[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

Bcasey
Fellow 'noob' here - quite a bit older (44) - but enjoying my mid-fi.  I'll be picking up my new 840's in a couple of weeks - so can give you some comparisons then.  I do use an E7 - and so far with the cheaper Senns I have - it has helped clarity and separation.  Could be placebo - haven't DBT - but I'm happy with them, and that's all that matters.  The E7 has definitely helped with my home PC and netbook.
 
Couldn't help noticing that you mentioned that you have 2 sources - ipod and computer (if I am reading it correctly).  Also that you mentioned you've been having the problems on most of your headphones - and it always happened on the computer.  So I'd suggest maybe look at the source first (and isolate the steps in the chain).
 
Suggestion - can you take your 840's to a friend's / music store / or someone you know who has a 1/2 way decent CD player and amp.  Take some music (pref CD) that you know - and play it.  If you're still getting the issues - then perhaps it was the cans.  I'd be willing to bet that the issues will be gone though.  You then need to look at your source.  If you can borrow a DAC from someone in your area - plug that into the lappie - and see if that helps.  If it does, look at buying the E7 - cheap, good entry DAC chip, and can be used as portable amp and DAC.
 
Second - I have permanent tinnitus.  Most of the time I don't notice it - and it hasn't stopped my enjoyment of music.  If you are really listening to your music very loud, consider turning it down a bit if you can.  That way you'll still be enjoying your music well into later life as well.  I just wish someone had given me the same advice 25 years ago

thanks for that advice. the unfortunate thing is i we don't have any serious music stores in my home town i can go check out. and i don't know anyone other than me who likes high end audio. everyone has beats and doesn't even know what an amp is. but a CD player may be possible.
 

 

[Borgbox]

I too, have chronic tinnitus. I'm only 23. Turn it down, you're not immune. Granted, mine came from being way too close to too many speakers at too many live shows, the concept is still the same. You'll get used to the lower volumes much more quickly than you will the ringing as you're trying to sleep. ANYWHO, check out the m50s, not harsh at all. Or possibly just switch up your sources.

 

[nullstring]

Lol, I don't care what you hear.
If your source audio is from a CD.. then it's not going to sound better at 64bit/192khz
 
It's possible that upsampling the file before playing it is causing better sound because the upsampler in your DAC either sucks or doesn't exist..
But that would be a consequence of your bad dac..
 
The files themselves are not in any way more detailed.
I think foobar2000 has a upsampler plugin. Why don't you try that and see if that helps.
 
What DAC do you use?
 
The 64bit part can't really be doing anything.. because all it's doing is appending extra 0's onto the 16bit number..
MAYBE It could be forcing your media player to output at a higher bitdepth.. but any music player that works like that is sort of broken.
Or the volume "knob" sucks on your media player and extra bitdepth is nullifying that.
 
But really, it's probably placebo >_>
 
Quote:

Yeah, I've actually been doing some testing on this today....what I do is cut the volume of the track by 4 decibels to cut clipping, and I've found it won't encode to 64bit unless I up the sample rate to 192khz....if I leave the sample rate as is then 24bit is as high as it'll go.....in short after doing all this (64bit/192khz + 4 decibel volume cut) I've found there seems to be a definite difference in sound quality to my ear - it seems to be smoother, less harsh in the extremes, and I can hear bits and pieces of additional details and passages I couldn't hear so much before - basically there seems to be more depth to the song. But it seems I can't have one without the other. 

 

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

thanks for that advice. the unfortunate thing is i we don't have any serious music stores in my home town i can go check out. and i don't know anyone other than me who likes high end audio. everyone has beats and doesn't even know what an amp is. but a CD player may be possible.
 

bcasey
I think the important thing for now is to play some music you know - from a different source than your laptop.  That way you might be able to at least see if it's the cans.  If you use a CD, then you know it's not going to be a poorly ripped digital file.  You won't have to use an expensive hi-fi CD player either.  A reasonable mid-fi player should give you the answer.  And then at least you'll be able to eliminate the cans as being the issue - and can concentrate on how to locate and remedy the real issue source

 

[rhythmdevils]

But he has an ipod.  How does an ipod make headphones sound harsh?  If anything, the better source and amp will be less forgiving (unless they're colored).

