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Sennheiser HD 58X vs HyperX Cloud II

Eharan
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While waiting for shipping I modified the HD 58X by removing the pads for a wider sound stage, that actually made it sounds better. After the Fiio K3 and the Dac X6 arrived, I decided to keep the K3 after using them for over a day constantly. it just look better, smaller, and that bass boost is really nice. Back to the headphones, the HD 58X is flatter (as we already know) and probably is what the sound should be like, but I personally like the bass boost + Cloud II over the bass boost + HD 58X. The HD 58X in the end doesn't really justify what I paid for in my opinion, but I like it enough to not sell it or return it for now. Maybe I'll come to understand it's value one day. But the K3 dac/amp combo is definitely worth it so Im happy with that. 

Recently bought a HD 58X to use along with my Cloud II. While I do notice a slight better sound in general listening, I don't feel anything different in games. The only difference I could clearly point out is the vocal (better, but not by much).

 

Can anyone who had experiences with these 2 headphones give me a clearer distinction between them? Or some different methods I can use for testing the sound (other than playing music, games while switching them constantly which I have

been doing). 

 

Considering returning the HD 58X if I can't really see a big difference from the Cloud II. 

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Well, you need to tell us what sound source you're using.

M.S.C.E. (M.Sc. Computer Engineering), Senior IT advisor in a hospital, 30 years of gaming, 20 years of computer enthusiasm, Geek, Trekkie, anime fan

  • Main PC: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D - EK AIO 360 D-RGB - Arctic Cooling MX-4 - Asus Prime X570-P - 4x8GB DDR4 3200 HyperX Fury CL16 - Sapphire AMD Radeon 6950XT Nitro+ - 1TB Kingston Fury Renegade - 2TB Kingston Fury Renegade - 512GB ADATA SU800 - 960GB Kingston A400 - Seasonic PX-850 850W  - custom black ATX and EPS cables - Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout - Windows 11 x64 23H2 - 3 Arctic Cooling P14 PWM PST - 5 Arctic Cooling P12 PWM PST
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18 minutes ago, 191x7 said:

Well, you need to tell us what sound source you're using.

For the Cloud II, I'm using the included usb controller (which does boost the max volume a little), and for the HD 58X I use the motherboard back connector (MSI Z370M Mortar) and the cloud's controller in some cases. Judging from the 150 ohms of the HD 58X I don't think I would need an am for now. It doesn't get as loud as the Cloud II, maybe around 60% of the cloud at max volume when using with the usb controller. 

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44 minutes ago, Eharan said:

Recently bought a HD 58X to use along with my Cloud II. While I do notice a slight better sound in general listening, I don't feel anything different in games. The only difference I could clearly point out is the vocal (better, but not by much).

 

Can anyone who had experiences with these 2 headphones give me a clearer distinction between them? Or some different methods I can use for testing the sound (other than playing music, games while switching them constantly which I have

been doing). 

 

Considering returning the HD 58X if I can't really see a big difference from the Cloud II. 

everyonee's ears are built different. I like the coud 2's great value with comfort and sound packaged with a pretty ok mic.  I personally think the 58x has better imaging and slightly wider soundstage.but I don't use them for gaming. I use them for music mostly the mids and detail all around is awesome listening to rock or female vocalists like regina spektor is an absolute  and that is where they shine. the 58x should sound more detailed a a wee bit flatter a nd airyer due to the open  back with better mids than the cloud 2's for gaming the difference isn't as massive as it is for music. 

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15 minutes ago, Eharan said:

For the Cloud II, I'm using the included usb controller (which does boost the max volume a little), and for the HD 58X I use the motherboard back connector (MSI Z370M Mortar) and the cloud's controller in some cases. Judging from the 150 ohms of the HD 58X I don't think I would need an am for now. It doesn't get as loud as the Cloud II, maybe around 60% of the cloud at max volume when using with the usb controller. 

 

The Realtek ALC892 is too weak for the 58X, even the HyperX USB soundcard is (not to mention that the card is meant to be used with a 4-pole 3.5mm jack, not a 3-pole one).

