New Member Introductions thread

[xSwifty]

The one and only. 

 

[jayway17]

Hey all! I'm a longtime lurker, but I figured I should start posting. I've been exploring DIY music production, and I've become more and more interested in trying out headphones although I'm a bit limited by my budget. I currently own: AKG K240 MK II, Sony MDR-V6, Yuin Pk2, and AKG K318. My biggest regret is not having the chance to try the Yuin G2a before it was discontinued... 

 

[Nick-s-f]

Hiya.

I am glad to finally be a member of this wonderful site! Been browsing it for a few years as I have taken recent interest in high(er) quality audio.

Hopefully, I can help others as well as myself in their journey to the right pair of headphones, etc.

My gear: Compaq mini > Fiio E10K > ATH-M50x, NAD HP50

Previously owned: RP-HTX7, ATH-M30, MDR-V6, Sennheiser Momentum.

This will be fun!
 

 

[Noobzilla]

Yay, new here!
 
tldr at the bottom:
 
The first quality headphones I bought 2.5 years ago is my gaming headset Sennheiser PC360, which has the same drivers as an HD 595. The sound and accuracy is absolutely fantastic and it does give me an edge in playing my favorite FPS game. When it comes to music, my headphones made me appreciate it a lot more, especially classical. Now I'm able to hear things that I did not hear before. My only gripe is hearing outside noise and lack of bass for my rock music (mostly 90's and early 2000 alternatives). There's almost no explosive boom in my current headphones. I bought earphones to address these two issues plus portability. I will definitely not walk around outside looking like a telemarketer. 
 
My Klipsch X10 does a good job, except I hear my own breathing, jaws moving, swallowing, and cables rubbing through my shirt. I also get this unexplainable fatigue after wearing it for a long time, unlike my PC360 that I sometimes even forget I'm wearing. I want something that's a combination of both my earphones and headphones. 
 
I've been reading a ton about headphones these past few days and narrowed it down to Beyerdynamic DT 770, Audio Technica ATH-A900X, V-MODA Crossfade M100, Ultrasone Pro 900, and Denon D2000. The Denon D2000 had the best reviews among them, but right when I'm finally ready to go for it I realized I'm already too late to the party. D2000's have been discontinued for a while and used ones are being sold higher than brand new ones 3+ years ago. I'm actually shocked since I would have never expected any headphones to go up in price. 
 
With used D2000s on ebay going for $250+, I might as well go for  Sennheiser HD 650 for $290 brand new with its legendary god-like status based on reviews. However, I canceled my order the next day because I really know I want a closed-back headphones with good bass and isolation in case I travel with it or use it at work. Furthermore, the HD 650 needs a really good amp to run and that's something I do not have. Someday though I will get back to this legend.
 
I ended up buying a factory refurb Denon D600 for $190. There are mixed reviews about it being worse or better than D2000/D5000. After reading all of them, it pretty much averages to "slightly worse, but can't go wrong with it." I saved myself a lot of money going for a refurb and the savings can go towards a portable amp/dac.
 
I'm ideally looking for something that will also be able to run an HD 650. The D600 have impedance of 25 Ohms and should be easy to run, so I may just need a good dac and not so much for amplifier. I know for certain that my laptop and desktop dac are crap. I have an Astro Mixamp for gaming and I could easily tell the difference. My budget is $100-$300 and I'm leaning towards CEntrance Dacport, but it might be overkill for a D600. Should I just get a cheap one for now like Schiit Fulla or Fiio E7/E# and save the $200 for a future desktop amp? Or is the Mixamp good enough? 0.o
 
Thank you for reading and suggestions!
 
tldr; My Sennheiser PC360 is open back and lacking bass and wanted something different. My Klipsch X10 is great at noise isolation and has better bass, but isn't comfortable for long periods and I don't like hearing my insides and cable-rubbing noise. Just bought a Denon D600 and looking for a portable amp/dac that can potentially run an HD 650 in the future. Budget is $100-300.

