[Nunyabiz]

Quote:

I've driven the PC350 through an amp before (on my Nuforce HDP and Meier Corda Arietta), it still sounds terrible and largely unchanged. I doubt any amp will bring these to life, I think they really need to be modded to have its true potential shown otherwise they just sound very hollow. I didn't bother modding them and got a refund then bought a pair of AD700 instead. They are very overpriced, they're worth about $120 when it's on sale which is okay but the retail price is insane really.

Complete and utter BS

 

[Submarinesailor]

ROBSCIX and Nunyabiz,
Sennheiser marketed these headphones as plug and play right into your soundcard, no external amplifier needed. When I compared them, as is, to my other headphones (see the list above) that are also just plugged in to the soundcard the PC-350's sounded terrible.
 
If you need an external amp or a bundled sound card to make them sound good then ... perhaps they really do suck for the targeted consumer (gamers).
 
As with all things audio this is my opinion. If you don't agree then by all means get a pair and enjoy them!

 

[ROBSCIX]

 
Quote:

ROBSCIX and Nunyabiz,
Sennheiser marketed these headphones as plug and play right into your soundcard, no external amplifier needed. When I compared them, as is, to my other headphones (see the list above) that are also just plugged in to the soundcard the PC-350's sounded terrible.
 
If you need an external amp or a bundled sound card to make them sound good then ... perhaps they really do suck for the targeted consumer (gamers).
 
As with all things audio this is my opinion. If you don't agree then by all means get a pair and enjoy them!

Considering the stock PC350's impedance they require an head amp.
 
Anyway, the set bundled with the Xense do not sound the same as the stock PC350's...

 

[audionewbieyao]

Hi Robscix,
 
How do you compare the Xense set with Xonar Essence STX + HD650 or HD600?

 

[kite7]

Quote:

Complete and utter BS

Believe what you want. From my experience, an amp will not bring these to life. What's your take? Will it sound much better with one? I'm not the one being delusional because it's not the source ($400 HDP) or amp ($200 Meier Corda Arietta) that is a weak link. I don't see the need to be so defense about one's own gear. The cheaper HD555 are easily better than an unmodded PC350 in terms of sound reproduction. I can't say how it sounds modded because I've never done so but my logic is that the PC350 sounded lacking hence there's a modding thread to improve its sound.
 
If what I said is "Complete and utter BS", why are there people saying they sound ... not so good? To expect a day and night difference with an amp is dreaming. Many users have other headphones as a reference point to compare against another to consider the latter good or bad. From what I've owned and heard, in comparison they do not sound great. This is from my experience like I've stated before, but if you find these to be great then by all means enjoy them.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Again, the set included with the Xense do NOT sound the same.  I have also tested out stock PC350's unamped and I did NOT find them very good.  They had little bass and sounded very veiled....no balls.  The set included with the Xense, have TONS of bass, mid range and high range.  They sound really good based on my testing.

 

[ROBSCIX]

 
Quote:

Hi Robscix,
 
How do you compare the Xense set with Xonar Essence STX + HD650 or HD600?

I don't have those phone to compare with the PC350 XE's.

 

[Nunyabiz]

Quote:

Believe what you want. From my experience, an amp will not bring these to life. What's your take? Will it sound much better with one? I'm not the one being delusional because it's not the source ($400 HDP) or amp ($200 Meier Corda Arietta) that is a weak link. I don't see the need to be so defense about one's own gear. The cheaper HD555 are easily better than an unmodded PC350 in terms of sound reproduction. I can't say how it sounds modded because I've never done so but my logic is that the PC350 sounded lacking hence there's a modding thread to improve its sound.
 
If what I said is "Complete and utter BS", why are there people saying they sound ... not so good? To expect a day and night difference with an amp is dreaming. Many users have other headphones as a reference point to compare against another to consider the latter good or bad. From what I've owned and heard, in comparison they do not sound great. This is from my experience like I've stated before, but if you find these to be great then by all means enjoy them.

