Headphones

Considering people outside of very major worldwide cities can’t just demo an expensive amp… how do you take the plunge? For example, I have some (basic, I know) HD6XX’s . To be honest, they don’t sound all that amazing powered by an iPhone, PC or Schitt Amp. Is it just sunken cost that gets people to buy more and more expensive amps and headphones until it either sounds better or you’re so deep that you can’t back out?

I have these Apple ear buds I cut off to only have it in my right ear for hiking, snowboarding, etc. Just curious if it’s using half the power from the phone to power them or not.

Or did something happen and change your mind during your audio journey?

I would love to hear.

Price don't really matter Sound quality is priority

So I just received my first pair of proper headphones, Superlux hd668b to be specific, and yeah they sound way better than everything I've ever tried and all but the volume is quite low, I figured it's probably because the 3.5mm jack in using, in the front panel of my case struggles to drive them at high power, if that's the case tho what can I do besides buying an Amp?

I know it's the "right" choice but for how cramped I am with desk space an amp wouldn't fit anywhere, I thought maybe using a 3.5mm to USB adapter I got could improve things? Considering USB ports can generally output more power than 3.5mm

TL; DR: I tried out three of the headphones mentioned. They are all decent but Hifiman's Ananda Nano is the clear winner for technical retrieval, value, bass and overall sound for multiple music genres. I also have tried MANY sets of headphones/IEMs (listed below). The write up is simply my initial impressions.

Ok, so I'm going to start this by saying, "I know everyone will have a different listening experience, and we all hear a slight bit differently", but OMGosh! Comparing these three headphones with a variety of music genres left me in shock!

Initial Impressions:

*Not burned in yet and using stock cables with all.

First off, I don't think they are all trash. In fact I think it's more a preference on what you like. I chose these three because I was trying to stay in a specific price point for headphones, as I tend to put my cash in high end IEMs (more on that in the "My background section". That's not to say that I haven't experienced $1K plus headphones, I have. But here's the thing about these three. They are VASTLY different. I read through the reviews here, on headphones dot com, Amazon, and headfi dot org. What I've found over the years is that in the end, YOU must listen and test on your own.

So I tend to buy from Amazon because I can do this and return what I don't like, or I use headphones dot com, bloom audio dot com or similar places to find the things Amazon doesn't have.

So I purchased these three and here are my thoughts:

Ananda Nano:

1. The detail retrieval is good for this price point. Like WAY better than I expected
2. Bass: Surprisingly on point. Not too punchy, but deep enough and appropriate for the songs you are listening to, which is ideal in my humble opinion.
3. Build Quality: For the most part ok, I did get a scratch on it from somewhere which is weird, but overall the cups are comfortable, although I read that the clamp force was an issue for some. I have an average sized head.
4. Overall: This is my number one pick between the three it has the best of all worlds for a broad variety of music genres. Even though it has a twinge of brightness on some tracks.

Edition XS:

1. Detail Retrieval: Not that good. Not terrible, but compared to the Ananda, it's basically non existent.
2. Bass: Good but a little muddy imho. Overall it's better than most and appropriate for the music genre, albeit a bit "muddy" to my ears.
3. Build Quality: Same as Ananda Nano except the cable provided is shorter than the Ananda Nano. There's quite a bit more "plastic" versus the metal.
4. Overall: Not bad, not great but it's a good entry point into Hifiman if money is tight. If you can afford a little extra, I'd go with the Ananda Nano. You won't be disappointed. If you want to compare them, buy from Amazon, try them and return the ones you don't like.

​

Sennheiser 660S2:

1. Detail Retrieval: Good, but it seemed a bit subdued and quiet. Sennheiser's are usually quite good at this in my experience (IEMs and Headphones).
2. Bass: Better than the other 6 series, but it's not great. And I'm talking about with multiple genres. You know its there a bit more than other 6 series versions, but for the money, there are MANY options that blow it away. Comparing it to the Hifiman headphones above, there's no comparison here. Hifiman hands down with the clear, punchy, and throaty but not muddy sub bass. (Note: if you're a bass head, none of these will scratch that itch per se, so go consumer grade imho.)
3. Build Quality: I absolutely love the Sennheiser build quality. It's elegant, luxurious, and overall great. The box and presentation, not so much but who cares about that. The headphones are top notch.
4. Overall: These are music genre specific in my humble opinion. As you'll see below, I listen to quite a variety of music so I needed something that can handle that. I don't see, these doing that. Maybe Classical and Rock would be good on those....maybe.

​

My Background Prior Listening Experience:

So here's a bit about my setup, prior headphones I've listened to, set ups and such. I'm by no means an expert, but I'm simply sharing my opinions/thoughts in hopes of helping others make a decision that will suit them best.

