i almost fell victim to this but thank god i got out
Meanwhile actual pro audio engineers: haha 15yo $70 MDR-7506 gaffed taped together go brrr
Most people wouldn’t actually like professional audio engineering headphones as the EQ is purposely set as flat as possible.
That’s why some headphones are referred to as reference and others as “fun”
I’m a huge metalhead and bass is really the most important frequency in metal. But I hate the sound of my favorite bands in bass-forward headphones like Beats. I never could understand why people like to hear the music in a sound that’s different than the one your favorite band intended it to be. I love flat headphones, but it’s so hard to find them nowadays.
What you have to realize is the final mix of tracks that generally end up in the public’s hand are tailored towards what the average person is going to be listening to them on and unfortunately that usually means phone and laptop speakers that simply do not have the frequency range and dynamic range to reproduce what the band intending.
Another thing is some people just really enjoyed their music bass heavy where as others might enjoy more midbass to get that kick drum that slaps you. It’s all down to preferences.
It’s not that difficult to find flat EQ headphones, the keyword you are looking for is “reference headphones” and “mixing headphones”. Personally I use the ath-m50x although after about a decade of hard use the highs on mine are starting to sound pretty harsh.
I personally use them as everyday headphones, not only is the sound super okay for me, but the cable is sooo long, I love it. It’s quite long and it then extends due to its curly form.
Yea they are great for mixing, because if it sounds good when flat, then it will sound good pretty much everywhere else. Sadly, because of this, they are not so great for just listening and enjoying some music, at least for most.
‘Audiophiles’: “Yeah I paid $20000 for this new DAC, I think the treble is a lot crispier”
Actual audio engineers: “I record everything with this $40 Behringer interface and mix with free plugins though my 30 year old Yamahas”This is me lol. I cope by saying distortion is fine as long as it’s not coming from my system. I want to hear what the artist heard. It’s mega cope though.
I’m using my dad’s MVR-V6s that he bought at least 30 years ago, I really can’t find a justification to ‘upgrade’. If these ever break I’ll just grab some MDR-7506s
Music tech. teacher. I still rock my pair of 7506 from 20 years ago. They are not ideal for mixing bass tho, but otherwise really solid.
I have the non pro version of this, covered in orange duct tape, and hair nets over the ear muffs because the beard scratched all the padding off.
They pump 5V out.
Nothing else is needed (cough * it’s still on a 3.5mm jack * cough )
Audiophiles don’t listen to music. They use music to listen to their equipment.
Nah its just like hot peppers. When you work your way up, all you can taste js heath. As you move up the scovile scale you can actually taste the distinct flavour of the hot pepper.
Same with audio. Once you have better gear (doesnt need to equal $$$$) you tend to hear layers (and spacial definition) of music you wouldn’t be able to hear trough a lesser setup (as long as you have a good source, like flac/24bit wav etc)
True. It also helps you to hear how bad some recordings are, so don’t throw your shit headphones away as soon as you have good ones!
I think audio quality is something I never hear when I upgrade, but I really hear it when I downgrade.
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
tinnitus gang rise up
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I wish more people were this honest with themselves lol
Have any headphone recommendations that decrease the gain of just 11.175kHz? Thx.
It’s actually the pre-amp and DAC quality that matter-- OH NO WHAT HAVE I BECOME?!
“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.
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.
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.
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 lot and its super painful, and the mic quality being bad (but i have a dedicated mic for that anyway at home). kinda thought to buy a new pair but i already have something extremely good and i dont really use the mic a lot
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 believe it. after i got my pair i started seeing everyone use them, kinda like that spiderman pointing meme. even well respected people, on the mkbhd podcast, everywhere. the mic thing your right about though
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.
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
I have a pair of wired ath m50x from 2008. They still work well and on the third set of pads.
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.
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”.
M50 with velour pads and appropriate EQ to compensate… 🙂↔️🫠
Unfortunately one can’t EQ them without additional equipment.
I agree that they sound good, but man do my m50xs hurt my head! Can anyone recommend a comparable headphone that’s actually comfortable?
I got the version without bluetooth and I feep like I will never need another pair of headphones ever
I’ve been using the M40x for years! Incredible pair of cans, same headset Lena Raine (Celeste Soundtrack) uses
Holy shit headphones!
