This thread serves as a Q&A section for all new/existing audiophiles seeking advice on their new headphone purchase. The rules are simple, no flaming/bashing and try to not to spam (posting irrelevant post).

You may ask us any headphones/earphones related questions, and all of us in headphilers in this forum will gladly assist you. Don't be shy!

Best of luck on your headphones/earphones purchase.

(added by wK) This is a sequel of the topic previously located at http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/185976

This post has been edited by wKkaY: May 28 2007, 07:07 PM

What type of headphone amp most of u using? Any suggestion?

The LD series is famous here. I dont use any amp for my home rig.

Gt more option or nt? Beside the Ld series, recomend for a headset amp nt more than 500..Tq

PIMETA from Alamaklor if you like solidstates + portable/transportability.

Isnt that over 500 with shipping cost?

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Added on May 24, 2007, 5:41 pmYou are the one who sp@m the most le.

This post has been edited by walabies: May 24 2007, 05:41 PM

nope, depends on your configuration too.

i say go for Davis's bulk- Canada PA2V2. RM222~!

mini headamp +2xAA batt impressive batt life~ much warmer sound.

No batt replacement fussy in future like Ipod.

And Crossroad headamp which around price wif LDM+. Heard is pretty good budget type.

anyone here tried the ibasso t1? It looks very nice, but dunno how good it sounds though..

iBasso T1

i strongly disagree.

For the same price, you can get a much better sound quality at a MUCH cheaper price

For example, a Cmoy with tomahawk like configuration beats the PA2V2 both on sound quality and battery life.

I'll to get someone to build one for you

see the "like " word?
u just need to get some 1 that know how to build up DIY amp, base on the companent n board of tomahawk n build it, n voila, u gonna own a retail expensive amp
forget the price of tomahawk, but it really way to scary for a CMOY

This post has been edited by CooLeRthings: May 25 2007, 03:48 AM

if can get 805 then get it lo, is hard to find nowadays
2700 still can get it at LYP or from davis in this forum

Little Ghost,

My suggestion is the best solution to find out their searching in this forum. Not every DIY sifu likes to take CMOY order right now.

Are all the DIY CMOY goin to be at top quality standard is another question. This is highly depends on mancraftwork as well.

i am kindly providing information for User who wan the quickies. Dat's my initial motive.

I dun see ur motive which strongly disagree up der Plus i dun bashing on others model as well??!! Did i?

actually...whats wrong with the PA2V2?

i managed to try out a unit sometime ago... and it was perfect with my A2ZS + PA2V2 + HP250. even my colleague came and said "wah! y ur headphones suddenly become so good wan?"

synergises pretty well for that combo IMHO.

ok...hows this... PA2V2 vs LDM+

considering all aspects, which would u go for and why?

If the PA2v2 and LDM+ is the same league, I wont be considering getting it anymore.

Sadly both of the headamps doesn't deliver same color of sound.
For Grado or bright phone users, best to go wif Pa2v2. Unless, u are one dude enjoy highly treble sound. Then LDM+ will roar much detailing~!.

Remember the X-hyped headamp-mini-EPH. It is actually stuck in the middle of PA2V2 & LDM+. Less bright, wider soundstage & bassy than LDM+. Less bassy than PA2V2.
The detail improvement btwn PA2v2 & mini-eph is almost undetected to my ears. Both details improvement are not so obvious as LDM+. Well, placebo effects could make sense. High Treble = Detailing?!

The only DIY CMOY i listened b4 was by PCWORK. Very Bassy. A little overwhelmed especially for deep bass music. The Detail had been improved. It is pretty complicated cuz once bass is booming, the detail had been "covered" like dat. Perhaps, need a little tweak to sounds more comfort & stable.

Ok. these are from my ears. You could refer to em once u got the chance to audition any of them. Dun place my little words in front of ur eyes than the ears.

Hey, how is me disagreeing with your opinion makes it bashing? Besides, I think you got a little bit worked up on this one. Relax brother, I come in peace.

My motive is to encourage people to spend more wisely. The PA2V2 might only be worth it if you got it from the US and is seeking for product assurance, warranty only commercial companies can provide.

