These are really great. Compared to my sundaras they still hold up really well, and those are 2x the price

These are great sounding cans!

Aww man, Patrick82, the Coconut Audio guy is still at it I see. He had these amazing cringe videos on youtube back in the day.

I would like to know as well

How are the technicalities (Soundstage, Imaging, Separation and Layering)?

Holy, thanks alot 👍

Am I supposed to hit myself in the head with the rock until my music sounds better?

Hmm, let me try to condense some common stuff.

1. Open back headphones do not leak that much unless you're listening really loudly, you can confirm this with dongles/devices that have those estimations (still not that accurate) for decibels or volume hearing levels, see here for more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11a5ysg/qudelix_5k_and_moondrop_kato/j9r0kp2/

2. Open back headphones barely have noise reduction/isolation. Whenever people use them outside, they'll get tempted to raise the volume to drown out the external noises and this is not good for your hearing health. Try closed back headphones (with ANC or not) or wired IEMs instead or better yet, TWS earbuds (with ANC or not) when going outside, those will have better passive noise reduction.

3. Earpads and ear tips can make a big difference in sound. Not to mention the comfort/fit factors.

4. So amps/DACs/etc. are pretty much made redundant by well-reviewed dongles (with physical volume control) now, just look at the specs of those dongles these days, it's overkill. Only get the standalone amps/DACs/etc. if you want a volume knob, microphone/speakers/etc. ports, et cetera.

5. That's pretty much it. If you want to learn more about speakers/subwoofers/et cetera, go to /r/BudgetAudiophile and other speakers-focused communities. For the most part, that side of the audio hobby is even more inaccessible due to the room changes that you may have to do to chase that "best" sound.

Here's a bit more info on dongles (with physical volume control) and static/hissing/buzzing/et cetera: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/117ya99/why_are_balanced_cables_so_damn_expensive/j9eib7g/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/100lh5a/dac_for_new_mb_asus_and_new_headphone/j2icwxm/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/zn88xs/help_on_iems_pc_usage/j0fns20/

Look up oratory1990 (check the subreddit, /r/oratory1990, don't forget the preset parametric EQ list (mainly for headphones but there's some IEMs there): https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets) and crinacle's articles on what amps/DACs/etc. are and what they do.

See here for more info about Qudelix 5K, parametric EQ, squig.link comparison graphs, AutoEQ, et cetera: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/109meb5/eq/j40cy1n/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/118lcq3/question_regarding_iems_for_gaming_reposting_a/j9i8l1n/

Extra Qudelix stuff, like Bluetooth capabilities, et cetera: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/11832uu/qudelix5k_hidden_gem/j9hq4fd/

Search up Dekoni, Brainwavz, et cetera for aftermarket earpads, don't know which ones are good now as some people report recent quality control issues with Brainwavz/etc. and so check /r/headphones and Head-Fi for more updated info on earpads.

Try Spinfit W1, FiiO HS18, AZLA SednaEarfit XELASTEC, Dunu S&S, etc. ear tips for possibly better fit/seal, noise reduction/isolation, and comfort.

The dimensions/sizing/measurements/etc. for most ear tips these days will be on Amazon/AliExpress/HiFiGo/etc. Unfortunately you have to blind buy the ear tips in order to get a feel for the dimensions/measurement/etc. that you like for your ears. Remember, this will also change with different IEMs as they'll have different nozzle length, nozzle angle, and so on.

Cheap ear tips (basically FiiO HS18, Spinfit from some AliExpress storefronts, Chinese websites like MTMTaudio/et cetera, and so on) and possibly better soundstage: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/1157giz/upgrade_imaging_with_balanced_cable_iem_or/j90a003/

Here's a bit more info on ear tips (talks about narrow/wide bore ear tips, effects of sizes of ear tips, how to put ear tips on wide nozzles, et cetera): https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/10lly6d/how_to_make_sense_of_iem_tip_fit/j5xnyv2/

Also extra info on ear tips: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/10k210n/alternative_tips_for_aria/j5o2f8q/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/10x7ast/suggestions_on_getting_a_good_seal_with_the_7hz/j7qrrcg/

This is how you should use Etymotics or really any IEM or TWS earbud to make sure you have that good/perfect fit for that vacuum seal (necessary for the bass to be properly produced): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KwXEqe6Gq4

More info on headphones/IEMs and PC gaming: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/1151ezm/looking_for_1st_real_pair_of_headphones_mostly/j8zm0q8/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/10zxpfb/why_are_you_using_openback_headphones_for_gaming/j85vv18/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/10ks4tr/looking_for_iem_for_gaming_and_music_listening/j5sjhyh/

