Show off your latest purchase!

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This is no longer something that's happening. What was originally supposed to ship on August 3rd has now been delayed until September 30th. I've already waited longer than anyone should for a pair of cans and I'm not waiting any longer.

As soon as the cancellation goes through I'll be picking up a pair of the SHP9500's.

Headphone_Philips_Shp9500_01.jpg

Wow, a $70 headphone that sounds like HD650s and better than K701s? Sounds perfect for me. Every foam bit on my Sennheisers is disintegrating after not even 10 years. It'd be cheaper to get these Philips than to buy replacement pads, a headband, and driver covers. I've already replaced a cord.

Indeed. I watched Zeos review them and he loves them more than his personalized pair of HD600's.

This is going to turn into another keyboard-level addiction for me. I already want the Fidelio X2's, a pair of HD598's, HE-400's, etc. Why? Why must my wallet always cry? :lol:

Don't do it, man. Don't even get involved. I recoil in horror at the money I spent on my brief headphone addiction. My K701s broke almost immediately-- they never even fit my head to begin with. My HD650s don't sound much better than my loudspeakers and they're so worn that they're too uncomfortable to wear.

I don't even have the right source material to enjoy audiophile-class equipment. Music today sucks, anyway. Once I listened to all my favorite CDs and all the great source audio the guy brought on that Orpheus rig, I reached the peak of that mountain.

KSC-35s are my go-to headphones now. That could change for the indoors with these.
 
My Death Adder started doing the whole registering-two-clicks-when-just-clicking-once thing, so she needed to be replaced.
I love my Corsair keyboard so I figured they'd make a damn good mouse too. And that they do.
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The little target on the left is a button you can hold down to greatly lower the DPI. Pretty good when I'm sniping with Widowmaker or something like that. I wasn't that accurate with my Death Adder. Eventually it just felt choppy and old. The arrow buttons on top adjust the DPI too, so you can make it as quick or as sluggish as you wish. Cool beans.
I've had mine for a little over a year and I love it, I would have liked a third button on the side though.
 
SVX
I've been looking at getting some new headphones for a little while. I have a pair of Panasonic RP-HT161s, and while they're a decent set of headphones for $19... they're a $19 set of headphones.

Seeing regular headphone posts by you might lead me to pulling the trigger, dammit! :dopey:

What would your budget be in this scenario? You can get a pair of HD668B's from Superlux for less than $40 if you want to be wowed by something, but still want to keep costs low. If you want to spend no more or just a bit over $100... the options are plentiful so you'd have to narrow it down to what you're looking for.

Wow, a $70 headphone that sounds like HD650s and better than K701s? Sounds perfect for me. Every foam bit on my Sennheisers is disintegrating after not even 10 years. It'd be cheaper to get these Philips than to buy replacement pads, a headband, and driver covers. I've already replaced a cord.

Don't do it, man. Don't even get involved. I recoil in horror at the money I spent on my brief headphone addiction. My K701s broke almost immediately-- they never even fit my head to begin with. My HD650s don't sound much better than my loudspeakers and they're so worn that they're too uncomfortable to wear.

I don't even have the right source material to enjoy audiophile-class equipment. Music today sucks, anyway. Once I listened to all my favorite CDs and all the great source audio the guy brought on that Orpheus rig, I reached the peak of that mountain.

KSC-35s are my go-to headphones now. That could change for the indoors with these.

That's why I'm starting off slow. I have a good enough DAC (Xonar U7) for easy to drive cans, but I'm looking at things like the OriGen and FiiO E10K for when I want to move away from something that's really meant for "basic" PC audio but just happens to over-perform. My music collection extends no further than Spotify, and at 320 for subs it's damn good quality and I have no issues hearing what's there and even a little bit more depending on the track.

I've been looking to try and find enough of the music I listen to in either FLAC or WAV and see what the deal is there, but I doubt my ears are trained enough to notice the differences just yet.

Though I do have a question: Why 650's and not, say, 600's or Mad Dog's? I'm interested in all of this right now seeing as I'm still learning.
 
