yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[General Accessories] vectron:
If you want to continue enjoying your budget headphones, don't spend more than $100-$150 on future headphone purchases ;) Once you start listening to more expensive headphones and compare the sound, you will be very disappointed. It's simply impossible to go back. And even in higher price bracket, not everything is a diamond and depends on quality of your sound source, sound files, amps, etc. But you don't have to spend a fortune, and in sub $100 price range there are so many great headphones which I personally tested and compared. For example, you can get a high quality sound from Logitech UE600, Klipsch S4A, Shure SE215, Audio-Technica ATH-CKX9i. Or a bigger over-ear headphones like Audio-Technica ATH-M50 will be great. For wireless, for example, if you compare Plantronics BackBeat Go 2 to Rapoo - you will never want to listen to Rapoo again :)

Jeremy, who started this wonderful thread, will have a ton more recommendation since he is more familiar with other headphones.
[General Accessories] refinition:
Aren't the shures in the 100+ range?
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
SE215 is $100, but is possibly one of the very few earphones at that price or lower that can function as an "end-game" earphone for those on limited budget. They, imo, just do most things pretty well.

I think that the areas most people overlook in their search for a better listening experience is the source (player/dac/amp and quality of the files).

My best recommendations are to immediately switch to using Neutron as your android music app (highest quality sound of any app I've tested, which is almost all of them), stop streaming, and download only either 320kbps or FLAC files (legally, of course).

Then, you'll be able to get the full potential of your current hardware and can make your own decision as to your next step (ditching the phone's low grade/noisy DAC/amp should be first).

This can save a ton of time/money going through different headphones trying to solve a deficiency that doesn't lie in the headphones to begin with.

Excreted from my Nexus 5

[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
You know what? I belIeve so strongly in the above as a "first step" that I've added it to the OP. It's a $5 solution to a great many problems in the audio system.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] refinition:
Question, my left earphone of my SE215 is considerably softer than my right one. Any troubleshooting tips?
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
I assume you mean volume wise? I would also assume you've tried plugging them into a different device?

First off, check the cables and possibly clean out the ear pieces with the included tool. You may have wax in the ear piece.

One way to test it, is to switch the left/right cable. If your right is now softer, it's the cable (or the signal, though that's less likely) If your left remains softer, it's either the ear piece or your cable.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] wyelkins:
Running the evaluation version of Neon. So far, Very Good. Of course, the UI takes some getting used to.

Is Neon better than Viper?
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
You mean Neutron? Neutron is just the player and can work with Viper. You get used to the ui pretty quick, and it has an enormous amount of audio settings options.

Have you already switched to higher bitrate files?

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] wyelkins:
No. I played with Viper on another ROM but I have not installed on this one yet. I have an S3 running MOAR 7 with the newest DKP kernel and MK3 modem. Guess I will install it again and see what happens. Any suggestions on settings?
[General Accessories] alexll:
Bought a pair of senheiser cx 175 -medium budger in-ear headphones and they are just awesome:D
[General Accessories] Lokitez:
What's the kbps when saving Google Play All Music (or whatever it's called) to a device?

How limited is a Nexus 5 or Nexus 10 in terms of ability to output quality sound? Certainly, they're not going to be able to match my computer (HT Striker Omega 7.1) or a true sound system, but in terms of the bottleneck for sound quality, where is it in the Google Music > Nexus 5 > Pioneer HDJ-2000 chain?
[General Accessories] Spl4tt:
I agree that Neutron is the player to go. Besides my Cowon J3 I have a SGS i9000 as reserve, wich is set-up with cm7, Voodoo sound and Neutron. It sounds really nice.

My Nexus5 sounds also really nice without any modification. The soundchip seems to be well done. I never used it with a nice setup though, only to listen some song-previews online, or youtube vids.
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
That's almost the exact use my N5 gets with headphones: previewing music before transferring to my player.

Excreted from my Nexus 5

[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] Cream$ickleHJ:
1: Budget-$100

2: Genres/Musical preference-Doom/Sludge/Death/Grind Metal,Big Pun,B.I.G,,Bonethugs,Rittz,blues,jazz,

3: Type of headphone-On ear/Over ear/Earbuds

4: Functionality-No mic

5: The audio rig as whole-Home Stereo(couple hundred watts)/Nexus 4

6: Source material-Ogg Vorbis/MP3/FLAC

7: Build Quality-Brutal Elegance
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
I'm not very familiar with the metal genres you listed, would you say you're looking for more clarity in the bass than bass volume? I'd imagine mids and highs may be more important for you, if so.

Excreted from my Nexus 5

[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] Cream$ickleHJ:
Most common genres of metal...,i look for the bass from the drums, guitars, and also clarity

I was looking at grado sr60i headphones,sennheiser 429,and audio technica ath-ckx5
[General Accessories] vectron:
I can tell you from an experience of just reviewing and posting about ath-ckx9is and ckx7is - you do not want ckx5 which is below 7. CKX9 was awesome in terms of bass and treble and "fun" sound with scooped mids, which I think would be perfect for the music you listen to where you need more bass. 7-series was neat in terms of a design, but bass was gone and there was too much harsh upper frequencies. I didn't hear 5-series but they will be below 7 in sound quality so you definitely want to stay away from those if you want to listen to metal ;)
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
I think the first decision to nail down is in-ear vs. On/over-ear.

Also, because dead horses sometimes need a beating: Neutron + higher bitrate files.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] vectron:
... and since we are talking about metal music, does that involve a lot of headbanging? If so, might need headphones with a good clamping force ;)
[General Accessories] Spl4tt:
This is like saying, for portable listening or home listening?
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
Pretty much. I know a lot of people who either use IEMs at home or over-ears on the go, though.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] skepticmisfit:
sup.

just bought some klipsch s4s (regular model) to use with my samsung galaxy s for music (hey the OG S has a damn nice internal DAC and amp)

really satisfied, $80, AMAZING sound

i also have some Audio-Technica ATH-M50s that i use at home

all my files are either mp3 (320kbps) or FLAC and i use google play music
[General Accessories] refinition:
Did what you told me to, the left remains softer even when I switch the earpieces. Guess I need to RMA the cable :/
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
No, if you switch the right cable to that left ear piece, and the left is still softer, it's either the ear piece or your source. The good news is, Shure's warranty is excellent.

Have you tried using a different device (I'm also assuming this is across multiple songs)?

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] refinition:
Oh right, sorry I derped out for a second there.

This happens across my iPod, computer and Note 3 across my whole collection so I think that rules out the source
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
And it's totally clean? Do you have the black or clear? If black, shine a light in there and look for debris. Clear should be easy to tell.

It wouldn't hurt to also switch to a different pair just to make sure it can't be anything other than the left earpiece going out.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] refinition:
I've cleaned it and everything. I have a clear set so I've already checked the insides, nothing wrong that I can dee

I'll grab my sisters pair and check with those, thanks for your help though
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
Well, damn. Keep us posted on how the warranty process goes.

Excreted from my Nexus 5

[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] boulder96:
Help! This is an emergency! I'm going to get new source equipment! Should I get the E18 or the X3??!!! I'm going to pair it with my westone 4R
[General Accessories] vectron:
The decision is easier than you think ;) First of all, try to decide what is your source of audio going to be. If its your smart phone, then E18. If you want to have dedicated audio source - X3. Next, figure out if your smartphone will be compatible with E18 usb otg. If not, then I would recommend E12 Mont Blanc portable headphone amp only.