 

[noahdvs]

New here as well. I've been interested in audio quality probably ever since I was 13, but I'm only just starting to use nice headphones. My first pair was the Koss DJ-Pro 100. It was way better than anything I had used before (mainly earbuds that were $30 max), but it was a bit uncomfortable and didn't seem like the weight was distributed well. The speakers were the heaviest part, but they were only attached to the headband by a light plastic material and the wire connecting the speakers. They lasted for a while anyway since I tried to take good care of them, but the flaw in the design caused the plastic parts to break eventually and it became difficult to wear. My second and current headphones are the ATH-M50. I am quite pleased with the design. The weight seems to be distributed well and the plastic seems much better. They do squeeze my head sometimes though and the base feels really loud in comparison to my old headphones, but the sound does seem better overall. I'll get used to the bass in time.

 

[drjdrum]

Another past lurker, now member. Glad to be here!

I have loved this hobby since I purchased my first real system many years ago - a Marantz 1060 integrated amp, Pioneer PL12D turntable and Dynaco A25s. Shortly therafter I purchased a pair of Koss Pro 4AA headphones..

I have been a pro percussionist/drummer for most of my life, and always strive for natural, flat, uncolored sound from my gear.

So glad to have discovered this site some time ago. Thanks to all who contribute to the joy of listening to great music!

 

[Matthew720]

Hello I'm a new guy, I gotta say this is one of the only sites I've found that is actually worth getting a registered account for headphone Help.  

 

[reddog]

Hello I'm a new guy, I gotta say this is one of the only sites I've found that is actually worth getting a registered account for headphone Help.  

Welcome to head-fi Mathew, look around the site, look up threads on headphones, amps or dacs that interest you. And feel free to ask questions, most people on the threads are very friendly and will usually answer them.

 

[MrSpaniard]

Hi Everybody,
 
I'm new here as well.
Been lurking this site for a couple of weeks now.
I'm starting on my audiophile quest for glory, *cough* good/perfect sound *cough* I mean.
 
 
I've always been fond of good sound quality over output power.
I believe that Watts don't tell me anything.
I like my home stereo setup, but since my neighbours have small children, and I;m always home late, I need to invest more in something more private, like a good heaphone setup.
I also toy around with car audio trying weird stuff like an all Sony Car Audio setup that would beat systems 4 times the price in sound quality, only reason being that everybody in the car world seems to hate on Sony but don't know anything about how to make something sound good.
 
With something as subjective as audio there are a lot of misconceptions, and I'm trying to find out the technical aspects of them while on my quest.
I don't want to save up and buy the best ultra super duper equipment outright, but I want to build a collection of good sounding stuff and keeping myself increasingly happy over the time.
This journey needs to be fun for me
 
I hope to have fun times on this forum during my quest for sound.

 

[reddog]

Hi Everybody,

I'm new here as well.
Been lurking this site for a couple of weeks now.
I'm starting on my audiophile quest for glory, *cough* good/perfect sound *cough* I mean.


I've always been fond of good sound quality over output power.
I believe that Watts don't tell me anything.
I like my home stereo setup, but since my neighbours have small children, and I;m always home late, I need to invest more in something more private, like a good heaphone setup.
I also toy around with car audio trying weird stuff like an all Sony Car Audio setup that would beat systems 4 times the price in sound quality, only reason being that everybody in the car world seems to hate on Sony but don't know anything about how to make something sound good.

With something as subjective as audio there are a lot of misconceptions, and I'm trying to find out the technical aspects of them while on my quest.
I don't want to save up and buy the best ultra super duper equipment outright, but I want to build a collection of good sounding stuff and keeping myself increasingly happy over the time.
This journey needs to be fun for me

I hope to have fun times on this forum during my quest for sound.

Welcome to head-fi, hope you find the right set of cans to put a smile on your face. What type of music do you listen too? And do you jam out in a office or your own private space?. Depending upon the answer to those question, you might want open or closed back headphones. The choice of headphones, then might lead you to get a amp and a dac. And from there the rabbit hole can lead you deeper and deeper.

 

[MrSpaniard]

Welcome to head-fi, hope you find the right set of cans to put a smile on your face. What type of music do you listen too? And do you jam out in a office or your own private space?. Depending upon the answer to those question, you might want open or closed back headphones. The choice of headphones, then might lead you to get a amp and a dac. And from there the rabbit hole can lead you deeper and deeper.

Thanks
 
I already own a few cans.
 
