u/Professional-Tax3077

Hi everyone,
I've been using the Sennheiser HD650 for quite a while and there are a lot of things I really like about them. The detail, mids and overall clarity are great, and I understand why they're so highly regarded.

However, I'm thinking about replacing them for two main reasons.

First, they're open-back. I live in a relatively small apartment and the sound leakage is becoming a problem, so I'd really prefer something closed-back.

Second, the low end. I mostly listen to and produce house / minimal / deep tech, and I find the HD650 noticeably lacking in bass and especially sub-bass for this kind of music. I don't necessarily want ridiculously boosted bass, but I want something where kick and basslines feel more present and enjoyable.

I'm looking for something around a similar price range that can do both jobs: enjoying music and producing/mixing music. I don't want something extremely clinical that isn't enjoyable for casual listening either.

Some models I've been looking at:

• Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro / 1770 Pro MKII
• Sony MDR-M1
• Sennheiser HD 480 Pro

Has anyone moved from the HD650 to any of these?

Would something like the DT 1770 Pro or HD 480 Pro actually feel like an upgrade for my use case, or would I be sacrificing too much of what makes the HD650 good?

Basically looking for HD650-level detail/quality, closed-back, but with noticeably better bass extension and punch for house music.

Other recommendations in roughly the same price range are very welcome.
Thanks,

Hi everyone,

I currently live and work in Kraków, Poland, earning around €2,000 net per month.

With that salary I live reasonably comfortably and, in a normal month where I don't spend too much, I can save around €600 per month.

My company has now offered me a 6-month temporary assignment in Barcelona. It's within the same company.
The problem is that, at least initially, they mentioned keeping my same Polish salary.

They would pay for an apartment in Barcelona, and I understand there would also be some kind of daily allowance, although I still don't know how much.

I already told them that I wouldn't be interested in moving to Barcelona for six months if I end up financially worse off. From what I've seen, the general cost of living in Barcelona is noticeably higher than Kraków. (20%)

There's also one important detail: even if my Barcelona apartment is paid by the company, I still have to keep paying for my apartment in Kraków during those six months, so that expense doesn't disappear.
I pay 600€ monthly for that, so this has to be taken into consideration. I can't stop paying my apartment in Krakow.

Considering that I currently earn €2,000 net and save roughly €600/month in Kraków, what would you realistically ask the company for to make a 6-month assignment like this financially worthwhile?

Thanks,

Hi everyone,
I work in Poland and about two months ago my manager contacted the three Spanish speakers in our team about a temporary 6-month assignment in Barcelona (Spain).

The information was extremely vague. Basically: Spain needs someone from Poland to help improve/implement their IT processes, would I be interested in hearing more?
I said I would like to know more about the offer.

I then had an interview with the IT Director in Spain. The role sounded much more senior than my current position, almost a mix of IT coordination/management, implementing processes, fixing how things are currently done, etc.

At the end I asked the obvious question: What are the conditions?

He told me they would pay for an apartment for 6 months, two flights, I would apparently keep my current Polish salary, and there would be some kind of daily allowance. He couldn't tell me how much because HR would handle that.

I told him clearly that I was interested in Spain, but I wouldn't move from Kraków to Barcelona for six months if it meant being financially worse off. I needed to see the actual package first.

Two weeks later my manager told me Spain really liked me and wanted another interview, this time with basically the highest-ranking person in the Spanish office. (Managing Director)

That interview also went well. They asked if I could start within about a month. Again, I explained that I was interested, but I still had zero information about salary or the actual financial package, so I couldn't commit to anything.
He agreed and said HR would contact me if they decided to choose me. That was July 15.
Nothing happened for over a month.

Today, August 19, the IT Director in Poland unexpectedly called me. I've never even spoken to her before because she's several levels above me. She asked if I had received the details for Spain. I said no, nobody has contacted me since July 15.

