PutPineappleOnPizza

PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j9qo3sb wrote

The cloud 2 was on sale for much less a while ago if I remember correctly. It's definitely worth it, but not for 80€ I would say. The fake surround sound sucks, stereo sound is solid (but as with any gaming headset it's far from good or great, but still quite a bit better than most other gaming branded products).

The cloud 2 should last for a while though, so even at 80€ it's probably fine. I'd say read a bit into how the sound of any of those models is. That's the most important part. Then you can decide.

I personally would save up for one of the cheaper Sennheiser open backs, slap a modmic on that and call it a day.

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PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j9gp78t wrote

What do you dislike and is there anything else you've tried and for long have you been listening?

I've pretty much settled on a more or less modded HD6XX and tubes. Laid back sound is my jam. Could it maybe just be that you fear missing out on more? I feel like this is the driving force of many purchases made in the adiophile market. Always craving that little bit of more and better sound. To me, even after having heard the HD800, that stuff simply doesn't exist (yet). Heck the only thing that I want to try are ZMF headphones, but for now I am done.

Enjoy your music, that's the main thing about all of this! Have fun and if your setup is new: brain burn in is real. It might take some time to start appreciating these headphones and once it clicks you might never stop listening again.

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PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j913nhe wrote

For me there's better stuff out there, but this is all preference. KZ's don't fit well for me and I own the ZS10 pro myself. Too sharp in treble for me. I love the Truthear Hexa and it does maybe 80% of what my modded 6XX does on tubes, but with the difference that subbass slams much harder and deeper and that there's much less stage and less natural timbre.

Diminishg returns kick in after 200-250ish $ IEMs I feel like, but I move in the sub 100$ area myself. Still wanna try stuff like the Timeless or blessing 2 one day though. I'm sure especially the technical capabilities excel on the higher end stuff.

Now for headphones it's a little different I feel like because what they excel at varies a lot. Some say the HD6X0 lineup is worse then the HD800 lineup, but I would say that they're on a similar level, despite being different in what they excel at. Many things out there are for different tastes and if you don't value certain capabilities of a pair of headphones then they might be not worth it. I personally do not appreciate a huge soundstage as much as I appreciate natural sounding vocals and instruments, that's why I'm plenty happy with my setup. And if you look at the price difference then it gets quite insane, with the HD800 being so much more expensive than the 6XX.

But then someone else would probably say that I'm missing out on a lot. But for me this is not the case. You see, "endgame" is just where you feel like you're satisfied and the only thing that's left then is the fear of missing out, driven by YouTube reviews, reddit posts and advertisements.

So you can simply stop at any point in time and enjoy your setup. It will rarely happen that you will suddenly hear different things in your favorite songs after spending a certain amount of money on a solid pair of IEMs or headphones. Most stuff you can buy is just great and many things are super affordable for what they offer.

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PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j8m8jt5 wrote

I would say buying things is not a hobby, it's that simple. Sure, finding that one thing you like can be difficult, but just getting more and more? To me that's an obsessive behavior driven by fear of missing out on something, or idk, the attempt to fill some sort of void in your daily life. But that doesn't mean that everyone is nuts here. I too have been in this trap, bought many thing I didn't need and so on. It just happens and advertisements, reviews and opinions on here fuel this process. However, I've somehow learned to not fall for this lately. My 6XX does plenty and heck, after long sessions with the HD800 at a friend's place I still love my setup just as much, if not more.

I also can listen to music with almost anything, as long as it's not too muddy or absolutely spicy in the treble response. Sure, I love my setup, but a pair of good budget IEMs does plenty and gives you 85% of the experience, if not 100.

So I personally, as a friendly advice, recommend to focus on the music after you've invested into some proper gear and by that I mean one pair of headphones or IEMs with the potential dac and amp, if needed. Headphones and IEMs became so good that chasing some sort of endgame is just unnecessary for most. Sure, if you have the money to burn, go for whatever, but spend your money wisely, no matter what your income is. Things you don't like can still be sold, but I personally would not hoard headphones.

Btw I can already smell the downvotes lmao. But I don't care. Spend your money wisely and responsibly!

Cheers, have fun listening!

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PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j5vr56j wrote

How much did the sound change when tube rolling? I have a TA-26 and that thing is surprisingly clean, almost solid state lol. Like still obviously better, but not vastly different.

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PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j4py27k wrote

Very solid IEM. I enjoy these too, despite being more of a headphone person. They are very clear and can punch hard with some genres, but never too much. Great alrounder choice!

The Hexa can, imo, do like 75-80% of what my 6XX can do and for that price that's pretty insane. Stage and timbre are the only things that are not as good, but that's to be expected.

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PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j2dvhdy wrote

>Apparently the tubes need to burn in? Or is that a myth?

In my experience this is only the case if your tubes are humming. Sometimes new tubes hum out of the box and after 24-48 hours of simply leaving your amp on (in my case without the power tube) the hum can disappear. On some tubes I was able to get rid of the humming completely, but with some others it didn't work.

Some manufacturers say that their tubes sound best after 100-200 hours of use, but honestly, just enjoy, lean back and if there's change then see it as a nice bonus. I wouldn't leave the amp running because tubes don't work forever and can become microphonic and whatnot. My Tung-Sol 6SN7GTB I bought used started whistling like a tea kettle after a while, as an example.

Btw in my experience I haven't noticed a tube changing in sound yet and I've tried a few.

Edit: getting rid of stock tubes is almost always a good plan though.

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PutPineappleOnPizza t1_j2dsiun wrote

Nice! Some people say there are huge differences in DACs but so far I haven't been able to notice that.. When something costs thousands it has to sound subjectively different I guess.

An well about amps, the FiiO K5 pro's amplification seems relatively clean to me, but my Xduoo TA-26 does a slighlty better job, lik 5-10%, depending on the genre of music I am listening to. Just fuller and more lifelike. Was it worth the money? Probably not.. but the slight improvement is very welcome.

It's super sick that the K7 costs so little while being so similiar to the K9 pro.

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