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HeaDphone Discussions. (Audiophile and Gaming)

HNO3 said:
I wont spend money on in-ear, earphones, it hurts, uncomfy and just doesnt play well. i will spend money on wireless earphones yes, for phone/driving purposes only.
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Ah well then, that's a use case specific to you. I would happily spend thousands on IEMs. But first I need to sort other CUD priorities.
 
HNO3 said:
Point taken, its all about preference and taste then... Also requirement...
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I used to hate earbuds and IEMs. I would literally throw away the shit that came with my phones etc.

Then one day, I might make a big confession here that I should not make here, I got a set of Beats in ears from my dad as a birthday gift. They came with like 10 awesome memory foam tips. You squeeze them, put them in and as they expand the outside world disappears. Since then I was hooked. I worked through 3 pairs of those beats and had my 4th set stolen last year. This is to replace them.

IEMs are great, I use them when traveling but more importantly in bed. The lekker thing is, it is not too expensive to get a set that is close to reference. Win win?

But I am a firm believer in function above form, and if something is not comfortable it already failed me and not worth keeping. So I completely get that IEMs are not for everyone.

I feel that way about on ear kek.
 
i had some AKG Y20 IEMS but i sold those because i can't really stand anything inside my ear ..... so i sold them on to a buddy who i had organised two pairs for but he wanted a third set and i had only used mine around two or three times - so i gave them to him for R200 ..... i just want my home Theatre set to sell and i will then invest in a serious set of headphones but none of this IEM stuff because it is still very uncomfortable for me
 
I was also a big fan of IEMs till I got my NC headphones. Admittedly, they would probably be less ideal for running.
 
Sony XM2 for R4499. I saw second hand prices go for this much, so it's really not a bad price.
I am acknowledging a good price. I personally don't recommend these headphones.


58851
 
dash09 said:
Hows the sound quality on these? I've been thinking about getting a pair for the office
Click to expand...
Read this review. It's what sold me on them, and I can tell you it's probably the best review on the AirPods out there - very well written. This guy just nails them perfectly in every respect, from audio quality, to wireless strengths, to form vs function, and their just plain usefulness in so many situations - without sacrificing as much audio quality as you might expect.

Some good excerpts:
The AirPods convey a full sense of the mood and intent of the music I listen to. By that, I mean that they’re not technically spectacular. They don’t fill my world with a sparkling shimmer when listening to “Rachel’s Song” on the Vangelis Blade Runner soundtrack, but they still put me in that longing, wistful mood. Similarly, the AirPods’ bass doesn’t make my world shake, but it still hits with surprising impact on songs like Woodkid’s “Iron.” There’s enough of everything — bass and treble extension, soundstage, clarity, and detail — in Apple’s tuning to render a convincing reproduction of most genres of music.
Click to expand...

I say the AirPods aren’t technically amazing, but that’s only when comparing against existing standards for sound quality. In the category of truly wireless earbuds, the AirPods are the best I’ve yet heard. Bragi’s The Headphone and Dash Pro left me underwhelmed, with the latter being especially bloated and disfigured by an overabundance of bass. At CES this year, Jabra introduced the Elite 65t, which sound good, but I can’t listen to them for longer than 15 seconds without the wireless connection dropping out.
Click to expand...

Read the whole review though, it's excellent and really accurate.

Edit: I use mine for work/talking on my phone - but as IEMs for running, they're superb (to my ears, taking into account they're not aimed at an audiophile market specifically) and I can stream music from my watch to the AirPods wirelessly, super useful.
 
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Not a big IEM fan either.

Though similar to panda my opinion has changed in recent years. In my case it was a cellphone set from Sammy that also had those push foam thingies. Way way more comfortable than I gave them credit for and not bad sounding (by novice standards). My Huawei set is way less comfortable but this 2 driver openings thing its got going on make them sound really good.

I don't see myself ever actually spending serious money on a set though.



X2s should be here tomorrow.
 
So what qualifies something as an IEM as opposed to just earbuds/eaphones :unsure:

Anyway, I've got my little daily grab and go pair of AKG KS something or others, not high end but they come with the inline volume control, iphone button (pause, play, answer, etc) and microphone which is what I need. So they are handsfree kit, good enough for random youtube videos, etc. I've considered getting IEMs but can't seem to justify the cost. I'd be too afraid to "abuse" them, whereas the AKGs get thrown in my pocket, bundled and shoved into the cubbie, pawed at by the odd cat etc. If I were to accidentally leave them on a plane or Uber or wherever I'd be disappointed but it won't be the end of the world. I bought a random pair of bluetooth ones as well but can't watch youtube, the lag is unbearable.
 
