Haha I have the X4, run it on the 5K, and love it! It’s my favorite headphone.

>So my question is what am I missing,

Hearing...you're missing some hearing if the Zero is barely loud enough at max volume from your phone. You don't need an amp; you need to train your ears and brain to appreciate music at a safer volume.

They just need more burn in.

I guess you could light a match to help you find it.

Das Lads

Thanks! I have other headphones and IEMs that offer good bass (with some other tradeoffs), so I'm pretty happy with the 600s. I don't have anything else that sounds like them, except maybe the Dunu Titan S, in a small way.

Haha That's when I got mine! I was going to get the 6xx because everyone said it has better bass, but when I saw the 600 on sale for not much more than the 6xx, I just went for it. I love them.

If you insist on a dongle, the Qudelix 5K comes with a great equalizer that you can use to tweak the bass closer to your liking. It’s about $100 and offers great value in power and features for that price. It will also connect to your phone via Bluetooth, and you can clip it to your clothing for something closer to a wireless experience than you normally get from an IEM.

Well, my trajectory has pretty much been: LG necklace buds (three generations, I believe, all of which sucked for both music and phone calls, yet I kept buying them for some reason, anyway)--->Sennnheiser CX (the first listenable gear with good call quality)--->Airprods Pro 2, so for me, I had to break the $100 barrier to get good wireless sound, but I have several inexpensive IEMs that sound good.

Yeah, I take my Airpods out and spend a little quality time listening to music at work on IEMs with the Qudelix 5K. It is essentially as convenient other than phone calls, but those are rare while I'm working, so when it's slow, I listen to some music.

I use my Airpod Pro 2s as daily drivers for most things, and I use Airpod Max at my desktop (Mac mini, lol) for general use, but I spend time each day mindfully listening to music on wired sets.

Same! In an age of good TWS options from $100 and up and wired IEMs at $20 that sound great, I am surprised at how many people I see with decade-old MP3 player nuggets in their ears.

🤣

I can't imagine that he won't like them since there is nothing offensive in the sound signature. If they're comfortable for him to wear, I'm sure he'll enjoy them. I don't have a single complaint about them at $20. You're a good friend!

Ooh, I’ll give $125 and pay for shipping; contact me here! 😛

Yeah, I use the Qudelix for two of my headphones, not my IEMs

It’s expensive to run IEMs that cost less than $100, but I bought it for HD600s and some planers, at which point it’s pretty inexpensive, especially for being as feature-rich as it is.

Yeah, I like the Arias, too. I have the Qudelix 5K, but honestly I just run the Arias with the Apple Dongle.

I have a lesser Beyerdynamic headphone, and I love it, and I also bought the HD600s on sale for about the same price, and I also love them. The Beyerdynamics I have are bright, and some people don't care for that, but the Sennheisers have a sound signature that I don't think anyone would find offensive, so I think your safer bet is to buy the HD600s on sale rather than the 1990s at full price. They have a return policy if you don't like them, and if you do like them and decide to keep them, you got a great deal on them.

The Tree, by The Windmill, from their Tribus album, sounds good on those. So does most jazz (try Portico Quartet with that wonderful hang drum). I also like acoustic and somewhat acoustic music on them, like Fleetwood Mac Rumours, Doobie Brothers Captain and Me, Lucinda Williams Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, etc.

TL;DR Dankpods is awesome, and you are not the only one who likes those Samsons; you do you, and enjoy your new headphones! Also, calling people elitist here will just make them dislike you.

I'm pretty new to the hobby too, and I also like Dankpods and bought the Beyerdynamic DT770 Pros on his recommendation. I love them, although a lot of people think they are too bright. I personally like their sound, and I also like the Moondrop Chu's sound, which is also a little bright, and that's alright. It's alright to like bright. It doesn't make those who don't care for it elitist, though. You're just going to offend people who otherwise would probably have been cool with you by calling them elitist, but they'll also probably forget this post, so just be nicer moving forward, and you'll be fine. Welcome to the headphone hobby and the headphone sub-Reddit.

I have the Salnotes Zero, and I think they sound great. They are a fine introduction into IEMs, and even though I like the Chu at the same price, I would recommend the Zero over them because the ear hooks are much more comfortable and functional on the Zero, and the cable doesn't suck as bad (and is replaceable, unlike the Chu).

I have never heard the Samsons, but Dankpods is not the only one who likes them. I watched a review of the AKG K52s, which I own, from a long-haired European guy (German?) who liked both the Samsons and the K52s at their price point. What's most important is that you like them, so let no one steal your joy.

If you like a wide soundstage, and you want to explore other (relatively) inexpensive headphones, you might also try the AKG K52 (also under $50, like your Samsons, and also with a wide soundstage), and the Philips SHP9600 (a bit more, but you can find deals, like the $60 pair I bought on Black Friday), which is a nice introduction to open-back headphones. The K52 seems to get pretty much universal love, with the caveat "at it's price," but the Philips gets mixed reviews, in part due to deep appreciation for its predecessor, with which it apparently has little in common. I do not let them steal my joy; I love the way the Philips sound (I would describe them as warm, but the treble is still fine), and they definitely have a wide soundstage. Indeed, it seems as if the music is all around my head, maybe coming from a foot away. You might try them, too.

I considered the BTR5, also because of Dankpods, but while researching it, I decided instead on the Qudelix 5K, but I'm sure the BTR is also a great little amp. I do not honestly hear a huge difference with it on the Philips or AKG cans, but I hear a difference with the budget planars I bought (HE-X4) and the Hurr Durr 6 Hungeos that I nabbed on sale (was saving for the 6XX, but when I saw the OG's for nearly the same price, I just pulled the trigger on them and have no regrets). I also think I hear a difference with the DT770s, but that might be placebo effect. It also might be a legit sound difference.

That's part of the problem with evaluating these things, and it's one of the reasons not to get too hung up on the disagreements within the community. Some people will say that burn in makes a difference (I burned in my Arias and my Philips headphones with 100 hours of pink noise but burned in nothing else, and I don't hear a difference), while others say it is snake oil, and there are other, similar disagreements about things like cables. Anyway, the BTR5 may not make a noticeable difference with the Samsons, but it will make them somewhat more portable, and it certainly won't hurt.

Yeah, my head is kind of skinny, so the clamping on me is secure, but not uncomfortably tight. I have to kind of wiggle the cups until my ear is entirely inside them for a proper seal, but it isn't uncomfortable. I think they're great headphones!

I have the 32 Ohm version and use them for listening to music and for playing my Kawai digital piano. I don't do any kind of studio work, but I have worn the 770s several times for 3-4 hours without any discomfort at all. They are super comfortable, even though my ear barely fits inside them, so I'm sure I could wear them all day, too.

IMO, yes, but I haven't heard the original Pros. They aren't 3x better though, but they cost 3x as much. If you're looking just for sound and don't need to make calls with them or use Siri with them or something, then the Arias are a better value. They are close to the Pro 2 in sound quality.

I have both, and I retired the Chu in favor of the Zero, but it was because of the horrible ear hooks and sticky little cable, not the sound. I bought them both to get a feel for different sound signatures before spending money on headphones anyway, and they both helped a little with that.

The Zeros are emergency back ups in my pack, but at work, I mostly listen to my Airpod Pro 2s and use the Aria when they're charging. At home, it's strictly headphones. I use the felt pouch from the Chu to store my Qudelix 5K. Coupled with the little bubble wrap pouch that the 5K came in, it is an awesome storage and transport solution. I tossed the Chus into a laptop bag in case I ever forget to take something along to plug into (or pair with) the laptop. I actually like the sound of the Chu, though.