Tom's Guide Headphone and Home Audio Thread

[Turb0Yoda]

Y'all are missing out on the amazing Monoprice cans I got got 22 dollars.


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Actual Audio Equipment:
Mee M6 Pros(grey ones)(IEMs)
Monoprice budget Cans

Are they the retro ones? - I think zeos did a review on them. I reckon they sound a bit like the old superlux's.

Nah, the DJ ones.
https/www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=120&cp_id=12001&cs_id=1082302&p_id=8323&seq=1&format=2

I'll upgrade when I save up some more.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

New toy.

I went with the 1x and 3.3x medium gain version. It drives my HD 650s on the 1x gain setting which I was kind of surprised by.

https/mayflowerelectronics.com/desktop-objective2-with-odac-rev-b/

Compared to the Xonar STX the O2/ODAC is more neutral and possibly has slightly better separation. The STX is on the bright side in comparison. Both are very good.

 

[Turb0Yoda]

If I ever buy new cans I blame anort.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

You spelled thank wrong. 😀

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Well this thread's proving popular. :lol:

I've had the O2/ODAC a little over a week now. It is definitely a sound quality upgrade over the STX. Instrument separation and soundstage are better and to my ear it's completely neutral. The STX is bright in comparison.

My HD 600s and HD 650s are both better with the O2 but I've barely used either enough to tell how much. The Fostex TH-X00s really REALLY, seem to shine and come alive with this amp/DAC. For the first time I really understand what's meant by liquid smoothness. I was right in thinking the STX was coloring the TH-X00s and the O2 really makes them phenomenal. The Sennheisers, as much as I love them both are boring in comparison. My next pair may end up being either the TH-X00 Ebony or the E-MU Teaks. Both those take this same Foster/Fostex driver and tune it more neutral and less U or V shaped.

I wish I'd bought the O2/ODAC a long time ago. Money well spent and if anything it exceeded my expectations.

 

[-HH-]

Well this thread's proving popular. :lol:

I've had the O2/ODAC a little over a week now. It is definitely a sound quality upgrade over the STX. Instrument separation and soundstage are better and to my ear it's completely neutral. The STX is bright in comparison.

My HD 600s and HD 650s are both better with the O2 but I've barely used either enough to tell how much. The Fostex TH-X00s really REALLY, seem to shine and come alive with this amp/DAC. For the first time I really understand what's meant by liquid smoothness. I was right in thinking the STX was coloring the TH-X00s and the O2 really makes them phenomenal. The Sennheisers, as much as I love them both are boring in comparison. My next pair may end up being either the TH-X00 Ebony or the E-MU Teaks. Both those take this same Foster/Fostex driver and tune it more neutral and less U or V shaped.

I wish I'd bought the O2/ODAC a long time ago. Money well spent and if anything it exceeded my expectations.

Glad that it's worked out for you man,

I bought a pair of super cheap headphones and let my amp fry them the other day lmao

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Just finished reripping my entire CD collection to FLAC. I used Exact Audio Copy.

http/www.exactaudiocopy.de/

418 CDs with 4536 songs and it took up 108GB. It took every free minute I've had for the last 2 weeks.

That brings the digital music collection up to 205GB. 😀

 

[randomizer]

So your next purchase is a new optical drive. :lol: Did you rip in burst or secure mode?

 

[Deleted member 217926]

I had my fingers crossed the stupid thing would hold together lol. It got stuck once and I had to use a paperclip to eject that one CD. Same sub $20 Asus DVD/CD drive I've been using in builds for the last 10+ years.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

😀

https/www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-fostex-th-x00-ebony-headphones

Out of the box they're amazing. Much more neutral than the Mahogany and the bass extension is maybe even better which is crazy.

 

[iLikeGreenTea]

hmm Thanks guys.

Hey guys,

Hello, I need some assistance as a beginner in the world of speakers.

I've decided to purchase Bookshelf Speakers for my PC setup. I was initially deciding between Mackie CR4 @ $120CAD vs Edifier R1700BT @ $160CAD.

However, I've been doing more research and I keep finding "better" speakers (bookshelf) for marginally higher prices. As mentioned, these will be used as PC speakers primarily, the room is average room. Mostly music (different genres) and YouTube. Can someone suggest what specs would be optimal?

For example, are the Edifiers S1000 or R2000DB too much for an average room for someone who isn't an audiophile ? Appreciate it.

