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Audiophile GAF

rofif

Member
edit: Previous post was way too long... so in short:
Have e10k+Porta pro for eyars. Enjoy Warm, bassy, dark porta pro sound but would like more subbass/"rumble" capability (no basshead crap) to have a one headphone for all since PP cannot play some sub bass heavy types of music or game soundtracks.
Is it a wasted effort? Everything i've tried so far is worse than PP. I am now eyeing sennheiser hd58x but it's USA massdrop and I am in europe
 
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amarito69

Member
Never been a truly audiophile, but I appreciate good sound.

Current setup:

Living room:

ATC SCM 40
ATC C1C
ATC C1 SUB
ATC SCM 7

QUAD 909 for the SCM 40
PIONEER LX83 for the rest

Portable:

AK120
Sony xba-4

Retrogaming room:

Denon AVC A1
Pioneer LD R7G
Incoming Denon DVD A11 ( excellent DAC).
ATC SCM 7
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
edit: Previous post was way too long... so in short:
Have e10k+Porta pro for eyars. Enjoy Warm, bassy, dark porta pro sound but would like more subbass/"rumble" capability (no basshead crap) to have a one headphone for all since PP cannot play some sub bass heavy types of music or game soundtracks.
Is it a wasted effort? Everything i've tried so far is worse than PP. I am now eyeing sennheiser hd58x but it's USA massdrop and I am in europe

I, for the life of me, do not understand the Internet's fascination with the Porta Pros.

What else have you tried? What is your budget? Are you able to try out different headphones in person at a local store?
 

420bits

Member
Don't really care about audio on a high level but I appreciate fine things.

HD660s - My primary cans and they are pure bliss.
AKG Q701 - My first cans and i like them alot but the headband needs to be modded because they are not very comfy to wear.
Aune s6 - Don't have anything to compare it to but I like it.


Nothing worth speaking of in terms of TV-Audio, some sony reciever from 2018 because i got it cheap and a pair of Infinity primus 360 speakers thats close to 10 years old now.
I've been eyeing a pair of Ohm Walsh 2000 to replace the Infinity speakers, but can't find a European retailer because fuck paying shipping from across the world and then 40% importax or whatever customs will charge me.
 

rofif

Member
I, for the life of me, do not understand the Internet's fascination with the Porta Pros.

What else have you tried? What is your budget? Are you able to try out different headphones in person at a local store?
Aside from sound blasters and some gaming headsets back in the day I've had:
-Creative Aurvana Live! - uncomfortable after exactly 1 hour. Sound was ok but kinda "dead". Not enough punch or low end imo. I preferred the rumbling bass of gaming headphones before. I've sold CAL! but bought new as a gift for fiancee years ago and she loved it.
-Brainwavz hm5 - Super hot and sweaty... super uncomfortable. Great cable and materials... flat sound with no bass almost at all and sibilant treble. This was not only uncomfortable but also very tiring to listen to.
-Koss Porta Pro - After having my head crushed by hm5 and sweating because of it and other over ears, I decided to look for something super light. I've compared back then (4 years ago) px100 and porta pro. Liked both but ended with buying Koss because it was a bit more fun and much more comfortable. It's to this day super light, I never sweat in it. Ears only get some hard spots after few hours but nothing bad. The sound is alive, fun, musical. Nothing tiring or sibilant about it. Just lacks some of the subbass and rumble of a closed gaming headphone but the midbass, highbass are great and the overall sound is very good. Open design annoys the lady sometimes :p
-Takstar pro82 - bought this one for fiancee after her cal! broke. I wanted to give it a try for a long time too. It's comfortable! not clamping hard or sweating (but it's winter). Goes lower in bass than porta pro but I think the bass sounds a bit worse/bleeding actually. Main problem with sibilant, harsh trumpets and some sound in chiptune/scene music I listen to sometimes. Some tracks are downright piercing my ears on this headphones. It's really nice otherwise and fiancee loves it.

Now I love Porta Pro but I see how much more CLEAR and DETAILED the pro82 is. I't almost adding another layer to the music in clarity... and another layer to the music in sub bass and low bass(even if it sounds bad) as it's the sensation that cannot be felt on Porta pro.
I've been looking to spend around 150usd. Possibly headphone that is easy to drive so I could use it with ps4 and not only e10k on pc but it is not a requirement.
Akg k361/371, Denon D1200, Meze Neo etc all caught my eye, everyone is also talking about DT770 (32ohm version has pleather pads and a short cable. don't want coiled 3 meters monster).
I've been to mp3store and tried k371 and 770 32ohm from my lg g6 and the K371 was just louder... but I did not had time to compare both properly. I think both sounded good but k371 was slipping off of my head. Something wrong with the pads shape and the hinges were rattling. 770 pads were not sealing too great but the clamp was less and I think it would be more comfortable.

