i almost fell victim to this but thank god i got out
Analogue headphones are way overprices for sure, but anything USB is basically the same regardless of price range, though, so if that’s what the top image is then you’re overpaying $30.
This doesn’t make any sense at all. All headphones are analog regardless of what their cable is and cable type makes no difference when it comes to sound quality. And there certainly isn’t some kind of limitation inherent to usb. Unless you’re plugging your headphones directly into some hifi vinyl record setup your signal is going to start out as digital and will have to be converted to an analog signal with a DAC. Plugging into a 3.5mm headphone jack just means you’re using the DAC built into that device. Plugging into a USB port just means the headphones you’re using need to have that DAC built in (likely into the cable itself). Not only that but there’s a high degree of likelyhood that the DAC built into your USB headphones would be made of better components than the one attached to whatever 3.5mm jack you’re plugging into. Though it’s not super likely that a higher quality DAC would affect sound quality all that much if at all. Basically any DAC you’re likely to run a signal through is fully capable of playing full quality lossless audio. Though a better DAC would at least make noise from interference less likely.
The quality of the headphones largely comes down to the quality of the transducers themselves, so the cable interface doesn’t really change that.
Digital data, flat line frequencies from interpreting ones and zeroes, doesn’t translate well to audible frequency without larger equipment like an audio interface. Maybe someday small devices will be able to use a larger sample rate for a comparable result, though.
My dude, I have a PhD in electrical engineering and actively work in the field of information theory, and I have no idea what you are talking about. We work in bandwidths a thousand times larger and can send millions of times more data using the same quantization depths as common digital audio modes. The difference is our transducers move no mass. The thing which makes acoustic waves “special” is literally the that you must move air to make them. The digital/information side is identical.
My dude, it’s a good thing you decided to stay in school because clearly you’re going to need it. Dumbass flexing his degree at me, smh.
What do you think the problem is exactly? Low sample rate? Are you familiar with the Nyquist sampling theorem?
Human hearing upper limit for discernable sounds is about half or more than 48kHz standard for high quality audio, but those samples would generally be the peaks and lows of the audio signal. The problem is that interpolating that to a decent sized wave is generally done with large components from a bygone era, analogue-digital audio interfaces, in many cases with some noteworthy latencies, and Transducers alone do not do that.
Any digital to audible sound solution on the market is basically going to be the same sound quality until you get into dollar-store territory.
It’s actually the pre-amp and DAC quality that matter-- OH NO WHAT HAVE I BECOME?!
If it makes you feel better, I use a dac that’s 50 bucks and it sounds great with my Sennheiser hd600s. Frankly I mostly use it for the analogue volume control and treble/bass switch. Also you don’t need an amp for headphones/earbuds. These are for only driving power hungry speakers.
DACs have been very good and very cheap for years now. A $10 Apple USB dongle contains an extremely good DAC. At the consumer level, you’re paying for pretty much everything except sound quality now.
You do need an amp for some headphones. They can even be used to deliver low power at a low noise floor for high sensitivity earbuds, but this isn’t always necessary.
Trust me, those Sennheisers will benefit from an amp. I thought the same thing about my HD 650s before I heard them with an amp in the audio chain.
“Bluetooth Earbuds!”
“Stop it Patrick! You’re scaring him!”
Bluetooth 5 is actually high enough bandwidth to transmit pretty good sound.
Earbuds are sad though, but all things are compromises. Am I blissing out to Bach using my bone conduction earbuds? no it sounds kinda meh. It does let me not get hit by drivers or brick due to sweat damage listening to books on a run though so they’re good at what they’re trying to do.
I always disliked Bluetooth headphones until I got a Sennheiser Momentum 4 with Bluetooth 5. The difference is immediately noticeable.
I mean I have a media center off center in a room with 2 glass walls, one brick, and one gyprock. I obviously am not hanging towels over my beautiful windows.
Bluetooth 5, a 2.1 fosi amp, and some cheap Edifier speakers sounds completely fine on the couch 2 meters away. There’s no point putting in more effort imho because any subtle improvements are completely drowned out by echoes, dogs barking, neighbours mowing, the wind rattling doors and windows or whatever.
I am completely on side with people who think shitty earbuds with crackle or overpriced Logitech speakers are a sadness. I think most “audiophiles” are sucked in by marketing and very few are doing the necessary accoustic setup for most of what they’re buying to matter.
The episode of Akiba’s Trip anime where the main character becomes an audiophile for a day was the hardest I’ve laughed since.
