So it is. I had to look super ridiculously closely to spot it.

I honestly thought this was a meme for more rings = more better but that's actually a balanced 4.4mm jack.

4-pin mini-XLR is SSS-tier

Ka CHUNK

Ooh the 7Hz dongle, I was eyeing this one for a bit before settling on the iBasso DC03Pro (the hardware physical volume buttons sold it for me, looking at you Android). Can I ask what you think of the 7Hz one?

Also thank you so much for sharing your experience with the Etys, at least I know I'm not alone 😅 Crazy how reading reviews and random comments gave me totally unrealistic expectations about them...

After reading the reply of u/thatcarolguy in another thread I'm about to try a much more heavy-handed approach to EQing them, will definitely keep you updated. Thanks again!

What about old school dual 3-pin XLRs? 😉

I've never seen 3.5mm TRRRS before.

Yes, it may be stuck hard, but the tactile feel of insertion and pulling out is very unpleasant. It is click-clack with 6.3 and all of the jacks with the ball end. Friction fit plugs - nah. And the fixator doesn't help either.

Bigger = better

But seriously it depends on the amp / cable, the one I use is secure in there, I need to pull kinda hard to take it out and the ones I use for my preamps have a locking thing on both ends.

If I accidentally pull my headphones with 6.3 the 6.3 will come out, with xlr the amp comes flying with the headphones. Which is probably not something you want but it is definitely not disconnecting by accident.

Thank you so much!! I was kind of losing my mind over this haha... The XR's bass isn't that bad, but the treble still sounds soft even when using oratory1990's preset with a 5dB boost at 8k. Even stronger EQ it is, then! For real, thank you 🙏

You can "emulate" soundstage with filters like dolby or dtx better in some headphones than in others. Maybe that's what they mean?

Due to living constraints, I must use headphones. So "good at different things" is exactly the point. If I were taking my 'phones cross country, I'd drive the sportscar. If I were moving the K-horns, I'd take the truck.

I appreciate what you're saying. I don't ride bikes anymore but, the experience of driving a Ferrari and a pick-up truck is quite different.

edit: As I mentioned in my first post the mission is to find the means to the same goal, i.e., live music. Having adequate transportation (car), or max enjoyment (bike), are different goals.

6.3 is much smoother imo. XLR doesn't have a tactile snap and doesn't feel as secure as jacks (wobbly, especially when used for a long time)

I have 2.5 on every single balanced wire I own so I can use a small adapter to plug it wherever I want. I have never bent a single one of them.

Haven’t experienced it

Where is my mono?

2.5mm is the source of my anxiety.

If I were to practice handstand in the garden, I'd prefer speakers. Because since when people care about their sweetspots while they're sweating? :)I can't 100% agree with you. Speakers vary in their interaction with the room. You can fix the modal region with good results, but an echoey room will often need some work. Maybe not as much as people think when they watch pictures online.

But I can see a pattern here. You seem to be using some narrow dispersion speakers. There are different builds.

I used stock tips btw and both apple and 7hz dongle. Also please update!

I see. Fair enough - I've literally only been using XLR for a couple weeks so just assumed what I had was the norm.

Man I feel ya, It happened exactly the same to me when I got my er2se this month, and after been using my koss ksc75 after several months using the etys felt so weird, now I'm also about to return them and just buy an hexa or a wangzu zentian. Also tried eq, it helped, but wasn't enough

So the female end has a release button on the connector, the male end doesn't. The specific amp etc might have a locking catch but that depends. The vast majority of headphone outputs have no lock, my KRK monitors have no lock, the rear inputs on my old A30 pro had no lock, but the inputs on my singxer SA1 do.

I've never experienced it either and I use 2.5 on the go with a btr5

Does those "L-shaped" jacks count ? I hate those lol

Finally a fellow soul, who dared put 'soundstage' in double quotes!
A soundstage is a concept from stereo speakers, that was repurposed (and bastardized) by headphone geeks.

Let's be real. Headphones don't have soundstage. They have sound bubble with a stretched drum kit. The term doesn't work. It confuses people.