r/headphones

I have been hunting for headphones to add to my collection. And I came across Sonos Ace, plenty on reviewers saying they don’t sound as good as they look.

Whats up with the audio quality? How do they sound? Do they actually sound bad? Or is it just a reviewer pov(If someone owns them)

A week passed since I've gotten my pair of Edition XVs, and, to be honest, I'm clearly not getting the hype about these. They're just good, but not exceptional all around, like some of the reviewers claim.

First thing that stands out is the bright-ish tint that these headphones have. A good chunk of my library sounds straight up sharp and sibilant, while being overall warm in terms of timbre on Edition XV, and this just throws me off. And don't get me wrong, they sound sublime on certain recordings, but, out of nowhere, you hit that 'screechy' one, and you just want to take the headphones off. I don't know, whether it was a strategical decision or not, but this is definitely a downside to the headphone.

Second thing is they're usually inoffensive and chill, but they're also inoffensive and chill, and this shows whenever you wear a brighter headphone (like ATH-R50x). I always found myself comparing between the two, wearing my R50x, and forgetting about XV completely. It basically feels like a breath of fresh air after the sound that XV presents. Some would even call the XV dull, but I'd rather say inoffensive - in a good and a bad way.

The only thing that makes me think about keeping these headphones is its' bass to lower mids response, which is like perfect. The bass on this headphone is extremely good and refined, though I miss the midbass punch the dynamic drivers usually make an emphasis on. With a bass shelf XV is basically the best open-back I've heard in terms of bass - period, which makes you wonder - maybe keep it and EQ the treble to something like raw diffuse field (which I usually prefer)...

Anyway, what is your experience with Edition XV if you have/had/heard one? Do you also find it having a dark-bright identity crisis, or is it just warm all across the range on your head? And what headphone would you potentially take over the Edition XV in the same or lower price range?

Hi guys. I'm for the first time going to a b two hps seriously and would like to hear from you if you had done it yourselves. I have the 2 hps permanently. I also have 2 exact dac amps to plug each hp. Such dac amp is a solid option for both hps maybe not the best but surely up there. So far I have been quickly changing hp for 30 seconds or 1 minute track snippets. But I'm not sure that is the best way? I'm mainly into orchestral so tracks can last anywhere from 3 to 30 minutes. Do you think I should take it whole track vs whole track inverting the order of the hps? Thanks

I saw that he has EQ only for dt770pro X limited edition. Can I use it for regular pro X??

Hi everyone, can severe vertigo be caused by headphones or earplugs?

I very often sleep with soft earplugs at night because of noise – and sometimes I even double up by wearing earplugs underneath my B*se-QC-SE over-ear-headphones.

Since the night before last, I've been experiencing severe vertigo when getting out of bed; absolutely everything spins. The rest of the day was fine, but this morning I collapsed just seconds after getting up because the spinning was so intense. For 20 minutes afterward, I couldn't stand or even sit up without immediately getting very dizzy again.

It was so bad that an ambulance had to come. They ran all the tests at the hospital (CT scans of my head, neck, and lumbar spine, EKG, etc.) – thankfully everything came back clear and I was discharged.

So my question is:

Has anyone here ever experienced this? Could it be caused by the pressure from the earplugs or the active noise cancelling of the headphones? I’d be grateful for any input or similar experiences!

https://preview.redd.it/q7635yt1h8bh1.jpg?width=2016&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0c9f4e9847317418301466a1bae4746908657391

My first pair of open backed headphones. Always have been listening on ATM50X and Sennheiser HD280. Listened to some FLACs. I was blown away at the amount of detail and clairity you can pick up with them.

The first song I listened to was a supercharged massive sounding 1980's upbeat ballad called Middletown Dreams off the progressive rock band Rush's 1985 release Power Windows. Heard things I don't remember hearing before with them. It felt like the reverbs were wrapping around my head? Ok, this is getting freaky now, the sound stage and imaging is huge.

The sound isn't shrill at all compared to my ATM50x. And much more enjoyable to listen to and less fatiguing. The Sennheiser HD280s sound almost dead and lifeless in comparison (though these are more of a tracking headphone).

Next up, we go modern EDM. Krewella Live For the Night FLAC. They do their best to pick out all the detail out of the compressed brickwalled mess of sound. I can see why these are used in the music industry. Everything is easily picked out of even a mix like this.

I won't bore you any further so last I put on the MFSL of Nirvana's Nevermind Come As You Are FLAC. Again, with the sound wrapping and stage. It's huge. I don't want to take these off my head. There's this weird little distortion under the guitar refrain right before the solo I never really noticed before. Kurt's "memoria" after the solo coming in freaks me out it is so well placed in the mix up front, like he is speaking right in front of me.

(These were all songs I know pretty well) I bought these to master and mix my music.

Thanks for reading!

Hi. I got a Astell & Kern SP2000 DAP in storage, and finally got time to enjoy music again.

Considering upgrading my headphone stack with Meze Elite.

On paper, the SP2000 should have enough juice to drive these headphones Elite. But also read that elite scale well with quality power.

Anyone tried the combo yet?
Or should I also invest in an amp like Enleum HPA-23RM to really squeeze all the potential out of the Elite?

Today was a busy day at the local store!

The saga follows on from Part 1. You’ll get some more context there. TLDR: my old Grado 325e’s are on their way out and I’m looking for an upgrade. Meze were not the right pick.

HE600 - Not a happy clamper

On my first audition using a Bryston DAC, I really enjoyed these headphones. They were, what I thought at the time, I was looking for. A balanced presentation, not too warm and not too bright: just right. The only thing concerning me at that initial audition was the comfort, both in terms of clamping force and the rounded ear cups. 

