[canNoobie]

The 400i are a great headphone and actually need some power to properly get all the benefits. what are you using as a source? They need more than a cell phone.

I'm using the SMSL M6. It definitely improves the sound, and I didn't realize headphones could get so loud

 

[serman005]

Hello guys! Glad to join this audio maniac community

Welcome aboard, @Atlass!! Apologies to your wallet... ---)

 

[JDAIII]

Long time listener, first time caller.

I enjoy my music. Collection in the range of 47k-48k songs. But only recently started to focus on quality. Picked up some Beats a few years ago. Gift from mother. They were better than the earbuds I used for running. But not that great. Then I got some California headphones when they had their going out of business sale. It never seemed important for me to get quality equipment. But recently heard my friend's Sennheiser and Schiit Stack pairing and it was night and day.

I put on my favorite song to relax to after taking my 'medication' and it's cliche but it was night and day compared to the 192mp3 I had on my phone with my cheap earbuds. Chuck mangione feels so good in case you wonder. Without lyrics. All about the flugelhorn imho.

After that day, I was obsessed. I currently have a pair of Pinnacle Px IEMs and a Fiio X3 III. And I've been replacing my library with flac and DSD where possible. I'm aware flac isn't always better than my current mp3 files but my server has 20TB of space so I'm not feeling the difference yet. Except with my ears.

I came here to figure out my next step. K5, O2+ODAC, or just get a schiit stack. But it sounds like the first two are my best choices. Plus the O2 will give me something to solder which makes me feel more pride in my setup if I build it myself.

 

[mindblownDt48]

Long time listener, first time caller.

I enjoy my music. Collection in the range of 47k-48k songs. But only recently started to focus on quality. Picked up some Beats a few years ago. Gift from mother. They were better than the earbuds I used for running. But not that great. Then I got some California headphones when they had their going out of business sale. It never seemed important for me to get quality equipment. But recently heard my friend's Sennheiser and Schiit Stack pairing and it was night and day.

I put on my favorite song to relax to after taking my 'medication' and it's cliche but it was night and day compared to the 192mp3 I had on my phone with my cheap earbuds. Chuck mangione feels so good in case you wonder. Without lyrics. All about the flugelhorn imho.

After that day, I was obsessed. I currently have a pair of Pinnacle Px IEMs and a Fiio X3 III. And I've been replacing my library with flac and DSD where possible. I'm aware flac isn't always better than my current mp3 files but my server has 20TB of space so I'm not feeling the difference yet. Except with my ears.

I came here to figure out my next step. K5, O2+ODAC, or just get a schiit stack. But it sounds like the first two are my best choices. Plus the O2 will give me something to solder which makes me feel more pride in my setup if I build it myself.

Just to clear things up mp3 is compressed file, to reduce space, it doesnt contain all the information found in original file, so YES, flac allways sounds better than mp3, perhaps somebody cheated and made flac out of mp3, in that case, they are the same.
Another option is you dont have good headphones to really apreciate flac, bu i can hear difference even on 20€ inears
Welcome to forum, here you can find exactly headphones for you

 

[dawgwood9]

Greetings.

I've enjoyed reading threads on Head-Fi and appreciate this community and resource. I spend many hours each day listening to headphones and recently cancelled my Spotify account after trying Tidal. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to hear much of a difference having been used to Spotify for years... Oh my, I was so wrong. Experiencing uncompressed versions of some of my recent favorite albums was moving. Instruments have space, there is depth to the mix and imaging! I don't think I'll ever go back to streaming compressed music after this.

Thanks to Head-Fi I am now looking at new headphones to complement my current selection of HD600 and Grado 325e daily drivers. More than anything though I am really excited about listening to and enjoying recordings!

Cheers

 

[flowerman]

Hi everyone, glad to join your community, I listen a lot types of music, also very different (e.g. alternative/indie rock and drum and bass). Currently I have HTC 10 as player with ATH M30x at house, or HTC Hi-Res Earphones (it sounds a little bit too warm for me)/Brainwavz Alpha outside. I hope that I get some usefull information and maybe I could be help someone too

 

[ymshulman]

Stalking for years, joined a few weeks ago, but never posted here. Bought some Bose earbuds about 10 years back and that was my first intro to "better than what it came with" headphones. (They're still sitting somewhere - I think they sound terrible now!) Bought the ATH M50X about two years back, with a Klipsch pair of earbuds that people here were recommending as a good "walk-around" pair.

I've enjoyed demoing my ATH M50x to friends and wowing them. They'll often consider buying a pair for themselves after that After a recent such demo I went down the rabbit hole, and ended up order the Massdrop HD6xx, and am currently researching what DAC and amp to get.

I've been wondering, though - are there other headphones I should be recommending to the friends that I've showed the ATH M50x to? Perhaps a pair of Grado, or something less expensive than the M50 that will still wow them - and be at a more tolerable price point for someone new to this?

 

[bobspencer123]

Hello everyone, long time lurker. I've been a member of some other audio sites for quite a long time but never registered here until now. I'm starting to do some research on a new DAC so figured it was about time to stop lurking and join.

 

[buke9]

Hello everyone, long time lurker. I've been a member of some other audio sites for quite a long time but never registered here until now. I'm starting to do some research on a new DAC so figured it was about time to stop lurking and join.

Welome hope you enjoy your time here. Dac’s are pretty hard thing to discern which is better so just be aware of that.

 

[ymshulman]

Welome hope you enjoy your time here. Dac’s are pretty hard thing to discern which is better so just be aware of that.

Would that apply even when comparing something portable to a desktop, like comparing the Dragonfly black/red to a basic Schiit DAC?

 

[buke9]

Well haven’t a/b’ed them but think the red is quite good.

 

[ymshulman]

Well haven’t a/b’ed them but think the red is quite good.

What would your first thought be as a better pairing for the Sennheiser HD6xx:
iFi micro iDSD (non-BL) by itself
Dragonfly Red with a tube amp? (Possibly the DarkVoice)

 

[ymshulman]

(It makes more sense than it looks like - the first option would be a transportable solution for the HD6xx, and the second would be just for desktop use, but would allow me to go portable with the Dragonfly and my ATH M50x)

 

[buke9]

What would your first thought be as a better pairing for the Sennheiser HD6xx:
iFi micro iDSD (non-BL) by itself
Dragonfly Red with a tube amp? (Possibly the DarkVoice)

Well without a doubt the Bottlehead Crack is the best amp that I have heard for the 650’s ( or 6xx’s as they are the same).

 

[dustinleland2003]

Hi everyone. I am Dustin - newbie to the community. Although i haven't had any experience in audio field, just know a little bit about you guys are talking about such as specifications or quality sound, But i know that i love music. So that, I came here, to learn and hope I can contribute something to the community. Thank you