Headphones

Posted yesterday about hifimans refurbished deals. We are past that now and it's a non issue. Atm I'm looking at the V2 stealth and the Se at the exact same price both brand new.

Read pretty much all posts on Reddit about both and all reviews I can find. To me it sounds like:

Similarities:

Hyper details with spectacular imaging, placement and soundstage. Classic Hifiman treble. Deep planar sub bass. Analytical without sacrificing musicality. Not good if your fairly treble sensitive. Can be detailed to a fault (everything gets noticeable on less than stellar recordings)

Differences:

V2 stealth:

*Is a bit more v-shaped with some extra weight to the bass but also more treble going into dangerous territory for sibilance (conflicting here if it's to much or just right), seems to come with a bit of constriction to the soundstage.

*Seen mentions of this having a nicer tuning, have not figured out in what way though, are they more musical or do people just prefer the added oomph

Se:

*Better from a technical point of view, even more detailed, imaging and spaciousness.

*More neutral/analytical tuning without the extra bass but also with the treble more under control.

• less bass but mentions of it being better; texture, detail and quality, just not with the quantity.

*A bit softer presentation overall.

*A little bit more mid-forward giving drums etc a bit more slam and some beautiful vocals.

*Easier to eq (making the lack of bass a non-issue if you want more)

This is just how I understand it from scouring the internet for information, and the seems to be ALOT of conflicting opinions about these HP's.

The non-stealth V2 sounds like a lovely pair but isn't interesting since I can't find it anywhere, although I heard the stealths are tuned really close, but with more sibilance (and the og is discontinued?)

Opinions that disagree with my understanding of the HP's are welcome since I've never listened to them.

For context:

I'm going from the Arya Stealth and I really liked them and decided to upgrade within the same house sound. I found them a little bit bright but they calmed down for me over time.

Really liked the bass but actually preferred them with the dekoni velour pads; a little loss in bass but made them smoother and a little more spacious, even though I would have liked even more space. (Yes I know speakers are best for that)

I REALLY enjoy listening to tracks and just appreciating how they separate instruments and just place you in a space surrounded by music more than anything I had before. Part of the reason the he1000s seems to be for me.

In this upgrade Im mostly looking for better soundstage, imaging and timbre. Was fully satisfied with the bass amount in the aryas. Awell as the he1000s are mostly metal which might give some more longevity.

I also do enjoy dynamic HP's with some bass aswell like my 109pros and Denon ahd5200.

They will run on a Fio K9 pro ess even though I might look for some planar friendly tubes in the future.

Many people use headphones like sneharizer and beyerdynamic for 15 or 20 years. But how long do hifiman headphones last? Can you tell me your experiences?

I don't mind paying more, but experiencing the Sony connection issues have given me cold feet. So if you Google "earbuds issue" are there any in the top 5 that are a safe bet?

Bose, Sennheiser?

I've read a lot about fitting. Many say the vacuum effect indicates a proper seal. But I can never get that when I'm using spinfit cp155. Their surface is a black opaque matte finish and not grippy at all. They are a bit longer than usual ones thus a deeper insertion. It feels different because of the depth but I'm not sure if it's a proper seal. I can hear bass but I can't justify if it's what it's "supposed to be". (I mean I compared with other tips but they are all subtly different so there is no "correct" reference.) I felt like a decent seal but everytime I remove them, they kinda slide out very very easily. But they've never fallen out by themselves which is weird considering how loose they are. Unlike cp145 or other tips I've used, which are more grippy and take a bit more efforts to remove. (Xelastec and foam tips are extremely hard to remove in comparison. But that's the other end of the spectrum.)

So judging by my description, am I getting a good seal here? Or should I always look for a vacuum effect for a good seal?

I saw a discount on the Moondrop Chu 2, I hadn't really used any IEM so I wanted to try them.

When I first got them they were kind of uncomfortable, after a few days of use I could tolerate them but for some reason I just didn't really feel like using them. I seemed to prefer my laptop speakers.

Also the sound, I'm definitely not a audiophile but I didn't really like the way the CHU2 sounded. The higher tones were too harsh even when enabling bass boost.

Is it just an issue with this model or should I look for over ear headphones instead?

Honestly confused lol, had a friend say it's a bit weird and wanted to check even though it's not stopping me

As the pad gets worn, it's smaller.

How that changes sound:

Your ears are much more closer to the driver. Probably even for a half of centimeter. Mids get much louder, you turn down volume, the bass and treble lose their impact.

The sound signature ends up sounding muffled and shouty.

Because of lower treble and closer drivers to the ear, the soundstage also becomes flatter/in-your-face.

Quick test /proof: listen to the headphones, and just pull each earcup a tiny bit further away from your ears, immediately they'll sound more spacious.