With a better sound source, you'd get more details with the 58X, not only higher volume. And even the Cloud II would profit from a better source (but not as much as the HD 58X).

 

You could go the cheaper router (some soundcard like the Asus Xonar DGX or the USB Xonar U5), the mid-range route (a low end amp&dac combo unit) or something better that would last you many many years (dedicated DAC, AMP, ...).

M.S.C.E. (M.Sc. Computer Engineering), Senior IT advisor in a hospital, 30 years of gaming, 20 years of computer enthusiasm, Geek, Trekkie, anime fan

  • Main PC: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D - EK AIO 360 D-RGB - Arctic Cooling MX-4 - Asus Prime X570-P - 4x8GB DDR4 3200 HyperX Fury CL16 - Sapphire AMD Radeon 6950XT Nitro+ - 1TB Kingston Fury Renegade - 2TB Kingston Fury Renegade - 512GB ADATA SU800 - 960GB Kingston A400 - Seasonic PX-850 850W  - custom black ATX and EPS cables - Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout - Windows 11 x64 23H2 - 3 Arctic Cooling P14 PWM PST - 5 Arctic Cooling P12 PWM PST
  • Peripherals: LG 32GK650F - Philips 226VL - Logitech G Pro X Superlight with Tiger Ice - HyperX Alloy Origins Core (TKL) - EndGame Gear MPC890 - Genius HF 1250B - Akliam PD4 - Sennheiser HD 560s - Simgot EM6L - Truthear Zero - QKZ x HBB - 7Hz Salnotes Zero - Logitech C270 - Behringer PS400 - BM700  - Colormunki Smile - Speedlink Torid - Jysk Stenderup - LG 24x External DVD writer - Konig smart card reader
  • Laptop: Acer E5–575G-386R 15.6" 1080p (i3 6100U + 12GB DDR4 (4GB+8GB) + GeForce 940MX + 256GB nVME) Win 10 Pro x64 22H2 - Logitech G305 + AAA Lithium battery
  • Networking: Asus TUF Gaming AX6000 - Arcadyan ISP router - 35/7 Mbps vDSL
  • TV and gadgets: TCL 50EP680 50" 4K LED + Sharp HT-SB100 75W RMS soundbar - Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 10.1" - OnePlus 9 256GB - Olymous Cameda C-160 - GameBoy Color 
  • Streaming/Server/Storage PC: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 - LC-Power LC-CC-120 - MSI B450 Tomahawk Max - 2x4GB ADATA 2666 DDR4 - 120GB Kingston V300 - Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB - Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB - 2x WD Green 2TB - Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon R9 380X - 550W EVGA G3 SuperNova - Chieftec Giga DF-01B - Logitech G710+ - Roccat Kone Pure Military Desert strike - Logitech S-220
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1 hour ago, 191x7 said:

 

The Realtek ALC892 is too weak for the 58X, even the HyperX USB soundcard is (not to mention that the card is meant to be used with a 4-pole 3.5mm jack, not a 3-pole one).

With a better sound source, you'd get more details with the 58X, not only higher volume. And even the Cloud II would profit from a better source (but not as much as the HD 58X).

 

You could go the cheaper router (some soundcard like the Asus Xonar DGX or the USB Xonar U5), the mid-range route (a low end amp&dac combo unit) or something better that would last you many many years (dedicated DAC, AMP, ...).

Figured i would need a dac/amp at some point, any recommendation for a combo under $100 or around that price range? I'll spend some time looking into these for now, only got into audiophile recently. 

