Sennheiser PC37X randomly goes bad after disconnecting the cable ?
Greetings, Yesterday I was using my headset like normal with my macbook, just listening to music and on a call with people like usual, and the headset was perfectly fine. The stock wire that came with the headset is extremely long and yesterday it annoyed me very much that it kept getting tangled with itself, so I decided to see if the cable is replaceable. I pulled out the cable from the headset and saw the adapter, and looked online for a replacement. Upon plugging it back in, the audio sounded extremely muffled and washed out. Im not sure what I did wrong to make it mess up like that as I've always taken good care of it, ive had it for about 2 years and its always just been chilling on my desk, but anywho I thought the cable just went bad and ordered a replacement. The replacement came, and the issue is still persistant, so I am not sure what the issue is I've tried multiple different headsets and the issue is not with the port, and I also tried it with my windows laptop and...
Apr 23, 2024
1 - They sound amazing. I'm a long-time audiophile, someone who chases the best possible sound, and IMO, these are it on the desktop. Perhaps not the ultimate in razor-sharp detail, power, flash 'n' sizzle (spend thousands on Genelec or other studio monitors for that)--but for listening to music, these really are it.
2 - They play very loudly when pushed. If you're worrying about the volume the dedicated amps can generate, either you listen to such loud music that you risk deafness; already have some deafness; or just listen to extremely loud genres of music for which speakers like this may not be the best choice anyway (ie, the nuance & delicacy they're capable of is less evident at high dBLs on music like techno, heavy metal, etc--though these babies definitely can rock out). -- A word about the bass. There is a LOT of bass coming out of these speakers, no doubt the result of dedicated amplification + large speaker size. I probably should get them further out from the backwall (difficult in my situation) to see if bass thins out, but I just love the fullness, depth & clarity of their bass. They hit very hard in the bass/mid-bass, considering the fact they also play with considerable finesse up above.
3 - I've heard zero hiss--and I do mean ZERO hiss--from either pair, at any volume. I'm in a home office 12+ hrs/day, just 2 ft from the speakers. If you're getting hiss, my advice is to make/remake all connections; do some testing re components you connect to these speakers; and change the wire that connects sound card to Swans (in no particular order). FYI, I don't use my PC's soundcard at all*: I use a good quality USB-connected DAC (Peachtree Audio's DAC iTx) running through a passive volume controller, then on to the Swans + sub. I'll soon be significantly upgrading the PVC & sub and adding an external crossover.
*I did use soundcard for awhile only as a source of optical/toslink signal to a different DAC, 4-5 years ago when I had different speakers.
4 - The adjustments on the front of the powered MKIII speaker (right) really do adjust the sound. Slight upward/downward adjustments of treble or bass controls are readily audible. IMO flat works quite well w/these speakers, but adjustment is definitely possible/effective if needed.
The first possibility you could test by trying different connections of the speakers to power, ie,
-- plug their dedicated power line directly into a wall socket; vs into a power strip or other device
-- If you can get your hands on another C7 power cable, try that (ie, rule out a defective cable as cause)
-- you could really go nuts and purchase a cheap IEC C7 adapter that allows you to use a regular grounded power cord to connect the right/powered speaker into the wall outlet or other power source. That capability, +/- use of a 3-to-2 prong "cheater," would pretty much rule out ground loops as a cause of the hum IMO. Here's an adapter for $3.51 on Amazon (probably could pick one up at Radio Shack) : http://www.ebay.com/itm/Standard-Molded-IEC320-C14-Socket-to-IEC-C7-Plug-AC-Power-Adapter-Set-UL-Approve/121594633669?_trksid=p2141725.c100338.m3726&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20150313114020%26meid%3Dfc8c41f0ff64490889ed9a47f155d872%26pid%3D100338%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D111931744538
-- I would also break/re-make the connection of the umbilical line that connects the 2 speakers
--I'd look long and hard to see if anything, even something tiny, could be contacting something metal on backplates of either speaker to account for this.
The 2nd possibility could be tested by moving the speakers to a minimum 4-5 feet from the computer or other nearest EMI-producing device, as a test, to see if that is a factor.
But if none of that helps, and you're still in warranty, you should send them back for repair, because that is definitely not normal behavior for these speakers in my experience.
Even w/o hearing the A2+'s, it's a fair guess that they couldn't produce nearly as much sound in the absolute sense (ie, filling a room), nor as much quality bass as the Swan MKIIIs. That's just physics (the Swans are large, and sound like it).
A fairer comparison would be the AE A5+'s. I heard them in passing in a store once. Not really my taste--I was chasing the Holy Grail of a desktop/computer speaker that behaved like an audiophile speaker--but a lot of people swear by the A5+'s. Everybody hears things differently...
My advice is if you put them on stands, try to keep them relatively close to your ears in distance and height, as if they were on desktop (as much as possible). These speakers probably sound excellent at medium distance, but they're so good from 2-3 feet away that I regard that as optimal.
Have you read the review in 6 Moons? The reviewer tested them on stands, as if they were trad bookshelf speakers, and compared the results to their use on the desktop; his rationale was their basic sound quality & design are so good that such a comparison is justified (not the case w/most desktop speakers).
Here's the URL: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/swans2/1.html
By the way, I plan to buy the same sub you have (SB1000); also install a quality external crossover with 24 dB/octave slopes & adjustable crossover point. That's a measure of how good these speakers are IMO--they're worth the time & investment to make other components in the signal chain as good as possible.
The S-00 sub was specifically designed to support the powered NHT desktop speakers, which are very different from the Swans. The M-00's have 4.5" woofers and are sealed. The sub's crossover (main signal goes through sub's high-pass filter then on to the M-00's) features 6 dB/octave slopes on high-pass side--which I'd guess is selected to supplement the mid-bass of these speakers, which aren't robust in that area (sub's low-pass filter slope is 12 dB/octave, just like the SB1000). However, the Swans--which have larger woofers, are ported, and have far more internal volume than the NHT's--have very robust mid-bass output and don't need any reinforcement there. All to say this particular sub is hardly an ideal companion for the Swans; mid-bass "wooliness" caused by the shallow high-pass crossover slopes in the NHT sub is clearly audible.
But it doesn't even matter--the Swans still sound terrific. It's easy to "hear through" the mid-bass bulge and realize the inherent quality of these speakers. When I replace the NHT sub with the SB1000, beside the increase in quality and quantity of bass (12" sealed woofer replacing 8" sealed woofer), an equally important gain will be a flatter mid-bass, courtesy of the SB1000's 12 dB/octave high-pass crossover slope.
The SB1000 has a fixed high-pass crossover point of 80Hz, which is probably fine. But I plan to get an external crossover to play with that (probably selecting 90-100 Hz), also will use 24 dB/octave crossover slopes on both high-pass & low-pass filters. Can't be sure 'til I try it, but based on what I hear from the Swans so far, they'll probably reward each upgrade/tweak with a new/improved sound. They're that good.
"Hello,
Kyle here with Massdrop. I hope this email finds you well.
Thank you for contacting Massdrop Support. It looks like the timeframe for the 1-Year Warranty Period has passed and I am unable to provide further Warranty assistance. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, let me know if you have additional questions or concerns.
Best Regards, Kyle"
Too bad I found out about this issue too late and did not tell them about it earlier. I thought they would have at least provided more than 1 year of warranty. It's really a shame.