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That's usually my problem with closed headphones. I don't know much about this whole open can thing -- the FA-011s were my first, and it surprised me to find that it just meant "open-backed." That the ear side of the cup is pretty well sealed. Might not hold water, but it noticeably muffled ambient noise, and I didn't feel air from my fan moving against my ears anymore. My second pair, the DT990 Pros, are the same way. This concerned me at first because most closed circumaurals gave me sweaty ears before long, but it just hasn't been a problem with either of these headphones. I get a wee bit warm sometimes, but with my old pleather-padded Sonys and such, I would have rivulets of sweat running down my neck after an hour or two. Perhaps they're not as sealed as they seem, or perhaps the pad material is just a lot more breathable than my old $30-ish circumaurals. Either way, I'm not complaining!
So I'm curious... did you notice a difference between a plain old media player and powering them with your STX? How does the sound card hold up?
-J
First of all, I wanted to say that I spent the whole day today with them on (with breaks) and they were very comfy overall, for sure the comfiest headphones I own. I remember the feeling I was describing yesterday, but today it just wasn't very noticable. There was still an itch where my ears touch the drivers (why use such itchy material?!) but seriously unless I thought about it consciously I hardly felt it.
In regards to the STX: I could hear a huge improvement in sound quality as soon as I installed it (using my Shure DJ750). I attribute allot of the difference to me switching from Media Monkey 3 (normal audio output) to Foobar with WASAPI plugin (=being able to use a superior audio driver). Media Monkey 3 does not work with WASAPi which was causing the sound coming out of the STX to stutter. Media Monkey 4 (beta) does support WASAPI but I'm encountering other audio issues (I suppose because of it's beta status). It's quite frustrating as I can't find the time to set up Foobar in a comfortable way (read = like Media Monkey). Anyway, everything sound fantastic coming out of the STX, I'm super thrilled with it.
I haven't tried it myself, but I read that in order to switch between on board and STX you need to restart your machine so I haven't tried it (for a direct comparison). What I can say is that at work I still listen to music direct from on-board sound card and the (admittably maybe perceived) difference between my set up at home and my set up at work is making me want to buy a USB DAC for work (just read a great review on the Fiio E10...). Of course the gap between the FA-011 and my work phones (Audio Technica ANC7B) is also an issue, but I feel that at this point it's the sound source that is the weakest link.
I've been experimenting allot with Dolby Headphones (for music) too, and that has been a very confusing area for me (especially in trying to evaluate the STX). Generally the consensus here in HF is to leave DH off for music, however in an AD-900 + STX review posted on Headphonic I read that he really enjoyed music with DH at the recommended driver setting (DH-3). After many hours of trying to decide what I like here is what I came up with:
- No DH is always great!!! (especially with the FA-011 - see below)
- That said, after listening to DH, turning it off makes the music sound "pressed against your ear" - DH supplies an amazing feeling of airiness and space
- DH does distort the music, but in different ways depending on what you are listening to. For example I hate it with fast pumping electronic bass (Fullon PsyTrance), but it can be really nice with
some instrumental stuff
- DH-1 was the setting of DH that I liked the most as it provides you the DH soundstage with the least amount of distortion (inaccuracy if you will)
- DH-3 is great for some music as stated above (for example some Shpongle tracks are amazing, you can really hear the whole band, each instrument separate in its own spot of the 3D space around me)
- Didn't find DH-2 useful at all for any music
Now, since I started using the STX with the Shures and then got the FA-011, I was actually using DH quite allot in the beginning with the FA-011. it looks like I like DH better with the Shures which have a closed small soundstage, but with the FA-011 I find myself more and more leaving DH off (turn it on to see what it sounds like and then off again)
I am
really loving the way the FA-011 pairs with the STX! Can't say that enough...
I do feel though that the FA-011 have room for improvement with a dedicated amp being fed from the STXs line out.
Phew.. that was a bit of a write up... but ya, that's what I've been up to
. Knowing me, I'll probably end up modding it eventually... how did you get started?
