Headphones

Handruin

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I'm not familiar with the Dunu DN-1000's. People are saying nice things about them, but frankly I'm not sure how reliable head-fi reviews are anymore. Some of the headphones I like get raves reviews there, but I've heard at least one pair of headphones that gets raves reviews at Head-Fi where I thought they sounded absolutely horrible. Maybe buy from a seller who has a liberal return policy so if you don't like them you can return them?

I admit I'm out of the loop with good review sites for headphones. I originally found the suggestion to go with the Dunu DN-1000's on a different blog site when searching for HiFiMAN RE-600s reviews. That individual actually didn't like the RE-600s when compared to the Dunu's and a couple others. I realize it's all subjective but wanted to see if you had any experience with them (which I realize you do not). Sounds like I'll just need to try a pair and find out for myself from a place with a liberal return policy like you suggested.
 

Stereodude

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What speakers / headphones do you have / have you heard that you like?

Let see if there's any overlap so we can see if we have similar tastes in fidelity or not.
 

Stereodude

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Per the e-mail I got from HiFiMAN the RE-600s will be $149 starting on the 23rd. The RE400 will be $59.
 

Handruin

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What speakers / headphones do you have / have you heard that you like? desk I have

Let see if there's any overlap so we can see if we have similar tastes in fidelity or not.

I don't have a large amount of speakers that I've listened to that could help me with this. I have B&W CM 9s for home speakers and Grado PS500s for head phones. At my desk I have a pair of the Emotiva Airmotiv 4s with a PSA 15" sub. Of all of them the emotivas are the most enjoyable to me with the ribbon tweeter.
 

Handruin

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Per the e-mail I got from HiFiMAN the RE-600s will be $149 starting on the 23rd. The RE400 will be $59.

Thanks for the heads up. Is that a holiday special or just new pricing? Is that price only in their store?
 

Stereodude

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I think it is a holiday special. From what I remember of last year, might have been the year before, pretty much all the retailers had the sale pricing, not just direct.
 

Handruin

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I think it is a holiday special. From what I remember of last year, might have been the year before, pretty much all the retailers had the sale pricing, not just direct.

For $149 I'll likely just give the RE-600s a try and if I don't like them I'll return and try something else. Thanks for the feedback so far.
 

Handruin

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You were spot-on with the sale price. Monday I ordered the RE-600s and they should be here today. Thanks for the heads-up on the sale.
 

Handruin

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They seem pretty good so far but one thing I noticed right away is a huge lack of bass. Otherwise the vocals sound spacious and fairly clean. Do these take some time to break in?
 

Stereodude

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They seem pretty good so far but one thing I noticed right away is a huge lack of bass. Otherwise the vocals sound spacious and fairly clean. Do these take some time to break in?
Huge lack of bass compared to what? If you've got a good seal to your ear canal with the tips they're decent in the low end for an IEM sounding fairly balanced across the spectrum. They certainly not bass heavy though. I can't say I really noticed them breaking in.

What are you driving them with? If your source has a lot of output impedance you'll get some bass rolloff due to the low impedance of the IEMs.

Also, be careful not to pull them out of your ear by the cables, or they can break off where they attach to the metal body. Grab the metal body to remove them.
 

Handruin

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Sorry I hadn't gotten back to you after your last post. I'm feeling like they're going back. They seem fine overall but to me no mater the source I drive them or the content I listen to I just feel like they're flat and somewhat boring for my personal tastes. I would say they're likely very accurate in the audio the reproduce and are not offensive or tiring to listen to but if I had to describe the experience I'd say it was forgettable which is not something I found myself thinking when listening to my Grados. Granted there is a significant price difference between the two and I may just be in an odd position to compare such different headphones that I don't know how to appreciate what these offer. It may just be that I prefer headphones that have more-perceived bass but these really sound as if the bass region is not substantial enough. At the price point that they're at I was expecting a little bit more in that area. I do appreciate the help with this. I may just have to keep sampling different headphones until I find something more to my tastes.
 

ddrueding

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In pursuit of more low end in headphone use, I'm looking at the HE400i (possibly 560?). I have no experience with planar magnetic units, and understand that I'll also need an amp to power them? Pretty sure I'd benefit from closed-back units as well.
 

Stereodude

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In pursuit of more low end in headphone use, I'm looking at the HE400i (possibly 560?). I have no experience with planar magnetic units, and understand that I'll also need an amp to power them? Pretty sure I'd benefit from closed-back units as well.
Generally, yes on the amp. Some of their more sensitive models do okay from a good headphone out, but you end up with the volume pretty much maxed. I don't think HiFiMAN has any PM closed back units. Audeze does. I haven't heard any of the Audeze phones. As a reminder I have HE-500 from HiFiMAN.
 