I've also tried some media markt headphones and funnily enough - Sony xm3 and 950n were quite comfortable but I don't need any of noise canceling features and I've heard that the eq is wrong/worse without bluetooth connection.
Also tried Denon ah d1200 in denon store which was quite pleasant I think but could get hot. MM400 was also very nice... I might like Denon sound signature.
Maybe not surprisingly, some more on-ears were super comfortable at media markt. Skullcandy Grind, Riff(cheap crap but comfy) and Sennheiser HD100 were very comfy ear pillows. So was The bose on-ear (and qc25/35 too).

As You can see - I don't know what I want and I don't want to spend too much. You don't need to answer to this wall. It's ok :D
 
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Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Aside from sound blasters and some gaming headsets back in the day I've had:
-Creative Aurvana Live! - uncomfortable after exactly 1 hour. Sound was ok but kinda "dead". Not enough punch or low end imo. I preferred the rumbling bass of gaming headphones before. I've sold CAL! but bought new as a gift for fiancee years ago and she loved it.
-Brainwavz hm5 - Super hot and sweaty... super uncomfortable. Great cable and materials... flat sound with no bass almost at all and sibilant treble. This was not only uncomfortable but also very tiring to listen to.
-Koss Porta Pro - After having my head crushed by hm5 and sweating because of it and other over ears, I decided to look for something super light. I've compared back then (4 years ago) px100 and porta pro. Liked both but ended with buying Koss because it was a bit more fun and much more comfortable. It's to this day super light, I never sweat in it. Ears only get some hard spots after few hours but nothing bad. The sound is alive, fun, musical. Nothing tiring or sibilant about it. Just lacks some of the subbass and rumble of a closed gaming headphone but the midbass, highbass are great and the overall sound is very good. Open design annoys the lady sometimes :p
-Takstar pro82 - bought this one for fiancee after her cal! broke. I wanted to give it a try for a long time too. It's comfortable! not clamping hard or sweating (but it's winter). Goes lower in bass than porta pro but I think the bass sounds a bit worse/bleeding actually. Main problem with sibilant, harsh trumpets and some sound in chiptune/scene music I listen to sometimes. Some tracks are downright piercing my ears on this headphones. It's really nice otherwise and fiancee loves it.

Now I love Porta Pro but I see how much more CLEAR and DETAILED the pro82 is. I't almost adding another layer to the music in clarity... and another layer to the music in sub bass and low bass(even if it sounds bad) as it's the sensation that cannot be felt on Porta pro.
I've been looking to spend around 150usd. Possibly headphone that is easy to drive so I could use it with ps4 and not only e10k on pc but it is not a requirement.
Akg k361/371, Denon D1200, Meze Neo etc all caught my eye, everyone is also talking about DT770 (32ohm version has pleather pads and a short cable. don't want coiled 3 meters monster).
I've been to mp3store and tried k371 and 770 32ohm from my lg g6 and the K371 was just louder... but I did not had time to compare both properly. I think both sounded good but k371 was slipping off of my head. Something wrong with the pads shape and the hinges were rattling. 770 pads were not sealing too great but the clamp was less and I think it would be more comfortable.

I've also tried some media markt headphones and funnily enough - Sony xm3 and 950n were quite comfortable but I don't need any of noise canceling features and I've heard that the eq is wrong/worse without bluetooth connection.
Also tried Denon ah d1200 in denon store which was quite pleasant I think but could get hot. MM400 was also very nice... I might like Denon sound signature.
Maybe not surprisingly, some more on-ears were super comfortable at media markt. Skullcandy Grind, Riff(cheap crap but comfy) and Sennheiser HD100 were very comfy ear pillows. So was The bose on-ear (and qc25/35 too).

As You can see - I don't know what I want and I don't want to spend too much. You don't need to answer to this wall. It's ok :D

Sounds like you at least have some direction to go toward. :messenger_tongue:
 

cabletime

Member
Hey audiophile gaf! how are all you fine people doing today? Im looking to buy some speakers for my pc that are well rounded for gaming, music and editing etc. Was wondering what some of your recommendations would be? Didn't know if this is where i should post this, but thanks for your advice a head of time! Looking in about the $200 range.
 

kingbean

Member
Hey audiophile gaf! how are all you fine people doing today? Im looking to buy some speakers for my pc that are well rounded for gaming, music and editing etc. Was wondering what some of your recommendations would be? Didn't know if this is where i should post this, but thanks for your advice a head of time! Looking in about the $200 range.


