Teac UD-301 Amp/DAC. Spotify, AAC, MP3 and some Flacs.
But first wait and see if I actually get them delivered and when I get them that they are in good condition and have truly passed the quality control...
Isn't it pretty odd that a new product that practically isn't released yet in most countries, is offered so cheap already?
It is touted as one of the most neutral and cohesive headphone currently on the market alongside the HD600. Yes it does lack some sub bass, but even so it still comes out on top thanks to it's smooth frequency response.
I had a pair of HD580, it is definitely one of the most clean sounding headphones, at least from what I had. Though to me frequency response is not everything. Soundstage, bass extension, imaging, driver speed are some things that I find way more important than frequency response. Freq response is the most easy of them all to fix with simple EQ's, for everything else you will have to search for different headphones.
As I've said, they are paired with a Cobalt. Maybe it's not the ideal match I was hoping for? I chose the Cobalt because of its convenience/area of use and also price. (paid €250 for the X3, and €208 for Cobalt.)
I've been mostly testing them with Tidal Hifi/Master from my HTPC. (like it when the Cobalt go purple... )
The source and quality of your music is the least that matters when judging a headphone. The differences different dacs/amps and sources like flac/mp3 make, have such little differences it is not really worth noting.
Comparing them to different headphones is way more important as well as just subjective impressions that you also gave us.
Teac UD-301 Amp/DAC. Spotify, AAC, MP3 and some Flacs.
But first wait and see if I actually get them delivered and when I get them that they are in good condition and have truly passed the quality control...
Isn't it pretty odd that a new product that practically isn't released yet in most countries, is offered so cheap already?
Yes I've reacted to your posts where the price have dropped like a stone...now €207 is crazy.
That Teac look decent. What did you pay? NOK 3490,- here in Norway. €330
I had a pair of HD580, it is definitely one of the most clean sounding headphones, at least from what I had. Though to me frequency response is not everything. Soundstage, bass extension, imaging, driver speed are some things that I find way more important than frequency response. Freq response is the most easy of them all to fix with simple EQ's, for everything else you will have to search for different headphones.
Frequency response usually can't be completely cured by eq - typically there's a compromise: adding a sub bass boost to the HD650 increases distortion as the drivers can't take the additional 7db so easily. Other headphones have ringing, so lowering the peaks with eq doesn't solve this problem completely. If you have many peaks and dips that need to be eq'd, this can introduce phase issues potentially.. I find generally EQ should be used broadly and sparingly, if this doesn't solve the problem it's time for a new headphone.
Frequency response is a number on priority for audio engineers - speed of drivers and imaging etc are important but a dodgy frequency response can make these things irrelevant.
Frequency response usually can't be completely cured by eq - typically there's a compromise: adding a sub bass boost to the HD650 increases distortion as the drivers can't take the additional 7db so easily. Other headphones have ringing, so lowering the peaks with eq doesn't solve this problem completely. If you have many peaks and dips that need to be eq'd, this can introduce phase issues potentially.. I find generally EQ should be used broadly and sparingly, if this doesn't solve the problem it's time for a new headphone.
Frequency response is a number on priority for audio engineers - speed of drivers and imaging etc are important but a dodgy frequency response can make these things irrelevant.
That’s the dealers selling them at a discount, not Philips. The sellers are forging extra profit in exchange for a fast sale (revenue) for working capital.
In this current economy, where businesses are closing left and right due to being affected by COVID, it is no surprise or odd at all.
Most businesses would rather move a product and be willing to only make a few bucks on it, if it means that they have capital to pay their bills instead of having to take out loans/debt to pay those bills.
Also, it is not an uncommon business practice to lower a price right at launch to encourage early adopters to take a chance on a new product. The idea is that they will talk about it in social media, blogs, message boards, to their friends, etc, which will in turn generate sales momentum.
Audiosense is doing this right now with their brand new $500 AQ7 flagship, giving an early adopter discount of $150 just to encourage some people to take the risk of buying it. The hopes is that it will generate future sales at the higher price.
That’s the dealers selling them at a discount, not Philips. The sellers are forging extra profit in exchange for a fast sale (revenue) for working capital.
In this current economy, where businesses are closing left and right due to being affected by COVID, it is no surprise or odd at all.
Most businesses would rather move a product and be willing to only make a few bucks on it, if it means that they have capital to pay their bills instead of having to take out loans/debt to pay those bills.
And I expect it to fall again. And then go back up after that.
Up and down. Down and up. Price fluctuations due to supply and demand isn’t surprising. It’s the way an economy works, from pork bellies to houses.
Amazon even does it using automated algorithms. If a product has been sitting for a while, their system will automatically lower the price. Then, as sales pick up and demand is higher, it raises the price. All done by AI.
This is all normal business practices. Nothing odd, nothing suspicious, nothing to worry about or people to obsess over, nothing to indicate the X3 is some sort of failure.
And I expect it to fall again. And then go back up after that.
Up and down. Down and up.
Price fluctuations due to supply and demand is very typical.
Amazon even does it using automated algorithms. If a product has been sitting for a while, their system will automatically lower the price. Then, as sales pick up and demand is higher, it raises the price. All done by AI.
Nice. So that's why Asus PQ22UC and Eizo Foris Nova have been reduced in price big time: more than 50% because simply no one is gonna pay 5000€.
So far only 4-6 people bought the Asus one from Amazon.
I'll wait till Mink gets his X3 to be actually delivered.
Nice. So that's why Asus PQ22UC and Eizo Foris Nova have been reduced in price big time: more than 50% because simply no one is gonna pay 5000€.
So far only 4-6 people bought the Asus one from Amazon.
that is because HD650 is the gold standard for neutral/smooth frequency response and coherent tonality.. anything which is "brighter" than an HD650 is typically not as correctly balanced. When you buy speakers, do you want them to be neutral so they can convey exactly what the artist intended, or do you want them to have a permanent eq that increases high/low frequencies so you don't hear what the studio engineer/artist intended?
If the X3 can come close to the HD650 it'll be a success.
But it's because HD650 are darker than pretty much every other decent headphone under $300. And people that like to hype HD650 are quick to call all other headphones bright to disparage them. However, bright is just a relative term that depends on user experience and preference.
Yes I've reacted to your posts where the price have dropped like a stone...now €207 is crazy.
That Teac look decent. What did you pay? NOK 3490,- here in Norway. €330
I've been looking for an upgrade to my X2 for a while.
I'd like the open, wide soundstage/spaciousness, fun factor of the X2, but would like a little bit more resolution/detail/instrument separation and a little bit more neutrality without losing a lot of the fun of the X2's.
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