What's Going On Up There- The Headphone Thread

Turbo said:
I actually just picked-up a pair of IE600's a few days ago, before seeing this post. There was a $400 off sale on Amazon and I was eying them - been wanting to take a step from the Shure 425's I've been using for close to 15 years. Figured if there is an issue, it's easy to return to Amazon.

Anyway, I'm really loving these IE600's! A nice step up from the Shures I had. The bass is nice and rich, love it. Just a few days in, but so far so good. Playing around with the eartips. I've partial to foam tips with the Shures and I think it will be the same here. I just get better isolation with them. The larges are best but a little tiring after 15 minutes. Will probably go with the mediums in the long run.

I'm playing these through a Helm on my iPhone, with files coming mainly from Tidal.
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Funny, I cannot get into using IEMs. I have AirPods which are fine for their purpose. I have had several pairs of IEMs and they sound fine but nothing revelatory. If I want to really listen the shit out of something with my iPhone it is big over the ear cans all the way.
 
jamieanderson1968 said:
I think it is my partial deafness in one ear. The IEM sort of amplifies (no pun intended) it, where as over the ears almost compensate for it and sound more natural
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This makes no sense. Whether they are in ear or over your ear, the one ear is still… deaf.

AirPods do the adaptive listening thing right? Have you turned that on and done the listening test?

I hate iems and only use the echo buds in bed at night because we still have the three year old in the bed with us… she is gonna move out after her actual third birthday, but currently I don’t want her tugging on the b&ws while I’m asleep. Hopefully I will start using them for sleep time soon.

Ear buds make my ears itch.
 
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I had a chance to listen to these last week, Campfire Solaris "Stellar Horizon". These are the best IEMs I've ever heard. I'm not going to upgrade from my Andromeda 2020s but man, these are astonishing. I love the Campfire sound, it just works with my brain. But it's funny because their top top top of the line most expensive IEMs sound just awful. Like terrible, I have no idea how that happens. But they truly make an IEM for everyone's tastes in terms of sound signature, it's very cool how many different iterations they have that touch on every kind of sound output.
 
Mather said:
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I had a chance to listen to these last week, Campfire Solaris "Stellar Horizon". These are the best IEMs I've ever heard. I'm not going to upgrade from my Andromeda 2020s but man, these are astonishing. I love the Campfire sound, it just works with my brain. But it's funny because their top top top of the line most expensive IEMs sound just awful. Like terrible, I have no idea how that happens. But they truly make an IEM for everyone's tastes in terms of sound signature, it's very cool how many different iterations they have that touch on every kind of sound output.
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For that price, have you considered custom mold IEMs? I had a pair years ago, sound isolation and fit were impecable. Havent researched the IEM market in years, still rocking some Shure SE535s, but I remember Ultimate Ears and JH Audio offering some impressive customs with 6 to 12+ drivers per side.
 
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This is their top of the line model "Trifecta" and it costs more than several parts of my system and they sound absolutely terrible. I cannot imagine how jacked your hearing has to be to find their output pleasurable. It's very very strange.
 
Mather said:
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This is their top of the line model "Trifecta" and it costs more than several parts of my system and they sound absolutely terrible. I cannot imagine how jacked your hearing has to be to find their output pleasurable. It's very very strange.
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They look like something one of them Giger aliens would grow out of or spit at you.
 
zdkaiser said:
For that price, have you considered custom mold IEMs? I had a pair years ago, sound isolation and fit were impecable. Havent researched the IEM market in years, still rocking some Shure SE535s, but I remember Ultimate Ears and JH Audio offering some impressive customs with 6 to 12+ drivers per side.
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My Andromeda 2020s are near perfect for me. The only thing the Solaris has on them is a wider stage, otherwise the sound is identical. So I'm absolutely good with these... They fit like a glove, but Campfire does do custom mold as well though...
 
I’m curious…. When you listen on headphones, are you more or less likely to sing along than when you play through your speakers. And if I’m the only one that finds myself a few drinks in, singing Boston’s Amanda with the headphones on and the music room door closed…. Well fuck.
 
Slimwhit33 said:
I’m curious…. When you listen on headphones, are you more or less likely to sing along than when you play through your speakers. And if I’m the only one that finds myself a few drinks in, singing Boston’s Amanda with the headphones on and the music room door closed…. Well fuck.
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I’m gonna take you by surprise and make you realize!
 
Static Shock said:
Need a little advice . I was looking for a basic headphone amp so I can again use my very old Yamaha Orthodynamic HP-1 headphones .

At this point I have no headphone connection .The Conrad Johnson repair outlet in Montreal Canada said that I can connect a headphone amp to my CJ preamp through the tape output . If I play a cd or record , I select it as a source and the signal will be automatically sent to the tape output thus to the headphone amp /headphones . If I do not turn on the power amp , the volume control on the headphone amp controls volume on the headphone.

I was looking at the Monolith Liquid Spark Headphone Amplifier , Atom AMP 2 or iFi Audio ZEN Air Can High-Resolution Headphone Amplifier. Just wondering if anyone has experience with these or similar headphone amps . Since I already have a DAC , don't need another one .
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Can youse guys help out @Static Shock
 
Nee Lewman said:
Can youse guys help out @Static Shock
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I’m a fan of iFi products. I have the Zen CAN and think it’s an excellent amp. I’m not familiar with your headphones, but the Zen CAN is very powerful with adjustable gain settings and shouldn’t have trouble driving your headphones. If possible I recommend using the Balanced Out of the Zen CAN, but the SE output is also very good.

The Atom amp is also a quality option. Enough power to drive all but the most demanding headphones on the market today. I’m also a JDS Labs fan. The Element II (The Knob!) runs things on my desk. Very good SE headphone amp and a nice preamp for my powered speakers.

The tape out from your preamp is a fixed signal and should work well as a source for your headphone amp.
 
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mindhead1 said:
I’m a fan of iFi products. I have the Zen CAN and think it’s an excellent amp. I’m not familiar with your headphones, but the Zen CAN is very powerful with adjustable gain settings and shouldn’t have trouble driving your headphones. If possible I recommend using the Balanced Out of the Zen CAN, but the SE output is also very good.

The Atom amp is also a quality option. Enough power to drive all but the most demanding headphones on the market today. I’m also a JDS Labs fan. The Element II (The Knob!) runs things on my desk. Very good SE headphone amp and a nice preamp for my powered speakers.

The tape out from your preamp is a fixed signal and should work well as a source for your headphone amp.
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Thanks for your comments . Does the Zen Can come with a power source ? online they only show a short cable to connect with a usb port and no independent power transformer . I need this as its going into my existing old school system . For this reason i am leaning towards the ATOM AMP 2
 
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