They seem to be excellent studio headphones, which means they wont be thumpy. The bass will be balanced with everything else. Do you have a good DAC/Amp to pair them with?
Not yet! Been pondering that too, but I have until the end of the week to decide on the headphones.
They seem to be excellent studio headphones, which means they wont be thumpy. The bass will be balanced with everything else. Do you have a good DAC/Amp to pair them with?
Not yet! Been pondering that too, but I have until the end of the week to decide on the headphones.
They are fantastic headphones, but they are usually used for studios rather than casual listening. Studio headphones are prized for having a "flat" response, which means that it won't have the high frequency presence bump nor the booty-bumping bass in the low-end like most consumer headphones. With those qualities in mind, you can always use EQ (and probably should) to reproduce those effects. If it were me, I'd be all over those cans, but I also do a lot of amateur studio recording and mixing stuff.
So I just got my Steelseries Arctis 7 in the mail, and I LOVE them. So comfy, convenient, and hi-tech. Though I'm having trouble figuring out a good sound balance. Does anyone have any recommended settings for things like the equalizer and such?
They seem to be excellent studio headphones, which means they wont be thumpy. The bass will be balanced with everything else. Do you have a good DAC/Amp to pair them with?
Not yet! Been pondering that too, but I have until the end of the week to decide on the headphones.
Can't go wrong with a Schitt Stack. $200 for a great Amp and DAC. I love mine!
I bought a set of Master & Dynamic MW08 wireless noise cancelling earbuds and having listened to them for a few hours the last few days I'm very happy with them. They sound fantastic with just a tad of bass EQ'd out in Spotify and even then it's deep, tight, and rivals my Focal Elears and Sony WH-1000XM3's. I don't think I've ever heard such a huge soundstage in earbuds or closed style headphones before either. The noise cancelling isn't close to the Sony XM3's, not that I was expecting it to be, but it's decent enough to drown out background noise from fans, vacuums, my DA polishers, and whatever else I can find around the house to create a consistent sound like you'd find in a car, train, or airplane.
If you've heard the Sony WH-1000XM3's the MW08's have a similar warm, punchy, V-shaped sound, but I with less bloated bass and much much larger sound stage. I need to do some more back and forth comparisons but I'd give the MW08's the overall edge in sound quality. The MW08's aren't going to really give my Focal Elears or MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed anything to worry about, but for $300 they're really really good.
Bluetooth range seems very good. Definitely better than the 1000XM3's which started dropping after around 30ft where as the MW08's had no issues. Connecting to my iPhone 12 was nearly instantaneous after taking them out of the case.
I'm very glad I didn't just settle for Airpod Pros like I had intended to. I care too much about sound quality even if my best use case for the MW08's is only a couple of hours a week.
I did buy a set of Spinfit CP360 tips because I seem to be in-between the stock S and XS tips. The smalls are fine but not not as comfortable as I'd like. The small Spinfits seem to be more comfortable for longer listening sections, but neither are as comfortable as the Shure Olives I used for years with my Westone W3's. I've never been a fan of Comply tips, they're quite fragile, but I'll keep searching for foam tips that might fit (thought the likely won't fit in the case which would be very unfortunate).
So I just got my Steelseries Arctis 7 in the mail, and I LOVE them. So comfy, convenient, and hi-tech. Though I'm having trouble figuring out a good sound balance. Does anyone have any recommended settings for things like the equalizer and such?
I just used their application and used I think their default EQ profile. It resulted in the best listening experience for me.
I've set up at least a dozen of those receivers. They're great! As far as I'm concerned, if you're buying a receiver you either go for Yamaha, or step up to Marantz.
Now all that said, Burtleboy is right. That's an older receiver that's not going to work as well with the 4k-hdr pass through, and certainly not for 4k/60-120. And so far Yamaha hasn't updated their newer receivers to support HDMI 2.1 properly, so you're looking Denon or Onkyo. Not ideal, but that's where we're at right now. And for high end like that you're spending high end dollars. The least expensive one I've seen is the AVR-S960H, but I don't have any personal experience with them so I can't vouch. Reviews look good though!