She seemed surprised and said communication had been bad, but Spain had contacted her because they want me for the assignment and apparently want me to start in around two weeks. She said they should contact me tomorrow with the details.

Now I'm slightly worried because this has apparently gone pretty far internally. From their perspective they've selected me, senior management in both countries is involved, and they seem to be planning around me going.

But from my perspective, I have never accepted the assignment. I've repeatedly said I'm interested depending on the financial conditions, and after two interviews I still haven't even received an actual offer.

If HR now comes back with something like “same Polish salary + apartment + a small per diem” and I decide it simply isn't worth moving countries for six months, can that realistically be held against me or even put my current job at risk?

Would I be the one leaving them hanging at this point, or has the company handled this badly by progressing this far without ever telling me what they're actually offering?

Thanks,

Hello,
I’ve been using Sennheiser HD650s as my main headphones for music production and for listening to music at home, but I’m having a serious problem with the low end.

I mainly produce and listen to house / tech house. I have several other systems I regularly listen on: Sony WF-1000XM5 earbuds, an LG S40T soundbar, Focal Solo6 monitors, my car, and sometimes my girlfriend’s AirPods.

On basically all of those, house music has a strong and clearly noticeable bass presence. Then I put on the HD650s and it feels like a huge amount of the bass simply disappears.

I use a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 with my computer. The HD650s sound great in terms of detail. I can hear tiny elements, reverbs, percussion, separation, etc., but the low end feels extremely understated compared with everything else I listen on.

This also affects my music production. Because I barely feel/hear the bass properly on the HD650s, I naturally turn the bass up while producing. Then I listen to the track in my car, on the Sony earbuds, AirPods, soundbar, etc., and suddenly there is WAY too much bass.

I’ve released music on a few labels and one piece of feedback I keep getting is basically: “We like/want the track, but there’s too much bass. Turn it down / EQ the low end better.”

The frustrating part is that when I go back to the HD650s, the bass doesn’t sound excessive at all. Sometimes I actually end up doing the final bass adjustments using my Sony earbuds because they give me a much better idea of how much bass there really is.

So I’m wondering what the actual problem is here.

Are the HD650s simply not ideal for bass-heavy electronic music like house/tech house? Is this something you’re supposed to learn and compensate for once you know their frequency response? Could my Scarlett 2i2 be contributing to the problem because the HD650s are 300 ohms?

I don’t really want to get rid of the HD650s because I love how detailed they are, but bass translation is probably the biggest problem I currently have with them.

Would you:

• keep the HD650s and learn their low end better?
• use EQ/headphone calibration?
• upgrade the headphone amp/interface?
• replace the HD650s entirely?

Thanks,

Hello,
I currently use Sennheiser HD650s with an old Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2nd Gen.

I really like the HD650s and I know they’re supposed to be very good for producing/mixing, but my old Scarlett doesn’t seem to drive them very well. They sound quite quiet even with the headphone volume turned up.

I was considering upgrading the interface to something like an Audient iD14 MKII or Scarlett 2i2 4th Gen.

However, there’s another problem: the HD650s are open-back. I live in an apartment and usually produce in the living room, so my girlfriend can hear quite a lot of what I’m listening to even though I’m wearing headphones.

So now I’m not sure what makes more sense:

Upgrade the interface and keep using the HD650s, or keep the old Scarlett for now and buy a good pair of closed-back headphones instead?

Thanks,

Hi everyone,
I've never used Telegram before, but I need it temporarily, basically just to use it as cloud storage for some files.

When I try to create an account, it asks for my phone number. I don't want to add contacts, sync my address book, or use Telegram for messaging people.

Is there any way to create/use a Telegram account without providing my personal phone number? Or is a phone number mandatory even if I don't plan to use any of the social/contact features?

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

Today on a train in Germany, an American couple told me I was sitting in their reserved seat. I showed them my ticket and it was clearly my seat, so I thought that was the end of it.