CougTek

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I'm still very satisfied with the JVC HA-RX700 I bought two months ago. Much lower-end than what you guys are considering, but I'd have to pay four or five times more in orer to get a model with a noticeably better experience. For ~45$, they are more than ok.
 

Handruin

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Does anyone have suggestions on bluetooth/wireless headphones that are geared towards running outside? I'd like to use headphones that are better than the wired phones that came with an old mobile phone. I'd like bluetooth for the wire-free convenience and some kind of weather resistance, more specifically having the ability to not be ruined by sweat. I've done some quick searching and JayBird shows up frequently but I don't have any experience with them and they seem to be on the pricier side. I'm not looking for the best audio quality as I'm not doing critical listening but something reasonably-sounding should suffice. I'd like volume up/down functionality and track advance and I'd prefer ear buds vs over-ear headphones.
 

ddrueding

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Jaybird does seem to have the best rep out there for this kind of thing. Good review of their latest here:

[video=youtube_share;GiNSOLpC1-Y]https://youtu.be/GiNSOLpC1-Y[/video]

I have a pair of AfterShokz Bluez 2S that I use in nasty conditions. The audio quality is poor, the maximum listening volume is low, and they feel cheap. Making up for this and more: not covering the ear is a really nice thing. No loss in situational awareness and no loss in the ability to cool your head.
 

Mercutio

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I've been wearing Jaybird BT headphones for a couple years. I've had to replace them twice. Once because my cat ate them and once because the charging port cover fell off and I don't feel like I can wear those outdoors any more (those are a back-up pair now; they didn't stop working). I've actually worn them into the shower and not suffered any ill effect from that. I just forgot I was wearing them.

It's not the same as a good set of wired headphones, but it's also not as aggravating as having to untangle a cord or wind it through your clothes and around your body.

I mostly listen to podcasts and audiobooks when I'm using the earbuds. They're bluetooth and they're definitely not perfect for audio fidelity. I occasionally have problems with environmental interference and I notice quality imperfections particularly in playback of brass-heavy music, even from a lossless source.
 

Handruin

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I think I'll give the Jaybird freedom's a try. Seems Bestbuy is the only place to have them right now or I can order them right from Jaybird but I still pay tax.
 

Handruin

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I'm pretty happy with them so far with respect to audio quality. I have experienced some of the environmental issues you've mentioned with some crackles and breakups during various songs even with the phone less than a foot away. I haven't tried running with them yet but they're fairly light and are now more comfortable after trying various earbud tips. There's been a few occasional quirks with the phone connecting to them but when I try playing audio it plays from the speakers on my phone vs the actual earbuds. I think this is just Android being stupid as I've seen similar things happen in my car when it tries connecting to bluetooth. I often have trouble with managing song playback from the car.

The battery setup is a bit different with the extra module which also serves as the charging bay. That component seems to charge the battery that built into the headphones vs running directly from it but that's just how it seems based on how they interact with each other.

I'll have to give my laptop a try and see how well it works with over bluetooth when I'm at work.
 

Mercutio

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I've found there are places I can drive that will always cause audible interference (static) on my bluetooth headphones or speakers. I suspect it's just a problem with there being some sort of strong 2.4GHz signal in those places since the hardware is completely fine the vast majority of the time.
 

Handruin

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These Jaybirds seem to be pretty good while running outside. One small complain is the asymmetric weight from the module attached to the wire causes some ear pain in my right ear by the end of the run. Another small complaint is the volume adjustment has too large of a step between volume levels. I find one click up and it's just a hair too much and back down is a hair too little. Fortunately I can micro-adjust using the Android volume but that's less convenient.
 

Santilli

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Been wondering what the onboard sound of my computer is capable of driving.
In other words, what is the point of wasting money on headphones when the sound quality off the motherboard onboard sound is too poor for the headphones to do much with?

Just ordered these:

Sennheiser Urbanite XL Over-Ear Headphones - Black

Hoping they hit the value spot for watching movies at home on the computer, and from the TV's onboard sound output for Bluray's from the Bluray player.


