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
It has a similar sound character to my SDAC, which I believe shares the same DAC chip and what I've been using to feed my Darkvoice 336se. I will definitely be spending more time with it, comparing the performance to my XD-05. It's feels about a third the volume and weight of that amp, and I'm loving the XP-2's small size and attractive design. I'm also looking forward to the longer battery life. We'll see.
The USB and analog work well - tested USB on a Mac and my Huawei Mate SE phone, and tested analog from the O2/SDAC's phone output. It was clean at various input and output volumes. But the real reason I bought it was the Bluetooth. Have only tested with my phone so far, and it sounds great. In BT mode it will blow away the amp in your phone, and that's really the point of the thing. And it won't use up your phone battery (it does seem like you can charge the XP-2 from your phone over USB (the charge light comes on) while listening over BT - that's a neat option if you need to charge it up in a pinch). I'm not a super critical listener, but if I really try I do think USB sounds a tiny, tiny bit better in the highs than BT mode. You really really have to pay attention - BT mode sounds plenty good to me for on-the-go use!
I DO think it's a great pocket amp option in BT mode, noting issue below. I always worry about USB pocket use wrecking the charging port of my phone, and it's just easier to use the phone without a wire coming out of it.
The XD-05 is still my favorite portable amp but it's just too big for pocket use. I also have an iFi Micro iDSD BL, but for whatever reason I just prefer the fun sound of the XD-05. And the micro is gigantic - I mostly use it for TV or the rare basshead moment when the XD-05 doesn't have enough power or I want the 3D effect. The iDSD has gobs of power.
One issue: The mode selector should be a SWITCH and not a cheap little easy-press button! The same type as the gain switch would have been perfect!! I've accidentally hit the mode button several times now just picking it up from my desk, and it changes it from BT to USB and kills your music and connection. Not looking forward to how easily that button will get pressed in-pocket! They armored the volume pot properly, but the mode button actually sticks out (!) and could become the Achilles heel of this thing's main use case!
I might have to fashion a shield for it if I really start using it on the go, or maybe I can make it harder to press somehow. The BT does reconnect very quickly, which is nice, but since there are 3 modes with a tiny hard to see LED indicator, it's not easy to put it back in the right mode (especially without looking). If it was just a physical 3-mode switch like on the XD-05 it'd be solid and usable in pocket and ya wouldn't need the indicator. And it'd remember your favorite mode every time you turned it on!
But as it is, it's workable and I'll be using it. It always starts in BT mode and it's just one click to get USB. And since the blue BT light is always on in BT mode, you can use that too (which is good, since as an R/G colorblind guy I can't really use that tiny color-based indicator anyway). One way to put it back in BT mode by feel is to just turn it off and back on again...
Oh, and I wouldn't kick a bass boost switch out of bed! :)