No, because maybe the other ones are more comfortable / fit better under a hat / have less microphonics / have better isolation, the things that you can't really tell without actually wearing them. If nothing else, they can sit in a drawer somewhere as spares in case you lose the original ones again.
on the other hand, i've been spending too much money lately and i don't need to drop another 90 dollars when i just found my 300 dollar headphones again
can always get new ones down the line
okay anyway whew
my next big purchase might be some more comfortable closed back headphones for the office, perhaps the dt 770s?
Different question. I'm getting sick of wires at the gym. I'm constantly catching them on something even when they are dragged in my shirt. Doing some research, it seems since I have an iPhone, I need to find bluetooth headphones that support AAC.
However I've been struggling to find any well rated pairs for the gym. Something like the sennheiser momentum free has great reviews but because there is not over the ear hook, many folks mention they slide out when you are sweating. Another option would be the M50xBT, but there I've heard you can start getting really sweaty in the cup and it can ruin the headphones.
Are there any aftermarket hooks or something that one can add to a good sounding BT earbud? or has anyone used larger headphones like beats or anything for activity where they sweat?
Thanks! I tried on my oldest pair of M50's and they were just to much lol. Trying to wipe sweat with them on and just the weird look, need to go with earbuds.
I'm wondering if I can just swap the tips off the Momentum Free for something more stable. My wired Sony's right now have the angled piece on them.
Ended up with the Shure SE215's. Seems like they have the most discussion around them on Reddit and other places. Plenty of people mention using them at the gym. We'll see how it goes.
Origin ID\ Steam ID: Warder45
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
on the other hand, i've been spending too much money lately and i don't need to drop another 90 dollars when i just found my 300 dollar headphones again
can always get new ones down the line
okay anyway whew
my next big purchase might be some more comfortable closed back headphones for the office, perhaps the dt 770s?
I have read that dr 770s are pretty great. Shure SRH940s are extremely comfortable and sound fantastic, but they're a pretty significant price jump (from 200 to 320 Ausbucks respectively).
@Trajan45 Closed back headphones are never going to have the soundstage you’re looking for but some are (slightly) better than others. Since people are recommending you check out the m50x’s and the dt 770’s, I want to mention that both of them should be on demo display at any guitar center.
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Donovan PuppyfuckerA dagger in the dark isworth a thousand swords in the morningRegistered Userregular
@Trajan45 Closed back headphones are never going to have the soundstage you’re looking for but some are (slightly) better than others. Since people are recommending you check out the m50x’s and the dt 770’s, I want to mention that both of them should be on demo display at any guitar center.
Since I'm in an apartment, I can't go with open back headphones as the TV is in the next room and during quiet moments I can hear it a little even through my M50's (GF has TV on most of the time).
Also, they've already got two pairs of M50s. The X isn't going to sound radically different.
I have a Guitar Center nearby I'm going to check out at some point. Reading through this: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/mad-lust-envys-headphone-gaming-guide-10-25-2018-creative-aurvana-trio-added.534479/ He makes many comments around sound stage even though they are closed back headphones. Some of it has to do with the design, some close backs have vent holes (less isolation though). Others he talks about sound stage but also precision, ie how easy is it to pin point where sounds are coming from.
I have the M50's and from what I've read the DT 770's are pretty much a side grade (though better comfort). At this point I'm just holding off till CanJam in Febuary. That way I can test comfort and compare closed, semi-closed, and open designs. Given how noisy the show should be, it'll be a decent comparison for noise isolation.
Right now the cans on my list to check out: CA Cascade, ZMF Atticus, Mr Speakers Aeon, Beyerdynamics T5p, MMX 300, and the AudioQuest NightOwl (if possible, rumors of them getting out of the headphone business).
Also want to check out some of the noise cancelling BT headsets from Sony and Bose.
Would this be a good place to ask about a record player? My GF's record player was recently serviced, and it played the first record or two fine, but now when it lowers the needle down onto the record it just slides straight across the record. I've tried playing with some of the various settings on it but nothing seems to work. Is the stylus(?) bad?
Would this be a good place to ask about a record player? My GF's record player was recently serviced, and it played the first record or two fine, but now when it lowers the needle down onto the record it just slides straight across the record. I've tried playing with some of the various settings on it but nothing seems to work. Is the stylus(?) bad?
Apologies if this is too simple -- but I did this once and felt like an idiot later. Is there a cover over the needle?
