Schiit IQ Chart editionHow to request advice:>Location (since pricing and availability may vary)>Budget>What exactly you're looking for (be as detailed as possible)>Previous gear and your thoughts on it>Open back wired headphones• Hifiman HE400se• Sennheiser HD 560S• Sennheiser HD 6XX (US)• FiiO FT1 Pro>Closed back wired headphones• Shure SRH440A/SRH840A• AKG K361/K371• FiiO FT1>Wireless Bluetooth headphoneshttps://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/best/by-feature/wireless-bluetooth>Wireless Gaming headphoneshttps://www.rtings.com/headphones/reviews/best/wireless-gaming-headsets>Cheap Headphone amp/DAC combos• JDS Atom2 Stack• Schiit Magni Unity + Mesh• Apos Gremlin/Merlin• Dongles (Apple, Fiio, Crinacle)• Took out the DX5II in the wake of it now blowing up headphones L30 style: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/topping-dx5-ii.60996/page-127#post-2492199>Active desktop/bookshelf speakers• Edifier R1280/MR3/MR4• iLoud Micro• Kali LP-6 v2• Neumann KH 80• KEF Coda W>Passive desktop/bookshelf speakers• KEF Q1/Q3 Meta• Ascilab F6B>Interfaces• Steinberg IXO22• Topping E1x2• Motu M2>Speaker amps• Loxjie A30• Yamaha R-S202• WiiM Amp>EQ/DSP software• Equalizer APO (Windows)• EasyEffects (Linux)• SoundSource (Mac)• Wavelet / RootlessJamesDSP (Android)• PEQdb (browser)>EQ/DSP hardware• Qudelix 5K• Neutron DAC V1• miniDSP>Useful resourceshttps://xiph.org/video/https://harmanhowtolisten.blogspot.com/https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.phphttps://superbestaudiofriends.org/index.phphttps://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/https://peqdb.com/
>>107926615Tim Apple solved audio
>>107926582Ah, I see you too now have the same problem, HD800 anon. Pleather is truly the shittiest material. It's fucking ridiculous how expensive DCA's pads are for pleather. Audeze's sheepskin pads are like 30% cheaper than these where I live kek. You can try Dekoni's sheepskin Aeon pads but for me they completely fucked the frequency response so I couldn't use them.
all my audio shopping just to end up with hd 800 and my valhalla 2, I'm happy. Almost bought a lot of stuff almost didn't buy any of what i ownselling a bunch of stuff is going to be a headache though >>107926643it is unbelievable how dog shit the aeon pads are, i think even when i got them they had parts folded in them already, and they tell you to just try and fix it with ur hands, which works for like a day then it goes back. This time just trying to move anything was tearing pleather, it's over. >Audeze's sheepskin pads are like 30% cheaper than these where I live kek. audeze chads keep winning and yet i keep losing
>>107926643You would think DCA wouldn't skimp on it, but alas. Has to be a FR thing for them, considering aftermarket pads fuck it hard like you mentioned.
Post the real one.
>>107926725excited for the 1-2 to become a staple of threads to come
ASR users might be the most raped individuals on the planet>Topping shit keeps breaking>keeps buying Topping shithow do they do it?
>>107926675At least you didn't spend money on pads only to realize they are fucking useless since they ruin the sound. Now I got these fuckers and I can't even sell them since they're glued on and the tape was already used. Owari da. I ended up just buying the original pads from DCA but got fucked over by import taxes and shipping costs.>>107926679Most likely a FR thing. I remember Dan saying it's done for tuning and he uses the highest quality pleather that's almost as expensive as genuine leather(it's still dogshit). The LCD-X I bought off of some guy were used for five years and those five year old pads on them look better than my 2 year old Aeon pads. Ridiculous.
ESP-950HE-R9T50RPSR-Lambda NBSR-Lambda SignatureSR-007Mk1HD 280 ProHE6HD 700
>>107926747>TA-66 in the backIEM stack bro detected, good lineup (other than the HE-R9 fuck that thing).>>107926746DCA pricing is just all over the place honestly, it's the one thing he needs to get his shit together on.