Over-ear Closed Back:
- Sony MDR-V6 <--- really loving these ones when driven by a good system. (I sometimes abuse my Denon PMA-860 Stereo amplifier to just plugs these phones into, fantastic sound with a good source for my taste)
 
Over-ear Open Back:
- Skullcandy SK-Pro - I know, go hate on me xD but these are honestly not that bad. Not the standard Skullcandy bass-overkill that I heard before. I'm quite liking them so far, though they don't have the sound quality of the V6's
 
In-Ear:
- Skullcandy Smokin' Buds 2 - Again, don't hate yet. To my ears right now, these sound decent. Don't dare to call them great yet, but for the asking price (€30,-) not bad at all for my taste.
 
Not a skullcandy fan at all, don't get the wrong idea.
But these two products made sense to me and have given me quite some pleasurable listening over the years.

This is al subjective of course, and I don't have a lot of reference yet.
 
In my computers I use a Creative X-Fi Titanium sound card, helped a lot in sound quality from my computer.
For my stereo needs i use an Denon PMA-860 which I love to death, it sounds pretty nice.
 
Other speaker systems I own are:
Logitech Z2300 for my computer<-- the best sounding product Logitech ever made. Nothing else they make comes close to the sound quality of these. (They have some thin mids though, but for Logitech it's the best they've done so far).
 
- B&W DM110 speaker set. <- sound crazy good to my ears. A lot of people love these speakers too.
- Yamaha YST-SW40 subwoofer <- It's okay-ish, little bit to the meh-side.
 
And some random other stuff not really worth mentioning.
 
 
I'm thinking of an Sansa Clip + to replace my recently deceased Ipod Video 5th Gen 80GB until I save up to buy an Sony NWZ-A15.
I'm looking into headphone amps through this forum now.
I'm thinking of picking up a Fiio E12 Mont Blanc (Or alternatively a Fiio E11) to use with the Sony NWZ-A15 and boost output/quality to my full size headphones.
 
So I'm slowly crawling through the forum and picking up bits and pieces of information to use for my cause
Remember, the epic quest for glory, I mean sound quality

 

[MrSpaniard]

  Thanks
 
I already own a few cans.
 
Over-ear Closed Back:
- Sony MDR-V6 <--- really loving these ones when driven by a good system. (I sometimes abuse my Denon PMA-860 Stereo amplifier to just plugs these phones into, fantastic sound with a good source for my taste)
 
Over-ear Open Back:
- Skullcandy SK-Pro - I know, go hate on me xD but these are honestly not that bad. Not the standard Skullcandy bass-overkill that I heard before. I'm quite liking them so far, though they don't have the sound quality of the V6's
 
In-Ear:
- Skullcandy Smokin' Buds 2 - Again, don't hate yet. To my ears right now, these sound decent. Don't dare to call them great yet, but for the asking price (€30,-) not bad at all for my taste.
 
Not a skullcandy fan at all, don't get the wrong idea.
But these two products made sense to me and have given me quite some pleasurable listening over the years.

This is al subjective of course, and I don't have a lot of reference yet.
 
In my computers I use a Creative X-Fi Titanium sound card, helped a lot in sound quality from my computer.
For my stereo needs i use an Denon PMA-860 which I love to death, it sounds pretty nice.
 
Other speaker systems I own are:
Logitech Z2300 for my computer<-- the best sounding product Logitech ever made. Nothing else they make comes close to the sound quality of these. (They have some thin mids though, but for Logitech it's the best they've done so far).
 
- B&W DM110 speaker set. <- sound crazy good to my ears. A lot of people love these speakers too.
- Yamaha YST-SW40 subwoofer <- It's okay-ish, little bit to the meh-side.
 
And some random other stuff not really worth mentioning.
 
 
I'm thinking of an Sansa Clip + to replace my recently deceased Ipod Video 5th Gen 80GB until I save up to buy an Sony NWZ-A15.
I'm looking into headphone amps through this forum now.
I'm thinking of picking up a Fiio E12 Mont Blanc (Or alternatively a Fiio E11) to use with the Sony NWZ-A15 and boost output/quality to my full size headphones.
 
So I'm slowly crawling through the forum and picking up bits and pieces of information to use for my cause
Remember, the epic quest for glory, I mean sound quality

 

Welcome to head-fi, hope you find the right set of cans to put a smile on your face. What type of music do you listen too? And do you jam out in a office or your own private space?. Depending upon the answer to those question, you might want open or closed back headphones. The choice of headphones, then might lead you to get a amp and a dac. And from there the rabbit hole can lead you deeper and deeper.