Now after all of that.. if you're looking at receivers, you're out of the soundbar realm. Soundbars have their own amps and processing like Trajan45 mentioned, aside from a small handful of passive soundbars that I really can't recommend. Getting a soundbar isn't a bad thing, especially if space is a concern. Those Vizio soundbars are inexpensive and they're sure as hell better than TV speakers. Honestly? They're totally fine, adequate even! If you're on a budget I would recommend them. If you have room in your budget there's some real nice steps up, but it all depends on you.
Edit: holy shit that was some rambling.
@Shadowfire@schuss How has it been bug wise? When looking online, seems like there are a lot of comments around connectivity bugs with eArc and such. Also since it's just 1 port in, I'm assuming if you have PS4, Roku, etc they all have to be plugged into the TV? I wonder if that's an issue since not all TV ports are equal.
EDIT: Also how well does the Sonos Arc work with other components? Can it? I'm not sure where I could put the left surround, due to not having a wall there, but I could wire in ceiling surrounds. I also have a sub already.
I have had zero connectivity issues with my x900h. That said, I don't have much else running into it and use it only a few times a week.
+1
ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
I've run into very few bugs with the Sonos ARC implementation. The only thing I've seen is some of the LG TVs once in a while will break and a reboot usually fixes it, but something about the Sonos software is just rock solid as far as I've seen.
As far as other components.. If you're talking about video devices, those just plug into the TV and the audio gets fed from the TV just fine. Audio devices you're out of luck. You can't use your own sub or speakers* with Sonos, it's their stuff or nothing.
* You can use your own speakers in the rear, but they have to link with a Sonos amp which are like $600 themselves. It's all super cool tech, but very Apple-like.
I'm struggling to figure out what to do with this room. With one side open to the rest of the floor, I'm not even sure a sound bar is a good idea as there isn't a wall for the "surround" effects to bounce off. Then you have windows to the side and behind as well. I was looking at angled in ceiling speakers, but talking with a DefTech rep, they mentioned you need 10ft between them and the listener. I think I might just be screwed. Maybe have them wire for the rear corners for 2 speakers that would have to serve as surrounds even though they are behind the listener. Might be able to fit something small back there.
Origin ID\ Steam ID: Warder45
0
ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
Looking at that, do you have the TV on the west wall? Where's your sofa going, middle of the room? That's a ton of space there.
They seem to be excellent studio headphones, which means they wont be thumpy. The bass will be balanced with everything else. Do you have a good DAC/Amp to pair them with?
Not yet! Been pondering that too, but I have until the end of the week to decide on the headphones.
They are fantastic headphones, but they are usually used for studios rather than casual listening. Studio headphones are prized for having a "flat" response, which means that it won't have the high frequency presence bump nor the booty-bumping bass in the low-end like most consumer headphones. With those qualities in mind, you can always use EQ (and probably should) to reproduce those effects. If it were me, I'd be all over those cans, but I also do a lot of amateur studio recording and mixing stuff.
My Airpods Pro are my current music enjoyment tool, and I've never bothered messing around with the EQ for them - I think they sound just fine for what I listen to.
I also have the option go get AirPods Max as "work equipment", kinda-sorta considering those too, but again, I think my AirPods Pro sound fine for being out and about, I'm mostly looking for something to use at home.
Looking at that, do you have the TV on the west wall? Where's your sofa going, middle of the room? That's a ton of space there.
@Shadowfire That's the idea. Something akin to this:
Not sure I can see any other arrangement working. Putting it in the corner makes the audio situation even worse. The box in the back is my Outlaw LFM-1 EX sub. I'm hoping to run cabling back there since I want the sub as far away from the 'party wall' as possible. The room is deceptive. It seems decently large, till your in it, then it's a bit more cramped than you'd think.
EDIT: one idea I'm toying with is having a small entertainment cabinet against the stair wall. I'm also enamored with Monitor Audio's SoundFrame on wall speakers.
