Headphones advice.

[nusukiss]

Hello ! First of all , sorry for sounding stupid . When it comes to headphones , I'm really not the bright bulb in the pack. So , I'm a gamer , and probably NOT an audiophile. The most expensive headphones ( and probably the best sounding , so that says something about my lack of experience ) i've used are probably the Beats solo 2 wireless ( I got them for free ) . Other than that , i usually just go for a pair of iphone earphones . Have also used Tiamat and Megalodon by Razer , but they both sounded like garbage. So , I want to hear some quality sound. Will need 3 pairs in total (do note that I don't plan on using DAC's , Amps , or whatever. I'm bad with that stuff , it's like garlic for the vampire , so i just want the best out-of-the-box sound possible ) . After some internet browsing , I've come up with this so far :

- Pair intended for PC , half gaming half listening to music : Audio-Tehnica ATH M50x ( As i said , i don't think i'm some audiophile , so I'd prefer rich sound as opposed to neutral , thus , m50x is better than the m70x in my case )

- Main pair , mostly home but also phone listening : Oppo PM-3 ( I read that those are smartphone optimized . ) or Bowers & Wilkins P7

- Pair intended for gym/running : ----------- ( Been using the beats for this , but after 3 days of sweat , they literally started falling apart. ) 

Budget - As an overall , 1200$ , can get over it slightly ( With my country's taxes , it'll get me around 2000$ , so yeah.. ) For the PC pair , i'd say a max of 350$ , for the gym/sports one , 200$ , and go around 5-600$ on the main one.( Or around the price of the sennheiser hd 700. It is 460$ on amazon , but it would cost me 675$ in my country . )

Those were my main options , but as I am terrible at headphones knowledge , I await for advice. Sorry for the long post , and thank you for your help.

 

Also , small note : I'm not completely closed to more neutral sounding headphones. Never tried them , but if they do in fact sound better ( and don't need tweaking ) , willing to try.

[Lethal Seraph]

I'd suggest a neckband Sennheiser PMX 686 or older model for gym/running use. I use one of those and those ain't bad if you get a deal off eBay.

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

Just some quick points and questions that need answering before we can start.

 

!) Dont get the M50X's for gaming. They have absolute garbage soundstage and get uncomfortable quick.

 

1) Are you in a noisy environment, are you willing to get open back headphones?

 

2) What type of signature do you want from the personal pair, more bass, very flat, etc?

 

3) Are you willing to grab a pair of wireless earbuds for the gym?

 

4) If I promise you it's very very simple, would you be willing to invest in an amp/dac? Spending this much on gear would be pointless to not have a good amp and dac, you wont spend more but you'll get better quality.

[nusukiss]

1 hour ago, LordGrizzillaKreme said:

Just some quick points and questions that need answering before we can start.

 

!) Dont get the M50X's for gaming. They have absolute garbage soundstage and get uncomfortable quick.

 

1) Are you in a noisy environment, are you willing to get open back headphones?

 

2) What type of signature do you want from the personal pair, more bass, very flat, etc?

 

3) Are you willing to grab a pair of wireless earbuds for the gym?

 

4) If I promise you it's very very simple, would you be willing to invest in an amp/dac? Spending this much on gear would be pointless to not have a good amp and dac, you wont spend more but you'll get better quality.

1. Quiet environment . Well , as quiet as my PC's fans allow it to be at least. Yes , open back headphones are an option , don't really care much if someone calls me a Dbag for using them outside .

2. Signature : hard to tell . As i told you , I have very little experience in sound , and never used  "quality" or "audiophile" headphones. If it helps , I'm quite average for music preference. 20% rap , 30% hip-hop , the rest being mostly nightcore songs . Also listen to dubstep , but usually on the speakers. For reference , some songs I usually listen to are "BEAST" , "TRNDSTTR" , "HIBIKASE ver REOL" . For speakers , I really enjoy the bass , but I doubt it's the same for headphones. Probably won't like flat , so anything other than flat might be just fine.

3. Yes . Wireless is a must , but earbuds ~ not really ~ . My ears are so weird , i've tried dozens of sponges or whatever they are called. Once they are in as much as possible without hurting , it takes less than 1 minute for them to pop out . This is why i tend to use apple earpods , because of their shape - those are basically the only ones that do stay in.

4. I guess yeah , but that would only help quality at home. When I'm on the move , I won't be carrying a laptop-sized box in my pocket . Still , i'll trust and say go for it . Keep in mind ,never touched an amp/dac . I'm fairly in line with everything else , but those look like an airplane's cockpit to me.

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

1 minute ago, nusukiss said:

snip

ok here are what I would recommend

 

Amp / Dac : Schiit Magni 2 / Schiit Modi 2

 

Gaming : Hifiman HE 400S (my recommendation) or Sennheiser HD 600/650 (fantastic options)

 

Personal : Massdrop X Fostex TH-XOO * I'm going to warn you cable is very big (10 ft long, very thick) but can be taken out if needed

 

Gym: I was going to recommend the Jaybird X2's but you claim to not enjoy earbuds and 99.99% of the time people only recommend earbuds.