I've both own and heard the PA2V2 before. The sound quality is terrible. Before I heard of anything better, I used to think the PA2V2 did not have a significant boost of performance was due to the my limited knowledge that the amp should not change the sound too much. However, I was very wrong after I know it's due to the crappy parts and design used and it was no better than my DAP's internal amp. Of course, it also happened because I have heard of something else that is better.

Enough about my PA2V2 experience, here comes the solutions.

Solution A: Where there are monies, there are desperate amp builders.

If you've did more reading and researching you'll know that there are indeed more than one of DIY junkies out there that are more than willing to help you build an amp. PM and logic observation are all you need. Examples: Empire23 is offering mods for various DACs. Logically he should be able to build a simple yet good cmoy for money. There is also ijan, who built a few PIMETA lite for a few forumers before. Oh and Alamaklor has a complete dedicated bulk thread for his DIY amps. Some of them might not show his interests in building amps for money publically through dedicated threads but it's just as simple as shooting them a polite message enquiring whether they would do so for an amount of money.

Solution B: Where there are demands for commercial products, there are yeah_guyz and Wallabies. (LOL I never knew wallabies is a word.)

Both of them sell some pretty cheap commercial amps. Wallabies is selling the OPA227 based amp which is priced around RM150. I suspect it's something like a cmoy but anyway it's cheaper and is a commercial product. Other than that, yeah_guyz is selling Littledot products (hint: Little dot micro+). It's cheaper than the PA2V2 and should be considered an option. I've seen reviews preferring the LDM+ more than the PA2v2. Personally they are on par with each other.

Which brings me to my first question, how is me disagreeing with your suggestion makes it bashing? It only means there are other options worth considering.

Solution C: Adui, RM222 can also be invested on basic soldering tools and cmoy parts also mah.

This solution is not applicable for everyone. To me RM222 counts as a budget to start a simple yet cheap DIY journey. I've counted the cost before, basic soldering tools + parts costs no more than RM100. Heck it includes a Digital Multimeter too. You have an extra RM100 for another max out amp once you finish your first cmoy. Yay! You has two amps!

Again, I have to stress that this solution is not for everyone. It's a little bit time consuming, but damn worth it. Not only you learn a lot, but you finally get to fine tune sounds you really like and get really serious in this head-fi thingy.

Dinodog_jr, my apologies if you felt my initial post were offending. I did not mean it that way.

This post has been edited by LittleGhost: May 25 2007, 07:25 PM

Any comment about Edifier HA11? What's the price for PA2v2 and LDM?

HA-11..should be the lowest-end amp....and the sound is like....erm.....
sorry to say...dun waste money....PA2v2 should be far better than HA11...
prices ranges will be RM150-220...corect me if i m wrong..

LDm & PA2v2 around Rm 150 to Rm 220?
Thanks for the info...

Hence why I said it should start with observation and a polite private message. If the diyer isn't in the mood or time for the job, he would directly decline. It's just that simple. We also know if the price is right, we desperados (diy junkies) will surely do the job competently. (LOL It's true, the pain of lack of money is very apparent.)



It usually starts this way and ends this way:

1) OP asks for suggestion.
2) A person replies.
3) OP Needs more information and asks for detailed elaboration and ways to act on the solution
4) The person replies again.

Clearly step 3 and 4 has yet to happen. Step 4 will happen if step 3 happens. How am I lacking when it comes to giving information?



Solution C is not applicable for everyone as I've stated. It's an option.

EDIT: On the first quote, i stated that we diyers are desperados. Anyone care to donate some money to us for the sake of this forum? Haha LOL.

This post has been edited by LittleGhost: May 25 2007, 09:17 PM

You added another 'l'. It's a word but reducing a 'l' ease me for typing purpose.
And since when I become an uncle. I dont want to become old so early.

My crossroad amp I'm selling is something more... better specs than the 'commercial amps' that are selling within this price range, just pain in @ss of the stupiak 9v battery we need.

The sifus here make good amps but in order to move their lazy @ss you need to befriend with them first la.

This post has been edited by walabies: May 26 2007, 01:04 AM

oddly, a lot of nicknames here automatically gets filtered through my brains and they usually end up with different word count or subtle changes. Example: PCWork becomes PCWorks, Walabies becomes Wallabies.