I do enjoy them and will continue to do so, they sound excellent.
I have the older ones, bought them March of 09', not modded in anyway.
Burned them in, hooked up a Claro Halo and I cant imagine a better sounding, wearing, headphone with great Mic for GAMING.
 
I hook them to my wifes PC right next to mine which has no headphone amp and they sound rather dull.
 
The sound is only lacking ON MINE when not powered properly.

 

[Nunyabiz]

Quote:

ROBSCIX and Nunyabiz,
Sennheiser marketed these headphones as plug and play right into your soundcard, no external amplifier needed. When I compared them, as is, to my other headphones (see the list above) that are also just plugged in to the soundcard the PC-350's sounded terrible.
 
If you need an external amp or a bundled sound card to make them sound good then ... perhaps they really do suck for the targeted consumer (gamers).
 
As with all things audio this is my opinion. If you don't agree then by all means get a pair and enjoy them!

The "targeted consumer (gamers)" spend WAY more on their PCs than any other group on the planet.
A couple hundred or so for a sound card with head phone amp or maybe a stand alone amp is nothing to most.
Maybe the way I have the PC350s set up through the Claro Halo headphone amp with Dolby Headphone and equalizer settings makes the difference.

 

[ROBSCIX]

Well the set that comes with the Xense are meant to be amped as Sennheiser tuned the amplifer for the proper gain setting.  These are not meant to be plug and play.
 
 

 

[cookiesowns]

Quote:

Well the set that comes with the Xense are meant to be amped as Sennheiser tuned the amplifer for the proper gain setting.  These are not meant to be plug and play.
 
 

I just bought the Xense bundle for 299.99, It tears apart anything I have heard before. The bass is excellent at stock settings, and when you tweak EQ it sounds even better. The gain setting makes all the difference, if set to normal or any of the other settings, it sounds muddy, cruddy, lack of bass.
 
Also these headphones are nothing compared to the Original PC350, they come with different connectors, 1/4" jack

I even tried my old Sony's on the Xense, and I love the feeling of the Sennheiser's much better, much more airy feeling when playing FLAC, not harsh either. Though I do have my own EQ setup as I like bass. Nothing compares to this really, Unless you went for a HD555 or anything else, but I prefer to have the mic attached to the phones
 
Also, you need to let these burn in for at least 24 hours, and they sound very nice when listened to at a mid-high volume. Low volumes are also really nice when listening to classical music, but for music that needs punch, you need to crank it up a bit.
 
Anyways, stop arguing

 
-Regards Joseph
 
PS: Anyone know some good OPamps I could try for my Xense?

 

[ROBSCIX]

Who is arguing?
Yes, thanks I tested the Xense quite awhile ago.
I appreciate the info though...

 

[Lubanja]

Not to be hypocritical with my low post count..but it seems like the only people who are arguing FOR the PC350 are people with 5-9 post counts. Everyone who has any knowledge on the subject and criticizes is well into the hundreds or thousands or five thousands. Trolls be lurgin, yarg!

 

[germanium]

Some of the possible reasons for the discrepency in opinions may be
 
1. Gain not set right. This will cause lower potential output & as a result old Fletcher-Munson rears his ugly head & tells you the bass is rolled off even though it is actually your ears sensitivity that is rolled off in the Bass & somewhat the treble as well.
 
2. A difference in EQ applied to the gain setting set aside for these phones. This is only speculation which someone like Robscix will have to answer on as I don't have either the phones or the card in question. I.E. does the headphones sound the same at other gain levels when the volume is adjusted to match?
 
3. Is there A real difference in the Xense version of phones compared to the retail version
 
4. Does the Xense version sound the same as the normal version when listened to on the Essense ST or STX compared to the Xense card? If They sound the same here as they do on the Xense card then the xense is not applying EQ, if different then the Xense is applying EQ.

 

[MiLKMAN]

[size=x-small][size=x-small]ROBSCIX's review [/size][/size]
 
http://www.guru3d.com/article/asus-xonar-xense-71-soundcard-review/