What would your budget be in this scenario? You can get a pair of HD668B's from Superlux for less than $40 if you want to be wowed by something, but still want to keep costs low. If you want to spend no more or just a bit over $100... the options are plentiful so you'd have to narrow it down to what you're looking for.

I'm not sure. If something was supposedly great then I'd probably save up for it with no costs barred.
 
I've been looking to try and find enough of the music I listen to in either FLAC or WAV and see what the deal is there, but I doubt my ears are trained enough to notice the differences just yet.
I'll bet you probably already know this but don't be expecting sonic bliss if you go from 320kbps MP3 to lossless. People who are a little too passionate about this stuff get into arguments about whether there's even any difference at all. My entire collection is in lossless but it has more to do with peace of mind than anything else, and I compress them to MP3s to save space when I put them on my phone. The biggest difference will be how it was mixed and mastered (And remasters are almost always terrible).

@SVX If you're looking at getting into the headphone world, you'll want to consider a few things: What kind of music you listen to, how important comfort is to you, whether you want to use them outside of your own home, how willing you are to get an amp, etc.

Unless people feel the same way as you about all the things above you should be skeptical about their recommendations. My first pair of decent headphones were Grados, and I enjoy them but they would be the worst thing in the world for people who want to take them out of the house or expect any amount of comfort.
 
What would your budget be in this scenario? You can get a pair of HD668B's from Superlux for less than $40 if you want to be wowed by something, but still want to keep costs low. If you want to spend no more or just a bit over $100... the options are plentiful so you'd have to narrow it down to what you're looking for.



That's why I'm starting off slow. I have a good enough DAC (Xonar U7) for easy to drive cans, but I'm looking at things like the OriGen and FiiO E10K for when I want to move away from something that's really meant for "basic" PC audio but just happens to over-perform. My music collection extends no further than Spotify, and at 320 for subs it's damn good quality and I have no issues hearing what's there and even a little bit more depending on the track.

I've been looking to try and find enough of the music I listen to in either FLAC or WAV and see what the deal is there, but I doubt my ears are trained enough to notice the differences just yet.

Though I do have a question: Why 650's and not, say, 600's or Mad Dog's? I'm interested in all of this right now seeing as I'm still learning.

Because this was ten years ago when the 650s came out and I liked their sound better than anything else. I got the AKGs when the 650s broke, but after the AKGs broke and considering the fit, I just went back to the Senns and fixed them.
 
I'll bet you probably already know this but don't be expecting sonic bliss if you go from 320kbps MP3 to lossless. People who are a little too passionate about this stuff get into arguments about whether there's even any difference at all. My entire collection is in lossless but it has more to do with peace of mind than anything else, and I compress them to MP3s to save space when I put them on my phone. The biggest difference will be how it was mixed and mastered (And remasters are almost always terrible).

@SVX If you're looking at getting into the headphone world, you'll want to consider a few things: What kind of music you listen to, how important comfort is to you, whether you want to use them outside of your own home, how willing you are to get an amp, etc.

Unless people feel the same way as you about all the things above you should be skeptical about their recommendations. My first pair of decent headphones were Grados, and I enjoy them but they would be the worst thing in the world for people who want to take them out of the house or expect any amount of comfort.

Oh, absolutely. My issue is I've never heard anything in FLAC so it's more about the mystery of it than actually expecting the holy grail. I've tried the audio quality tests and more often than not, unless it's Classical music or something that's bass-heavy, or is even outright cold, I can't really hear a difference, even after listening to the same thing over and over again for about 20 minutes.

As I've said above, I'm finding all of this interesting and have for quite a number of years now.
 
Indeed. I watched Zeos review them and he loves them more than his personalized pair of HD600's.

This is going to turn into another keyboard-level addiction for me. I already want the Fidelio X2's, a pair of HD598's, HE-400's, etc. Why? Why must my wallet always cry? :lol:

Get a pair of HD558's and do the foam mod. Its cheaper, sounds just as good and (IMO) looks better in black than the ghastly color scheme the HD598's come in.
 
The muffs are so big you don't even feel them. It fits my huge pumpkin head. Ears are a little humid after taking them off, but at least they're not touching anything.

It's not quite velvety like the Sennheisers. It's better though. They probably don't get dusty and grimey like the Senns. Once dust gets on those, good luck getting it off. Honest to god, I can't believe these are 60 bucks. What the hell were they thinking? I would buy these even if they were 200.

Listening to Billy Joel's Zanzibar, and the bass is incredible. I never used to hear the bass line like this. It's so nice not being able to need to drive the headphones with an amp.

I do like the mid-high end of the Senns better. But is it worth 10x the price? No way.
 
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@Omnis & @Terronium-12: Please stop, I was just thinking about how much I love my 600s now that I have an amp. Plus I still have my Grados, I really don't need this sort of temptation!

They're only 60 bucks so the next time you need to replace some stuff, just get a pair of these instead. :lol:

I'd probably still like my 650s better if I had a good amp to drive them. Then again, who knows how the same amp would change these SHPs?
 
They're only 60 bucks so the next time you need to replace some stuff, just get a pair of these instead. :lol:

I'd probably still like my 650s better if I had a good amp to drive them. Then again, who knows how the same amp would change these SHPs?
So do the Philips have stronger bass than the 650s? That's what you're making it sound like, and the 650s are bassier than the 600s so I'm wondering if they might be a bit too heavy for my tastes. Actually the Schiit-stack & 600s are just a little more than I'd like at times already.
 
The muffs are so big you don't even feel them. It fits my huge pumpkin head. Ears are a little humid after taking them off, but at least they're not touching anything.

It's not quite velvety like the Sennheisers. It's better though. They probably don't get dusty and grimey like the Senns. Once dust gets on those, good luck getting it off. Honest to god, I can't believe these are 60 bucks. What the hell were they thinking? I would buy these even if they were 200.

Listening to Billy Joel's Zanzibar, and the bass is incredible. I never used to hear the bass line like this. It's so nice not being able to need to drive the headphones with an amp.

I do like the mid-high end of the Senns better. But is it worth 10x the price? No way.

The crazy thing is I've seen in a couple reviews that the original price was $190-something. I may have even read that they were discontinued. For what reason I don't know, but they sure as hell punch well above the current price.

@Omnis & @Terronium-12: Please stop, I was just thinking about how much I love my 600s now that I have an amp. Plus I still have my Grados, I really don't need this sort of temptation!

Do it. If anything at all, just consider them your expendable pair but once you listen to them... you might not feel the same way. :lol:
 
Do it. If anything at all, just consider them your expendable pair but once you listen to them... you might not feel the same way. :lol:
"Do it" seems to always be the answer with this sort of thing. GTP is the worst financial advice website I've ever used.
 
:lol:!

At least you don't have to buy an AMP/DAC, or replacement pads.
Don't get me started on those; I'm looking at the Magni/Modi stack on my desk and already thinking that I wish I had the Über versions, with the nicer-looking aluminum chassis. Tube amps sound like they might be worth trying as well...
 
Don't get me started on those; I'm looking at the Magni/Modi stack on my desk and already thinking that I wish I had the Über versions, with the nicer-looking aluminum chassis. Tube amps sound like they might be worth trying as well...

I've been looking at that combo for a while now but never pulled the trigger. What do you think of them?
 
Judging by the positive feedback, I think the SHP9500s are in my future. Just what I needed, another hobby. :dopey:
 
I've been looking at that combo for a while now but never pulled the trigger. What do you think of them?
They're great; really pair well with the 600s and I imagine other mid-range 'phones will work nicely with them. They expand the soundstage of the 600s to truly amazing levels, and provide both more detail across the range and oomph to the low-end. Other people have said that they're a bit bright but I disagree, though as I've said a couple times already my first taste of high-quality audio came from Grado SR225s so I may just be completely immune to things being bright or treble-heavy.

They're really neutral, above all, so if you like the signature of the 'phones you're using I don't think you need to worry about them mucking it up too much. Just be sure to give them some time before deciding whether or not you like them, it took me a week before I started noticing all of the things I love about them so much now. Though I should add as a bit of a disclaimer that that's how it's been for me literally every time I've upgraded: It takes me a week to realize what an upgrade it was, and then I can't go back to what I was using before. I don't know if that's typical or not but that's how it's always been for me.

SVX
Judging by the positive feedback, I think the SHP9500s are in my future. Just what I needed, another hobby. :dopey:
It's all downhill from here.

Next you'll be paying absurd amounts of money for high-quality versions of music you already own and getting into vicious debates on audiophile forums about whether or not upgrading the cables on your headphones is worth $200 and if it actually makes any difference in the first place.

R.I.P. The contents of your savings account.
 
Next you'll be paying absurd amounts of money for high-quality versions of music you already own and getting into vicious debates on audiophile forums about whether or not upgrading the cables on your headphones is worth $200 and if it actually makes any difference in the first place.

I already have trouble storing 320kb/s lossy files on my 120GB HDD. :embarrassed:
 
They're great; really pair well with the 600s and I imagine other mid-range 'phones will work nicely with them. They expand the soundstage of the 600s to truly amazing levels, and provide both more detail across the range and oomph to the low-end. Other people have said that they're a bit bright but I disagree, though as I've said a couple times already my first taste of high-quality audio came from Grado SR225s so I may just be completely immune to things being bright or treble-heavy.

They're really neutral, above all, so if you like the signature of the 'phones you're using I don't think you need to worry about them mucking it up too much. Just be sure to give them some time before deciding whether or not you like them, it took me a week before I started noticing all of the things I love about them so much now. Though I should add as a bit of a disclaimer that that's how it's been for me literally every time I've upgraded: It takes me a week to realize what an upgrade it was, and then I can't go back to what I was using before. I don't know if that's typical or not but that's how it's always been for me.

The only other option I've been interested in is the Micca OriGen, preferably the OriGen+ so I don't have to deal with the line-out preamp nonsense. Perhaps I'll get both and pit them against the Xonar U7 and either be very impressed that it (the U7) compares so well, or give it a nice pet and tell it it's done a good job.

Where am I going to put all of this stuff? Oh well. Problems to solve when the need arises.

@SVX It really is all downhill from here. In my situation it's a case of you learning more and more over time and you keep seeing this one pair (or pairs) of headphones, or you keep hearing about this really great AMP and/or DAC combo. You watch video reviews on it, read user and/or professional reviews, and finally you just pull the trigger. Rinse and repeat.

My list of headphones I'm looking at/am going to buy at some point is as follows:

Audio Technica AD1000X
500X (These are the least vital on the list and would probably be bought ASAP to replace the used pair I bought a few months back)
HiFiMan HE-400S
Philips Fidelio X2
Sennheiser HD598 (though the 558's have been recommended instead)

Please. Please help my wallet. And there are two or three replacement pads I have in my cart as well. Stupid hobbies being money pits...
 
The only other option I've been interested in is the Micca OriGen, preferably the OriGen+ so I don't have to deal with the line-out preamp nonsense. Perhaps I'll get both and pit them against the Xonar U7 and either be very impressed that it (the U7) or compares so well, or give it a nice pet and tell it it's done a good job.
Never heard of the OriGen before, it seems like it could be a very good bargain at that price. If you want something with a similarly compact size the Schiit Fulla (What a name) is something to consider, if you haven't dismissed it already. Keep in mind it doesn't do 24/192 though.
 
Don't get me started on those; I'm looking at the Magni/Modi stack on my desk and already thinking that I wish I had the Über versions, with the nicer-looking aluminum chassis. Tube amps sound like they might be worth trying as well...

No, no, that's dumb. You don't need all that mess as long as you already have something decent. Trust me. Been down that road, but luckily it was trying out other rich people's stuff instead.

Honestly... FFS, $60 you can't do better than that. Wait until something breaks and then sell/replace with $60 new hotness.
 

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