[Lurk650]

I'm looking for some headphone suggestions. I've been running the ES100 with ATH M50 original with my Galaxy S10 and LDAC and am floored by how amazing it sounds. However, I'm tired of dealing with this absurdly long and heavy cable. I'm ready to try what I've seen others in this thread do months ago, get some headphones with detachable cable, hopefully go 2.5mm balanced, really short cable, get some adhesive velcro-like strips and mount the ES100 to a cup of the headphones.

Wish I could credit whoever posted this originally in the thread.

So basically I'm wondering what your guys favorite headphones are to do this with, in the sub $150 range? I haven't really done any research yet, but I've seen a few complaints that the ATH M50x aren't as good as the original M50, and have no idea if there's merit to this. I'm definitely not married to the M50 but am looking for something quality (vague as that may sound) in my price range.

Any input is greatly appreciated as I'm really looking forward to doing something similar to the picture above.

You will need headphones with dual input if you want balanced. Keep that in mind.

$50 more than your budget but the Meze 99 Noir on Drop would be great. I have the 99 Classics and run them with the Meze balanced cable (another $50) through my ES100 and it's fantastic.

 

[charlescc2]

You will need headphones with dual input if you want balanced. Keep that in mind.

$50 more than your budget but the Meze 99 Noir on Drop would be great. I have the 99 Classics and run them with the Meze balanced cable (another $50) through my ES100 and it's fantastic.

Thank you for the suggestion.

So I guess what I want to do doesn't even make sense does it; wanting to run a single short cable between ES100 and headphone but wanting to use a balanced cable. It's going to be one or the other huh. Ultimately my goal to is create a "wireless" headphone from the ES100 by having a short cable running between the devices and fastening the ES100 to the headphone like in the picture I attached, so if I cannot use a balanced cable I'll have to accept the compromise.

I'll look into the headphones you suggested, thanks for that.

Edit: Ah I see what you mean with dual audio inputs with the Meze 99 Noir. So I guess this would be ruled out as an option for creating my effectively wireless setup.

 

[Slater]

Thank you for the suggestion.

So I guess what I want to do doesn't even make sense does it; wanting to run a single short cable between ES100 and headphone but wanting to use a balanced cable. It's going to be one or the other huh. Ultimately my goal to is create a "wireless" headphone from the ES100 by having a short cable running between the devices and fastening the ES100 to the headphone like in the picture I attached, so if I cannot use a balanced cable I'll have to accept the compromise.

I'll look into the headphones you suggested, thanks for that.

Edit: Ah I see what you mean with dual audio inputs with the Meze 99 Noir. So I guess this would be ruled out as an option for creating my effectively wireless setup.

That’s totally doable as long as your headphone have dual entry cables.

You would just need to make a custom balanced super short J cable to connect to the ES100, or cut down and modify an existing cable.

 

[charlescc2]

That’s totally doable as long as your headphone have dual entry cables.

You would just need to make a custom balanced super short J cable to connect to the ES100, or cut down and modify an existing cable.

I gotcha. That might be beyond the scope of my capabilities so I'll probably just go with a short 3.5mm option with single entry.

 

[posnera]

Thank you for the suggestion.

So I guess what I want to do doesn't even make sense does it; wanting to run a single short cable between ES100 and headphone but wanting to use a balanced cable. It's going to be one or the other huh. Ultimately my goal to is create a "wireless" headphone from the ES100 by having a short cable running between the devices and fastening the ES100 to the headphone like in the picture I attached, so if I cannot use a balanced cable I'll have to accept the compromise.

I'll look into the headphones you suggested, thanks for that.

Edit: Ah I see what you mean with dual audio inputs with the Meze 99 Noir. So I guess this would be ruled out as an option for creating my effectively wireless setup.

Agreed. I will not buy any headphone unless it only has one wire.

 

[Slater]

Agreed. I will not buy any headphone unless it only has one wire.

Here’s a total wireless Bluetooth mod I did to my dual entry 1More Triple Driver over ears:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...dphone-mods-here.867426/page-25#post-15002280

I wouldn’t have been able to do that if they were single-sided

 

[charlescc2]

Here’s a total wireless Bluetooth mod I did to my dual entry 1More Triple Driver over ears:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the...dphone-mods-here.867426/page-25#post-15002280

I wouldn’t have been able to do that if they were single-sided

That's pretty awesome man. But if you were a noob like me and just wanted to keep it simple (3.5mm 6" cable, fastening ES100 to the side of headphones), and were trying to spend no more than $150 (guess I could push $200 but prefer not to) on headphones, would you have any headphone suggestions that immediately come to mind? Sorry if this comes off as being lazy. I will be digging in and looking other places on the site to figure out headphone options but was hoping to use this thread as a shortcut since others seem to be using the ES100 the same way. If nothing immediately comes to mind its all good too!

 

[Slater]

That's pretty awesome man. But if you were a noob like me and just wanted to keep it simple (3.5mm 6" cable, fastening ES100 to the side of headphones), and were trying to spend no more than $150 (guess I could push $200 but prefer not to) on headphones, would you have any headphone suggestions that immediately come to mind? Sorry if this comes off as being lazy. I will be digging in and looking other places on the site to figure out headphone options but was hoping to use this thread as a shortcut since others seem to be using the ES100 the same way. If nothing immediately comes to mind its all good too!

