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The Headphones Thread


dylanjosh
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Not a fan of the xm4's. They're too large and sticks out too much making them unsuitable to lie down with. The sound quality is also a bit of a let down. They sound too dark and boxy. Not even on the same galaxy compared to my IE 300's. They do have great noise cancellation though. 

 

My advice to anyone considering these tws earbuds is if you have decent sounding iem, these tws buds will never come close to matching them in sound quality. So just choose the smallest, lightest and cheapest one for convenience, voice calls and watching videos and listening to podcasts. Use your iem for music. 

Edited by Nikushimi
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13 minutes ago, Mr. Comingle said:

Disagree my galaxy buds+ came pretty close to matching my rha ma750 which cost more

I don't have experience with the rha but they do seem to be quite old now. Iem's especially chi fi has made tremendous improvements in the low-mid tier space. Comparing the xm4's with the IE300 may be unfair but they're still a lot worse than my fiio fh3's which are quite a bit cheaper. You could get Moondrop Aria's for 7k which no tws is going to be able keep up with. 

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1 hour ago, Mr. Comingle said:

It’s not that old maybe 4 years back. And it’s a premium brand and supposed to be one of the best IEM under 10k. Your chi fi brands existed back then too. Besides no phones have headphone jacks anymore.

I can see unboxing videos of the ma 750 that are more than 8 years old. And no, most of the chi fi stuff didn't exist back then. I'd be willing to bet your rha wouldn't even be top 10 under 10k now. 

 

And dongles are a thing. If someone is willing to go through the inconvenience of using a wired earbud for better sound quality, carrying a dongle along with the iem isn't much of reach. 

Edited by Nikushimi
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10 hours ago, ZooZoo said:

Might not be super relevant to the thread but still ask since a lot of audiophiles would be lurking here. Do you guys really see a noticeable difference between Apple Music and Spotify when using XM4 or similar high quality earphones? I tried listening to same tracks on both apps and did notice that Apple music is a tad louder and I swear I could hear the sound as more vibrant or maybe spaced around me. Could well be just a placebo effect or maybe I'm just hearing things so wanted to check with you guys before I eventually decide if its worth to switch from Spotify to Apple music once my subscription ends. 

You have to invest in a DAC to really appreciate the lossless quality from Apple music. If you have airpods pro/max, then the spatial audio is also worth looking into. The sound from Apple Music is more cleaner I think because of the compression tech they use.  I have been an Apple Music subscriber since launch and I think it is a far better proposition than any other service in the market, for the money they ask for. The only downside to the service I feel is that there library for old hindi songs is kind of weak compared to others. 

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BTW, if you are listening wireless, it is not lossless. It doesn't matter what the source says. There are no lossless wireless audio codecs in existence right now. Even LDAC, which is considered the best wireless codec and has the highest theoretical bit rate is a lossy codec.

Edited by Nikushimi
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11 minutes ago, R3D_D3ViL said:

You have to invest in a DAC to really appreciate the lossless quality from Apple music. If you have airpods pro/max, then the spatial audio is also worth looking into. The sound from Apple Music is more cleaner I think because of the compression tech they use.  I have been an Apple Music subscriber since launch and I think it is a far better proposition than any other service in the market, for the money they ask for. The only downside to the service I feel is that there library for old hindi songs is kind of weak compared to others. 

Yes, when you are listening to Apple Music wirelessly on any high end headphones, it will always be AAC codec which is lossy. Only way to experience what Apple Music is really capable of is to use a good quality DAC/Amp with a high-end wired headphone with Apple’s lightning to camera USB adapter and using lossless/hi-res lossless tier in settings of Apple Music. Then, you can experience the actual difference. No other way to do it.

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2 hours ago, Nikushimi said:

Not a fan of the xm4's. They're too large and sticks out too much making them unsuitable to lie down with. The sound quality is also a bit of a let down. They sound too dark and boxy. Not even on the same galaxy compared to my IE 300's. They do have great noise cancellation though. 

 

My advice to anyone considering these tws earbuds is if you have decent sounding iem, these tws buds will never come close to matching them in sound quality. So just choose the smallest, lightest and cheapest one for convenience, voice calls and watching videos and listening to podcasts. Use your iem for music. 

Kinda disagree. I own both XM4 and KZ iem. The KZ ZS10 pro is unmatched in audio quality when I listen to songs but when I play games or watch movies with it, i found the sound to be on the shriller side. The XM4’s are more preferable for gaming and movies imo. 

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1 minute ago, R3D_D3ViL said:

Kinda disagree. I own both XM4 and KZ iem. The KZ ZS10 pro is unmatched in audio quality when I listen to songs but when I play games or watch movies with it, i found the sound to be on the shriller side. The XM4’s are more preferable for gaming and movies imo. 

Xm4's are very dark by default. Your perception of neutrality will be skewed if you use that as a frame of reference. But yeah, being bass heavy doesn't hurt for non competitive gaming and movies. Besides the convenience of wireless makes it a no brainer for non music related stuff. 

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11 hours ago, ZooZoo said:

Might not be super relevant to the thread but still ask since a lot of audiophiles would be lurking here. Do you guys really see a noticeable difference between Apple Music and Spotify when using XM4 or similar high quality earphones? I tried listening to same tracks on both apps and did notice that Apple music is a tad louder and I swear I could hear the sound as more vibrant or maybe spaced around me. Could well be just a placebo effect or maybe I'm just hearing things so wanted to check with you guys before I eventually decide if its worth to switch from Spotify to Apple music once my subscription ends. 

