General Headphone Audio

Random Guy Esq. said:
Any thoughts on the HIFIMAN Edition XS? I'd like to try my first planars, and the pads on these look like they'd fit nicely over my Terry Wogan-esque ears!
Click to expand...
If I could trust HiFiMan's quality control I would definitely have a pair of these, the tuning is supposed to be excellent, better than the more expensive Ananda, with plenty of detail, a good soundstage and even sub-bass.
Why I don't yet have a pair yet? - HiFiMan quality control is abysmal overall and I don't fancy having to send a faulty pair back to China. Also, the headband fit is pretty marmite depending on head size and shape.
 
rids57 said:
If I could trust HiFiMan's quality control I would definitely have a pair of these, the tuning is supposed to be excellent, better than the more expensive Ananda, with plenty of detail, a good soundstage and even sub-bass.
Why I don't yet have a pair yet? - HiFiMan quality control is abysmal overall and I don't fancy having to send a faulty pair back to China. Also, the headband fit is pretty marmite depending on head size and shape.
Click to expand...
Ah thanks for that. I saw some positive reviews on YouTube, but obviously those guys are being sent perfect copies and thus the QC issues don't crop up. The 'phones have a decent discount on the rain-forest at the moment which is why they caught my eye. I suppose I could take a risk knowing I could send them back within two weeks if there were any obvious defects...
 
I'm currently wearing a 6yr old pair of HE400i's so they can make headphones that last. I think the main problem with their headphones is drivers dying, not necessarily the XS but they certainly had problems with the Sundara, quite often just outside the warranty period.
 
rids57 said:
I'm currently wearing a 6yr old pair of HE400i's so they can make headphones that last. I think the main problem with their headphones is drivers dying, not necessarily the XS but they certainly had problems with the Sundara, quite often just outside the warranty period.
Click to expand...
No don't say that I love my Sundara's.

HiFiMan Sundara (use on computer for music)
HiFiMan HE400i (use on HiFi, mainly listen to my old tapes)
Sony WH1000XM3 (TV/Phone/Tablet)
Philips x2 (Tablet, I also like to use them when listening to dance/trance music)
 
IMG-20220526-162619.jpg


New can for my collection!

I got to listen to the LCD-5 the other day so that spoiled me a little, was surprised how crystal clear the vocals were, it does not have the typical Audeze house sound.
 
Now using the Sundara's from an ancient pair of Fildelio X2's.

Tried out the Sennheiser HD599, HD560S, Beyerdynamic TYGR300R and Audio Technica ATH-R70x.

It was a close call between the R70x and the Sundaras for me but the Sundara's edged out infront.
 
Looking for opinions on the DT990 Pro and HD560s. Currently undecided which to pick up, will mainly be used gaming and the rest of the time it will be a wide range of music.

Majority of my gaming is on FPS; Halo, COD, Val etc but I also play MMOs etc when I have more time.

Open to other similarly priced options as well.
 
Faustinooo said:
Looking for opinions on the DT990 Pro and HD560s. Currently undecided which to pick up, will mainly be used gaming and the rest of the time it will be a wide range of music.

Majority of my gaming is on FPS; Halo, COD, Val etc but I also play MMOs etc when I have more time.

Open to other similarly priced options as well.
Click to expand...
If possible I would try both as the fit and feel are quite different. I've not tried the DT990 but have tried other Beyerdynamics. They're quite a different feel to the Sennheisers.

The HD560s sound was great for the price. I found they leaned into the high side but overall they were nice to listen to.
 
Rather than creating a new thread I thought it may be asking here; what headphones should I own? :p

Budget is £200 as I was gonna grab some sennheiser 3 on offer, but then I realised with my job I don't need them to be wireless anymore so would rather go for the sound quality. I have a new Macbook pro and no nothing about amps and dacs so my only requirements are:

Minimal sound leakage as I will use them in the office.
Need to be able to chuck in a rucksack so case is required for headphones.
Sound amazing...for spotify high quality...