 
By the way.
To answer your question, I'm using both in office and at home when the wife is asleep.

And am drooling for months on the thoughts of getting a Grado SR80e of SR125e, or even better the Ultrasone Pro900.
I hope to own one of these 3 by the end of the year.

Hoping they'll make me smile.
 
 
The music I listen to?

Well, nearly everything this world produces.
This varies with my mood, but some genres are:
All kinds of Rock, Metal, EDM, Rap, some Pop, Jazz, Reggae, Folk.
Just touching the surface.
 
The last few months I'm leaning more towards the EDM genres.
Deephouse, NuDisco, Ambien, Chill, Chillstep, ElectroSwing, Liquid Dubstep, Liquid DnB, DnB, Trap and so on and so forth.
 
I just enjoy most kinds of music except for a few types.

 

[DavidA]

   
 
By the way.
To answer your question, I'm using both in office and at home when the wife is asleep.

And am drooling for months on the thoughts of getting a Grado SR80e of SR125e, or even better the Ultrasone Pro900.
I hope to own one of these 3 by the end of the year.

Hoping they'll make me smile.
 
 
The music I listen to?

Well, nearly everything this world produces.
This varies with my mood, but some genres are:
All kinds of Rock, Metal, EDM, Rap, some Pop, Jazz, Reggae, Folk.
Just touching the surface.
 
The last few months I'm leaning more towards the EDM genres.
Deephouse, NuDisco, Ambien, Chill, Chillstep, ElectroSwing, Liquid Dubstep, Liquid DnB, DnB, Trap and so on and so forth.
 
I just enjoy most kinds of music except for a few types.

If mostly EDM, I would find something with a little more bass, I would use either my X1, L1, HD-400, Momentum over-ear, or a V-Moda.  IMO the Grado's are great with rock and jazz, music that needs sparkle ( I have a SR-225e and RS2e, love these two).  I feel that EDM needs bass to get in mood.  Just my 2 cents, hope you find your ideal headphone(s).

 

[reddog]

By the way.
To answer your question, I'm using both in office and at home when the wife is asleep.


And am drooling for months on the thoughts of getting a Grado SR80e of SR125e, or even better the Ultrasone Pro900.

I hope to own one of these 3 by the end of the year.


Hoping they'll make me smile.


The music I listen to?


Well, nearly everything this world produces.
This varies with my mood, but some genres are:
All kinds of Rock, Metal, EDM, Rap, some Pop, Jazz, Reggae, Folk.
Just touching the surface.

The last few months I'm leaning more towards the EDM genres.
Deephouse, NuDisco, Ambien, Chill, Chillstep, ElectroSwing, Liquid Dubstep, Liquid DnB, DnB, Trap and so on and so forth.

I just enjoy most kinds of music except for a few types.

If you like EDM, I would look at MrSpeakers Mad DOG Pro's.

 

[MrSpaniard]

 
If mostly EDM, I would find something with a little more bass, I would use either my X1, L1, HD-400, Momentum over-ear, or a V-Moda.  IMO the Grado's are great with rock and jazz, music that needs sparkle ( I have a SR-225e and RS2e, love these two).  I feel that EDM needs bass to get in mood.  Just my 2 cents, hope you find your ideal headphone(s).

 
Thanks for the reply.
I'm not up to speed with all the product names yet.
 
X1 and L1, which brands are those? Or are those the brand names?
I could only think of Fiio X1 but that's probably not what you mean.
 
HD-400 is a sennheiser I suspect, though I've never really been fond of the Sennheiser sound.
They always thend to give me the feeling that it's actually mediocre products, for higher prices.
 
Sort of like the whole deal with Bosé. **** quality for premium price.
Now I don't want to insult Sennheiser, or fans of their products with a direct comparison with Bosé, but for me personally they are up there.

V-Moda, I'll look in to their headphone lineup. 
I think I would like closed back headphones mostly, but it's not a real problem if they are open back.

I'll still pick up one of them Grado's down the line for my Rock and Jazz listening then Don't mind to swap to different headphones for different genres.