Sennheiser Urbanite XL Over-Ear Headphones - Black
by Sennheiser
3.8 out of 5 stars 194 customer reviews | 71 answered questions
Price: $69.95 Free Shipping for Prime Members
Get $60 off instantly: Pay $9.95 upon approval for the Amazon Prime Store Card.
Take the club with you - Legendary Sennheiser sound featuring massive bass, smooth midrange and extended treble..Connectivity Technology: Wired
Tough companion - Constructed using premium extra rugged parts like stainless steel hinges and aluminum sliders for reliability and durability.
Stay connected - control your music and calls (includes detachable cable with 3-button remote control and integrated microphone for Apple iOS devices)
Easy to store and bring along - foldable design makes them easy to collapse and store in the supplied soft pouch.
Peace of mind - 2-years international warranty when purchased from an Authorized Sennheiser dealer.
NOTE: Detachable cable must be inserted into headphone until it "clicks" and twisted clockwise (to the right) to lock the cable in place

These are selling for about 70.00 dollars....
 
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Santilli

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I've got two pairs of the Motorola S305.

I bought my first ones about 20 years ago, and the battery is amazing, still going strong.
Covers fell off the ears, so bought another pair.

GREAT value. Not overly loud, but adequate most of the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAnuk9rjZNM
 

Handruin

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I can't speak to your onboard sound card but you can get inexpensive USB devices to drive your headphones if that's a concern. I doubt you'd notice much of a difference with those headphones either way. If you step up to the Sennheiser HD6XX from Massdrop then I'd consider a new sound card.
 

Santilli

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Thanks for the link. I just ordered

Sennheiser Urbanite XL Over-Ear Headphones - Black
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc
$69.95

I had a premium set of Sennheiser over ear headphones from 1975 until 1985. They got lost in the Hawaii move.

Hoping the above will do the job for a reasonable amount of money.
 

Santilli

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Sennheisers came in. A considerable improvement from the Sony.

Loud enough, and pretty well balanced.

Sounds REALLY good with music using onboard sound and Media Player Classic or VLC.

Movies are much better as well, though not perfect.

Using a converter cable to get rid of the microphone when used with the computer. No noticeable difference with or without, sound quality wise.
 

snowhiker

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I ordered a couple of these bad boys: Monoprice 8324 headphones. Hopefully they are more comfortable than my Sony MDR-ZX110 headphones for my daily walks. Over-the-ear vs on-ear, so I'm hopeful.

On the very low end side of things...........The monoprice headphones are nothing special when compared with the Sony phones (listed above) I was using. Even with the larger drivers the sound is about the same. Over the ear and a bit louder are pluses. But the small sized band is a big negative. Wearing a very thin beanie on my head on the cooler nights forces me to extend the band all the way. No way the headphones will work with a thicker beanie for COLD nights. You get what you pay for.
 

Santilli

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Chrome browser, and Chrome on a Chromebook, both need an equalizer, third party, installed.
Equalizer for Chrome is the extension I'm using, and it works.

It makes the cheap Sony headphones useable, with more volume then stock limitations.
 

ddrueding

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Getting there. Exact alignment of the monitors will need to wait until I get some help. But in case anyone was wondering, yes, you can drive a pair of 5120 x 2160 @ 60hz panels off a single 2080ti. Keep your gaming to just one of them, though. 22m pixels is too much even for simple stuff like World of Warships with everything maxed.
 

LunarMist

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Getting there. Exact alignment of the monitors will need to wait until I get some help. But in case anyone was wondering, yes, you can drive a pair of 5120 x 2160 @ 60hz panels off a single 2080ti. Keep your gaming to just one of them, though. 22m pixels is too much even for simple stuff like World of Warships with everything maxed.

I see speakers, but no headphones.
 

sedrosken

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As far as headphones go I've become quite attached to my Superlux HD668Bs. They're a little odd (male instead of female aux, a 3.5mm coupler does the trick for me) and a bit uncomfortable stock -- I personally bought replacement earpads with them knowing the earpads were a sore point of a few reviews. The only problem I've had with them is the earpads I got for them are a touch too big and like to fall off, but a couple rubber bands fixed that right up. I drive them usually with my stereo that I routed my desktop through -- but I've also directly connected them to my PC and my phone before and they sound fine.
 

LunarMist

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Wow guys, you guys are talking about such interesting models of headphones that I feel uncomfortable with my Earpods :cyclops:

The white ones look like a medical device for draining the ear or something. I don't know the reason for that funky design.
 

Stereodude

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Sounds like it will be a nice setup.
I've been using it for a while with my desktop/workstation PC. The combo is very solid. For the first time in quite a while I have an external DAC that actually works without any issues. (I pretty sure the Grace m9XX unit I have at works fine also on other hardware, but it doesn't like the Lenovo T470s w/ Windows 7 PC that I was given by my employer.)
 
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