r/HeadphoneAdvice

I have a question about if AMP/DACs are worth spending extra money on. I am currently rocking the Monolith by Monoprice THX Dirac desktop DAC/amp. The two headphones I have are the Heddphone D1 and the Sennheiser HD 800 S. My question is, is it worth upgrading my AMP/DAC if it can already sufficiently power both of my headphones? Is there going to be a big difference in sound if I upgrade to something else? I have been looking into the TOPPING DX5 II and wondering if it would be worth upgrading to this or if I should just stick to my Monolith that I've been rocking with for about 5 or so years. I would be using this for daily use IE Gaming/movies videos/ music. Budget for one would be around $1500 if any recommendations.

Okay, so I am a senior in High School and looking for a new gaming headset that will last me through college. I currently have a Razor that my dad gave me YEARS ago and it has served me well. Unfortunately, the ear covers are beginning to tear and the cord is damaged from snagging in my desk and from animals. I've also been experiencing some issues with it cutting out lately. As well as the headphones have served me, I really don't want to purchase the same ones as a replacement for a few reasons:

1. The headset is HEAVY and causes my neck to hurt. I already have neck and back pain from being a rough sleeper and from carrying kids around (I babysit). Something light would be AMAZING.

2. It's kind of... plain. I don't mind having black headphones, but I also really like white headphones and/or pretty colors and/or designs. Aesthetics are half of why I buy stuff.

3. It's wired. Not necessarily a deal breaker for me because I do like wired headphones, but I find that the cord is constantly getting snagged on my chair, getting rolled over by my wheels, or being violently attacked by my kitten. Wireless is preferable.

Of these 3 headphones, what ones would be the best blend of comfort, sound accuracy, and intimacy (wow factor). This isn't about sheer studio grade quality as that doesn't always relate to in game immersion and overall sound enjoyment/excitement. For example HD490 is fantastic but is very clinical which comes off as stale. I am shooting for something that will draw you into an environment where you can hear all the sounds separately but also in a rich colorful way.

Meze AER 105 - Comfy and good audio for price?

Hifiman Edition XV - Seems like the best audio characteristics but least comfortable?

Focal Hadenys - Balance between comfort and audio? (lacks dual 3.5mm for easy modmic plugin)

Hello. I’m still undecided between these two and since the Aliexpress sales started i saw the ananda nanao going for 240$ with discounts including taxes.

Which would be the more attractive option in the respective price points for my use case which is rock, indie, and electronic music

And mostly for story/open world games so I’m looking for something with good bass and decent soundstage

Which of them would be better?

Hi, I am looking for a amp/dac combo that is enough to drive a Edition XS. there is alot of theory around planar headphones and how they need more current, but I am not sure how true it is. I really like the form factor and the price from the DX1 II, but since is it enough power wise to bring out everything from the Edition XS?

Hi

I live in a loud household. I’m going to uni next year and will need to study a lot more so if I don’t get noise cancelling headphones, I think I will explode.
I’m looking for some quality headphones that are ACTUALLY noise cancelling (so I can’t hear my mom being loud on the phone or my parents’ videos that play on the maximum sound level or my brother who screams when he games) and aren’t too expensive. Still a student so the absolute maximum would be around €150 (≈$175). Anyone have any recommendations?

Location: Belgium

Could anyone please recommend some great comfortable headphones with top tier noise cancelling? If possible something that my wife can listen to audiobooks in the car without being able to hear the music that me and the kids are listening to. She’s not at all worried about audio quality but I guess in general good noise cancelling comes with good audio quality anyway

Thanks :)

Howdy I'm after Another Gaming Headset. This time going back to a Built in Ear Mount Microphone attached to the headset. I'm after 10/10 Directional Audio for shooters to hear footsteps gunshot distances etc.

MIC Must headset combo all in one ear attached as I utterly despise and cannot stand External MIC setups. I'm not exactly doing podcasts and youtube to need 10/10 Mic quality here but will lead squads of dudes around in a videogame if the mic quality can be half decent.

