Is this the 400$ high end lossless music listening experience ever possible?

[JMennuni]

Watch the immage i attached to understand pls i just create a presentation of my configuration

if you are lazy:

Tidal Master enabled
No eq
no sound echancments
2 channels 24 bit 192000hz
Bose quiteconfort 35II (wired no wireless)

Remember this is intended to be the max you can get in terms of sound quality with a 500$ max butget.
any suggestions?

 

[drivinfast247]

Experiencing audio is subjective. If you like it that's all that matters.

If you want my opinion the onboard DAC is holding back untapped fidelity. The onboard amplifier is holding things back. The Bose are holding back quality sound.

A good start into the never ending search for audio perfection is the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x and JDS Labs Element.

 

[JMennuni]

So your suggestion is to buy an external audio DAC? Like a PCI-E audio card?
what does "The Bose are holding back quality sound" mean?

 

[drivinfast247]

I own the Bose. They are a great headphone. But they do lack the clarity and instrument separation that a better headphone will convey.

 

[JMennuni]

"But they do lack the clarity and instrument separation that a better headphone will convey."

Yes but with 400$ what can i do? this is the problem of course having 2k$ i would choose another config

 

[drivinfast247]

Look at my above post. It gives you a DAC/AMP and headphone suggestion.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Experiencing audio is subjective. If you like it that's all that matters.

If you want my opinion the onboard DAC is holding back untapped fidelity. The onboard amplifier is holding things back. The Bose are holding back quality sound.

A good start into the never ending search for audio perfection is the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x and JDS Labs Element.

Pairing a lower end headphone like the M50X with a very nice amp/DAC like The Element is like using a 1000w Seasonic Prime Platinum for a GTX 1030. :lol:

Best sound quality for $500? Massdrop x Sennheiser HD6XX ( a Sennheiser HD 650 for $200 ) paired with any one of several amp/DAC combos or separates. The Aune X1S drops for $199 on Massdrop once a month or so. Or even better a separate DAC ( Topping D10 or D30, Massdrop x Grace Design SDAC etc - ~$100 range ) and an Aune X7S ( also $199 on Massdrop ). The Element mentioned above would be a great pairing with the 6XX. There are also others in the price range.

Since the amp and DAC are built into the QC35 there's no way to boost sound quality.

 

[JMennuni]

Look at my above post. It gives you a DAC/AMP and headphone suggestion.

SO LETS DO A COMPARISON:

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x vs Bose Quitecomfort 35 II

Audio-Technica ATH-M50x

sound overall 8.1
9.0 Bass SAME
8.8 Mid LOSER
8.3 Treble FEW LOSER
7.3 Frequency Response Consistency LOSER
8.6 Imaging LOSER
5.9 Soundstage WINNER
8.9 Total Harmonic Distortion WINNER

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

Sound overall 8.0
9.0 Bass SAME
9.0 Mid WINNER
8.5 Treble FEW WINNER
7.7 Frequency Response Consistency WINNER
9.0 Imaging WINNER
5.5 Soundstage LOSER
7.1 Total Harmonic Distortion LOSER

 

[JMennuni]

Experiencing audio is subjective. If you like it that's all that matters.

If you want my opinion the onboard DAC is holding back untapped fidelity. The onboard amplifier is holding things back. The Bose are holding back quality sound.

A good start into the never ending search for audio perfection is the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x and JDS Labs Element.

Pairing a lower end headphone like the M50X with a very nice amp/DAC like The Element is like using a 1000w Seasonic Prime Platinum for a GTX 1030. :lol:

Best sound quality for $500? Massdrop x Sennheiser HD6XX ( a Sennheiser HD 650 for $200 ) paired with any one of several amp/DAC combos or separates. The Aune X1S drops for $199 on Massdrop once a month or so. Or even better a separate DAC ( Topping D10 or D30, Massdrop x Grace Design SDAC etc - ~$100 range ) and an Aune X7S ( also $199 on Massdrop ). The Element mentioned above would be a great pairing with the 6XX. There are also others in the price range.

Since the amp and DAC are built into the QC35 there's no way to boost sound quality.

No man the hd 650 are worst than mine bose take a look:

HD 650

sound overall 7.7
8.0 Bass
8.1 Mid
8.7 Treble FEW WINNER
7.3 Frequency Response Consistency
8.3 Imaging
6.0 Soundstage WINNER
8.1 Total Harmonic Distortion WINNER

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

9.0 Bass
9.0 Mid
8.5 Treble FEW LOSER
7.7 Frequency Response Consistency
9.0 Imaging
5.5 Soundstage LOSER
7.1 Total Harmonic Distortion LOSER

Does really the: Treble, Soundstage, Total Harmonic Distortion matter?

