matrix m-stage, good combo?

 

[anetode]

I've found the extra high gain setting an overkill for Sennheiser's on the volume front, Normal or High offer more usable range for everyday listening.

 

[derbigpr]

I find the HD650's quite bright as well. I'm using them with Xonar D2X sound card, and highs tend to be pretty loud. Its a weird headphone definitely...it manages to sound bright and laid back at the same time.

 

[RiceEatin2010GT]

the middle gain setting on my stx fixed most of the problem for me.  Ive recently added a proper amp and my ears don't fatigue/hurt at all anymore.

 

[germanium]

Funny that everyone here says there is a difference in sound between the gain settings as there is no actual change in gain between them, only a volume level limitation. If you reduce the volume 6db in the extra high gain it will match the max volume in the  high gain setting & the sound should match exactly, it does for me. I could understand the use of higher "gain setting" if the headphones need higher volume to achieve the desired sound but at a matched volume the two settings should sound exactly alike. If the lower "gain setting" has adaquate volume you will have more usable choices for volume levels but should not sound any different at matched volume.