Would this be a good place to ask about a record player? My GF's record player was recently serviced, and it played the first record or two fine, but now when it lowers the needle down onto the record it just slides straight across the record. I've tried playing with some of the various settings on it but nothing seems to work. Is the stylus(?) bad?
Apologies if this is too simple -- but I did this once and felt like an idiot later. Is there a cover over the needle?
It's possible! I shall check when I get home, though I don't recall taking any kind of cover off it previously to use it.
Would this be a good place to ask about a record player? My GF's record player was recently serviced, and it played the first record or two fine, but now when it lowers the needle down onto the record it just slides straight across the record. I've tried playing with some of the various settings on it but nothing seems to work. Is the stylus(?) bad?
hmm, my first guess is that the tracking arm counterweight isn't configured properly. what model of record player is it?
Counterweight could be involved, but to me this sounds more like an anti-skate issue. The counterweight makes sure the needle is pressing in to the record with the right amount of pressure, and if it's too light it could float up and skip, but the bigger problem is typically not setting the anti-skate, which counteracts the records natural tendency to pull the arm inwards as it rotates.
It's possible things might have gotten bumped during the service, so you'll want to do a full set up now that it's back home. Make sure the whole turntable is level, to begin with. Assuming the needle is on correctly*, look up what needle you currently have and check what weight it's rated for. Most needles have branding if you don't know what you have off hand. As an example, my needle works best with 2 grams. Turn the counterweight at the back until the whole arm floats perfectly, i.e. you've made the weight at the back equal the weight of the needle so it zero's out. Then rotate the numbered dial to zero to calibrate the counterweight, and turn the weight to the desired tracking weight. Then all you (generally) need to do is set the anti-skate to the same value. So, my counterweight is set to 2 and so is my anti-skate. If you experience the needle skipping outwards, turn down the anti-skate, and vice-versa.
Diagram:
If the needle works but still sounds like crap, it may need an alignment. The process is discussed in the links above and is a big pain in the ass, so I wouldn't mess with it unless you have a reason for concern. Basically, the physics of a playing records can cause distortion at certain parts of the record because it can't maintain an identical parallel alignment to the grooves throughout the whole spin, so there are alignments that try to average it out for the least distortion. To set them, you need to very precisely set the cartridge on the head (forward/back, left/right, and rotationally).
Would this be a good place to ask about a record player? My GF's record player was recently serviced, and it played the first record or two fine, but now when it lowers the needle down onto the record it just slides straight across the record. I've tried playing with some of the various settings on it but nothing seems to work. Is the stylus(?) bad?
hmm, my first guess is that the tracking arm counterweight isn't configured properly. what model of record player is it?
Counterweight could be involved, but to me this sounds more like an anti-skate issue. The counterweight makes sure the needle is pressing in to the record with the right amount of pressure, and if it's too light it could float up and skip, but the bigger problem is typically not setting the anti-skate, which counteracts the records natural tendency to pull the arm inwards as it rotates.
It's possible things might have gotten bumped during the service, so you'll want to do a full set up now that it's back home. Make sure the whole turntable is level, to begin with. Assuming the needle is on correctly*, look up what needle you currently have and check what weight it's rated for. Most needles have branding if you don't know what you have off hand. As an example, my needle works best with 2 grams. Turn the counterweight at the back until the whole arm floats perfectly, i.e. you've made the weight at the back equal the weight of the needle so it zero's out. Then rotate the numbered dial to zero to calibrate the counterweight, and turn the weight to the desired tracking weight. Then all you (generally) need to do is set the anti-skate to the same value. So, my counterweight is set to 2 and so is my anti-skate. If you experience the needle skipping outwards, turn down the anti-skate, and vice-versa.
Diagram:
If the needle works but still sounds like crap, it may need an alignment. The process is discussed in the links above and is a big pain in the ass, so I wouldn't mess with it unless you have a reason for concern. Basically, the physics of a playing records can cause distortion at certain parts of the record because it can't maintain an identical parallel alignment to the grooves throughout the whole spin, so there are alignments that try to average it out for the least distortion. To set them, you need to very precisely set the cartridge on the head (forward/back, left/right, and rotationally).
Awesome thanks, I will try this out tomorrow probably. I had tried playing with the anti-skate dial (couldn't recall the name) and I'm sure I've made whatever the issue was worse, so this is hugely helpful to try and fix it. I've never really used a record player so they're somewhat foreign to me.