Thems not bad. I'm still using my bose companions but if I had to buy some new one's I'd get those.
 

cabletime

Member

Thems not bad. I'm still using my bose companions but if I had to buy some new one's I'd get those.

Thanks! These are pretty classy looking to boot too!
 

Darth

Member
Back in Oz I have some older Paradigm Monitor 9 V6 floor standing speakers for the front, CC-290 for the centre and ADP-390 for the rears. Paradigm Ultracube 10 for the subwoofer. Than I have an Onkyo TX-SR805 to plug everything in to.

These are not my images, when I get back home I'll take my own photos. I'd like to upgrade my speakers though, that would be nice.

Monitor 9 speakers
UBuTbvE.jpg


CC-290 centre
jk06uxh.jpg


ADP-390's
qX9trI9.jpg


Ultracube 10
HKYgsEF.jpg


Onkyo TX-SR805
lRTcEnm.jpg

I still have my 805! That sucker is heavy but puts out power like no other for its time. The darn HDMI board fried so use optical out.

I'm running Energy RC-30's. I used to have the entire surround setup with HSU sub plus HSU mid bass module (like a punch to the chest)as well but then I moved to a smaller place.
 

sol_bad

Member
I still have my 805! That sucker is heavy but puts out power like no other for its time. The darn HDMI board fried so use optical out.

I'm running Energy RC-30's. I used to have the entire surround setup with HSU sub plus HSU mid bass module (like a punch to the chest)as well but then I moved to a smaller place.

I just returned home from overseas and I'm currently living with my mum with my wife until she can start working. My mum is one of those people that love to have their power points turned off when not being used, so I was doing so as she requested. I realised my AV receiver was having a tonne of issues with HDMI and I had read how the HDMI board can die. Found out it would cost $500aud to replace. Randomly I decided to stop turning off my power point every day, kept it on continually (since I'm paying for my share of the electricity anyway!), my HDMI handshaking was no longer an issue and would work 100% of the time.

Just letting you know this story in case you are someone who turns their power point off every day when not in use.
I personally couldn't live with optical out audio.
:messenger_face_screaming::messenger_face_screaming::messenger_face_screaming:
 

Darth

Member
I just returned home from overseas and I'm currently living with my mum with my wife until she can start working. My mum is one of those people that love to have their power points turned off when not being used, so I was doing so as she requested. I realised my AV receiver was having a tonne of issues with HDMI and I had read how the HDMI board can die. Found out it would cost $500aud to replace. Randomly I decided to stop turning off my power point every day, kept it on continually (since I'm paying for my share of the electricity anyway!), my HDMI handshaking was no longer an issue and would work 100% of the time.

Just letting you know this story in case you are someone who turns their power point off every day when not in use.
I personally couldn't live with optical out audio.
:messenger_face_screaming::messenger_face_screaming::messenger_face_screaming:

Hmm that is a good idea! My receiver I always on. My cats sleep on the shelf right above it as they love the heat!
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Hey audiophile gaf! how are all you fine people doing today? Im looking to buy some speakers for my pc that are well rounded for gaming, music and editing etc. Was wondering what some of your recommendations would be? Didn't know if this is where i should post this, but thanks for your advice a head of time! Looking in about the $200 range.

I assume you want a pair of active speakers so you don't have to also get an amp. I have a pair of M-Audio AV40s at my desk on a pair of handmade speaker stands. I love the hell out of them, but I realize their relatively flat response is not for everyone.
The AV42 are their successors but I have not heard them myself ($140).
Kef Q150s are supposed to be pretty good ($300 when on sale). I have Kef R300 in my living room and they are top notch.
Reddit talks up the Micca PB42X ($125) but I've no direct experience myself.
Klipsch R-41M same as above ($160).
 

BWJinxing

Member
IMG_20200428_202632__01__01.jpg


I broke my old speaker stands installing this new vertical montior stand. So I got these clamp on stands recently.

I don't have any treatment on the walls sadly. My setup is simple.

