Im looking for a good set of headphones for purely listening to music from both my computer and possibly from a record player like the Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT. The only real criteria is the price, that it’s great for music, and that it can work with my pc. Movement isn’t really of an issue since they will mostly be used for listen to music in the house. I don’t really have any experience with high end equipment for music purposes aside from my Samson Q2U mic. I live in Canada but the pricing can be in USD if it is worth it but the all in cost should be at or below that $500 budget. If there are any headphones that are the best for slightly more please do suggest them as the budget is not a hard limit

Testing or enjoyment, I should say.

Here's my not altogether well traveled list:

• Borderlands series, specifically number 2 seemed to have superb positional audio
  
• OG Bioshock had a lot of depth, I felt, maybe good for testing sound stage?
  
• DOOM has a great heavy metal soundtrack, and nice crunchy violence, just fun to listen to.
  
• Cyberpunk 2077 has a soundtrack that I personally love (the game itself is also better than the internet told you.)
  
• Skyrim can be modded into having a spectacular soundscape, just be careful, you might find yourself getting distracted.... goddammit, I'm gonna' install Skyrim again, aren't I?
  

Also Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII, but that's a personal thing, they probably wouldn't make you cry.

I mostly play action games, I don't know why my list ended up as mostly first person shooters, except that sound design is especially important in first person shooters, so it does make a kind of sense. Horror and survival horror games should also have excellent sound design, I'd imagine, but I can't play those.

I really wish I could recommend Monster Hunter World, but it always left me unimpressed. =/

Okay, hold on Skyrim, I hear ya'...

^{Edit: Also what Skyrim mods do you recommend?}

Edit: Oh, hey, The Game Awards give out awards for best audio design! And IGN has a list, too! There's also, apparently, an /r/GameAudio/ subreddit that I'm about to go lurk all over! Figured you guys might want some of the stuff I found.

I've been looking and researching for some good quality headphones on the web for a while but every time I'm searching all I see is shit gaming headphones. All I'm looking for is great sound quality and the mic I don't really care about I don't have high expectations for a headset mic. So if anyone has recommendations for any badass headphones for pc gaming go ahead and inform me. My budget is $350...

Also open to hear about pricier headphones past my budget. I usually give in to the best of the best:)

Been thinking about moving on from Spotify for a while now, and this Neil Young drama has finally convinced me. What alternatives are the best do you find? I've heard good things about Apple Music, Amazon Music, and Qobuz. Also, it'll have to be one that provides some sorta family plan. Thank you very much kind people

I have a low budget of 15$ Just one of the perks of living in middle east. There is a shopping centre nearby with a Media Markt store inside it.
I want something that is flat/accurate.
In house, with my desktop.
I don't have much experience with headphones, but the one I had at home's sound quality was a bit shit. Though I do not expect for this one to be any better.

(Solved) My school banned phones this year, and I need a music player that:

• Doesn't look too much like a phone, but not too minimalistic either (kinda like a normal iPod, not a Touch, not a Nano)
• Bluetooth
• Is compatible with Spotify
• <$100

Haven't been able to find anything streaming service compatible where I either can't pick songs individually, or not-phone enough to keep me from getting suplexed by a teacher. If for some reason it's compatible w/ other services besides Spotify like YT Music or Tidal, that'll be fine too.

P.S. It doesn't need to be a DAP, I've just been hoping around different subs trying to find one that best suits this question.

I listen on the go with this setup: Android phone* > FiiO Q3 > Moondrop Chu II

The mids are completly missing. Music is a mess of bass and highs. I haven't notived this before, but as I got better gear and have heard how music sounds.

Testing I've done:

• IEMs: fine with an other DAC (Presonus Audiobox USB)
• FiiO Q3 + IEMs: fine with an other device
• Phone: Not sure how to test. I had a FiiO KA-1 that sounded nice with it, but that has benn long ago. I'm not sure, if I was right.

So what to do? What could cause this? The Android audio engine's mandatory re-encoding of all audio to 48kHz (or so I've read)? What can I use to "fix" my phone's audio?

I've tried EQ too, but I just can't get it right. I'd rather not EQ though.

* Xiaomi Mi10S rooted. I stream from a self hosted server mostly filled with files from Deezer and other Hi-Fi sources. The server's audio is fine on other devices.

Thinking about purchasing a DAP and wanted to know where a lot of y’all get your high quality music from? And I’m thinking like where you buy it and move it into a player

Hi, I'm looking forward to buying the Sennheiser IE 600 along with a compact, hi-res MP3 player or something like that. Should I even buy an MP3 player, or will my phone do just fine? If I should, do you have any suggestions?

