headphones/headphone systems for dummies

iPod, walkman, headphones, earphones, boomboxes, etc...

Moderator: dogears

Postby arnoldc » Fri May 30, 2003 9:43 am

onedown, all i can say is it's worth the price difference to me.
arnoldc
Legend
Legend
 
Posts: 14118
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2003 2:22 pm
Location: Makati

Postby onedown » Fri May 30, 2003 10:50 am

thanks, arnold.

:)
User avatar
onedown
Master
Master
 
Posts: 3173
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 11:50 am

Princess Leio

Postby dogears » Fri May 30, 2003 7:13 pm

User avatar
dogears
Master
Master
 
Posts: 3972
Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2003 1:58 pm
Location: Bago magSanPedroLaguna

Postby rtsyrtsy » Sat May 31, 2003 6:02 am

arnoldc wrote:very comfortable, try it for yourself. i can't speak for the sennheiser.


I can speak for Senns having used both the HD495 and HD600. They are very, very comfortable...I can sleep through Patricia Barber without any discomfort and just wake up on the most dynamic passages.

Kidding aside, the Senns are way comfortable to the point of sometimes standing up and walknig forgetting that you have headphone on your head. :D
Last edited by rtsyrtsy on Wed Jun 11, 2003 9:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
rtsyrtsy
Moderator
 
Posts: 3908
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2003 5:25 am

Postby gabmik2000 » Wed Jun 11, 2003 8:49 am

Arnoldc/Gabriel,

Can a Discman drive the Philips 890? TIA.
gabmik2000
Citizen
Citizen
 
Posts: 128
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2003 9:43 am

Postby arnoldc » Wed Jun 11, 2003 9:26 am

ala akong discman eh

oist! dogears, diba sinubok mo sa discman mo yung HP 890 ko? nga pala kung ibabalik mo na, kahit iwan mo na lang sa reception, o kaya kung gusto mo dun sa finance girl namin :twisted:
arnoldc
Legend
Legend
 
Posts: 14118
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2003 2:22 pm
Location: Makati

Postby dogears » Wed Jun 11, 2003 9:28 am

:shock: sa finance girl na lang :!: iwan ko yung headphone at xkonek.
yep, nadrive mo nung lumang sony discman ko yung hp890... ang tulin nga eh :P

bosing arnold, iwan mo din yung cables [if available]?
User avatar
dogears
Master
Master
 
Posts: 3972
Joined: Mon Jan 27, 2003 1:58 pm
Location: Bago magSanPedroLaguna

Postby arnoldc » Wed Jun 11, 2003 9:33 am

punyetang cable yan :lol: nasa sasakyan ko last week dahil lalagyan ko sana ng saging (banana plugs) ayon naiwan ko na naman sa bahay. :oops:
arnoldc
Legend
Legend
 
Posts: 14118
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2003 2:22 pm
Location: Makati

Postby toobsnewbie » Wed Jun 11, 2003 11:17 am

it should..my hp840 works well with my panasonic discman.
toobsnewbie
Citizen
Citizen
 
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 11:55 am

Postby onedown » Fri Jun 20, 2003 11:16 am

arnold (or any other user of philips hp 890),

ever tried upgrading the cord of your headphones? read about two users over at head-fi.org who replaced the cord of their cans and said there was an improvement.

thanks.

:)
User avatar
onedown
Master
Master
 
Posts: 3173
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 11:50 am

Postby rtsyrtsy » Fri Jun 20, 2003 11:29 am

I've been trying to upgrade the cables on my phone but none are available locally.

Let me know if you find one.
User avatar
rtsyrtsy
Moderator
 
Posts: 3908
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2003 5:25 am

Postby onedown » Fri Jun 20, 2003 11:50 am

rtsy,

they used DIY cables. posting the thread where i read about it below, in case you're interested.
supercharge your Phillips HP890's
Change of Headphone Cord for the Philips 890

:)
User avatar
onedown
Master
Master
 
Posts: 3173
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 11:50 am

Postby toobsnewbie » Fri Jun 20, 2003 1:55 pm

hmmn s-vhs cables eh? I'll try this one and see how it goes :D
toobsnewbie
Citizen
Citizen
 
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 11:55 am

Postby onedown » Fri Jun 20, 2003 4:36 pm

toobsnewbie,

if you're pushing through with your project, we sure would appreciate a review.

thanks.

:)
User avatar
onedown
Master
Master
 
Posts: 3173
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 11:50 am

Postby rtsyrtsy » Fri Jun 20, 2003 4:45 pm

What connectors would you use?

The 1/4" phono jack is pretty standard (though the one from Cardas is US$10 eye candy) and I figure you can get some from Radioshack or even stores that sell guitars like RJ or Perfect Pitch (it's the same jack, right?).

