New HD560S, and I'm freaking out.

[AverageLeo]

Just got them, unboxed, and straight to the PC.

I using the back panel of course (Asus Z270-A PRIME motherboard), and only until the DAC/AMP arrives.

Anyway, the sound is not what I expected. I'm using AKG buds, and the Samsung Buds so not the top of the line, and I thought I'll get a big difference.

I know sometimes you need to change some windows 10 settings, I changed the sample rate from 24 bit 48000 Hz to 24 bit 96000 Hz, and even 32 bit 192000 Hz, and still weird sound.

Maybe it's just the motherboard and I need to wait for the DAC but I want to make sure I'm not missing anything in the setup process.

 

I would appreciate any help as a noob member of the HQ audio community

(p.s sorry for bad grammar)

[NinJake]

You should be fine to leave the sample rate at the standard 48000hz. What were you expecting out of these new headphones?

[AverageLeo]

1 minute ago, NinJake said:

You should be fine to leave the sample rate at the standard 48000hz. What were you expecting out of these new headphones?

My English isn't great so I'll try to explain:

I basically feel the vocals are not good even compared to my buds, and the music isn't clean enough like it's a little bit muffed.

And I got an headache from 5 minutes of listening.

[sub68]

new headphone always sound werid.

Just now, AverageLeo said:

I basically feel the vocals are not good even compared to my buds, and the music isn't clean enough like it's a little bit muffed.

You sir need a amp to drive HD 650's

[AverageLeo]

Just now, sub68 said:

new headphone always sound werid.

You sir need a amp to drive HD 650's

True, I guess.

About the amp, as I said I got one on the way (Fosi Audio Q4) but from all the other resources I saw it's not really needed.

My motherboard is pretty powerful and set to Max amplifier on the new headphones configuration.

[Mo5]

7 minutes ago, sub68 said:

new headphone always sound werid.

You sir need a amp to drive HD 650's

btw you misread... they're not 650s but 560S which are much easier to drive. Yes dedicated amp would be recommended but I don't think he'll see much as much of a difference than he would with 650s.

[sub68]

1 minute ago, Mo5 said:

btw you misread... they're not 650s but 560S which are much easier to drive.

Yes I miss read that.

yeah they don't need a amp.

7 minutes ago, AverageLeo said:

My motherboard is pretty powerful and set to Max amplifier on the new headphones configuration.

huh maybbe the DAC chip is dying.

[AverageLeo]

4 minutes ago, Mo5 said:

btw you misread... they're not 650s but 560S which are much easier to drive. Yes dedicated amp would be recommended but I don't think he'll see much as much of a difference than he would with 650s.

 

1 minute ago, sub68 said:

Yes I miss read that.

yeah they don't need a amp.

huh maybbe the DAC chip is dying.

There is nothing to setup on Windows 10 right?

[Mo5]

4 minutes ago, AverageLeo said:

 

There is nothing to setup on Windows 10 right?

You could check the EQ in your drivers to see if maybe that's not messed up for one. Just have it set to flat or neutral or whatever the most basic preset is (or you can turn it off if there's an option for that). Or in similar fashion maybe you have that spatial sound option on which could also be messing with audio.

Other than that you could try them on your phone to see if they sound the same.

Did you plug in the cable(s) all the way? You'd be surprised how often that's the issue.

[AverageLeo]

10 minutes ago, Mo5 said:

You could check the EQ in your drivers to see if maybe that's not messed up for one. Just have it set to flat or neutral or whatever the most basic preset is (or you can turn it off if there's an option for that). Or in similar fashion maybe you have that spatial sound option on which could also be messing with audio.

Other than that you could try them on your phone to see if they sound the same.

Did you plug in the cable(s) all the way? You'd be surprised how often that's the issue.

EQ is natural, no effects are on, cable is connected.

The only thing I see and it's probably nothing, is the audio driver detect the headphones as a speaker (even tho I picked "Headphones").

https://gyazo.com/6ce8939139dcfd1018e9ab60f578b51f

https://gyazo.com/54472eb3508f59a75f3f87a8b1007616

 

Thanks, for replying BTW

[Mo5]

2 minutes ago, AverageLeo said:

EQ is natural, no effects are on, cable is connected.

The only thing I see and it's probably nothing, is the audio driver detect the headphones as a speaker (even tho I picked "Headphones").

https://gyazo.com/6ce8939139dcfd1018e9ab60f578b51f

https://gyazo.com/54472eb3508f59a75f3f87a8b1007616

 

Thanks, for replying BTW

having it show as speakers is normal they all do that. other than that idk what more you could do. the only other option is that they're broken or that you've been listening to "bad" audio for so long it's become the norm for you idk.

[AverageLeo]

2 minutes ago, Mo5 said:

having it show as speakers is normal they all do that. other than that idk what more you could do. the only other option is that they're broken or that you've been listening to "bad" audio for so long it's become the norm for you idk.

Yeah, maybe it's just weird for me.

I don't think they're broken so hopefully I'll get used to it and maybe the DAC/AMP will do something.