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37 minutes ago, Eharan said:

Figured i would need a dac/amp at some point, any recommendation for a combo under $100 or around that price range? I'll spend some time looking into these for now, only got into audiophile recently. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/Zeos/comments/9v45wr/zguides_dac_amp_combos/

M.S.C.E. (M.Sc. Computer Engineering), Senior IT advisor in a hospital, 30 years of gaming, 20 years of computer enthusiasm, Geek, Trekkie, anime fan

  • Main PC: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D - EK AIO 360 D-RGB - Arctic Cooling MX-4 - Asus Prime X570-P - 4x8GB DDR4 3200 HyperX Fury CL16 - Sapphire AMD Radeon 6950XT Nitro+ - 1TB Kingston Fury Renegade - 2TB Kingston Fury Renegade - 512GB ADATA SU800 - 960GB Kingston A400 - Seasonic PX-850 850W  - custom black ATX and EPS cables - Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout - Windows 11 x64 23H2 - 3 Arctic Cooling P14 PWM PST - 5 Arctic Cooling P12 PWM PST
  • Peripherals: LG 32GK650F - Philips 226VL - Logitech G Pro X Superlight with Tiger Ice - HyperX Alloy Origins Core (TKL) - EndGame Gear MPC890 - Genius HF 1250B - Akliam PD4 - Sennheiser HD 560s - Simgot EM6L - Truthear Zero - QKZ x HBB - 7Hz Salnotes Zero - Logitech C270 - Behringer PS400 - BM700  - Colormunki Smile - Speedlink Torid - Jysk Stenderup - LG 24x External DVD writer - Konig smart card reader
  • Laptop: Acer E5–575G-386R 15.6" 1080p (i3 6100U + 12GB DDR4 (4GB+8GB) + GeForce 940MX + 256GB nVME) Win 10 Pro x64 22H2 - Logitech G305 + AAA Lithium battery
  • Networking: Asus TUF Gaming AX6000 - Arcadyan ISP router - 35/7 Mbps vDSL
  • TV and gadgets: TCL 50EP680 50" 4K LED + Sharp HT-SB100 75W RMS soundbar - Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 10.1" - OnePlus 9 256GB - Olymous Cameda C-160 - GameBoy Color 
  • Streaming/Server/Storage PC: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 - LC-Power LC-CC-120 - MSI B450 Tomahawk Max - 2x4GB ADATA 2666 DDR4 - 120GB Kingston V300 - Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB - Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB - 2x WD Green 2TB - Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon R9 380X - 550W EVGA G3 SuperNova - Chieftec Giga DF-01B - Logitech G710+ - Roccat Kone Pure Military Desert strike - Logitech S-220
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On 5/10/2019 at 4:31 AM, rice guru said:

That list lacks his favorite around a hundred the fiio k3

 

Was thinking of buying the Fiio K3 also. 

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The fiio k3 is really good when you use the balanced headphone out, but I have to imagine there is something better for unbalanced.

 

Though this whole thread I think is going in the wrong direction. If the headphone upgrade didn't do much for you, I doubt a dac upgrade is the solution. Those are typically not that much of a game changer.

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37 minutes ago, an actual squirrel said:

The fiio k3 is really good when you use the balanced headphone out, but I have to imagine there is something better for unbalanced.

 

Though this whole thread I think is going in the wrong direction. If the headphone upgrade didn't do much for you, I doubt a dac upgrade is the solution. Those are typically not that much of a game changer.

Might as well go all the way. 

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2
3 hours ago, an actual squirrel said:

. If the headphone upgrade didn't do much for you, I doubt a dac upgrade is the solution. Those are typically not that much of a game changer.

It's not that he needs a much better DAC than the onboard sound (in my opinion he does), it's that he needs a better power circuit than the onboard one - a better AMP.

The Cloud II are 60 Ohm headphones, the HD 58X are 150 Ohm. The onboard sound solution is configured for 16-32-40 Ohm devices.

M.S.C.E. (M.Sc. Computer Engineering), Senior IT advisor in a hospital, 30 years of gaming, 20 years of computer enthusiasm, Geek, Trekkie, anime fan