Current Set Up:

• IEM: Astell & Kern X Empire Ears Odyssey
• Headphones: Hifiman Ananda Nano
• Astell & Kern SP3000

Past Set Ups/Headphones:

• Sennheiser HD 800
• Sennheiser HD 558
• Sennheiser HD 650
• Sennheiser HD 660S2
• Sennheiser IE 900 & 600
• Hifiman Arya and Arya V2
• Hifiman HE 1000 V21
• Apple Airpods, Pro, Max
• Bose Quiet Comfort
• Sony (many variations)
• Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies
• HIFIMAN EF2A Tube USB Amp/DAC
• There are others I'm not remembering most likely haha. It's been a long journey of fun!

Music Genres:

• Hip Hop
• R&B
• Country
• Smooth/Classical Jazz
• Down Tempo
• Classical/Baroque (Only when learning or studying)

​

***I hope this helps someone in their decision making process for these headphones. :)***

"Uh, what, now?"

"You're fucking welcome"

Context: I told a friend to listen to Daft Punk‘s RAM because he had never heard the album before. After recommending to use a pair of headphones he‘s proceeded to tell me that he was actually listening on his tablet. The headphones in question are the AKG K371s. Marketing does what marketing does I suppose?!

So my Apple 3.5mm EarPods, that I used on my windows pc with an 3.5mm->USB-A Soundcard Adapter, just died and I need a replacement. Since they are now avail with USB-C, I was wondering if I could use the USB-C EarPods with an USB-C->USB-A Adapter with my windows pc. I saw some yt videos where ppl did just that and I was wondering, do the new EarPods have a build in soundcard? And will this work?

I wanted to share my excitement for beginning this journey into the audiophile world. Just bought the HifiMan Sundaras but I have a couple of questions:

1. Since I would prefer a portable Dac/amp to listen on my MBP and Pixel 7 Pro around the house, is it ok to opt for the Dragonfly Red? Or the Quadelix 5K is better?

2. Just to know, how better is the zen DAC v2 compared with the ones above?

Hi there,

i have some Questions about IEMs. Right now i was thinking about getting IEMs. I tried tons of Bluetooth IN Ears and send them back to Amazon because, Stem Style In ears seems to always hurt my ears and DOT or Bean Style earbuds most of the time dont stay in my ear and will fall Out after some time. Right now i am using the Liberty 3 Pro they fit and have good comfort but still dont stay nice in my right ear (seems i have a rather big right ear, for Eartips i use M on the Left and XL on the Right Side so i get a Proper Seal)

Because i still have Problems i thought about why not try IEMs. Now to my Questions.

1. I found with a bit off research the Moondrop Aria Snow Are they good for "Beginner" who never really used IEMs? (They are on Sale on Amazon 89€-> 67€) I had wired Earbuds when i was younger but i guess this cant be compared.
2. Does the Cable of the IEM matter? Are there some Special one (maybe not to cheap or to expensive) And does all of them Have the same lenght?
3. How are Bluetooth adapters. I was thinking that the Portability was a big pro for me on the Bluetooth in Ears. Are Adapters Like the KZ AZ09 or Dongles Like BTR3k good for the Money. (Price Range 60-70€). The qudelix5k in Germany costs 130€ which is a bit to high for my taste right now when i dont have IEM Experience. How is Battery Life and Long Life of this Products?
4. Would using IEM solve my Problems with fit and comfort. And would they, because of using the Wire, stay better in my ear?
5. Just for the Records IEMs dont have ANC. That was something i was Looking for, for Bluetooth In Ears (wanted to use them at work where its a bit louder) But i guess i could live without ANC when they stay in my Ear and dont fall out like everything else.

I hope my English wasnt to bad. And i hope u guys can provide some Infos for me and enlight my a little about IEMs.

Greetings.

For years I struggled with finding comfortable headsets for gaming. It feels like most headsets are made for smaller ears, even supposed over ear ones. So most headsets I have used that were supposed to be open ear ended up sitting on my ears, not over them. Well I finally found the SHP 9600 which fits over my ears completely.

But then I ran into yet another damn issue. While my right ear is a normal ear, my left ear is a protruding one that sticks out farther from my head. Now the headphone walls are bending and/or squishing my ear and is extremely uncomfortable and is not something I can ignore.

I head about Brainwavz and Misodiko ear pads and how they have deeper ear room and they could possibly fit the SHP 9600 but I am terrified of either damaging the headphone or not being able to put the replacement ear pads on and put the stock one back on.

