What do you think about the Sennhaiser gaming headset I linked?
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As much as I would’ve liked to continue my headphone journey indefinitely, I feel like the Audeze Penrose showed me enough in tonight’s testing to declare them the winner for now. I was definitely hoping it would prevail since it has the ideal suite of connectivity options for my needs: USB dongle that I can plug into my PS5 and mostly forget about, Bluetooth for phone/tablet/PC, and a wired connection when all else fails (mostly just for my Switch when undocked). The build on them feels excellent to me: they’re heavy enough to feel substantial while the cans grip your ears tightly enough to provide adequate noise isolation. The Arctis 7P felt like a well-built pair of gaming headphones; these feel more like what I imagine studio quality to be.
Of course the most important aspect for headphones is how they sound and the Audeze sound amazing! On first listen I thought something was wrong with them because they were picking up instrumentation that I normally miss when listening to music with my crappy work computer speakers. They apparently lack a proper soundstage (?) because they rely on the PS5 audio processing for that but music still had a rich, full sound on them. There was also a noticeable improvement on my test with the Switch, where they deftly mixed the music and sound effects, as opposed to the Arctis which always felt tinny to me. My PS5 test didn’t reveal any differences between the sets when playing Astro’s Playroom, which is basically a tech demo that came loaded on the system. Going to hold onto both for now but barring any changes or issues I’ll be keeping the Audeze.
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I’m not in urgent need of new headphones, just wondering if this is a good deal in your opinion? Sony WHCH710N for $78 ($199 normally, allegedly). It would be a good upgrade over what I have, so if it’s indeed 200 dollars worth of headphone I might do it, if it’s meh, then I’ll pass. If it’s just a Prime Day scam I’ll pass with prejudice.
It’s a “meh” for me. Depends a lot on your criteria though. If you had a hard $100 budget and had to have wireless with ANC then maybe that’s the best option for that category.
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@mjiggy has alerted us to a deal:
Sennheiser HD 58X Jubilee on sale for $129 (reg $170) at MassDrop. New email signups get $10 off.
In terms of value, I don’t see how these can be beat. They are so good for the price that I would not consider selling mine.
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Thanks for this, do I need to purchase a cord as well if I want to listen to music on my pc with these?
No. It comes with a 6 ft fully detachable cable that terminates to a 3.5 mm (1/8") TRS plug, i.e., the standard size you’d plug into a phone or laptop. A 1/8" to 1/4" adapter is included.
To be clear, these are completely wired and not wireless in any way. They are also open back which means they do not isolate you from external noise nor contain the noise from the headphones. In other words, they don’t have any special features outside of sounding absolutely incredible for a price that is stupidly low. The headphones that they sound nearly identical to (HD 660 S) are $500, and with a few simple tweaks I bet people couldn’t do better than chance in a blind A/B.
I’m wanting to get a record player but I want it to be able to connect to my Sonos system. The issue is that I only have 2 play 3s and a player. Based on their website it looks like I would need a Play:5 and I don’t really have a good spot for it. I might try and find a Gen 2 connect on Ebay - that should work maybe? Anyone have any other bright ideas?
Edit: No go on the connects - they are like $200 min on Ebay for the gen 2.
Yea I got that much, just wasn’t sure if cable was included, all I saw was mention of adapter, prolly gonna pick these up, I’d like to see what it’s like, what is the difference between listening on these and my AirPods? Lol
The tuning and tonality are just so good for $119 and you can plug straight into anything without an amp. Everything sounds full, natural, and balanced. That’s where your money is going. You’re going to hear what it’s really supposed to sound like, and you’re going to love it. There are technical aspects like imaging and resolution but the easiest way to describe it is it sounds a lot more like being there. I was just watching a Youtuber play some FPS and the cracking sound of the guns was wild.
The HD 58X are in the same family as HD 600, HD 650 / HD 6XX, HD 660 S, using the same housing and materials with a unique driver that was probably a prototype or precursor to the HD 660 S (the latest and “best” model in the 600 line). They all have the same basic sound signature (neutral) with slightly different flavors in tonality. For example, the HD 600 has anemic bass response but extremely clear mids and highs and is technically the most neutral. The HD 58X has slightly boosted bass by comparison which it pulls off extremely well while maybe trading a small amount of clarity. But IME you can EQ that out with software if you want a different signature.
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Ordered. I have Beats by Dre buds and the old Sony 7506 from college in 2005 or so.
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7506 are still a standard monitoring headphone but I can’t imagine they are good for actually enjoying audio.
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The ones on the left cost way more and need power to drive properly. I use them when I require isolation or very analytical levels of detail. They are heavier and less comfortable to wear for long periods, and I’d be lying if I said I absolutely enjoyed them more. It’s about a 50/50 split for me. I’m listening to the 58X now and they are just so pleasurable. Once you get the clamp force adjusted to your head it’s almost like you aren’t wearing headphones at all.
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I’m not sure what your budget is but if you want a good place to just get an idea of what’s out there here’s a good place to browse.
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Ordered em, will try to report back when I get them and try em out
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Cool I’m putting my hi-fi list together for Spotify and will post it when I finish.
The teacher that required those Sony headphones also made us buy this overpriced CD set but I still have it and have been meaning to go through it now that I have a DVD/CD drive again.
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What’s your budget?