About the crossroad amp, do you have any official sites for that amp? I could not find it's official site. Type "crossroad amp" into google and i got irrelevant search results.

yu can't find the official website..it is not commercial amp...i think it is a DIY amp but sell by uncle wilson...i m not sure for that, but for far the sound is quite decent...

Yup, it's DIYed by someone Wilson know and it isnt mass produced. And charged a little bit of labour cost by him.

Is there a grado headset amp? What model?

http://www.ecp.cc/ra1.html

Fear the holy cmoy.

haha this is not the first time an amp discussion turns wild! DIYers vs commercial amps, blah blah blah!

runs away...

we aint arguing about DIY amps vs Commercial amps, we're arguing about the options available

any difference? no right?

there is

You either go diy amp all the way or commercial amp all the way in a DIY amp vs commercial amp argument.

On the contary, arguing about the options available is different. We include every single amp existed on this planet. Does not matter if it's commercial or diy amp as long as it sounds good and worth the marney.

Hi all,

need a quick recommendation on a sub rm200 headphones, anyone?
looking at the sennheiser px100

thanks

y not getting mylarthree.....it is far better if u r a music lover...

if u like bassy sound.....go PX100

Now I have a mylar xb. Good for bass lover this time.

wad can i get wif d budget below RM100?
preferbally noise canceling earphone...

i've just got a creative EP-630. not bad.. excellent bass. but clarity in my opinion not as good as Koss ksc-75. for rm100 i guess EP-630 is a good take. + excellent sound isolation too.

I'm looking for a pair of headphones for PC usage.

My preference is more on heavy and boomy bass with decent treble.
Also, I need them to be a closed-type (cover the whole ear comfortably like the Philips HP890), have no volume-controller and have a long cable, but not necessarily have to have active noise-cancellation.

Budget is below RM200. If you could recommend me models which are priced higher and are more value for money, please do!

Please recommend to me the models and the shops that I can get them.

Thank you!

This post has been edited by shockk: Jun 2 2007, 07:52 AM

the closest i can think of would be the Philips 2500. 6metre cable (but got volume control) and its a circumaural phone (covers the entire ear). its an open can so theres no isolation and sound will leak from the cans.

they sound alright..not that bass shy... thoroughly enjoyed them before upgrading. price is around RM60-80.

theres also the Philips 2700. but the cable is 3 metres. and the hinges for the cups swivel is kinda fragile.

thx 4 ur suggestion?
any other earphone i can get below RM100?
preferbly sound isolation earphone...

I'm looking for a closed headphone(covers whole hear), x really like open air or in ear headphone, x so comfortable wearing them.

I'm going to study in university soon and have to live in hostel, can't bring my altec lansing along, so I have to buy a headphone for movie and songs.

I'm listening to music most probably using my laptop, psp or my handphone.

My budget is around rm100, as a student, of course, cheaper is better. I'm not a really serious audiophiles, any cheap headphone but comes with good quality is welcomed (afraid being stolen if it's too expensive).

I'm currently looking at those easy-reachable headphone like sony, creative, altec lansing, philip..

can anyone give a brief description to the headphone brands i mentioned above? other brand is welcomed as well.

i don't need long distance wire. If the headphone comes with volume controller is most welcomed (not compulsory).

Please give me some descriptions and recommendations. Thanks !! ^^
Please include brand name, model and price in your recommendation.

This post has been edited by Specialized: Jun 3 2007, 01:06 PM

You mean those type that covers whole ears? That one not necessarily have to be closed headphones.

I'd say get the hp805 or the shp2700, however, the wires are quite long. Not suitable to bring outside. I've tried sony RM100 headphones, forgot what model edi, doesn't sound good..

I don't bring this headphone outside, huge, inconvenient. I'll only use it at home/indoor.

hp 805 and shp 2700, how much do they cost?

do u mean sony MDR-XD200?
http://www.sony.com.my/sonystyle/product/p...ubcategoryid=84

it enables movie/music switch. rm98, looks good, but dunno how it sounds..

