[BrotherKathos]

@BrotherKathos

You can do HD600 or 6XX/650 with Bottlehead crack and you'd get good musical output. With the crack, I'd recommend 600 over the 650/6XX. It gets the 600 at the right tonality. On the other hand, 6XX would be a valued choice compared to the 600 if considering price.

Thanks Silver! I've been thinking of a crack for my 6xx to play with. I've also considered getting a darkvoice as well, but have been wary of the left channel hum that is known to happen. I tend to stay away from tubes as I hate hum and his. Drives me nuts. I've actually been lucky with my fx-audio tube buffer though using the GE jan 5654w. Dead silent and does a nice job of taming my overlt bright smsl M9 dac. Pairs great with the thx and 6xx

 

[KopaneDePooj]

@BrotherKathos & all
Here is the best audiometry test I could find online. Still not as accurate as lab tests but very close. Yes, calibrating the volume level is very important.
https://hearingtest.online/

 

[BrotherKathos]

@BrotherKathos & all
Here is the best audiometry test I could find online. Still not as accurate as lab tests but very close. Yes, calibrating the volume level is very important.
https://hearingtest.online/

Thanks for that! Kinda made me sad though. I found out I have mild hearing loss of 4k for some reason, but hear 8k better. Weird, at least the others are still in the good. 8k is right on the verge though, sigh...

 

[BrotherKathos]

anyone notice my hearing result looks similar to the frequency plot for the 650/6xx? I just thought of that. Is that why I like dark headphones like them? sounds neutral to my hearing?

 

[KopaneDePooj]

anyone notice my hearing result looks similar to the frequency plot for the 650/6xx? I just thought of that. Is that why I like dark headphones like them? sounds neutral to my hearing?

No, it would be the other way around, you should compensate for frequencies you don't hear that well to approach neutral, so the headphone graph should be mirrored.

 

[BrotherKathos]

No, it would be the other way around, you should compensate for frequencies you don't hear that well to approach neutral, so the headphone graph should be mirrored.

Ahh I see, so i'd need a headphone with an inverse frequency plot to my hearing for it to be truly neutral to my ears?
like if my hearing is 0, -10, -10, -20, -15, I would need a headphone freqency of 0, +10, +10, +20, +15.

 

[Wydz]

I don't like the magni 3 much, but it does pair well with the 6xx. I've never heard the Atom, but it does use the same amp section as the EL amp which I do own and prefer to the magni 3 if that tells you anything.

Is there a dac you would recommend well for the Atom? Or should I just go magni3 modi3 route since I’m won’t be getting into this hardcore for a while?

 

[BrotherKathos]

Is there a dac you would recommend well for the Atom? Or should I just go magni3 modi3 route since I’m won’t be getting into this hardcore for a while?

I never reccomend anything including pairing gear unless i've personally heard them. Telling you the atom uses the El amp that I own's amp section is about all the info I can provide which honestly isnt much. The magni 3/modi 3 stack does sound good to me with the 6xx. Throw in an eitr and its actually one of the best stacks in its price range imo. I just don't like the magni 3 on any other headphones I own.

 

[KopaneDePooj]

Ahh I see, so i'd need a headphone with an inverse frequency plot to my hearing for it to be truly neutral to my ears?
like if my hearing is 0, -10, -10, -20, -15, I would need a headphone freqency of 0, +10, +10, +20, +15.

Not necessarily. Some frequencies have better presence in human hearing, so they need lower volume. Plus what arrives at your ear drum is greatly affected by the shape of your ears and ear canals. All this graphs and plots are just math references. Generally, go with what you like. If you want "neutral", go with what you hear and interpret as "neutral", and not based on graphs and measurements.

I for one, hear the HD 6XX as neutral, slightly warm. And I love it This is based on my preference and hearing and not on graphs or general consensus.

 

[castleofargh]

No, it would be the other way around, you should compensate for frequencies you don't hear that well to approach neutral, so the headphone graph should be mirrored.

I have to disagree. whatever hearing you have is your new "neutral". simply because that's what you get all day long while not using the headphone, so your brain will adapt to that response over time. if we were to walk around with our headphones 24/7, then we could consider things differently.

 

[KopaneDePooj]

I have to disagree. whatever hearing you have is your new "neutral". simply because that's what you get all day long while not using the headphone, so your brain will adapt to that response over time. if we were to walk around with our headphones 24/7, then we could consider things differently.

I agree, I was talking from a "cold" mathematical point of view, see my other post above.

 

[Focux]

waiting for the THX AAA789 to be back in stock,

hope it pairs well with mojo as dac

anyone looking to pick up the THX as well?

 

[Tuneslover]

People mention grain, but me personally over the 9 months I've had my 58x. I have never heard any of those distortions that people call grain. Of course bad recorded music will sound bad, but absolutely no grain whatsoever.

I agree with your comment about not really noticing grain with both pairs of my HD58X. I must admit that I'm not totally sure what grain is or sounds like. On extremely rare occasions I have heard this scratchy distortion like sound in the high frequency that is quite unpleasant but I have always written that off as poor recordings. That particular issue has not been exclusive to the HD58X in my experience either.

 

[megabigeye]

anyone notice my hearing result looks similar to the frequency plot for the 650/6xx? I just thought of that. Is that why I like dark headphones like them? sounds neutral to my hearing?

You don't think that might be because you took the test with the HD 650/6XX??

I must admit that I'm not totally sure what grain is or sounds like.

I'm in the same boat! There are so many audiophile terms with vague meanings or that are just poorly defined. My signature is a reference to trying to parse out the meaning of "grain" by recursively looking up the terms used in its definition. It's an exercise in frustration!
Here's the post it comes from, if you're interested.

 

[dakanao]

You don't think that might be because you took the test with the HD 650/6XX??


I'm in the same boat! There are so many audiophile terms with vague meanings or that are just poorly defined. My signature is a reference to trying to parse out the meaning of "grain" by recursively looking up the terms used in its definition. It's an exercise in frustration!
Here's the post it comes from, if you're interested.

Grain is really a lack of refinement of certain parts of the sound. Is more noticable with less than perfect recordings, but a grainy headphone will also portay a less textured more distorted sound, even if a recording is perfect.

It's not the same as a headphone being very revealing of faults.

Like the Audio Technica R70x, while having a similar frequency response as the HD 650, it just wasn't as refined in the mids and treble as the HD 650, so it was less textured and smooth with a lot of music, even though the uppermids and treble were not necessarily emphasized.

The Philips Fidelio L2 for example was a lot brighter than the NAD Viso HP50 I tried, yet smoother at the same time because of way less grain than the HP 50.