Fast forward to today and 45 minutes or so on the head with no break, I decided they were not going to pass the comfort test. My ear heights are slightly asymmetric it turns out, so the right ear cup needs to be down a bit lower. This happened with the Meze too. As a result, I get some discomfort on my lower jaw because the cup rides too low. I experienced the same thing with the other round cups I tried from Dunu. More on that below.

Putting comfort aside for a minute, did I like the sound? The answer for me, after an hour with my tube amp and some of my favourite vinyl is: sadly not.

It turns out the HE600 can be quite warm in places. Definitely not as warm as the Meze 109 Pro. 

The soundstage is also wider than the 109. They are about even on imaging and separation.

Surface noise and crackles and pops were noticeably less as a result of this perceived “warmth” and guitars (like Kenny Burrell and Luiz Bonfa) sounded good, but slightly rolled off. This meant that you don’t quite get the plucks and resonance that you get from more resolving headphones.

Vocals were great and sax’s, trumpets and other brass instruments had no harshness or squawk. I thought I may be on a winner, albeit with some compromises.

Then I read my listening notes after the end of the session: warm, warm, warm. Cymbals were rolled off, lacked sparkle and the soundstage wasn’t as fun as the Grados. 

So, I tried my old Grado 325e (I had them with me at the shop) and the detail and texture was back. Sure, it had much less bass, but the music was more enjoyable.

Interestingly, it wasn’t the kind of warmth that created a veiled feeling (like the Meze 109s), but the best way I can describe it is that I felt like I was missing out on some of the music. 

Arya with me?

I thought the Arya Organic might be where I needed to go and immediately the guitars came alive, female vocals became more interesting and multi-faceted, and the comfort was out of this world.

After 30 minutes, I decided rounded cups were not for me, and the HifiMan egg-shaped cups are where it’s at. These things disappeared on my head. The sensation was excellent.

I played the same songs on vinyl in the same order as the HE600 and enjoyed myself with the Arya Organics much more. 

Sax’s sounded more natural, more detailed, guitars more natural (including the sound of the pluck), and strings were smooth and uplifting. It felt like I was listening to speakers in my room on some records, and I think one reason is that the Arya Organic has a tall soundstage - something I kept getting drawn back to because it was unique.

But the fun stopped when I put on a recording that is relatively brassy. A nice Pablo recording from the 70s which sounds amazing on my speakers. They are known for being well recorded/engineered. On the Arya’s, I felt them tipping over into harsh and fatiguing territory. It was no longer fun. Not every song on the album was harsh, but it was still there.

In the end, after listening to all the various albums I brought with me, I decided they were fine probably 70-80% of the time. I wasn’t 100% sold however.

Grado or Gradon’t?

ChatGPT recommended the RS1x based on the copious listening notes I’d been feeding it these last few weeks from all my auditions.

I tried them with the larger G Cush pads as the smaller, stock on-ear pads just killed the sound stage. 

It was a good pick. It sounded familiar - similar to my old Grados. But, it also lacked something. Maybe I’d become used to the planar sound at this point. I felt I was getting a wall of sound, rather than all the contours and details like I was getting with the Aryas.

Don’t get me wrong - these sounded great with jazz, folk, pop and all the records I had, but they weren’t as engaging as the Aryas. And they definitely lacked bass as they are known to do.

Dunu Arashi?

My dealer has recommended these twice now. They were out of my budget but he told me everyone that tries them walks out with them. And I can see why.

They sound very different to anything I tried. It was rich without being warm, resolving without being bright, and the sound stage just sounded so unique in a good way. 

They worked with all kinds of music and they did it well, which is one of the reasons they were recommended to me. 

In the end, the rounded cups of doom came for my right jaw and (perhaps fortuitously) didn’t come for my budget. My wallet was safe (this time …)

I would highly recommend auditioning these for anyone seeking a well-balanced sound and who don’t have ears like mine. 

What next?

While I love the Arya Organics for a lot of my music, I’m still tortured by the "what if” of the HE1000 Stealth - could they be “the one"? Others commenting on Part 1 have said they might be the right fit. Some professional reviews say they are warmer than the Arya Organic, others go the other way. The only way to know for sure is to test, but my no store in my area has them available for demo. 

AliExpress have a great deal on at the moment, so I might take a leap of faith with their 90-day free returns policy. If they work, then happy days. If not, I’ll return and pick up the Arya (with the option of EQ’ing them in the future when I have the extra budget). 

Does anyone have any experience with headphone returns from AliExpress, good or bad? I’m a bit nervous my return will get rejected.

Thoughts and comments welcome!

Are Bose QuietComfort headphones still the king of comfort and ANC?

I’ve been out of the headphone game for a few years, so I’m curious where things stand today.

I recently bought the latest Bose QuietComfort (standard version) because I remembered how insanely comfortable the QC line was. I used an older QC model before, and the new ones are pretty much the same in terms of comfort. Every time I put them on, I’m reminded why I loved them, they’re just so easy to wear for hours.

Now I’m thinking about getting a pair of AirPods Pro and I’m wondering how their ANC compares to the Bose QC headphones. Is it close, or is Bose still noticeably better? Also, how comfortable are the AirPods Pro for longer listening sessions?

And more generally, are the Bose QuietComfort headphones still among the best for noise cancellation, or have other brands overtaken them?

I love this hobby, but I live in a rural area where I can't audition locally so I and have to rely on headphone reviews which many times don't align with my personal tastes. So I've been hit with heavy restocking fees and shipping costs when I make a return.

I've had a few companies kind enough to send me a demo unit, but I still had to pay the cc transaction fees and shipping.

Can anyone else relate? Thoughts, suggestions???