The headphones thread! [Sorry about your wallet]

Forums › Home Theatre (including HTPC and EPG Collector) › The headphones thread! [Sorry about your wallet]

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Hammered
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#1113218 22-Aug-2014 07:41

The HP50 are really good for the price. Which would make the next step up quite an expensive move! Think I'll be sticking with them for a while.

Have you used a headphone amp with yours when connected to your Note 3? If so, any benefit?

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#1113221 22-Aug-2014 07:51

Just to add my 5c to this thread..

I purchased a pair of Bose QC15s while in the US last week. I fly a lot so noise cancellation is my key requirement. Having owned and trialled quite a few other headphones in the past it's my view that there is nothing else that comes close to the noise cancelling performance of the QC15s. Even the Blackbox M10s pale in comparison.

While I'm no expert audiophile however, I can tell you that the sound quality of the Bose is pretty average with not a lot of bass. Many people would probably say that's like most other Bose products!

My only complaint is that my ears do get quite hot after wearing these for an hour or so, no doubt due to your ears being totally enclosed (which in part will be why the N/C is so good).

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#1113229 22-Aug-2014 08:18

Hey guys, the NAD HP50 sounds interesting, I'll go have a listen some time. I have no reviews for it on my headphones websites, would those of you who own it or have trialled it thoroughly mind posting a review for me? Direct link here to NAD HP50 reviews. Registration takes about 30 seconds. Don't worry about the "have you owned these headphones for a month" thing when reviewing, just check the checkbox.

Reviews for any other headphones are also welcome, either with lots of text or just scores with a few comments. QC15 reviews are here if you're able to review sbiddle :)

NZtechfreak

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#1113252 22-Aug-2014 08:47

BigHammer: The HP50 are really good for the price. Which would make the next step up quite an expensive move! Think I'll be sticking with them for a while.

Have you used a headphone amp with yours when connected to your Note 3? If so, any benefit?

I think they sound better with an external DAC/amp, for sure. Whether the cost/benefit analysis falls in favour of that for you is of course something only you can settle. You're welcome to come around sometime and try out my Dragonfly 1.2 and HeadAmp Pico DAC/amp and see what you think. If you're rooted some of the sound mods that allow removal of the EU volume restrictions may be sufficient to let you save on a portable DAC/amp. Other benefit to an external one of course is that it will serve double duty with your laptops and PCs, if that is relevant.

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NZtechfreak

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#1113256 22-Aug-2014 08:57

sbiddle: Just to add my 5c to this thread..

I purchased a pair of Bose QC15s while in the US last week. I fly a lot so noise cancellation is my key requirement. Having owned and trialled quite a few other headphones in the past it's my view that there is nothing else that comes close to the noise cancelling performance of the QC15s. Even the Blackbox M10s pale in comparison.

While I'm no expert audiophile however, I can tell you that the sound quality of the Bose is pretty average with not a lot of bass. Many people would probably say that's like most other Bose products!

My only complaint is that my ears do get quite hot after wearing these for an hour or so, no doubt due to your ears being totally enclosed (which in part will be why the N/C is so good).

I did a three-way shootout with the Bose QC-15, Audio Technica ANC9 and Polk Audio Ultrafocus 9000 a while back. ANC on the Bose definitely the best, but sound quality extremely forgetable. The Polks were a pretty great sounding headphone, and their ANC was still pretty respectable. In order to assess their respective merits for ANC, I played in-flight ambient cabin recordings at 75dB, which seemed to be around the average in-flight ambient noise measured by a number of people. With music playing all three of them were good enough to block cabin noise, however if you just wanted the ANC and not listening to music then the Bose would be the best by a margin in that scenario.

I note that the Bose ANC IEMs are even better than the QC-15, probably on account of the seal adding a few more dB of passive noise attenuation. By some accounts (Innerfidelity review, for example) their ANC/passive NC is so good it's a little disorienting at first.

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geekiegeek

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#1113277 22-Aug-2014 09:11

I also tried the Bose QC-15 but agree that the sound quality just isn't there. My Sennheiser PXC 450s have decent enough noise blocking and with a FiiO DAC/Amp the sound quality is fantastic. They are also a full ear enclosed headphone but I haven't had any issues with "hot ear" even when using them generally in hot climates - you can bypass the NC for normal headphone use.

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#1113306 22-Aug-2014 09:44

NZtechfreak: I think they sound better with an external DAC/amp, for sure. Whether the cost/benefit analysis falls in favour of that for you is of course something only you can settle. You're welcome to come around sometime and try out my Dragonfly 1.2 and HeadAmp Pico DAC/amp and see what you think. If you're rooted some of the sound mods that allow removal of the EU volume restrictions may be sufficient to let you save on a portable DAC/amp. Other benefit to an external one of course is that it will serve double duty with your laptops and PCs, if that is relevant.

No root, which is why I was thinking about an amp.

