kxrider85

Adding to what everyone else has said there are also scenarios where you might want the two cables to be two different things. Not just VLANs or more bandwidth necessarily. You may want one to be powering an access point or a camera via PoE. You may want a direct 10Gbps link between two devices but not want to have to buy multiple 10Gbps switches. You might even want to play around with one of those HDMI over Ethernet devices.
 
Speaking for myself? I did a single run to every point I wanted networking and it's certainly workable. But there are certainly some locations where more than one run would've been handy. Honestly, if you're doing this make a point of overdoing it a bit and you'll save yourself money/effort in the long run. I ran my cables about 5 years ago, 5 runs in total all 1 cable. At that point that was pretty overkill because I had basically one device per run with the exception of my TV room. I now have only 1 room with 1 device, everywhere else has 2-5 wired devices. So 5 & 8 port switches in every room. I also have two rooms which have access points which are powered via PoE and I have to use a PoE injector rather than a central PoE switch. Also even though I don't need it at all I've toyed with the idea of 10Gbps but to do that the cheapest option would be to do more cable runs.

First world problems for sure, having 1Gbps to every room alone is pretty amazing compared to the speeds I used to get across the house on WiFi. But if you're doing cable runs do at least two for every location. The cost/effort of running a second cable while you're doing it anyway is pretty trivial. If I had done two runs instead of 1 everywhere I would currently have:
- 3 more spare power points around the house
- my UPS backing up power to both access points instead of just 1 (and more flexibility in where I put my second AP)
- A couple of hundred $ cheaper upgrade path to 10Gbps between my NAS/PC if I wanted to

..... also if I was to do it again I would've done separate runs for my APs and mounted them on the roof instead of ghetto mounting them on the wall after the fact. Something which I am thinking of doing anyways

Switches exist to allow people to have LAN's. The switch itself is all that is needed and it has the ability to get the traffic where it needs to go. Switches exist due to the fact that if more than one machine talks at a time on a LAN, you have a collision of packets. This was the problem with Network hubs back in the day. On a switch each port has like a traffic cop at it, that lets each machine know when the coast is clear to transmit data. Routers actually have switches built in to them. The only thing a router can do that at least a normal non managed switch cant do is DHCP. The DHCP server is what assigns IP address to all the devices on your LAN. 
 
Now if you want to get really in to it, look up managed switches. Those in some cases can replace a router. They provide much more advanced settings and tuning. 

Massdrop is dropping the Grace Design Standard balanced DAC right now for 150 dollars. 384 kHz sample rates and DSD256. I THINK you can convert the balanced outputs to RCA, but you may want to ask in the discussion page. Its a hell of a deal though.
https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-grace-design-standard-dac-balanced
 
EDIT: Just noticed: the grace design DAC has a TRS unblanced output. If you buy a TRS male to RCA male splitter you should be good to go.

Check out Schiit Audio or JDS labs.

Between the HD 558, HD 6XX, and DT 990 is a matter of opinion. I own the HD 6xx, but none of the others. I think the HD 6XX sound good, but I only have the HD 598 to compare. The O2 amp really can't properly power 600 ohm headphones. A schiit magni 3 maybe (its cheaper too). Personally, I use an Aune X7s to power the HD 6XX through its balanced input (1W at 300 ohms i think). It drops on massdrop for 250 dollars every now and then. Pretty good for a class A amp.

EDIT: I would like to add, my HD 598 + Schiit magni 3 & modi 2 uber setup is amazing for gaming and easy listening. The HD 598 really scales well with an amp, even a budget amp like the magni 3.

Edit: I just want to clarify for some people who didn't get this. I own these headphones. I am not merely writing a review based off of ignorant opinion of going off a hate train. I bought these headphones and I'm giving my honest impressions. I am willing to admit I messed up and they aren't very good.
 
For those of you who have decided to get into the realm of audiophile headphones you have probably heard of the Audio Technica ATH-M50X. When you say, "I want to get into audiophile headphones and I have a budget of $150 or less." you will most likely get tons of people saying "GET THE M50XS THEY ARE SO GOOOOOOOD" No they are not. I am baffled as to why anyone would recommend these headphones. First let me say why these are popular.
 