Get yourself a generally well regarded set of headphones, then look into HTTPS://AUTOEQ.app, and you’ll have a great time. You don’t have to go ridiculous to get amazing audio.
When did they get a website? That is pretty neat
It’s absolutely fantastic! If you read the FAQ for it it even provides instructions on how you can use it to “simulate” other headphones default sound signature on yours which is very neat!
just tried it. Not sure if it sounds better or I’m listening more closely than before. either way, I’m listening.
I just got it set up with wavelet using my Sony wh-1000xm3 headphones. It’s interesting. I think it’s better. The autoeq preset definitely makes it a lot cleaner sounding with a bit more definition in the highs. Turning the eq off makes it sound fuller, but also muddier.
I have the xm4. and it’s true, sounds so much cleaner. once I turn it off it sounds grubby
The Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT2 is probably the only headphones most of us will ever need. I use my first gen (ATH-M50xBT) for everything from Bluetooth audio, to gaming and music production.
I have and use those headphones, they are great. But there are some awesome open back headphones which I think a lot of people would enjoy, both from a sound and a comfort point of view.
For instance, I use sennheiser hs560s for my pc, the wired version costs as much as the bluetooth m50x (although hd560s benefit from a dac which adds cost). they have much better directionality than the m50x, which helps a lot in gaming. the more open sound stage is nice and you can wear them for much longer without getting sweaty. The mx50s are also way more bassy which is subjective if good or bad.
The m50x are great, but they are really just the tip of the iceberg.
The m50x are great, but they are really just the tip of the iceberg.
Yeah, that’s kind of my point. The M50x-BT is basically what most people will ever need as a “do everything” headphone. Are they the best? No, but if you have a long list of things you want to do and only $200 to do so, the Audio-Technica have you covered.
I had some shit hyperx headphones for work… No one could hear me on it’s mic and I had issues hearing them.
So I bought a $30 mic and a boom arm… And now I’m using my ath-m50x for audio through a USB DAC.
It’s sad that they are reduced to that on a daily basis… but my work life is so much better.
Amazing headphones for every use
I’m on my third set of ear pads for my ATH-M50x. Now the headband foam needs replacing since I’ve worn them so much lol.
Pretty great headphones. I gotta wonder if the ones above it (ATH-M60x and ATH-M70x) sound noticably better or if there are diminishing returns, since the ATH-M50x already sound great.
Yeah I’m on my second set of pads as well.
Hopefully they’ve got a good fix for the foam… I’ve never looked into it.And honestly. I’m not an audiophile. I know these sound amazing… and I can obviously tell the difference between them and say ear buds. But idk if it would be worth upgrading. I fear my ears wouldn’t know the difference.
Unfortunately.
how long have you had them for, to need to replace the ear pads? i’ve had mine for a bit over a year and they still look perfect
I bought mine in 2016 and replaced the ear pads in 2017.
I remember they cracked. Bought an aftermarket set and I’ve been good since then.
Got the headphones Feb. 2016
1st pad replacement around 2019 sometime
2nd pad replacement Aug. 2023
oh damn, so those are some pretty big gaps in time
YOOOO WHAT i actually use those rn (the bt2) and i like them a tonne. only that my hair gets caught on the sharp edges a tonne and its super painful, and the mic quality being bad, but i have a dedicated mic for that anyway at home
I always found theic to be there as a “if you need it, it exists” feature, not a selling point.
I recently saw that Finneas (Billie Eilish’s brother and an incredibly talented producer) mains the M50x as his studio monitors. They are probably one of the best $200 you can spend for audio related things.
(Forward to 5:50) https://youtu.be/WmPZLz5k-Lc?si=Zm-gokaE9sNQZisl
Using a headphone in production =/= a good headphone.
Cans for mixing have a compleptly different sound signature than for music enjoyment. Unless you just love trebble, stuff like beyerdynamic and m50x are atrocious sounding.
They are a resolving headphone for sure, and very well built. They’re not a bad headphone per-se but for normal folks they really need to stop being recommended so much.
Stuff like the Philips shp9500 and akg K371 are way more enjoyable, cheaper, and still pretty much indestructible. But the true advice is that audio is subjective as fuck, try out some stuff and find what you like. Trust your ears, not some dude on the Internet
I got the version without bluetooth and I feep like I will never need another pair of headphones ever
M50 with velour pads and appropriate EQ to compensate… 🙂↔️🫠
Unfortunately one can’t EQ them without additional equipment.