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

But he has an ipod.  How does an ipod make headphones sound harsh?  If anything, the better source and amp will be less forgiving (unless they're colored).

That's the bit I'm struggling with .....
 
But all I wanted to do was change the media and source/player - so at least then it might be able to clear the actual cans as the issue (hence CD quality and CD player).  Once the cans are clear, I guess the next issue will be media quality or player quality.  The only other thing I thought of (haven't asked bcasey yet) was if he is EQing.  I know us noobs have a tendency to EQ up - rather than EQing down.  Which could cause both distortion and harshness in the actual player itself.  Again - by changing the media to a known constant (CD), and bypassing both ipod and laptop, I figured we'd be able to actually eliminate the cans as the issue.  I think my methodology is sound - would welcome critique though (a learning experience).
 
I have a touch - and have zero problem with harshness - but I don't have the SRH 840's yet.  I'm also using tracks ripped from my own CD's to ALAC lossless.  Not enough known about OP's set-up yet to pinpoint exactly where problem likely to be.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

That's the bit I'm struggling with .....
 
But all I wanted to do was change the media and source/player - so at least then it might be able to clear the actual cans as the issue (hence CD quality and CD player).  Once the cans are clear, I guess the next issue will be media quality or player quality.  The only other thing I thought of (haven't asked bcasey yet) was if he is EQing.  I know us noobs have a tendency to EQ up - rather than EQing down.  Which could cause both distortion and harshness in the actual player itself.  Again - by changing the media to a known constant (CD), and bypassing both ipod and laptop, I figured we'd be able to actually eliminate the cans as the issue.  I think my methodology is sound - would welcome critique though (a learning experience).
 
I have a touch - and have zero problem with harshness - but I don't have the SRH 840's yet.  I'm also using tracks ripped from my own CD's to ALAC lossless.  Not enough known about OP's set-up yet to pinpoint exactly where problem likely to be.

when you get your pair let me know your experiences. when i first got mine they sounded amazing no sibilance/distortion whatever it may be at all. but after having them for 5 days i feel they don't sound as good. could it be my mind playing tricks on me? was i just so impressed at the beginning that they aren't as impressive any more? i listen to my other cans such as my pioneer sem390 which i got for $70 and they sound nowhere near as good or clear. when i had them before i got the new headphones they sounded very clear then. now i just hear what sounds like bass and that's all on my sem390s. but my shures sound way better but i don't know why they sound worse after burn in.
 

 

[Digital-Pride]

Bcasey25raptor, do you experience the distortion/harshness when using your laptop, ipod or both?  Plus what type of music do you listen to mainly?

 

[deadlylover]

I think your music is just too bright, so you're gonna have to look for a more dark/forgiving headphone.
Or you could be extra sensitive to happy treble, like myself, and quite a few other members here as well.
 
I started out with some bright headphones (AD700), and they didn't bother me at all when I got them.
However, every time I go back to them, the treble will pretty much split my head open because I'm no longer used to them.
I think since you've learned to be more critical in listening, you've noticed that the treble is simply too prominent/harsh.
I guess you could say the 'wow' factor of hearing extra detail(treble) wears off over time.
 
Unfortunately, you're gonna have to give up on the neutral/flat goal, I know, it sounds all noble and righteous but it just won't work with bright source material.
There's nothing wrong with using a forgiving headphone, they can sound just 'as good as' a neutral one.
 
I only listen to poorly recorded insanely bright J-pop/rock, so I 'had' to pick the Stax O2 as my high end headphone.
They're as forgiving as a punching bag, which is why I can finally enjoy whatever I love listening to, even if it's only poorly recorded stuff.
 
And hey, if your source material is bright, and you're using dark/forgiving gear, you'll end up with neutral, isn't that what you've wanted all along?

