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 only thing HE-350 has going for it is better materials. It costs 2.5x as much so that's not surprising.
There was no obvious difference in performance between the STX and the phone - which makes sense given the low impedance rating.
https://www.google.com/search?q=burn+in+time+myth
There are plenty of articles out there that use 'data', instead of personal (subjective) experience, to measure the effect of burn in. A good example:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/measurement-and-audibility-headphone-break-page-4
By a large margin, these find that there is no change that is large enough to be evident to human hearing. The article's conclusion is succinct: "The miracle is in your head ... not in the headphones."
Over the years I have owned and extensively used an Audiotechnica ATH-AD700 (excellent sound all around, except for bass reproduction), and a Denon D2000 (closed back, slightly boomy, but supremely fun sound signature). Both, unfortunately, died after years of service.
I have tested with my on-board soundcard using Creative Sound Core3D and the stock TI Burr Brown OPA2134 and they still sound better than the HD668B. My motherboard is a Gigabyte Z170X Gaming 7 with upgradeable OPAMPs. My headphones are modified using tissue paper and foam from my old HD681 EVO inserted into the headphones to get rid of the ear piercing highs and I have done the bass mod by removing the stickers. I don't hear any muffled music as you described even with foam and tissue paper inserted into my cups. I also have Brainwavz Angled Velour pads installed. I have not had time to do the silicon insert mods yet or take a look at the passive filter mod as seen here http://imgur.com/a/JrtF3
I just don't agree with your analysis after testing on a stock on-board soundcard. The HE-350 is much better than the HD668B and HD681 EVO. I'll also have to add that I am listening to this in Windows with the volume at 10. It will blow out my ears if I go past 15.
Also, I am technically using a DAC and an amplifier since 'all' devices that use digital media, and can drive a headphone require these two components - one to convert the digital data to an analog signal, and another to amplify it so that it can power a headphone's large drivers.
If you're implying that I used a low quality, or inferior source, then you are mistaken. The Xonar Essence STX is equipped with great quality components, designed to deliver a true-to-source signal. Here's a good review of the sound card:
http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/asus_xonar_essence_stx_soundcard_review,18.html
My source files are generally 320 Kbps MP3 files - my understanding is that this is a higher data rate that is required for stereo sound. It is important to note that this is not relevant since I'm comparing two headphones with the same files - and not comparing different file formats (which I think would be a silly thing to do in this day and age).
Bass is definitely not better on the HD668B, it fails my ginormous bass track list. It could be that you are just so use to the sound signature of the HD668B that you want to perceive that if it doesn't sound like that signature then it's bad. Clarity, bass, treble, and soundstage are all superior on the HE-350 compared to the HD668B. If you only own one pair of headphones and use it as your daily driver for a long time then that will be the signature you are used to hearing. Worse comes to worse you'll have to RMA it if you truly believe it's defective.
The card is set to run at defaults. Gain set to handle < 64Ohm devices, and channels set to 2 (tried with and without DH).