The Headphones Thread

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

I still use Sony behind the ear headphones. I wear them to bed. They're comfortable and cheap (I got 2 for $20 during the Futureshop clearance) so I don't care if they get damaged.

Those Aukey headphones look super comfortable too. Do they have any dropout issues?

I haven't used those headphones personally, but I haven't run into drop out issues with modern bluetooth headphones in a long time. The rare exceptions is wandering too far from the phone, but usually I'm quite a distance away anyways. Aukey is a decent brand, so I assume they're decent.

We'd probably need a anecdote from Iceman to confirm though.

[MickMcGeough]

Originally Posted by DownInFlames

I ordered a pair. Gotta wait until December to get them but that's not a big deal. I've heard the HM5 pads are a good upgrade,
but I'll check out the new stock pads first.
https://www.amazon.ca/Brainwavz-Velo.../dp/B00MFDX4YO

FYI: These are on Massdrop again: https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdro...tic-headphones

Just got mine yesterday. Only got about an hour of listening in driven by a Fiio X3 v2.

Initial impressions are very positive. I don't have the 400i anymore so I can't do a back-to-back, but the 400i got very fatiguing in the first hour. The 4XX didn't get fatiguing at all. Different amplification, but the top end just feels much smoother (if maybe a touch rolled off at the top).

Like the 400i there's not a lot of bass slam, but the sub bass is solid. Feels more present than I remember with the 400i (but again, not possible to really compare). Vocals are incredible.

The Fiio X3 has JUST enough juice to get these to listening volume though. Going to give them a run on a higher powered tube amp tonight.

Overall these are already worth every penny.

[slots881]

Picked up a set of Bose Quiet Comfort 25s over the us thanksgiving. They are being discounted as the new Q35s are out.
They are my first over ear and noise cancelling headphones. Uses: primarily podcasts/movies.
I did my first flight with them and I don’t know how I travelled without noise cancelling headphone before. They blocked most, if not all ambient noise. Sitting on a plane and watching Netflix undisturbed was glorious. I was amazed at the noise differences when switching between noise cancelling on and off.
Pros: excellent noise cancelling, comfortable over ears, wired, comes in nice travel case.
Cons: wired(I prefer wired to BT, but persons preference), takes 1 AAA battery. Probably can’t use for running, sweating exercises.

[GranteedEV]

Just picked up a pair of KEF M500 on-ear headphones on sale at Visions. It's not a full review or anything, but so far, I'm impressed. Overall they are:

- on the mid-upper end of physical comfort. Might not be great for smaller heads as they don't have a lot of clamping pressure compared to some headphones, but I didn't have much issue, if any, with sliding or overtightness.

- certainly portable as they fold up nicely into a case and the cable is removable.

- unspectacular in terms of noise isolation. I don't think I would wear them in an airplane. I'm not one to subscribe to actual noise cancelling HP and I hate the discomfort of IEMs, so I was hoping these would have a bit better of a seal, but with the window open I can hear Stoney Trail from where I am with the headphones in.

- easy to drive even with lesser electronics.

- voiced pretty neutral, maybe a smidge dark in a pleasant way. They don't handle the deepest bass notes as naturally as others I've heard, but I prefer their bass profile over what I've heard from something like the Shure SRH840 or Audio Technica ATH M50s - it's punchy and not too intrusive and does dig deep enough for most source material. The treble is balanced and overall best described as smooth.

If I had any real complaints, and this is minor, but they do lack some bite with the upper-mid registers of brass instruments compared to what I expect in real life. It's not offensive or distracting, and that allows them to be very listenable. I think their sound profile would be very easy to listen to more fatiguing genres for a long time. I wouldn't have regretted the purchase even at ~$220+-ish and at the price they're on sale for I'd definitely recommend them, maybe even go as far as to call it a steal, but YMMV.

[EldrickOnIce]

^ great price!

[GranteedEV]

Best Buy has a pretty good price on right now for these Sennheisers:

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I had visions match the price and so picked up a pair the other day. They're very comfortable and have a feeling of quality. I didn't quite love their sound out of the box (recessed midrange made them sound nasally in particular), but it was worth the gamble specifically because oratory1990 had measured them and put up a parametric EQ profile to get them to match the Harman Curve almost perfectly. With Poweramp Equalizer on my phone applying the aformentioned parametric filters (eight total plus LF and HF shelf) they're excellent for my purposes (situations that need ANC eg Train / Gym)

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Best Buy has a pretty good price on right now for these Sennheisers:

https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I had visions match the price and so picked up a pair the other day. They're very comfortable and have a feeling of quality. I didn't quite love their sound out of the box (recessed midrange made them sound nasally in particular), but it was worth the gamble specifically because oratory1990 had measured them and put up a parametric EQ profile to get them to match the Harman Curve almost perfectly. With Poweramp Equalizer on my phone applying the aformentioned parametric filters (eight total plus LF and HF shelf) they're excellent for my purposes (situations that need ANC eg Train / Gym)

Nice. I already have the HD450BT which is the earlier version of this. The Accentum seems to address some of the issues with the HD450BT and is an upgrade in every way to the HD450BT.

That should mean it's very good value until you reach more premium feeling BT ANC headphones like Bose, B&O, Apple etc. for basically twice the price.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Nice. I already have the HD450BT which is the earlier version of this. The Accentum seems to address some of the issues with the HD450BT and is an upgrade in every way to the HD450BT.

That should mean it's very good value until you reach more premium feeling BT ANC headphones like Bose, B&O, Apple etc. for basically twice the price.