Trajan45 on
Origin ID\ Steam ID: Warder45
0
ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
You're pretty far from Sonos there! Is that over a basement? You could run some speaker wire underneath and up through the floor under the sofa. Speaker stands aren't expensive. Otherwise in ceiling would probably be your best bet just so they're not intruding. Especially if you're looking at in wall speakers in the front, might as well make it all flush.
You're pretty far from Sonos there! Is that over a basement? You could run some speaker wire underneath and up through the floor under the sofa. Speaker stands aren't expensive. Otherwise in ceiling would probably be your best bet just so they're not intruding. Especially if you're looking at in wall speakers in the front, might as well make it all flush.
haha yeah, I'm waiting for the sticker shock to bust my bubble. It's a townhouse, so technically that's the 2nd floor and there is a garage under it. But it's also new build, which is why I'm trying to figure this out now, since I can wire it however I'd like, but I need to know where to wire it. Sadly my wife already nixed the fake column next to the island for me to hide a surround speaker in haha.
It's our audio/video guy that suggested those for our "work equipment" tech list, he managed to get the 1540s replaced with Shure SRH1840 now. :rotate:
+1
ShadowfireVermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered Userregular
You're pretty far from Sonos there! Is that over a basement? You could run some speaker wire underneath and up through the floor under the sofa. Speaker stands aren't expensive. Otherwise in ceiling would probably be your best bet just so they're not intruding. Especially if you're looking at in wall speakers in the front, might as well make it all flush.
haha yeah, I'm waiting for the sticker shock to bust my bubble. It's a townhouse, so technically that's the 2nd floor and there is a garage under it. But it's also new build, which is why I'm trying to figure this out now, since I can wire it however I'd like, but I need to know where to wire it. Sadly my wife already nixed the fake column next to the island for me to hide a surround speaker in haha.
Oh yeah, getting those wires in while the walls are still open is ideal. Just make sure whoever is doing finishing work doesn't fuck it up after! We've done a few pre-wire jobs and had contractors come in behind us and move wires for Reasons.
It's our audio/video guy that suggested those for our "work equipment" tech list, he managed to get the 1540s replaced with Shure SRH1840 now. :rotate:
The 1840's are open back vs the 1540's that are closed FYI. I'd never use open back headphones at work.
The Airpod Max's have gotten really good reviews. Though for my work in a cubicle, wireless wouldn't really be a selling point.
It's our audio/video guy that suggested those for our "work equipment" tech list, he managed to get the 1540s replaced with Shure SRH1840 now. :rotate:
The 1840's are open back vs the 1540's that are closed FYI. I'd never use open back headphones at work.
The Airpod Max's have gotten really good reviews. Though for my work in a cubicle, wireless wouldn't really be a selling point.
Yeah, right now I'm leaning toward Airpods Max. I'm already into the Apple ecosystem and I think going back to something wired would drive me nuts.
I'm going to wait a bit. I like them as is for bluetooth and I have EQ on my desktop for when they are plugged in. Rather wait till revision 2 or 3 of the app to sort out the bugs.
One thing I am getting nervous about is that my ear pads are getting really soft. Not sure if they have replacement available to buy yet.
Origin ID\ Steam ID: Warder45
0
KoopahTroopahThe koopas, the troopas.Philadelphia, PARegistered Userregular
Man, it's really hard to figure out what headphones I should try, since I think the fact that I like my ATH-M50s more than my ATH-AD700s puts my tastes at odds with 90% of the audiophiles out there recommending headphones.
I'm leaning towards Meze Noirs or ATH-A990z. And a decent portable DAC+amp.
Hm. I might just buy the A990z and an amp now, and then get the Meze Noirs in a couple months since it looks like they won't ship for that long anyway. And if I decide I don't need both that's a problem with a lot of easy solutions. Or I could get the Noirs used somewhere. Decisions, decisions.