Previously Used: Astro TR40. I liked them Multi platform they just worked but terrible MIC and very ''gamer'' quality.

Currently Using: Beyerdynamic DT 900 Pro X Biggest Issue is its also with an External Tripod/Boom MIC and I UTTERLY DESPISE IT CHRIST. I just want a classic built in Ear Mic that's always in the correct position 24/7 and not deal with tripod boom cranes and bullshit. If I can get similar/better Directional Audio Quality but with a Mic attached. (beyers also bit whack few things I dislike such as Ear bleed treble)

Tonal Balance: don't care but DT 900 pro X are very balanced and Boring sound for music. Directional audio is priority #1

Plugging into DAC Dongle if its doing anything and then into my PC

Open Back???

Budget: Under $1000 / $500 [AUD] Australia

No External Mic setups

I currently have Naim Audio Uniti Headphone Edition that I bought 2nd hand for a good price. I have no complaints about it, but I started wondering maybe I could give EQ a shot, mainly because I use it for headphones and active monitors, and the monitors are not ideally placed and could benefit from EQ.

So what dac+amp+EQ combo to get? Source will be WiiM or similar.

Easy choice is Topping DX 5 II, as it allows have separate EQs for headphone out and line out.

But I have bad experiences with Topping - you get what you pay for, and My DX 3 Pro+ only gives half the power promised and it's audible worse than Uniti HE.

Second more expensive option is RME ADI-2-DAC FS which AFAIK is solid quality. I have no idea how well it supports multiple EQs for different outputs though. Need to Google about it.

Any ideas? Other options?

I'd rather pay Topping level money and keep Uniti HE for now and see if I like the EQing or not. But if it's QA issue infested, I rather sell Uniti HE and get something proper.

Hey guys, I’m looking for a decent pair of headphones under $100 and wanted to see what you’d recommend.

I’m looking for something with a neutral-ish, airy sound rather than anything super bassy or warm.

Comfort is also a big deal since I’ll probably be wearing them for hours at a time.

I already have the AKG K361, so that’s basically my reference point right now. I’d like to try something different this time, preferably an open-back, rather than just getting another closed-back with a similar sound.

One other thing I care about is being able to actually maintain them long-term, so I’d prefer headphones with readily available replacement pads and a standard/non-proprietary cable.

Single-sided cable on the left would be a nice bonus, but I’m not too bothered if it’s not.

What are some good options I should look into?

P.S i would love to buy Hifiman HE400se
But it costs 126 USD here
so that’s out of my budget

I'm not a genius when it comes to headphones though, I'll be using them at home. My budget is 120 dollars and I live in Mississippi

Maybe headphones with spatial audio? I don't need a microphone since I already have one.

If you know any good headphones please let me know!!

Hey everyone, looking for some purchase advice to replace a headset that isn't working out for me.

I recently picked up the Beyerdynamic MMX 300 Pro, but I've realized I absolutely hate having a built-in boom microphone sitting in my peripheral vision all the time. I want to swap to a dedicated pair of closed-back headphones instead (I’ll figure out a standalone mic later).

(and yes i know i could rotate the microphone upward, but overall i just dont really wanna deal with having it and id rather get a standalone mic)

Budget & Location: I'm in Denmark. My budget is around 1800 DKK, but I'm willing to stretch it to 2000 DKK (roughly $280 - $312 USD / €240 - €270).

Source/Gear: They will be plugged directly into my PC (ASUS TUF X870 motherboard) and occasionally a PS5 Pro controller. I also run Dolby Atmos for virtual surround, so they need to take well to spatial audio processing.

What I use them for:

• Cinematic / Story Games (Main Focus): Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, The Witcher, Resident Evil, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. I really want great immersion, punchy bass, and a wide soundstage for that "surround sound" theater feel.
• Competitive FPS (Secondary): Fortnite, Battlefield, Marvel Rivals. I still need decent directional imaging to track footsteps when I play multiplayer.
• Media: Lots of YouTube and movies. I listen to music occasionally, but it's not my primary focus at all.