But the bass won't improve since also the bass vibrations are lost on the old pads irretrievably.

So get the new pads every year or so or you'll start hating your HD600.

I would like to use some wireless headphones in my piano that has a headphone socket.

How would I connect them? A few years ago I came across a “dongle” that you could plug in to the headphone socket, allowing the piano to have a wired connection to wireless headphones.

I don’t really know what such an adapter would be called or which brands produce them. Anyone have an idea?

I was just curious as a newcomer to this hobby what your “Mt Rushmore” of headphones would be and why? Maybe one ubiquitous, one iconic, one studio headphone, and one high end / audiophile pick? If that’s too broad you could just focus on whichever category is most relevant to you. Let me know if this discussion already exists on this sub or elsewhere!

I come from the time ok Klipsch Image S4’s, Monster Turbines, Denon headphones… I think the Philips Fidelios were in there… I don’t remember the others…

But none of those are made anymore. What are the current offerings? Also amps or DAP’s? Do Sony’s still have their Clear Bass? I remember it being amazing on an MP3 player but is pretty Meh in the app for my XM5’s

I made a custom setup for mounting my 5K on my 6XX (totally reversible) a while ago and never shared it. Just threw some new pads on today and doing some background listening while working from home. If anyone is interested I can share some info about the DIY wireless setup.

https://preview.redd.it/ergrz4n59z1c1.png?width=4032&format=png&auto=webp&s=b2cfecebe6571a41f1839902ce43cdc81c640839

They fell off my head and onto the floor and the plastic at the hinges busted. So now they’re flopping all over the place, but it’s still sort of fits my head, but not tightly. It’s a darn shame cause my previous pair lasted me like five years this pair last all of three months. So anyways, I’m in the market for a new pair. Is there any headphones that have the controls on the left cup and any recommendations are appreciated.

Got a pair for MDR-Z7M2 for like 250 at some liquidation place, at first I wanted to flip it for profit but I think I might be keeping it.

previously using Hifiman Sundara, I thought the planar magnetic stuff would give it an advantage but I've never heard any. It's certainly good but obviously now compared to a higher price regular driver headphone, there doesn't seem to be any advantage what so ever. Rather, the Sony design guarantees a much more consistent position when worn, seems to have slightly better low range, and is closed back. I thought I wanted open but now I think the hifiman are just way too open with zero isolation.

Anyway, I feel weird using a Sony headphone because often with these enthusiast hobby activities you wanna be using some niche brand most people haven't heard of.

I own a pair and am very happy with it, and out of curiosity I checked Amazon and the Philips website today to see what they're going for, but it seems it's no longer available. The only model you can buy is the SHP9600. Anyone know if the 9500 was discontinued or if it's just temporarily out of stock?

on my old phone i used to use some wired sony earbuds that i paid around 25 bucks for. now since my new phone doesnt have a headphone jack, i decided i should treat myself with a better pair of headphones, so i bought the xm4s. however it feels to me that they sound exactly the same. granted im not an audiophile, i dont use amps, dacs, music apps with crazy sound quality features, or various devices and gizmos some of you might own, just plain spotify. is this normal, though? im happy with my purchase and i wont be returning these, the anc is very good as far as im concerned, they fit nicely on my head and ears, and most importantly they dont have that annoying hiss wireless headphones tend to have.

My experience with this is I've had 3 different Dac Amps DAC x6 was the first one I had which I did not have any reference to before switching over to a Schiit Magni 3+ and Schiit Modi 3e (Both give plenty of volume). On the Hifiman Edition XS using the DAC x6 the sound was very claustrophobic and warm compared to using the Schiit stack which was much wider and neutral sounding, for me this was a huge upgrade. To add to this I also tried this on a portable DAC Amp which is the DC03 Pro which soundstage sounds closer on the side but a bit sounds warmer. What's your experience?

Seems like a great price for a well-regarded IEM, however the supposed QC issues (sound cutting out, driver failure, etc.) are making me second-guess myself.

To those who own the IE 600 (or any IEM from the IE series for that matter), what has your experience been like in terms of reliability? Is it worth the risk?

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FIR audio NE4.

Designed this mod a while ago but never got around to actually finishing it. Sat around today for an hour and did it. Made from SLS Nylon so it can be dyed to any color too.

I bought sennheisers earbuds and they sound good but the noise cancellation is awful and the left bud for some reason doesn't fit my ear so it feels it's coming off all the time. I payed 200$ discounted on Amazon. I also tried sony'a newest earbuds and Bose and airpods. All of them had either issues or were just bad quality like the apple ones. I payed 350$ for the bose earbuds and they had a weird static background sound. It's insane how disgustingly low quality the earbuds market has become. I used to have sony's xm4 and they were great until the battery drain bug was created by sony itself