[uptogood]

What is your go-to headphones presently?

 

[phantasmag0ria]

What is your go-to headphones presently?

iPhone headphones that came with the phone. i also have a Bose quiet comfort i think 35, but i don't use that anymore because due to neglect, leaving it out in the open, the pads got ripped up so i don't use it anymore. i might get new pads for them though. i have it locked up somewhere i want to see if i can even remove the pads. those cans were not that good though. it was fatiguing after a while, also i couldn't even use the noise canceling. it just gave me a headache and made things sound worse. probably due to the headache. the sound was substantially better then the iphone ones though

 

[WorksUnit]

fatiguing after a while,

If you can describe that in more more detail?

 

[phantasmag0ria]

If you can describe that in more more detail?

after like 4 hours or so, i took the headphones off and i was tired/drained. like i had to lay down for a bit, now i did get intoxicated during that time. it could of been from that. i have to take those out again and test that out. also the dac i have ( sound blaster x7 ) comes with some software that has "enhancers" like bass boost ,sound crystalizer and surround. these make the music sound more clear and wider staging, but for high quality files, it can mess it up. i used these settings for the longest time. until i noticed that if i turned those enhancers off, the over all experience was a bit better. that might of had something to do with the fatiguing as well.

 

[WorksUnit]

after like 4 hours or so, i took the headphones off and i was tired/drained. like i had to lay down for a bit, now i did get intoxicated during that time. it could of been from that. i have to take those out again and test that out. also the dac i have ( sound blaster x7 ) comes with some software that has "enhancers" like bass boost ,sound crystalizer and surround. these make the music sound more clear and wider staging, but for high quality files, it can mess it up. i used these settings for the longest time. until i noticed that if i turned those enhancers off, the over all experience was a bit better. that might of had something to do with the fatiguing as well.

Thanks for the sincere reply. Plenty of people here to help, and the more we have to go on....

 

[earmonger]

If those have been your headphones, then any of the choices mentioned above is going to be mindblowingly better and you don't need to be spending thousands of dollars.

If you search around this site you'll run across the concept of "diminishing returns." Twice the price just doesn't bring twice the quality. Which is to say that above a certain $$ -- maybe $300 to $500 for headphones, $100-$250 for amps -- perhaps you'll still get improvement, but you're paying hundreds of dollars more for maybe a 10 percent increase in quality. My beloved Audio-Technica ATH-R70X, the Sennheisers and Shures mentioned above, maybe even the Drop Sennheiser HD6XX are going to bring you richness and detail and space you haven't heard yet.

If you're playing your music from a recent MacBook Air, you might not need an amp -- they tucked a headphone amp behind the headphone jack after 2021.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/108351

You might even be underwhelmed at first by fancy new headphones because the ones you've been listening to have those enhancers--more bass, pushier midrange, sharper highs -- that are less accurate than more hi-fi equipment, like the way bad restaurants pour on salt to hype up the taste.

Understandably you want to be one-and-done -- but you might be completely delighted with what people here dismissively call mid-fi. I am. You don't need a Lamborghini or a Rolls-Royce to take an enjoyable drive, or just to get where you want to go.

 

[Thomasr]

Which is to say that above a certain $$ -- maybe $300 to $500 for headphones, $100-$250 for amps -- perhaps you'll still get improvement, but you're paying hundreds of dollars more for maybe a 10 percent increase in quality.

Understandably you want to be one-and-done -- but you might be completely delighted with what people here dismissively call mid-fi.

There's something to be said for the strategy of taking hi-fi money, and splitting it across two mid-fi headphones - one Planar and one Dynamic. Then you can settle in and take your time getting to know and appreciate the subtle differences in their sound signatures.