There's so many headphones, that's a difficult to answer question.

Are you looking for on ear or over ear? Something for working out that has sweat resistance? What about isolation - are you planning on using them while riding on public transport, or listening on the couch in a quiet living room? Do you want open or closed back? What sort of sound signature do you like?

 

[charlescc2]

There's so many headphones, that's a difficult to answer question.

Are you looking for on ear or over ear? Something for working out that has sweat resistance? What about isolation - are you planning on using them while riding on public transport, or listening on the couch in a quiet living room? Do you want open or closed back? What sort of sound signature do you like?

There won't be any sweat resistance or noise isolation requirements. I am looking for something with a closed back as I'd prefer minimal sound leakage. As for sound signature, I honestly don't know, my only experience right now is with the OG ATH M50s. Ultimately I think I'm looking for something that doesn't put too much emphasis on a particular range, whether I'm looking for neutral or balanced I don't even know.

I guess I was hoping there was some popular go-to headphone in the price range that has a detachable cable, but I suppose you're right that with how many options there are on the market and the vast range of preferences people may have that it's not going to be that simple.

 

[Slater]

Where are you located? Some countries/cities have a local audio/headphone ship where you can try one a lot of different headphones. And I don’t mean Best Buy either, as they’re going to have nothing but Beats and Skull Candies lol.

Anyways, a shop where you can try different headphones (even if they are all out of your price range) will at least tell you what kind of sound signature you like.

You can also wait for a HeadFi CanJam or HeadFi meet that’s near you. At those, manufacturers and sellers being a load of gear to try, and members also bring a ton of their gear to let others try as well.

https://www.head-fi.org/forums/local-regional-head-fi-meets-parties-get-togethers.24/

https://www.head-fi.org/forums/head-fi-meet-impressions-trade-show-reports-factory-tours.45/

 

[charlescc2]

Where are you located? Some countries/cities have a local audio/headphone ship where you can try one a lot of different headphones. And I don’t mean Best Buy either, as they’re going to have nothing but Beats and Skull Candies lol.

Anyways, a shop where you can try different headphones (even if they are all out of your price range) will at least tell you what kind of sound signature you like.

You can also wait for a HeadFi CanJam or HeadFi meet that’s near you. At those, manufacturers and sellers being a load of gear to try, and members also bring a ton of their gear to let others try as well.

https://www.head-fi.org/forums/local-regional-head-fi-meets-parties-get-togethers.24/

https://www.head-fi.org/forums/head-fi-meet-impressions-trade-show-reports-factory-tours.45/

Very interesting, thanks for the info. I'm in Maryland, not too far from DC, and I see there is a meet-up in just a couple weeks. I may have to look into that. Thanks again.

 

[Slater]

Very interesting, thanks for the info. I'm in Maryland, not too far from DC, and I see there is a meet-up in just a couple weeks. I may have to look into that. Thanks again.

Glad to help, friend.

Try to go to the DC meet if at all possible.

Also, bring whatever it is that you're going to use to listen with once you have your own headphones (ie your phone and your ES100). Anyways, try the different headphones with your actual hardware setup and your actual music. Because at those meets, a lot of headphones are set up with fancy/expensive amps, cables, etc. And that isn't going to be very accurate, as amps can change the way a headphone sounds (called coloring). So you want your test listening to best represent your actual listening scenario.

I know you should be able to figure out what it is you like (v shaped, u shaped, flat tuning, planar vs dynamic, whatever). Then, once you have a better idea what you like, figure out what headphones in your $150-$200 price range have match that same signature.

Something else I've heard of people doing is order a bunch of headphones from Amazon, trying them all, and sending back the ones you don't like. I personally don't agree with that, as you've now created a pile of used headphones that get passed off to others. I mean, would you want to find out something was used when you expected it to be new? You can also get banned from Amazon forever if you return things too often. Anyways, I only mention it because if all else fails that may be a last resort option you might consider.

 

[jasonb]

The ES100 works very well with the AKG K371. Also these sound great if you're a fan of the Harman target.

 

[Saberlarry]

Hello everyone. I mostly listen to music on my iPhone X (music sources are either Spotify premium/iTunes purchases (256kbps AAC), my IEMs are Dunu Titan 5 and Astell&Kern Billie Jean (which are probably useless now as its right side is half-dead). I'm considering to upgrade my music experience by purchasing ES100 and iBasso IT04. My question is with these supposed-to-be upgrades, can they truly shine on an iPhone/can an iPhone utilise their potential? Is there anything I need to know while pairing the Titan 5/IT04 to ES100 to make the most out of my IEMs? Just plug the IEMs to the ES100 and let it do the job? I understand that there's a mobile app for ES100 with a lot of features, but as an audio novice, I probably won't mess around them too much... Also, if I'm not wrong, the IT04 has a detachable 2.5mm cable - would it make a difference when plugged in the ES100, compared to its 3.5mm counterpart? Any further elaboration would be really helpful - but keep them to layman's terms if possible, as English is not my main language Thanks a lot!

 

[Obukhov]

ES100, BT55, 64audio 12T