I wish I hadn’t have discounted iems, since I now use them much more than my over ears, even when I’m at home. I also wish I had have had a better understanding of the type of sound signature I preferred, would have saved myself a lot of time and money. That being said, I did enjoy the journey itself to finding my end game 🙂

  • rener24@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago
    1. Use EQ. Just do it. It’s free and can make a headphone that is tuned bad out of the box, but has great technical abilities and other qualities going for it, into a real powerhouse (e. g. DT 770 80 Ohm). I’ve been looking for a good tuned closed-back that does not need EQ to sound good (I like Harman with a few tweaks), but I have failed to find one for me in the price ranges I was looking and I doubt there is a good one even now (disregarding the DCA Stealth) and with EQ my DT 770, that was way too bright for me in the beginning, is now my go-to closed-back since it’s comfortable, has very good technical ablities and soundstage, and with EQ I could fix the one thing that was bothering me: it’s tuning. without spending a dime.
    2. Also, don’t listen too loud even if it’s fun and “sounds better”! You don’t want to be deaf when reaching 30 years of age.
    3. AMPs and DACs don’t have to be expensive to be good. Even some USB-Dongles can drive kilobuck headphones just fine. Maybe you don’t even need and AMP / DAC if your motherboard has good onboard sound.
    4. Cables are snake oil
      • rener24@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        Snake oil is a business term for something that is a fraud. So basically, don’t waste your money on expensive cables expecting better sound (yes, this is actually a thing in the audio community)

        • breakapart@alien.topBEnglish
          1·
          10 months ago

          Thank you, sorry I’m a pretty casual audiophile, was using Shure SE215s for a while but lost them when on Holiday so just picked up the Sony XM5s.

          Can’t see myself every having a full desk set up as the convenience of wireless is a big deal for me.

          Thanks again!