>>107926746>At least you didn't spend money on pads only to realize they are fucking useless since they ruin the sound. Now I got these fuckers and I can't even sell them since they're glued on and the tape was already used. Owari da. I ended up just buying the original pads from DCA but got fucked over by import taxes and shipping costs.that would of sucked, thankfully i got warned here before with aftermarket shitalso, he increased aeon 2 pads from 75>89 so they cost as much as ether pads, which are also pleather slop. I think last i checked shipping alone was like $25-30 usd, which is why i don't even use services like ebay anymore. My schiit brick was $12 and $38 in shipping, not sure what happened to USA>canada shipping
>>107926747does the tape improve techs
>>107926761>>107926783One day I'll order new pads for it.
>>107926774What fucking kills me is the noire x pads are $110. Over a hundred dollars for pleather. What the fuck.>not sure what happened to USA>canada shipping$40 for shipping is fucked. USA>europe is usually $30 or less except for Hart which are niggers. They offer a decently priced shipping option to Europe that's like twenty something bucks but say if you use that one then they're not responsible if the package goes missing. How is that even legal? And then the next "normal" shipping option is about fifty bucks which is already about half of what the cable costs. Completely kills my desire to buy one of their cables.
>>107926839>its real$120 for pleather is actually past humiliation ritual levels. We use to make fun of focals pads here because they were $150 and would go on sale for $115, now you must pay $120+shipping+tip for these, in what world?>we here use top quality materials>pleather>folds>peels in 1.5 years with minimal wear and never being exposed to moisture and never stored improperly
>>107926883I wonder if it's like the thing with printer ink being extremely overpriced. DCA makes pads out of pleather > pleather starts to flake > you have to buy new pads in a year and a half > They're 25% of the cost of a new headphone > rinse and repeat. No matter how small of a company they are, there's no way pleather+foam are that expensive.
>>107926839Turned me off Z1Rs too. Pads were crazy expensive, and are only gonna keep going up as it enters deadstock status
>>107926793Never heard of these before, how are they so cheap if they are that good?
>>107926950They've had their price knocked down several times, last ali sale had them really low after coins, coupons, etc. It's a straightforward design. Hifiman isn't the only one cloning MDR-R10s either
>>107927099they sound nothing like real R10s, the only one close was the ES-R10 and that's because Benson repairs the real R10s and reverse engineered a lot of it along with the expired patent.The Hifiman ones are just Chinkfi fashion pieces. You see it on Chinese audio forums, these people will get their earcups replaced with fake R10 ones just for the aesthetics, it's a craze there.
>>107926745By not being so insanely poor that losing $500 on a luxury purchase is that big a deal. Not even defending chifi, but headphone stuff is pretty cheap even at the top end.
>>107927164Is this the same thing or something different.
>>107926930thats definitely the case here from my observations.It's no surprise most DCA shit hits the resale market with worn, flaking pads. They see the cost of replacement and already were considering other products, seen it many many times with ethers, cx,and aeons.side note but most audeze's i see are pretty much mint, which is probably because they got neck filtered
>>107927210>They see the cost of replacement and already were considering other productsYeah, replacing pads every ~2ish years adds up if they're a 100 bucks. And there's no worse feeling than pleather flaking and those black little pieces being everywhere. Meanwhile leather pads usually last for many years. DCA should start trying to use leather in the pads instead or at least some cloth, pleather is simply a poor material for pretty much everything that's supposed to be "premium".>side note but most audeze's i see are pretty much mint, which is probably because they got neck filteredYeah, that's usually the case. If someone tries them at a store for an hour they won't notice the weight. It's only after you wear them for a few hours when it starts to be annoying. I've also seen quite a few used pre 2021 LCD-X around, probably because Audeze wants $600 bucks for replacing the drivers with the new ones. So it's more cost efficient to just sell the old LCD-X and spend the same total amount on a brand new LCD-X with the better drivers. Marble HD600 meanwhile increase in cost as time goes on. I wonder if it'll be a collector's item someday. I shouldn't have sold mine, I still kind of regret it sometimes.