As a combination late Christmas gift and money received back from work for unused sick/vacation time I bought myself to a used pair of MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed. I've been wanting a set of planar magnetic and/or closed headphones that are more neutral than my Focal Elears so these should be exactly what I'm looking for. The stock 1.8m cable might be a little short but I prefer to run balanced, and there are a number of reasonably priced custom cables I can choose from who can make me a 8-10 ft cable for around $100.
Monkey Ball WarriorA collection of mediocre hatsSeattle, WARegistered Userregular
I've wanted to buy a receiver for... 5 years? More? In a month or two I'll probably pull the trigger on something.
I want an excellent 2.1 experience with the option to upgrade to 5.1 later (I won't be buying surround speakers until I do a major living room reorganization in a year or two).
Speakers should be fairly small footprint, like bookshelfs or those really tall skinny ones. I see they make subwoofers in the "Apple Mac Pro Trashcan" form factor that look interesting.
Total watts isn't that important, because I live in a condo building and I'm not going to disturb my neighbors by cranking it up to 11.
A headphone jack is critical. 80% of the time I won't even be using the speakers. My TV has no analog audio out of any kind except the truly horrible built in speakers.
HDMI support for 4k@60hz is probably a good idea in the long run, but isn't a deal breaker. Obviously the more HDMI inputs, the better. Legacy inputs like component and RCA for older consoels would be nice but aren't a deal breaker.
Fancy modern networking features like popular service streaming and DLNA is a plus. I'm gonna want to stream FLAC files from my file server, and if the receiver can do so directly that would be great.
Money is of moderate concern. I don't like buying "The best" of anything because "Almost the best" is usually 95% of the quality for 50% of the price.
So I'll accept the thread's recommendations for receivers and speakers now.
"I resent the entire notion of a body as an ante and then raise you a generalized dissatisfaction with physicality itself" -- Tycho
The only thing you're asking for that isn't standard on basically any model of receiver is FLAC support. I can't speak to that, so you may have to go searching AVSForum or something.
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Monkey Ball WarriorA collection of mediocre hatsSeattle, WARegistered Userregular
The only thing you're asking for that isn't standard on basically any model of receiver is FLAC support. I can't speak to that, so you may have to go searching AVSForum or something.
Well that is reassuring. I am fairly ignorant in this department, so I probably just need to do more research before I proceed.
"I resent the entire notion of a body as an ante and then raise you a generalized dissatisfaction with physicality itself" -- Tycho
The big thing a lot of people are waiting on is HDMI 2.1. LG announced some TV's with it at CES this month but it seems even 2019 will be kind of dry for it. The main future proofing thing if you are a gamer is the VRR support. If you're not a big gamer, just about any receiver out will work. Looking on Wiki, it seems a ton of them support FLAC.
Just like with headphones, if you want to dig deep, certain brands pair with certain speakers better. As suggested, I'd check out AVS forums, that's where I did a bunch of my research. I was looking to upgrade a year back or so and was leaning towards the Sony STR-DN1080. In the end I decided to hold off till HDMI 2.1 since my Denon X4000 is doing ok (just can't support 4K which kind of sucks).
As a combination late Christmas gift and money received back from work for unused sick/vacation time I bought myself to a used pair of MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed. I've been wanting a set of planar magnetic and/or closed headphones that are more neutral than my Focal Elears so these should be exactly what I'm looking for. The stock 1.8m cable might be a little short but I prefer to run balanced, and there are a number of reasonably priced custom cables I can choose from who can make me a 8-10 ft cable for around $100.
Let me know how you like them. They are on my list, but the main drawback I heard was that the bass isn't great.
As a combination late Christmas gift and money received back from work for unused sick/vacation time I bought myself to a used pair of MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed. I've been wanting a set of planar magnetic and/or closed headphones that are more neutral than my Focal Elears so these should be exactly what I'm looking for. The stock 1.8m cable might be a little short but I prefer to run balanced, and there are a number of reasonably priced custom cables I can choose from who can make me a 8-10 ft cable for around $100.
Let me know how you like them. They are on my list, but the main drawback I heard was that the bass isn't great.
I love them. They are much more clinical clean sounding than my Elears which was exactly what I was looking for plus the isolation of a closed headphone.
