Looking for TOTL (Top of the Line) Headphone Suggestions

[KaminKevCrew]

Yep, they fixed the trebble there. But yeah... planar magnetic drivers....

Do you remember the Top Gear episode in which Jeremy Clarkson was reviewing the Porsche Carrera GT? The Silicon Carbide thing? Everythimg I say Planar Magnetic Drivers... I get that sensation.

I absolutely do remember that episode! that was hilarious. I acutally really, really want a carrera GT, despite the fact that it's an incredibly dangerous car (R.I.P. Paul Walker) Here's hoping I make it big in something one day!

 

But do you get that sensation when saying electrostats?

[TumbleButt]

I absolutely do remember that episode! that was hilarious. I acutally really, really want a carrera GT, despite the fact that it's an incredibly dangerous car (R.I.P. Paul Walker) Here's hoping I make it big in something one day!

 

But do you get that sensation when saying electrostats?

Not exactly. Planar Magnetics Drivers have a special place in my heart in a weird way. The first ever pair of audiophile-grade cans I've had were the HE 500s (note to self, don't trust your brother to house sit. He was asleep when my house was robbed...). So... despite that there are benefits that justify why electrostats make planars look obsolete in certain degrees... I don't think I'd have the same sensation. But yeah, thats just me being sentimental.

[KaminKevCrew]

Not exactly. Planar Magnetics Drivers have a special place in my heart in a weird way. The first ever pair of audiophile-grade cans I've had were the HE 500s (note to self, don't trust your brother to house sit. He was asleep when my house was robbed...). So... despite that there are benefits that justify why electrostats make planars look obsolete in certain degrees... I don't think I'd have the same sensation. But yeah, thats just me being sentimental.

Sucks about your house man. (That's why I ALWAYS lock the door, whether I'm home or not.) I think I would prefer planars too, since they seem to consistently have a more present low end. 

[TumbleButt]

Sucks about your house man. (That's why I ALWAYS lock the door, whether I'm home or not.) I think I would prefer planars too, since they seem to consistently have a more present low end. 

Welp, shit happens. But oh well, my bias is towards the LCD-X. But if I were you, I'd take as much suggestions as possble. I remember the time I told myself I want AKG's K701s... I did kinda regret it a few months after. So, I went with Hifiman's HE 500s. After a month's use (thanks to my brother who fell asleep without locking the goddamn door) and maybe a year's worth of unwanted sobery/cold turkey status from those HE 500s... yeah. The only reason I can't get one is because my girlfriend won't let me buy HE-500s after she gave me Shure 1840s.

DAMNIT, SURE, THE SHURE 1840's SOUND NICE, BUT DAMNIT I WANT MY PLANARS!

[KaminKevCrew]

I mean, the Shures could get "stolen," right? Plus, then (assuming you sold them instead) you would have more money for the HE-500! Or you could just get the HE-500 and only use them when she's gone 0_o

[TumbleButt]

We moved from a house to an apartment since then... my main problem is trying to get my credit card back since she's monitoring it (she spends her own money on her own stuff... but sometimes she does most of the grocery) in person...

[creatip123]

have you looked at the sound dynamat modded ones? That could fix the issue you have with the treble.

 

Nothing....and I do mean NOTHING beats this mod:

 

[SSL]

Nothing....and I do mean NOTHING beats this mod:

 

The question is, how does it change the sound? Not an idle comment.

[creatip123]

That's not possible because nobody reads threads in my siggy.

 

AFAIK generally one doesn't have to account for impedance changes in non-planars. Just increasing impedance with nothing else changing can in some respects make the headphone easier to drive. For example at 100hz the impedance is the highest, they call it the resonant frequency, where the headphone is at its easiest to power. 

 

That's one of my unconfirmed theory about dynamic vs planar. With the ever-fluctuating impedance value of dynamics, some frequencies are easier to drive (needs less current) than others. If the hardest to drive (need high current) frequency range is in the non-dominant range, something like 15kHz, even if the amp is lacking current, it could pass by the user's ears un-noticed. There are distortion, but very small, because the signal is small itself.

