Is it possible that something low cost is better than others of high cost? and does it influence that the cable goes to one or two drivers?and recomendation
Jul 8, 2020 at 10:25 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 7

Galeonero

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Hello people of the forum, I am a beginner of the audiophile world and I had a couple of doubts that are always debated all over the internet.

1. I read a lot that the Koss Porta PRO headphones and the models that share the same driver sound exaggeratedly good, not only for the price but also for headphones that cost 100 or 200 dollars. Is this really true? Because I understand that they reduce material costs and put plastics of not very good quality, like cables, but the driver that generates the sound is the main budget. I don't know if it's a lot of Koss fanaticism or they really are. This I also read what happens with the KZ brand

2. It is a question that I have when choosing headphones, does it influence how we perceive the sound that a single cable is connected to a single driver or is only one side of the earpiece, either left or right? Because sometimes when I listen to music I feel that I listen on one side a little louder than the other, I do not notice the synchronous sound, so I don't know if this always happens in a song because it is recorded in stereo so the whole band that is playing music it is not in a position to sound the same from both sides. Or the fact that the cable goes to that cup is what generates that effect or defect.

3.
And the last question has to do with the first, if they recommend the KOSS UR 40 or UR 55 or is there something better for the price? Only use at home would be.
I wanted over-ear headphones that passively isolate but can't find good sound, long-term comfort and insulation, so I think it would be better to buy one for listening to music and the other for studying.

Thanks to those who answer me.
 
Jul 9, 2020 at 2:53 AM Post #2 of 7
When choosing audio gear there are a lot of things that depend on the person. There is not much correlation between price and sound quality in headphones and maybe not so much in audio equipment generally.

But there should be a correlation in the price and the build quality.

Single sided cables when deigned correctly do not lead to channel imbalance

The Sennheiser PX 100 is said to be better than the Port Pros but the PX 100 is not made any more. Neither headphone has any isolation.
 
Jul 9, 2020 at 6:19 AM Post #3 of 7
Hello people of the forum, I am a beginner of the audiophile world and I had a couple of doubts that are always debated all over the internet.

1. I read a lot that the Koss Porta PRO headphones and the models that share the same driver sound exaggeratedly good, not only for the price but also for headphones that cost 100 or 200 dollars. Is this really true? Because I understand that they reduce material costs and put plastics of not very good quality, like cables, but the driver that generates the sound is the main budget. I don't know if it's a lot of Koss fanaticism or they really are. This I also read what happens with the KZ brand

Think of it in terms of other products.

You can get a better graphics chip even if you have to get the reference card vs a lower tier chip with an aftermarket cooler, and your games will run faster, but you have to bear with the noise (not applicable with binned NVidia RTX chips on NVidia cards).

You can get a cheap Mazda MX-5 and get good handling even for a less skilled driver/tossable chassis that doesn't slip out from under you, or a V8 Mustang (forget for a minute that it's 2020 and they don't suck so much with handling vs nimbler Japanese cars or more expensive German cars) with lots of power, but you won't get an agile car that has a lot of power for quick and safe touring as well as outright performance unless you go with, say, a 911.

Basically you might not like how the ergonomics affects the drivers' output vis a vis your head, or even how they fit on your head. If you happen to like the result, then it's like liking a Miata's lower skill required agility or the 'Stang's prodigious power and you don't drive in ways or on circuits that make that agility necessary.



2. It is a question that I have when choosing headphones, does it influence how we perceive the sound that a single cable is connected to a single driver or is only one side of the earpiece, either left or right?

Not unless you want an aftermarket cable

1. To run balanced drive, which can't use the shared ground on a single entry cable design

2. To try different materials as to how they'll affect the sound, because then you have too long a run of a very thin copper wire from the left earcup crossing over to the right earcup.


Because sometimes when I listen to music I feel that I listen on one side a little louder than the other, I do not notice the synchronous sound, so I don't know if this always happens in a song because it is recorded in stereo so the whole band that is playing music it is not in a position to sound the same from both sides.

This can be due to the recording.

Using an amplifier can make this worse depending on the amp and what headphone it's driving. If the amp has too high gain, it will get louder with less movement on the volume control, and these analogue controls tend to have an imbalance at very narrow movement off zero (if it's a dial for example and zero ouput is at 7:00,even a good amp has to be just under 9:00 to have even output).

That said if you've been using a computer that means you're only using Windows volume control to control the digital volume without an analogue preamp or potentiometer in the signal path, so that's still more likely in the recording. Also, are you sure one side is really just louder, or is it that some instruments are only or mostly on one side? Lead guitars can sound louder than the rhythm guitar on some parts of some songs depending on how the band wants that to sound.

A better test to see whether it's the recording or not is to use a test tone since that's either even across both channels, whether a constant tone or alternating between left and right so you can hear them in isolation. If it's louder on one side maybe something's broken. Using USB output can bypass the audio circuit.
 
