mini xlr is still a tier imo.

Gimme XLR on my IEMs, and my iPhone… now!!!

Yes, I hear you…

But fuck 2.5

All plugs are beautiful. Down with your unattainable plug beauty standards!!!

XLR is S tier because twice the power double the fun.

You can get 3.5mm TRRS for certain headphones that are cabled for dual side single ended and a single sided balanced connection like the HE R9.

It's super jank and can cause a short if you use a normal dual 3.5mm balanced but it's the simplest solution to accommodate wireless add ons like the blue mini whilst maintaining compatibility with unbalanced dual input cables that most companies use.

But yea, the pic is a Chad 4.4mm.

I literally just broke my 2.5mm headphone cable this morning. It sucks.

This has always happened regardless of where they are made, it's just an issue with the cheap design, people think because it's made in china the quality has gone down hill but it's not true it's always been the same flawed design.

Happened to my AKG k7XX, it's unfortunate the K6 and K7 series have this design flaw as well as the elastics eventually wearing out. They are great headphones otherwise.

If you want solid build quality I would look into Beyerdynamic headphones.

I prefer to describe soundstage in IEMs and Headphones as a "holographic" effect, I think it describes the feeling very well

4.4 is better, sure, but I've never had any of my 2.5s bend or warp or anything. I've never even seen a bent 2.5 like others keep saying theirs do.

I guess some of us just take care of our stuff better than most.

That's what I love about the Clear, all the details I'm getting that I never heard before!

I'm talking from experience, my K553 fell from hip level and the hinges broke, while i mistreat my DT770 the way Chris brown mistreated Rihanna, and they are brand new. K712 also had an issue with the earcup that would get loose. So yeah i'm talking about my proper experience with them, and notice how i said "for me". as in "my own opinion" to which i'm entitled to btw

I'm using 4.4 balanced with my Sundara. I love it.

G-tier is mono

CampMidFire

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.

Gigachad

MiniXLR, opinions?

Not in my room. Reverberation and resonances were so bad, I I could clap and hear any metal in my apartment ring. Lined the walls with Rockwool panels and now everything except the bass resonances are great. For headphones, I turn on my RME's crossfeed for old hard-panned songs and get 95% of the way to speakers.

where the hell do you buy these? only place I can find em is on eBay for like 80usd

I love how wireless is D tier

I have fioo hs18s on my TWS, and for my normal IEMs I mostly use either xelastec or softears liquid silicon. Exception goes to my starfield which run spiraldot++'s.

In terms of favorite I think the softears liquid silicon's are my favorite. They are like xelastecs but don't seem to get as dirty, and are slightly firmer.

It's the norm on high quality connections typically. The cheap knock offs usually don't have them. Neutrik connectors usually have them, but they do have models without locking tabs.

Lol, this one always tends to ruffle some feathers for what I am about to say.

I've owned the Utopia (pre-2022 refresh) for over 18 months, and the Clear OG for 13 months, and in side by side listening, MY opinion remains that the Clear OG is the warmer tilting baby brother of the Utopia. The Utopia has better clarity in the midrange, but there are times when it can come across as slightly more piercing than the Clear. To me, the Clear is the more consistently relaxed listen, but how much of these differences can be narrowed by EQ is up for debate. In a lot of ways, there are a lot of parallels between the Focal "twins" and the differences between the HD600 vs HD650/6XX.

I should also add that the Utopia is easier to drive than the Clear, by about ~3-4 dB. This is significant because if you have an overpowered amp, as most tend to own nowadays, it means that the Utopia can be a bigger pain in the ass to manage volume with less play on the volume knob (especially if your amp happens to have issues with channel imbalances on the lower end of the spectrum), versus the Clear. However, the upside is if you are Team DongleDAC, the Utopia has more headroom available and actually sounds pretty good - as heretical as that may sound.

For me, aside from the above, the biggest differentiator is the premium materials that are used on the Utopia. Yes, the Clear feels great in the hand, but the Utopia exudes luxury, and maybe this is enough to push some people over the edge. However, I often wonder how much these physical qualities bias the perception of audible differences, and make them out to be significantly larger than they may actually be.

I know some people swear that the Utopia has better technicalities, like punching harder than the Clear, thanks to those beryllium drivers, but I'd be hard pressed to tell that minute of a difference. So then, is the Utopia more detailed? Maybe? But if I go back to the Clear I can hear those same details just fine; maybe a tad bit subdued, but it really is the very definition of splitting hairs.

In a world where I could only own one and cost didn't matter, then yeah no question, I would pick the Utopia every time. However, if cost is a concern, how much of a difference does the Utopia hold over the Clear? I'm not so sure it is worth more than five times the cost - unless you don't mind buying used, which means it's "only" 2-3X more money. ;)

Hope that helps.

About the 7hz dongle, it's good, I was also eyeing the Ibasso but I was short in money so I just went with 7hz lol, about the sound quality, its better than apple dongle, and u don't need UAPP to just use it like apple does, I can't compare it to other dacs tho since these 2 are the only ones that I own, but after reading looooots and looots of reviews in several forums, I'd say both 7hz and Ibasso 03 pro are among/are the best budget options.

Now about the Etys, yeah I had lot of expectations since I was able to get a good fit, but the sound just wasn't pleasant to even hear it for some minutes, If u are able to get a good EQ then, please share it, I would appreciate it a lot!