https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/vd66zg/best_song_to_test_new_headphones/

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/gl4vnf/if_you_had_to_pick_5_songs_to_test_headphones/

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/67wphh/whats_your_favorite_song_to_test_headphones_with/

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/d4s8dw/a_song_benchmark_for_every_audiophile_to_test/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/vv9khq/headphone_testing_songs/

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/qgtkx3/whats_your_go_to_song_to_test_out_new_headphones/

https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/gzuf8q

https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/gzuf8q/my_definitive_top_10_songs_to_try_headphones/

https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/comments/rmv1yx/any_recommendations_for_songs_to_listen_to_when/

You don't mention whether your TV has Bluetooth. But if it does, an inexpensive Bluetooth receiver like the Fiio BTR3 will do the job. I don't notice any lag when I listen this way.

If your TV doesn't have Bluetooth capability, there are also Bluetooth transmitters that hook up to RCA and optical outputs.

Heck yeah, good headphones can shine with EDM and other electronic music. Pick something with a deep, extended, accurate bass response.

If and when you decide to explore other genres, you'll be ahead of the game because you already own a good headphone.

Probably the transients. They're always sneaking around back there.

The technicalities of this headphone were fast and spacious. Powerful amplification opened up the bass and gave it more stopping power. Energy in the "air" frequency range was copious, albeit some slight sibilance could be heard on female vocals.

They look gorgeously built and I'm sure they sound wonderful. With that said, I have not been convinced that inefficient headphones provide any benefits over efficient ones. As such, I would never spend that much money on something that tied me to an amp. If I was in the $4k plus market, I'd rather purchase a headphone that could be run from basically any source, e.g. Meze or Focal.

Great cans :-) Try them without the inserts. I found it very quick to adjust to the extremely small difference in treble, and detail was greater.

They do it because people want the streaming services. It's way easier to slap Android 11 onto a device than to program an in-house solution and keep it updated for Qobuz, Tidal, Amazon, Apple, etc.

You should return them and look for something that better suits your tastes. Are you locked in to that price range? The Sivga Oriole might be a better fit for you.

Audiophile Buttplugs

Android is a battery killer. Sony's DAP lineup has generally been the battery champ, whether with or without Android.

How would you compare the Bathys to the Z1R?

Endgame =/= Not happy

I have:
Sony MDR-Z1R
Sony MDR-Z7M2
Sony MDR-7506
Sony MDR-1000X
Dan Clark Aeon Closed X
and I returned Hifiman HE400SE.

I would not want to part with the Z1R. Everything else could go I suppose, but I like having the Aeon Closed X as a high end backup for it, and it is my work office set of cans.

I have been considering dabbling in open backs again (I disliked the openness of the HE400SE) and am looking at Focal Clear and LCD-2 Classic. But this is just an idle thought really, as I am very satisfied with what I've got.

An amplifier takes an incoming signal and makes it louder. That's it. It sounds like you needed one, since your headphone was too quiet at your PC's max volume output.

Every single digital audio device on earth (including laptops, PCs, DAPs, iPods, phones) contains a DAC. Otherwise music would sound like this: "11000110010100101010100100001100101"

So the question is only whether a fancy external DAC would sound better than the DAC in your given device.

In my opinion, unless there is audible distortion coming from the device due to a lack of EM shielding or something, the answer is invariably "no."

But opinions on this vary.

MDR-Z1R has been my daily driver for 2 years. I bought an Aeon Closed X for the office. I like them both a lot and each one still dazzles me with some regularity.

I like to see what new gear comes up, and the discourse around it. But nothing has made me pull the trigger. I think part of this may be my relative distaste for open backs (I don't like hearing my room, traffic, A/C vents, etc.) and the fact that closed backs that interest me tend to cost even more than the Z1R (e.g. Focal Stellia, DCA Stealth, Meze Liric).

I buy way more music than I should, most likely (I am a FLAC dinosaur).

If sound quality is not the top priority, comfort and durability should be. The Drop Sennheiser 6XX is supposed to be light and durable. Dan Clark Aeon headphones (including their Drop variants) are also very light and extremely comfortable, but cost a bit more. If you want something cheaper, Sony MDR-7506 is very light and lasts forever.

All of these come with 3.5mm cables that can be adapted for 1/4 inch inputs on stereo receivers.

Music can instantly transport people, it's really amazing. I hope it brings you enjoyment in addition to solace :-)

Someone on a different thread was just singing the praises of the Philips Fidelio L2. It's under $100. Sivga SV021 might also be a contender in this price bracket.

(6)

The Waifu spirit never dies

It is called the mysteriously pubescent female.

​

The entrance to the mysteriously pubescent female

Is called the root of mesh and ear tip (keep it unclogged).

Endless flow

Of inexhaustible frequency response.

(9)

Hold it and power it -

Not as good as your first set of cans.

Measure and A/B it -

It will not long survive in your stash.

When headphones and amps fill your listening space,

They cannot all be enjoyed.

Riches and pride

Can never be quenched.

Withdrawing when listening is done:

Headphone Tao.

(20)

Banish upgrades,

No More grief.

Between mid-fi and summit-fi,

how much difference?

Between Crinacle and Zeos,

how much difference?

What others hear I must hear --

How pointless!

Commenters are wreathed in superlatives,

As if at a carnival banquet.

I alone am passive,

Giving no sign,

Like an infant who has not yet smiled.

Forlorn, as if I have no headphones.

Others have twenty or thirty cans,

I alone have two.

I have the mind of an amp skeptic,

Confused, confused.

Others like bright sound signatures,

I alone like dark, dark.

Drifting on my FLACs,

Listening endlessly.

Others have upgrade plans,

I alone am wayward and stubborn,

I alone am different than others,

Like a baby who has reached endgame.

(2)

Recognize Sound Quality and Beats are born.

Recognize Build Quality and Hifiman is born.

​

​

Objectivism and Subjectivism produce each other.

​

​

Comfort depends on discomfort,

Harman is tested by V-shape,

Highs are determined by Lows,

Mids are Harmonized by Voice Coils.

Unless we're talking about planars in which case it's different.

​

​

Therefore, the Audiophile is devoted to Purchasing,

Blathering on forums without teaching,

Buying ten thousand things without purpose,

Uses but doesn't really Own,

Constantly resells gear at a loss,

And accomplishes nothing while claiming to.

​

​

When no accomplishment is claimed,

Listening to music endures.

Need to put it in the freezer for 1000 hours, bro

Sigh. Got my hopes up there for a new high end set.