These headphones are popular because of a genius marketing strategy that Audio Technica has used. They sent the M50Xs to tech Youtubers who are not audiophiles and in turn gave them rave reviews because they don't know any better. I fully blame this MKBHD review for most of the sales of these headphones. I will tell you that none of the tech Youtubers know anything about audio and you shouldn't take advice on headphones, DACs, Amps, or anything else of that realm from them. This is list includes, but is not limited to, Linus Tech Tips, MKBHD, Unbox Therapy, Austin Evans, Jayztwocents, Hardware Canucks, Tech Source, Tek Syndicate, Dave2D, etc... Now I already know what you are thinking, "That's a bold statement. Why should I trust you over all these massive Youtubers that must know more of what they are talking about than you?" Honestly, I am not going to even answer that question, by that logic why take any tech advice from anyone on any forum because they must obviously know less than the Youtubers. The reason you shouldn't trust them is that they are not audiophiles. True audiophiles will point of the flaws in their audio reviews and the lack of total knowledge of the subject. Take Linus' Sound Blaster sound card review from a few months ago. In that video he didn't explain what an Amp and DAC was properly at all. He didn't even wear the headphones the correct way in the video. You need to take the advice of actual audiophile people when you want to get advice on headphones.
 
The next thing you are thinking is that, "I have a pair of M50Xs and they sound great, so you are obviously wrong." Okay they sound great, but compared to what? If all you have ever used was Apple earbuds and Beats, then yes M50Xs sound amazing. But you have no context. Have you tried other similarly price or even cheaper headphones? If you have no context you can't say that the M50Xs are good. If all you have ever seen for your whole life was 720p, 1080p might look amazing. But there is still 4K and that's better yet. You have to have context of what's available in a spectrum within $100 of where you sit.  I will get into recommendations at the end of this review, but I would take the $5 Venture Electronics Monk Plus earbuds over the M50Xs. I think part of the problem of why the M50Xs are still so popular is the fact that people cannot admit the fact that they made a mistake and bought a bad product. I will fully admit, I am as guilty of this as many of you are. Before I became an audiophile I did watch this same MKBHD video and I bought a set. And just like many of you I thought they were amazing. But then I started hearing other headphones. And suddenly my eyes were open to the utter load of crap the M50Xs are.
 
 

Build:
These headphones are of average build at best. The plastics are kind of cheap feeling and the creak a bit. The headband is an alright feeling pleather as are the pads. Speaking of the pads they are a thin 3 knuckle pad. (Build: 5/10)
 
Comfort:
The comfort on these is alright. The padding on the headband isn't much, but it works. Their biggest problem is the pads are thin and your ear hits the inside of the driver. This isn't an issue short term but starts to hurt after about an hour. They are also pretty light which helps a lot. Not crazy comfortable, but they are fine. (Comfort: 6/10)
 
Misc, Wires, Power, and Accessories: 
The M50Xs come with three wires that are all ok. They are all 3.5mm and use a locking 2.5mm for the connecting to the headphone. One is 4ft, one is a 6ft coiled cable that looks to stretch to around 10ft that has a proprietary screw on 1/4in adapter, and the last is a straight 10ft with the same piece for the single screw on 1/4in adapter. These don't come in any presentation box like the HD6XXs do, however they do include a carrying bag which is kind of nice. As for power, these are about the easiest headphones to drive there are. I don't know if any of you ever made a potato battery in school, but that thing could push M50Xs. These will have no problem running off any source you want, be it a phone or a laptop. These are so easy to drive that the tiny bit of sound leakage my Amp has at 0% is enough for almost 25% volume on these, and I can't even hear the leakage on anything else. On my X7S these are anywhere from 8:30 to 10:00 depending on the song, while something like the T50s sits about 3:00-5:00. The M50Xs are also foldable which is nice for travel and the ear cups rotate 270 degrees.
 
Sound:
This is where these headphones suffer the most they just don't sound good and have major flaws.
 