Open back headphones noise reduction (scroll to the bottom half part of the comment), earwax clogging issue, parametric EQ, noise reduction for your PC/room, et cetera: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/115c99b/coming_from_iems_and_looking_for_headphones_150_eu/j92mpe9/

For comfort with headphones, if you have a big head, ear piercings, glasses, et cetera, basically anything that will interfere with the seal/fit of the earpads, here's more info about headphones and glasses and workarounds it: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/zkjjcu/are_there_any_headsetsphones_that_are/j00kjt2/

For TWS earbuds and Bluetooth usage, see here for more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/11565qg/need_help_buying_a_bluetooth_wireless_adapter_for/j9033u7/and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/10hdr2p/are_there_any_wireless_earbuds_witouth/j58keli/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/10kai7u/should_i_keep_ear_buds_out_of_the_case_after/j5so87z/

Old school earbuds, earphones, et cetera are having a resurgence right now, more info here: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/119tndv/please_explain_inear_to_me/j9o244r/

ASMR, supplements for focusing/brain fog/et cetera, delaying or cleaning earwax with IEMs and ear tips, et cetera: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/118ny8q/identical_qc_issues_with_kz_iems/j9ifzz9/

Earwax, hearing health, et cetera with Etymotics and other bullet style IEMs: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/10iwqmt/does_insertion_depth_affect_volume/j5ifw7r/

With quality control of Chinese IEMs, AliExpress shipping times, see here for a bit more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/10sna0p/i_have_it_engrained_in_my_mind_as_an_american/j7395yr/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/zav570/is_hifigo_a_scam/iynrt65/

They definitely seem more like a replacement for the SSR/SSP since they’re a similar price/build but with safer tuning

At least the person spent the money on some decorative rocks rather than a cable for 10k$ lol

Thanks for the link, i subbed. That's some next level entertainment

[deleted]

r/AVexchange

They’ll grow up to be more one grits

It doesn't break, it give birth

Those are the children of our beloved 1 grit.

Except that one time

I meant part of its SOUL, obviously the 1 grit can't be broken apart.

It dOEs??

No worries, let us know how it goes and what your friend was using for a dac along with amp. Hopefully we can figure this one out because the K3 specs at a minimum I would expect that the 400se should be a relatively pleasant experience rather than the description you gave it and the horrible turd fest that came out of my EPOS dac/amp. Plugging into my Galaxy S8+, I'm not a fan of how the 400se sounds either, "The lower mid range sounds muddy and untextured higher mids and treble sound veiled and everything feels very low resolution" was pretty closely fitting the description I had that you gave outside of needing more volume on the S8. Plugging into a Apple Dongle, it's not terrible but it sounds a bit rough compared to what I'm used to.

Hopefully by testing the headphone out on your friends gear will yield some positive feedback/findings to at least let us know if it is a gear thing or if the headphones sound signature is not a good fit, it's just a really tough call here because of the same-ish experiences I've had which back up your findings minus actually having a K3 to know for sure if its just a sound preference issue or the K3 is the issue here.

Hoping for the best.

The Cloud Alpha is the best of the line, the others of this line have some resonances in the mids. They can take EQ very well.

>Yes of course your nokia 3310 lasted a week

See, your perception and memory are already getting skewed by your current situation. My Nokia 1616, which only broke recently, usually lasted over 2 weeks with active usage. The model I use now (a 2011 one) has a listed standby (i.e. the phone switched on and can receive calls and texts) time of 32 days. The amount of battery life people have traded is extreme.

And the thing is, there are still dozens of phones like that available on the market, both current and older models. If not triple digits. Including lower quality adaptations under the Nokia brand. And these devices exist because there is a market for electronic devices which do their thing for at least a whole day.

I just can't wrap my head around the fact that one market survives but the traditional music player one basically just disappeared, taking all leftover stock with it.

Not all of them do. I'm EXTREMELY old school; I'm an iPod guy for life. I flash modded my Classic 7th gen and added a 3000mAh (which is more likely an 1800 mAh unit) battery and I get WEEKS of battery life, and that's with regular use.

where are they tho?

That explains why the Android devices exist, but I cannot believe that the kind of people who buy a DAP all want to stream music with a device separate from their phone. Vinyl players thrive, why isn't there a BIGGER market for traditional DAPs that you can use to listen to music on a journey? These short-lived players wouldn't even last long enough for some flight connections within Europe, let alone the respective train trips or a flight over to Asia.

Not if you get the plushie, it got a little bit of the OG 1grit in it, aswell as all the love and pride Wade has provided until this plushie's creation.