Man, it's really hard to figure out what headphones I should try, since I think the fact that I like my ATH-M50s more than my ATH-AD700s puts my tastes at odds with 90% of the audiophiles out there recommending headphones.
I'm leaning towards Meze Noirs or ATH-A990z. And a decent portable DAC+amp.
I was in the same boat for a long time. I bit the bullet with the Drop Pandas which I really like, though they are a bit different than the M50's. I'm staying put for now till we can do CanJam again. If I'm going to upgrade again, I want to test stuff out to see what signatures I really like.
That said, when doing research, I've heard the Massdrop Fostex stuff was supposed to be sort of the next upgrade for folks that like the M50's.
Man, it's really hard to figure out what headphones I should try, since I think the fact that I like my ATH-M50s more than my ATH-AD700s puts my tastes at odds with 90% of the audiophiles out there recommending headphones.
I'm leaning towards Meze Noirs or ATH-A990z. And a decent portable DAC+amp.
I was in the same boat for a long time. I bit the bullet with the Drop Pandas which I really like, though they are a bit different than the M50's. I'm staying put for now till we can do CanJam again. If I'm going to upgrade again, I want to test stuff out to see what signatures I really like.
That said, when doing research, I've heard the Massdrop Fostex stuff was supposed to be sort of the next upgrade for folks that like the M50's.
Yeah, I'd read some of the same. I ended up grabbing the Meze 99 Noirs from someone on r/AVExchange after reading some more (and comparing FR graphs, and reading some more, and letting my anxiety waste like most of my free time on research yesterday). If nothing else, they'll have enough bass and I've never heard anyone complain about them having enormous problems, just too much bass...so they should EQ nicely if necessary.
Man, it's really hard to figure out what headphones I should try, since I think the fact that I like my ATH-M50s more than my ATH-AD700s puts my tastes at odds with 90% of the audiophiles out there recommending headphones.
I'm leaning towards Meze Noirs or ATH-A990z. And a decent portable DAC+amp.
I was in the same boat for a long time. I bit the bullet with the Drop Pandas which I really like, though they are a bit different than the M50's. I'm staying put for now till we can do CanJam again. If I'm going to upgrade again, I want to test stuff out to see what signatures I really like.
That said, when doing research, I've heard the Massdrop Fostex stuff was supposed to be sort of the next upgrade for folks that like the M50's.
Yeah, I'd read some of the same. I ended up grabbing the Meze 99 Noirs from someone on r/AVExchange after reading some more (and comparing FR graphs, and reading some more, and letting my anxiety waste like most of my free time on research yesterday). If nothing else, they'll have enough bass and I've never heard anyone complain about them having enormous problems, just too much bass...so they should EQ nicely if necessary.
So, good news. I don't, as I thought like two minutes ago, suddenly have like 10db of hearing loss in one ear. Finally thought to reverse my headphones and see what it sounded like.
Though now I get to try to figure out why I suddenly have a balance issue when I didn't an hour ago.
edit: Uh, hm. When I plug any pair of headphones all the way to full depth into the extension cable I use, one side drops off a bit. Leave it like a few mm shy of being completely plugged in, and it sounds right.
Anybody got reccs for some bluetooth headphones to replace the sennheisers (4.50BTNC) I just dumped water on? It's been a few days, they'll acknowledge a charge cable but won't turn on, and I don't have a proper small screwdriver to get in there and hardly know what I'd do once I got them open anyway. May just get the same, I liked them quite well but figured I'd poke my head up and see what was out there. My partner has the bose noise canceling ones and I think they sound about like mud so those are out. (EXCELLENT noise cancellation though) Looking to stay under 200, pref 150 or under (USD) and no dongles, I'm willing to sacrifice some quality for the convenience of bluetooth and not having more stuff in my pockets. And don't worry about your own Senns in the rain, by dumped water I mean they literally were in a sink that then got turned on, don't ask.
Most bluetooth headphones are not going to be great. You may just want to buy a replacement of your Sennheisers if you like their sound. The Drop Pandas, which I'm not sure are available to buy anymore are really the only high end bluetooth headset. The rest are going to be similar to the Bose.
