The Audio Board's Recommended Gear

[SSL]

9 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

I don't think it's distortion, but then, the only kind of distortion I know of is clipping, so it may be a kind I'm unfamiliar with hearing

 

Distortion would be less likely for sure and not as obvious if it were.

[vanished]

@SSL I just noticed this in the big list on the first page:

Quote

Massdrop HiFiMan HE-350

Similar to the HD 5x8 family sound, with a slightly brighter, less even treble.

Is this a typo or do I just no understand something here...  

[spwath]

3 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

@SSL I just noticed this in the big list on the first page:

Is this a typo or do I just no understand something here...  

Less even as in bumpy, not even less

[vanished]

Just now, spwath said:

Less even as in bumpy, not even less

ah, yes I get it  

[SSL]

14 minutes ago, Ryan_Vickers said:

@SSL I just noticed this in the big list on the first page:

Is this a typo or do I just no understand something here...  

 

Heh, I guess the word choice is a bit confusing.

[VioletGiraffe]

On 11.05.2017 at 7:47 PM, SSL said:

ringing due to breakup.

What do you mean by breakup? Is that a technical term?

[SSL]

1 hour ago, VioletGiraffe said:

What do you mean by breakup? Is that a technical term?

 

When a driver stops moving like a piston instead starts to flex at particular resonance frequencies. This happens above a certain frequency for a given driver; the larger the driver, the lower the frequency, thus why tweeters are small.

 

This video is a good visualization of what happens:

 

 

[LiquidTech]

Sad and surprise that Skullcandy isn't in that list.

[spwath]

Just now, XiuzSu said:

Sad and surprise that Skullcandy isn't in that list.

 why?

skull candy is generally bad. If you can make a good argument, describing why It's good, it  will be added.

[LiquidTech]

I mean, what sort of argument do you want? Assuming you already have a decent sound card, their wired Hesh's 2 which cost about 40 bucks new have amazing sound cancelling, great base, and clear sound. I personally owned two of them. I also own their Plyr1 and Plyr2 wireless headsets which I love. Currently using the Astro's A50's however.

[spwath]

56 minutes ago, XiuzSu said:

I mean, what sort of argument do you want? Assuming you already have a decent sound card, their wired Hesh's 2 which cost about 40 bucks new have amazing sound cancelling, great base, and clear sound. I personally owned two of them. I also own their Plyr1 and Plyr2 wireless headsets which I love. Currently using the Astro's A50's however.

 

we need a better sound description of sound.

However, if the Hesh 2 are anything like the hesh 1, they are utter trash

[LiquidTech]

I owned the Hesh 1's, too long ago to remember their quality, however I remember they weren't that great and they also had a non-detachable cable from the headphones to the sound output of the computer. So when the cable caught on something it would yank the headset from your head (this happened to me many times). My overall experience with the Hesh1's wasn't that great. But I certainly would recommend the Hesh 2's and their Plyr line up to anyone. Specifically the Hesh 2's because of how inexpensive they are. I would argue that they are comparable to some $100 bucks headphones in terms of sound quality and performance. Again, having a sound card really shows you what they are capable of. I own the Sound Blaster Z and its like night and day vs using the onboard sound.

[SSL]

3 hours ago, XiuzSu said:

Sad and surprise that Skullcandy isn't in that list.

 

As always, all suggestions are welcome, provided a precise description of the sound. That can be from you or some other review.

[vanished]

20 hours ago, XiuzSu said:

[...]So when the cable caught on something it would yank the headset from your head (this happened to me many times). [...]

This would almost certainly happen with or without a removable cable, and is not the sort of problem a removable cable is designed to solve.

20 hours ago, XiuzSu said:

Again, having a sound card really shows you what they are capable of. I own the Sound Blaster Z and its like night and day vs using the onboard sound.

Then I question the quality of your onboard sound, since generally speaking, the onboard sound in modern PCs is good enough that you won't notice a significant difference on a pair of headphones like that.