They're not bass light per se but they don't have the thumping impact of the Elears. The bass it tight, clean, and controlled but does not extend super deep. I've spent the last few days going through my entire music library finding what works and doesn't work with them for me. Honestly, I'm not a fan of them for most rock music because they lack the visceral impact of the Elears, but for electronica, jazz, classical, and more pop-leaning stuff they're wonderful. The Aeon's are also pretty good for gaming with accurate positional audio.
I think if I hadn't been listening daily to the Elears for a few years I'd be fine with the Aeons for rock music, but they're just a little too clean and clinical to my taste for that kind of music. They are far better balanced overall than the Elears which now sound a bit too peaky in the treble but make up for up with a far warmer dynamic sound. A lot of reviews have called the Aeons very natural sounding and that's exactly right. They don't add or take away anything from the music. If you're looking for a very neutral headphone they're excellent, but if you want something warm, smooth, with deep bass they are not that.
I've been swapping back between the two headphones as I've been writing this, and the Aeons are absolutely phenomenal for electronic and ambient electronic music. The bass is not super deep but it's so clean and precise.
It could be the newness and the incredible comfort, but I think I find the Aeons more enjoyable to listen to overall. The sound is so natural and neutral. The Elears have such warm dynamic sound that is distinctly different, and now they're something thats for specific music or mood.
FWIW my Elears have the pads from the Mass Drop Elex's, which basically makes them into 95% of the Elex. The pads made slight difference but the Elears were already damn good on their own. I you want to compare reviews from publications, websites, or personal reviews on reddit and head-fi keep that in mind.
I got a set of Beyerdynamic DT880s (250 Ohm) from Massdrop and they came in today but I really need an amp to drive them properly. Nothing I own is quite up to the task, although my Galaxy Note 8 surprisingly does the best out of what I have available. I have a DAC/AMP coming but it won't be shipping out until sometime next month. Boooooo.
They still sound a lot better than the AT-30x that I was using previously even though I need to max out the volume on my phone to get them to an OK level.
I had a time trying to find a software solution to my phones lacklustre audio output. I can safely say it's not worth trying if you were thinking it might be possible. Unless you're rooted, any gain in volume is let down massively by a reduction in quality.
I like my SE-215's so far. My bigger issue is finding a good tip. I gave the Spinfit's a try but they wear out really quick. Within a month they are already having trouble keeping a seal.
Waffling about going to CanJam NYC. Looking up Amtrak pricing right now, it would be around $250 for a 1 day round trip. That would give me 5-6 hours there, but I'm starting to wonder if that $250 would be better gambling on a set based on reviews. I still really like my M50's as well (especially with some tweaks from SBX Studio). Also wondering if I didn't research myself into thinking I needed an upgrade haha.
If you're that on the fence about which headphones to buy I do think CanJam may be worth going to. Luckily with closed cans you'll be able to get a pretty good idea how they'll sound in such a noisy environment. Keep in mind though that you may find primarily high end stuff there and it's possibly many of the models you want to hear are not going to be there. That said, if you find something you do really like you can then see what's available used through Head-fi or r/AvExchange (so long as you meet the requirement to buy there), and the money spent going to CanJam could equal the savings buying used as opposed to buying new.
Last time I was at B&H Photo Video, granted this was 5+ years ago, they had a fairly large selection of headphones available to listen to. The B&H store isn't too far from the hotel where CanJam is being held.
Yeah that's what I'm trying to weigh. Most of the comments from years past talk about $1,000+ headphones, like Stax and how great it was to try them. I'm just wondering if there is something in the $500-1000 range that would take what I like about the M50's and make it better. Also I hate lines, and this event seems to be full of them haha. However it would be fun to try different models to start to be able to describe in audiophile lingo what I like.
I guess it's going to come down to if I want to see if I can find a smaller meet up here in DC to try first then move up or just bite the bullet and eat the money for the experience.
Yeah, once you get into the $500-1000 range you're looking at levels of diminishing returns. I'm not sure anything is going to absolutely blow your mind over the M50's. It's all going to be levels of refinement and build quality. If you know what kind of sound signature you like then you'll probably be safe with something if reviews all describe the sound in same/similar ways.
Buying direct from manufacturers or retailers with good return policies would allow you to try something for 14-30 days to see if it's what you're looking for. You could always return what you liked the best and then buy used to save a few hundred dollars. I realize that's a dick move but also allows you to afford headphones that would otherwise be out of your price range.
I don't recall what your amp situation is like but don't forget that some headphones need an amp to sound their best. There are a number of excellent $100 amps that will work really well until you can upgrade when budget allows.