 

[Deleted member 217926]

^ I mostly find rtings useless except for their measurements. Their headphone comparisons are.....strange to say the least.

Some good review sites.

https/www.headfonia.com/

https/headfonics.com/

https/www.innerfidelity.com/

https/www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php

https/www.head-fi.org/

Youtube reviewers - Metal571 is my favorite. The Nitpicker ( Damir Franc ) is also excellent as are Joshua Valour and DMS. Zeos is quite amusing but I trust his reviews the least.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Experiencing audio is subjective. If you like it that's all that matters.

If you want my opinion the onboard DAC is holding back untapped fidelity. The onboard amplifier is holding things back. The Bose are holding back quality sound.

A good start into the never ending search for audio perfection is the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x and JDS Labs Element.

Pairing a lower end headphone like the M50X with a very nice amp/DAC like The Element is like using a 1000w Seasonic Prime Platinum for a GTX 1030. :lol:

Best sound quality for $500? Massdrop x Sennheiser HD6XX ( a Sennheiser HD 650 for $200 ) paired with any one of several amp/DAC combos or separates. The Aune X1S drops for $199 on Massdrop once a month or so. Or even better a separate DAC ( Topping D10 or D30, Massdrop x Grace Design SDAC etc - ~$100 range ) and an Aune X7S ( also $199 on Massdrop ). The Element mentioned above would be a great pairing with the 6XX. There are also others in the price range.

Since the amp and DAC are built into the QC35 there's no way to boost sound quality.

No man the hd 650 are worst than mine bose take a look:

HD 650

sound overall 7.7
8.0 Bass
8.1 Mid
8.7 Treble FEW WINNER
7.3 Frequency Response Consistency
8.3 Imaging
6.0 Soundstage WINNER
8.1 Total Harmonic Distortion WINNER

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

9.0 Bass
9.0 Mid
8.5 Treble FEW LOSER
7.7 Frequency Response Consistency
9.0 Imaging
5.5 Soundstage LOSER
7.1 Total Harmonic Distortion LOSER

Does really the: Treble, Soundstage, Total Harmonic Distortion matter?

Yeah, no. There's a reason almost every audiophile has a pair of HD 650s ( I sure do ). The only reason to own QC35s is the noise cancelling. Don't trust rtings and do some research on the sites I listed.

The QC35s don't have a 3000 page headfi thread devoted to them.

https/www.head-fi.org/threads/sennheiser-hd650-massdrop-hd6xx-impressions-thread.197776/page-2794

 

[drivinfast247]

I've had both the hd6xx and AT m50x. I preferred the m50x. I HATED hd6xx! Such a veiled and dull sounding headphone.

Like I said. It's subjective what someone loves another will hate.

I just recently found a headphone to replace my $2,000 McIntosh MHP1000 and it was the $160 Beyerdynamic DT990. It's a perfect pairing for my DAC and amp choice.

The thing about audio is charts mean NOTHING, ratings mean NOTHING, price means NOTHING. It's a choice made by the listener to select what they like.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Depends on what you amp the 6XX/650 with. It scales with higher power / better sources like no other headphone. With 1.7w though the balanced connection on my X7S I finally like it better than the HD600 which I also own.

I hated the M50X but I heard it after I already owned the TH-X00 Mahogany. The M50X tries really hard to do what the TH-X00 does effortlessly but it's grainy and harsh where the TH-X00 is liquid smooth bliss. You could really say the same about the DT990 which literally hurts my ears it's so bright.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Also let's be clear here. WHAT you listen to matters as much as the source. If you like most modern pop and rap/hip hop then the high compression of those recordings is going to sound like crap on anything as revealing and detailed as the 6XX/650. If you like classical then the more tonally accurate HD600 ( among others ) is a better choice. If you like jazz, classic rock and generally more laid back music the HD6XX/650 can't be beat at $200.

I only have 2 headphones I consider to work with all music. The TH-X00 Ebony and the Focal Elear. And the Elear is almost TOO detailed and the mids can get shouty in some songs that aren't perfectly mastered.

 

[drivinfast247]

Exactly! I have a varied taste in music. I enjoy pretty much everything except new rap/hip hop.