[Latvian Video]

Plug it into your phone and check the same songs you listened to on your pc, if it is a lot better, then a DAC should solve it

[NinJake]

My guess is you're now experiencing open back headphones. Going from In-Ear buds to an open back headphone is going to sound dramatically different no matter what. It will definitely take a little bit of getting used to. It's possible an amp will help you, but you'll have to give it some time and listen to different genres. You may start to notice intricate details that you've never heard before, the clamping force of the headphones could also be giving you a headache, so be sure to rest but also keep using them to "wear" that clamping force down a bit.

 

You likely won't hear a "punchy bass" like you would from earbuds, however the bass should have more clarity rather than a simple amplified bass section of the EQ. Cheaper audio devices whether they are speakers or headphones/earbuds, will cover up the poor sound quality by boosting certain aspects, finally moving into higher quality audio takes a bit to get accustomed to. I know it took me a few weeks to fully appreciate "hi-fi" sound.

 

If they don't suit your needs after testing sufficiently... return and try some more! Maybe you'd like closed back headphones.

[GamerDude]

@NinJake has a point, sometimes it takes a little getting used to. I remember when I'd first tried a pair of planar mag can (HE400) after trying and owning a number of dynamic cans, it sounded weird and I was thinking peeps must have crappy hearing to think planar mag sounded good. 

 

But, after a short period, I guess my brain adjusted and I began to appreciate the difference in sound between dynamic and planar mag. I now have about equal number of planar mag cans and dynamic cans.

 

Same goes for me when it came to open and closed cans, I'd found close back cans to be less 'airy', too narrow though imaging was decent. That all changed when I'd had the opportunity to try a Denon AH-D7000, it blew me away. Liked it so much that I bought it, even bough a Lawton Lambskin Angled Pads to replace the already pretty good original pads. Even modded a Fostex TRP-50 and added a lambskin earpad, which is why I can also appreciate a closed back planar mag.

[AverageLeo]

10 hours ago, NinJake said:

My guess is you're now experiencing open back headphones. Going from In-Ear buds to an open back headphone is going to sound dramatically different no matter what. It will definitely take a little bit of getting used to. It's possible an amp will help you, but you'll have to give it some time and listen to different genres. You may start to notice intricate details that you've never heard before, the clamping force of the headphones could also be giving you a headache, so be sure to rest but also keep using them to "wear" that clamping force down a bit.

 

You likely won't hear a "punchy bass" like you would from earbuds, however the bass should have more clarity rather than a simple amplified bass section of the EQ. Cheaper audio devices whether they are speakers or headphones/earbuds, will cover up the poor sound quality by boosting certain aspects, finally moving into higher quality audio takes a bit to get accustomed to. I know it took me a few weeks to fully appreciate "hi-fi" sound.

 

If they don't suit your needs after testing sufficiently... return and try some more! Maybe you'd like closed back headphones.

 

2 hours ago, GamerDude said:

@NinJake has a point, sometimes it takes a little getting used to. I remember when I'd first tried a pair of planar mag can (HE400) after trying and owning a number of dynamic cans, it sounded weird and I was thinking peeps must have crappy hearing to think planar mag sounded good. 

 

But, after a short period, I guess my brain adjusted and I began to appreciate the difference in sound between dynamic and planar mag. I now have about equal number of planar mag cans and dynamic cans.

 

Same goes for me when it came to open and closed cans, I'd found close back cans to be less 'airy', too narrow though imaging was decent. That all changed when I'd had the opportunity to try a Denon AH-D7000, it blew me away. Liked it so much that I bought it, even bough a Lawton Lambskin Angled Pads to replace the already pretty good original pads. Even modded a Fostex TRP-50 and added a lambskin earpad, which is why I can also appreciate a closed back planar mag.

Thank you for the replies

I'm actually already getting used to the sound so I guess it was me.

Hopefully it will become better and better in the next days.

[CTR640]

It's probably not your amp/dac or other source. I had the HD560S and I don't like it. I got rid of it.

[dalekphalm]

On 8/11/2021 at 3:17 PM, sub68 said:

new headphone always sound werid.

You sir need a amp to drive HD 650's

I know that this was a misread on your end, but I have the HD 6xx's - you do not "need" an Amp to drive them. Yes you can get more out of them that way, but I've used my 6xx's on every device I own (XBox One controller, iPhone 6S, iPhone XR, HP Spectre x360, HP ZBook v15 G5, Thunderbolt G2 Dock, etc) - obviously some of these devices have a pretty decent DAC/Amp installed in them, but some of them are pretty bog standard.

 

My 6xx's sound great on all of my devices.

On 8/12/2021 at 3:06 AM, AverageLeo said:

 

Thank you for the replies

I'm actually already getting used to the sound so I guess it was me.

Hopefully it will become better and better in the next days.

Have you tried the HD560S on a phone or different computer?

[sub68]

1 hour ago, dalekphalm said:

but I have the HD 6xx's - you do not "need" an Amp

Ok, good to know