I am sorry about the x-thousand thread about headphones. I was searching for in-ear headphone recommendations for the OP-1 as most threads in this forum are about over-ear headphones. I already have AKG K-240 Studio and Bose QC35 headphones at home but my apartment is located under the roof which means temperatures hit +30°C in summer (or +86 in freedom units) and its not fun to have big headphones on your head. Also for traveling i find in-ears more convenient (except for flights were I take my Bose headphones with me).
I know in-ears are not quite the best option due to the smaller driver but maybe some of you can share their experience. I thought about getting some in-ear monitors like the new Mackie In-Ear monitors series MP-120 (32ohm) / 220 (16 ohm) /240 (32ohm). http://mackie.com/products/mp-series But maybe there are cheaper options.
I use a Etymotic HF5 with a 75 ohm attenuator I picked up on eBay. It’s probably like the Mackie. The headphone is very flat and true to the sound of the OP-1 except the bass doesn’t have the weight of bigger headphones (common with single driver balanced armature IEMs). When I want the very best sound, I use a headphone amp too.
@tumble2k said:
I use a Etymotic HF5 with a 75 ohm attenuator I picked up on eBay. It’s probably like the Mackie. The headphone is very flat and true to the sound of the OP-1 except the bass doesn’t have the weight of bigger headphones (common with single driver balanced armature IEMs). When I want the very best sound, I use a headphone amp too.
Thanks I will take a look at the Etymotic headphones. Which kind of attenuator do you use? Didn’t know you can get those for headphones aswell…I only knew them from cable/sat installations. I am pretty sure I will need one of those too as most of the IEMs impedances are around 16-32 ohm. I read somewhere around here that about 80 ohm are ideal for the OP-1.
It’s not actually an attenuator. Sorry for the misinformation. If you look on eBay for Etymotic Resistor Adapter you will find the product I use. It looks like a 1/8 inch plug.
The HF5 and HF3 have pretty good BA drivers, and they’re good enough for me right now. Single driver BA IEMs are an acquired taste. If you enjoy bass impact they are not the headphones for you, but if you like clear, articulate, accurate, and fast sound, the Etys and probably the Mackies are great.
On the Op1 the Etys are pretty revealing. I use it when programming patches. This way I’m not surprised when I play the patch on a different system.
Thank you tumble2k! I found it. Both the Etymotics and the Mackies are available at Thomann so I probably order both and decide if I don’t find another option. Normally I am not a fan of ordering stuff and sending it back but I haven’t found a shop around Vienna which has one of them in stock.
The Etymotics have incredible noise isolation, but it’s still not as good as the Bose noise cancelling headphones. The downside of noise cancelling headphones is the relatively lower fidelity compared to a high quality IEM like the Etymotics. If I could afford it I’d definitely choose the Bose for international flying!
@spacetravelmadeeasy said:
Bose QC30 i’d say.
Best headphones I’ve ever had and best investment. Silence on long haul flights.
Yeah, I own the QC35, they are neat but as I wrote - I currently have 29°C in my flat so I won’t put them on as I don’t want to get them all sweaty :neutral: I thought about switching to the QC30 but as there is now a V2 version of the QC35 I think I might loose more money.
@GCF said:
Have you looked at Shure earphones?
Which ones in particular? any recommendation?
@tumble2k said:
The HF5 and HF3 have pretty good BA drivers, and they’re good enough for me right now. Single driver BA IEMs are an acquired taste. If you enjoy bass impact they are not the headphones for you, but if you like clear, articulate, accurate, and fast sound, the Etys and probably the Mackies are great.
I found the HF5s to be unusually mid-heavy, so much so that I have to EQ them in order to get a sound that I believe is balanced. They’re slightly better if I use my fiio A1 on the first bass boost preset, but the highs don’t seem to be as present as on my EQ preset (which dials down the mids). Still, they’re great with the A1 and my DS lite for nanoloop composing. I made an entire footwork/autonomic dnb EP on them that sounds amazing on venue sound systems.
It may just be my hearing, but I previously had a pair of Audio Technica ATH-CKS90s that I found to be a lot more balanced. It was a bit jarring moving to the HF5s!
These days I’ve moved to Nura headphones (which are fkn great) but I still keep the HF5s around because they’re actually really great for using with my Elektron gear on the couch.
@pselodux Yeah the highs are definitely not airy and the bass is thin. The 75 ohm adapter helps the highs when used together with the headphone amplifier. I like how the highs tend to float separately from the rest of the music rather than somehow being glommed onto the mids.
But the adapter also drops the bass down even more with the benefit of more control. But deep insertion (insert your own joke here) helps restore the bass.
@sirweasel said:
Which ones in particular? any recommendation?
All of the in-ear ones seem to be highly regarded. More of a flat response, which would be better for mixing. I plan on getting some soon. (I’m biased though – started working for them in March )
@sirweasel said:
Which ones in particular? any recommendation?
All of the in-ear ones seem to be highly regarded. More of a flat response, which would be better for mixing. I plan on getting some soon. (I’m biased though – started working for them in March )
Ok, so just got some SE425 earphones. They sound incredible. Totally breathe life into music in a way I am not used to for earphones. A nice even response and great detail across the audio spectrum. Definitely what I will use when I don’t want to carry large over-ear headphones.
@GCF since you work for Shure, have you had a listen to the KSE1200 and KSE1500? That is my dream set. If you get an employee discount they might even be almost affordable!
@tumble2k said: @GCF since you work for Shure, have you had a listen to the KSE1200 and KSE1500? That is my dream set. If you get an employee discount they might even be almost affordable!
Lol I’ve been about 5 feet from them before. Haven’t had a chance to try them yet. Maybe I’ll have to ask around…
any recommendation?