Overall Sound:
If you ever hear anyone say M50Xs are flat and are great for monitoring, you should instantly know they don't know what they are talking about. These are the most V shaped headphones I've ever heard. Now these are not like most headphones that are V shaped where it is somewhat even, these are the most lopsided V I have ever heard. This graph is honestly what they sound like. Slightly elevated bass, garbage mids, and just the most murderous treble you've ever heard. (Overall Sound: 3/10)

Mid Range:
The mid range on these headphones is absolutely awful. I don't know how no one realizes this. It is also confusing to me. The M50Xs are somehow mid focused and muddy at the same time, which is a weird combination. The vocals no doubt sit forward in the music, they aren't veiled like something such as the HD650s, but the vocals are so muddy. They have no clarity and sound unbelievably muddy and distorted. It's almost hard to describe, but they do vocals incredibly poorly. (Vocals: 3/10)
 
Treble:
Oh boy here we go. These are the second highest treble headphone I've ever used falling just short of their bigger brother the ATH-M70X. But that doesn't make them any better. The treble on these headphones is absolute murder. This is outside of the range where you could argue treble sensitivity, this is too much for any human being. I'm going to link a few tracks later on for people with M50Xs to listen to and it will show you how insane and unbearable it is. It truly hurts to listen to and there are some songs that I flat out can't listen to. It feels like someone is stabbing a knife in you ears.....actually no that would hurt less than these do. Talk about fatiguing to listen to, these are about the most fatiguing headphones there are. And the sad part is the treble isn't even good. There a ton of it and it is super pronounced, but it has no sparkle or clarity, it's very dull. Listening to the same tracks through my 6XXs, Mayflower T50s, and 1997 pair of HD500As, all have less treble, but they all have some crispness that these do not.  (Amount of Treble: 10/10) (Quality of Treble: 4/10)
 
Bass:
This is the M50Xs best category, but they still don't do great. They have some bass for sure, more than HD650s, but not quite on the level of the T50RPs. Still though more than enough for EDM and gaming. Now the bass itself is also average. You hear it, but it is not focused and is very loose. Bass should have a boom or pop sound, while these have more of a blah sound (very technical audiophile terms right there ). They aren't bass monsters like some people like to think, but they are alright in this category. (Bass Amount: 6/10) (Bass Quality: 5/10)
 
Imaging:
These headphones don't image well either. They have some, but it is very vague. I wouldn't even give them an average score. (Imaging: 3/10)
 
Sound Stage:
These have no sound stage. Nothing ever sounds like it comes from outside of the cups and they have some of the narrowest sound stage I've ever heard just shy of the Sennheiser HD280 Pro. (Sound Stage: 2/10)
 
Gaming:
These are the headphones that I am sad to say I've used the most for gaming of any headphones. I've owned these fore years and I have played a lot with them. Once again I lacked context.  They have the low end, but they don't really have the sound stage or imaging for foot steps. I wouldn't recommend these for gaming either because they don't fit into either category of gaming headphone, either the crazy bassy fun headphones, or the super accurate footstep headphones. (Gaming: 4/10)
 
Test Tracks:
Here are a few tracks that I think show off the flaws of the M50Xs, particularly the treble. If you own a pair try and listen to these songs loudly and see if you can stand it, I certainly can't.
 
I am not going to do any direct compaisions in this review because I don't have any headphones that I would consider true competitors. The closest thing I have are my T50RPs, but they have had some modding done to them and are now twice the price of M50Xs so that's not a fair comparison.
 
Conclusions:
I don't know why these headphones are popular and who they are for. Everyone must have bought into the marketing because they are terrible. They aren't bass cans, so not for bass heads. Their mid range is absolutely horrendous and muddy, so not for vocal people. Their treble is ear bleedingly too sharp and impossible to listen to.They aren't monitoring cans because they are V shaped and are not neutral like you want monitoring headphones to be. They aren't for gamers because they don't have the bass, imaging, or sound stage to meet either of the two categories of gamers. They also do a terrible job at producing micro details. Now the ones that they do produce they are super intense and just bash them into your head and are super fatiguing. I know a lot of people would say, "The M50Xs are overpriced and if they were under $100 they would be pretty good." I disagree with that 100%. I don't think these headphones are good for basically any price. Their treble is so insane I just can't use them. As I said the $5 Venture Electronics Monk Plus earbuds, are better than M50Xs. Before you call me crazy, go buy a set and see, they are $5 you have nothing to loose. The M50Xs truly are terrible headphones and none of you should ever buy them. If you own a set, try and sell them I will give some recommendations of other headphones that are alternatives to M50Xs around the same price. All of these are going to be $150 or less
 
