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Simthaniel
Rigs
Modded headphones with qudelix at the core
When I received the Qudelix 5K, I had already modified a pair of Superlux HD-681 headphones. I previously soldered my own balanced connections to the drivers, providing multiple ways to connect and...
Apr 14, 2024
brothamike
A decent set of IEMs
I am in the midst of a 300 hour burn-in but, I will say I am enjoying how this set sounds so far. Before I received these which was btw late by a few weeks, I purchased a Sony/Kimber Kable MMCX...
Apr 12, 2024
merrick97
Should I exchange the PC38X for better headphones?
I bought the PC38X headphones FOR GAMING and they are great, but I have NO use for a Microphone since I don't do competitive gaming and I was wondering if there were better headphone options at a similar price without a headphone, where (presumably) more of the cost was put into making it sound better. I also find that my PC38X don't get quite as loud as I would like and I was wondering if a cheap amp like the iFi Go link would draw a little more volume out of my phones. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BN6MM822?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details I went with the PC38X since it was considered the best bang for buck headphones. I care most about using spatial apps like DOlby Atmos and DTS Headphone:X. Suggestions are welcome.
Apr 11, 2024
LostnAmerica
Sound Signature of the Grell Project.
Wondering what type of sound signature the Drop Grell project headphones will have or trying to attain. Any update would be appreciated.
Apr 8, 2024
Fabulous
Looking for a gaming/content audio setup
Hello! I'm looking for recommendations on audio setups. I'd be planning on using it mostly for gaming. Preferably I'd like a pair of large closed back headphones since I have a big head and jaw. I'd also like to hear myself through my mic with mic monitoring. As far as budget goes, I don't really have one. But under 600$ would be nice. I can go higher if needed. The audio setup would be connected to a high performance PC. Thank you in advance for any recommendations!
Apr 4, 2024
1plsd
$10 Drop Coupon Email not sent?
Trying to buy some gear off Drop for the first time. I was told I would receive an email with a welcome to drop $10 off promo. I never received that email. Drop was able to send me emails for my login token and email for Password update. But for some reason the $10 off coupon was never sent to me.
Mar 31, 2024
NMPacella
New here
Hello, I just joined, primarily for the audiophile products. Looking at purchasing the NHT C3 speakers for our new living room. Space is about 15 feet wide by 33 long and they will fire long ways. Space is just for general listening, music room with all equipment is downstairs, so hoping they will fill it with sound nicely. Cheers.
Mar 18, 2024
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First off, punk-ass number one, @futuretrunks bought a set of headphones because he read a few thousand comments on MD assuring him he'd hear the voice of Ganesha as soon as he put 'em on. Apparently Ganesha had the day off when FT finally plugged in? FT then returns to the scene of the crime, where the faithful explain he's also gonna need a headphone amp if he wants to make it all the way to Nirvana.
Undeterred, FT humbly beseeches his fellow Pilgrims: "Oh help-eth me, fellow travelers--all is darkness yet I seek-eth the light! I implore you good fellows, which way is the light?"
But is poor FT shown the light? Nay, he is taunted by devils, confused by the lame of mind and deceived by peddlers of vile serpent oil! Oh-woe is poor FT--who will save him?!!!
Will it be the sincere but hard of reading @mesozoic or the well-intentioned, but no seer of signs himself @dcofficehack? Nay, nay it won't! Because poor FT had previously cried out "I am a weary traveler with mobile needs, who roams my lonely path with but a phone and tablet! I have no desk to lay-eth heavy components upon, particularly those that require-eth tethering to a cursed wall socket!"
Perhaps FT will be saved by the mad words of @mindhead1 who taunts poor FT with the suggestion that he sacrifice his beloved 6XXs to the fiery waste heap of Mistaken Audio Purchases, and instead lay out yet more shekels for a pair of 58X Jubilees!
"Oh spare me the cost of duplicate gear" cries FT, "for I am a poor man with limited funds and many are those who seek to separate me from them!"
Then enters the kindly but misinformed @Cole104 who realizes FT's mobile realities and suggests he seeketh the great prophet Oppo--he of the sacred HA-2 cult; a device capable of singing the very songs of Lord Brahma himself! Sadly, though, the kingdom of Oppo is no more!
Is poor FT to wonder the wasteland of mediocre sound quality for all of time?
Possibly, but if he'd dropped a few more clues on us at the outset, I suspect his journey would be two or three exits shorter. It would have been nice if he'd mentioned what type of phone and tablet his burning bush had lead him to in the first place!
Let's guess it's an iPhone 8s and a prior version iPad Air (pretty sure it ain't, but that's what I have in front of me right now). I say an iPhone 8 (and up) is plenty capable of driving a pair of 6XXs as is, right out of the box. And I also say, those phones will drive a pair of 4XXs too, as will the late model iPad Air. I've tried both just now and don't find any appreciable difference between either device or headphone. Yes, I had both sources turned up full, but I maintain, in a reasonably quiet environment, that's enough volume to clearly hear everything there is to hear on a given track. In this instance, I was listening to Alabama 3's "Woke Up This Morning" from Exile on Coldharbour Lane (aka: that song from the Sopranos), which is all over the place musically speaking, and a good song to evaluate cans or speakers.
Now if, buy chance, poor FT finds himself among a clamoring throng of Philistines who won't shut the hell up and let him listen to his tunes, then I allow, there could be a problem. And that problem would be worsened if FT was lugging around a low-quality phone or pad, especially any from the cursed land of the Androids. I further allow, that while listening to a favorite song (as above) one might wish for more volume than is otherwise necessary (I know I certainly do). In those instances, a portable headphone amp is very helpful.
What kind of amp is less important!
I do happen to have an Oppo HA-2, and it does allow me to listen to music on either device much louder than without it (and I enjoy that immensely). But If one believes louder music is better music, they are undoubtedly their village's favorite idiot. On the other hand, if one believes louder music can be more enjoyable to listen to, well, they're only half-dumb. But everyone can agree that louder music is better in noisy environments, or when you're trying to block out specific sounds in that environment (a boss, an ex-wife, a girlfriend). Loud music is also better to dance to and makes others look at you more sympathetically when you start bobbing your head up and down like an idiot .
But where does all this leave poor FT?
Here's the deal, if you think you need an amp, get one, it can't hurt anything. You can spend a lot of time looking for suggestions as to which is best, but the audio salad you have to trudge through on MD will never yield a Grail solution in any classification. Second, buying shit on MD is better suited to the well informed than the ill-informed. Get a few clues and suggestions here, and then head over to Amazon and read a few reviews on the two or three amps you've narrowed down. People on Amazon are less zealous about audio gear than folks on MD (ie: they lie less), and damn near anything you buy on Amazon can be returned if you mess up (not always the case here).
Obviously money is a limiting factor. If you plan on replacing your sub-par phone or pad with something better, you might be willing to spend more dough on a better amp. If you're stuck with that phone and pad for a while, an expensive DAC/Amp is only going to take you so far. I'm mentioning a DAC/Amp at this point because a combo unit paired with a good source and good files, is where you probably want to end up at some point in the future, depending on budget.
To recap, any damn amp will make your source louder, after that you're on your own--no matter what you may read to the contrary on MD!
I can respect the craft though. But I'm glad they're vintage :p