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
Does it have the vibe of a live? Given how the song is recorded you can tell that the singer's voice is going straight into the microphone in front of him. It feels like the singer is singing into your face, with you being the microphone. It's got a pretty livey feel, things are not as controlled as it is in a recording studio. The voice is nice and thick, the Jot is known to be pretty aggressive and powerful in presentation, so there's no worries in that regard. Your favorite singer won't sound like an anemic person croaking out his last words.
In terms of staging, I notice that the Jot has a wider stage horizontally, and a thinner one in front and behind you. This could also be due to the way the stage was set up for the live, but overall I felt the presence of the crowd from the sides a lot wider than the ones behind me (Well basically in front of the singer since the microphone's pointed towards him).
I listened to this song once on low gain and once on high gain, my general thoughts are on low gain there's slightly less dynamics than at high gain, but given my Andromeda gets a bit too loud for the office setting I keep it at low gain most of the time. Sound-stage is also slightly wider on the high gain setting in all directions, so when you get a less "efficient" headphone like the 6XX you'll definitely want to flip that high gain switch to get the most out of your Jotunheim.
Now around the part between 3:20 to about 3:50 ish is when he does that guitar solo, in this portion you can hear the reverberation of the strings, the ones he let loose, the ones he stop right away, every pluck can be heard. Now, with the Andromeda, which is pretty mid forward and a little sibilant on the highs, I felt the the sharp highs the Jot reproduces which makes it a hair's width apart from being too stressful for my ears, however this will likely not be a problem for a slightly mid/treble recessed headphone like the HD6XX. In fact it will likely pair very well, with the amp help bringing back a little bit of what the HD6XX is missing. But yeah, the Jot's really good at picking out the details, though I would not say it's the best in that regard, it's definitely efficient enough to make sure you're not missing out on anything you're meant to hear.
So yeah, overall, going to try to imagine how the HD6XX will sound paired with my Jotunheim, whilst resting my head upon the lap of my favorite concubine... ahhhh... such is life...
Where is the shipment email... curses...
Not sure if you're looking for comments on the recording or the headphones so I'll try to accommodate both.
I love the sound of an acoustic guitar with brand new strings! It never gets old.
There's not much in the way of imaging to comment on in this track since it's a guy with singing with his guitar. It's all front and center.
Dynamics are fantastic.
The body slaps are a little subdued; beyond what I would expect even. Probably not a mic capable of catching that in the recording. It almost sounds like you're catching an echo off the wall behind him in the vocal mic.
Fingers working the wrapped strings seems to be missing some bite. It's a little smoother than real life. The zing of the strings vibrating against the frets is also a little smoother than real life. That's the "Sennheiser Veil" in action.
Overall, it's quite engaging, but the Senn's are definitely not perfect for reproducing it (nor is anything else for that matter...). My AKGs (which have their own set of faults for this recording) show that the missing high end detail on the finger slides/frets is present in the recording, it just doesn't come out on the Senns. I still like the track much better overall on the Senns though.
The X1s is a strange beast to me. The 6xx sound good with it and I listen comfortably between 12-3. Other HPs I've recently used with the X1s haven't fared so well. Neither the HE400i (returned b/c of broken headband) and the Mayflower T50RP MkIII (returned b/c they were to bright for me) sounded good via the X1s. The 400i sounded great with my Topping NX4. The Mayflower were slightly more tolerable with the NX4, but not worth the actual pain they were causing my ears. It may have something to do with the fact that they are planars. IDK. My non-planar headphones (SR80, K550 and m100) all pair well with the X1s.
Also, the NX4 holds up well against the X1s at half the price and a fraction of the size of the X1s it drives the 6xx well. I'm listening comfortable between 11 & 1 on High Gain. While I like the X1s a lot if I had to choose between the 2 I'd keep the NX4. Powers everything well, is portable and sounds great.
Also, thanks for turning me on to this Nils Lofgren album. I'm familiar with his E Street Band and Dire Straits work but never listened to his solo stuff.
I can see you've had a ton of experience with a variety of headphones, and you obviously know what your like--so you giving the 6XXs a thumbs up, is a relief. I also see you have a lot of variables in your system's sound equation. I'll have three sources and a couple of cable options and I'm very curious to see how they all sound (Jotonheim, if it ever ships, OPPO HA-2, and direct connections to phone, and a couple of computers). Hoping it's the Jot is the clear winner, otherwise I spent a lot of dough for nothing ;- )
Worst part now is I have to leave town (business) for several weeks, right before it all arrives! Guess I'll have something to look forward too when I do get back.
