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
Since you're experiencing low volume that's more than likely why. They need gobs of current and a good amount of voltage to really be at their best. If you do a search for sensitivity here many others break this down as well.
"Massdrop x HIFIMAN HE4XX: a pair of high-efficiency, open-back planar magnetics that don’t need a fancy amp to sound amazing."
Nice to see others using these tools. Small note: Senn and AKG report their numbers in dB/V (sensitivity). AKG 7xx has nearly the same efficiency as HE4xx.
Really wish Massdrop would stop being lazy and actually put the correct units and terminology (efficiency vs sensitivity).
I would like a neutral sound
Are the Massdrop collaboration amps good, just as their headphones are (bang for buck)?
I was thinking more of a amp/DAC combo if they’re any good?
I don’t need a portable since I have Dragonfly Red.
Budget is $200-$300 I guess.
TLDR: I wouldn't rule out that the headphones are not defective. Try the headphones in other devices and see if you can get them any louder without distortion. Perhaps try and contact whomever covers the warranty. `
To be clear from what I said, if your K7xx sound fine/great on your current amp, HE4xx should also at moderate listening levels. HE4xx does take about 35% more current to achieve same loudness of k7xx (which is what everyone is suggesting the issue is).
So if K7xx works fine, I'd expect you could get nearly the same loudness without distortion (blown bass) on HE4xx.
The amp your're using is a beast but I couldn't determine if a premium headphone out was ever intended. If all they have is a tiny op amp chip/ic used to power headphones I could see that as a potential issue. If it sounds like crap when the headphones are at 105dB loudness (I think I listen to music below that) it only requires 16mA rms or 23mA peak. Most respectable audio op amps can provide 23mA peak fairly well (I think w/o much distortion - current max is 35 to 70mA for op amps - expect distortion at those levels).
Try your headphones in many other devices you may have. See if you can get it any louder before hearing that distortion. If you can, headphones fine and the amp is the issue. If the issue persist equally among all your devices, it "might" be the headphones. You'd need a premium amp to verify.
Side note: the amp I'd suggest is aune x1s $200 (rated 10x the power you'd need) or x7s if you dont' care for another dac and might use balanced output one day, but it doesn't come with a warranty...Objective 2 is a nice budget option that I hear nice things about usually. not sure what else I can recommend.
The amp is as neutral as they come and is powerful enough for all your current headphones.
My last question is: I use my Apple TV to stream music through my AVR. Would I connect these amps to my AVR or Apple TV through optical? I think that’s the only advice I would need, I’ll do the rest of the home work. Thank you! ☺️
HD-800 takes less current but a fair bit of voltage which portables would struggle with.
Objective 2 and Aune x1s both could easily drive the headphones you listed. It's my belief that Aune is a step up from O2 but I could be wrong since I don't own both. Aune is less expensive on massdrop than the JDS Labs O2/DAC combo.
Aune is rated to deliver a small more max power - but perhaps at a cost to distortion (0.1% at the max rating is very audible). For the DAC side of things Aune has optical as an option for input and Odac doesn't (I think). Technically the Aunes DAC is superior in like all ways (supports higher sample/freq sizes) but that's mostly marketing or for the top 1% of 1% golden ears. O2 amp/dac combo kind looks ghetto.. the list goes on. Odac is just getting old and can't be updated for copy right issues.
Testing numbers can often be fudge to make a product look better than it is. So... Aune looks better now but might not be with proper testing / comparison. Aune doesn't list the output impedance which can be a big deal for planar headphones if it's too high. So that's also a huge problem. With all that said, I'd say they're both good products. Aune is for less through massdrop (just no warranty). If you just want the amp, O2 is probably the better choice. Would I say they're endgame products, close but no. Other headphones exist that benefit from insane effortless power. NFB -11.28 from audio gd is recognized to be damn good and damn powerful but in the 300-400 dollar range. That's the extent of my end game knowledge. Anything beyond that is just silly.
As far as how to connect them, I assume optical from the apple tv to aune is best (no chance of interference) - if that's' even an option. Running the signal through as few devices as possible is best (especially in analog). RCA cables kept short length work okay.
In the $200-300 range, there isn't much as far as amp/DACs go but you could find some powerful amps that would fit the bill and worry about a DAC later since you already have the DFR. If your budget was higher, I would recommend the iFi iDSD Micro Black Label or the Chord Mojo. Both of which new are close to $600 but used prices you can get closer to $400. Both have quality DACS, and are portable (battery powered) and their amps would power all the cans you have with aplomb. They both take just about every modern file format and the iFi unit also does MQA (if you were to ever use Tidal). If you're still wanting to mind your budget but overstep a bit, JDS Labs The Element could fit the bill at $350, is a DAC/amp, and has a voltage output of up to 9.4Vrms and can push 600 ohm cans (which would go well for your HD 800S). It's rather neutral and clinical sounding so be aware of that. The iFi and Chord are much more musical sounding and are shy of neutral (in a good way).