 

[phantasmag0ria]

There's something to be said for the strategy of taking hi-fi money, and splitting it across two mid-fi headphones - one Planar and one Dynamic. Then you can settle in and take your time getting to know and appreciate the subtle differences in their sound signatures.

what are some good companies that make planars in the 500 to 8** $ range

 

[earmonger]

Audeze, Dan Clark Audio and HiFiMan have good reputations. You might look in Classifieds here to find more affordable used sets. You'll want to factor in an amp if you get planars. And they are heavier.

 

[phantasmag0ria]

For closed I'd get a srh1540.

Audeze, Dan Clark Audio and HiFiMan have good reputations. You might look in Classifieds here to find more affordable used sets. You'll want to factor in an amp if you get planars. And they are heavier.

i been watching alot of reviews and posts, and i think im gonna probably get the shr1540, seems like the company is trusted and the pads are replaceable and i can get custom cables for them. before i pull the trigger on this im gonna look into the audeze lcd 2 closed back and Drop Aeon X. reading here what everyone said, i got a way better idea of what i want as far as comfort, build quality and use case. re-watched some reviews and got a better understanding with the info i obtained from here. thank you

 

[tmaxx123]

after like 4 hours or so, i took the headphones off and i was tired/drained. like i had to lay down for a bit, now i did get intoxicated during that time. it could of been from that. i have to take those out again and test that out. also the dac i have ( sound blaster x7 ) comes with some software that has "enhancers" like bass boost ,sound crystalizer and surround. these make the music sound more clear and wider staging, but for high quality files, it can mess it up. i used these settings for the longest time. until i noticed that if i turned those enhancers off, the over all experience was a bit better. that might of had something to do with the fatiguing as well.

My x7 with sparkos op amp upgrade and linear power supply sounds absolutely phenominal! Make sure you are using direct mode and high gain mode. the usb input on the back is the highest quality input as far as bit rate goes iirc.

 

[phantasmag0ria]

My x7 with sparkos op amp upgrade and linear power supply sounds absolutely phenominal! Make sure you are using direct mode and high gain mode. the usb input on the back is the highest quality input as far as bit rate goes iirc.

i am using the usb connected to my computer. damn i didn't know about direct mode i had it off this whole time. i will test it out right now. i will look into the oamp upgrade as well. is that easy to do? the linear power supply is that the upgrade power supply that comes with it or is that like a third party thing? i read somewhere that i shouldn't use the high gain mode unless i have the upgraded power supply. i have the regular one.

 

[BS5711]

It isn’t a popular opinion here but I would recommend putting a small part of your overall budget into the electronics and the majority of it into the headphones.

The vast majority of the sound you hear is created by the headphones and the DAC and amplification makes very little to no difference assuming competent equipment designed to reproduce sound without altering it.

I have messed around chasing the differences in sound quality with different electronics and the differences described by many are grossly overstated in my opinion.

A good DAC/amp combination like a Schiit Asgard, which I had, will do 99% of the job for a modest price.

I have tried most of my headphones and IEM powered by equipment costing between $50 and $1,500 and within normal volume levels where distortion from struggling low power amps isn’t a factor they all sound very much more alike than different.

Others have given advice on headphones, I just wanted to comment on the electronics. If you have a budget of $2,000 I would suggest the DAC and amp should take up $500 of that absolute maximum and frankly $250 would be sufficient, an Asgard with an ESS DAC module is less than $400.

Your current sound blaster might be all you need.

 

[tmaxx123]

i am using the usb connected to my computer. damn i didn't know about direct mode i had it off this whole time. i will test it out right now. i will look into the oamp upgrade as well. is that easy to do? the linear power supply is that the upgrade power supply that comes with it or is that like a third party thing? i read somewhere that i shouldn't use the high gain mode unless i have the upgraded power supply. i have the regular one.

Hmm you could be right about the power supply and high gain mode. I got a custom power supply from AliExpress and it surprisingly made a big difference for my limited edition x7. Sparkos op amps are an easy upgrade, and a must have for the x7 imo. I also use my x7 for gaming and music simultaneously, so your use case may differ.

 

[tmaxx123]

Dupe