A buddy at work got me onto the craze, maybe not $1000 range, but def in the hundreds. I used to have a pair of grados I modded to be detachable (they were later stolen :(… ). Based on those he recommended me Fostex T50rps, which are currently my big daddy, pure enjoyment headphones. I modded those for greater comfort and sound, and I love them to death. He was also generous enough to give me a pair of tinhfi earbuds, I love those for crystal clear audio. And relevant to the first pic, my sister got me portapros for christmas, and I absolutely adore them for everyday use. And the retro design just sends it that much higher. I also modded them to have detachable cables, couldn’t do with the flimsy ones they came with. I also ended up getting a DAP, which wasn’t too necessary, but I couldn’t pass on the aesthetic of just having a player on my desk with the album art always showing. Just trying to grow my FLAC collection now, God I love music.
Just had to gush a little. Thanks for reading.
I got the Tin T2s years ago and they’ve been my fav way to listen casually since then!
Full sized headphones unfortunately give me headaches but I remember the Fostex T50rps fondly, I was never brave enough to try modding my headphones but what you’ve done sounds awesome!
I used to collect headphones but I moved across the entire US a couple years ago and I couldn’t bring my collection with me and the hobby’s just too expensive to get back into for me right now lol. Sony MDR 7506s were my fav for a while, but I only had room for my fav earbuds and one pair of headphones in my luggage and I ended up grabbing my Tin T2s, T3s, and T4s; Moondrop Starfields; and House of Marley Liberate Air and House of Marley Exodus. Exodus being the full sized headphones I decided to keep. Not the best sounding for my taste but I like the way they look more than any other headphones I had and since I do most of my listening through IEMs I decided that was good enough lol
Thanks for sharing, I love headphones
The Exodus looks beautiful! Speaking of the Sony’s, he also recommended me those for clean sound. I technically do have the money to buy, but I can’t justify another pair of headphones right now. It’s a shame you couldn’t take your collection. Thank you, too!
Thanks, yeah, I gave all the headphones I couldn’t take with me away to friends, though, so they went to good homes :)
The 7506s did have very clean sound! That’s my preference which is why i liked them so much :3
The Exodus’ don’t sound bad, they just have too much bass for my tastes but I’m pretty happy to eq it down in software. I just really like the wood look of them
Are you in this picture, comrade?
I would be if i wasn’t so broke. I get closer and closer to this image with every paycheck
I recommend getting into live bagpipe music. Take that hearing fidelity down a notch or two
Unironically like bagpipes, nothing like a sad scot playing a mournful wail on a foggy morning
Same. Try walking to work while listening to Killaloe.
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
Oh, that’s a handy app for several uses, thx!
A good audio setup makes a huge difference! But I wouldn’t spend more than like 200 dollars if all you want is clean sound.
Not gonna lie, them Beyer Dynamics are bangin’.
Focal Celestee is nice too
What’s funny is that the cheaper ksc75 (ksc75x) also by koss like the porta pros, are highly regarded as a great budget headphone by most audiophiles.
They can be modded like the porta pros with a headphone band, new pads and removable cable but as long as you look after them they don’t need to be.
They’re comfortable, cheap and sound great. Not for bass heads though.
Any suggestions for ones for bass heads?
If you have an amp: Modhouse Argons. The Fostex t50rp is built like a tank, and while it’s not the most resolving planar in the world the sound signature is just a ton of fun. I’ve had various t50rp mods for 15+ years, none of them have broken and the argons are in my top 3 of all time. But they really do drink about 1 watt per channel, so if you’re not already in the deep end, just avoid jumping in altogether.
No amp: KSC75/porta pros are pretty bassy, they just lack sub bass. Plenty of impact though, and for most music it’s all you really need. Pick youself up an $10 apple dongle (apple sucks but their dongle dac is legitimately a great value) and you have about 90% of what an audiophile spent thousands to achieve.
Another no-amp option could be Monoproce retro headphones. It’s sort of like an akg 240 clone but fully closed. The stock pads are terrible, but with some xl leather pads they become very comfortable and super bassy. The pads and cans are like $25 each; it’s a pretty unbeatable value. But they are also a bit of a one trick pony, if you’re looking to daily drive something the akg K371 would be a better rounded option.
Get a pair of decent planars that take eq well, they do something special with the bass compared to a normal dynamic driver that I just fell in love with. My personal preferred pairs are modhouse argons and hifiman sundara and they both sound beastly when you crank the bass up but still retain very clear sound.
Both will require an amp though, which I realize will put a lot of people off, but it’s so worth it if you’re really into music. It was like discovering all my albums over again.
With a bit of help from an EQ they have a decently punchy bass, but still lack in the very lowest frequencies.
Yeah but the difference between 320kbps ogg and FLAC is night and day and this is the hill I’ll die on.
There’s no difference between 320kbps mp3 and flac and that’s a hill I’ll die on. Try using some of those blind “mp3 vs flac” websites and it’s indistinguishable.