Was thinking of getting something cheapish for now and maybe looking at upgrading down the track if I find I'm using it often enough to warrant the cost. Something like the HeadAmp Pico DAC/amp is a little out of my price range for now. The Dragonfly is so small I can see me losing it! At the moment I really only want to spend up to $200 on a portable amp (or DAC/amp if that's the way I should go). I was contemplating maybe something like the FiiO E12 but you say a DAC/amp would be the go though, so with that in mind should I reconsider the E18? I understand the DAC in the E18 isn't all that great, but what else is there in that price range? Just after a taste that won't break the bank.

Cheers and thanks

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#1113316 22-Aug-2014 10:01

BigHammer:
NZtechfreak: I think they sound better with an external DAC/amp, for sure. Whether the cost/benefit analysis falls in favour of that for you is of course something only you can settle. You're welcome to come around sometime and try out my Dragonfly 1.2 and HeadAmp Pico DAC/amp and see what you think. If you're rooted some of the sound mods that allow removal of the EU volume restrictions may be sufficient to let you save on a portable DAC/amp. Other benefit to an external one of course is that it will serve double duty with your laptops and PCs, if that is relevant.

No root, which is why I was thinking about an amp.

Was thinking of getting something cheapish for now and maybe looking at upgrading down the track if I find I'm using it often enough to warrant the cost. Something like the HeadAmp Pico DAC/amp is a little out of my price range for now. The Dragonfly is so small I can see me losing it! At the moment I really only want to spend up to $200 on a portable amp (or DAC/amp if that's the way I should go). I was contemplating maybe something like the FiiO E12 but you say a DAC/amp would be the go though, so with that in mind should I reconsider the E18? I understand the DAC in the E18 isn't all that great, but what else is there in that price range? Just after a taste that won't break the bank.

Cheers and thanks

There are quite a few options in that price range and market segment these days, I'm not familiar with that many in terms of actually having heard them. I think best plan is to catch up for you to have a listen and then you'll have a pretty good idea about the relative merits of investing in a DAC/amp.

In terms of losing the Dragonfly, I leave mine connected to the USB OTG adapter and when not in use it lives in the little pouch that sits in the HP50 case, so I've no particular fears on that front.

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networkn

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#1113325 22-Aug-2014 10:08

If anyone is interested, Rapollo AV have the Denon AH-D400 for $199 Limited time offer.

Stu

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#1113332 22-Aug-2014 10:22

NZtechfreak: I think best plan is to catch up for you to have a listen and then you'll have a pretty good idea about the relative merits of investing in a DAC/amp.

Sounds like a plan. Will be in touch.

Cheers!

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#1114140 23-Aug-2014 16:44

Picked up the HP50s from Computer Lounge today. Well pleased. Billy has a new source for FiiO products and will have stock in the next couple of weeks. Might just grab an E18 then meet up to compare with your portable DAC/Amps Murray?

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NZtechfreak

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#1114192 23-Aug-2014 19:55

BigHammer: Picked up the HP50s from Computer Lounge today. Well pleased. Billy has a new source for FiiO products and will have stock in the next couple of weeks. Might just grab an E18 then meet up to compare with your portable DAC/Amps Murray?

Sure thing, I'd be interested to hear the E18.

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Finch

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#1115123 25-Aug-2014 13:35

Hey guys.

So I bought the Sony MDR10RBT Headphones a month or so ago. I never really used them when I got them, just tested them out and seemed to be ok. However recently I have been trying to get them to work and they aren't. I charged them up recently and just now tried to pair with my laptop and got the message "That didn't work. Try Again and make sure your Bluetooth headset is still discoverable." My phone (HTC One) cant even see the headphones. So my phone doesn't see the headphones, but my laptop sees but doesn't pair.

Am I doing something wrong here with the pairing? Because the first headphones I bought from Amazon didn't really work either, now this isn't pairing.

I haven't tried with a wire yet.

Stu

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#1115130 25-Aug-2014 13:50

Bummer that's harsh luck. Not sure off the top of my head, but if you're phone supports it did you try pairing using the NFC feature?

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#1115133 25-Aug-2014 13:53

Finch: Hey guys.

So I bought the Sony MDR10RBT Headphones a month or so ago. I never really used them when I got them, just tested them out and seemed to be ok. However recently I have been trying to get them to work and they aren't. I charged them up recently and just now tried to pair with my laptop and got the message "That didn't work. Try Again and make sure your Bluetooth headset is still discoverable." My phone (HTC One) cant even see the headphones. So my phone doesn't see the headphones, but my laptop sees but doesn't pair.

Am I doing something wrong here with the pairing? Because the first headphones I bought from Amazon didn't really work either, now this isn't pairing.

I haven't tried with a wire yet.

Hmm I did have trouble with mine (sourced locally), took me about 15 minutes to get it working the first time, but since then trouble free.

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