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Education » Literary
Headphones: Buyer's Guide 2015 screenshot
English | Mar 13, 2015 | ISBN: 1508860815 | 34 Pages | AZW3/EPUB/PDF (conv) | 1 MB
Headphones can be considered loudspeakers that were specifically created to be placed over the ears of user’s. They are electrical devices that convert electrical signals into sounds to be heard by the user. The main function of a headphone is to provide users with the ability to use them to privately listen to audio recordings. This is in direct contrast to a speaker that allows everyone in close proximity to hear the sound. Sometimes headphones can be referred to as ear speakers. There are many different types of headphones that have different audio reproduction abilities. They range from lightweight ear buds to heavy bass-pumping full-sized headphones that produce amazing output. These can offer a range of sound that, to date has remained a phenomenon. It allows audiophiles to hear every sound note and accurately identify every pitch. The average user will unlikely be able to differentiate the various sounds and pitches. An experienced listener, however, is more likely to easily identify the difference.


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comments

  Resident 1.10.2013 4655 8911
+54295
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mirror
http://peeplink.in/e81d1d9967c2
  Contributor 31.03.2014 716 6802
+5819
Headphones: Buyer's Guide 2015 | 1 MB

mirror
http://peeplink.in/ea065ab8e8b5
  Banned 3.08.2012 74 16990
+5172
  Resident 7.02.2014 13 1870
+918
this is a great resource I'll bet...
thanx Sunny
I finally can tune a drum set
  Resident 10.09.2012 8 1316
+2552
  Resident 21.09.2011 15 734
+1115
The world's best headphones are plain useless if you're going to use them with any entry-level audio interface and cheapo amplifier. It's generally better to upgrade the signal path step by step. Also note that the premium price tag doesn't substitute for best quality. AKG K701 offers best quality for their very modest price in my opinion. Sennheiser HD800 are better, but only marginally, yet they cost about 10 times more.

Both are open-cans. For semi-open, K240DF is a clear winner for me.

In the end, you may spend more money on amp, DAC than on headphones.
Thank you for helping us help you help us all.
  Resident 10.09.2012 8 1316
+2552
The world's best headphone is meant to be paired with the world's best sounding audio interface Lynx Hilo which is designed for mastering engineers.

www.lynxaudio.com.

Lynx Hilo has the best quality headphone amp and recording jnterface ever invented for a DAW (home recording use).
It costs 2,500 dollars. Its headphone amp matches quality of expensive audiophile
headphone amplifiers.
  Resident 21.09.2011 15 734
+1115
I'd say Audiolab M-DAC 2 is best sounding "not-only" audio interface. With noise floor at -175dB for ADC and -160dB for DAC (using dual Sabre ES9018) it's actually better than Neve desks at Abbey Road and probably the only interface to surpass 24bit noise floor. Priced at around $1,200, but available only upon request.
I don't have one (yet) not because of the price, but for portability issues, such beast requires 18.5V AC delivered through heavy 4kg transformer.
Thank you for helping us help you help us all.
  Resident 10.09.2012 8 1316
+2552
That is an old gear. M-DAC is not an audio interface. It's just a DAC. Hilo offers DAC, headphoje amp, recording inputs at the same time. They're all superior to normal audio interfaces and Hilo uses thunderbolt instead of USB. Thunderbolt is much faster than USB 2.0. Hilo is designed to work on DAWs yet majority of these DACs are just for listening.

M-DAC is not the best DAC either. Check out:

Grace Design m920,
Benchmark DAC2 DX
Antelope Audio Zodiac Platinum

These are the most transparent sounding DACs ever invented. Many grammy award winning engineers have used Benchmark.

Another example of DAC and auduo interface combo is Apogee Quartet. It costs $1300. Windows version costs $1800. It features 32bit Sabre DACs.

Ultimately, Hilo is the winner for its high quality recording inputs, compatibility, headphone amp, DAC, design, thunderbolt. It fits needs of a single bedroom composer, songwriter, producer.
  Resident 19.11.2013 1 1609
+1344
the Comment has been Removed
  Resident 10.09.2012 8 1316
+2552
I have a normal headphone out of a PC motherboard. I'm broke......

For the best monitoring headphones, consider:
Audeze LCD-X
HD800
AKG 812 Pro

I doubt if a person will need anything beyond these headphones. Audeze LCD-X and HD800 can solve all problems. Besides these three, other headphones are for listening pleasure.
These three headphones produce the most authentic sound without a boost in certain frequency range. If you own one of the three, you'll never need another headphone.
  Resident 19.11.2013 1 1609
+1344
the Comment has been Removed
  Resident 10.09.2012 8 1316
+2552
HD800, Audeze LCD-X are the ultimate monitoring headphones.
Everything else are worse than these two. AKG 812 Pro is just slightly behind the two.
All of the three cost more than 1,499 dollars each.