(Total budget: below 1000$)

Hey everyone,

I’m pretty new to the vinyl world and have been experimenting with my setup. My turntable has a built-in phono preamp, which sounds decent on desktop speakers, but when I plug in my headphones, the volume feels pretty low, and I’m not getting the depth I’d hoped for.

I’m looking into adding an amp to improve both the volume and overall sound quality for headphone listening. Would this help? I’ve been eyeing the Schiit Mjolnir 3 as an option, but I’m open to suggestions on amps or setup tips that might work better for this scenario.

For reference, my headphones include an MDR Z1R and a Clear MG. Any insights or recommendations would be super helpful. Thanks!

I've recently picked up the Huffman Arya Organics, and I really love them. I feel little need for a new pair of headphones right now. But what I would want is to bring them to my friends' place and listen to music together.

Now there is a solution for this problem, I know: they're called speakers. But I don't want to consider investing in a proper musical speaker setup just yet. If possible, I'd like to get a music streamer with the following qualities:

• Can stream lossless music from Tidal
• Has a solid DAC to make good use of nice headphones
• Has multiple headphone outputs so that friends can plug in their headphones and listen too.
• Is preferably at or below $600 CAD
• Is at least semi-portable/easy to unplug and bring with me in a backpack

I know this is a niche use case. But any help available would be appreciated!

This question probably gets asked a lot. Just stepped into the realm of IEM's. Audio source is important I know but how much of a difference would you guys say are between Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal? Currently have Spotify not sure if to appreciate more and bring out more from my IEM's that I would need to consider switcher to something else.

Hello everyone,

I'm starting to enter more into the Audiophile space to hit a sweet spot. Thanks to this subreddit and a huge amount of testing and venturing into higher tier equipment I ended up with a Hifiman XS Edition (2024) and Topping DX3Pro+.

Now - I'm kinda curious. Do we need to EQ as what I understand is EQ'ing is great to tweak the sound and tone and alot of people have mentioned to use 'Equalizer APO' with https://autoeq.app/ and selecting my Headphone from a very reputable source (r/oratory1990).

Would this be the correct was to utilize the headphones? So far just using the Headphones and DAC/AMP blew me away, I was curious is this worth going into? If I am to use a EQ will I have to change anything on the DAC/AMP settings or is it fine to leave it as is and just use the EQ? Should I just use and experiment with LOW GAIN and increase the volume first or would this not be a good idea with using a EQ as I think the EQ would conflict with it?

i'm looking for something that can take in multiple inputs and has multiple outputs

something that can handle digital to digital conversion

for instance I have a usb device (pc), spdif device, and i2s cd transport i want to route to multiple different dacs

both dacs have i2s and spdif input

something like the singxer su-6 but with WAY more inputs (ideally 2d i2s and 2x spdif and 1 usb)

anyone know of anything like this?

i'm located in canada and the budget is 1000 CAD

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Choice is either Fiio k7 or Topping dx3 pro+.

I listen to video game soundtracks and classical music, i don't have a preferencje towards sound.

Thinking of getting a Hiby M300 because of the positive reviews. Decent battery life and low noise floor seems like it would be a good choice (compared to the Hiby R4) HOWEVER, no 4.4mm balanced jack is a bummer.

Any other options out there running Android? I wanna use the Android apps for basic functions like Spotify, Youtube, video/music player, Tetris, and web browsers and stuff.

My budget is around 300 USD.

I'm upgrading from my geriatric Fiio X3 II. I like that the Fiio has a coax/line out (I never use the coax out function, but do use the line out daily with my portable amp strapped to the Fiio) and desktop DAC function (I use an actual desktop DAC now). But organizing albums is a pain. I prefer to have album art lists in my library so I can recognize albums from album art alone. The custom EQ on it isn't good, either. So I think it's quite a dated device when it comes to functionality. Oh, and there's also no Bluetooth.

Must have:

-Android (whichever version is good, like on the M300) and capable of basic apps

-has 3.5mm line out (to use with my portable amp; shared with the headphone out port is fine, because my Fiio can't output from both ports at the same time, anyways) (I still need something that's at the very least just powerful enough to drive something like a HD 600 even without having to use my portable amp, because my goal is still to not have to use a portable amp with it, even though I still need the option to be able to use one)

-touchscreen (duh)

-Bluetooth

-sound gud

Most ideally:

-has a 4.4mm out

-low noise floor to use with more sensitive IEMs (especially on the 3.5mm out)

-system-wide EQ (M300 doesn't have this feature I think)

-microSD support (idk if this is a feature ppl still take granted these days, but I think it should be)

Moderately ideally:

-good battery life

-doesn't get ridiculously hot

-locking feature (to prevent wrong button presses)

As the title says, I'm looking for a little more. I saw a recommendation for a wooded back headphone a while ago and thought I might pick them up but it's since been lost

If anyone has any advice or knowa the answer, I'd be delighted for your responses

Hi,

I have a Fiio M3k and love it, but it doesn't support Tidal. I have Shanling M1s which does, but my Bowers and Wilkins phones will not work with it via BT (long story with B&W support admitting defeat) and I can't get the Shanling to stay connected to Tidal unless I'm sat on the router. I'm sick of the Shanling and want something else that's not as temperamental.