         V-Moda LP2 (very durable and great sound, would also recommend these as your out of house headphones over the fostexs)

[nusukiss]

7 minutes ago, LordGrizzillaKreme said:

ok here are what I would recommend

 

Amp / Dac : Schiit Magni 2 / Schiit Modi 2

 

Gaming : Hifiman HE 400S (my recommendation) or Sennheiser HD 600/650 (fantastic options)

 

Personal : Massdrop X Fostex TH-XOO * I'm going to warn you cable is very big (10 ft long, very thick) but can be taken out if needed

 

Gym: I was going to recommend the Jaybird X2's but you claim to not enjoy earbuds and 99.99% of the time people only recommend earbuds.

         V-Moda LP2 (very durable and great sound, would also recommend these as your out of house headphones over the fostexs)

Because of different limitations , I can't really order from outside . From everything you've suggested , I'll go at gaming for the sennheisers , do say which is better , 600 or 650 .

Everything else , can't find them. In my country , can only seem to find stuff like Oppo , Sennheiser , Bowers & Wilkins , AKG , Audio Technica , Sony , very small selection of Audeze , Bose and Denon . Amps and Dacs seem to be mostly out of the question .

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

2 minutes ago, nusukiss said:

Because of different limitations , I can't really order from outside . From everything you've suggested , I'll go at gaming for the sennheisers , do say which is better , 600 or 650 .

Everything else , can't find them. In my country , can only seem to find stuff like Oppo , Sennheiser , Bowers & Wilkins , AKG , Audio Technica , Sony , very small selection of Audeze , Bose and Denon . Amps and Dacs seem to be mostly out of the question .

Oh man that sucks. I would say the 650's are better. I'm pretty sure massdrop ships worldwide for the fostexs if you still wanna try that.

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

7 minutes ago, nusukiss said:

Because of different limitations , I can't really order from outside . From everything you've suggested , I'll go at gaming for the sennheisers , do say which is better , 600 or 650 .

Everything else , can't find them. In my country , can only seem to find stuff like Oppo , Sennheiser , Bowers & Wilkins , AKG , Audio Technica , Sony , very small selection of Audeze , Bose and Denon . Amps and Dacs seem to be mostly out of the question .

I will also warn you that the Sennheisers are probably going to need amplification unless you have very good on board audio on your motherboard.

[nusukiss]

2 minutes ago, LordGrizzillaKreme said:

Oh man that sucks. I would say the 650's are better. I'm pretty sure massdrop ships worldwide for the fostexs if you still wanna try that.

 

1 minute ago, LordGrizzillaKreme said:

I will also warn you that the Sennheisers are probably going to need amplification unless you have very good on board audio on your motherboard.

Will get a sound card if needed . As to the fostexs , the massdrop is closed. It's not really about really bad limitations , but thing is I'll buy more things aside from the headphones , and I have little free time. Thus , don't wanna risk something to be shipped to me from another country , just to miss the chance of getting them.

So , those said , what is your opinion on Bowers & Wilkins P7 ( or P5 ) , or Oppo PM3 ? Sennheiser 700 is also available. M50x is out of the question as I understand .

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

4 minutes ago, nusukiss said:

 

Will get a sound card if needed . As to the fostexs , the massdrop is closed. It's not really about really bad limitations , but thing is I'll buy more things aside from the headphones , and I have little free time. Thus , don't wanna risk something to be shipped to me from another country , just to miss the chance of getting them.

So , those said , what is your opinion on Bowers & Wilkins P7 ( or P5 ) , or Oppo PM3 ? Sennheiser 700 is also available. M50x is out of the question as I understand .

If you already have a few pairs picked out watch the reviews from "Z reviews" on youtube. Very knowledgeable and non bias reviewer. Use his videos for all my purchasing advice.

[nusukiss]

Just now, LordGrizzillaKreme said:

If you already have a few pairs picked out watch the reviews from "Z reviews" on youtube. Very knowledgeable and non bias reviewer. Use his videos for all my purchasing advice.

Thank you for your help , and sorry for being a nuisance. Cheers.

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

Just now, nusukiss said:

Thank you for your help , and sorry for being a nuisance. Cheers.

No problem its just I cant really fully help you in your current situation.

[nusukiss]

2 minutes ago, LordGrizzillaKreme said:

No problem its just I cant really fully help you in your current situation.

One last thing . If , so say , I just go and try for those options , which site is best to use to have one shipment with all equipment ? Is Amazon good ? Also , Fostex is out of question , as it seems massdrop has ended with it.

[Dackzy]

8 minutes ago, LordGrizzillaKreme said:

If you already have a few pairs picked out watch the reviews from "Z reviews" on youtube. Very knowledgeable and non bias reviewer. Use his videos for all my purchasing advice.

oh god no, he is so bad, his reviews are extremely opinionated and he knows so little, also who wants to trust a "reviewer" that says shit like this: These headphones are just so good, I cannot even describe how they sound, they are just good..

