HD6XX vs K7XX vs HE4XX

Discussion in 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' started by Alexander, Feb 21, 2019.

  1. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    This thread gives me the HF-vibes.

    In doubt get a Koss Porta Pro and quit the hobby.

    There are better ways to spend your time and money.

    P.S.

    My personal advice would be to skip all three headphones, build a HD800-system like Serious did and kill that annoying treble peak. Then you are really done. For now I am happy with my Porta Pro, HD600 and Brainwavz HM5. That HM5 really stops me from side-grading.
     
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Normally I wouldn't go down this route, but I have some spare time while I wait for some day-long processes on another computer to finish. The drawbridge is down, so I figured it's good to make examples of people. The Vietnamese condensed milk coffee I had for yesterday during our SBAF romantic lunch gathering with @brencho, @Cspirou, and @Clemmaster totally tweaked me. Since my near-death experience, I've mostly been staying away from coffee+sugar, so that wigged me out for most of the day and then made me super cranky into the night.

    You guys know how trigger happy I am when I'm on a high dose of drugs (caffeine or alcohol). I could probably use pot to mellow me out and make me care less, but I hate that stuff. Makes me want to sit down and do nothing and have my life go to waste, like that 80s black-and-white spot of those two losers sitting around doing nothing, going nowhere, because of pot.
     
  3. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    Well, while we're on the topic of Massdrop X headphones, here's an expansion of the question - does everyone agree that the Elex beats the 6xx? Properly driven of course.

    I own both, and I have to say I'm still on the fence on some stuff there. I think, for most music the Elex is probably overall better. But the 6xx out of a BH crack is really captivating for small/solo orchestral stuff. Curious about other opinions there.

    Edit: Oh, and I almost forgot - which is better for gaming?! J/K
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2019
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Elex is tonally different compared to HD6XX. Subjectively less warm, clearer, and faster, but with zingier less even highs, and perhaps a metallic coloration that bothers some and not as resolving of microdetails. Clear would be closer to HD6XX tonally.
     
    Last edited: Feb 26, 2019
  5. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    The ambient sound in the "Metro" series is also very good.
     
    Last edited: Feb 27, 2019
  6. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    HD800 is great for gaming. So are the Koss ESP950 (very light and non fatiguing, but probably bounce the stators on 'splosions)

    I would also consider IEMs for gaming. You'll get great awareness by virtue of the noise isolation and there's nothing contacting your head (sweat and fatigue) for long sessions.
     
  7. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    The only possible problem with HD6xx and Senns is that they can sound a bit light when it comes to transient response, i.e you don't respond in time because a gunshot didn't sound impactful enough to jolt your brain, kind of like cymbals on 6xx. From my experience with how the Focals do cymbals, they're gonna be pretty good for competitive gaming, while stuff like HD800 and HD6xx would be better for games where the experience matters more. Lots of companies working in simulating binaural audio use HD800s as reference.
     
  8. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    Get a tube amplifier. The right tube breathes life into that driver you cannot dream of.
     
  9. Ash1412

    Ash1412 Friend

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    Tubes help with the soundstage and textural ambient stuff for me, which Senns already do well at, doesn't really do much for improving hard-hitting loud transients, which is probably just a function of soft damped Senn drivers vs Focal metal drivers with big magnets.
     
  10. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    You need more tubes in your life.
     
  11. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    HD800 is great for gaming, but too much. Custom IEMs would seem to be ideal. A DD for the immersive experience or something clean and articulate like the Andros where things need to be picked apart.

    I dunno, the guys in the game competitions seem to all use stuff like closed headphones from Turtle Beach or whatever with microphones.
     
  12. Jinxy245

    Jinxy245 Vegan Puss

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    Most of us do, I think.
    I do anyway.
     
  13. spoony

    spoony Spooky

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    Most pros I've seen play use IEMs with the provided headsets on top when on stage.
     
  14. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    From what I understand the pro gamers use that stuff because they're sponsored. The difference in fidelity/performance is negligible enough that even guys playing for money don't bother because it won't be the deciding factor.