The wired model has been my daily driver for damn near 8 years now. Use em for music at work and gaming at home (though I would approve for gaming at work). I haven’t wanted or needed to upgrade since I got them
I use mine wired 99% of the time. The Bluetooth, like the mic, is a “nice to have”.
I agree that they sound good, but man do my m50xs hurt my head! Can anyone recommend a comparable headphone that’s actually comfortable?
yeah not for headphones. my speakers though
I bought my current earphones for just €2 and I am satisfied with them.
They’re Panasonic RP-TCM130.
I found them by sorting by price: low to high.I have tinnitus, so tbh I’ve probably already over-specced my audio setup given I still have to listen using my own faulty hardware as the final step in the chain
Have any headphone recommendations that decrease the gain of just 11.175kHz? Thx.
tinnitus gang rise up
I wish more people were this honest with themselves lol
Longest I’ve had a pair of Porta Pros was 9 years. They went trough 4 cables, 3 sets of pads and 2 headbands before they died.
Audiophiles are the esoterics of music.
Just got a pair of Porta Pros, I’m messing around with mods which will probably eat my wallet but at least I’m not shelling 200 bucks just for a cable lmao
i cant deny that i really want a pair, even though i have zero real need
Pro tip: get a pair of Koss ksc75, pop the ear clips off, and clip them into the headband from this pair of throw-aways.
The ksc75 sounds better IMHO, especially when they’re used with a headband, and they’re cheaper to boot. I used them to fix my pair of porta pros when I messed up the cable.
Treat yourself and get the yaxi pads for them too, it’s so worth it.
I need to get myself another pair of porta pros. I wore them to my workouts for years until they broke, and they only broke because I was super hard on them and careless. They’ve been by far my favorite headphones I’ve ever owned. They’re super comfy too <3
Audiophiles are the esoterics of music.
Shit son I still have my Portapros next to my HD555s and Accentums (which I actually use day to day because fuck the death of headphone jacks) and they’re fine. I’ve had these Portapros for over two decades and they work, and Koss has (had) one of the most generous warranties in the business. Shit, their service options are still great!
I’m sorry that my lack of wood knobs on my home media player ruins the experience of listening to my 24-bit flacs produced in a DAW by people who don’t care about reel to reels.
The last time I stopped giving a shit about audiophile shit was when PCI sound cards officially stopped being a thing, taking EAX with it.
jesus, i’ve already lost track how many people said they use porta pros here. at this rate im going to have to try some out
I’d suggest some open backed headphones for home use. They really change how things sound making them sound a bit more natural especially in games. You can get sub-$100 ones as well. Biggest downside is your can’t really get wireless ones.
Also has anyone else found that BT headsets on Windows don’t work? Windows forces a different driver when you use the mic and everything sounds like crap.
stop giving me ideas lmao
Pssss look what I have for you
https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/ananda-stealth-magnet-version.html
stop noooo 😭
For the BT headsets audio quality, you should be able to change the audio mode as it might be selecting Headset (HSP/HFP) by default which is used when you need to use the microphone. Instead select High Fidelity A2DP mode which will stop the microphone working but give you the proper audio quality.
I can only have open headphones, closed ones make my ears very uncomfortable.
BD DT 1990T Pros are amazing, maybe a bit cleaner than I’m used to.
Just for the kicks I got xDuoo TA-30, and oh my god that looks absolutely amazing, and sounds even better.
I have no idea what I’m doing btw, just buying random things that sounded good at the shop.
Nice. I got a cheap tube amp recently. I can’t really tell a difference but the fact that it was a headphone amp that also had speaker wire outs was exactly what I needed. So hard to find that.
What shop has that kind of gear to try?
There’s a wireless Ananda. Probably the best sounding wireless headphones, but I’ve been out of the scene for at least a year so there may have been advancements since. Focal Bathys is decent too but not open back iirc
Oof, $800. That’s waaay into audiophile territory. Not worth paying 10x the price to lose the wires. I agree with the op post in that I don’t need that kind of quality. Budget wireless open back headphones are all im looking for.
Grado makes a wireless set but idk if you’d consider $275 budget pricing.
GRADO GW100x https://a.co/d/esw95s7
I tried those but somehow they were the most uncomfortable headphones ever. I’d also have to give up using it’s mic which was half the reason I got them.
Almost forgot about the hifiman deva, it’s been a while since I went looking for wireless open-backs. The cups on those should be much more comfortable than the grados.