Later, the woman came back and asked, “What’s your name?” I said I wasn’t going to tell her. She insisted: “You have to tell me your name.” I jokingly asked if she was the police and refused again. They walked away talking about “reporting” me, and I never saw them again.

This made me curious: is asking for someone’s name during a minor dispute normal in the US? Would Americans usually give their name to a random stranger who asks?

Thanks,

Hi everyone,

About a year ago my girlfriend introduced me to one of her friends and her Italian boyfriend.

I'm Spanish but have lived abroad for years. During our first conversation, I noticed that her friend, who is German, had picked up a noticeable Italian accent when speaking English. I jokingly mentioned it and told her that something similar had happened to a British guy I once lived with, who eventually started picking up some of my Spanish accent.

She clearly didn't like the comment and immediately replied, "Well, you sound exactly like Carlos Sainz."

For context, Carlos Sainz is a Spanish F1 driver. I've actually been told this many times before because apparently my voice and cadence are similar to his, both in Spanish and English. So I laughed and agreed.

I thought that was the end of it.

A few months later we met again at a wedding. She came over and said, "I want to tell you something, but don't get offended." Her boyfriend immediately told her quietly, "No, not now..." but she insisted.

Then she told me again how much I sounded like Carlos Sainz.

The comment itself doesn't bother me at all. What struck me was that she was bringing it up again months later and seemed to be deliberately trying to get a reaction from me.

At Christmas we met again in a group of about 12 people. While I was talking to someone else, I heard her telling other people in the background, "He sounds sooo much like Carlos Sainz."

After that I told my girlfriend that I didn't really want a relationship with this woman. She's her friend, that's completely fine, but I'd rather just be polite and keep my distance.

My girlfriend initially thought maybe she meant it as a compliment because apparently she had even told her that Carlos Sainz was attractive. But she also admitted that this friend can sometimes be difficult.

Then, two weeks ago, she came to my girlfriend's birthday.

We didn't speak to each other at all.

And yet at one point I saw her whispering into another girl's ear, covering her mouth, pointing my way and saying something along the lines of, "Doesn't he sound exactly like Carlos Sainz? Listen when he talks."

She's 32.

I didn't react because it was my girlfriend's birthday and I wasn't going to create drama over something so stupid.

At this point the Carlos Sainz comparison itself genuinely doesn't bother me. What annoys me is that, after a full year, she still seems determined to make the same comment every single time we're in the same room, despite us barely interacting otherwise.

I've already tried the obvious solution: I don't talk to her, I don't react, and I avoid being around her whenever possible. But because she's one of my girlfriend's friends, occasionally we're inevitably going to be at the same events.

How would you handle this?

I think I created some kind of “trauma” for her the moment I made that comment about her Italian accent. That’s my guess.

And the fact that her boyfriend asked her to stop at the wedding is proof that she’s still annoyed by that comment and is trying to offend me.

Would you continue completely ignoring it, directly tell her to stop next time she does it, joke back at her, or ask your partner to intervene?
All of this is because I told her she had Italian accent. This is stuck on her brain apparently.

I don't want to create unnecessary drama in my girlfriend's friend group, but I'm also getting tired of this strange little routine every time we meet.

Hi everyone,
Last week I was at Tomorrowland in Belgium.

A girl approached me and asked, “Hey, do you speak English?”

I said yes and helped her find whatever she was looking for. Then she asked where I was from, and I told her I was from Poland.

She replied, “Oh, I’m Polish too, but I was born in America.”

Since she had just told me she was Polish, I naturally started speaking to her in Polish. She immediately stopped me and said, “Oh no, I don’t speak Polish.”

I was confused, so I asked her how she could be Polish if she didn’t speak the language and had been born in America.

She explained that her great-grandmother had been born in Poland.

I replied, “Then your great-grandmother was Polish. You’re American, not Polish.”

She got offended and walked away.

Honestly, I had seen this kind of interaction countless times on TikTok, Instagram and Reddit, with Americans saying they are Irish, Italian, Polish or whatever because one of their distant ancestors came from there.

