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Jtutt
0
Apr 6, 2016
Ok I'll admit. I decided to buy these headphones because they did such a great job of convincing me that I am missing out on what music can really sound like with a quality headset. However, I am not an audiophile, and after reading some of the comments I'm wondering if I should really get these. Would someone be willing to let me know what I need to really enjoy these headphones and the music I listen to? I hesitate to say how little I really know about music but I am drawn to learn more. I was planning to use them to listen from my iPhone, but it sounds like I need to get a DAC, but I don't know what I really need...
HD600
1
Apr 6, 2016
Jtuttjust with phone is good enough to normal people but if you want better sound at least get some hi-res files, flac or dsd whatever and buy a portable amp like fiio e12.
echineko
196
Apr 6, 2016
JtuttWhat do you currently listen on, your PC, your phone, etc? What sort of music source files do you have (CD player, vinyl, MP3, Spotify, Tidal Hifi, etc)? Btw, what are your current headphones?
Jtutt
0
Apr 6, 2016
echinekoI listen on my Mac and iPhone. I usually listen to Spotify. I have a Parrot Zik v1 but I don't like the way it sits on my head, they hurt after a couple hours. Mostly I use a cheap Motoral in-ear headphone. My wife has a collection of vinals that she had from the 70s but I have never listened to them.
echineko
196
Apr 6, 2016
JtuttFor your use case, I'm going to say the Chord Mojo will be best. Check it out and see if you're ok with the price, otherwise there's cheaper (and in my opinion, lesser) alternatives. It's designed for use with a phone primarily, has great battery life, and sounds awesome for the size
asdflord
74
Apr 6, 2016
JtuttYou're jumping from wireless headphones to a (potentially) $1000 audio setup, but listen to spotify? I hate to discourage people, since this is a pretty incredible drop, but that seems a little extreme to me. I feel like you might either want to look into a ~$300 setup (amp+headphones), or plan on getting some higher bitrate music to listen to.
But hey, if you have spare money and just want to jump right in then don't let me stop you. You'll enjoy it, without question.
bartlett
15
Apr 6, 2016
asdflordSpotify has 320kbps MP3. The difference between FLAC and 320 is minimal at best.
echineko
196
Apr 6, 2016
bartlettFLAC is just a container without compression, you can still find lots of garbage FLACs from "vinyl rips" done wrong (noise, distortion, etc), but I contend a well-mastered FLAC digital file is not a minimal improvement at all. Edit: I'm also assuming the headphones/earphones used are sensitive enough to reproduce these improvements.
Then again no one has the same ears, so we hear what we can :) Also, it's fine starting with Spotify, I started with PC gaming, if you're into audio you will eventually come to ask "this is great, but could it be better?" ;)
And if not, you'll have a really awesome pair of headphones (and fantastic value for the price) to use. Win-win.
(I know the last comment doesn't relate to you, just replying once to avoid cluttering the thread, it's from an earlier post in the conversation).
dwane5
293
Apr 7, 2016
bartlettthats hilarious
edit: assuming u are speaking of a lossless FLAC. the difference is huge.
bartlett
15
Apr 7, 2016
dwane5Go check legitimate double blind studies and get back to me. Until then you're another misinformed "audiophile."
djfluffkins
157
Apr 7, 2016
bartlettTo be fair, there is something to be said about the fact that once you've been trained/learned where the differences are and how to spot them, you will keep hearing them. So you're right that legitimate double-blind will support the fact that the average listener can't tell the difference, that's not the same as it's never being a big difference to people.
bartlett
15
Apr 7, 2016
djfluffkinsWell of course. But the differences are limited to the ear, gear, and recording. Most audio enthusiasts using mid-fi gear listening to most recordings will not notice anything worth screaming over when comparing FLAC to 320. If you had some $4k headphone setup and were a recording engineer you'd notice a difference but I don't believe you'd say it was substantial.
zombywoof
121
Apr 8, 2016
JtuttIn my opinion, you will want to consider an amp if you are listening from a phone. (My experience is with the TH-X00 mahogany, but should be true for the purplehearts, as well.) There are plenty of good portable and desktop (not portable, but small) amps in the ~$200 (or less) price range that will help drive these to their full potential. These will work from your phone, but do yourself a favor and get good 1/4" adapter like the Grado or Sennheiser products. I see you have Parrot Zik as a point of comparison. Even with a modest amp, you will not believe how much better these sound. You may want to check out Head-Fi if you are new to this hobby to get a feel for the different types of equipment that is out there. There is a lot to chose from. Good luck.
ansel1
5
Apr 13, 2016
zombywoofanother reference point: I think I'm similar to you. Not an audiophile, but still picky. I splurged on $400 B&O BeoPlay H6 headphones, mostly to listen to tidal HiFi on a mac at work. It was a huge upgrade over my ~$100 phones I'd had. And btw, the H6s are really light and comfortable for long term listening. Anyway, I still found that something was missing from the music that I missed about my old, cheaper headphones, which were Sennheiser HD150s. Something in the mid range. The H6 were a little too V-shaped for vocals. So I got the $100 Centrance DACport Slim from massdrop, figuring that was a modestly price experiment with headphone amps to see if they made a difference.
It made a huge difference. I brought out everything I was missing, and made the H6s sound outstanding. It was well worth it.
I'm on the drop for the purpleheart headphones, which I joined a while back before I got the dac/amp. I'm now really wondering whether I should be. The amp satisfied my concerns. At this point, I'm only in the drop out of curiosity to see what all the hype around these TH-X00s is about.
fidgetingfinch
81
Apr 13, 2016
ansel1I'm in a similar situation, but because I tried a demo of Pure Music as a playback engine. It completely transformed my listening experience compared to standard iTunes. My B&W P5s finally have the bass they've always seem to have been missing, and the clarity is unbelievable. While I'm sure that the Purplehearts could offer me even more, I'm pretty happy with the way things are right now.
bartlett
15
Sep 19, 2020
bartlettLaughing right back at you. Find me a double-blind study on that one.
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