Preferences:

• Needs to be Closed-Back.
• Needs to have a decent cable situation out of the box. I don't want to deal with extremely stiff connectors poking my collarbone or massive microphonics rubbing against my shirt (which is why I'm hesitant to just buy the DT 770 PRO X).

What's the best option in this price range for someone who prioritizes deep gaming immersion (and pretty decent diractional imaging for competitive games) over pure, clinical music mixing? Thanks!

Hello!

Recently my XM4s were forced into retirement (I've had them since release and the hinges broke in an unfixable spot). I'm located in the US, I was looking at the 1000x Collexion but have heard that theyre overpriced and mid (they look sick tho).

I want these headphones fro travel, doing chores around the house, or just plain to not be bothered. I'm gonna get some cheaper earbuds for the gym and work and I already have some DT990 Pros for my desktop.

Budget is hard capped at 650USD, but I would love to pay less for more

I loved my XM4s, so im leaning towards the 1000x or the XM6s, but I've heard the B&W PX7/8s are great as well as the Momentum 5s and the QuietComfort

Any input is appreciated

I’m deciding between the wired HIFIMAN Svanar and Thieaudio Monarch MKII.

I listen to a pretty wide variety of music: Rod Wave, Drake, Frank Sinatra, Jon Pardi, The Cure, Coldplay, etc.

My biggest priorities are:

• Emotional, realistic vocals
• Being able to hear small details like breaths, rasp, cracks/strain in a singer’s voice
• Good instrument and vocal separation
• Good bass without overpowering the vocals
• Good all-around performance across different genres

I’ll also use them for gaming occasionally, but music is much more important.

Which would you choose and why?

Question is, do they exist? Basically I'm looking for headphones that have Bluetooth connection for when I'm listening on my phone, but also have the option to connect via a wire when I'm using my iPod.

Sorry if this is a potentially daft question, googling doesn't seem to be massively helpful. Is there a specific name for them which is why I'm struggling to search myself?

I'm UK Based if that helps, and I don't use Amazon. Budget wise, sub £100 but can be flexible if the only ones that exist are more than that (to an extent).

For reference, my specific use case is almost exclusively competitive FPS gaming where I need the most accurate, pinpoint precision possible at all times. Sorry if that’s not the best way to describe it but I’m still new to this world so I’m not sure what terms to use and I don’t want to say the wrong thing and confuse people on what I’m prioritizing here.

My budget is roughly around the $300-400 range with some flexibility to go slightly higher if the benefits are worth it.

my main goal for the iem is fps since i already have headphone for other purposes,

could add 10$ if needed if there an iem you recommend worth the difference but other than that 50$ is my main budget.

Location: Italy (europe)

Budget: 100 Euros

Hi. I've been looking for a durable pair of wired over ear headphones for gaming and general purpose. Both open back and closed back are an option.

The lack of a microphone on them is not a deal breaker, but they must have a removable wire (and removable microphone if they have one, so if it breaks it can be replaced) and be durable, do i don't have to worry about them breaking if they fall or if someone hits my bag while traveling (will probably still get a hard case).
Don't really care if the headphones are "designed" for gaming or music, as long as there is any hope that they will last me like 6+ years without needing perfect conditions and impeccable care.

Worth noting that i live on an island, so humidity is not kind.

I've already looked around a bit myself and 2 of the most promising options ive found are a pair of akg k240 (not sure what's the difference between the mk1 and mk2), as well as Hyperx cloud alpha wired, which i've noticed often discounted to just 50 euros and have read some praises about their aluminum body, but i'm not sure if there are better options in my price range.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion. Have a nice day everyone :D

hiii guys. i’ve been playing a lot of siege recently and my mic and audio quality isn’t as good as it should be. i use astro a10s on xbox and they do the job but the mics been having issues. im looking for something around or below $100 bc its probably not something ill use a ton long term. i dont mind wired or wireless. i dont know much about audio but footsteps are important and i play other games that need good hearing. they may need to be on the larger side bc i kinda have a big head and the astro a40s i bought were too small😭. i’d really appreciate any help <3