I started googling for it wildly and then I thought: “Wait, am I happy with my reasonably expensive Austrian Audio Hi-X60?”
Apparently, I’m not. I did not want to admit it to myself for a long time, the headphones having raving reviews and me having paid quite some money for it.
They are OK, but they are not absolutely great.
And now I can’t unsee other headphones. I want them!
To see where this quest is going, I’ll show you mine. Please show me yours
For gaming, I been using some 2.4 ghz true wireless Turtle Beach ones that I got for Christmas a couple years ago but I been real rough with them, And actually I’m replacing them today with some cheap One Odios.
For conference calls about 3 days a week with my friends I use a Plantronix headset that a friend of mine gave me. Although, to be honest with you I have replaced every single part on this headset at some point, so is it now Theseus’ headset? I don’t know.
I’ve been thinking about getting some nicer headphones. I was thinking about getting those exact Austrian Audio ones, but now you’ve made me think I should go a little higher.
I’d love some open back ones like those hd650s.
Living in Brazil, technology is prohibitively expensive, like double the price of the USA. So right now I’m rocking a set of KZ in ear phones. They’re a Chinese brand that are super cheap but offer decent quality for the price.
The problem with those headphones is that they do sound very good (= neutral) in the beginning. No detail is missed, not even the finest. It can represent very low to very high, without sounding boomy or harsh. Perfect!
But they wear fast. I needed to replace the cushions after a year, for example. And they did sound differently after - so I do not trust them anymore.
Also, the black paint is not very resistant to wear, so I can see the metal here and there. It started after several months of use. And I was very careful with them (not anymore).
I expected more from a company that is known for very high quality stuff. The company was created by the best ex-AKG people, after all.
But they disappoint
I do prefer closed back to open back, cause less impact of external noise (I live near a busy street).
But since I saw those Sennheisers (which also seem to be very good), I am open to open….
I’ve got about 8 pairs of headphones for different purposes. For playing bass, i’ve been using One Odio A71 for about 4 years, they were cheap and they’re very practical and they have some handy features that other headphones don’t. I care more about comfort over accuracy.
If i was buying some now i’d probably get Fiio FT1 or Bayerdynamic DT270, I don’t like open backs for playing.
For mixing/mastering i’d probably use one of my neutral IEMs and then check how that sounds on some BT earbuds and headphones. For a final mix, you really want it to sound good to the majority of people who are not using open back “studio” headphones. It’s like processing your photos on a wide gamut monitor and then finding the blacks are crushed and the highlights are blown out when people look at them on regular monitors or phones.
The new best bang for the bucks is coming from FiiO, it’s the JT7. Planar mag, headphones. I went to SoCal CanJam last month this is one of the best Can I heard and I listened to about half a dozen Cans over $3000.
Even compared to FiiO’s own super awesome FT7 it comes very close. The best thing is the JT7 will be around $100. That’s remarkable.
My go to headphones for playing music are the AKG K-240 MKII that I have been using for more than 5 years.
I also have the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X. I got them for quiet practice with some friends. They are closed back and foldable.
My everyday headphones for listening to music are the Sony WH-1000XM5 and Sony WH-1000XM3. The XM3 are my fall-back solution for when I forget to charge the newer ones. They have already been fully drenched and even been glued back together
Duuuudeee! You just saved me money (I don’t have anyway).
My Quantum ES4 has Headphone Outputs Maximum Output 7.5 dBu (50 Ohms) and my Zoom AMS-24 has Type 3.5mm stereo mini jacks 30 mW + 30 mW (32 Ω load), Output impedance 10 Ω
That’s not enough and I’m NOT planning to get yet another device to make a 300Ω headphone work…
What about the Zoom? I read in some review that it also can drive high Ohm head phones, but the values say differently right? Or not? What does that even mean?
Generally: you want the headphone output impedance at the output jack to be about 1/8 or so of the headphone impedance. So something like 50 ohms is fine, even if not ideal, for 250+ ohm phones. The Zoom should be okay too.
