/hpg/ /esg/ - Headphone & Earspeaker General

What's a good entry level DAC/amp?

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Not sure if I need to upgrade over my chad-tier MDR-7506's
Bad boys have lasted seven years so far, sound fantastic still, what am I possibly missing?
Modded for removable cable, replaced with comfy semi-firm leather earpads
How much better does it get?

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Stax are better than beyer though

I, too, see with my ears.

FUCK NIGGERS
FUCK JANNIES
FUCK SAPPHIRE

AND FUCK NOSTAXERS

You forgot:

FUCK BASS

because your stax has none

Checking in.

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What's the longest you've ever used a pair of headphones?
I bought V-Moda Crossfade LP2 Gunmetal Black cans in November 2014. Since then I've replaced the short in-line mic cable three times, and the cushions once. They are showing signs of wear as I've been using them daily for hours on end without fail, but still sound great and are holding up better than any headphone I've ever owned.

state of the art

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Speakers > Headphones

monoprice.com/product?p_id=11567

FiiO E10K.

Output impedance is 10 ohms. A bit high.

Topping MX3.

I actually ordered one of those for my desktop speakers. I want to get this big AVR off my desk. The headphone amp was just a bonus for me as I don't really need another one.

I bought this headphone amp because I liked the exposed PCB/tube.

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It's neat looking but not a good reference amp.

why does spotify sound so much better than youtube on desktop

spotify is 160 orbis or some thing
youtube is 156 Mweb or some thing

but spotify sounds noticeably better imo.

ive also noticed stuff lately like with iTunes version of albums sounding quite good or even better than flac I noticed this on beer bongs and bentlys the most but ive changed headphones since and found what might be a better FLAC rip than the FLAC I had before (is that even possible) and now the flac sounds good

is the stream and iTunes versions actually tuned for low end headphones and could actually sound better on low end gear than high end gear that's what it seems like is going on for me.

was using a old set of syberia V1 headphones when I noticed the iTunes sounding better than the flac. switched to syberia V2 and now the flac sounds better (thou I did get a more recent flac rip)

sorry im not being the most scientific but if they are actually tuning masters to lower end gear having a beater set for streaming might be better??. I wouldn't put it past them.

im obviously not saying high end headphones are shit but maybe putting the signel thru some filter or software that simulates lower end stuff might actually produce a better output because things are being tuned aggressively for trash gear and low bitrate.?

the spotify version of pond - Tasmania sounds like so much better than the youtube one but its only 4kbs difference..... wtf is going on

The only way one flac version can sound different from another flac version is if one was fake. Also, older albums sometimes are remastered, sometimes some of these services might add gain too which might make them louder and therefore you perceive them as sounding better.

STAX have great bass :)

well its not a old album. and you can do more than just add gain. things are being filtered or remastered via auto bots specifically for iTunes and spotify its obvious google isn't doing it on youtube because they don't sell music and probably don't care.
its not volume. im in my 20s but have ears of a 40year old via tests and its VERY noticeable to me like im talking drunk old man noticeable not subtle bullshit

I noticed that pretty much all older albums on spotify are remastered

im talking about 2 albums that released in 2018 and 2019 you retard.

loving EDM on my stax. sub-bass for days

>"you didn't read my mind!? retard!"
>im talking about 2 albums that released in 2018 and 2019 you retard.
well you never said you were listening to new music faggot.

consider suicide

actually that's not true the disk drive you use to rip the flac from a CD effects the bitstream as does if you do flac 900 flac 1000 flac 1200 etc.

people who think flac is 100% perfect are poor thief people on the internet via 2004era that wanted to convince them self it was "flawless" a good rip of it can be but you can still fuck up a flac rip.

what the other guy is saying is true thou music is tuned for lower end gear now to the point it sounds bad on high end stuff. using compressors and EQ can fix that but you have to do it per song so its a bitch Petchant has a kickstarter for a device that auto retunes stuff for "hifi" thou but it only has 25k$ atm and they asking for 500k. the problem is on CD/vinyl they don't remaster for hifi and just put the low bit focused master in higher fidelity which might sound fine but fidelity doesnt make up for the focus of the master and what it accentuates this makes it sound flat and lifeless.

I blame Bluetooth mostly but stealing music for 20 years is really why we are in this situation.

oh ya I only said Post Malone and Ponds album of 2months ago I should have gone into more detail I keep forgetting there was a singer called post Malone in the 80s.

Check garage1217 amps, designed by solderdude

Hey guys, I had a pair of Sennheiser PX 200-II which have finally died.

These things were great, on ear but folded up compact for carrying around everyday.

What's the modern equivalent, if any???

Why is STAX so shit?