If you want to have an ultimate solution, get the upcoming X5. In theory, X5 = E18 + X3 ^2, since it can still work as usb otg dac/amp, it will have the same (or better) dac interface as E18, it has dedicated audio player like X3, it has mechanical control wheel (really cool new control), and it uses 2 micro-SD cards for memory expansion. The most flexible solution is E12 portable amp because you can use it with any source. E18 is great if your smartphone supports it and you already have music collection on your smartphone, thus don't need to add another external audio player. X3 is old gen, still great and probably it will be soon on sale due to X5. X5 will be bigger, but it's ultimate piece of tech.

Btw, considering W4R has the same driver as W40 - I honestly didn't find that much of an advantage running W40 off external amp. As you know, W-series has a warmer sound signature so its a bit more forgiving with source which is not the highest quality. Again, I'm not an audiophile and don't have trained ears or patience for detailed analysis, but I can tell you that my UE900 which is mid-centric has more benefit from clean dac/amp source for a more sparkle, while W40 is forgiving and I enjoy it even connected directly to my laptop audio jack which is noisy as hell.
[General Accessories] Gamer R:
Okay I need a new pair of IEM under 10 - 15$. I listen to Metal, Progressive , Drum and Bass and Dubstep. Note that in my country only limited brands are available. I'll be ordering them from online. I have attached few websites along with the budget pre selected. Please help me find the best one.

Link 1

Link 2

Link 3

I have already used Philips SHE 3590 and SoundMAGIC ES18

I had done some research, but am really confused. Also I had been going through guides available on Head-fi , but the products which they had mentioned on the website wren't available in my country.
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
From what research I've done, at that budget, the Phillips or Soundmagic are your best bets.

Do you still have those? Did they break? If so, how/where? These answers can help direct you in the right direction.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] Gamer R:
[MENTION=3571411]jRi0T68[/MENTION]

Both the earphones had opened from the middle when taking them out of the ears. This had caused the wires inside to break. I had tried gluing them, but it didn't work. I had used both the earplugs for 2 years. So, I thought of buying a new one.

Here's a list of what I thought would be good under my budget :-

SoundMAGIC ES 18

Sony MH-EX300AP

Creative EP-630

Cowon EM1

Sennheiser CX 180

Sony MDR-EX220LP

SoundMAGIC PL 11

PS - I found that ES18 sound better than SHE 3590. But the build quality of ES18 was horrible
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
What do you transport your earphones in? A one time purchase of a small case will save you from having to replace earphones, but two years is a good run.

I'd go with a small case, es18, installing neutron as your music player, and using at least 320kbps mp3 files. It's the cheapest way to make a significant impact on your audio pleasure.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] Gamer R:
[MENTION=3571411]jRi0T68[/MENTION]

I do carry the earplugs in a small carry pouch that I got it with ES 18. And I mostly download 320kpbs mp3s or FLAC.

What abour Cowon EM1 ? I have heard that they sound as good as ES18 but the build quality is way better than ES18 ?

What do you say ?
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
I haven't heard them, but cowon is a respected brand. Any links to reviews?

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] Gamer R:
[MENTION=3571411]jRi0T68[/MENTION]

Seems like the link which I had bookmarked(review on Cowan) had got expired.

What about Audio Technica CLR100 , Logitech UE200 and Panasonic ErgoFit RP-HJE120-D ?

I don't really want to buy SoundMAGIC , just because of its bad build quality
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
Some quick research on CLR100 shows that those should be a great purchase. Seem like a new budget recommendation for me to keep in mind.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] Gamer R:
So Audio Technica CLR100 it is !

I have already placed the order
[General Accessories] mo976:
I just ordered the MEE sport-fi S6P for half price from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DD...f_=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item

I was looking for "sports" iem's for jogging but I wasn't keen on spending $50-60 on the sennheiser which have mixed reviews about the sound quality. These like any headphones have mixed reviews as well but mostly positive. Does anyone have experience with MEE iem's or know anything about these?
[General Accessories] vectron:
Somebody reviewed these S6P in here before: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2460659

Regarding MEE, I have reviewed a number of their other headphones and found to be all good. They are also highly regarded in Head-fi community. Just a comment, the one I reviewed were skewed toward bass heavy sound with recessed mids. Those referred to as v-shaped "fun" sound signature. Considering you are looking for sports headphones, I have a feeling you are not planning to listen to classical or jazz music while exercising. For any upbeat dance/edm, pop/rock, and rap/hiphop these will be good. Also their customer support is excellent.
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
This ^^^ is the type of discussion that I made the thread for, thanks vectron!