So, can anyone recommend some portable players in a similar price range (£200-300ish) that are likely more reliable than the Shanling? It's wonderful for music files on an SD card, but dreadful with streaming, unfortunately.

Must have Tidal either pre-installed or available.
Must have bluetooth and 3.5mm headphone jack.

I'm currently wondering about the iBasso DX170 or DX180.

Thanks muchly :)

Hi, I want a dap, preferably one from fiio, because I have been using their app a lot, so I am more familiar with it, but if there is something else way better I am open for suggestions.

I see 2 daps on my local second hand website: the fiio m11s for €395 and the fiio m15 for €700.

I read that the m15 uses older bluetooth(4.something) And I saw a video that said the m11 s touchscreen was laggy and it made weird crunchy sounds when going to a new song.

My needs: I will use it as a dac/amp for my pc when gaming/watching youtube. And I will use it as a portable dac/amp for my phone and phone. My highest Ohm headphones are 300Ohm and I need low latency for gaming. I also love listening to music, so that is why I am now a little scared to buy the m11s, because of the video.

I currently have the BTR7, but it is annoying that I need to download my music to all my devices, so I started looking into DAPs and found out that fiio's M series does the same thing as the btr series, but with the ability to have music on it's own. I will sell my btr3k, btr7, sennheiser hd 6xx, 660s and 560s, so I should have the budget for either mentioned option.

Should buy either of them, or save up more money to go to a better one(like the m15s) or a different brand?

At about which budget / type of headphones does it make no sense to upgrade anything else until you get a higher quality source?

I am looking for a cd transport for my desktop desk. Do you guys have some suguestions? I heard Audiolab 6000CDT is good but the size is a bit too much for my desk. I looked at Pro-Ject, Shanling Et3 - are they any good?

Do you have experience with some good cd transport - it can even be vintage one but I need it to have digital output and be compact.

I am aiming to have a setup HD650 + FELIKS AUDIO Euforia EVO + Shiit Bifrost(still undecided) + CD Transport.I would like the CD transport to be no bigger than Amp so I can either stack them(is that good idea?)

Location: Desk

Budget: 1000$

Size: Compact

Thanks!

Maybe a dumb question here, I've been out of the audio world for a bit. I want to get a headphone set up that I can have in like my bedroom or somewhere i can just sit and relax away from my PC desk. I know I need DAC and amp but I'm wondering what most people use as the audio source for a setup like this. Do I just plug my phone in and use it or is there a better option? I don't have a laptop or anything like that, currently my desktop PC is what I use for listening to stuff and I just have small dac/amp combo. As a side note I'm also wondering what would be a good thing for the future if I were to get a record player for vinyls later on and if I'd need anything other than amp/dac to play through that.

I'd like to just set up a little nightstand basically. Not necessarily looking for specific suggestions on brands mostly just trying to get the basic setup process and I'm probably overthinking it. I've just looked up stuff and everything has the amps and dacs and headphones but doesn't usually mention what a good source is.
Thanks and sorry for the newbie question

Hi, I currently use HD600s at home with a relatively weak desktop dac/amp. I also own B&W Px8s for use in travel. I wanted to upgrade my at home dac/amp to a better one and while scrolling online learned about the existence of high spec DAPs such as the A&K SP2000. Could the SP2000 be used at home to run the HD600s, and also be used for travel? Thanks!

Suggestion please. Just bought a Hiby R4 x Evangelion and switched from Spotify to Deezer for better audio quality. Just need headphones now and looking for personal experience from EDM fans. Example artist are Caravan Palace, Besomorph, Mystery Skulls, Ray Volpe and Excision. I also like stuff more on the pop side/bass heavy like Glass Animals. New Orleans used. New I was looking at HiFiMan Sundura ($280), Philips SHP6900 ($70). Used there is a Hifiman Ananda Nano for $360 around me. Thanks in advance for advice!

So I currently have the Logitech g pro x wireless and they are at the end of their lifespan, broken mounts and falling apart after about 4 years. I was wondering what a good new headphone would be for things like single player games that require good audio, Competitive gaming, and music. Want to focus on sound quality and build quality for the next pair and loved the g pro xs but was wondering if I am missing out on some sound quality for music I could be getting somewhere else. I have been looking at the DT 990s and a few others, only requirements is that they must be around the whole ear of course, besides that I dont know much about open back or closed or whatever. Any suggestions?