I can't recommend the Aune X1S as it is using a rather dated DAC chip, and doesn't have the power levels for what you need. You would end up needing to buy something more powerful so it would make more financial sense to just spend a bit more and not have to worry about upgrading any time soon. The Aune X7s amp would make more sense but only if you were using balanced connections with your headphones. Otherwise, I don't think they would all be powered properly.
Hopefully, that helps a bit and gives you some added context.
I think you and I have different ideas what power is required nessassry. 120 dB can cause immediate hearing loss. I used to also compare headphones at that SPL because it's sort of the absolute loudest you'd ever want to consider until I realized you'd never want to loose hearing.
I look at 110dB SPL of a headphone and check an amp can reach at least double the V peak to peak (determined usually by looking at the power brick) to avoid distortion. And anything above 3x Vpp has no benefit. Similarly, I do the same thing for current; or power if I can't figure out max current estimates. 110 dB SPL is still louder than you'd want to listen to something for a long period of time. Thus, it's still a good maximum to use.
Sennheiser HD-800S has the same power requirements as HD-650. Plenty of people are content using an objective 2 amp to drive them. Can you squeeze more detail out of them with better gear? Yes, but it gets expensive quickly and the gains are unnoticeable for the average consumer.
If Megazine budget is closer to $400, I'd recommend audio gd nfb 11.28. It has more power and input options than JBS Labs The Element significantly off the top of my head. The only downside is long shipping times and you may have to communicate with customer support that doesn't speak English fluently or as well as you'd like.
My recommendations are simply what I feel is sensible. I don't consider Aune x1s to be the greatest thing ever. I consider it to be an amazing deal at $200 that's within Megazine's budget. And I never said DFR was a beast. It is however adequate to determine if his HE4xx headphones are defective and need to be replaced. Which was the OP main objective.
What you seem to be missing about volumes hitting 120dB is just part of any dynamic piece of music. Obviously, no human would listen to 120dB without permanent hearing loss. However, when listening at typical volumes, it's normal for impedance and the voltage to swing much higher depending on the source and the song. While 120dB is considered typical when listening to music, when watching movies or gaming this spike can go much higher. That's why having an amp to accommodate for this is important to ensure the drivers are always being properly powered.
To say that the HD650 and 800 S have the same specs is quite misleading. The 650 has the higher sensitivity and the 800 has much higher impedance and voltage swings (over 9Vrms). The 650 is 7Vrms at max. The 02 outputs well over 7vrms so it's easy to suspect they'd be content as the power output is close and would be music dependent. To say one would not notice is rather condescending. One doesn't spend the money on something like an 800 S to not pick out details in music. This is a very analytical headphone.
The point still stands that the OP stated the volume was low on the 4XX compared to his other headphones. It would be reasonable to think they're being underpowered and it really does sound like that is the case as the DFR doesn't have the power for them. The Aune, while budget friendly, would be a waste of his time and money. The JDS amp/DACs I mentioned are VERY neutral as the OP requested and have more than enough power while still being in his budget.
Aune x1s spec page does say 2.1Vrms but I'm 99.9% sure that's DAC's line output not the amp. The amp has -12 to 12 Volts to work with - > 24 / 2*sqrt(2) = 8.4 Vrms but that doesn't include headroom. Using power equation of a rating 0.2 W = Vrms^2 / 300 -> I estimate it has 7.75Vrms (very near O2).
You're right I shouldn't be so condescending.
The source I looked at showed HD-650 and HD 800S with the same 102dB/V sensitivity @1k Hz. On closer examination it was just a user's post and not all that official. Innerfedilities website (using his testing rig) both headphones took about 0.13mW to achieve 90dB BSPL. You are correct that HD800S impedance does climb a bit higher at ~100 Hz. So I was over simplifying a tad. HD800 could use a little more juice in the lower frequencies. I'm afraid though I still disagree with ever looking at the specs @ 120dB. To each their own and not a big deal.
I'd say it's hard to say the extent Megazine's distortion when he used his HE4xx with just his descriptions thus far. My impression is it sounded like total garbage vs hearing some distortion/loss of clarity when played a little louder. If some of the distortion clears up using the DFR, I'd say amplification is the issue. Not saying all the distortion when played loudly would disappear on DFR. I'm just saying he should beable to get HE4xx louder before hearing distortion. If it still sounds like the same garbage slightly louder than before, I'd say it's a good chance they're defective headphones and he should take proper steps in getting a new pair. At the very least contact the warranty/returns department and see what they have to say. (before spending $400+ on new gear)