[LiquidTech]

On 5/30/2017 at 6:21 PM, Ryan_Vickers said:

This would almost certainly happen with or without a removable cable, and is not the sort of problem a removable cable is designed to solve.

Then I question the quality of your onboard sound, since generally speaking, the onboard sound in modern PCs is good enough that you won't notice a significant difference on a pair of headphones like that.

Well after upgrading to a Hesh 2, every time the cable would get caught on something instead of pulling the headphones off my head it would just disconnect the cable instead. Regarding the onboard sound, it was good and I only got a sound card because I had the money to. What I meant is that the headphones could take full advantage of the increase in power, base, and clarity of the sounds and music.

 

I'm mainly pointing these out because they do in fact sound outstanding for being this low cost.

 

Here is brief review... since you guys want one

 

Style:

Very smooth, flexible where it needs to be, light, durable. The cups have plenty of space to accommodate most ears, and the headphones don't fall off my head, but at the same time don't give me a headache either. After several hours of use you may forget that they are on, this was a big plus for me. Detachable cable as I mention earlier was a great addition to the Hesh 2. It also shows Skullcandy listens to their customers as one of the reasons the previous version was breaking. Clean design, and many styles to choose from.

 

Performance:

I believe is it pretty good for its cost. It does provide with a clean and non-distorted bass. Might tickle your ears and make them vibrate at first. Music sounds great with this headphones, you're able to tell all of the parts of the song, bass, voice, drums. Its all crystal clear. For gaming is no different, you will be able to distinguish where is sound (footsteps) are coming from as if using a surround sound. While the over all feel of the headphones is good, it still plastic, however it will become clear to you that you're really paying for whats inside.

 

Durability:

I've owned 2 of them, they've had their slight falls here and there, nothing has ever broken. The only issue was that the pleather on the earcups is wearing and coming off. Regrettably Skullcandy does not sell earcups separately but other than that they are built to last.

 

You don't have to just take my word for it, they are largely purchase on amazon and still have great reviews for a reason. If you have the money to spare (or if you need a good set of headphones and you're on a low budget) I'd suggest you try these out, you won't be disappointed.

[SSL]

2 hours ago, XiuzSu said:

I believe is it pretty good for its cost. It does provide with a clean and non-distorted bass. Might tickle your ears and make them vibrate at first. Music sounds great with this headphones, you're able to tell all of the parts of the song, bass, voice, drums. Its all crystal clear. For gaming is no different, you will be able to distinguish where is sound (footsteps) are coming from as if using a surround sound. While the over all feel of the headphones is good, it still plastic, however it will become clear to you that you're really paying for whats inside.

 

I appreciate this. Unfortunately, this isn't really enough for me to get an idea of the sound of the headphone. The innerfidelity measurements look promising, so there may be more to explore here.

[Curufinwe_wins]

I'd like to put forth the RS185 as a not terrible idea for a home open-back headphone.

 

The official MSRP is an insane almost 400 dollars, but in the US on places like Amazon and Walmart the pricing has been hovering around the 190-220 dollar range.

 

These cans are a particularly interesting set of work. They are wireless (not bluetooth but 2.4GHz band)... With full-house level range, but wireless to a fixed base which will never be moved. The cans are their own DAC as well, so the pricing is a bit deceptive.

 

Battery life is about 24 hours constant listening, and charges quite rapidly. Plus if you needed additional listening quickly, the cans do take standard AAA batteries and replacement is a breeze.

 

The headphones with their small contact points feel weird for the first few minutes you have them on, but then settle into an almost floating feeling, which is the most comfortable cans I've ever had (along with their very good earcup swivel/rotate range). Compared to other Senn cans the build quality also feels much more premium than even their HD600 line.

 

As far as sound quality goes though, they do surprisingly well, even if you consider the wireless and included DAC/AMP station.

 

Bass and Mids are very impressive in range, and response. Arguably better than any of the Senn veil cans I've tried that I like so much (558/598/600) In particular, the Bass response is very flat for a Senn can (with a not-uncommon slight emphasis on high bass), and the difference is really nice for gaming. The treble is definitely the weakest part of these headphones, being a slight bit a of a mess response wise, and occasionally being bright/sharp. 

