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
Oblanc: Driver 50mm, Input Impedance 32 ohms, Sensitivity 113db, Max input 200mW/Output 40mW Fostex: Driver 50mm, Impedance 25 ohms, Sensitivity 94db, Max input 1800mW
These were put into my PC.
While the Fostex sound “cleaner,” I’ve noticed the Oblancs are much louder/punchier with lower volumes? I thought impedance determined this, but is there more to it? Would an amp improve this? Overall the sound is kind of flat on the Fostex, andI’m disappointed that the cheapo phones seem to have a punchier bass. Maybe I’m just use to the Oblancs? I tried putting the Fostex in an RX-V373 AV receiver, and I was still somewhat underwhelmed with the bass. My ears are either screwed up/use to the sound of the old headphones, or I am doing something wrong. Any advice is appreciated.
The Fostex do require more power to drive compared to your off-brand headset which is why they're 'softer' at low volumes. But the Fostex can also handle a lot more power than your headset. The off-brand headset you have was known for the bass back in the day. So, I imagine everything, including the low-end is muddy. But that bass doe.
If you're looking for more low end, I would recommend the Purpleheart variants of these, or Beats.
1. Audio from you PC is either total garbage or barley passable as ok. Even my gaming laptop with a "built in AMP for superior audio quality" and my high end motherboard with Realtek "Crysral sound 2", sound horrid compared to my NFB-11 DAC/AMP. At least that has been my experience. Garbage in garbage out.
2. If you have never heard "good" headphone and are accustomed to the sound signature of cheap headphone (usually including boomy bloated bass) you brain will take a little time to adjust the the new sound signature. You really have to give it some listening time to adjust.
3. We tend to perceive louder as better. But louder has little to do with audio quality.
if in a week or so you decide the TH-X00 aren't worth it, I'd consider buying then off you, at a modest discount of course. ;)
A better source would be the next obvious step to get the most out of you investment. Stay skeptical, their will be plenty of people wanting to sell you all kinds of expensive "snake oil".
Good luck and enjoy.
In regards to the drivers, you have to manually install the Vista64 drivers. If you need help locating the drivers just give me a shout.
There is a new version of the NFB-11 just recently released so not sure if it will use different drivers.
i've been using the XDuoo XD-05 for more than half a year now, and i feel like the bass boost feature on the XD-05 might be something you will really like since it really feels like all it does is increase bass without affecting clarity.
before i got the fostex th-x00's i used audio technica ath-m50x's (which were way too sharp sounding for my ears (sibilance i think) had pretty bad sound stage and actually sound muddy IMO compared to the fostex) and then there were my bassy cheapo headphones.... (some sony extra bass headphones...the wired version of the xb950?)
i recently did a sound test comparison with both the fostex and the sony headphones on my Xduoo XD-05 with bass boost enabled and while the sony's felt like they were "moving" more (i think it has weighted drivers) i immediately felt like i much prefered the shear clarity of the bass on the fostex, made me feel a lot more immersed than the bloated bass of the sonys.... also the sonys felt so muddy i felt like going back to the fostex right away, and i've been using the fostex only, starting around april. (i thought to myself thinking "wow i was missing out so much detail that i didnt even know existed in these songs" for a while :p)
keep in mind im still pretty new to the "high end" audio game, but i felt like maybe i should've shared of my adventure with these headphones :p that being said i do know i learned one thing...if all you want is a "headshaker", dont even bother spending more than $100, maybe $200 on headphones. most headphones over that price point start focusing on precision, clarity and frequency response rather than just bass. also keep in mind that both the xduoo and fostex are responsible for converting from just a "bass head" to someone who enjoys total immersion through audio
EDIT: i would also like to add an important tid bit which explains why its so hard to find "the perfect pair of cans" on the first try...how one enjoy's music is subjective. i like the sound signature of the fostex th-x00s a lot compared to all the headphones i've tried (includes ones i dont own like sennheiser hd598 and 280 pro, audio technica m40x some super old akg on ear studio headphones that belong to my dad and apparently cost about the same as the fostex did back in the day) but i see many posts of people hating the th-x00s, which makes sense since different people look for different qualities from a pair of cans.
The Foster headphones you have can REALLY scale up with better audio-chain gear. The frequency measurement charts have a bit of a V-shape, with mildly accentuated bass and treble. And I'll tell you what... weaker amps can leave it sounding "ok," but thin and less punchy ththe full potential. I heard them on a "transportable" desktop amp at a CanJam, and it was alright. Then I plugged the same headphones into Fostex's flagship $8,000 amp next to it (with tubes and stuff), and that made a DRASTIC difference! Full-bodied mids and bass, smooth bright highs (not too bright, just clear and "shining"), and haunting vocals. The track tested on both amps was Radiohead's "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi." Now, for good results, you don't have to spend $8k, but the headphone's performance does continue to rise.
The above, plus the TH-X00's sensitivity of 94 dB, means my first recommended upgrade for you would be an amp. The Schiit magni, Schiit Jotunheim, and Objective 2 are popula, well regarded amps, but they are a bit more clinical-sounding; not my recommendation for you because they could bring too much attention to the highs and be pushing you further in the opposite direction from what you enjoyed about your Oblanc. I'd recommend a tube amp by Garage1217, like a Project Sunrise or Project Spark, or a solid state amp (can't tweak the sound by changing tubes, but less hassle and less subject to EMI) like Cavalli Audio's upcoming Liquid Spark or something from Meier Audio. When you are ready to upgrade the DAC too, right now the Schiit Modi Multibit (MMB, nicknamed "Mimby") is a really hard to beat value.
But really, an amp upgrade will noticeably help the TH-X00 (Anyone else think "THX," like the movie audio company?) pull ahead of the $20 el cheapo headphone you have now. Aaaand, if you decide you don't like audio much after all, the resell market is decently strong (imo stronger than computers and smartphones). GLHF!
The Gustard H10 makes the Meier Corda JAZZ-ff sound fairly 'meh' in comparison... more detail and that BAAAASSSSSSS along with smoother yet more detailed highs from the H10. I've never heard so much detail out of the TH-X00 PH (and mine are modded with Lawton driver dampening, Jmoney lambskin earpads, and custom pad attenuators which are much better than the Dekoni rings) and that is just with the stock Opamps. My TH-X00 PH are like top end open cans in regards to the level of detail, clarity, and instrument separation - yet that biodyna driver just pounds your head into submission with it's pressure wave while presenting detailed, cleaner, tighter, and further extending bass than stock. And all without messing with the mids or highs... the overall balance is kept, just greatly enhanced in fidelity.
I have the new Burson V6 opamps coming in soon to try out and plan to try others out as well. The Meier JAZZ-ff is going up for sale with zero hesistation/regrets... the Gustard H10 is that much of an improvement with the TH-X00 PH to me - even though the crossfeed is nice on the JAZZ-ff. The Gustard H10 isn't without it's faults though... mainly it needs to be modded for reliability reasons (heat) and you get no kind of warranty whatsoever. So it's really an amp for those who don't mind tinkering/modding and know they are on their own with zero support for a unit that has known heat related issues. Sound when paired with the TH-X00 is absolutely phenominal though. The DACs used with both the JAZZ-ff and H10 have been the Audioquest Dragonfly Red (in line-out mode) and Schitt Bifrost 4490.