  • Main PC: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D - EK AIO 360 D-RGB - Arctic Cooling MX-4 - Asus Prime X570-P - 4x8GB DDR4 3200 HyperX Fury CL16 - Sapphire AMD Radeon 6950XT Nitro+ - 1TB Kingston Fury Renegade - 2TB Kingston Fury Renegade - 512GB ADATA SU800 - 960GB Kingston A400 - Seasonic PX-850 850W  - custom black ATX and EPS cables - Fractal Design Define R5 Blackout - Windows 11 x64 23H2 - 3 Arctic Cooling P14 PWM PST - 5 Arctic Cooling P12 PWM PST
  • Peripherals: LG 32GK650F - Philips 226VL - Logitech G Pro X Superlight with Tiger Ice - HyperX Alloy Origins Core (TKL) - EndGame Gear MPC890 - Genius HF 1250B - Akliam PD4 - Sennheiser HD 560s - Simgot EM6L - Truthear Zero - QKZ x HBB - 7Hz Salnotes Zero - Logitech C270 - Behringer PS400 - BM700  - Colormunki Smile - Speedlink Torid - Jysk Stenderup - LG 24x External DVD writer - Konig smart card reader
  • Laptop: Acer E5–575G-386R 15.6" 1080p (i3 6100U + 12GB DDR4 (4GB+8GB) + GeForce 940MX + 256GB nVME) Win 10 Pro x64 22H2 - Logitech G305 + AAA Lithium battery
  • Networking: Asus TUF Gaming AX6000 - Arcadyan ISP router - 35/7 Mbps vDSL
  • TV and gadgets: TCL 50EP680 50" 4K LED + Sharp HT-SB100 75W RMS soundbar - Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 10.1" - OnePlus 9 256GB - Olymous Cameda C-160 - GameBoy Color 
  • Streaming/Server/Storage PC: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 - LC-Power LC-CC-120 - MSI B450 Tomahawk Max - 2x4GB ADATA 2666 DDR4 - 120GB Kingston V300 - Toshiba DT01ACA100 1TB - Toshiba DT01ACA200 2TB - 2x WD Green 2TB - Sapphire Pulse AMD Radeon R9 380X - 550W EVGA G3 SuperNova - Chieftec Giga DF-01B - Logitech G710+ - Roccat Kone Pure Military Desert strike - Logitech S-220
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impedance numbers don't mean anything. as headphones regardless of impedance values could be harer to driv ethan another . it only makes sense to compare and contrast between headphones within the same brand or headphone series for example the beyer dynamic dt 770 80ohm, 250 ohm and 32 ohm. learned this the hard way. my hd 58x is 150 ohm easier  to drive than my akg k240 55 ohm

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Regardless I still want to buy a dac/amp combo for the HD58X to see what it can do.

And I don't think this thread is going in the wrong direction. I own a Cloud II and a HD58X, one is good for game and one is good for music but either of them can do both of these tasks no problem. I just want to know the clear differences when comparing these and confirm if the HD58X justifies the price I paid (I'm a typical broke student). Right now the HD58X isn't doing its best due to the lack of an amp (and a dac too I guess) so yea, I'm looking to buy a budget one with multiple line in and line out for future uses such as when I buy some studio monitors. 

Follow that note, I been looking up different dac/amp combos and found the Fiio k3 to be a pretty good one, the only thing it lacks that im looking for is multiple line in. It only has USB for input, it's not much of a concern for me right now since the only device I want to plug that in also is my Switch but I maybe I'll need that in the future. So there's that...

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29 minutes ago, Eharan said:

Regardless I still want to buy a dac/amp combo for the HD58X to see what it can do.

And I don't think this thread is going in the wrong direction. I own a Cloud II and a HD58X, one is good for game and one is good for music but either of them can do both of these tasks no problem. I just want to know the clear differences when comparing these and confirm if the HD58X justifies the price I paid (I'm a typical broke student). Right now the HD58X isn't doing its best due to the lack of an amp (and a dac too I guess) so yea, I'm looking to buy a budget one with multiple line in and line out for future uses such as when I buy some studio monitors. 

Follow that note, I been looking up different dac/amp combos and found the Fiio k3 to be a pretty good one, the only thing it lacks that im looking for is multiple line in. It only has USB for input, it's not much of a concern for me right now since the only device I want to plug that in also is my Switch but I maybe I'll need that in the future. So there's that...

if you looking for multiple lie iin options take a look at the dac x6 but TBH I don't understand what your getting at. a switch like a switcher or a nintendo switch?

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1 minute ago, rice guru said:

if you looking for multiple lie iin options take a look at the dac x6 but TBH I don't understand what your getting at. a switch like a switcher or a nintendo switch?