I could just get a refund but I am so conflicted because this is the first headset I have ever had that fits OVER my ears! And it feels absolutely wonderful on my normal right ear, a feeling I never experienced with previous headsets. But if I refunded them I might never find another headset that will go over my ears at it’s price range. (It was $75)

TLDR : Should I just attempt to replace the ear pads, refund it and continue my search, or just give up on headphones forever?

Hey all!

Just got a new pair of headphones (Sennheiser HD 569), and was just curious on what percentage I should set the Windows audio at? I previously had it set to 60%, and things sounded pretty quiet. Setting it to 100, system alerts make me jump with how loud they are.

Does it matter where it really should be? I have no amp, just a direct plug from the PC to the headphones.

Thanks!

does anyone know how much bigger they are compared to the Blessing 2 Dusks?

Both the 560s and the 599 are listed for the same price on Sennheiser's website. Sennheiser say that the 599 are the best headphone in the 500 series but I've heard that the 560s sound better. Please could you help me decided which headphone to buy as they are the same price. I'll probably be powering them out of my dell inspiron laptop and I don't listen to music particularly loud. Thanks so much :)

I wanted to order them from shenzhenaudio but they are out of stock and also out of stock/too expensive on aliexpress. Are there any other sites to order them from that isn't Amazon? Otherwise I'll just order moondrop chu 2 unless someone has a better alternative. Thanks.

I OWNED JAM TRANSIT MINI BUDS LASTED ME FOR 7 YEARS

NOW I AM IN SEARCH OF THE BEST RELIABLE

HEADPHONES White Best Longevity (To Last me for years)

BUGDET 350

PLEASE BE CHEAPER AND BEST SOUND QUALITY THERE IS FOR 50-100 100-350

TO LISTEN WITH MY IPHONE 10 BLUUE THOOT

Hey guys so I usually do all my music mixing on my Hedd Type 30 MK2 speakers which are out of this world , I'm looking for something that can translate that sound or something close enough so I can do the same thing on the go. I've been looking at the heddphone 2 but I'm sure there are better as the reviews were quite mixed

I've been using this famous pair for 3 months. And I gotta say, these are the type of headphones that grow on you when you use them long enough, even if they don't beat the open backs in performance. But as for closed backs, these are still some of the best on the market.

My first impressions for DT770 were similar to other people. I was impressed by their technical performance. They've got soundstage and imaging that's almost on par with some intimate open backs, but obviously not as open sounding. It's easy to hear different sounds and their directionalities.

The sound signature is bright and detailed, with a slight v-shape tuning that doesn't make the mids hard to hear. The bass response is what I would call perfect in Harman terms. It's got presence and doesn't bleed into mids. The mid response is flat as it should be for studio headphones. The treble is definitely bright and sharp at stock, but I found that it does get softer with enough wear. It's easy to EQ the treble region. I went with the the DIY paper layer mod. It gets rid of sibilance and harshness for good. But even without this mod, treble is not so rough that it's a problem with modest listening volume.

I'll be keeping my D770. They're the only wired closed backs that I need. The sound of them is so good, and even if the treble bothers you, it's easy to reduce it with either EQ or DIY mod. And yes, I recommend these headphones over M50X and K371.

The top of my head gets so sore while gaming. I own Bose QC 35, but they are just not comfortable for me and I’ve been suffering through wearing them for years. The biggest issue is the headband pressure with a really sensitive scalp.

I’ve found the mesh headband of AirPods Max to be nice when I tried them on, but not sure I want to spend that much on them.

What are your most comfy headphone recs for sensitive big heads? 😅

I have my first pair of decent headphones (DT 770) and want to store them properly. I was thinking of getting a headphone stand, but I am worried about the stand, indenting the pad where the headphone would sit.

Is this something that I should not worry about? I wanted to get a case for it but I’m not sure what would fit it properly.

The sub 200$ IEM market is just flooded with so many options that it's nearly impossible to decide on an IEM. Even when you narrow it down your sound preferences you have minimum 10 options with slight variations between each other. For example, some fit your sound preferences but have large nozzles which causes discomfort (Zero: Red). The IE200s are extremely comfortable but it took so much of effort from tape mod, tip rolling and cable change to be worth it. On the sound aspect, we have planars, single DD, hybrids (DD + BAs) with each of them tuned very similarly with some differences in technical performances and overall characteristics. Some of them does bass + mid well but lack in treble others do the opposite. The 7Hz Timeless does everything good enough but timbre does sound unnatural in certain tracks.

Do we have too many options with IEMs now that it causing choice overload? How do you typically decide on IEMs if you don't have the option to demo them before buying?

I was completely hopeless, thinking this it. Lo & behold, the sound was miraculously completely normal, as if it had never been near any water to begin with. However, I am still very worried about internal corrosion that could bite my ass in the future. Is there anything I should be particularly attentive to?