Any recommendations appreciated!
 
carrot1401 said:
Rather than creating a new thread I thought it may be asking here; what headphones should I own? :p

Budget is £200 as I was gonna grab some sennheiser 3 on offer, but then I realised with my job I don't need them to be wireless anymore so would rather go for the sound quality. I have a new Macbook pro and no nothing about amps and dacs so my only requirements are:

Minimal sound leakage as I will use them in the office.
Need to be able to chuck in a rucksack so case is required for headphones.
Sound amazing...for spotify high quality...

Any recommendations appreciated!
Click to expand...

What headphones are you used to?

I'd say AKG K371, Harman tuned, good starter headphone, closed back, easy to drive.
 
Things change I've changed said:
What headphones are you used to?

I'd say AKG K371, Harman tuned, good starter headphone, closed back, easy to drive.
Click to expand...

Use to have some Bose 700 but the ANC hum was annoying. They don't need to be mega noise cancelling, but will be used in an office...
I also use to have some nuraphones back in the day, but couldn't get use to the in-ear bit!

EDIT: I do also wear glasses
 
Overhead XM4s after fawning over them for a while. I previously had Sennheiser BTNC 4.5s which I really rate. There is definitely some disappointment with the XM4s....
  • The sound quality is good but I was expecting a bit more for headphones that essentially cost 2-3x more than my Sennheisers
  • It takes way longer to connect to devices than my Sennheisers
  • The noise cancelling is ******* epic - for sure
  • The battery life is also great
  • Weird bug when using 2 devices, I sometimes have to turn off and on again to sort out
  • My Sennheisers were way more robust, couple of gym sessions and it seemed by XM4s broke*
  • My Sennheisers (for me) are more comfortable for longer sessions
  • A silly one but now I own a pair - I must see tens of people with them each day. Everyone has them :p
*Acted as if the button is pressed down all the time so it was constantly in pairing mode. Any time moisture came close to them, the problem returned. They seem absolutely fine now.

I'm still happy with them just disappointed how, my much cheaper Sennheisers, seemed to do better in a few areas.
 
You're paying a premium for the excellent noise cancelling, none of the Bose/Sony noise cancelling headphones I've heard sound amazing, can def get better sounding headphones for way way less without the features they have obviously
 
xtal191 said:
You're paying a premium for the excellent noise cancelling, none of the Bose/Sony noise cancelling headphones I've heard sound amazing, can def get better sounding headphones for way way less without the features they have obviously
Click to expand...

Agree, today for the first time I tried the sony xm4s and I was sat there for over an hour EQ-ing them to sound right/best they can sound even with ANC off and on and they just sound muddy and a real mess to me and I don't understand why people even like them, I decided to go for the Focal Elegia as I use to have a pair of these back in the day when they cost £1k and used them on a nice pioneer amp and liked them at the time but decided I didn't use headphones enough to justify keeping them, but now they can be had for £500 new (bargain in my book for these) as they are now end of line and last few left, so I'm going to grab a new pair tomorrow and order a Ifi xDSD Gryphon to power them and use the extra inputs on the Gryphon for my other devices too, so today went from wanting to buy xm4's for £185 from the mm new to £1100 spend :cry::rolleyes::( after hearing what the xm4's sounded like I was like I can't even use them to just hide background noise as they sounded so bad to me and this was tested with hi-res music and high quality cd rips that I know what they sound like on many other headphones and speakers and studio monitors, my main speakers for music at home are adam a77x with a sub and for my keyboard playing.Home theatre setup focal speakers and subs.

That's the problem when you can hear rubbish from good sadly, ohh well hope no buyers remorse again and this time I actually want to use them and the dac/amp so should get some nice use and not sit collecting dust like last time.
 
Last edited:
Added a Grado SR325X to the collection. Great headphone for classic rock and good old fashioned rock n roll - AC/DC sound incredible.

So the list now reads:

Headphones
Grado SR325X
Denon AH-D7200
Beyerdynamic DT1990 pro
Sennheiser HD650
HiFiMAN HE400i
Sony MDR-1A
AKG K702
Sennheiser PX100

IEMs
Moondrop Starfield
Fidue A73
Brainwavz B150
Brainwavz B100
RHA MA750
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom