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The emails come in on a daily basis … “here’s what I think I need, what should I purchase?” So, today I write a Search-Engine-Friendly post to answer your questions. I do not make a penny from the links below, this is strictly a public service. For 90% of my readers, this is a “delete” day, I’ll rejoin the fray tomorrow with content that better aligns with your interests.<\/span><\/p>\n In most cases, the headphones I write about below are units I’ve purchased or are units I listened to at CanJam.<\/span><\/p>\n Headphone Manufacturers – if you send me a unit I’ll write something about it at the end of this post (kevinh@minethatdata.com).<\/span><\/p>\n Here we go!<\/span><\/p>\n Consumer Grade vs. Audiophile Headphones<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Audiophile Headphones do not sell as well. These headphones generally sound better, and are frequently more expensive (with the notable exception of in-ear monitors, which deliver fabulous sound at a fraction of the price). The sound signature of an Audiophile Headphone is often closer to “neutral” compared to a Consumer Grade headphone.<\/span><\/p>\n Most of what I discuss here relates to Audiophile Headphones, with the notable exception of Noise Cancelling headphones.<\/span><\/p>\n Noise Cancelling Headphones and Bluetooth<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Your friends at Apple ushered in the Bluetooth era by removing the headphone jack from the iPhone. There is much debate about the quality of Bluetooth sound. If you have old ears like I have, the difference isn’t huge. Regardless, information is lost when music transmits wirelessly from a device to a headphone. If you want the absolute best sound quality, you stay away from Bluetooth. If you want the convenience of noise cancelling headphones? You have to make tradeoffs. Noise cancelling headphones have a computer in them. This means a $300 noise cancelling headphone cannot have the sound quality of a $300 Audiophile Headphone. Factor in bluetooth as well, you come to the realization you are not getting great sound. Good sound? Yes, that’s possible.<\/span><\/p>\n Three Types of Audiophile Headphones<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n There are three common types of Audiophile Headphones.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n All three headphones have pros\/cons. Closed Back headphones are private (good), but don’t allow music\/air to move freely (because they are closed), so they frequently don’t sound as good as open back headphones.<\/span><\/p>\n Open back headphones sound fabulous, with one notable exception … a general lack of bass. You also need a private setting because everybody in the room will be able to hear what you are listening to (the headphones are open, so sound just comes out). Soundstage and imaging are generally good with open back headphones … not as good as a quality pair of stereo speakers, but good. Open back headphones can be good for gaming, in that users can pinpoint the sound of guns or people walking, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n In-ear monitors go in your ear. They bypass your pinna, and as a result they can sound both more intimate and less spacious. In-ear monitors generally have better bass than open back headphones.<\/span><\/p>\n Will I Need Amplification?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Many headphone hobby enthusiasts enjoy amplification as much as they enjoy their headphones. Still, your devices already have a digital to analog converter (DAC) and generally have an amplifier. Unless you are using a 300ohm-ish open backed headphone, you likely won’t need a DAC\/Amp.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n There are individuals who genuinely believe that they can hear significant differences between DAC\/Amp setups. My ears are old, I don’t hear anything more than a 2% or 3% difference, and that difference is likely placebo. If you hear a difference, good! If you don’t hear a difference but still want a DAC\/Amp, go down an inexpensive route and be happy. Ultimately, a DAC\/Amp should allow a clean conversion of the digital signal to analog, and then provide enough power so you can clearly hear sounds without noise.<\/span><\/p>\n I’ve enjoyed two models.<\/span><\/p>\n Kevin’s Exploration of Open Back Headphones<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n I’ve tried many open back headphones, and have settled on one (1) model.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n I’ve tried or owned many other open back models.<\/span><\/p>\n Kevin’s Exploration of In-Ear Monitors<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n I’ve settled on three iems in my collection. It is important to get the right ear tips so that sound is isolated in your ear. If you don’t have the right ear tip, the sound will be thin and lifeless, with minimal\/no bass. Also – diminishing returns hit hard with iems. My $159 iems sound 85% as good as my $399 iem sounds.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n In-ear monitors span many price categories. You can get amazing sound for just $25. You can buy an iem that has a sound signature that does not align with your preferences, causing you to feel like you wasted money. Here are other iems I’ve owned or tried, ranked from least expensive to most expensive.<\/span><\/p>\n Kevin’s Exploration of Closed Back Headphones<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n For me, in-ear monitors offer a better value proposition over Closed Back headphones. Regardless, your mileage will vary. Here are units I’ve owned or tried.<\/span><\/p>\n Can I Use Spotify For Music?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n I have songs that I really enjoy. For those songs, I’ve purchased CDs, then converted the songs to a lossless format (FLAC or ALAC). I’ve compared ALAC (Apple lossless) to the same song on Spotify, and I can hear a very modest difference … like 2% to 3% better. For some people, that modest difference means “everything”. For casual listeners, the difference is irrelevant.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n There are listening tests you can take online, comparing 320mbps MP3 formats to lossless formats. I can tell the difference between 75% of the time and 80% of the time … if I listen enough, the difference is statistically significant. But the difference is barely meaningful.<\/span><\/p>\n So, yes, you can use Spotify for your music listening needs. Or Apple Music or Amazon Music. Enjoy your music.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n IEM Cables?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n I generally don’t like the cables that come with iems. There are two cables I purchase that I like.<\/span><\/p>\n DAP \/ MP3 Players?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n I don’t have experience with DAPs \/ MP3 players. Plenty of people on Reddit enjoy ’em. If you have a lot of MP3s \/ FLACs \/ ALAC songs, consider a music player.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Sources of Information<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n There are a handful of places I enjoy reading about headphones, watching content on headphones, or listening to shows about headphones. There are countless resources beyond what I outline here.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Have Fun!<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Regardless what model you purchase, have fun with it! It doesn’t matter that user GUMBOFORLUNCH on Reddit doesn’t like a headphone. The headphone doesn’t work for him. It might be perfect for you. Do not worry about cost … as I mentioned above, the Zero:2 iem for $25 will be more than enough for many listeners, while some expensive headphones will not match your preferred sound signature.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Do what makes you happy, not what makes somebody else happy, when it comes to headphones.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The emails come in on a daily basis … “here’s what I think I need, what should I purchase?” So, today I write a Search-Engine-Friendly post to answer your questions. I do not make a penny from the links below, this is strictly a public service. For 90% of my readers, this is a “delete” […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12033],"tags":[10958,2059,4006,13773,13772,44356,13774],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-92454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-analytics","tag-buying","tag-guide","tag-headphone","tag-hillstrom","tag-kevin","tag-kevins","tag-minethatdata"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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