Cheap audio stuff thread

[Wolf_Lbh]

So it seems like most audiophile gear is super expensive so I thought it might be nice to have a thread where we post cheap stuff that that we like.



Two things I got recently were these command strip mounted headphone wall hooks which I love as I have no desk space and these $3 headband pads that make a world of difference on multiple hundred dollar headphones. I found the strap on the Mad Dog Pros a bit constrictive so the headband pad adds comfort and on the AKG K7XX the ear cups sat very low on me so the headband pad doesn't make them more comfortable to wear but it makes them sit in a much better spot.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FRKT0S0


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XBOM9QU

[Aereldor]

(I'll keep adding deals as I remember them.)

 

Panasonic RPHJE-120. Best-sounding headphones at $7. Hell, they may be the best earphones below $50. Beats cans 20 times the price when it comes to value for money: https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Headphones-RP-HJE120-K-Ergonomic-Comfort-Fit/dp/B003EM6AOG/

 

Superlux HD 681-EVO. Audiophile open-back headphones for $38. They sound better than anything for the price, and are a good investment if you're willing to put up with the shite build quality. They feel cheap and are fragile as all hell. https://www.amazon.com/Superlux-HD-681-Professional-Monitoring-Headphones/dp/B00CAG1ZG0/

 

Shure PG57 Cardioid Microphone bundle- Shure's signature durability and the sound of an SM57 for just $38. This thing can record anything from vocals to entire drum sets for an obscenely cheap price. https://www.amazon.com/Shure-PG57-XLR-Cardioid-Instrument-Microphone/dp/B0000WOEGE/

 

Blue Snowball iCE ($45)- Possibly the most popular USB microphone on the planet. Perfect for someone who doesn't have an audio interface, and better than the PG57 for voiceovers. https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Snowball-Condenser-Microphone-Cardioid/dp/B006DIA77E/

 

Behringer Xenyx 302 USB audio interface ($48)- The cheapest multitrack USB mixer/interface I can find with phantom power. It'll probably get the job done. https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B005EHILV4/

[KaminKevCrew]

4 hours ago, Aereldor said:

(I'll keep adding deals as I remember them.)

 

Panasonic RPHJE-120. Best-sounding headphones at $7. Hell, they may be the best earphones below $50. Beats cans 20 times the price when it comes to value for money: https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-Headphones-RP-HJE120-K-Ergonomic-Comfort-Fit/dp/B003EM6AOG/

 

Superlux HD 681-EVO. Audiophile open-back headphones for $38. They sound better than anything for the price, and are a good investment if you're willing to put up with the shite build quality. They feel cheap and are fragile as all hell. https://www.amazon.com/Superlux-HD-681-Professional-Monitoring-Headphones/dp/B00CAG1ZG0/

 

Shure PG57 Cardioid Microphone bundle- Shure's signature durability and the sound of an SM57 for just $38. This thing can record anything from vocals to entire drum sets for an obscenely cheap price. https://www.amazon.com/Shure-PG57-XLR-Cardioid-Instrument-Microphone/dp/B0000WOEGE/

 

Blue Snowball iCE ($45)- Possibly the most popular USB microphone on the planet. Perfect for someone who doesn't have an audio interface, and better than the PG57 for voiceovers. https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Snowball-Condenser-Microphone-Cardioid/dp/B006DIA77E/

 

Behringer Xenyx 302 USB audio interface ($48)- The cheapest multitrack USB mixer/interface I can find with phantom power. It'll probably get the job done. https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-BEHRINGER-XENYX/dp/B005EHILV4/

Any headphones that work for less than $5 are better value for the money than any other headphones of a higher price.

 

Superlux headphones are pretty well known for being good cheap headphones...

 

I fail to understand how the PG57 could possibly have the sound of the venerable SM57 if the Blue is the better mic.

[Aereldor]

8 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

Any headphones that work for less than $5 are better value for the money than any other headphones of a higher price.

Not really. I'd pick the $7 RPHJE120s over any $5 earphones. It's a matter of how they perform. To make me choose an $5 pair of earphones over these, they'd have to sound just as good, if not better. $2 is a tiny price difference. It's the price of a Diet Coke, and a small price to pay for better sound quality.

 

9 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

Superlux headphones are pretty well known for being good cheap headphones...

I own the Superlux HD 681-EVO and they felt cheap and flimsy. That was a minor complaint, until the elastic mechanism started to come loose and I had to disassemble it to put it back together, eventually gluing it in place. That wasn't a huge setback, but then the jack fell out with half the wiring. I found that the wiring was mostly glued together, rather than soldered well.

 

You compromise on a lot to get good sound quality for $38. One of those things is build quality. Another of those things is quality control and assembly consistency. However, as long as you're careful with them, it shouldn't be too big of a problem.

 

11 minutes ago, KaminKevCrew said:

AI fail to understand how the PG57 could possibly have the sound of the venerable SM57 if the Blue is the better mic.

Because the SM57 and the Blue Snowball sound very different. They are made for different things. A Shure SM57 and its cheap version, the PG57, are instrument mics. Neither of them is particularly well-suited to voiceovers. I should know; I own three SM57s and have used them for just about everything, including voiceovers and discussion groups for the last two years.

 

The PG57 is a good instrument mic, and not particularly suited to voiceovers. The Blue Snowball iCE is a microphone made for voiceovers. I hope that clears things up.

[Wolf_Lbh]

Something I really like to use with my mod mic (an excellent $50 mic that attaches to almost any headphone so it doesn't take up any desk space and is extremely good quality) and earbuds to prevent the cord getting caught and pulled out of my ears/the mic off its magnetic mount are these lavalier mic clips. They simply clip to the cord and clip to the collar of your shirt and bam no more cord drag.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IFIPHVA

Speaking of cord drag I'm a serious fan of wearing my earbuds "over ear" so gravity/exercise doesn't knock them loose but not every earbud comes configured for that so one cheap and effective solution I found is to use these rubber over ear ear hooks.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VHR7HYC

[Wolf_Lbh]

I was running into an issue where my 4k monitor only had stereo audio out (2.1 chan) so my surround sound setup (5.1 chan) was going to waste. To resolve this as I use hdmi input I got a a hdmi to hdmi + spdif (digital audio) out. As it is digital to digital it does not add any lag and includes a switch with stereo and direct passthrough options included as well. (Also it is hdmi 2.0 which means it works with all previous version of hdmi and can carry 4k @60fps as long as everything else in your setup is hdmi 2.0) $30


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017B6WFP8

Lastly for satellite speakers I got the proper mounting screws (I believe all logitech speakers take 1/4 - 20 x 1/2 inch screws, at the very least the z906 do), some extended length cables, and 2 stands to mount my rear satellite speakers. I really like that the stands conceal the speaker wire internally.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HZWYPZC
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005DJ7WR2