Just running them out of my Soundblaster SBX card in my PC. Yeah $250 could get me a DT770 Pro which most people seem to think is an upgrade to the M50's is only $180. Upgrading my amp is tied to if I upgrade my headphones.
On the flip side, it would be awesome to listen to better headphones to see if I can even really tell the difference. Or listen to different types like Planar Magnetic's to see if I like their sound (probably wont haha).
Should I get a wireless gaming headset or good quality headphones and a separate mic?
This would be almost exclusively used at my desk playing PC games and working (conference calls).
Budget is about $200 Canadian monopoly money
I currently have the steelseries Arctic Pro 5 wired and it's comfortable and the sound seems good to me. I've also had good feedback on how the microphone sounds.
I don't stream currently but I've been thinking about doing some play-throughs of some older RPG's and stuff on twitch so it's a consideration.
I have big ears so in almost all headsets the edges of my ears touch the foam inside (with the exception of headsets in airplanes which are incredible )
For gaming headsets I am thinking either the Corsair HS70 or the HyperX Cloud but I'd be open to other suggestions.
For "regular" headsets I have no idea what would be a good pair in my budget range. I don't have an amp or anything right now.
If I get a regular headset I was thinking of the modmic5 or a separate Yeti mic on a boom but again open to suggestions.
I think it depends on your use case. Do you want to walk away from your desk and still listen to music or be on a call? Do you plan on using them with your phone to listen to music on the go? Those seem to be the most common reasons for wireless. Wireless in general is going to impact the sound quality you get, so unless you need that freedom, it's probably best to go corded.
I'm far from an expert but from what I gather there isn't really any other "gaming" headsets that will blow your Arctis Pro 5 out of the water. Maybe the Audeze Mobius or the beyerdynamic MMX 300, both out of your price range.
I'm not really sure if there is anything that would be much of an upgrade in your price range. You're probably best off staying with the AP5 and saving up. For example the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x are around $200 CDN but for gaming, from what I'm reading they are pretty close the the Arctis (they have more bass).
I think it depends on your use case. Do you want to walk away from your desk and still listen to music or be on a call? Do you plan on using them with your phone to listen to music on the go? Those seem to be the most common reasons for wireless. Wireless in general is going to impact the sound quality you get, so unless you need that freedom, it's probably best to go corded.
I'm far from an expert but from what I gather there isn't really any other "gaming" headsets that will blow your Arctis Pro 5 out of the water. Maybe the Audeze Mobius or the beyerdynamic MMX 300, both out of your price range.
I'm not really sure if there is anything that would be much of an upgrade in your price range. You're probably best off staying with the AP5 and saving up. For example the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x are around $200 CDN but for gaming, from what I'm reading they are pretty close the the Arctis (they have more bass).
I want to be able to walk away from the desk and also to not deal with wires if I am out and about at a coffee shop or whatever working.
I will probably still use earbuds on the go but depending weight & battery life that would be an option.
I like my current headset but I hate the wire part
Posts
Thought I lost them in office
They were in the pocket of my other sweatshirt
But I ordered another pair of cheaper IEMs yesterday via mass drop
Different sound signature
Do I cancel order hmm
on the other hand, i've been spending too much money lately and i don't need to drop another 90 dollars when i just found my 300 dollar headphones again
can always get new ones down the line
okay anyway whew
my next big purchase might be some more comfortable closed back headphones for the office, perhaps the dt 770s?
However I've been struggling to find any well rated pairs for the gym. Something like the sennheiser momentum free has great reviews but because there is not over the ear hook, many folks mention they slide out when you are sweating. Another option would be the M50xBT, but there I've heard you can start getting really sweaty in the cup and it can ruin the headphones.
Are there any aftermarket hooks or something that one can add to a good sounding BT earbud? or has anyone used larger headphones like beats or anything for activity where they sweat?
I have Aukey Bluetooth headphones, they’re 25 or 30 some odd dollars
Replaced the tips with comply foam sport tips
They stay in my ear well, are sufficiently sweat resistant, and are cheap
And sound fine enough for the gym
https://www.amazon.com/AUKEY-Latitude-Headphones-Sweat-Resistant-Bluetooth/dp/B06ZZSQQTD
I'm wondering if I can just swap the tips off the Momentum Free for something more stable. My wired Sony's right now have the angled piece on them.