As for Nils, agree completely. I'd picked up one his first solo albums a (very) long time ago and wasn't all that impressed. I think he got better with age--and that stellar track (and recording) is the first thing I'm going to cue up, and soon as I get everything plugged in. It's going to be a while, but I'll get back to you on it!
1. This video: (Youtube Quality) As I had expected, the soundstage of the 6XX is quite good, even on a more horizontal (soundstage) amp like the Jot. Compared to the CA Andromeda, which also has a pretty wide soundstage for an iem, the 6XX is even wider, making the live sound much... livelier. In this regard I'll give it to the 6XX for wider soundstage.
The guitar sounds quite good, not as sharp as the Andromeda, but is not as shrouded as I had feared. In fact it's actually pretty clear coming out of the Jot. For a live recording, I think the 6XX did well. Now, for the Andromeda, as I had previously mentioned before the guitar is quite forward, but is still within the acceptable range. So depending on preferences one might like the 6XX more than the Andromeda, for not being as in your face about it.
However, when the vocals came in, boy, it really took another pair of headphone that is "good" to make me re-appreciate what my Andromeda is capable of. When I first listened to the 6XX I thought the vocal was pretty good, I did not really think it was much different than my Andromeda, and then I put on my Andromeda to listen to the recording again. ...Well, rainbows and unicorns.
To me, vocals sounds so much more intimate on the Andromeda than the 6XX, while the 6XX is not bad by any means. In my opinion, if the 6XX is a well made sculpture of a fair maiden, then the Andromeda is that fair maiden given life, crawling like a cat upon your body, her warm body pressed against yours, her sultry, beseeching voice next to your ear, sending chills down down your spine, a wild, steamy night under the silver moonlight... Ahem... Anyway, what I mean to say is the way voices are reproduced from the Andromeda holds more life than that of the 6XX, it's the difference between oh I'm listening to a recording vs oh you mean this is a recording and not the singer singing into my ears?!
Overall verdict: 6XX has a better stage presence for lives, has a less aggressive approach when it comes to strings/ guitars, but lacks depth and life in vocals compared to the CA Andromeda when paired with the Schiit Jotunheim. However, given the price difference of the two it's not a huge surprise.
2. Thriller- Wanna be Startin' Somethin' (CD Quality FLAC, 16/44) Bass is much more punchy and lively on the 6XX, vocals, mid/highs are better/ more lively on the Andromeda. (Andromeda's base is supple enough, but a bit on the dry side if you're really into those omphin' bass sounds) I feel the 6XX isn't so much shrouded as it just doesn't have as much energy up in the mid/highs, the clarity is still quite excellent, it just lacks an amount of depth that makes the vocal come alive. However, again, if the 6XX is the first pair of "audiophile" headphones it should be quite an amazing experience compared to the regular $10/$20 stuff. Compared to my Grados SR80E, which is about $100 ish, it's got a much better mid/high presence and a much cleaner bass that is still punchy.
3. Your Lie in April- Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso (CD Quality FLAC, 16/44) A violin/ piano duo, even if it's from an anime soundtrack album, I still really like this version and listen to it quite often. In this recording, I feel the dynamics of the 6XX is slightly lacking behind that of the Andromeda, the points of which the violin reaches its climax and dips back down sounds more exciting on the Andromeda than the 6XX. The 6XX does a good job reproducing the recording, but the slight lack of dynamics (even on high gain which boggles my mind) compared to the Andromeda makes me feel much less excited when listening to this piece I have heard possibly a few hundred times already on my Andromeda.
It's the difference between a gentle, conservative, but loving wife and a wild, passionate, fearless... uh... cat... yeah... cat! That's totally where I was going with that... Well, I suppose it's up to personal preference which one you would prefer. I personally like the wild one, but hey, I'm sure there's people out there that prefer a more relaxed, warm cradle.
4. Your Lie in April- Piano Sonata No. 14 (Moonlight Sonata) Movement No. 3 (CD Quality FLAC, 16/44) A piano piece this time, again, same problem as the above, not as dynamic, not as exciting, your preference will determine which one you prefer.