I had the TH-X00 Mahogany twice. Once from very first drop and a second time that I purchased used. I modded the first pair for balanced use. I did enjoy them for the most part but I couldn't get used to the bass. It was so very prominent in all recordings that it would become bothersome. I sold them off.

I never owned the Elear but I have given them some ear time. I agree they are a bit too detailed to be enjoyable for long listening sessions.

My favorite owned headphones were my modded Hifiman HE-500. They did acoustical and stringed instruments better than anything else I tried. They were fed from a modded Matrix HPA-3B. I really regret selling those.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

I owned the TH-X00 Mahogany for about 6 months before I broke down and bought the Ebony. Since then I've barely given the Mahogany any head time. The Ebony is everything good about that biodynamic driver with a more neutral tuning. The Mahogany is always better than I'm expecting when I listen to it but it can get congested with overly detailed pieces. It's about perfect for EDM and rock though. The Ebony works with everything.

Looks pretty good too.

The Elear is fine as long as the music is well mastered. If the master suffers from the loudness wars and has hugely boosted mids then it gets shouty. They're HD800 levels of microdynamics though. Hopefully Massdrop drops the Elex ( Clear ) pads again soon since the Elex is basically the Elear with Clear pads. Not paying $200 for them directly from Focal.

The Elear is basically a 'super' HD650.

 

[drivinfast247]

I'll have to pick up a pair of Ebonys.

Sorry for the thread jack OP.

 

[hang-the-9]

Experiencing audio is subjective. If you like it that's all that matters.

If you want my opinion the onboard DAC is holding back untapped fidelity. The onboard amplifier is holding things back. The Bose are holding back quality sound.

A good start into the never ending search for audio perfection is the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x and JDS Labs Element.

Pairing a lower end headphone like the M50X with a very nice amp/DAC like The Element is like using a 1000w Seasonic Prime Platinum for a GTX 1030. :lol:

Best sound quality for $500? Massdrop x Sennheiser HD6XX ( a Sennheiser HD 650 for $200 ) paired with any one of several amp/DAC combos or separates. The Aune X1S drops for $199 on Massdrop once a month or so. Or even better a separate DAC ( Topping D10 or D30, Massdrop x Grace Design SDAC etc - ~$100 range ) and an Aune X7S ( also $199 on Massdrop ). The Element mentioned above would be a great pairing with the 6XX. There are also others in the price range.

Since the amp and DAC are built into the QC35 there's no way to boost sound quality.

No man the hd 650 are worst than mine bose take a look:

HD 650

sound overall 7.7
8.0 Bass
8.1 Mid
8.7 Treble FEW WINNER
7.3 Frequency Response Consistency
8.3 Imaging
6.0 Soundstage WINNER
8.1 Total Harmonic Distortion WINNER

Bose QuietComfort 35 II

9.0 Bass
9.0 Mid
8.5 Treble FEW LOSER
7.7 Frequency Response Consistency
9.0 Imaging
5.5 Soundstage LOSER
7.1 Total Harmonic Distortion LOSER

Does really the: Treble, Soundstage, Total Harmonic Distortion matter?

Using spec numbers and opinions of reviewers as the final thing of what sounds better is like saying that everyone must place truffles, caviar and duck liver as the best foods you should eat because the "gourmets" do. Some people would take a $5 McDonalds burger over any of those. I have not found any Bose speaker or headphone that I like better than many models half or even less the price. Only exception would be a pair of earbuds I got as a gift from a co-worker, for about $100 those sounded pretty good. And sounded really good for a price of "free".

My parents own a pair of Sony headphones, must be 20 years old if not older, that I like better than any Bose headphone. Think they cost $50 back then so maybe $100 in today's money.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Honestly most Bose is terrible. No highs, no lows it's Bose is pretty much true. Even the flagship 901 uses multiple speakers and foo magic ( point them everywhere! ) to get 'big' sound. The only Bose product I'd consider buying is what's listed in this thread. The QC35. And then only if I needed noise cancellation over sound quality.

Back in the 90s I had Bose 201s and Bose 301s paired with some Sony speakers and a Sony surround receiver in a home theater setup. That was pre internet and I plead ignorance though.

 

[americanaudiophile]

Since you want to optimize Tidal you will need an MQA DAC.
https/www.amazon.com/Meridian-FBA_Explorer-2-Explorer2-USB/dp/B00Q6VQGS2
Then you want to pick the headphones. That will tell you what amp will drive them the best.
https/www.schiit.com/