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

Bcasey25raptor, do you experience the distortion/harshness when using your laptop, ipod or both?  Plus what type of music do you listen to mainly?

both my laptop and my ipod though my ipod sounds clearer. my music is the following
rock (every genre)
punk
folk metal
heavy metal
black metal
death metal
thrash metal
progressive metal
melodic metal
symphonic metal (nightwish)
folk music specially world wide stuff like a lot of celtic folk mixed with metal
some electronic/industrial/dubstep (very rarely listen to this have to be in a very bored mood)
 
i find that specifically in the folk stuff the flutes sound very harsh.
guitars periodically make squeaky noises but i think that is normal (distorted guitars in metal)
high vocals seem to be very harsh sometimes
 
i find the heavier the genre the less likely it is to make distortion/sibilance. for example death metal sounds less iritating then folk metal.
if anyone is interested in knowing i haven't listened to much music from before 1980. with the exception of black sabbath.
 
 
 

 

[ACDOAN]

Quote:

both my laptop and my ipod though my ipod sounds clearer. my music is the following
rock (every genre)
punk
folk metal
heavy metal
black metal
death metal
thrash metal
progressive metal
melodic metal
symphonic metal (nightwish)
folk music specially world wide stuff like a lot of celtic folk mixed with metal
some electronic/industrial/dubstep (very rarely listen to this have to be in a very bored mood)
 
i find that specifically in the folk stuff the flutes sound very harsh.
guitars periodically make squeaky noises but i think that is normal (distorted guitars in metal)
high vocals seem to be very harsh sometimes
 
i find the heavier the genre the less likely it is to make distortion/sibilance. for example death metal sounds less iritating then folk metal.
if anyone is interested in knowing i haven't listened to much music from before 1980. with the exception of black sabbath.
 
 
 

Sorry but I cannot resist to say what I have in my mind that the Ipod/ Itouch generation is dominantly populated in this forum and these Ipod/ I touch are not audiophile grade gear. What's wrong with some Meridian, Rega, Cary Audio CDP ? What 's wrong with SACD ?  What's wrong with LPs?
 
People do not know what they are missing unless they have experienced IT.
 
 
 

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

Sorry but I cannot resist to say what I have in my mind that the Ipod/ Itouch generation is dominantly populated in this forum and these Ipod/ I touch are not audiophile grade gear. What's wrong with some Meridian, Rega, Cary Audio CDP ? What 's wrong with SACD ?  What's wrong with LPs?
 
People do not know what they are missing unless they have experienced IT.

The problem with those mediums is price and convienence.  Most quality audiophile cd/sacd players are quite expensive.  While they yield exceptional sound quality when paired with the appropriate amp and headphone, their cost does not lend well to many plus you can only listen to one cd at a time only at home in one place.  While ipods and DAPs in general are not the end all of HiFi listening, they offer excellent sound quality with the convience of carrying one's entire(or almost) library of music anywhere at a much more affordable cost.  Frankly I find your assertion that one has to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on such equipment before it can be deemed "audiophile" grade, elitist and irresponsible.  This hobby is expensive enough as it is.

 

[Digital-Pride]

So, you mainly get this harshness through your laptop?  Even with HD and high quality videos on your laptop?  If I may ask what make and model(also its age) is your laptop and is your laptop completely stock(as in no upgrades made to it)?

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

So, you mainly get this harshness through your laptop?  Even with HD and high quality videos on your laptop?  If I may ask what make and model(also its age) is your laptop and is your laptop completely stock(as in no upgrades made to it)?

its a toshiba satellite l655 with an amd athlon 2 p320 clocked at 21 ghz dual core cpu. its got a conexant audio card that's on board and its brand new like say 8 months. and its completely stock.

 

[Brooko]

^ - Yup, totally agree (Digital Pride's reply to Acdoan)
 
I mean - what is an audiophile anyway ..... audio = "I hear",  phile (philos) = "loving".  So isn't any music lover at the basest form an audiophile?  Someone who'll go the extra step because we love our music.
 
I'm sorry - but with a normal job, a mortgage, and a family - I do the best I can with what I can afford.  I'm not the 'ipod generation' - but I find them fantastic for enjoying my music wherever I go.  Granted, I'm looking to spend more for better results over time.  But should we be dismissed by the elite?  I have the same love of music - but because I cannot afford "elite-fi", I make do with what I can (and dream about what I'd one day like to own) 

.