5. Melody Gardot- Your Heart is as Black as Night (MP3 Quality 320) I thought I'd give MP3 a try as well since I had a little bit of time, overall opinion, without repeating myself too much, is that the 6XX sounds more spacious, the Andromeda more intimate. Vocals can't tell as much difference, maybe due to the recording.
Overall, I am still quite pleased with the headphones, once the burn in passes I suppose it'll sound better, though this has made me appreciate my Andromeda more.
OH, and by the way, XLR does nothing for me besides making things a little louder, it seems Schiit really wasn't bullschiiting us when they said SE and XLR sounds the same, just different output power.
I suppose I should be disappointed in some way that the 6XXs didn't completely blow you away, but since you were comparing them to a very expensive (and apparently rather sexy) pair of IEMs, it's sounds like the Senheisers didn't win the match, but certainly went the distance?
I'm guessing the first comparison I make (with my QC35s) should at least result in a TKO, unless somebody throws the towel in, and stops the fight during first round? I could see that happening--if the QC35s have their ANC on, they might not hear the 6XXs coming for them ;- )
The match up I'm really looking forward to (since I've already placed a $170 bet) will be the square-off (ear-off?) between 6XXs and the Hifiman 4XXs. We shall have to see...
Heard from the FedEx man today: my 6XXs should arrive two days after I leave town. Also heard from Schitt today: the Jot will join them around the same time. I'll be gone two or three weeks, and those two will be sitting around waiting for me, for a change! While I'm out, I'll be following the conversations here, but may not be able to comment until I get back.
Mean time, thanks for the great review and all the previous inspiration!
By the way, got my 6XXs and Balanced Cable today--couple hours after I'd left the house for my road trip. Won't be back for 2 or 3 weeks. More then...
The lifelessness I described has alleviated for the most part, it may be due to the burn in or simply because I got a better understanding of the 6xx's sound signature now to make a less "biased" evaluation on it, however it did go from not being able to give me chills to sometimes able to give me chills, so I suppose a change definitely happened. Soundstage and overall ability to recreate that realistic atmosphere (like when you listen to JASMR or something, when they're licking your ears... mmm) is quite amazing, even on the Jotunheim with stock DAC module which isn't the best at wide soundstages, which is a plus.
Now, the vocals (or the mids) are more recessed than my Andromeda as I had previously pointed out, I personally prefer a more intimate relationship with vocals, but if you like a gentler experience with vocals then the 6XX will definitely be what you'd prefer. That being said it's not all that recessed with the Jot, at least the 1st gen Dac Module, so instead of calling it a problem I'd say it's more just the way it sounds, and there are people who prefer this slightly more relaxed sound signature (for example my mother preferred the 6XX over my Andromeda on a relatively soft-spoken song, while I'm the other way around. The song is Wainneddo no kokoro from Koji Tamaki's Best Harvest album for those interested. He's old as heck now but he's gotten even better, lol!).
Bass as always is good and full, got the punch yet not powerful enough to drown you in it, done just right. No new comments regarding this part.
Treble... I've honestly got no constructive comments on this one as most of the time it's the recording's problem if anything, so unless someone can suggest me a very well recorded, treble heavy song/ music I can't make much comments in that area. For example, if I listen to MJ's songs most of the time I feel the treble is too harsh, be it on 6XX or Andromeda, on any source I listen to, which leads me to think it's the recording's issue not my headphones/ IEM.
Has it gotten closer to my Andromeda? I would say given the way they're both set up now, yes. I'm running my Andromeda out of a Cowon P1, which is a good piece of gear, but I feel don't do the Andromeda enough justice as the DAP's sound signature is a bit on the lean side, which isn't a great combination with the Andromeda. Jot has a lot more meat and power so naturally sounds are much meatier on the 6XX's end, but as the 0.1 output impedance messes with the Andromeda's frequency response, and making it darker/ bassier than intended, I don't really have a perfect solution yet for the Andromeda at the moment.
I am looking for a new DAP but at the same time I feel DAPs are just not able to compete with a good external amp/dac, but finding an amp/dac that's ideally 2.0 output impedance AND is at least as good or better than my Jot for less than $500 is kind of hard... (Heck even finding a 2.0 output impedance amp whether good or bad is already a trial in itself.)