A Nintendo Switch. I use it everyday more than I do with my phone. 

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8 minutes ago, Eharan said:

A Nintendo Switch. I use it everyday. 

ah I just got morbidly curious to see if my switch can detect my e10k. while it was rewcieving power sadly enough it did not work. after a couple of google searches I have found a reddit thread confiming some working and not working dacs. fulla 2 is one of them whould be within your budget and isn't the worst thing.

 

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9 minutes ago, rice guru said:

ah I just got morbidly curious to see if my switch can detect my e10k. while it was rewcieving power sadly enough it did not work. after a couple of google searches I have found a reddit thread confiming some working and not working dacs. fulla 2 is one of them whould be within your budget and isn't the worst thing.

 

I saw that too, but there are more audio outputs and the usb to dac/amp is too unreliable since it doesn't work all the time. There are the headphones jack from the top of the switch, and the other outputs from my TV (optical and RCA). I don't plan on using it strictly with a computer so I'm looking for dac/amp combo with extra line in if possible. 

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6 hours ago, Eharan said:

I saw that too, but there are more audio outputs and the usb to dac/amp is too unreliable since it doesn't work all the time. There are the headphones jack from the top of the switch, and the other outputs from my TV (optical and RCA). I don't plan on using it strictly with a computer so I'm looking for dac/amp combo with extra line in if possible. 

Take a look at the fx Audi oDAC x6

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9 hours ago, rice guru said:

Take a look at the fx Audi oDAC x6

I'll just get both and test it myself then return one one of them, can't get anywhere reading up reviews.

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While waiting for shipping I modified the HD 58X by removing the pads for a wider sound stage, that actually made it sounds better. After the Fiio K3 and the Dac X6 arrived, I decided to keep the K3 after using them for over a day constantly. it just look better, smaller, and that bass boost is really nice. Back to the headphones, the HD 58X is flatter (as we already know) and probably is what the sound should be like, but I personally like the bass boost + Cloud II over the bass boost + HD 58X. The HD 58X in the end doesn't really justify what I paid for in my opinion, but I like it enough to not sell it or return it for now. Maybe I'll come to understand it's value one day. But the K3 dac/amp combo is definitely worth it so Im happy with that. 

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1 hour ago, Eharan said:

While waiting for shipping I modified the HD 58X by removing the pads for a wider sound stage, that actually made it sounds better. After the Fiio K3 and the Dac X6 arrived, I decided to keep the K3 after using them for over a day constantly. it just look better, smaller, and that bass boost is really nice. Back to the headphones, the HD 58X is flatter (as we already know) and probably is what the sound should be like, but I personally like the bass boost + Cloud II over the bass boost + HD 58X. The HD 58X in the end doesn't really justify what I paid for in my opinion, but I like it enough to not sell it or return it for now. Maybe I'll come to understand it's value one day. But the K3 dac/amp combo is definitely worth it so Im happy with that. 

Nice . I understood the value I. It once I used it to listen to some of my favorite vocalists or flowery songs like Regina spektor. Or even Tupac . Voices sound so clean and clear. But you might want to get double sided tape and some felt to cover up the hole on the driver to prevent dust from going in. That's what everyone who did the mod is doing .

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26 minutes ago, rice guru said:

Nice . I understood the value I. It once I used it to listen to some of my favorite vocalists or flowery songs like Regina spektor. Or even Tupac . Voices sound so clean and clear. But you might want to get double sided tape and some felt to cover up the hole on the driver to prevent dust from going in. That's what everyone who did the mod is doing .

Already did, $4 at walmart for some tape and felt.

 

Also do you know the best setting for this? 

image.png.02bb45eded13b161b22d3d76002ffae1.png

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45 minutes ago, Eharan said:

Already did, $4 at walmart for some tape and felt.

 

Also do you know the best setting for this? 

image.png.02bb45eded13b161b22d3d76002ffae1.png

try to keep it around whatever bitrate and quality your personal collection is. I personally keep mine at 32 bit 44100 hz but I can definitely make it higher

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