Closed:
Audio Technica ATH-M40X:
A thing that's hard for people to grasp is just because something has a bigger number doesn't mean it's better. Let's look at Lamborghini. The cheaper Huracan is quicker to 60 MPH despite less horsepower because of a better transmission. Similarly the M40X is a much better headphone than the M50X. However they just need one thing done to them, they need HM5 pads added to them. So if you add the $22 pads to the $80 M40Xs you get a headphone that has more sound stage than M50Xs, less highs, better mid range, and comparable if not slightly more low end. They are an awesome gaming headphone and also great for music.
 
Takstar Pro 82:
These headphones are cheaper and have a very balanced well rounded sound. Not a ton of sound stage, but are unbelievably comfortable. They do a great job at producing micro details and have spectacular imaging. They also have a 3 way bass switch and will satisfy the needs of all you bass heads out there. Also they come with a crazy nice case.
 
Status Audio CB-1:
Another well rounded headphone. Good sound stage and imaging. Good bass with controlled high and good mid range. Very comfortable, but not the best built headphones ever.
 
Audio Technica ATH-WS1100iS:
Technically these are semi-open. These are a much prettier, much a better built set of M50Xs. They don't have the INSANE BASS like claimed on the box, but they still have more than the M50Xs. Their highs are still a bit high, but tolerable. Mid range is ok, but not spectacular. Not much sound stage, but these are a great gaming headphone. They even come with a mic for all you who want to use them as a gaming headphone. For music these should be tubed to make them sound amazing. These are what the M50Xs should of been and they are basically the same price.

Monoprice Retro: This is another one where you are going to call me crazy for saying $25 headphone are better than M50Xs. Believe whatever you want to, but these are amazing. Insane bass and sound stage. Their highs and mid range is also shockingly good for a $25 set of headphones. These are one of the best gaming headphones there are just because of that hilarious low end and sound stage. Imaging is also shockingly good. They do however benefit from some Brainwavz XL Pads if you have a bit more money to spend. When these come back in stock I'm buying a set.
 
Open:
Phillips SHP9500:
One of my always go to headphones. They sound a lot like HD600s with a bit more sound stage and low end. 
 
Sennheiser HD559:
If you are looking for gaming headphones take these over the more popular HD598. They are not as clean overall, but have more low end which makes them a bit better for gaming. They have that classic easy to listen to Sennheiser sound.
 
Sennheiser HD598:
These are very popular headphones. Probably some of the best under $200. They are a bit more than M50Xs, but often can be found on sale for around $100. These are just a step below something like the HD6XX or K7XX.
 
Hifiman Edition S:
These can be used open or closed with removable covers, but are better open. These are a portable headphone and have the foldability like the M50X. These are surprisingly good. They aren't on ears like they claim, they are small over ears. They do have some sharper highs, but are very fun with good low end and good imaging. 
 
 
Thanks for reading my review. I know it's long overdue. I hope I have opened your eyes as to why the M50Xs are terrible and hopefully prevented someone from buying them.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Not many people seemed to notice this, but the iHotel computers from Linus' latest video seem to be running Windows Vista.
 
Isn't that the strangest thing you have ever seen lmao...? I'm surprised Linus didn't touch on it a single time that whole video.
 
I can understand maybe wanting to run Windows 7 or 8, but WHY vista of all operating systems?

But they can afford to upgrade to the latest hardware? I understand what you mean. My local school district did not upgrade to windows 7 until well after windows 8 came out, but these are brand new computers running gtx 1080ti's... Not to mention, compared to past windows operating systems, windows 10 is dirt cheap.
 
I suppose they have their reasons. It just seems kind of silly to me. Linus mentioned something about how the boot drives wipe every time the systems are booted. Maybe it has something to do with that?