Jul 9, 2020 at 7:18 AM Post #4 of 7
Since we're dealing with 'audiophiles' it's fair to say that it depends on the person whether or not the increase in price increases the sound quality
troll.png


Apparently there are some people who will only use headphones with a double-cable entry becuase with a single-sided cable, the electricity has to travel further to the other side which causes 'timing problems' and as previously mentioned channel imbalance.
Personally, I don't buy the 'timing' thing.... but, like I said... 'audiophiles'.
 
Jul 9, 2020 at 7:24 AM Post #5 of 7
It is possible to

1/ make a device using cheap components to sound good !!!!

2/ it isn’t possible to sell anything sound good to be cheap !!!!

for example, most FPGA and resistors with switching supplies are cheap components, but you won’t see it being sold for cheap

the Chinese, except HifiMan, are trying to do this, to break away from the price : performances systems. But as HifiMan said “it is expensive because it sound good!”
 
Jul 9, 2020 at 10:20 AM Post #6 of 7
Since we're dealing with 'audiophiles' it's fair to say that it depends on the person whether or not the increase in price increases the sound quality

Apparently there are some people who will only use headphones with a double-cable entry becuase with a single-sided cable, the electricity has to travel further to the other side which causes 'timing problems' and as previously mentioned channel imbalance.
Personally, I don't buy the 'timing' thing.... but, like I said... 'audiophiles'.

I think using some simple math we can calculate the out of phase condition based on conductivity, speed of light, and length of the wire. I just did, and the answer is 0 for any practical size of a human head :D
 
Jul 9, 2020 at 8:32 PM Post #7 of 7
Since we're dealing with 'audiophiles' it's fair to say that it depends on the person whether or not the increase in price increases the sound quality troll.png

Apparently there are some people who will only use headphones with a double-cable entry becuase with a single-sided cable, the electricity has to travel further to the other side which causes 'timing problems' and as previously mentioned channel imbalance.
Personally, I don't buy the 'timing' thing.... but, like I said... 'audiophiles'.
Think of it in terms of other products.

You can get a better graphics chip even if you have to get the reference card vs a lower tier chip with an aftermarket cooler, and your games will run faster, but you have to bear with the noise (not applicable with binned NVidia RTX chips on NVidia cards).

You can get a cheap Mazda MX-5 and get good handling even for a less skilled driver/tossable chassis that doesn't slip out from under you, or a V8 Mustang (forget for a minute that it's 2020 and they don't suck so much with handling vs nimbler Japanese cars or more expensive German cars) with lots of power, but you won't get an agile car that has a lot of power for quick and safe touring as well as outright performance unless you go with, say, a 911.

Basically you might not like how the ergonomics affects the drivers' output vis a vis your head, or even how they fit on your head. If you happen to like the result, then it's like liking a Miata's lower skill required agility or the 'Stang's prodigious power and you don't drive in ways or on circuits that make that agility necessary.





Not unless you want an aftermarket cable

1. To run balanced drive, which can't use the shared ground on a single entry cable design

2. To try different materials as to how they'll affect the sound, because then you have too long a run of a very thin copper wire from the left earcup crossing over to the right earcup.




This can be due to the recording.

Using an amplifier can make this worse depending on the amp and what headphone it's driving. If the amp has too high gain, it will get louder with less movement on the volume control, and these analogue controls tend to have an imbalance at very narrow movement off zero (if it's a dial for example and zero ouput is at 7:00,even a good amp has to be just under 9:00 to have even output).

That said if you've been using a computer that means you're only using Windows volume control to control the digital volume without an analogue preamp or potentiometer in the signal path, so that's still more likely in the recording. Also, are you sure one side is really just louder, or is it that some instruments are only or mostly on one side? Lead guitars can sound louder than the rhythm guitar on some parts of some songs depending on how the band wants that to sound.

A better test to see whether it's the recording or not is to use a test tone since that's either even across both channels, whether a constant tone or alternating between left and right so you can hear them in isolation. If it's louder on one side maybe something's broken. Using USB output can bypass the audio circuit.
When choosing audio gear there are a lot of things that depend on the person. There is not much correlation between price and sound quality in headphones and maybe not so much in audio equipment generally.

But there should be a correlation in the price and the build quality.

Single sided cables when deigned correctly do not lead to channel imbalance

The Sennheiser PX 100 is said to be better than the Port Pros but the PX 100 is not made any more. Neither headphone has any isolation.

It is possible to

1/ make a device using cheap components to sound good !!!!

2/ it isn’t possible to sell anything sound good to be cheap !!!!

for example, most FPGA and resistors with switching supplies are cheap components, but you won’t see it being sold for cheap

the Chinese, except HifiMan, are trying to do this, to break away from the price : performances systems. But as HifiMan said “it is expensive because it sound good!”
Thank you all for your answers, so it is amazing what a low cost sound with a decent frame against metal with leather can sound like, who knows ... I think I will buy the KOSS UR40 and enjoy good sound without break the wallet.
 

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