u/Califrisco

Thanks to multiple, useful, discussions here on this subreddit, I have a Moondrop Dawn Pro 2, a NewFantasia Replacement Audio Upgrade Cable balanced 4.4mm, and the Apple USB-C to 3.5mm Dongle coming my way this Sunday to complement my new HD 600s.

FYI: My wife and I have an Apple ecosystem; MBPro M3 laptop, MBAir M1, iPad M1 Pro, iPad Mini 6’s, and iPhone 16 & 17s, so I think we are set for most configurations (travel and home, but will the HD 600s be compact enough to travel?).

Any other tips and suggestions are welcome, but this is to thank my fellow audiophiles for their help. 🙏🏼

We’re nearing the end of our first time back on Princess (Caribbean) after many years away and trying out MSC and Celebrity. This is a B2B2B with the last ‘B’ a switch to Caribbean Princess from the MSC Seashore. So we’ve been able to compare the two buffets very closely. In virtually every way, the smaller older Caribbean buffet has showed us the attention and a smaller array of food can beat a larger buffet of lower quality food.

The Princess food is always hot when it’s supposed to be. The MSC buffet had a problem: their breads and cooked foods were put out under hot lamps well ahead of opening. So this meant dried out or tough/stale bread or food that you would not serve yourself because it was dry/overcooked. This happened at nearly every breakfast/lunch/dinner on the MSC buffet. This very rarely has happened in the week we’ve been on Princess.

In fact, the seafood preparation has been so poor on MSC, that we avoid them in general. On Princess, seafoods have been much better and more consistent. The ethnic foods too (e.g. Indian) have been first rate on Princess and very hit or miss on MSC.

The Princess plates are stoneware and are always clean and even hot when we pick them up (MSC’s are plastic). The tables on Princess are each stocked with their own silverware (vs near the plates in MSC), so very convenient not to have to go back into the buffet crowd just to get a knife and fork.

So we are happy to report that the much older Princess ship has been a happy surprise to come back to compared to the newer, glitzier, bigger MSC ships, foodwise. As anything, YMMV! 😋

We've done YC on the Seashore, the Seaside and the Grandiosa. But we've never sailed the WA before and just booked a two week YC B2B on her in 10 Days (21st deck). How does the YC experience differ from the Sea class ships? We had one YC passenger who really didn’t like the YC experience on the WA, so we are curious how others have compared it.
Thanks for any advice or feedback.

We are super-early parked in the garage at the Port Canaveral Princess Terminal 3. Our arrival window is 12-1230 and we are two hours early because we just go off a cruise from an MSC ship at Terminal 10.

Will they allow us to check in early? Thank You! 😊

So I've been seeing some discussion about needing an amp for the higher impedance for the HD 600s. I have an M3 MBPro and a MB Air. Apple Support states that their laptops can properly sense and drive various headphones.

“The 3.5mm headphone jack on compatible [post 2020]Mac computers features DC load detection and adaptive voltage output. Your Mac can detect the impedance of the connected device and will adapt its output for low- and high-impedance headphones, as well as for line-level audio devices.
When you connect headphones with an impedance of less than 150 ohms, the headphone jack provides up to 1.25 volts RMS. For headphones with an impedance of 150 to 1K ohms, the headphone jack delivers 3 volts RMS. This may remove the need for an external headphone amplifier.”

So: is there a consensus here that this is valid for the modest listening levels my wife and I will be doing (mostly pop and classical and moderate levels for her. I have anything from rock, trance, deep house, to classical and musicals). Neither of us likes hammering loud levels like rock concert level loud.

Hi All! My wife used to have a wired set Sennheiser HD 414s decades ago that eventually succumbed to a broken wire. I loved the open air feel of these and was sad to see them go.

Flash forward after trying ANC wireless closed back headphones from Bose and Sony, and I wanted to return her to a simpler time without buttons or power or recharging. Thanks to this forum, I have just purchased a new pair of HD 600s directly from Sennheiser. With their current promotion and a military discount, it's $219 delivered, which I think is a good deal, no?

These apparently are well reviewed here, did I make a good choice for her?

Edit: oops I had the 414s and my wife has the HD 420s with the larger pads.

https://preview.redd.it/eax3ohdrla8h1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=a0f80506e6d757d033dd7cfe6d16536f69bf4935

So I have an odd question: I got a pair of Amazon Renewed Sony ULT Wear headphones that were listed as in Used Mint condition. And they are, except for one thing: The previous owner had some kind of hair product that he wore while using this that left the ear cups saturated with that smell; like an unwanted cologne that is strong enough to leave it on me when I wear them.

I've tried isopropyl alcohol, sunlight, and washing them, but that annoying smell is in there, regardless and seems reluctant to fade even after months.

Other than replacing the ear-pads, can you suggest any de-smellification methods, or am I SOL?

There's a pair of QuietComfort® 35s in good condition for $50 that I'm interested in. I remember seeing these for years on airplanes I flew on and was always envious of the owners but the cost was not in my budget.

Are these a good buy, even though they may be considered vintage at this point? For comparison, I have the Soundcore Space One Pros and a Sony ULT WEARs, but I'm not crazy about the level of bass in the latter. The Soundcores sound great but are very big for traveling.

I am looking for good ANC, a more neutral (not bass-heavy) sound. I'm aware of their Bluetooth version, relative age, and the microUSB charging, but also their good reputation.

Thanks for any advice, including owners of these today.

There's a pair of QuietComfort® 35s in good condition for $50 that I'm interested in. I remember seeing these for years on airplanes I flew on and was always envious of the owners but the cost was not in my budget. Are these a good buy, even though they may be considered vintage at this point? For comparison, I have the Soundcore Space One Pros and a Sony ULT WEARs, but I'm not crazy about the level of bass in the latter.

Thanks for any advice, including owners of these today.

Hello! We’ve just booked the 7-Day June 28th Caribbean Princess from Port Canaveral. We will be just coming off a B2B MSC Seashore cruise and will be getting on this old Grand Class ship for the first time. We used to do the Grand Princess out of San Francisco a lot when we live in the SF Bay Area and have not been on this class ship in many years. I’m sure it will be like a déjà vu in certain ways, but I also heard she was recently out of a dry dock in 2024, so should be improved in some aspects.
Anyone else going/have experiences on her since the dry dock?

I have an Oasis 3 and have a couple of books that I also have the Audible versions loaded. But when I use the Listen mode of the book on my Kindle, the Audible file that will be downloaded will be a High Definition file that does not play properly above 1.0 speed.

If you are one of those who likes to listen to their books as well as read them, I have a workaround that fixes the stuttering or harsh quality of sped up Audible playback. Please let me know if you want to post the tip here. It does not break the DRM for Audible. It does require a USB connection from your computer to your Kindle and a simple understanding of the format you are downloading that is easier for your older Kindle to process when the playback is sped-up.

I know it's the Memorial Day weekend but I've got a 28" celadon Adventure Check-in in my cart and would like to know what the Military Benefit is and how it can be applied to my cart. Thanks.

Does the Kindle Unlimited catalog fluctuate like the Plus catalog? Like: if I return a KU book because I want to borrow it later from KU, is there a chance that it will no longer be part of the KU catalog and only be available for purchase?