It's the other end I'm worried about. I'm not sure about the Philips but my Sennheisers seem to have a special (read proprietary) connector on the headphone side. Please correct me if I'm wrong.
User avatar
rtsyrtsy
Moderator
 
Posts: 3908
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2003 5:25 am

Postby onedown » Fri Jun 20, 2003 5:20 pm

rtsy, according to one of the guys who made some modifications on his 890s, he used jaycar plugs. 3.5 mm on one end, and 2.5 mm on the other end. not sure though, if your senns have the same specs.[/b]
User avatar
onedown
Master
Master
 
Posts: 3173
Joined: Thu Mar 06, 2003 11:50 am

Postby toobsnewbie » Sat Jun 21, 2003 6:48 am

onedown wrote:toobsnewbie,

if you're pushing through with your project, we sure would appreciate a review.

thanks.

:)


will try to source out some s-vhs cables.good thing the philips headphones use standard connectors for both the headphone in and out. the bass weight seems fine to me already but would appreciate a little more dynamics...I guess its gear dependent as well :)
toobsnewbie
Citizen
Citizen
 
Posts: 114
Joined: Mon May 05, 2003 11:55 am

Postby rtsyrtsy » Sun Jun 22, 2003 9:54 am

toobsnewbie wrote:good thing the philips headphones use standard connectors for both the headphone in and out.


Standard jacks for the cable that goes to the amp are quite common

From Cardas:
Image

From Neutrik:
Image

Might you know who else makes these?

You seem knowledgeable on the matter. Kindly please educate this dimwit on what is the standard jack for the headphone side? Thanks in advance.

This is what the HD600 uses.
Image
User avatar
rtsyrtsy
Moderator
 
Posts: 3908
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2003 5:25 am

Postby rtsyrtsy » Mon Jun 23, 2003 2:04 pm

I picked this up from Jan Meier's website for those contemplating DIY headphone cables:

http://home.t-online.de/home/meier-audio/tipstricks.htm

replacing cable

Did you ever compare the diameter and construction of your headphone cable to that of a audiophile interconnect? If you did, weren't you suspicious about the sonic properties of the headphone cable?

Headphone cables are optimized for comfort (weight, mechanical strength, flexibility, no transfer of mechanical noise). Very often the pure sound quality of the cable is rather poor. Of course comfort might have the highest priority for you but if not, replacing cables can be very rewarding.

The first question to be answered is, what kind of cable do I take? Selection criteria are different from that of NF-interconnects. Very important are flexibility and damping of mechanical noise. Stiff cables are very annoying and if the cable transfers mechanical noise to the ear piece you can't move without being disturbed by "sggkrrrrr….sggkkrrrrr". Weight should be less important. If you want good sound you simply can't use a light-weight cable of 1 mm diameter.

My tip: microphone cables are optimized for flexibility and mechanical noise. The cable I personally use a lot is the Belden 8413. It has 2 inner conductors and a braid shield. Cotton serve and rubber insulation provide good mechanical damping. Although initially a little bit stiff flexibility can be increased a lot by thourough bending before the cable is placed.

Belden 8413 has a diameter of 5 mm and therefore is much heavier than standard headphone cable. This can be especially annoying if you have your head in an angled position and the whole weight of both cables hangs on one earpiece. This can be prevented by rather long lengths of cable between earpieces and the split where the cables of both channels physically come together. Thus, the weight hanging on both earpieces will remain nearly constant.

Below the split do not connect the two cables with tape or the like. I use small rubber rings at 5 inch distances to keep the cables together. This keeps the cables much more flexible.

Sennheiser headphones like the HD600 have special connectors to attach the cable to the earpieces. Separate connectors are not available. If you want to replace the cable you have to sacrifice the original Sennheiser cable and to cut off the connectors you need.

Like so many other headphone cables, the conductors of Sennheiser cables consist of a larger amount of thin copper threads, each insulated separately. Soldering these conductors is a little bit tricky. A fast and clean method is to cover the fibres with soldering grease and place the tip of a soldering iron with a hot bead of tin to the tip of the conductor. Wait until the insulation melts, blackens and starts to retract. Next slowly shift the soldering tip along the conductor. If everything goes well the end of the conductor will be nicely tinned and can be easily soldered to something else.

No cable is perfect. The shorter, the better. Do not make your cable longer than necessary.

Always use gold-plated plugs! They do not sound better, but they do prevent crackling sounds due to oxidation.
User avatar
rtsyrtsy
Moderator
 
Posts: 3908
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2003 5:25 am

Postby gabmik2000 » Mon Jun 30, 2003 8:41 am

Have been looking for the HP890 since it was recommended here. Finally found a pair in Odyssey, Alabang Town Center. But it was being sold for P3,000! They must have found out it was being recommended in Pinoydiophile. Had to pass on it.
gabmik2000
Citizen
Citizen
 
Posts: 128
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2003 9:43 am

PreviousNext

Return to Head-Fi

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests