[davidsh]

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So I got the headphones today...and...I don't have my amp yet...and I gotta say...
 
 
Not quite what I expected. Hopefully they sound better the more I listen..
 
 
Well...that and when I get the amp..
 
 
I'm listening to .flacs if that helps at all.
 
Hell I'd even go as far as to say that they're nearly impossible to listen to without an amp just because of how low the volume is..
 
Also: The bass seems to be rather absorbed by the ear pads. If I hold the outside I can feel but I can't feel any if they're on. They sound good though.
 
 
 
 
I'll test it with various games and whatnot and report back =D.
 
Anybody have the Titanium HD? What settings do you use? Thanks :3

Well, not glad to hear you don't like 'em that much.. I can tell you, that out of my computer jack, they sound like they are hooked up to a fm radio or something. And the bass is like gone, it is so bad. They seem like an somewhat average 'mid-fi' phone with some interesting twist in sound quality.
 
With my iphone 4 they seem okay, but no more than okay with a slight twist of 'fidelity' and nice sound quality. They sound a bit flat and uninspiring and the bass is only okay. They seem like a nice 'mid-fi' can, again with some special twist you would not get with lower priced can in my experience.
 
With my fiio e17 they seem more full due to the slight warmness and better bass representation of the amp. Also the sound is a bit more engaging. Lastly they sound less flat and more layered (eg. emproved sound stage). They seem to just poke into the hi-fi category.
 
Some days ago I tried an headphone amp (musical fidelity x-can v8p, which I seemingly get for christmas), which is a couple of years old, but not cheap. The bass is improved quite a bit over the e17, and it seems just right, which the bass of the e17 doesn't. The sound stage is even more improved and the he-400 seems even more musical and engaging. Also I was quite thrilled about the very quiet background.  They seem to be damn close to what I would call hi-fi, just does not nail it a 100% which I hope the he-500 will. This is said from memory and I compared to my macbook pro at that time, which is a bit better than my iphone sq-wise, I guess.
 
I would definitely not enjoy the he-400 as much with my iphone, as I am going to when I get the amp.
 
 
Do you now how much voltage/power the s3 jack puts out. If you can find the specs, I can tell you if it is loud enough/too loud, we should protect our ears, no? I can tell you that full volume on my iphone 4 should be a bit louder than what is good for my ears.

 

[davidsh]

Ohh, about the bass, I have the exact same experience, and I can tell that the bass should be neutral with them on your ears, you should not be missing out on anything. Though it sounds quite cool to turn them up really loud, and let them hover without touching the ears.

 

[rpegaming]

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Ohh, about the bass, I have the exact same experience, and I can tell that the bass should be neutral with them on your ears, you should not be missing out on anything. Though it sounds quite cool to turn them up really loud, and let them hover without touching the ears.

You gotta remember I'm using a Titanium HD. At least the dac part is there. I just need to get an amp..I REALLY need some gain...
 
 
 
They sound good for some things - but from what I can tell, most of my .flacs have -9-10 db track gains..they're very quiet. I think an amp would solve quite a few of these problems.

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

You gotta remember I'm using a Titanium HD. At least the dac part is there. I just need to get an amp..I REALLY need some gain...
 
 
 
They sound good for some things - but from what I can tell, most of my .flacs have -9-10 db track gains..they're very quiet. I think an amp would solve quite a few of these problems.

So are my tracks, between -15 and -9. Still, full volume out of my iphone is a tad too loud...
 
I did not think you had the Titanium HD already?

 

[rpegaming]

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So are my tracks, between -15 and -9. Still, full volume out of my iphone is a tad too loud...
 
I did not think you had the Titanium HD already?

I've had it for several weeks.

 

[davidsh]

The x-fi should be able to put out 1 volt, which should be too loud.

 

[rpegaming]

It's definitely not too loud...and I know it's not my hearing...
 