Speakers: M-Audio BX5 D2
Stands: gear4music Desk Clamp Monitor Stands
Sound Card: Creative Labs Audigity ( something, I've forgotten)

Mic: Rode Procaster w/ FetHead preamp ( carry over from a podcast bundle setup that didn't work well with it )
Mic Preamp: dbx 286s compressor / mic amp

Recently built Ryzen 3900x, 64GB Ram, 2 TB NVMe, Used GTX 1080, 2x 27 inch LCDs ( 1440p and 4k )
 

Durask

Member
Klipsch Forte III speakers
Some ancient Technics 5.1 receiver from circa 1997 - has a phono input and sounds better than fancy boutique receiver I had before.
Marantz TT 15 - S1 turntable
Technics SL-1210GR turntable
Amazon Echo Link which I use for Spotify.

90% of the listening is done on the Echo LInk but I do like to spin some vinyl occasionally. IMHO it does not sound better but sounds different and I like the retro factor.

For headphones I just use V-moda Crossfade 2 with my iphone.

Absolutely love the speakers and I don't think I will need anything more expensive than that unless these fall apart or something.
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
I wound up replacing the default felt mat on my AT LP120 to a rubber/cork combo to reduce static on the vinyl.
I got a new VM540ML cartridge as well. Holy hell that cartridge was a nice upgrade. The sounds is much cleaner coming off the TT.
 

Durask

Member
I wound up replacing the default felt mat on my AT LP120 to a rubber/cork combo to reduce static on the vinyl.
I got a new VM540ML cartridge as well. Holy hell that cartridge was a nice upgrade. The sounds is much cleaner coming off the TT.

Yeah spending some money on a cartridge is essential for vinyl, I'd say this is by far the most important part.
AT95E that comes by default with your TT is supposedly a good cartridge but to me it never sounded that good.
VM540ML is a huge improvement over AT95E for sure.
 
i'm lightweight, but i love my music with a passion.. anyway at the mo' i've got some bang & olufsen form-2s and sony wh-ch700n...s.. and some sennheiser earbuds. i generally listen on my phone with poweramp. ladeeda <3
 

chixdiggit

Member
Any good recommendations on a headphone amp for my PC? I had a Schitt stack for years but no longer works. Kind of broke right now so looking for a good bang for the buck type thing.
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
Any good recommendations on a headphone amp for my PC? I had a Schitt stack for years but no longer works. Kind of broke right now so looking for a good bang for the buck type thing.

Schiit is synonymous with bang-for-buck on their low-end products. If $100 is too much for their Magni (amp), you might find something from FiiO for less than $100.
I prefer the Magni/modi combo to the FiiO E10k (portable dac/amp) myself. So much so, that I pretty much only use the E10K whenever I am forced to due to portability constraints.

I've heard good things about the Schiit Fulla ($99) or Hel ($189), but those might be out of your price range. They also have a built-in dac, similar to the E10K.

Edit: What headphones are you driving with the amp?
 
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chixdiggit

Member
Schiit is synonymous with bang-for-buck on their low-end products. If $100 is too much for their Magni (amp), you might find something from FiiO for less than $100.
I prefer the Magni/modi combo to the FiiO E10k (portable dac/amp) myself. So much so, that I pretty much only use the E10K whenever I am forced to due to portability constraints.

I've heard good things about the Schiit Fulla ($99) or Hel ($189), but those might be out of your price range. They also have a built-in dac, similar to the E10K.

Edit: What headphones are you driving with the amp?
I have no problem buying Schiit again. Didn't know if they were still the best option. I have V-moda Crossfade M-100 headphones.
 

chixdiggit

Member
Nice. You probably don't need an amp to drive that headset, since its impedance is 32 ohms. Did you notice a loss of audio quality by plugging directly into the I/O on your pc case?
I honestly don't notice too much of a difference in the audio quality.
However it does not seem to get loud enough. Depending on what I am listening too I can easily crank them all the way up where as before that would have blown out my eardrums. I also like to kind of wear them around my neck with the cups off my ears and high volume so I can listen to the outside world as well. They do not get loud enough for that.
 

Maiden Voyage

Gold™ Member
I honestly don't notice too much of a difference in the audio quality.
However it does not seem to get loud enough. Depending on what I am listening too I can easily crank them all the way up where as before that would have blown out my eardrums. I also like to kind of wear them around my neck with the cups off my ears and high volume so I can listen to the outside world as well. They do not get loud enough for that.

Gotcha. An amp would definitely solve those issues. Might be worth considering a pair of open-back headphones whenever you go to replace the current set. Downside is if you use them outside of a quiet environment, the external noise leaks out.

