Headphones threaf

Grandpa · December 16, 2023, 6:09pm

Skipping to the end of this thread to share my “headset of choice,” which is a combination of…

Not these, but the 9500s, which I guess have finally been discontinued. Can’t vouch for this model, but close enough! Maybe the clamp force has better staying power on this newer model.

https://a.co/d/37pDtEX

This microphone…

https://a.co/d/2F1f3eP

What the hell, is everything sold out on Amazon. Anyway, this DAC is alright.

Those three combined make for a pretty comfortable headset! Open back so sound leak is for sure a thing, but they sound pretty great.

eska · December 17, 2023, 2:13pm

oh i love the 9500s they’re so light. you’re right though they do love to slip off

i have those and some AKG uh M280 maybe?? i think it’s a massdrop version of a popular model, idk i got them almost a decade ago. semi-open back, that funky suspension cradle for a headband. v useful on my distinctive skull. and the portapros, and a ‘nuraloop’ which does just fine as a wireless earbuds situation. my producer friend gave me their nuraphones coz they didn’t like the over/in-ear hybrid situation but the headband is rigid and absolutely made for people with normal skulls so i haven’t really used them much

the portapros used to give me headaches but that stopped after i figured out which setting to use (light, thnku @tulpa) and wore them in a bit. that’s all i got for big skull headphone thoughts today

eska · December 17, 2023, 2:28pm

oh also i got to hear some music on a $1000 B&W set the other week and i totally got what all those audiophile guys are on about it was amazing lol i could hear everything. or maybe i just listen to my stuff too quiet normally

stylo · April 10, 2025, 8:16pm

what’s the best iem under $50 for neutral critical-ish listening? I’m thinking about moving from Bluetooth back to the iPhone dongle, which means I need some chi fi goodness for wired earbuds

portable headphones also OK I guess, I’m trying to keep things less bulky tho

I’m reading: yincrow x6 / calf, 7hz zero

dimes · April 10, 2025, 9:55pm

i have the zero 2 and like them pretty decently. i think a lot of the $25 ish stuff has gotten pretty well optimized to the point where the $50 stuff doesn’t really make much sense. im not really a big iem user, i still mainly reach for koss ksc75 basically every time i go out, if you think you can fit the clip-ons comfortably

Brooks · April 11, 2025, 1:01am

i also have the zero 2s, they’re my daily beaters for pretty much everything, plus i seem to be able to sleep in them
i have paid more for a lot less

stylo · April 11, 2025, 8:42am

sold, I just bought a zero original version (looked more neutral). those ksc 75’s also look good, I’ll think on those

dimes · April 11, 2025, 12:07pm

as far as ‘pocketable open back’ goes there isn’t anything else that compares, even if you wanted to spend more. you either tolerate or hate how they fit, but it helps to bend the clips away from anywhere it pinches. they are not exactly neutral, and the bass falls off a lot, how much is dependent on the fit too

stylo · April 20, 2025, 11:44pm

got the ksc75x (massdrop) and these things slap, i love the soundstage on them, so open feeling and natural… like ‘ear speakers’

, my new goto for office listening and for walks.
Side benefit with the open back design is i feel less ‘soundproof’ and more able to react if someone asks me a question, knocks on my door, I have to cross the street etc.

the salnotes zero also got here and they’re really good as well, much more of a feeling of the instruments being in the room than my previous iems, sorry i don’t have more detailed feedback than that. i was never any good at figuring out what tips i’m supposed to be using so i’m just using the default.

–

so uh… i forgot that good headphones make you enjoy music more…

my previous chi-fi IEM experience is just those monoprices that everyone was raving about in 2013 with the awful cable, which i lost somewhere

at home i’ve been using Edifier monitors (r1280t, free from a friend), dt770s sometimes, and for the train/office/walking around i have anc earbuds (Anker a40). Nothing wrong with Anker or Edifier, but they are extremely mid, serviceable not special. sometimes i would feel a resistance to listen to music bc the Ankers always have some ANC and they also kind of make my ear hot. the Beyerdynamics are quality but quite bright/sibilant, it stresses me out.

Now, having upgraded my setup — eris 4.5bt in the studio, and these koss and salnotes — ohyeah music can be so good… i really didn’t realize what i was missing, it transforms the whole experience, it’s not thaaat much of a sound quality improvement but it crosses the threshold between “nah I won’t listen to music now” and “hell yeah music time.”
I think the monoprices were so janky back in the day that it put me off, and i just told myself that

but now who knows!

–

since the tariffs are apparently coming may 2 (may the asshole in chief go to hell) what are some good other chi-fi options in the $20-40 range I should check out? i want to have some options for the next few years of stupid political crisis

stylo · April 21, 2025, 12:19am

i just remembered my old issue with the dt 770 — if i try to dial out the treble hump with sonarworks, it also wants to apply an insane boost to the 17-18khz range, if i’m reading this right. at that point it almost feels like someone poking my eardrum

~~i remember i tried equalizer apo in the past and these things just don’t work for casual listening for me. live and learn! sennys or bust from now on~~
scratch that im a dummy, you can just select a custom target and choose to stop calibrating above 17k

okay yeah now i’m jamming out to the first rage against the machine album on these

stylo · April 21, 2025, 4:47am

speaking of frequencies here’s a thing

and if you want to fall down the acoustics rabbit hole, here’s a very good resource/FAQ about ‘how should headphones sound’

https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/knowledge_posts

stylo · May 16, 2025, 2:57am

with my tinnitus saga largely concluded, returning to IEMs –

first off, huge shout-out to the Qudelix 5k - it’s this little Bluetooth DAC thingy, $110, like the size of the first two knuckles of my index finger. you plug your earbuds into it, it’s Bluetoothed to your phone, and it has an integrated pocket clip. the main function is that it has an on-board eq library (oratory1990 presets) that you control with the phone app. so no matter what iems or headphones you have, you have parametric EQ capability on the go. Two eq’s actually as you can set a “speaker preset” and then a personal EQ on top of that. the EQ alone sells it because there’s no easy way to do systemwide EQ on iOS.
also it has an integrated and fine-grained volume rocker (small steps) which is super useful for me.
also you can plug into a USB port on your computer and make it a desktop DAC.
oh yeah i guess you can technically use this to turn any wired headphone into a bluetooth headphone - like this guy did
and it will even estimate your listening volume if you input the impedance/sensitivity of your IEMs - so i can confirm i’m listening in the 52-58db range like usual

probably the most useful thing i’ve purchased as far as music listening

I’ve been using the oratory1990 presets with a little tune-down in the ultra high frequencies because I’m sensitive to certain things there (rediscovered this at the audiologist). I’m still very much an EQ noob.

7hz salnotes zero

“detailed” is a very confusing word but music does feel very detailed with these. I guess it means a little pronounced emphasis in the upper treble that makes the high hats and cymbals pop and ring, gives that sense of airiness. I like this effect for small group jazz but for other styles like hip hop or rock where there’s more sounds happening throughout the frequency range, it feels like a lot. I tried listening to Rage Against the Machine and it was just a little much with the ringing crash cymbals.

oh

they also kind of make my ears warm after a while? is that a thing? i think i’m allergic to the stock tips lol. Will try again another day, maybe with a different set of tips

stylo · May 21, 2025, 10:22pm

guess who just realized that the “Reduce Loud Sounds” setting on ios is actually a compressor? yeah . . . not me wondering why all my music has no dynamic range . . .

it’s in Headphone Safety if you need to check . . .

woops . . .