>>107927202They all sound bad, but the planar is particularly atrocious considering its astronomically priced.That one is the DD which was originally $1k and got quickly discounted because of how bad it sounded
>>107927260>Marble HD600 meanwhile increase in cost as time goes on. I wonder if it'll be a collector's item someday. I shouldn't have sold mine, I still kind of regret it sometimes.I seen some of those on ebay and was kind of shocked by the prices, esp for the silk ones. They are incredibly beautiful though even i was hella temped to get a pair if they were slightly more reasonable
I have a Schiit Magni + Modi already. Why should I buy a Jotunheim with Forkbeard DAC?
>>107926941they still make pads for it???
>>107927511Seen some places on Head-Fi which have stock, you can also get them on Mercari Japan
>>107927510Only if you need to drive something your current stack can't. I do love this lil nigga though no cap.
>>107926745i have a DX3Pro+, should i be worried?>>107927511or rather i should say, they even sold those to begin with?
>>107926746Most of ASR are poor thirdies trying to min-max value for money, the DX5II is absolutely a big purchase for them based on what I've read. I agree with the point though. For $100 less they can get the new Magni + Mesh Dac, for $100 more they could get an Element 4 with goated JDS tech support. DX5II gets pushed there because:>it is their price cap>Amir still measures Schiit stuff incorrectly on purpose (he's already walking back parts of the Unity review realising he reviewed an old unit and not the one from last month)
>>107927601Expanding on this, it shouldn't even have to be Topping. Fiio have great desktop options, so do iFi - it really just hammers the point down that Amir is getting the Topping bag.
>>107927601Element 4 is 600 dollars.
>>107927655is it? I must be remembering the Black Friday prices then, pretty sure it was down to $449 for it.
>>107927510get a jds element iv>but it doesnt have x plugit also doesn't lick your ass but that doesn't mean it does everything it does do better than shiit while not being shit
>>107927703>shiit pungood morning, seamonkey
>>107927726it's night here but good morning to you I guess
>>107927737admitting its you is the first step, very proud
Does it make more sense to buy an amp that's just enough for the headphones you have right now, or to buy one that's way more powerful just in case some future headphone needs it
>>107927933Depends if you think you'll ever spend on something like a HE6, Uli, Susvara or Tungsten. Most entry-level amps are gonna cover 98% of headphones.
>>107927933You'd be hard pressed to buy something that's "just enough" for your headphones nowadays, even cheap shit is overkill.
>>107926615What do people do for sennheiser headphones cables? I've had a paid of HD660S for around 6 years now and routinely the cable dies on one ear or the other every 12-18months. It's £20 a pop each time direct from sennheiser. I have no idea how these cables keep dying (unless it's a design flaw) as I've never had an issue like this before. Does anyone know a good third party cable that will hopefully last?
>>107928019Hart Audio make cheap and sturdy shit for <$100.They shouldn't be dying that frequently unless there's a defect in the 660 cable I don't know about - my 650 cables have lasted 6 years with zero issue (even being run over by a chair countless times).
>>107928019sennheiser cables died a lot for me too, particularly that style with the 2 pin on each side. I'd get something like this https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805859894259.html from my experience with similar cables will last longer
>>107928136I was thinking about the Hart audio but I don't want to spend $100 for a cable that will die in 12 months. Apparently it is a design flaw/common issue with the sennheiser 2 pin design. My headset never leaves my desk, I don't miss treat them, I don't even unplug them from the headset. They will be working the day before, I place them on the desk, then the next day one ear is no longer working. I would understand if I dropped them or yanked the cable.>>107928184I'll buy the chinkexpress pair as backup, I'll splash for a hart audio pair and hopefully they last.
It's amazing to me how uncomfortable the og r70x is, i bought it with the intention of selling it on a price error, waited 2 long till it got discont/price gutted and had to hold it. Every month or two i'll test it out and it literally feels like im being skull fucked. It's such a shame because the driver was pretty wicked, given it never made that much sense over the 6xx considering it was like 2x, at least in canada but it had potential with a non retard headband.Did anyone test the r70xA yet?
>>107928595xA doesn't have the wings so it's automatically better by default
>>107927202R9 is actually better. The other guy never heard a MDR-R10.
>>107928878https://ish.squig.link/?share=Custom_Tilt&bass=0&tilt=-0.8&treble=0&ear=0They aren't remotely the same lol
>>107929050