This post has been edited by Specialized: Jun 3 2007, 02:23 PM

the philips cost you rm80 i think. You can also get the sennheiser HD201 from bulk or garagesale. Very little amount of bass, howver clarity is quite good for its price

If I'm not wrong, that's the sony my friend used. Personally I found them to sound really bad. Very muddy sound, and treble is almost non-existant, bass also kinda s*ck. Don't really recommend you getting those.

i'm looking at a headphone which is treble and bass balanced. i hav a cheap philip before, cost me bout rm60. it's treble is over bass.. u hardly hear bass from it. it sucks especially come to movie where bass play important role. if there's any headphone can produce nice clarity of treble and bass, i x mind raise my budget, but not too much.

hm...actually there is koss ksc-75 which very nice amount of bass and treble. The bad part is that they are clip-ons which may not suit anybody. They are selling at rm85 by coolerthings here. How good they are on movies is kinda questionable

I've also tried some of my friends less tan rm50 somic, avf. Sounded pretty bad. Altec headset also doesn't sound good. Very muddy bass.

Or, you can get hp895, 890 series. They have better bass than the hp805. However, it takes quite a number of time for them to burn-in.

hp895 clamps my skull pretty bad from my experience

yup, totally agree. I tried before altec lansing headphone, sucks. but i like their speakers. i personally own 3 altec lansing before. u mentioned sennheiser, how if compare to philip 890/2700 series? How bout AKG n audio technica?

This post has been edited by Specialized: Jun 4 2007, 06:33 PM

honestly speaking, I've never tried the sennheiser. But from what I heard, they provides good clarity. Maybe lose to the HP805 in bass department. The 2700 are suppose to replace the hp805, some ppl say the 805 perform slightly better. If you really love bass, i think the hp805 won't satisfy you. Since my friend most of them say lack of bass

The hp890 is a better headphone than hp805. In terms of treble, bass. How much better...YMMV.

i x wan bass over treble.. treble clarity is important to potrrait a singer's vocal.. bass help enchanching the background music.. it's the best if i can keep both.
i x like the high treble headphone which produce a lot of 'schu' tss' 'shing' sound a lot n end up hear nothing bout bass.. i x wan those headphone whch is like altec lansing's, bass overcome treble..
ah.. it's hard to explain.. mayb i'm being too cerewet..

How bout AKG n audio technica?
how much is hp890 anyway?

This post has been edited by Specialized: Jun 4 2007, 06:49 PM

hp890 nowadays hard to get. Last time ppl selling for rm180 brand new. AKG and AT can easily cost you 2-3 times your budget. Cheapest probably around the Rm100++ region

the noise can come from your source itself.

Yea!!!
I like heavy bass!!!

Can someone explain what is meant by 'reference headphones' ? Much appreciated.

i'd asked the same question before. Link as follow: http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=405509&hl=

guys...i need advice

im a student lookin a new headset wif microphone... more 4 outdoor work so noise isolation would be good...i don need booming bass or high treble...as long as there is clarity and the treble n bass r equal... the cheaper de headset n mic de better...pls advise me...

Hi, is there any 'decent' pair of clip-ons for about RM30ish? I know i know, at this price, hard to expect anything. Still, any recommendations?

@ferox
none. at least none that i know of...so i guess ur gonna have to try ur luck. then let us know here

my suggestion, save up and get the KSC75 for RM80 from coolerthings in the bulk order section.

Yup.. I'm looking for a well balanced headphone. So does tat mean besides ksc 75, i couldn't find any other well balanced headphone?? how much better if it is a circumaural headphone..
i tried my fren's altec lansing and sony clip on headphone before, it's not so comfortable and has 'sound leakage' somemore.. bass is losing. Is this Ksc75 comfortable for wearing long time?

consider for the comfortableness..everyone has diff acceptable level and i would think koss is considered nice at this araes

it depend how much u willing to spent...if u dont wan any sound leakage, get IEM instead , m3 might be ur chioces as it is priced at 165, but if below 100, ksc 75 is the best choices

ah.. raised my budget to rm200, any well balanced circumaural headphone?
hp890? koss? AKG? audio technica? sennheiser?
i wanna keep my budget as low as possible..
it's better if it's in rm70-rm150 range.. max rm200..

can i have a headset wif mic...

but bro..u have to tell us...
whether u need an IEM(which is high isolation and portable)
or u need an headphones(which is unportable)

got circumaural IEMs?

