Sennheiser PC37X randomly goes bad after disconnecting the cable ?
Greetings, Yesterday I was using my headset like normal with my macbook, just listening to music and on a call with people like usual, and the headset was perfectly fine. The stock wire that came with the headset is extremely long and yesterday it annoyed me very much that it kept getting tangled with itself, so I decided to see if the cable is replaceable. I pulled out the cable from the headset and saw the adapter, and looked online for a replacement. Upon plugging it back in, the audio sounded extremely muffled and washed out. Im not sure what I did wrong to make it mess up like that as I've always taken good care of it, ive had it for about 2 years and its always just been chilling on my desk, but anywho I thought the cable just went bad and ordered a replacement. The replacement came, and the issue is still persistant, so I am not sure what the issue is I've tried multiple different headsets and the issue is not with the port, and I also tried it with my windows laptop and...
Apr 23, 2024
The newly released FiiO Q5 is also excellent. Thoughts are all based on using it with the stock AM3A amp module or DAC Line Out to a HeadAmp Gilmore Lite MK2: It has a more portable size and shape than the iDSD BL but it has bluetooth built in. It has a slightly warm and smooth sound with good detail retrieval. It uses dual AK4490 DAC chips. It is made for iOS and PC. It comes with all the cables required to connect it to a PC, android phone, or iPhone including a lightning to micro-usb cable which is pretty cool (no need for an adapter). The AM3A amp module that comes in the box has a 3.5mm SE out and 2.5mm balanced out. With exception of the RCAs of the iDSD BL, the Q5 has the most connectivity options with USB in, Line In, Optical In, Coax In, Bluetooth In, Line Out, headphone out, and balanced headphone out. This has the "smoothest" sound of the 3.
The Oppo HA-2SE is another nice device. It is made for iOS. It uses a ESS Sabre Reference ES9028-Q2M DAC chip. The sound is very neutral with a gravity towards cool and bright. I have found it exhibits what has been referred to as ESS Glare or Sabre Glare. You can look that up on your own if you'd like but it essentially (and unintentially) adds a little "extra" to the treble. It's hard for me to describe. It has a 3.5mm SE headphone out and Line Out/In. This bests the Q5 in terms of detail retrieval but I personally prefer the sound of the Q5. It has the most portable form factor of these three only beating the Q5 because it is thinner.
Other thoughts: Build quality on all three is excellent as is sound quality (with each being a bit different). The iDSD BL and HA-2SE can be used as power bricks if you need to charge your phone in a pinch. The Q5 cannot do this. The HA-2SE is the only one that can charge your phone while playing music. All three can be used with PC (with driver installation) and iOS. The Q5 and HA-2SE are marketed as 'Made for iOS' while the iDSD BL is not. You'll have to do your own research on battery life for each because I don't know it off the top of my head. The iDSD BL is the only one that has a decent bass boost (if you use that sort of thing). The Q5 and HA-2SE have sub-par bass boost functionality. The HA-2SE doesn't need an adapter to connect to iOS devices as it has a USB-A female connection built in: you can use any standard USB lightning cable. Source: I own all three.
Hope this helps!