 

I play a decent number of competitive games (at 100Hz), and the end to end sound latency is definitely not something I have noticed a difference in compared to wireless, if I had to guess it is definitely <60ms.

 

Sound isolation is naturally pretty poor, but leakage at the volumes I like to listen to my headphones at is actually almost non-existent. The onboard sound controls get far louder than ANYONE could possibly want to listen to them on your head with, and in fact, about say 50%-70% volume, these headphones "function" as a portable speaker if say you want to listen to a podcast while in the bathroom/shower.

 

RTINGS has a nice review here of these phones complete with measured response curves, and yeah I'd say they shape up pretty well against even the HD598/HD600 considering the much lower street price at the moment.

 

http://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/rs-185

http://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-598

http://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/sennheiser/hd-650

 

I bought these about 6 months ago now just for bedtime listening, but they quickly and completely have supplanted all my other headphones by sounding plenty good enough while adding the innumerable conveniences of wireless. 

[Curufinwe_wins]

On 5/31/2017 at 11:19 PM, SSL said:

 

I appreciate this. Unfortunately, this isn't really enough for me to get an idea of the sound of the headphone. The innerfidelity measurements look promising, so there may be more to explore here.

Is it just me or are the front page spoilers broken?

[Dackzy]

2 hours ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Is it just me or are the front page spoilers broken?

they work for me 

[SSL]

2 hours ago, Curufinwe_wins said:

Is it just me or are the front page spoilers broken?

 

Looks fine to me, maybe your browser or ic is acting up?

 

I will add in the RS headphone, although I will probably do it in a new wireless headphone section.

[Curufinwe_wins]

4 hours ago, SSL said:

 

Looks fine to me, maybe your browser or ic is acting up?

 

I will add in the RS headphone, although I will probably do it in a new wireless headphone section.

Coolio

5 hours ago, Dackzy said:

they work for me 

Hmm good call. One of my extensions was conflicting with them... No idea why, but I don't need that one active all the time so **shrugs**

[YoloSwag]

@SSL

 

Hi dude, I was checking out some recommendations for $100 ('coz I am a budget man myself lol).

 

I want to recommend the SoundMagic E80 (E80S and E80C) for the $100 IEM Category.

 

Just for comparison, I currently have some other $100 and below IEMs like the Audio-Technica CKM-500, Audio-Technica CKS550iS, Beyerdynamic MMX-102.

I've also tested others like RHA S500i and some Audio-Technica IM-series stuff but not as extensively as the ones that I own.

 

I have to say, this is the most linear IEM out of the bunch above. I've tested these on some high quality music and tried it on various devices like phones, iPods, and my PC.

Also, the packaging comes with three various-sized pairs of Comply Foam ear tips, regular set of various-sized ear tips, and a hard case (not a soft pouch or a sack).

 

These are easily available online on amazon and other various e-tailers and retailers.

 

Also, another recommendation for $100 and below is the Beyerdynamic MMX-102, has a warm sound signature though, also lacks in highs but very good and deep bass but isn't overpowering at all. Not very nice packaging and build quality though. But I think there's some newer and better models.

 

I could make reviews too if you want

[David1521]

You should add the Audeze iSINE 20 to the list of IEMs they sound better than the Shure SE846 imo.

[spwath]

5 hours ago, David1521 said:

You should add the Audeze iSINE 20 to the list of IEMs they sound better than the Shure SE846 imo.

If you don't mind having a massive piece of Spider-Man in your ear, and ok with sound leaking in/out.

[David1521]

17 hours ago, spwath said:

If you don't mind having a massive piece of Spider-Man in your ear, and ok with sound leaking in/out.

I have them and they're extremely light, they don't feel any heavier than other earbuds. They're comfortable too imo. And the open back makes the sound stage sound similar to (not as good) as my sennheiser HD 700s.