 

[13thmonkey]

Just finished reripping my entire CD collection to FLAC. I used Exact Audio Copy.

Spoiler

http/www.exactaudiocopy.de/

418 CDs with 4536 songs and it took up 108GB. It took every free minute I've had for the last 2 weeks.

That brings the digital music collection up to 205GB. 😀

Worth it? I've done a few tests but only using my crappy 5.1 headphones and no difference, need to test properly, not that i listen properly any more.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

hmm Thanks guys.

Hey guys,

Hello, I need some assistance as a beginner in the world of speakers.

I've decided to purchase Bookshelf Speakers for my PC setup. I was initially deciding between Mackie CR4 @ $120CAD vs Edifier R1700BT @ $160CAD.

However, I've been doing more research and I keep finding "better" speakers (bookshelf) for marginally higher prices. As mentioned, these will be used as PC speakers primarily, the room is average room. Mostly music (different genres) and YouTube. Can someone suggest what specs would be optimal?

For example, are the Edifiers S1000 or R2000DB too much for an average room for someone who isn't an audiophile ? Appreciate it.

I haven't heard any of those so I can't speak from anything but what I've read or watched in reviews. You're looking in the right places though. Everything you've listed is a solid choice at their various price ranges. Basically it comes down to what do you want to spend? I do know someone who bought the R2000DB and is very happy with them.

I'd add these to the list you're considering:

https/www.amazon.com/JBL-LSR305-Powered-Studio-Monitor/dp/B00DUKP37C/ref=lp_5307713011_1_4?srs=5307713011&ie=UTF8&qid=1520026952&sr=8-4

They're sold individually so the price is x2.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Just finished reripping my entire CD collection to FLAC. I used Exact Audio Copy.

Spoiler

http/www.exactaudiocopy.de/

418 CDs with 4536 songs and it took up 108GB. It took every free minute I've had for the last 2 weeks.

That brings the digital music collection up to 205GB. 😀

Worth it? I've done a few tests but only using my crappy 5.1 headphones and no difference, need to test properly, not that i listen properly any more.

For me, yes. But my CD collection dates back to the 80s and some of my rips were from years ago when space was a concern over quality. Just having a lossless backup of my entire collection is really nice. I can't say I can tell a real difference between 320kbps MP3 and FLAC but I figured as long as I was doing it I might as well do it right.

On something like 5.1 headphones I don't know that you'll see much of a difference depending on what you have now. If it's 128kbps Mp3 then yes the difference is huge and will be noticeable even on lower end equipment.

 

[13thmonkey]

i'm on 224kpbs, cbr, self ripped, I'll post system details later for lolz, I was just testing it on my PC, but I now have a player that can feed my amp and can process flac, so it might be time.

 

[iLikeGreenTea]

Thanks, I guess what I'm trying to understand is whether or not can I judge if a speaker is overkill or under kill by looking at certain specs for a a specific room, and purpose (ie. passive music, gaming etc). I just don't want to spend $500 on speakers that would sound just as good as $200 ones when I'm sitting 1metre away.

What do you think?

 

[Deleted member 217926]

First rule of speakers: There is no overkill. :lol:

Seriously though the best thing to do if possible is to visit an audio shop where you can demo some of the models you're considering. Speakers will have sound profiles that can be very different even at the same price and size. Klipsch for instance has a reputation for being bright. That may be a sound you love ( like I do ) or it may be something you hate and find fatiguing. So finding a sound signature you like is important. The JBLs I linked above are mostly neutral which means you will hear the sounds as they were recorded and not colored by the speaker/amp.

Audio is very subjective. What sounds amazing to me may sound terrible to you. There are many great reviews out there. I like Zeos youtube reviews. I mostly agree with the things he says although true 'audiophiles' might not. Be warned that his reviews are quite colorful and contain NSFW language. 😉

https/www.youtube.com/channel/UCQQR-Lu1vjEgNwC2hhE_J-w

Here's his reddit buying guide. It's a bit dated at this point though. He's reviewed just about everything that's considered good audio at one point or another.

https/www.reddit.com/r/Zeos/

 

[randomizer]

Make sure the shop you're going to allows you to demo your own music. If they don't, they're not a store you want to buy from.

 

[Turb0Yoda]

First rule of speakers: There is no overkill. :lol:

uhhh, what happens when the house falls apart?

 

[Deleted member 217926]

You live in the speaker box. Of course. 😉