Headphones

I have a wireless Sennheiser RS 170 plugged into an external soundcard Creative X-Fi Surround 5.1. I can not imagine to be without them. I wear them nonstop at home.

 

First I read about DACs from Fiio, NuForce, HRT, since they are more reasonable priced, but after reading the reviews and user reviews they didn't really please my mind enough to push the trigger on any of them.

So, now I have spent two hours reading a lot about the Meridian Explorer DAC, and it's not a heck of a lot that is bad with that thing. It's far from being cheap, but at the same time the build quality is as good as it get's and that is also important. And my experience is that paying extra for quality pays off in the long run.

Santa I have been good this year...a new friend for my Headphones

 

I use a Fiio E11 sometimes with my sets of headphones and its a great portable solution. Well worth the $60 I paid for it.

Id really like to get my hands on a pair of Schiit Magni/Modi and a Sabre DA8. I want the Sabre for home and the Magni/Modi for work.

 

No, I haven't but if I had the money for it, I would go and try them right away

 

Aha what a shame

Though I'm sure you won't need to pay to try them out if you can find a store that have them lined up for the public to test out the headphones they sell.

If you have a Media Markt store nearby maybe they have them, they had lots of headphones that one could test last time I was in one of their stores.

 

The price on the Sabre DA8 was quite impressive too

http://www.amazon.com/YuLong-SABRE-DA8-Decoder-Amplifier/dp/B00DBWZ3XS

I have looked around but I haven't really found any reviews on the DA8, is it that new so no one has had time to test or review it yet?

And I see that Yulong is a quite new company founded in 2009, are they known for making quality products ?

Sorry for the newbie questions

 

I have a review unit setup with Yulong. As far as I know its a relatively new piece of equipment. From everything I have read they are a pretty good company.

 

Really, so you are going to do a review on it?

I see, then that's probably why it is hard to find useful reviews about it online.

Good to know that the company reputation is good

 

I have confirmation from Yulong for me to do a review. Just waiting on shipment.

 

Nice, good luck and have fun

 

Well, but then there's the risk of becoming addicted to them or not appreciating my HD555's anymore while being unable to buy them

 

Yeah that's what I am afraid of too, so I will stay away as long as I can!
But I still want a new DAC to see what kind of magic it can do to the HD555

 

I have received my Yulong Sabre DA8 for review.

Initial impressions: This thing is heavy (6 pounds), built like a tank, the color screen is clear and the perfect size for the device. All of the knobs and buttons feel very sturdy and there are plenty of output options. I have RCA, XLR Balanced, Optical, and USB inputs so you can literally use this with nearly any device you want. For now I will have it at my desk at home and my desk in the office running as a USB DAC/Amp combo and doing my listening with that configuration.

 

Good Afternoon! In a past lifetime...Selling Quality Audio...I auditioned a pair of Beyer Dynamic DT-880 Hdphones...that sound to my ears was beyond compare. I think I'll purchase myself a pair over the Xmas season. I'm currently using on my P.C. a new edition of Paradigm E2-I in ear-bud design phones...incredible sound quality for dollar spent...and as an Over the Head secondary pair, a pair of Sony MDR - MA300'S...super comfortable strictly for my P.C. for non-discriminating listening...Lol. In the past for Rock N Roll...Blues...and monitoring while taping...the indestructible Koss Pro4-AAA's...and in the late 80's AKG-240'S. Due to new size and form factor Digital Technology...The Headphone Market has Exploded. A site devoted exclusively too the headphone lover is Head-Fi.org...check it out. Love...Peace...Groovy! Sincerely...Securon

 

This has been my rig setup at home for several years now:

Headphone: Audio-Technica ATH-A900
DAC: Zhaolu D2.5 DAC with upgraded discreet headphone amp
Soundcard: Sound Blaster X-FI Xtreme Audio

 

Well my Samsung earphones (came with GT-N7000) broke and I didn't want any more wires, so got myself Rocketfish™ Mobile - RF-MAB2 High-Definition Stereo Bluetooth Headphones.

It was the cheapest available in local stores, but more than 10x pricier than others I've bought separately. Therefore, there was a noticeable increase in sound quality, especially the bass.

While it only supports half of my electronic devices, those are my most used ones. So I'm quite satisfied with the purchase.

 

Haha that doesn't surprise me a bit So if these were 10x pricier then how much is that exactly?

 

$59.99, maybe I should've waited for deals. The ones I bought before were JVC HAF10C Headphone Earbud, don't remember the exact price.

 

At the Rocketfish website it says that model Headphone is Discontinued, in wireless headphones you are mainly paying for that feature. My headphones are also broke, I looked on youtube "How to re cable your Headset". I have to take the ear cups apart with out breaking the plastic, they appear to be glued together. My Sennheiser HD 265 are about 10 years old and are also discontinued and no parts are avalable except the cord only because several headphones can use the same model cord. I got Sennheiser HD 650, the cord is twice the gauge as the HD 265 and sound better balanced. I also got a FiiO E17 DAC and AMP.

 

It was recently discontinued, so stores still have them. I don't think my earphones were worth enough to fix, and it seemed to be more of a button controller problem than the cord. I could listen fine, but it randomly (mostly while moving) pauses, skips, etc. I once had to hard reset my phone after it spammed voice control.

 

Right, then the previous ones was almost free of charge then if these were 10x pricier Anyway, paying for quality usually pays off in the long run you know Yeah maybe you should have waited but you got them now so enjoy

I think like that myself maybe I should have waited a bit longer for a nice deal......

 

He he... bought a Sennheiser HD 202 headphone (the old one, not the II) at last. I was travelling and went to a big shopping center and I thought "Hey, why don't I try to find a Sennheiser headphone while I'm here? They must have one somewhere". It actually was quite an effort to find a store who sells it. Then when I went to that particular store and asked: "You have Sennheiser headphones?" The shopkeeper said yes. Then BAM! Bought one, the cheapest one since I was on the limited budget. As I said, it's not so easy to find it. So I guess I was lucky. I didn't really have a plan to buy one, so I just bit the bullet and bought it anyway. To my surprise, it got great reviews after I read about it.

I know I shouldn't expect much since it's only ~$45 if you convert it to US$. Well, how can I say it? I tried it to listen a high quality MP3 at 320kbps. Indeed, the sound output is better than my previous headphone from unknown brand. I'm not really a fan of strong bass output but, it's the most appropriate bass output I've ever heard. But all in all, the best sound output quality I've ever heard since that high-end Sony Ericsson W902 earphone. Although earphones and headphones are different in design, so it might be unfair to compare them. If I bought the more expensive model I probably will get impressed even more. I'm not an audio expert though, so perhaps I can't really notice the difference. But I found this one has a great output quality in my book.

It's comfortable, cable is too long for my liking but there's a cable winder thingy for it. There's no volume rocker/controller. The headphone is plasticky, but I prefer it to be that way. Especially since I was being electrocuted by my previous headphone which has metallic components. There's also a 6,3mm jack adapter, which is also very hard to find in my town. Only one store sold it and it was the only item. It'd be useful for my digital keyboard since that's the only available plug. I think I'm happy with my purchase.

Alright, alright. I admit it. I should've bought Sennheiser headphones since a long time ago and just pass the unknown brands. Damn you!

 

Nice story GrafZeppelin

And yes...I told you so

 

I love my ATH-M50's for when I'm at work and walking to class (they double as ear muffs). I do most of my listening however on my studio monitors.

 

My trusty Sennheiser HD202 broke after 5 Years of use.