Montezuma said:
So what qualifies something as an IEM as opposed to just earbuds/eaphones :unsure:

Anyway, I've got my little daily grab and go pair of AKG KS something or others, not high end but they come with the inline volume control, iphone button (pause, play, answer, etc) and microphone which is what I need. So they are handsfree kit, good enough for random youtube videos, etc. I've considered getting IEMs but can't seem to justify the cost. I'd be too afraid to "abuse" them, whereas the AKGs get thrown in my pocket, bundled and shoved into the cubbie, pawed at by the odd cat etc. If I were to accidentally leave them on a plane or Uber or wherever I'd be disappointed but it won't be the end of the world. I bought a random pair of bluetooth ones as well but can't watch youtube, the lag is unbearable.
Click to expand...

Good question!

An earbud hangs on the outer section of your ear, whereas an IEM sits in the entry of the ear canal. Other than that, not much.

In ear monitor usually do not refer to a 'reference' style sound, but rather just the style of earphone.
 
i have had the DT990 for a weekend now at the moment, the akg 240mkii sound a bit more open and a lot loud, but i think this is due to my headphone amp , the bass on the DT990 is a lot heavier than the 240mkii, will need to get a powerful amp and see if there is any different.
was listening to star wars suite on the DT990 and i could hear an annoying clicking noise:
 
PandaAttack1 said:
Good question!

An earbud hangs on the outer section of your ear, whereas an IEM sits in the entry of the ear canal. Other than that, not much.

In ear monitor usually do not refer to a 'reference' style sound, but rather just the style of earphone.
Click to expand...

Ah, I see, I wasn't really interested in them so didn't ever look at them in depth. Don't think I like the idea of putting something into the ear canal (but then again maybe it isn't that strange and like contact lensed once you get used to it its fine...).
 
alanlesley said:
i have had the DT990 for a weekend now at the moment, the akg 240mkii sound a bit more open and a lot loud, but i think this is due to my headphone amp , the bass on the DT990 is a lot heavier than the 240mkii, will need to get a powerful amp and see if there is any different.
Click to expand...
The likely reason for your volume issue - the DT990 Pro needs more output power to hit that SQ sweetspot.

DT990 Pro 250-ohm: Sensitivity by voltage: 99.13 dB/V SPL
240MKII 55-ohm: Sensitivity by voltage: 104 dB SPL/V
 
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alanlesley said:
i have had the DT990 for a weekend now at the moment, the akg 240mkii sound a bit more open and a lot loud, but i think this is due to my headphone amp
Click to expand...
Which headphone amp are you using. As @PandaAttack1 pointed out the DT990s are not sensitive at all, and 250 ohm to boot.
 
So... The X2. I've been trying to figure out how to structure this post and get my feelings across for a few hours. Do I lay out my reactions as they occured to me, do I pose everything as a question, or do I just list the pros and cons? Well whatever approach I will have taken this'll probably get a bit lengthy.

Maybe let's start with the summarizing question, are they good and/or am I glad I got them? Yes, most definitely yes to but there is a bit of a rather large BUT.


Also they basically feel perfect. Comfort and clamp etc. are exactly what they need to be. No more, not less.
So let's get to plugging them in. Switch it to default sound device in Windows and load up a bassy track (not that im a bass head I don't think but lack of bass is a gaming headset trademark so its always what I check first) . Hmm these are nice, pretty good actually, definitely not lacking for bass or power from the GSX1200. K so let's try 7.1. Huh? No go? Why? Oh noobish me set the GSX headphone as the default and not the GSX itself. K let's rectify that. What now there's no sound at all just silence? Why? Unplug and replug GSX but still the same problem. So im stuck in Stereo mode forever? Fiddle about for 10 more minutes feeling a bit depressed but still kinda enjoying the X2. Ok time to try a restart before calling this one.

Restart done and I'd left it in 7.1 and im hearing sounds from windows so I think it might be all good. Let try that track again in 7.1 this time.
...
...
Oh
My
Fucking
Word
Does that ever sound good.
Let's try some reverb for laughs.
Level 1: Hmm now its even punchier.
Level 2 (max): Head asplodes!


Now this next bit is a bit tricky because I don't actually know what I'm hearing/why im hearing it more but I can tell you I've never heard some of these things and others were just way less pronounced before but if I go back I can also hear them on the old headset. Sorta as you guys predicted.
Small sounds, like things dropping, rustles, little plinks and plonks were always there but now they're more audible than before.
Stuff like glass shattering and metallic clanks or electronic sounds and squaks was also always there but now they demand to be heard over and above the rest of the soundtrack. Bass is visceral, its often more felt than heard. And this like low menacing rumble thriller movies go for I feel now too.
Explosions in Rocket League had a crunch like never before and I can hear opponents engines and wooshes much more than before.
In fact setting reverb to max makes everything sound exactly as in the cinema, though just like there that comes with a distortion hit on other sounds.