Most bluetooth headphones are not going to be great. You may just want to buy a replacement of your Sennheisers if you like their sound. The Drop Pandas, which I'm not sure are available to buy anymore are really the only high end bluetooth headset. The rest are going to be similar to the Bose.
Good enough! I figured I was hitting the limits of what BT can do, and I knew they didnt stack up to the 6xx at home. But gotta have closed back and BT for day to day now, can't go back to wires.
So, good news. I don't, as I thought like two minutes ago, suddenly have like 10db of hearing loss in one ear. Finally thought to reverse my headphones and see what it sounded like.
Though now I get to try to figure out why I suddenly have a balance issue when I didn't an hour ago.
edit: Uh, hm. When I plug any pair of headphones all the way to full depth into the extension cable I use, one side drops off a bit. Leave it like a few mm shy of being completely plugged in, and it sounds right.
So, good news. I don't, as I thought like two minutes ago, suddenly have like 10db of hearing loss in one ear. Finally thought to reverse my headphones and see what it sounded like.
Though now I get to try to figure out why I suddenly have a balance issue when I didn't an hour ago.
edit: Uh, hm. When I plug any pair of headphones all the way to full depth into the extension cable I use, one side drops off a bit. Leave it like a few mm shy of being completely plugged in, and it sounds right.
Sounds like it's time to replace that cable.
Yeah, probably. I fiddled with it and the problem went away, so it's a problem I can regret not dealing with some other day.
Most bluetooth headphones are not going to be great. You may just want to buy a replacement of your Sennheisers if you like their sound. The Drop Pandas, which I'm not sure are available to buy anymore are really the only high end bluetooth headset. The rest are going to be similar to the Bose.
Good enough! I figured I was hitting the limits of what BT can do, and I knew they didnt stack up to the 6xx at home. But gotta have closed back and BT for day to day now, can't go back to wires.
Sennheiser has the HD 450 BT and HD 350 BTs that I think replaced the 4.5 BTNC model. They should be in your price range and are on sale occasionally, but I can't speak to them personally. The only BT stuff I've used myself that sound good (to me, I am not going to say I am an audiophile) were a pair of Anker Soundcore Liberty buds (about $80 at the time), and the Drop Pandas (which are 350-400, so way out of your budget, but they're audiophile attempts at bluetooth wireless with their own amp and stuff built into the headphones). A buddy of mine recently replaced his Bluedio bluetooth cheapo headphones with an AKG NC700, but he hasn't tried it out yet to see how it is but it reviewed well, the only catch with it is the ANC can't be fully disabled, just subdued.
My Airpods Pro are my current music enjoyment tool, and I've never bothered messing around with the EQ for them - I think they sound just fine for what I listen to.
I also have the option go get AirPods Max as "work equipment", kinda-sorta considering those too, but again, I think my AirPods Pro sound fine for being out and about, I'm mostly looking for something to use at home.
Re: this, I ended up going for AirPods Max, since I'm already deep into the Apple rabbit hole and I don't think I can go back to something wired.
+1
KoopahTroopahThe koopas, the troopas.Philadelphia, PARegistered Userregular
Anybody with Drop Pandas try upgrading their firmware and messing with the EQ modifications with the SoundID app yet?
I'm a little leery to playing around with it as I like how they sound as is.
I was just coming in here to ask the same thing. I downloaded the firmware but haven't done the deed yet. Gotta download the app and all that.
I went and did this today. Firmware update is pretty seamless. Download the zip, extract it, connect Pandas, run update. Takes about 5-10 minutes to actually run the update. No issues there. Went and downloaded SoundID on my phone and went through a hearing test & a sound ID test. As expected:
I found the Bass lacking in the out of box Pandas sound profile, so it makes sense that it upped it for me. I was really surprised when nothing else needed edits for me. Went through a couple tracks on Spotify, and reminded myself I had to turn off the Equalizer on there, and it definitely makes a difference. I thought these things were good before, but now they're basically perfect. The sound quality is fucking awesome.