I have read that dr 770s are pretty great. Shure SRH940s are extremely comfortable and sound fantastic, but they're a pretty significant price jump (from 200 to 320 Ausbucks respectively).
Also, they've already got two pairs of M50s. The X isn't going to sound radically different.
I have the M50's and from what I've read the DT 770's are pretty much a side grade (though better comfort). At this point I'm just holding off till CanJam in Febuary. That way I can test comfort and compare closed, semi-closed, and open designs. Given how noisy the show should be, it'll be a decent comparison for noise isolation.
Right now the cans on my list to check out: CA Cascade, ZMF Atticus, Mr Speakers Aeon, Beyerdynamics T5p, MMX 300, and the AudioQuest NightOwl (if possible, rumors of them getting out of the headphone business).
Also want to check out some of the noise cancelling BT headsets from Sony and Bose.
Apologies if this is too simple -- but I did this once and felt like an idiot later. Is there a cover over the needle?
JVC QL-F4 (it's old, it was her dad's).
It's possible! I shall check when I get home, though I don't recall taking any kind of cover off it previously to use it.
Counterweight could be involved, but to me this sounds more like an anti-skate issue. The counterweight makes sure the needle is pressing in to the record with the right amount of pressure, and if it's too light it could float up and skip, but the bigger problem is typically not setting the anti-skate, which counteracts the records natural tendency to pull the arm inwards as it rotates.
It's possible things might have gotten bumped during the service, so you'll want to do a full set up now that it's back home. Make sure the whole turntable is level, to begin with. Assuming the needle is on correctly*, look up what needle you currently have and check what weight it's rated for. Most needles have branding if you don't know what you have off hand. As an example, my needle works best with 2 grams. Turn the counterweight at the back until the whole arm floats perfectly, i.e. you've made the weight at the back equal the weight of the needle so it zero's out. Then rotate the numbered dial to zero to calibrate the counterweight, and turn the weight to the desired tracking weight. Then all you (generally) need to do is set the anti-skate to the same value. So, my counterweight is set to 2 and so is my anti-skate. If you experience the needle skipping outwards, turn down the anti-skate, and vice-versa.
Diagram:
https://gizmodo.com/5216965/how-to-calibrate-your-turntable-for-the-best-possible-sound
https://thevinylfactory.com/features/how-to-balance-your-tonearm-a-step-by-step-guide/
*
Awesome thanks, I will try this out tomorrow probably. I had tried playing with the anti-skate dial (couldn't recall the name) and I'm sure I've made whatever the issue was worse, so this is hugely helpful to try and fix it. I've never really used a record player so they're somewhat foreign to me.
I want an excellent 2.1 experience with the option to upgrade to 5.1 later (I won't be buying surround speakers until I do a major living room reorganization in a year or two).
Speakers should be fairly small footprint, like bookshelfs or those really tall skinny ones. I see they make subwoofers in the "Apple Mac Pro Trashcan" form factor that look interesting.
Total watts isn't that important, because I live in a condo building and I'm not going to disturb my neighbors by cranking it up to 11.
A headphone jack is critical. 80% of the time I won't even be using the speakers. My TV has no analog audio out of any kind except the truly horrible built in speakers.
HDMI support for 4k@60hz is probably a good idea in the long run, but isn't a deal breaker. Obviously the more HDMI inputs, the better. Legacy inputs like component and RCA for older consoels would be nice but aren't a deal breaker.
Fancy modern networking features like popular service streaming and DLNA is a plus. I'm gonna want to stream FLAC files from my file server, and if the receiver can do so directly that would be great.
Money is of moderate concern. I don't like buying "The best" of anything because "Almost the best" is usually 95% of the quality for 50% of the price.
So I'll accept the thread's recommendations for receivers and speakers now.
Well that is reassuring. I am fairly ignorant in this department, so I probably just need to do more research before I proceed.
Just like with headphones, if you want to dig deep, certain brands pair with certain speakers better. As suggested, I'd check out AVS forums, that's where I did a bunch of my research. I was looking to upgrade a year back or so and was leaning towards the Sony STR-DN1080. In the end I decided to hold off till HDMI 2.1 since my Denon X4000 is doing ok (just can't support 4K which kind of sucks).
Let me know how you like them. They are on my list, but the main drawback I heard was that the bass isn't great.
I love them. They are much more clinical clean sounding than my Elears which was exactly what I was looking for plus the isolation of a closed headphone.