Excreted from my Nexus 5

[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] mo976:
Thanks, I usually use the FIT Radio Workout Music app which has a variety of high BPM and high energy mixes via streaming or when I experience poor reception i have some top 40 pop/dance type stuff in 320kbps MP3. Anyhow sounds like it should be a good match.
[General Accessories] djtronmix:
192 mp3, 320 mp3 or flac for a phone with a 64gb sd card

Hi Guys,

I've a phone with an external 64gb sd card (internal 32gb is for apps/games) and I'm starting to collect music. I've a previous collection of 128kbps mp3 but I'll dump it.

So which format and bitrate. I'm planning to use it for my phone use with a decent headphone but will use it hifi speakers at home in the future.

Thanks.
[General Accessories] vectron:
320kbps mp3 as a minimum. There are higher quality formats but the file will go up in size. 320kbps will give you a decent quality/size ratio.
[General Accessories] ctowne:
If you want the best sound quality you are going to want to get .flac files. They are uncompressed so you get the best sound possible. I have a pair of ATH-M50s and I noticed a big difference when switching over to flac files.

The downside to these files is that they are very large. For example, a normal song will probably be around 30MB. With 96GB of storage on your phone you should be able to fit quite a bit of flac files on there. I downloaded 1001 hits of the 90's a little while back and it was about 29GB. But hey, if you've got the space then why not use it!

When playing from my Android (Moto X) I use Poweramp pro. It has an excellent equalizer compared to most other music apps I have tried.

Sent from my bamboo Moto X
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
I fully agree with this. Flac is better, but also 3+ times the file size.

[MENTION=5585410]djtronmix[/MENTION]

Your audio setup is a system. The weakest link is your bottleneck. If your headphones are $2000 customs, but you plug them into your phone's crappy DAC, you won't notice the difference in SQ like you should. The same goes for using lower quality files.

Again, I'd recommend 320kbps or better and switching to Neutron.

From there, your next step in increasing SQ should either be Fiio E18 (or some other external DAC), a new DAP, or better headphones.

What headphones are you currently using?

Excreted from my Nexus 5

[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] djtronmix:
Flacc vs 320kbps

Thanks Vectron, so flac is not a good option for phone use with ext. 32gb sd card? In the future, I'll use my collection for home stereo systems as well. Do you think flac transfer from pc to phone will take time (64 gb)?

---------- Post added at 12:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:47 AM ----------

I estimated I'll have aroud 1200 songs (64gb sd card) in flac but I don't want to have 320kbps songs and not get the full sound experience of flac lossless. Probably, 'll change the flac music every month to my phone. How long does it take to transfer music from phone to pc?

---------- Post added at 12:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:01 PM ----------

I'm currently using M50s but will upgrade to dt1350 (once finance manager approves :) I've used poweramp and the bass extreme EQ is good. I keep away from Neutron cause it's complicated althoug 64 bit is better (haven't try also viper4mod). LG G2's default player pure surround EQ setting is good also.

They say you don't need portable amplifier like Fioo because G2's DAC is good.

So now, I've decided to go flac, and just change phone 1200 nos music monthly. Hope transfer from pc to phone is fast.

Thanks guys.
[General Accessories] vectron:
I think pc to phone transfer should be the least of your worries :) Doesn't matter how long it takes since you are not going to do it everyday, right? But either way, it shouldn't take that long. I remember moving my pictures library, and 7GB of data took about less than 10min from my laptop to Note 2.
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
No phone DAC will be as good as a dedicated one. Your headphones are good, but neutron will help the sq a bit. Especially in being able to tune the sound more to your liking.