Highly recommend Pandas users run the firmware update and make upload a custom Sound ID profile to their cans.
I was interesting to me reading all the data and seeing that the majority of people end up preferring a pretty specific sound (the 'Harman Curve') from headphones...except in bass, where preference varies wildly.
Posts
Not yet! Been pondering that too, but I have until the end of the week to decide on the headphones.
Steam: pazython
Can't go wrong with a Schitt Stack. $200 for a great Amp and DAC. I love mine!
Origin ID: Discgolfer27
Untappd ID: Discgolfer1981
If you've heard the Sony WH-1000XM3's the MW08's have a similar warm, punchy, V-shaped sound, but I with less bloated bass and much much larger sound stage. I need to do some more back and forth comparisons but I'd give the MW08's the overall edge in sound quality. The MW08's aren't going to really give my Focal Elears or MrSpeakers Aeon Flow Closed anything to worry about, but for $300 they're really really good.
Bluetooth range seems very good. Definitely better than the 1000XM3's which started dropping after around 30ft where as the MW08's had no issues. Connecting to my iPhone 12 was nearly instantaneous after taking them out of the case.
I'm very glad I didn't just settle for Airpod Pros like I had intended to. I care too much about sound quality even if my best use case for the MW08's is only a couple of hours a week.
I did buy a set of Spinfit CP360 tips because I seem to be in-between the stock S and XS tips. The smalls are fine but not not as comfortable as I'd like. The small Spinfits seem to be more comfortable for longer listening sections, but neither are as comfortable as the Shure Olives I used for years with my Westone W3's. I've never been a fan of Comply tips, they're quite fragile, but I'll keep searching for foam tips that might fit (thought the likely won't fit in the case which would be very unfortunate).
I just used their application and used I think their default EQ profile. It resulted in the best listening experience for me.
@Shadowfire @schuss How has it been bug wise? When looking online, seems like there are a lot of comments around connectivity bugs with eArc and such. Also since it's just 1 port in, I'm assuming if you have PS4, Roku, etc they all have to be plugged into the TV? I wonder if that's an issue since not all TV ports are equal.
EDIT: Also how well does the Sonos Arc work with other components? Can it? I'm not sure where I could put the left surround, due to not having a wall there, but I could wire in ceiling surrounds. I also have a sub already.
As far as other components.. If you're talking about video devices, those just plug into the TV and the audio gets fed from the TV just fine. Audio devices you're out of luck. You can't use your own sub or speakers* with Sonos, it's their stuff or nothing.
* You can use your own speakers in the rear, but they have to link with a Sonos amp which are like $600 themselves. It's all super cool tech, but very Apple-like.
My Airpods Pro are my current music enjoyment tool, and I've never bothered messing around with the EQ for them - I think they sound just fine for what I listen to.
I also have the option go get AirPods Max as "work equipment", kinda-sorta considering those too, but again, I think my AirPods Pro sound fine for being out and about, I'm mostly looking for something to use at home.
@Shadowfire That's the idea. Something akin to this:
Not sure I can see any other arrangement working. Putting it in the corner makes the audio situation even worse. The box in the back is my Outlaw LFM-1 EX sub. I'm hoping to run cabling back there since I want the sub as far away from the 'party wall' as possible. The room is deceptive. It seems decently large, till your in it, then it's a bit more cramped than you'd think.
EDIT: one idea I'm toying with is having a small entertainment cabinet against the stair wall. I'm also enamored with Monitor Audio's SoundFrame on wall speakers.
haha yeah, I'm waiting for the sticker shock to bust my bubble. It's a townhouse, so technically that's the 2nd floor and there is a garage under it. But it's also new build, which is why I'm trying to figure this out now, since I can wire it however I'd like, but I need to know where to wire it. Sadly my wife already nixed the fake column next to the island for me to hide a surround speaker in haha.
