Can’t remember if i posted above or not.
Since I got it I use my Spark Neo as headphones for listening to music on the phone, They work for me.
For gaming or playing from my amp/Zoom (rare)I use wired JBL ones
Ok, some more infos:
- this is the first time that I think that “burn in” of headphones makes sense. In the beginning, everything sounded good to great … except my bass. I thought the battery for the active PUs is empty, as it sounded a litlle “metallic”, but that was not the case. After putting the headphones in a corner and playing music through it for several days, suddenly my bass sounds very good, in the sense of: revealing, but still “cozy” (I play dry). I’m 99% sure it’s neither voodoo nor “brain burn-in”. The tone changed, really. So, you need to take a few days to loosen up the diaphragm. A new insight for me.
- Because the instruments of a track are so very clearly separated, both in tone and also spatially, it’s possible to hear me playing … and the bass of the original track too. It does not overlap. That makes it easier to follow the original bass line and correct timing issues. Even my Focal Bathys cannot do that, so that’s a great compliment to headphones that cost 8x less.
- I can hear the (faults in my) dynamics very clearly, which is a bummer as it shows how badly I really play. And great cause I can correct my mistakes better.
- The tone is generally very neutral, compared to my other headphones. Even more neutral than the Austrian Audio HI-X60. And the HI-X60 are very well known for neutral tone, so that’s a compliment.
All in all I consider this the best monitoring headphones I have ever heard, by far!
Of course I can hear anything around me, and my girlfriend sings to the songs I’m playing as she can hear everything as well. So this might limit it to some use cases, but all in all this an unbelievable bang for the buck.
I would recommend it even more than I did before.
Thanks, @Al1885 - this was your best advise up to now! I forgive you for making me NOT buy the Avocado bass 
No doubt. Although I didn’t get to experience the “burned in” because I got mine straight from the booth with new pad. It wasn’t available to public for another month or so. Yeah I was special, 
I have the HD-650 and they replaced my equally expensive physical 7.1 premium headset almost emedietly but I will buy some IEM so I don’t look like a goof ball with my HD 650 on stage with the orchestra.
Which ones?
IDK, probably some top shelf non custom so I don’t feel the need to buy a second pair befor custom ones
1 Like
Burn in has been extensively tested and has been found to not exist. The positioning on your head and some compression of the ear pad can have an effect.
Oh look, there’s that word again
3 Likes
I agreed with you … until yesterday
1 Like
Yeah me too, not on all IEMs. But I know for the fact that the Moondrop Aria 2 and the FiiO FH5s get better as it “transitions I like it so much i bought 3 and one is still unopened. I confirmed the phenomena on my second set. In general I’m not big in this break in BS but I guess there are some exceptions to that
1 Like
Same here! For me it was like many voodoo cable discussions in audiophile forums (gold plated TOSLINK, anyone? :-))
I haven’t thought about the science of break in and as an ex-psychologist I do understand the reasoning behind @sshoihet’s “brain burn-in”, though I draw different conclusions.
Fact is that there are moving parts in headphones, and where parts are moving, there is a chance that characteristics can change by usage.
I would compare this to new leather shoes that adapt to your feet after a few days of wearing. I know, bad comparison, but you get the drift!
I found two articles of someone that measured two different head phones (incidentally Fiio) - it’s German, but I expect that everybody here speaks at least 4 languages?
Now, one guy doing some measurements is not sufficient for me to make this a scientific fact. But it’s an indication that there might be more to it….
Anyway: the Fiio JT7 are great!
Then if you like the “high end” bang for the bucks is the FT7 as it competes with cans over $3000-$5000. I got mine for $400 special thanks to FiiO. I’m just not as big of headphones fan as I am IEMs.
Nooooooooooo … I’m all set for headphones now. I sold most of my headphones and now have only three over ears, one bluetooth in ears and several throw-away cheap IEMs for park playing.
That’ll do, no discussion about it
Very interesting for Beyerdynamic users:
I geeked out a bit on headphones and IEMs last year before starting bass. Right now I’m practicing on the Ampeg 3 Headphone amp. So far I’ve used with my bass:
- Sennheiser HD 280 Pro: Flat response with a bit of a bass boost - if I make a mistake these don’t cover it up. They also have really good sound reduction, so I don’t hear much outside noise. They clamp the head hard though.
- Sony MDR-7506 with Yaxi ST2 Pads: Treble focused, but ok. Not my favorite for bass practice, but super comfortable and can wear them for hours.
- Audiotechnica M50x: I used these to listen to everything for about ten years until last year. I’m liking the HD280 better.
- Shure SE215 Pro IEMs, foam tips: These have been my favorite so far for bass practice. They just sound good to me and reduce outside noise well. Also pretty comfortable.
- AKG K361: Just kind of meh for me for bass practice.
Other closed backs and IEMs I have on the to try list for bass: Sennheiser HDB630, HarmonicDyne Eris (ridiculous bass, so they’ll be fun, but sound like nothing else on the market), Hexa, Pure, Defiant, and Zero Blue 2.
Not really interested in trying open backs yet, but I have the Drop 6XX, Hifiman Edition XS, and Senn HD599. I think the Ampeg would really only be able to push the HD599 of those, though. I have a Rumble 100 on order, so might eventually try that with the 6xx, which is what I use for day to day music listening through a Gremlin tube amp.
2 Likes
I was NEVER interested in open back, maybe cause of the myth that they cannot reproduce bass as well … but I was mistaken about that one.
The advantages of open back are greater than it’s disadvantages, at least with the JT7…
Which foam tips are you using?
1 Like
I’m using the medium stock ones that came with the set. I have some Comply tips around, but haven’t felt a need to tip roll with those yet. For most of my IEMs I like the Dunu S&S tips.
I believe you on the open back, but with an 8 year old noisemaker in the house, I enjoy being able to tune out and focus when I can.
1 Like
Ah, didn’t know that the Shure SE215 Pro have foam tips as well.
I’m dancing around the Shure SE215 Pro for months now, but some reviews say they’r great, others say they’re outdated. And many people say that some Chinese IEMs are better and cheaper.
I have read many reviews about Chinese IEMS and tested one or two that were reviewed well.
They s#cked totally!!!
I have the feeling that most Chinese IEM reviews are paid and done by influencer that don’t understand technology and sound…
My experience with chi-fi has been they are heavy treble focused and super focused on clarity. There are some exceptions like the Salnotes Zero 2, which really, most people can almost start and stop there for $20 and be done unless you want to dig into it. I kind of wish I had lol. For many of them cymbals become really sibilant and fatiguing - I end up cutting treble. Usually they don’t have a lot of bass by American consumer standards.
I had read the same thing about the SE 215, but what I’ve seen in headphones applies - classics are classics for a reason - the M50x, 7506, and HD280 are still around and reliable. One I’ve resisted is the BeyerDynamic 770, but I’ll probably pick up a pair later this year.
Edit: My SE215 came with the foam tips already on them. I think that’s what they use for the claim of up to 30db sound reduction. It works well enough.
1 Like
Greatly prefer open backs myself.
2 Likes