Ksc75 for the first time wearing, they will annoy you ( they annoyed me ) After awhile, they are going to be very comfortable. You can wear them for hours without feeling uncomfortable. They don't press at your ears, nor your ears sweat.

Also, sound leakage is normal for open headphone. The ksc75 leak sound pretty bad.

From my past experience of the hp890, they aren't very reliable. My previous philips crack and broken pretty bad. At last I sold to pcworks.

headset with, personally the ppl here don't try them much, therefore the respond is kinda...well From what I heard, plantronics are good. Maybe you can google about them. Last time I used to have altec ahs512, ok for gaming, but crappy when it comes to music.

From the previous page, he was looking for a closed headphone. i'm not sure whether he is referring to circum aural types instead.

wat do u mean by portable?

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Added on June 6, 2007, 1:49 ami was misunderstood last time tat closed headphone must b a circum headphone.. after did much research on net, i finally noe wat mean 'closed/opened' means.

i'm looking for a circum headphone, those biggest size headphone which covers the whole ear headphone. wan it coz it's super comfortable compare to other type headphone. x mind it's open or close, as long as ihe sound is well balanced, treble and bass.

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Added on June 6, 2007, 2:02 am

http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=381220&st=0

these r some sennheiser headphone wif some quite affordable price. wat do u guys think bout the sound quality? how bout philip shp8500/8900?

This post has been edited by Specialized: Jun 6 2007, 02:03 AM

Maybe you can also check out for reviews of the koss ur-20/ur-40. Or these hp890, hp895, hp8900( replaces hp895)

Sorry can't comment much on the senns. Haven't try them before. You may google or check out at head-fi. You may end up spending more than you plan

This post has been edited by naruto_kun: Jun 6 2007, 02:18 AM

My fault to be born with cerewet ears but wif tight budget.. haha

This post has been edited by Specialized: Jun 6 2007, 02:21 AM

Hi everyone,
Currently my Apple earphones are not functioning properly and I would like to change to a better one. Preferable not in-ear because not very used to wearing it.
I have found these models from "bluetin.com":


Which is the better model? or is there any other brands better?

No such things, only got closed headphone.

Get the ATH-CK5 from us then...

Isn't the CK-5 canal phones?

Yeah, CK-5 is in ear phones. Any other recommendation?

This post has been edited by mikelee: Jun 6 2007, 08:38 PM

The most important, budget?

Less than RM150 would be good.

headset n mic combo pls... sound isolation would be good...sound quality - don need bombastic quality, medium quality is enough...

altec lansing headsets perhaps? i used to own one, bass very strong

it is IEM

sony better.....

whats an IEM?

The kind of earphones that goes deep into your ears.

In Ear Monitors

Oh thanks... was wondering wats the M for? hhehe... is it meant for monitoring or for listening pleasure?

I tried the Philips headphone at Porpular CD RAMA few days ago~
What is that headphone? The sound not bad o~
Got good soundstage~~

That headphone the cable easily putus. Not good...

ok waaaaaaaaaaaattt.....

after that got good solid excuse to DIY Canare onto it

DIY Canare onto that headphone? That's overkill, the canare cost more than the headphone now.

ha??? canare starquad L-4E6S like RM7-8 per meter only wo, what headphones are you comparing with?

yah meh? but i feels the sound is like lack of somethings....
but then due to properly burn-in(everyday used by ppl)...it can be push full potential

Quick question,how is the MylarThree compared to IM716?

bro.....that is a lot of review in our forum..u may find it in mylar fans club or either scottibabies personal reviews......

general perception....

for 716, if u didnt amped it properly, the sound wont be nicer than Mylarthree(M3)
if u amped it properly, the transparency and separation of 716 is much more nicer than M3, but as for economic audiophiles IEM, M3 is good choices as it need neither a good amp or a good sources...the sound is pretty nice with affordable prices..

IM716 + Good AMP = 500-700
M3 = 165

so thats jz up to how much u r willing to spent

hey guys looking for some advice.

i'm thinking of purchasing headphones... i want to know what are the pros and cons of wireless vs wired headphones.

if it helps, i was originally looking at sennheiser but got poisoned by the creative wireless headphones