However, I assumed that it was either exaggerated for social media or that Americans only spoke like this when talking among themselves.I didn’t expect someone to use it literally while standing in Europe and speaking to a person from Poland.

It was my first time encountering this in real life, and I found the whole situation pretty funny.

Is this an example of US defaultism, where Americans assume everyone understands their particular way of describing ancestry, or is this just a normal cultural difference?

Hi everyone,

This is a really strange issue that I've been dealing with for a while.

Every single time I open Google Maps, the map is centered on Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The weird part is that I live in Germany, and both my Home and Work addresses are correctly set in Berlin. My Google account location, searches, and timeline are all based in Europe, so I have no idea why Maps keeps defaulting to Tulsa.

I've tried moving the map manually, clearing recent searches, checking my saved places, and looking through the settings, but nothing has fixed it.

Has anyone else experienced this? Is there some hidden setting that controls the default location when opening the app?

It's not a huge problem, but it's pretty annoying having to zoom back to Europe every time I open Google Maps. I don't even have any connection to Tulsa, so I'm completely confused about why it picked that city.

Thanks,

Hi everyone,

I have a coworker who joined our company in March, and in roughly four months he has already taken around 40 days of sick leave.

These are normally not long absences. It is usually one or two days at a time, very often on Thursdays and Fridays, or immediately before or after holidays and planned vacation. For example, last week he was absent on Thursday and Friday, and this week he had Thursday and Friday booked as vacation, so he called in sick on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The problem is, every time he is sick, I have to "cover" his duties. My manager calls me "hey, this person is on sick leave again, please make sure you do his tasks". It's becoming a bit annoying.

He normally calls our manager on the same day and says that he has a headache, stomach pain, a cold, etc. Our manager then changes the schedule, and the rest of us have to cover his work.

I am not trying to judge whether he is genuinely ill, as there may be personal or health issues we do not know about. However, I am curious about how this works legally and administratively in Poland.

Does an employee need to contact a doctor and receive an official doctor's note every time, even for just one or two days?
Can a manager simply register someone as being on sick leave without medical documentation? Is there any limit or additional verification when someone repeatedly takes short sick leaves?

The employee is also a non-EU foreigner, although I am not sure whether that makes any difference.

This is affecting the whole team, because we have to "cover" him every time he is on sick leave, which is quite often.

Thanks,

Hi everyone,

My girlfriend and I got tickets for Tomorrowland Weekend 2, and it will be our first time attending. We have the Spectacular Easy Tent 2P package, so we will be staying at DreamVille from Thursday until Monday with the tent already included.

Since neither of us has been before, I would really appreciate advice from experienced people. Not only the obvious things, but also the small tips you usually only learn after attending once.

What should we definitely bring with us? Is there anything important that people often forget? What is useful for the campsite, showers, sleeping, weather, charging phones, keeping valuables safe, or surviving four days without feeling completely destroyed?

I am also curious about practical things such as arriving on Thursday, check-in queues, lockers, payment, food and drink prices, what can be brought into DreamVille, and what is better to buy after arriving.

And finally: what mistakes should we avoid? What did you do during your first Tomorrowland that you would do differently now?

Any recommendations, packing tips, warnings, or random useful advice would be appreciated. We are very excited, but also trying to prepare properly without overplanning the whole experience.

Thanks!

Hello everyone,

I work in a department of around 15 people. One coworker and I are part of the same project, so it is basically the two of us handling that area. We also have a Teams group with both of us and our manager.

This coworker is known in the team for being very focused on visibility. He often tries to look more involved than everyone else, talks badly about other colleagues, and generally seems to care a lot about being seen by management.

A few days ago, there was an issue in the project and I had to contact someone from another department. I work afternoon shifts, so I sent that person an email around 7 PM during my working hours. That person normally works 9 to 5.

The system we use also sends reminders automatically every few days if there is no reply, so there was no urgency and no need to chase immediately.