Yeah its more likely Windows 7 with a Vista-like theme

Inspired by your latest video on overclocking everything, I thought it would be a cool idea to make a video where you water-cooled everything. For a long time now, the PC community has been stuck in the rut of making the same-old standard water-cooled cpu/gpu with the same PETG/acrylic hardline. I would love to see a video where you attempted to water cool EVERYTHING humanly possible including but not limited to: cpu, gpu, ram, psu, chipset, vrms, case, hdd, ssd; and maybe peripherals like the monitor all in a closed loop system.
 
Just to address some objections I saw in the youtube comments:
Like the "overclock everything" video released today, the point of this is NOT PRACTICABILITY. The LTT channel did not get big off of doing "practical" things with computers. This video would be produced for the mere entertainment and curiosity factor. Yes, I know LTT made a mineral oil cooled PC. Even though the results may be similar, the process of creating a closed loop water cooling system is completely different from oil cooling. Its like comparing apples to oranges... "This would be a pain to build. Not worth the time." This is why Linus has hired several grunts to do his dirty work. (Jake, Alex and Anthony are a few that come to mind...)  
Note: this could make a great build for the new Corsair Obsidian 1000D. I don't think Corsair would have any problem sponsoring a video like this

Independent VRM waterblocks were a thing not that many years ago. I always thought it looked really cool having the tubing bounce across three or four blocks on just the motherboard. There's one company making vrm waterblocks for GPUs as of about two years ago, I'll see if I can find my notes on them.
 
I'd like to see that direct die, nudeCNC I think it was, used again. With custom VRM, blocks, memory blocks if they're still around, chipset block, monoblock GPU is fine, it's perfectly practical, with the water cooled PSU and HDD waterblocks (if you can still get them?) 
 
Monitor could be pulled into the loop, for the controller/inverter boards, though completely custom. LED backlighting has cut the heat emitted by drastically over the last 5 years though.
 
I actually really like the idea of a water cooled mousepad, except the heat from everything else means that the loop is above ambient, unless some kind of chiller is used, so you'd actually be heating the majority of the mousepad.

I assumed you meant monitor lol. Water-cooling the mouse seems a bit, well, impossible. Perhaps one could make the argument that LTT can forego water-cooling anything that would clearly inhibit user-experience. Something about two tubes and a wire sticking out of the mouse sounds admit-ably cool, but may render the PC useless for any kind of gaming or productive use...
HMMMMMM

"Watercooled" case
Keyboard and monitor: ehh i don't know about that. That is for us to suggest and for the LTT team to figure out
If it's not possible, it's not possible, but it would be cool to see them try.

Inspired by your latest video on overclocking everything, I thought it would be a cool idea to make a video where you water-cooled everything. For a long time now, the PC community has been stuck in the rut of making the same-old standard water-cooled cpu/gpu with the same PETG/acrylic hardline. I would love to see a video where you attempted to water cool EVERYTHING humanly possible including but not limited to: cpu, gpu, ram, psu, chipset, vrms, case, hdd, ssd; and maybe peripherals like the monitor all in a closed loop system.
 
Just to address some objections I saw in the youtube comments:
Like the "overclock everything" video released today, the point of this is NOT PRACTICABILITY. The LTT channel did not get big off of doing "practical" things with computers. This video would be produced for the mere entertainment and curiosity factor. Yes, I know LTT made a mineral oil cooled PC. Even though the results may be similar, the process of creating a closed loop water cooling system is completely different from oil cooling. Its like comparing apples to oranges... "This would be a pain to build. Not worth the time." This is why Linus has hired several grunts to do his dirty work. (Jake, Alex and Anthony are a few that come to mind...)  
Note: this could make a great build for the new Corsair Obsidian 1000D. I don't think Corsair would have any problem sponsoring a video like this

Inspired by your latest video on overclocking everything, I thought it would be a cool idea to make a video where you water-cooled everything. For a long time now, the PC community has been stuck in the rut of making the same-old standard water-cooled cpu/gpu with the same PETG/acrylic hardline. I would love to see a video where you attempted to water cool EVERYTHING humanly possible including but not limited to: cpu, gpu, ram, psu, chipset, vrms, case, hdd, ssd; and maybe peripherals like the monitor all in a closed loop system.
 