Best idea is to download about 5 songs that you're very familiar with in 320 and flac, then see if you can hear enough of s difference to make flac worth it to you.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] Shoaib1247:
Very productive post...
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
This is very ironic.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] cnpc1984:
Good suggestion, though I just bought the headphones, but later will be according to your suggestion.
[General Accessories] mo976:
So... I'm kinda stuck about headphones the LG's quadbeat 2 were never very comfortable and the awkward mic position and flat cables sealed the deal. The sound quality was OK at best but it always felt like it was missing something. Like they forgot the midrange or something. The good: build quality is nice and they look premium.

So my quest continues... Is it worth springing for the se215. Locally its about $125 after tax and the includes local warranty and I can split it into payments to make it easier to manage with no extra charge. Of course if I want the mic its still an extra $50 on Amazon or wherever. Opinions? Alternate recommendations?
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
I love my SE215's the only thing they don't do superbly well is sparkling beautiful highs. So, unless classical/instrumental/other music focusing a lot on the highs, then you won't be disappointed.

You can get the mic cable from UE900 directly from Logitech (they own Ultimate Ears, and UE900 cables are compatible).

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] mo976:
I can forgive less then sparkling highs if the sound is in general well balanced eg not to bassy or tinny obviously a iem that excels everywhere is probably beyond my means, but as long as they lean towards full range with a better then average soundstage I think I should be happy. Is the UE cable "android" compatible?
[General Accessories] vectron:
Multifunction button is, doesn't matter if its iDevice or Android, always works with play/pause/call, double-click to skip the track, and long-press to start Google Now.
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
They can be bassy, when needed. They don't have to be. They're "mid-centric" luscious mids, highs are a little rolled off. Bass responds well to EQ. What music do you normally listen to?

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] mo976:
Mostly pop/rock and such, but I also mix it up with other genres like jazz or edm if I'm in a mood.

Here in Israel most headphones run close to double US prices or at least even when its not double its at least msrp and then some so finding the shure from an authorized retailer for what is basically the going price plus vat is surprising and amazing, for comparison, here the S4i's cost just about as much.

The only compelling iem's if I want to wait a while till they get here are the Mee a151 which can be had for $50 on Amazon.

On a tangent I have the mee fi-s6p and they are really good so far though the memory wire has taken some getting used to.
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
Given that, you would probably enjoy SE215 quite a bit. The foam ear tips make a big difference, as well.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] shaolin95:
Do yourself a favor and research that. You cannot hear the difference between lossless and 320 provided they are both from the same source not different mastering.

Countless blind tests prove that over and over...dont let placebo rule your life ;)
[General Accessories] mo976:
Probably with very high end equipment a difference in quality however small can be heard.

On a phone even with decent headphones I don't think one would hear any difference. It could probably be argued that even dropping the bitrate to 256 would probably sound about as good with such a setup.
[General Accessories] a9853018784:
head phone for moto g

i want to by a high bass good head phone for my MOTO G plse suggest me
[General Accessories] mo976:
For in ear the velodyn are supposed to be great.

---------- Post added at 06:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:41 PM ----------

So I got the se215 today I didn't even have a chance yet to try them... Work all day and the wife has flu... Should I bother burning them in with pink noise and do you have any other recommendations for enjoying them more
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
Burn them in while listening to music, or pink noise while you sleep. All I can say is insertion is key. Get them as deep as you can. I squish the foam down and let it expand in my ear.

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[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying
[General Accessories] jRi0T68:
Pm me if you're interested in taking over op of this thread. I'm not certain that it's necessary, but it might be. I've given away all my audio (players, headphones, amp and my entire music library on micro sd with no backup).

Excreted from my Nexus 5

[Guide] Headphone/Earphone Buying