Tom's Guide Headphone and Home Audio Thread

[Deleted member 217926]

Got a balanced 600/650 cable on ebay from CorpseCables for $55. It's a stock 650/660S cable that he reterminated in a 4pin Neutrik XLR. Very professional work for a great price.

I also got a discreet DAC, a Topping D30.

3/4 of my endgame right here. Eventually I'll add a tube amp which most likely with be the Massdrop x Alex Cavalli Tube Hybrid Amp (CTH).

Topping makes the little stack and it just happens to fit all my stuff. It's clear acrylic and grabs just a hint of the LEDs behind my monitor. I think it looks really good.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Picked up a pair of Monoprice M1060s on sale last week. Ummm wow? I can't believe how good these are especially at the $237 sale price. Some people report a 5K ringing but either not all of them have it or my ears aren't sensitive to it. The drivers in these things are spectacular. Modding them is so popular Audeze quit selling pads to people unless they could prove they own Audeze headphones because people were buying these and swapping the pads to make Audeze 'killers'.

They compete with the Ebony Fostex in that I don't skip tracks or genre pair with them. They can handle just about anything. They don't have the warm liquid mids of the Fostex but they make up for it in width. Fostex still has more bass but the 1060s extend very well. They're fun. I'll give it a month before I decided on trying the 'fuzzor' mod and pad swap.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

The M1060s are getting returned. The more I listened and compared them to what I have now the less I liked them. The driver has a lot of potential. Extension on both ends is amazing and with a bass boost EQ'd in they slam harder than any headphones I've ever used. Imaging and width are also very good. They just have a strange tonality in the mids I can't get past. They'd make really good gaming headphones but I'll keep my HD598s there.

I think I'm just going to get the Modhouse Argon MK IIIs.

https://www.modhouseaudio.com/argon-mk3/zimu3wz0oyxlavnprki2jovso6c31v

 

[-HH-]

I actually just got me some T60RP's and they sound KILLER,

Be aware Anort, any T50 mods will require power, I use the Emotiva A-100 with the modification of removing the resistor for the headphone port and JESUS the power.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

My Aune X7S is 1w single ended and 1.7w balanced. It will handle the Argons. That BassX is a beast though.

The other option I just can't quit looking at is LCD2 Classics.

 

[-HH-]

I thought about the and the 58X Jubilee

 

[Deleted member 217926]

I've got 600s and 650s. I feel like the 58X Jubilee wouldn't be different enough or would be more a step towards my 598s. It is a great value though. I will get the 660S when the price drops a bit.

 

[-HH-]

They're supposed to be exactly the same as the 660S with a slightly different sound signature, Zeos seems to have a love hate relationship with them for that reason.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Zeo's reviews are wonderfully entertaining but he likes everything and I don't necessarily trust his ear. Grainy with less resolving treble is how most reviewers compare the 58x to the 600/650. Bass is great for an open dynamic but I have 2 pair of Fostex for bass.

 

[-HH-]

I mean regardless for the price, they're great looking, same build as the 660's atleast.

The T60's I just got though are beautiful, they just sound so clean

 

[Deleted member 217926]

The T60s are nice. The wood looks great. I'm definitely a Foxtex fan! At least of their biodynamic drivers. Haven't heard the planars yet.

 

[-HH-]

Though hard to drive, they're amazing, They kind of remind me of the Sony MDRA-1's, except a bit more punchy and sharp (a good sharp) all around, the T50's are crisper sounding and the T60's are a bit more relaxed, personal preference is the T60.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

I started with those stupid M1060s. Then the Argon Mk 3s. Now with the Argons having a 12 week lead time I'm looking at the DT1990 Pro, Audeze LCD2 Classic and Focal Elear. Need. More. Money. :lol:

So tempted to get the LCD2 Classics but I just saw they were supposed to be a Massdop collaboration at $599 and Audeze backed out on it and decided to keep them. At $800 they're right at the top of my budget with the Focals.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Wow looks like Massdrop got their planar collaboration.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-mrspeakers-ether-cx-closed-headphones?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ccu_massdrop_x_mrspeakers_ether_cx_closed_headphones&referer=PQPCA8&mode=guest_open&iterableCampaignId=401992&iterableTemplateId=575456

The Ether C Flow directly from Mr. Speakers is $1799.

 

[-HH-]

That's a saving of $900, that's a very good option.

 

[Yeldur]

After making a thread asking about a new set of headphones as my old pair broke I was recommended the Philips Fidelio X2's by anort3, he asked me to makes a post here in a review of sorts!

Overall my review is very positive, the clarity of audio is wonderful, the bass punchy and everything about it looks and feels high quality, compared to my previous headset this one is a lot better overall. Originally I was worried about not having a built in microphone but then he advised me to use the ModMic's which I have now as well and the audio from the mic is clear and crisp as well, unlike a lot of gaming headsets which tend to be quite poor. In a gaming type setup they work fantastically as well, I can hear very clearly where my enemies are which help for those intense 1v1 sessions in Rainbow Six Siege.

If anyone is looking for a very nice pair of headphones I highly recommend the Fidelio X2's, you can't go wrong!

Thanks once again dude, your help is much appreciated and I'm more than happy!

 

[Deleted member 217926]

After making a thread asking about a new set of headphones as my old pair broke I was recommended the Philips Fidelio X2's by anort3, he asked me to makes a post here in a review of sorts!

Overall my review is very positive, the clarity of audio is wonderful, the bass punchy and everything about it looks and feels high quality, compared to my previous headset this one is a lot better overall. Originally I was worried about not having a built in microphone but then he advised me to use the ModMic's which I have now as well and the audio from the mic is clear and crisp as well, unlike a lot of gaming headsets which tend to be quite poor. In a gaming type setup they work fantastically as well, I can hear very clearly where my enemies are which help for those intense 1v1 sessions in Rainbow Six Siege.

If anyone is looking for a very nice pair of headphones I highly recommend the Fidelio X2's, you can't go wrong!

Thanks once again dude, your help is much appreciated and I'm more than happy!

Awesome man! Glad you like them and they're working out for you. I appreciate you coming back with the review.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

Just bought a lightly used Focal Elear for a great price. Fingers crossed.

 

[Deleted member 217926]

In a word....glorious.

Just made my HD600s and HD650s redundant. Still not as good as my Ebony Fostex for EDM and other bass heavy stuff but man the tonality on the Elear is just beautiful. 10/10

 

[carabrownvv]

I had to edit that quote sorry. It took up half the page.

hi,am new here,really like the picture your are sharing.It's humble that you says you are not a audiophile.:lol:Just sometime find when wearing headphone for about 1 hour,ear hurts.Would be great if anyone can give some idea about portable outdoor speaker

 

[Deleted member 217926]

I had to edit that quote sorry. It took up half the page.

hi,am new here,really like the picture your are sharing.It's humble that you says you are not a audiophile.:lol:Just sometime find when wearing headphone for about 1 hour,ear hurts.Would be great if anyone can give some idea about portable outdoor speaker

I have no idea what portable outdoor speaker to recommend. Something like a JBL Boom 3 maybe?

 

[emilly96]

https://usa.yamaha.com/products/audio_visual/hifi_compo...

This one entices me. I would go for it in this season.

 

[Saga Lout]

Which season, emilly96? Are you heading into Summer?