After sending the email, I wrote in our Teams group that we had this issue and that I had already contacted the relevant person from the other department, just to keep everyone informed.

The next morning, right after starting his shift, my coworker messaged that same person at around 9:05 AM asking, “Hey, any updates on this?” He then wrote in the Teams group that he had sent a reminder and was waiting for a response. It felt like he wanted our manager to see that he was “on top of it.”

The problem is that the person from the other department then complained about “my ticket”, saying that if they receive a message at 7 PM, they cannot be expected to reply immediately first thing the next morning, and that they did not understand the pressure.

My manager called me and said we should not put pressure on other departments. I explained that I only sent the original message during my shift, and that the follow-up the next morning was not sent by me. My manager seemed to understand that, but still told me not to do it.

I find it frustrating because I feel like I handled it normally, but my coworker tried to make himself look proactive and ended up creating unnecessary tension.

How would you deal with a coworker like this? Is it worth saying anything directly, or is it better to just document things more clearly going forward?

Hi everyone,

I work in a department of around 15 people. Within the team, only 2 of us work on a specific platform/project where we create users for different countries/entities.

About a month and a half ago, my manager told me that one entity from another country had complained because some users created in the platform had incorrect assignments. There were around 5 cases in total, and my manager said those cases were linked to tickets handled by me.

I was honest with him. I said I wasn’t sure if it could have been my mistake or not, but that it was possible, and I was willing to review what happened. My manager said he would investigate it.

A few days later, he came back and told me that, based on what they had seen, it looked more like something automatic or system-related, because only that one country/entity had reported this issue. His conclusion was basically: “Please be careful and pay attention, but from our side we think it was probably not your mistake, but something automatic.”

The topic was discussed for a couple of days and then left there.

The important context is that the other coworker who works with me on this project has a reputation for always trying to look better than others. He often criticises colleagues, makes fun of people, and generally seems to enjoy making others look bad. I stopped talking to him much because I noticed the same attitude towards me. He is not exactly popular in the office.

Every month, we send a project summary to management. I prepared the April summary, and this issue had already been covered. This month, my coworker prepared the May summary.

At the end of the email, after the normal monthly data, he added something like:

“There was an issue with user assignments, which is still under investigation. It is highly likely that this was caused by human error during the user creation process.”

This annoyed me for several reasons.

First, the issue happened in April, not May. Second, it had already been discussed with my manager, and the provisional conclusion was that it could have been caused by an automatic/system assignment. Third, he did not write “possible human error”; he wrote “highly likely human error,” which sounds much more accusatory. And fourth, he knows perfectly well that those cases were linked to me.

He did not mention my name directly, but in such a small project where only two people handle this platform, it is quite easy to understand who the comment points to.

Now I am not sure if I am overreacting and he simply included it as part of the report, or if this was a calculated way to bring the topic back in front of management and leave the impression that I made the mistake, even though my manager had already said it was probably system-related.

How would you see this? Normal reporting, or a pretty dirty move?

Hi everyone,

Quick renting/payment question. I am a foreigner living in Poland (Italian).

I rent a small apartment in Kraków, around 40m². I currently pay around €700 rent + €300 monthly building/administration fees, so around €1,000 total, not including electricity and internet.

As far as I understand, in Poland it is common for the tenant to pay the monthly administration/building fees, unlike in some other countries.
Please correct me if that is not always the case.

Today my landlord sent me an additional bill from the building administration for around 1,700 PLN for “meter replacement” and told me to include it with this month’s rent payment.

My question is: is this normally something the tenant should pay, or should it be paid by the apartment owner?

I understand paying monthly usage-related fees, but paying for replacing meters feels more like a property/building maintenance cost. If I move out next month, I do not really benefit from that replacement long term.

I have been living in this apartment for 3 years, never had issues, and I have a good relationship with the landlord, so I do not want to create unnecessary conflict.
I just want to understand what is normal/legal in Poland before replying.

Thanks.