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
Since you are listening primarily on a computer, having even a decent DAC would likely be a large boost. I always suggest starting out there the DAC/AMP side with "decent" so you can actually tell the improvement with better headphones/ headset.
As far as a "decent" DAC/AMP goes, the Sound Blaster E5 (https://www.massdrop.com/buy/creative-sound-blaster-e5-usb-dac-amp-combo) isn't too bad. It is basically an external sound card with some profiles... and a bluetooth connection for your phone. It should be able to support IEMs and up to 600Ohm headphones (I haven't tried the hi-gain on my G5 yet, so I can't say for certain how well it works, but the lo-gain can easily drive 32Ohm up to uncomfortable levels).
I wound up going with the Sound Blaster G5 (has a headset input instead of the second headphone jack, no bluetooth, and other than that seems to be basically the same) for my home PC until I eventually move to a Schiit stack. But considering the price difference, it is good enough to last for a while, and a large step better than integrated sound.
Can you talk me out of the Magni 3? :)
I am also relatively new to hi(er)-fi so I am learning as much as I can and purchasing gear as budget allows.