 

With planars and their flat impedance, either the amp can supply enough current, or it can't. Amp that's lacking the current needed can be easily noticed by the north and south distortion across the frequencies. 

 

 

The question is, how does it change the sound? Not an idle comment.

 

Meh, who cares about the sound. Hot chicks love gold.....

[SSL]

That's one of my unconfirmed theory about dynamic vs planar. With the ever-fluctuating impedance value of dynamics, some frequencies are easier to drive (needs less current) than others. If the hardest to drive (need high current) frequency range is in the non-dominant range, something like 15kHz, even if the amp is lacking current, it could pass by the user's ears un-noticed. There are distortion, but very small, because the signal is small itself.

 

With planars and their flat impedance, either the amp can supply enough current, or it can't. Amp that's lacking the current needed can be easily noticed by the north and south distortion across the frequencies.

 

Most dynamic phones have a minimum impedance around the midrange to upper midrange; it's high near resonance and again high at high frequencies due to voice coil induction. Mostly I think audibility of distortion comes from the fact that planars are just more current hungry, period. Anything less than 95db/mW is pretty rare for dynamics, yet plenty of planars are well south of 90db/mW. On a logarithmic scale, that's huge.

 

Meh, who cares about the sound. Hot chicks love gold.....

 

I thought they loved diamonds?! I'm so confused.

[xtroria]

That's true. The thing is also that I think they would be so similar to my 650s that I wouldn't really have a justifiable reason to keep them around. I also want something that can really slam in the lower registers when called upon, and from what I've heard, the oppo line wouldn't do it for me. 

 

Looks come into it for me as a last resort (e.g. if two pairs of ehadphones sound pretty much the same, and have the same price/durability, etc. then I'll go with the ones I like the looks of best and since I think I'd be more suited to the options listed previously, I'm not really considering the oppo option.)

 

Only one way to find out, look for oppo's thread in headfi, they have tour unit for PM-1 and PM-2 and you don't need to write review or anything.

[KaminKevCrew]

True that. I may see if I can get my hands on a pair.

[creatip123]

Anything less than 95db/mW is pretty rare for dynamics, yet plenty of planars are well south of 90db/mW. On a logarithmic scale, that's huge.

 

 

I thought they loved diamonds?! I'm so confused.

 

Except for AKG products. Dunno why they make stuffs that low in efficiency. They list all their products in db SPL/V which threw off lots of people, including me. The Q701 was listed 105 db SPL/V, which when converted is around 93 dB/mW, about the same as HE-400. 

 

Chicks loves shinies....

[KaminKevCrew]

Except for AKG products. Dunno why they make stuffs that low in efficiency. They list all their products in db SPL/V which threw off lots of people, including me. The Q701 was listed 105 db SPL/V, which when converted is around 93 dB/mW, about the same as HE-400.

Chicks loves shinies....

I love shinies. Does that make me a chick?

[ShearMe]

It's time for me to be an EQ shill. If you're that picky about your sound it makes no sense to not be EQing and trying to learn EQ. And again, Sound Science or HA can help you with that. Distortion with decent headphones is already very low, but frequency response varies from headphone to headphone and that can be changed.

It's hard to get a consistent EQ across devices and headphones, and fancy EQ software is too fiddly. The only place I EQ frequently is my car, and that's because my head unit doesn't have enough bands to get a good all round sound.

There is a time and a place for EQ, but it is not the end all be all.

[BoredErica]

It's hard to get a consistent EQ across devices and headphones, and fancy EQ software is too fiddly. The only place I EQ frequently is my car, and that's because my head unit doesn't have enough bands to get a good all round sound.

There is a time and a place for EQ, but it is not the end all be all.

The possible changes EQ can bring is a counter to the fiddlyness of EQ. Each TOTL headphone is very expensive. What if you could near replicate its sound with software alone and save a ton of money? It's hard to do but the reward is great. If somebody is picky enough about audio to buy a very expensive headphone and take it with them outside, then they should have the patience to see if they can get EQ working on their mobile device as well.