    Also worth noting that the average non-audiophile is highly unconcerned with fidelity outside of the ability to play loud without crunchy distortion. That's not to say they can't notice the difference when you demo it for them. I just gave some DIY widebander speakers to a friend who was using TV speakers in his living room. With stands. And a pro power amp. The difference was obvious to his ears and he would not want to go back, although I'm certain if I didn't bring them over he would have never thought to upgrade even to a cheap soundbar. It's just not on the average consumers radar /tangent
     
  15. OJneg

    OJneg The Most Insufferable

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    Think about how terrible the messaging is for Turtle Beach if some loser (who plays bideogames for living) thinks your headphones sound so bad that he puts on an earphone underneath. You know that dude isn't using a CA Andromeda, probably some effin Airpods.
     
  16. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    Holy shit this thread started off bad and got even worse. I don't necessarily think Pillars' execution was warranted but I wasn't the one having to deal with their logic so eh. Dammit I forgot to ask them what they did in Colorado.

    The girlfriend has some SteelSeries headphones that I borrowed a few times back when we worked in the same office whenever I forgot the headphones (for context, not a huge fan of IEMs and have no plans on dropping a lot of money for what are, in my use case, more pleasant-sounding, less effective earplugs). They weren't horrible so much as uninspiring I'd say. Decent at positional cues for games thankfully enough, but didn't really scale with gear and was too smeary and three-blob-stage for music.

    Didn't get to test the mic but I've heard samples from competitors and am pretty sure they could have given my old 5110* a run for its money recording audio.

    As with most things capital-G "Gaming" I see those headsets as performing more aesthetic functions than anything else. I liked them for YouTube, and I'm not just saying that because I'm biased. Maybe.

    The HD800 is spectacular for films, but I think it might be too nebulous for CS:GO or Fortnite or whatever people are playing now, at least on less superlative gear. I'm more of a JRPG guy so it's not as much of a priority.


    *Nokia
     
  17. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    For gaming, I only use Eddie Current amps, specifically with EML 300B solid plate tube (not mesh) because the solid plate images better. Feedback on the amp is also engaged for the cleanest sound. This is with the HD800 for the most precise localization. The BTA mod is used to address the sometimes overly diffuse effect of the HD800. The Crane Song Solaris DAC serves as the source because of it's deep stage, stable and well localized images, and somewhat mechanically detailed presentation. With this setup I am able to survive the level 117 dungeon in Stardew Valley.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Sometimes it's just bad fit. I should know better next time @zerodeefex gives a new member a (bad) custom title in their first few posts.

    Ultimately, everyone is on one of two tracks on SBAF. Toward Friend or toward being kicked.
     
  19. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    *hides behind @Lyer25 * I play warframe with the Auteurs on the Makoyi, with the bass knob turned up 1/3 way on the Loki for dem 'sploooshons ...

    I don't know if it helps, but when the space ninja lasers go zwooorp my jimmies do indeed get massaged in a most pleasing way, and isn't that what counts?

    Also, modmic trounces every "gaming" headset mic I've tried, except the Audio-technica ones.
     
  20. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    @Taverius (Why the hell behind me wtf, haha)

    @purr1n As much as that sucks for Pillars, that makes sense in that this place has enough useless drama as-is. Don't suppose arguing semantics was a very encouraging sign either, never mind the fact that last I checked SBAF already had a glossary of terms to keep things as standard as possible.

    To keep on topic: the HE350 might actually be great for competitive gaming, though absolutely horrible for leisurely rounds or more story-driven stuff. The imaging on those was surprisingly great for the price, and the elevated treble will help with gross detail and there isn't enough bass to be muddy as eff-all. I wanted to keep them around back when I was settling for less-expensive gear, but even my Beyer ears found em offensive. Cheap TP will probably help.

    EDIT: Just checked the measurements thread to help jog my memory. Warm they might have been but all I really remember is how much I couldn't stand listening to anything with treble on them. Wow that distortion makes me think I might've actually been looking at them with rose tinted glasses. Either way I was probably getting a horrible seal since the pair I had were basically new, could explain why I found them super anemic and even more sharp.
     
    Last edited: Mar 3, 2019

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