 

Apple music sounds noticably better, it is not placebo.

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25 minutes ago, Nikushimi said:

Xm4's are very dark by default. Your perception of neutrality will be skewed if you use that as a frame of reference. But yeah, being bass heavy doesn't hurt for non competitive gaming and movies. Besides the convenience of wireless makes it a no brainer for non music related stuff. 

I am considering both of them based on their different merits, not trying to compare them as both iem and a closed back headphone are not comparable honestly. The KZ is more neutral sounding with understated but prominent bass and wide soundstage. The XM4 are obviously bass heavy compared to KZ but it is nowhere like the bass boost headphones that Sony makes elsewhere. With ANC enabled the immersion is far better than an iem where the sound has more power and punch. Not even getting into the convenience of usage. 

Edited by R3D_D3ViL
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12 minutes ago, R3D_D3ViL said:

I am considering both of them based on their different merits, not trying to compare them as both iem and a closed back headphone are not comparable honestly. The KZ is more neutral sounding with understated but prominent bass and wide soundstage. The XM4 are obviously bass heavy compared to KZ but it is nowhere like the bass boost headphones that Sony makes elsewhere. With ANC enabled the immersion is far better than an iem where the sound has more power and punch. Not even getting into the convenience of usage. 

I'm not sure what you're getting at. You basically agreed with what I said initially. That is , wired iems for music and tws for everything else. 

 

And where did I mention about closed back headphones? 

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21 minutes ago, Nikushimi said:

I'm not sure what you're getting at. You basically agreed with what I said initially. That is , wired iems for music and tws for everything else. 

 

And where did I mention about closed back headphones? 

My bad, I misread you. I thought you said TWS is good only because of being wireless :ko:

Edited by R3D_D3ViL
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Looking to buy headphones to be used with PS5 and wife would use it with Phone/ipad (both have 3.5 mm jack) budget 4-6k max. Considering

 1) Razor Blackshark V2 X (4.1k new)

2) Pulse 3d Headset (6k pre-owned)

 

Razor V2 x (wired) has very good reviews - very comfortable and great sound for the price .

Pulse 3d have better tempest audio but less bass . Read reviews about it being uncomfortable for many . But if you have small ears it might be comfortable right ?

Mic quality isn't important to me . Also i m aware Pulse 3d doesn't have bluetooth so it will have to be used with provided wire only with phone/ipad. 

 

Opinions on these or other suggestions ?

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4 hours ago, Krazyniks said:

Any opinions on above headphones  @SuperT ?

I have a Razer Blackshark V2 not the x. And the V2 is extremely comfortable and perfect for gaming but I wouldn’t use it for music. I am guessing V2x will have similar sound and comfort so it should be great for gaming. If you’re okay with wired and comfort is your prime concern then go for the Razer.
 

If you want to go wireless then there are better options like the Logitech G733 which is around 10k during sale. The pulse is not known for comfort as the cups size is too small. 3d audio (tempest audio) will work with any headphone. 
 

Do check out Beyerdyanmics DT770pro if you want an all rounder. It’s brilliant for music/movies/gaming. But the rabbit hole is too deep when you will start checking out non gaming headphones.    

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22 minutes ago, SuperT said:

I have a Razer Blackshark V2 not the x. And the V2 is extremely comfortable and perfect for gaming but I wouldn’t use it for music. I am guessing V2x will have similar sound and comfort so it should be great for gaming. If you’re okay with wired and comfort is your prime concern then go for the Razer.
 

If you want to go wireless then there are better options like the Logitech G733 which is around 10k during sale. The pulse is not known for comfort as the cups size is too small. 3d audio (tempest audio) will work with any headphone. 
 

Do check out Beyerdyanmics DT770pro if you want an all rounder. It’s brilliant for music/movies/gaming. But the rabbit hole is too deep when you will start checking out non gaming headphones.    

I m okay with wired . Prime concern is overall sound quality (especially with PS5) and comfort. We don't really listen to music that much. 

Also Don't want to spend around 10k cause this won't be used much at all outside of gaming ( which itself doesn't happen much due to work/family life). 

 

I know 3D audio works with all stereo headphones - but Pulse 3d should have some edge in performance in this category right compared to likes of V2 x or it doesn't ? 

Also Pulse 3d - regarding comfort - it's uncomfortable even for those who are on the shorter side/don't have bigger ears ? Reviews are very confusing. 

Edited by Krazyniks
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44 minutes ago, Krazyniks said:

I m okay with wired . Prime concern is overall sound quality (especially with PS5) and comfort. We don't really listen to music that much. 

Also Don't want to spend around 10k cause this won't be used much at all outside of gaming ( which itself doesn't happen much due to work/family life). 

 

I know 3D audio works with all stereo headphones - but Pulse 3d should have some edge in performance in this category right compared to likes of V2 x or it doesn't ? 

Also Pulse 3d - regarding comfort - it's uncomfortable even for those who are on the shorter side/don't have bigger ears ? Reviews are very confusing. 

Only way to find out is to try them. But yeah if comfort is something you are looking for then I would avoid the pulse. Also, regarding having an edge I am not so sure because the 3d audio is built in the ps5 and not the headphones. I think a few ivg guys have it and can share their opinion.  

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