[KaminKevCrew]

So, of all things I decided that I'm going to go for the Se846 for the time being (I think) since I can just get custom sleeves, and I'll still be able to share the awesome audio with people that want to hear. The only thing that gives me pause is the MMCX connector. Is there anything similar (sound and quality-wise) that has a two pin connector? Or does anyone make an adapter I could buy so that I can run two-pin cables up to the adapter, so that when I switch cables I'm not so worried about the MMCX breaking? Although I suppose that the Shure warranty would take care of that for the most part...

[creatip123]

The 846 sounds meh for the price. Might want to audition first before dropping that big bucks....

[xtroria]

So, of all things I decided that I'm going to go for the Se846 for the time being (I think) since I can just get custom sleeves, and I'll still be able to share the awesome audio with people that want to hear. The only thing that gives me pause is the MMCX connector. Is there anything similar (sound and quality-wise) that has a two pin connector? Or does anyone make an adapter I could buy so that I can run two-pin cables up to the adapter, so that when I switch cables I'm not so worried about the MMCX breaking? Although I suppose that the Shure warranty would take care of that for the most part...

Why not reshell jh13 into universal? Mmcx connector on se846 looks pretty decent. Oh a note of warning, if you want to "properly drive" se846, get at least fiio x3 or ibasso dx50, anything with output impedance of < 0.5 ohm

[KaminKevCrew]

The 846 sounds meh for the price. Might want to audition first before dropping that big bucks....

I would love to. Do you know anyone in the Seattle area that has a pair? Lol. I dunno, I could just get a custom, I suppose.

Why not reshell jh13 into universal? Mmcx connector on se846 looks pretty decent. Oh a note of warning, if you want to "properly drive" se846, get at least fiio x3 or ibasso dx50, anything with output impedance of < 0.5 ohm

The reason is that I would need a custom sleeve for it since regular tips never stay in my ears for more than about five minutes. So I might as well get a new pair at that point. I wonder what the Galaxy s6 output impedance is. How do I go about measuring that?

[xtroria]

I would love to. Do you know anyone in the Seattle area that has a pair? Lol. I dunno, I could just get a custom, I suppose.

The reason is that I would need a custom sleeve for it since regular tips never stay in my ears for more than about five minutes. So I might as well get a new pair at that point. I wonder what the Galaxy s6 output impedance is. How do I go about measuring that?

My friend owns one but it's near final and all. JH13 used + reshelling will cost you somewhere around 600, cheaper than used se846.

To measure output impedance, use one pf those 3 pole 3.5mm to 3.5mm or rca, first connect voltmeter betweem one of the positives and the ground. Play 1khz tone, set the volume to 50-75% and measure the voltage.

Take a resistor (10-100 ohm) connect them so you have a small circuit of positive > resistor > ground. Play the same thing, measure the voltage. I believe there are calculators online that will calculate the output impedance for you.

[KaminKevCrew]

My friend owns one but it's near final and all. JH13 used + reshelling will cost you somewhere around 600, cheaper than used se846.

To measure output impedance, use one pf those 3 pole 3.5mm to 3.5mm or rca, first connect voltmeter betweem one of the positives and the ground. Play 1khz tone, set the volume to 50-75% and measure the voltage.

Take a resistor (10-100 ohm) connect them so you have a small circuit of positive > resistor > ground. Play the same thing, measure the voltage. I believe there are calculators online that will calculate the output impedance for you.

but... But I want to use my use my oscilloscope!!! Can I use that for something?

[xtroria]

but... But I want to use my use my oscilloscope!!! Can I use that for something?

oscilloscope can measure the peak voltage from the sine waves

[KaminKevCrew]

oscilloscope can measure the peak voltage from the sine waves

then I'll do that!

[xtroria]

then I'll do that!

 

Do bear in mind the voltage isnt going to be big, at most 200mV. So unless you have a pretty sensitive or digital oscilloscope, it's going to be super tough measuring them