Oh yeah, getting those wires in while the walls are still open is ideal. Just make sure whoever is doing finishing work doesn't fuck it up after! We've done a few pre-wire jobs and had contractors come in behind us and move wires for Reasons.
The 1840's are open back vs the 1540's that are closed FYI. I'd never use open back headphones at work.
The Airpod Max's have gotten really good reviews. Though for my work in a cubicle, wireless wouldn't really be a selling point.
Yeah, right now I'm leaning toward Airpods Max. I'm already into the Apple ecosystem and I think going back to something wired would drive me nuts.
I'm a little leery to playing around with it as I like how they sound as is.
I'll post back here if I brick them
One thing I am getting nervous about is that my ear pads are getting really soft. Not sure if they have replacement available to buy yet.
I was just coming in here to ask the same thing. I downloaded the firmware but haven't done the deed yet. Gotta download the app and all that.
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah
I'm leaning towards Meze Noirs or ATH-A990z. And a decent portable DAC+amp.
I was in the same boat for a long time. I bit the bullet with the Drop Pandas which I really like, though they are a bit different than the M50's. I'm staying put for now till we can do CanJam again. If I'm going to upgrade again, I want to test stuff out to see what signatures I really like.
That said, when doing research, I've heard the Massdrop Fostex stuff was supposed to be sort of the next upgrade for folks that like the M50's.
Yeah, I'd read some of the same. I ended up grabbing the Meze 99 Noirs from someone on r/AVExchange after reading some more (and comparing FR graphs, and reading some more, and letting my anxiety waste like most of my free time on research yesterday). If nothing else, they'll have enough bass and I've never heard anyone complain about them having enormous problems, just too much bass...so they should EQ nicely if necessary.
Looking forward to a review.
Then I remembered I was wearing headphones.
So yeah, the Meze 99 Noirs have some bass.
Though now I get to try to figure out why I suddenly have a balance issue when I didn't an hour ago.
edit: Uh, hm. When I plug any pair of headphones all the way to full depth into the extension cable I use, one side drops off a bit. Leave it like a few mm shy of being completely plugged in, and it sounds right.
Good enough! I figured I was hitting the limits of what BT can do, and I knew they didnt stack up to the 6xx at home. But gotta have closed back and BT for day to day now, can't go back to wires.
Sounds like it's time to replace that cable.
Yeah, probably. I fiddled with it and the problem went away, so it's a problem I can regret not dealing with some other day.
Sennheiser has the HD 450 BT and HD 350 BTs that I think replaced the 4.5 BTNC model. They should be in your price range and are on sale occasionally, but I can't speak to them personally. The only BT stuff I've used myself that sound good (to me, I am not going to say I am an audiophile) were a pair of Anker Soundcore Liberty buds (about $80 at the time), and the Drop Pandas (which are 350-400, so way out of your budget, but they're audiophile attempts at bluetooth wireless with their own amp and stuff built into the headphones). A buddy of mine recently replaced his Bluedio bluetooth cheapo headphones with an AKG NC700, but he hasn't tried it out yet to see how it is but it reviewed well, the only catch with it is the ANC can't be fully disabled, just subdued.
Re: this, I ended up going for AirPods Max, since I'm already deep into the Apple rabbit hole and I don't think I can go back to something wired.
I went and did this today. Firmware update is pretty seamless. Download the zip, extract it, connect Pandas, run update. Takes about 5-10 minutes to actually run the update. No issues there. Went and downloaded SoundID on my phone and went through a hearing test & a sound ID test. As expected:
I found the Bass lacking in the out of box Pandas sound profile, so it makes sense that it upped it for me. I was really surprised when nothing else needed edits for me. Went through a couple tracks on Spotify, and reminded myself I had to turn off the Equalizer on there, and it definitely makes a difference. I thought these things were good before, but now they're basically perfect. The sound quality is fucking awesome.
Highly recommend Pandas users run the firmware update and make upload a custom Sound ID profile to their cans.
Twitch: KoopahTroopah - Steam: Koopah