There are more expensive headphones than these three. However, they're not for professional monitoring. They're more likely made for audiophile headphone collectors. Some of them sound amazing but their sound signature isn't practical for professional mixing, monitoring, etc. For instance, Beyerdynamic, Hifiman, Audiotechnica aren't suitable for pro mixing.

Cheaper (around $400 or less) and just okay headphones for monitoring are:
HD650
Shure SRH1840
AKG 712 Pro

Forget everything else. Models I haven't mentioned either can't match the models I have listed or made for just listening pleasure.
  Resident 21.09.2011 15 734
+1115
I assume you listened to all the gear you mentioned. How could you, if you're broke? M-DAC 2 is not yet released and it won't be available to the general public, so how could you know it's worse?
And yes, M-DAC 2 will feature dedicated ADC, I know it straight from the developer.
Thank you for helping us help you help us all.
  Banned 31.12.2012 996 2943
+22324
i know right? it seems he projects himself in a fantasy internet world and pretends he knows what he's talking about. I know he doesn't have any of this equipment but talks as if he's personally reviewed them. Even if he has, what background experience does he have to make a legitimate review or claim?
  Resident 10.09.2012 8 1316
+2552
  Resident 11.10.2014 37 91
+887
Icicle has the Audeze
  Resident 26.08.2013 939
+152
I will stick with my Sony MDR-V6 they are the best sounding ones. I mean for $100.
Yes they won reviews also.
So go spend you 300 plus or more.
  Banned 31.12.2012 996 2943
+22324
I always tell people, who cares what equipment you have, as long as the music that's produce is legit
  Resident 26.01.2014 1 95
+32
German maestro 8.35d!! :-)

Got to be one of the best sounding for sure!
  Resident 13.06.2012 230
+38
Headphones can be considered loudspeakers that were specifically created to be placed over the ears of user’s.

All the time I used mine completely wrong...
  Resident 1.08.2011 1 118
+153
quote by audiodesseyAudeze LCD-X and HD800 can solve all problems.

You mean, they can end poverty and hunger... or maybe death itself??
No? Well, then I'll go back to use my 1,500 baht headphones plugged into my crappy old laptop.

Funny how broke people always fantasize about unaffordable gear, funny but almost pathetic. Maybe that's the reason behind poverty?
https://soundcloud.com/black-mental
https://facebook.com/blackmentalmusic
  Banned 31.12.2012 996 2943
+22324
I couldn't agree more. All his comments on this thread are so hypocritical of his actions here. Also another discussion about this mouth breathing broke individual who doesn't contribute anything to this community, yet his demeanor is so elitist and pompous as if he owns an entire professional recording studio. Yet he is too broke to afford anything .Audioessey how about you speak from your experiences and not from your fantasies and imaginary lifestyles. You are broke and will never afford any of the items you so praise. Come back down to reality.

Cheaper (around $400 or less) and just okay headphones for monitoring are:
HD650
Shure SRH1840
AKG 712 Pro


are you fucking serious? My HD650's are about the best headphones for the price range in my opinion and here you are calling them "ok for monitoring" and "cheaper for $400". You can't even afford a $20 Embertone library you requested so let's get real. You are a disgrace man .seriously.
  Resident 10.09.2012 8 1316
+2552
You'd better find a better way to spend your time. I'm just recommending some gears based on demo units I have tested while ago.
HD650 was absolutely nothing compared to HD800.
If you don't know about technology, that's your fault. There's nothing I can do about it. HD650 became 300 dollars as brand new. That's a good deal for sure. HD800 is astounding. It lets you hear every arrangement and production tricks like nothing can. Audeze LCD-X is on the same level. They open door for whole new dimension of music that can be heard on headphones. HD650 is 2004 technology. LCD-X was invented in 2013. HD800 is from 2012. You really don't understand how fast technology is changing everything. For current speed of technology advance, 10 years of time is scary distance. We started to see smartphones that can perform like laptops. No one could imagine this back in 2004. A 500GB HDD came out at price of 170 dollars back in 2005. Now, a used 1TB HDD is 35 dollars.