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Because headlets can't get them to seal properly

It's only tuned if it was mixed and mastered that way, like a lot of pop music. But companies like itunes and spotify aren't modifying it so it sounds good on shit gear.

M40x is pretty based.

if stax is so good why isn't there a stax 2?

they both look really good, if only snapheiser could do even half as well

>fake tube

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People are posting that the DAC is crappy on that, or will it be a big improvement over my laptops DAC?

Get the FiiO E10k. It has a good DAC that measures well and a low headphone output impedance. It's a definite upgrade and great value.

ty user.

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>garage1217 amps
that's not a fake tube you faggot. I ordered a different tube and replaced the one that came with it.

>Budget
$50-150
>Location
USA
>Source
3.5mm or USB
>Type of headphone
Full-sized
>Open or closed
Closed
>Comfort level
Medium or better comfy-ness
>Sound signature
Probably bassy-neutral? Not sure.
>Past headphones
Tascam TH-02
some cheap skullcandy IEMs

that tube needs 150 volts
that amp doesn't do shit, the tube is only for show

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the tube does literally nothing. it's still an ss amp, idiot.

CAL!

user, do you prefer the Lambdas or the 007?

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I refunded mine in favour of the hd600

I got some ATX-A90x's in 2013 and use them to this day. I did replace the pads though but surprisingly the shitty pleather only started flaking apart after about 4 years on mine

What are the current meme budget iem's?

yes

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What’s listening with, user

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Interesting, what are you using for a source?

I bought three 5M extension cables so I could cook while listening to Stax. They're not the best "portable" headphone. But Dayum I don't want to stop listening!

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Audio Aero Capitole mk2 for Digital
VPI TNT V-HR w Lyra Helikon through Atma-Sphere MP-3 phono stage for analog

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:3

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Is there any real difference between the Samson SR850 and the AKG K240 Studio?

nice

Akg k7xxs are amazing for when I want to a totally hypnotized sissy

OTL amp and HD650

lucky

Schiit Fulla 2

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Where were you when the Bluedio T3 Plus is considered the nigger bass headphone of the year?

Who the fuck would buy a Bluedio headphone in the first place?

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Tin T3 but since we're on /hpg/ it's Stax

Why does everyone say the HE6 is hard to drive when it only needs about 450 mw to get it to 110db? You would think something like an atoms can easily power it right?

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*sniffs your girlpads*

How do the DT990 Pro pads feel?

They look like they're rough like a pool table.

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best headphones for $500 or less

it will drive it only to like 60db

Doesn't the atoms put out 1.1 watts at 33 ohms? How do you come at that conclusion?

Very Dissapoint DT1990s can't be Balanced from factory. Did Myself.

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>he6
iirc it needs 10w to get 110dB

Buy RME ADI-2 DAC.

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Where did you get that info?
I just put in the sensitivity of 83.5db SPL/mW and 50 ohms into one of those headphone calculators and got 450mw for 110 db.

Been using Spotify for about a week.

Just noticed this now. Anything else I should know?

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That if you never noticed the difference in quality, there's not even a point in owning any 100+ dollar set of headphones.

83.5dB is a bogus figure. it's more like 77dB
innerfidelity.com/images/HiFiMANHE6.pdf
>Headphone Measurements:Volts RMS required to reach 90dB
>SPL:1.018 Vrms
another source is the creator of the neurochrome hp-1 talking about it:
>superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/neurochrome-hp-1.3089/page-25
>Awesome. Thanks. 19.69 mW to get 90 dB SPL -> 77 dB SPL at 1 mW. Wow. That's rather inefficient.
>5 W would "only" result in 101 dB SPL according to the sensitivity measurement quoted above. Yeah

Good think I bought SHP9500's.

It does sound slightly better now, just slightly though.

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...

based
FiiO E10K is better

desu, everything in audio is a slightly difference. The sum of all these small differences make up a big chunk when you compare normal headphones to a big desktop/rack setup.

Yeah but wouldn't anyone want to avoid going over 85 db? I heard people saying that the bass isn't as present, but that could always be people who like to listen really loudly and don't care.

dynamic range means you will have peaks, 110-115dB is usually the power target you want to ensure full dynamic range. why do you care? just get stax

Most Wise

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>110-115dB is usually the power target you want to ensure full dynamic range
Sauce?

>spoon feed me again
nwavguy.blogspot.com/2011/09/noise-dynamic-range.html

I tried the E10K before buying the Schiit. It has more features, yes, but i liked the shape of the FUlla better, also, i had way more headroom with my headphones on the Schiit than i did with the E10K.
So i'd say you should balance if you want bass boost/hi-lo gain or more power overall. The E10K didn't play nice when using hi gain on my friends HD598's.

The Fulla 2 does look pretty nice and has a good set of features, I'll give you that. If it works for you - great.