Honestly, now that I have these EQ'd up, if I were spending more, I would have to get up to a pair of Mark Levinson № 5909 which are closer to seven or eight times the price I paid.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Honestly, now that I have these EQ'd up, if I were spending more, I would have to get up to a pair of Mark Levinson № 5909 which are closer to seven or eight times the price I paid.

How loud do the Accentum get? I don't recall reading it as a complaint of either headphone, but I find the HD450BT a little quiet. The volume is just right at around 90-95% and 100% is just slightly louder than I prefer. Maybe ANC makes it so that it'd always be adequate volume? But I just find it weird that I need to be at 85-95% volume to be where I want. Weirds me out in a way like I'm accidentally underpowering the headphones or something.

I don't know the gap between the HD450BT and Accentum, but most of what I read seemed that other than user experience (ie: touch controls) and build quality (hinge), everything else was relatively incremental. This should mean that both will suffer from build quality/comfort vs other headphones, but not suffer for sound. But IMO this is a characteristic of a lot of Sennheiser headphones. I wouldn't consider their less premium build quality to comparable priced competitors to be a fatal flaw. Just a characteristic to be aware of.

That's been my experience with the HD450BT which is consistent. Like the HD599 for <$300 headphones, it performs well sound wise. But it has a plastic build that I feel like I could probably break by grabbing and twisting with my bare hands with moderate effort.

Beyerdynamic, Audio Technica, AKG, Sony, B&O, B&W etc. in the 200-300 range, I'd have to put in nearly full effort with my bare hands to break them due to integration of more metal hinges, bars or solid/thicker plastic.

I'm glad you like the Accentum. If you haven't done it yet, I assume replacing the ear pads will be one of your next moves to really love them more. I know when I have time this Christmas, I'll spend some time researching to replace the HD450BT ear pads to a cushion, foam or soft leather (if possible).

The HD450BT ear pads reminded me of the Sennheiser HD280 ear pads. After using Beyerdynamic DT 770/880/990 (suede like), AKG (soft foam) and Audio Technica (soft leather) headphones, these feel plastic and stiff in comparison. Foam on cheaper headsets feel more comfortable to me.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

How loud do the Accentum get? I don't recall reading it as a complaint of either headphone, but I find the HD450BT a little quiet. The volume is just right at around 90-95% and 100% is just slightly louder than I prefer. Maybe ANC makes it so that it'd always be adequate volume? But I just find it weird that I need to be at 85-95% volume to be where I want. Weirds me out in a way like I'm accidentally underpowering the headphones or something.

I don't know the gap between the HD450BT and Accentum, but most of what I read seemed that other than user experience (ie: touch controls) and build quality (hinge), everything else was relatively incremental. This should mean that both will suffer from build quality/comfort vs other headphones, but not suffer for sound. But IMO this is a characteristic of a lot of Sennheiser headphones. I wouldn't consider their less premium build quality to comparable priced competitors to be a fatal flaw. Just a characteristic to be aware of.

That's been my experience with the HD450BT which is consistent. Like the HD599 for <$300 headphones, it performs well sound wise. But it has a plastic build that I feel like I could probably break by grabbing and twisting with my bare hands with moderate effort.

Beyerdynamic, Audio Technica, AKG, Sony, B&O, B&W etc. in the 200-300 range, I'd have to put in nearly full effort with my bare hands to break them due to integration of more metal hinges, bars or solid/thicker plastic.

I'm glad you like the Accentum. If you haven't done it yet, I assume replacing the ear pads will be one of your next moves to really love them more. I know when I have time this Christmas, I'll spend some time researching to replace the HD450BT ear pads to a cushion, foam or soft leather (if possible).

The HD450BT ear pads reminded me of the Sennheiser HD280 ear pads. After using Beyerdynamic DT 770/880/990 (suede like), AKG (soft foam) and Audio Technica (soft leather) headphones, these feel plastic and stiff in comparison. Foam on cheaper headsets feel more comfortable to me.

I am also listening around 85% volume, although the EQ I am using has a -4.2dB global cut so that might factor in. I think it's sufficient, but yes, they are not the loudest optipn. The pads are actually excellent. My main gripe might be that the clamping could be tighter.

As far as durability, my gold standard is my old German Maestro 8.35d. those things are indestructable. I only had to retire them because the cable was not replaceable and that wore down, although I do have a replacement cable, but i will need to open them up to install it

[SilverKast]

Bose QuietComfort headphones are currently on sale on the Bose website - regularly $479 now only $269. Pretty good deal, I have a pair of these I've used for a few years and really like them.

I bought a couple pairs as gifts for my girls, at that price it's not too bad.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

I am also listening around 85% volume, although the EQ I am using has a -4.2dB global cut so that might factor in. I think it's sufficient, but yes, they are not the loudest optipn. The pads are actually excellent. My main gripe might be that the clamping could be tighter.

As far as durability, my gold standard is my old German Maestro 8.35d. those things are indestructable. I only had to retire them because the cable was not replaceable and that wore down, although I do have a replacement cable, but i will need to open them up to install it

just a followup on the pads in case anyone is looking at buying them:

they might be a pleather, I haven't actually checked, but they definitely feel like a nice soft genuine leather to my fingers. I'll probably find out more about them as things like winter cold, gym sweat, and summer dry heat damage them. But out of the box they feel much better than the typical pleather pad.

My personal preference is typically a thick velvet pad but i find those to be lint magnets so there is some give and take. Changing pads on over-ear headphones also results in significant changes to frequency response (it changes the distance from ear, and the seal), so without the ability to measure the changes, it could also mess with the success rate of the oratory1990 parameteic EQ.

I am not much of a headphone guy for various reasons, in all honesty. give me a nice pair of speakers in a room if possible.