Just to address some objections I saw in the youtube comments:
Like the "overclock everything" video released today, the point of this is NOT PRACTICABILITY. The LTT channel did not get big off of doing "practical" things with computers. This video would be produced for the mere entertainment and curiosity factor. Yes, I know LTT made a mineral oil cooled PC. Even though the results may be similar, the process of creating a closed loop water cooling system is completely different from oil cooling. Its like comparing apples to oranges... "This would be a pain to build. Not worth the time." This is why Linus has hired several grunts to do his dirty work. (Jake, Alex and Anthony are a few that come to mind...)  
Note: this could make a great build for the new Corsair Obsidian 1000D. I don't think Corsair would have any problem sponsoring a video like this

Inspired by your latest video on overclocking everything, I thought it would be a cool idea to make a video where you water-cooled everything. For a long time now, the PC community has been stuck in the rut of making the same-old standard water-cooled cpu/gpu with the same PETG/acrylic hardline. I would love to see a video where you attempted to water cool EVERYTHING humanly possible including but not limited to: cpu, gpu, ram, psu, chipset, vrms, case, hdd, ssd; and maybe peripherals like the monitor all in a closed loop system.
 
Just to address some objections I saw in the youtube comments:
Like the "overclock everything" video released today, the point of this is NOT PRACTICABILITY. The LTT channel did not get big off of doing "practical" things with computers. This video would be produced for the mere entertainment and curiosity factor. Yes, I know LTT made a mineral oil cooled PC. Even though the results may be similar, the process of creating a closed loop water cooling system is completely different from oil cooling. Its like comparing apples to oranges... "This would be a pain to build. Not worth the time." This is why Linus has hired several grunts to do his dirty work. (Jake, Alex and Anthony are a few that come to mind...)  
Note: this could make a great build for the new Corsair Obsidian 1000D. I don't think Corsair would have any problem sponsoring a video like this

Inspired by your latest video on overclocking everything, I thought it would be a cool idea to make a video where you water-cooled everything. For a long time now, the PC community has been stuck in the rut of making the same-old standard water-cooled cpu/gpu with the same PETG/acrylic hardline. I would love to see a video where you attempted to water cool EVERYTHING humanly possible including but not limited to: cpu, gpu, ram, psu, chipset, vrms, case, hdd, ssd; and maybe peripherals like the monitor all in a closed loop system.
 
Just to address some objections I saw in the youtube comments:
Like the "overclock everything" video released today, the point of this is NOT PRACTICABILITY. The LTT channel did not get big off of doing "practical" things with computers. This video would be produced for the mere entertainment and curiosity factor. Yes, I know LTT made a mineral oil cooled PC. Even though the results may be similar, the process of creating a closed loop water cooling system is completely different from oil cooling. Its like comparing apples to oranges... "This would be a pain to build. Not worth the time." This is why Linus has hired several grunts to do his dirty work. (Jake, Alex and Anthony are a few that come to mind...)  
Note: this could make a great build for the new Corsair Obsidian 1000D. I don't think Corsair would have any problem sponsoring a video like this

First PC game was probably Space Cadet Pinball
 
 
First game that blew me away in terms of realism was Battlefield 3, as the most graphically impressive game I had played up to then was Halo 2, I had just got a PS3 and the BF3 beta came out and it really blew my mind.

I have not. I looked into it when my HD 6XX was on order, but just didn't quite want to spend the money.

EDIT: Actually, the Crack may not be such a good choice. It has a high output impedance, making it pretty limited with planars like your LCD-X

He could probably drop it a few times....

I will 1 up the magni3/modi2 recommendation. It is the amp/dac I own and it has been excellent. While it is an inexpensive option, the magni 3 has a great sound and power specs rivaling those of class-A amps

hd 6xx > hd 58x jubilee > M50x

The hd 6xx and hd 58x are both great bang for your buck options, but with the existence of these two headphones, buying M50x's or even an HD 598 is pretty much ludicrous. With that said, a dac/amp would be highly recommended for both of the sennheiser options.

hd 6xx > hd 58x jubilee > M50x

The hd 6xx and hd 58x are both great bang for your buck options, but with the existence of these two headphones, buying M50x's or even an HD 598 is pretty much ludicrous. With that said, a dac/amp would be highly recommended for both of the sennheiser options.

You should.