They're not bass light per se but they don't have the thumping impact of the Elears. The bass it tight, clean, and controlled but does not extend super deep. I've spent the last few days going through my entire music library finding what works and doesn't work with them for me. Honestly, I'm not a fan of them for most rock music because they lack the visceral impact of the Elears, but for electronica, jazz, classical, and more pop-leaning stuff they're wonderful. The Aeon's are also pretty good for gaming with accurate positional audio.
I think if I hadn't been listening daily to the Elears for a few years I'd be fine with the Aeons for rock music, but they're just a little too clean and clinical to my taste for that kind of music. They are far better balanced overall than the Elears which now sound a bit too peaky in the treble but make up for up with a far warmer dynamic sound. A lot of reviews have called the Aeons very natural sounding and that's exactly right. They don't add or take away anything from the music. If you're looking for a very neutral headphone they're excellent, but if you want something warm, smooth, with deep bass they are not that.
I've been swapping back between the two headphones as I've been writing this, and the Aeons are absolutely phenomenal for electronic and ambient electronic music. The bass is not super deep but it's so clean and precise.
It could be the newness and the incredible comfort, but I think I find the Aeons more enjoyable to listen to overall. The sound is so natural and neutral. The Elears have such warm dynamic sound that is distinctly different, and now they're something thats for specific music or mood.
FWIW my Elears have the pads from the Mass Drop Elex's, which basically makes them into 95% of the Elex. The pads made slight difference but the Elears were already damn good on their own. I you want to compare reviews from publications, websites, or personal reviews on reddit and head-fi keep that in mind.
They still sound a lot better than the AT-30x that I was using previously even though I need to max out the volume on my phone to get them to an OK level.
What DAC did you end up going for?
http://steamcommunity.com/id/pablocampy
Second time these massdrop plus ones have had the bass just die on an earphone
Dunno what to get though
(yeah I know, I'm a broken record...)
Last time I was at B&H Photo Video, granted this was 5+ years ago, they had a fairly large selection of headphones available to listen to. The B&H store isn't too far from the hotel where CanJam is being held.
I guess it's going to come down to if I want to see if I can find a smaller meet up here in DC to try first then move up or just bite the bullet and eat the money for the experience.
Buying direct from manufacturers or retailers with good return policies would allow you to try something for 14-30 days to see if it's what you're looking for. You could always return what you liked the best and then buy used to save a few hundred dollars. I realize that's a dick move but also allows you to afford headphones that would otherwise be out of your price range.
I don't recall what your amp situation is like but don't forget that some headphones need an amp to sound their best. There are a number of excellent $100 amps that will work really well until you can upgrade when budget allows.
but i spontaneously bought some crazy 8 armature IEMs because i am irresponsible with my money
i will baby both of these now and stick to using cheap things for commuting etc
On the flip side, it would be awesome to listen to better headphones to see if I can even really tell the difference. Or listen to different types like Planar Magnetic's to see if I like their sound (probably wont haha).
Sometimes less
This would be almost exclusively used at my desk playing PC games and working (conference calls).
Budget is about $200 Canadian monopoly money
I currently have the steelseries Arctic Pro 5 wired and it's comfortable and the sound seems good to me. I've also had good feedback on how the microphone sounds.
I don't stream currently but I've been thinking about doing some play-throughs of some older RPG's and stuff on twitch so it's a consideration.
I have big ears so in almost all headsets the edges of my ears touch the foam inside (with the exception of headsets in airplanes which are incredible
For gaming headsets I am thinking either the Corsair HS70 or the HyperX Cloud but I'd be open to other suggestions.
For "regular" headsets I have no idea what would be a good pair in my budget range. I don't have an amp or anything right now.
If I get a regular headset I was thinking of the modmic5 or a separate Yeti mic on a boom but again open to suggestions.
Thanks in advance for any links or advice
I'm far from an expert but from what I gather there isn't really any other "gaming" headsets that will blow your Arctis Pro 5 out of the water. Maybe the Audeze Mobius or the beyerdynamic MMX 300, both out of your price range.
I'm not really sure if there is anything that would be much of an upgrade in your price range. You're probably best off staying with the AP5 and saving up. For example the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x are around $200 CDN but for gaming, from what I'm reading they are pretty close the the Arctis (they have more bass).
I want to be able to walk away from the desk and also to not deal with wires if I am out and about at a coffee shop or whatever working.
I will probably still use earbuds on the go but depending weight & battery life that would be an option.
I like my current headset but I hate the wire part