 
I guess I am used to listening to my stuff rather high...maybe it's just that it's my first pair of open cans ^^

 

[davidsh]

Quote:

It's definitely not too loud...and I know it's not my hearing...
 
 
I guess I am used to listening to my stuff rather high...maybe it's just that it's my first pair of open cans ^^

Well, you can get accustommed to high volumes quite easily. You are either having the wrong setting with the x-fi, or hearing you music too loud, which can lead to hearing loss/damage. 100mV should be somewhat appropriate, the x-fi can, as I said put out 1V. This corresponds to 26mW, which is equal to just below 100dB (to be exact around 96dB with the song track gain set to -10dB)
 
There is another way to find out 

Try to tell me how loud they are when they are laying next to you in a silent envirenment (or just something I can relate to)

 

[rpegaming]

Quote:

Well, you can get accustommed to high volumes quite easily. You are either having the wrong setting with the x-fi, or hearing you music too loud, which can lead to hearing loss/damage. 100mV should be somewhat appropriate, the x-fi can, as I said put out 1V. This corresponds to 26mW, which is equal to just below 100dB (to be exact around 96dB with the song track gain set to -10dB)
 
There is another way to find out 

Try to tell me how loud they are when they are laying next to you in a silent envirenment (or just something I can relate to)

Hm...okay. Like I said before, my belief is because it's my first pair of open phones...and..
 
 
I can hear both music and people talking clearly while the phones are on the table...but...that's in a 100% silent environment....they're about 50 dbs while on the table..
 
Oh...the track I used for that was a 0.0 gain track with +0 gain in fubar.
 
 
 
I do, really, really, think it's because of them being open. I think I'm getting slightly used to the open sound and it sounds a fair bit (and I do mean a fair bit) louder than it used to..

 

[davidsh]

At my room, with only my pc on, the headphone right beside me, I do only hear a slight whisper/rythm when at appropriate volume levels. Barely audible to subtle audible.
So you are listening too loud I guess... But when I get a new headphone I mostly start quite high on the volume and go down from there
 
I am suddenly beginning to doubt whether what I am telling you is correct, but it should be. I am going to investigate it a bit more on another forum. It seems unnatural that the volume should be that low. 

 

[rpegaming]

Quote:

At my room, with only my pc on, the headphone right beside me, I do only hear a slight whisper/rythm when at appropriate volume levels. Barely audible to subtle audible.
So you are listening too loud I guess... But when I get a new headphone I mostly start quite high on the volume and go down from there

Makes sense. I've further reduced them a fair bit...but I think it's just because I like having my games up a little louder than my music...it's also my first few days actually USING the sound card...so i'm still familiarizing myself with it..:3

 

[davidsh]

I am suddenly beginning to doubt whether what I am telling you is correct, but it should be. I am going to investigate it a bit more on another forum. It seems unnatural that the volume should be that low. 
Though, the math should not lie...

 

[rpegaming]

Quote:

I am suddenly beginning to doubt whether what I am telling you is correct, but it should be. I am going to investigate it a bit more on another forum. It seems unnatural that the volume should be that low. 
Though, the math should not lie...

After using them a bit more and growing accustomed to the open sound the volume definitely seems loud.
 
Am I the only one that experienced that? It's really my first new major upgrade so I'm not sure if it was just typical adjustment. (I've never had a sound card or open headphones, let alone high-grade headphones)
 
 
Also....using eax and/or cmss 3d completely disables any and all audio ins....making me unable to use a mic.

 

[davidsh]

Everythong is sorted out, I forgot i had a volume liiter on my iphone. SO, to cut to the chase, at 85-90 dB the headphone will sound like a laptop speaker at semi-high volume, whilst at 70-75 dB (which is a reasonable spl) it will sound just about audible. You will be able to follow the music somewhat easily in a silent room, but the least amount of noise will make it hard. This is with the headphone laying just beside me.
 
Hope you like 'em.

 

[davidsh]

How are you and your headphones doing?