Go to an audio gear store and arrange demo units of HD800 and LCD-X. Figure out by yourself than spending time here. You'll get nothing by commenting here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeKFDymEHqQ

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/attachments/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/10498d1390884799-mytek-direct-stream-digital-digital-analogue-converter-namm2014-stevie-wonder-stevie_wonder_at_mytek_namm2014_img_6499.jpg Stevie Wonder is a big supporter of LCD-X headphone as well.


You'd better stop here. Get a real life and job rather than spending time on something like this on the internet.
  Resident 21.09.2011 15 734
+1115
In fact, in audio, technology is progressing at a slower pace. Newer headphones, or gear overall usually means it's cheaper = mass produced with cheap labour, while older equipment does have seal of quality. K240DF are a prime example of this.
In your terms, how could K240DF from 1984 be better than K240 from 2004? WAY better, that's my answer. Not only sound-wise but also they feel more solid, rugged and will definitely last many decades. Can't say that about K240.

Also, don't forget to give me downvote, I can't do without it.
Thanks, now I can have a peaceful morning cup of tea.

Premium price tag is usually justified with only marginal quality improvements over cheap hi-fi equipment. My listening gear cost me about $800, but that includes 3 pairs of headphones, 2 headphone amps, 2 battery packs and 2 audio interfaces. M-DAC 1 which I demoed back in 2013 sounded only slightly better than Hifime 9018, which is 10x cheaper.
E.g. you can get 90% of subjective quality of these premium equipment with wise well thought decisions. The rest 10% costs a fortune to achieve, and in my opinion is not always worth it, since then it's more about sound and less about music.
Thank you for helping us help you help us all.
  Banned 31.12.2012 996 2943
+22324
Ethereal you and me are on the same wavelength in every aspect of this conversation. Audioessey is so delusional it seems, he's the only one who actually listens to himself and believes it.
  Resident 10.09.2012 8 1316
+2552
Vintage gears are always valued. People like UAD make plug-ins for that particular reason. It goes same in music, art, technology, literature, etc. However, in technology, new ones are always coming with greater value.

Newer headphones are more expensive. Newer DACs and audio interfaces are more expensive than ever before. They're not mass produced. AKG 812, HD800, LCD series headphones are hand-crafted one by one. They're why they're over $1400. When new gears come out at a greater price, it makes older ones cheaper and mass-produced.
A good DAC and HD800 combo can make you feel like AKG701's absolutely nothing. Comment again after you listen to Benchmark.

Audio technology is one of the most fast advancing fields out there.
In 2004, no one could imagine libraries will become this good. No one thought it's possible to make a realistic choir library with legato patches before someone challenged it.

Now we have Kemper Profiler for guitarists. No one thought it's possible to make a hardware that can perfectly emulate sound signature of millions of guitar amps and cabinets.

  Resident 21.09.2011 15 734
+1115
quote by audiodesseyIn 2004, no one could imagine libraries will become this good. No one thought it's possible to make a realistic choir library with legato patches before someone challenged it.

Virtual choirs are still far behind real ones. Have a listen to Magnificat by Kim André Arnesen (BTW, you can get hi-res source for playback on expensive equipment you mentioned next time you visit one of your friends). No kontakt library can substitute real instrument in its full sense. There's always something missing.
https://shop.klicktrack.com/2l/439809
I've demoed HD800 as well. Definitely not bad, but the cable is quite flimsy, better to cut it off and replace. K701/702 aren't far behind sound-wise, in fact I'd prefer bass on 701 than on HD800. It feels more precise.

I am definitely not against technological advancements, but ONLY if they can best 'vintage gear' in ALL aspects. Though that is rarely the case. New laptops focus almost entirely on powerful hardware, while ergonomics is no longer a concern. IBM T42 has lot better keyboard and screen than say Lenovo T440p even though T42 is 10 years older. Sure T42 is nowhere near performance of T440p, but the point is, what's better? Heh, that depends on its usage. So I'd call T440p faster, more recent but not a clear substitute for T42.
Thank you for helping us help you help us all.
  Banned 31.12.2012 996 2943
+22324
you are telling me to get a real life and job and you're the one who's broke? holy crap your perception of life is so skewed. I can't believe you actually think you know what you're talking about, you're such a narcissist. I will spend as much time as I want here, actually contributing, unlike your waste of an account which should have been deleted a long time ago. You don't deserve to have a resident status and you for sure should be banned from the request section.
  Banned 31.12.2012 996 2943
+22324
quote by audiodesseyI have a normal headphone out of a PC motherboard. I'm broke......


then how are you talking as if you've personally experienced all this equipment you're discussing, unless you're just going based off reviews.

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