And this last one Im not so sure how it works. So I don't have any high quality music collection, just a couple of CDs that I tend to rip into low quality MP3s to store on my PC. Some of them are of old songs, they kind of sound like someone put a mic next to an old gramophone. There's this very noticeable shshshhhhhhhhh in the background. That is unless I use the X2, suddenly that noise recedes into the background and out come all the long lost tonal nuances in the vocals and instruments.



Hmm maybe ill leave the conclusion for a follow-up post just in case I lose all this now.
 
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So am I Stereo audiophile convert? Erm... Maybe?

I still feel that my Strix 7.1 produces a cleaner sound sometimes. Though the X2 with GSX definitely obliterates all the others I've owned, including the pricier Centurion. I think the Strix's massive cups just result in a very big clean sound that kind of lets it stand into Audiophile world a little bit, especially among closed cans.
That said it's probably not gonna see much use for a while because the X2 is that good.

BUT now we come to that big BUT I mentioned. The X2 is that good WITH the GSX. I mean to the point it should be a bundle easily purchasable.
Regular stereo is just two speakers on either side of my head producing a pretty good sound, maybe sometimes even spectacular but now always. Sometimes I can't really hear anything that seems to suggest exceptional quality. And I don't like that.
But then I turn 7.1 on and all that changes. Now I'm enveloped in sound, it's no longer just an everyday headphone on my head, now every second is WOW. Can't get enough of it.

I dunno. Maybe my ears have just been corrupted after so many years of fake surround. But I can't bring myself to keep it in Stereo, it's gotta be 7.1. I'm honestly not sure if I would have been as impressed with the X2 without the GSX, if I had something like a Fio or Fulla that couldn't do 7.1.

So yes, apparently I don't need the mutiple drivers but apparently I do still desperately crave that 7.1 effect. Does that make me a convert?
I dunno, you be the judge.
 
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Mast3rBlast3r said:
So... The X2. I've been trying to figure out how to structure this post and get my feelings across for a few hours. Do I lay out my reactions as they occured to me, do I pose everything as a question, or do I just list the pros and cons? Well whatever approach I will have taken this'll probably get a bit lengthy.

Maybe let's start with the summarizing question, are they good and/or am I glad I got them? Yes, most definitely yes to but there is a bit of a rather large BUT.


Also they basically feel perfect. Comfort and clamp etc. are exactly what they need to be. No more, not less.
So let's get to plugging them in. Switch it to default sound device in Windows and load up a bassy track (not that im a bass head I don't think but lack of bass is a gaming headset trademark so its always what I check first) . Hmm these are nice, pretty good actually, definitely not lacking for bass or power from the GSX1200. K so let's try 7.1. Huh? No go? Why? Oh noobish me set the GSX headphone as the default and not the GSX itself. K let's rectify that. What now there's no sound at all just silence? Why? Unplug and replug GSX but still the same problem. So im stuck in Stereo mode forever? Fiddle about for 10 more minutes feeling a bit depressed but still kinda enjoying the X2. Ok time to try a restart before calling this one.

Restart done and I'd left it in 7.1 and im hearing sounds from windows so I think it might be all good. Let try that track again in 7.1 this time.
...
...
Oh
My
Fucking
Word
Does that ever sound good.
Let's try some reverb for laughs.
Level 1: Hmm now its even punchier.
Level 2 (max): Head asplodes!


Now this next bit is a bit tricky because I don't actually know what I'm hearing/why im hearing it more but I can tell you I've never heard some of these things and others were just way less pronounced before but if I go back I can also hear them on the old headset. Sorta as you guys predicted.
Small sounds, like things dropping, rustles, little plinks and plonks were always there but now they're more audible than before.
Stuff like glass shattering and metallic clanks or electronic sounds and squaks was also always there but now they demand to be heard over and above the rest of the soundtrack. Bass is visceral, its often more felt than heard. And this like low menacing rumble thriller movies go for I feel now too.
Explosions in Rocket League had a crunch like never before and I can hear opponents engines and wooshes much more than before.
In fact setting reverb to max makes everything sound exactly as in the cinema, though just like there that comes with a distortion hit on other sounds.

And this last one Im not so sure how it works. So I don't have any high quality music collection, just a couple of CDs that I tend to rip into low quality MP3s to store on my PC. Some of them are of old songs, they kind of sound like someone put a mic next to an old gramophone. There's this very noticeable shshshhhhhhhhh in the background. That is unless I use the X2, suddenly that noise recedes into the background and out come all the long longs tonal nuances in the vocals and instruments.



Hmm maybe ill leave the conclusion for a follow-up post just in case I lose all this now.
Click to expand...

Welcome. :) My job here is done. NEXT!
 
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