Read up on reviews of some the products from my previous post. I took a look at Drop and saw a $99 amp that I've heard good things of: https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-o2-amplifier
 

chixdiggit

Member
Gotcha. An amp would definitely solve those issues. Might be worth considering a pair of open-back headphones whenever you go to replace the current set. Downside is if you use them outside of a quiet environment, the external noise leaks out.

Read up on reviews of some the products from my previous post. I took a look at Drop and saw a $99 amp that I've heard good things of: https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-o2-amplifier
Thanks for the help!
 

kevm3

Member
Absolutely love focal clear headphones. My favorite headphones period. I've heard them against the Utopias and prefer these just for their tonal balance. Utopia threw way too much detail at me and sounded a bit bright for my liking. I really like LCD3, but these are just more engaging.
 

Jon Canon

Member
4k60p at 4:2:0 will not support hdr for gaming (60hz) content, only in 24p movie content.

Learned that the hard way with my epson projector.
 
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Currently rocking:
Rega Elex amp
Rega P3 turntable, with a Rega Neo PSU
Rega Jura speakers, V1 from the 90s
Rega Ear headphone amp
Audio quest Night Owl Carbon headphones
The only weak link in my system is my shitty Musical Fidelity V90 DAC, which I'm replacing soon with either a Rega DAC-R or a Chord Qutest, depending on the availability of the Rega as they're end of line.
 

rofif

Member
I am back to square one and Koss Porta Pro. I swear I am always going back to it. E10k could use an upgrade though.
Btw - what is some small amp to attach to bottom of dualshock 4 controller maybe?
 

Wizz-Art

Member
I've previously runned the Onkyo TX-SR875 receiver which was a beast, now I run the Onkyo TX-RZ830 which is smaller but still provides enough power to drive my Monitor Audio RS8 speakers. For headphones I use the Beyerdynamics dt 770 pro.
 

teezzy

Banned
So, I scooped up a pair of KRK Rokit 5 (Gen 2) for CHEAP not too long ago. The white ones, they look so sleek.

krk-rokit-5-g3-white-xl.jpg


Initially I was gonna grab an audio interface to take advantage of the XLR inputs, due the RCA connection being listed as "unbalanced". After further reading, it was made clear to me that all RCA connections are unbalaced, so I plugged them into my headphone port in my PC - and hot damn! These things pack a punch. Currently being soothed by Radiohead's In Rainbows. I wanna game with 'em but I can't stop listening. I was expecting studio monitors to sound "flatter" overall - and initially just wanted 'em for video editing, but these got a nice high end and shockingly robust low end. I'm whole heartedly impressed.

I'll likely complement these with a KRK subwoofer eventually, but I'm in no hurry after hearing em. They pack some low end for real.
 

teezzy

Banned
getting electrical interference now

just great

Im pissed

why are lower quality speakers less problematic

like how is this a benefit. picking up interference from my case, my lights, my house's wiring - who knows

my old logitechs just plugged right in and worked
 
getting electrical interference now

just great

Im pissed

why are lower quality speakers less problematic

like how is this a benefit. picking up interference from my case, my lights, my house's wiring - who knows

my old logitechs just plugged right in and worked
Xlr would probably get rid of the issue.

Is the rca cable near any power cables, especially running in parallel? Have you only got a headphone jack on your pc, as these can be noisy.

Try plugging the speakers into something else and see if you still get interference.

Are they plugged into the same socket as the pc? As could be a ground loop issue.
 

teezzy

Banned
Xlr would probably get rid of the issue.

Is the rca cable near any power cables, especially running in parallel? Have you only got a headphone jack on your pc, as these can be noisy.

Try plugging the speakers into something else and see if you still get interference.

Are they plugged into the same socket as the pc? As could be a ground loop issue.

Yeah I only have the one plug nearby so i have everything going into my Belkin Surgemaster II

RCA to 3.5mm plugged directly into the mobo

Trying to figure out what sorta audio interface to get ultimately. I hear great things about Focusrite Scarlett
 

Liljagare

Member
Used to won a QLN 600 5.1 setup with a Onkyo 608 amp, when we moved I though the speakers were too big for the new place, but I just couldn't be without something better than TV speakers.

Got a soundbar, and oh boy, did it suprise me, the Samsung HQ-76 3.1.2.

I can't find anything to complain about, except only two HDMI in ports. The Atmos is a bonus feature, the rear speakers really work well, and the stereo is extremely well done, and in the room it really delivers on the surround sound. Harman Kardon speakers in it. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a 5.1 setup replacement.
 
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