 

 

Tyll from InnerFidelity are leagues above Z reviews

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

Just now, nusukiss said:

One last thing . If , so say , I just go and try for those options , which site is best to use to have one shipment with all equipment ? Is Amazon good ? Also , Fostex is out of question , as it seems massdrop has ended with it.

Amazon is great, Schiits I ordered from them directly. Massdrop puts those up for grabs very frequently so just keep an eye out. If you request that drop they'll send you an email when they put them up.

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

Just now, Dackzy said:

oh god no, he is so bad, his reviews are extremely opinionated and he knows so little, also who wants to trust a "reviewer" that says shit like this: These headphones are just so good, I cannot even describe how they sound, they are just good..

Maybe knowledgeable wasent the best, meant more about experience as he has reviewed most big named headphones I look for. I do enjoy his videos and they give a good idea of what you'll get but I do understand why many people don't like his videos.

[nusukiss]

Just now, LordGrizzillaKreme said:

Maybe knowledgeable wasent the best, meant more about experience as he has reviewed most big named headphones I look for. I do enjoy his videos and they give a good idea of what you'll get but I do understand why many people don't like his videos.

So , so far i have in check the mangi and modi 2s , and the he400s . The V-moda headphones , are they sweat-resistant , and can they also be used wirelessly via bluetooth ? For a main pair , still would greatly appreciate an alternative , because i'd like to have everything in one shipment from amazon. Thank you.

[Dackzy]

Just now, LordGrizzillaKreme said:

Maybe knowledgeable wasent the best, meant more about experience as he has reviewed most big named headphones I look for. I do enjoy his videos and they give a good idea of what you'll get but I do understand why many people don't like his videos.

I get his videos, the have little to no info in them and are taken as a joke, by a LOT of people who know a lot about audio. Did you know that his is sensitve to treble? Or that his hearing is kinda meh.

I find his videos funny, everything he says you should take with a HUGE grain of salt, because if they don't fit his taste, then he will give the things a bad review.

It is fine that a review is a little opinionated, but what he has going on is just insane and again if you cannot do your job as a audio reviewer to descripe the sound, then you have failed and he has videos where he says that he can only say that x headphones are good, because they are just good, WTF is that shit? Give us a reason, how are the lows, how are the mids, how are the highs, what kind of sound signature do they have?

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

1 minute ago, nusukiss said:

So , so far i have in check the mangi and modi 2s , and the he400s . The V-moda headphones , are they sweat-resistant , and can they also be used wirelessly via bluetooth ? For a main pair , still would greatly appreciate an alternative , because i'd like to have everything in one shipment from amazon. Thank you.

They are not bluetooth. Would recommend the Sony MDR wireless if you want wireless. Their pretty light and sound pretty good and have bass. Not too sure about the sweat resistance on those however.

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

5 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

I get his videos, the have little to no info in them and are taken as a joke, by a LOT of people who know a lot about audio. Did you know that his is sensitve to treble? Or that his hearing is kinda meh.

I find his videos funny, everything he says you should take with a HUGE grain of salt, because if they don't fit his taste, then he will give the things a bad review.

It is fine that a review is a little opinionated, but what he has going on is just insane and again if you cannot do your job as a audio reviewer to descripe the sound, then you have failed and he has videos where he says that he can only say that x headphones are good, because they are just good, WTF is that shit? Give us a reason, how are the lows, how are the mids, how are the highs, what kind of sound signature do they have?

I get where your coming from. He doesnt really touch on signature just how it sounds to him. I feel that all reviews should be taken with a grain of salt and nobody should only use one source, its just that he has a large catalog of reviews so I tend to start with his video and go to others and make a decision after a few videos.

[Dackzy]

Just now, LordGrizzillaKreme said:

I get where your coming from. He doesnt really touch on signature just how it sounds to him. I feel that all reviews should be taken with a grain of salt and nobody should only use one source, its just that he has a large catalog of reviews so I tend to start with his video and go to others and make a decision after a few videos.

I would recommend going with Tyll from InnerFidelity on youtube and then go to InnerFidelity.com and read reviews

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

2 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

I would recommend going with Tyll from InnerFidelity on youtube and then go to InnerFidelity.com and read reviews

Ill keep that in mind, thanks. I also frequent head-fi quite often as well and read the large threads on each headphone I'm interested in.

[Dackzy]

Just now, LordGrizzillaKreme said:

Ill keep that in mind, thanks. I also frequent head-fi quite often as well and read the large threads on each headphone I'm interested in.

take that site with a huge grain of salt, some people are crazy on there. We are talking 500$ jack cable crazy

[nusukiss]

Still waiting for a good main pair apart from fostex ;_;

[LordGrizzillaKreme]

3 minutes ago, Dackzy said:

take that site with a huge grain of salt, some people are crazy on there. We are talking 500$ jack cable crazy

Yeah that I tend to stay away from those but I find that having 500 pages of reviews on a single pair of phones you find some actual reviews every once in a while.