Yeahup. Unless you’re compressing your own music or achiving you don’t need flac.
You’ll notice more setting up a good system properly and audio conditioning your room than high quality mp3 to flac.
difference between 44 and 96khz is even bigger imo
It’s two dimensions. You need both good bit depth (kbps) and sample rate (Hz) for quality. But yeah 96 kHz is more than double 44 so of course it’s significantly better.
There is however a point of diminishing returns and I’d certainly say that’s in play beyond 320 kbps (or beyond 96 kHz for that matter).
Bit depth is not the same as bitrate, there is no difference in the signals that can be reproduced within the range of human hearing between a sample rate of 44kHz and 96kHz
Any audiophile would argue with you that the extra Hz help with harmonics that do influence the timbre and subtle qualities that are within hearing range. (/s, since someone needs it)
I personally don’t care, I’m happy with 44 kHz for nearly everything.
I am an audiophile, not an idiot. They don’t. The slim possibility of reproducing signals past 20kHz causing audible changes to the signal within audible range may technically exist, but you will never ever demonstrate the ability to detect a difference in a double blind test.
The only reason to use a higher sample rate than 44.1kHz is to avoid resampling audio which is already in a different sample rate, e.g. CDs which are usually 48kHz or potentially “hi-fi” sources that may be 96kHz or higher. Resampling can theoretically introduce audible artifacts although a modern CPU using a modern resampling algorithm can very easily perform transparent resampling in real-time.
Ok, fine, whatever, I don’t really care. I almost never have a reason to resample anything nor the equipment to tell the differences in any of this. You keep having fun and correcting people if that’s what gets you off.
Ok, go ahead and continue posting misinformation and getting mad about being corrected instead of just learning
The difference is literally mathematically 0 unless you think your hearing exceeds 22kHz instead of the typical ~18 or widely-regarded maximum of 20kHz
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 😭
(ignores pleas and shares more tech you don’t need :p )
This is what I got in like 2017 and they still are going strong.
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHP9500S-Precision-Over-ear-Headphones/dp/B00ENMK1DW?th=1
There’s tons of better ones but they go up in price. Also they intentionally bleed a LOT of sound so you can’t wear them places where you need either to isolate your sound or get isolated from other sound. That’s a benefit: if you’re wearing them and the music is low enough or silent, you can hear things normally in the room.
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.
which will stop the microphone working but give you the proper audio quality.
Yeah, I got the Grado BT headset they had and this was my choice: good audio quality and no mic. Or it actually functions as a headset but the audio quality is so bad it sounds like everything is underwater. I ended up just returning it and if I going back to my wired open-backed headset+mic.
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?
They had to order it, they actually ordered both 20 and 30, so I could try both of them with my headphones at the shop.
That part was great.
What wasn’t great that the shop did not have a room for such tests, so I was at the counter, with music blasting from every corner, my open headphones, and two different amps made absolutely no difference, specially when one had to be fully disconnected so the other could be plugged in. So a switch took about three minutes, and if there was any difference, I would not be able to hear it. The clerk said something about the big lamp adding some warmth or something, so I took that one.
And the 30 looked so much better. I wish I could try the 20 at home, but I doubt they would let me. Anyway, I have no regrets regarding my purchase, I only regret I have so little time to sit down and listen to music :(
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.
Oooh neat. I haven’t seen those before. Good price and reviews suggest it doesn’t weigh it towards the BT adapter side. I might grab those. Thanks!
If you’re willing to deal with a bit of bulk there are adapters. They look silly but I hear they work fine. Or even better, you could get a portable amp like the Qudelix 5k and just mount it to the headband. This is max silliness and adds a significant amount of bulk, but the 5k also allows for EQ.
Anyway I agree, stick with budget. I fucked up and got way into it and I don’t think it’s improved my life. It’s way less convenient as well. Like with most things in life, better to not stray from accessible options, especially for taste-based things that you might accidentally like too much.
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.
For me it was just good timing since my ATH-M50x broke after 3 years of heavy use and they’re actually kind of expensive, not flat but AutoEQ helped.
That’s because what you really need is a vintage AMP from the 70s or 80s
the sad thing is, the amount of people who could actually discern, and take advantage of, higher end audio are a small minority… the rest are just admiring the Emperor’s new clothes
i agree, and really that goes for a lot of tech. i for one try to see if i can use everything before i buy a flagship product, like when i bought my s23 ultra
On top of this I’d offer that it’s advisable to avoid nurturing such highly tuned tastes if you can avoid it. At least if you’re a perfectionist - you’ll just make yourself unsatisfied and start gate keeping over meaningless distinctions.
