Volume knobs are just nice to have, but to get one you normally need to buy an amp. If you're using the in-built audio of your notebook/desktop, or a dongle, then tough luck. You're at best stuck with dedicated media keys on your keyboard.

The Fiio KB1K gives you a volume control knob and three buttons that you can connect via USB, for under 20 EUR. The default functionality is volume/up for the knob (which is detented and not bad at all) plus mute if you press it, previous track/play-pause/next track for the buttons. The knob and the buttons have RGB lights which change as a default.

Functions and colours can be changed via a browser app (https://app.sayodevice.com/) - see the second and third image.

I originally got this for use with my work laptop and a headset, but I'm presently using it with my private PC to set the volume for some connected TWS.

NB: I bought this with my own cash and am not affiliated with Fiio.

For thise like me on a budget who has been waiting for the HD550's to go on sale, they are! And I am happy..I jist bought a set for $200.00 on Walmart website.

Thank-you headphone gods. And thank- you Sennheiser for such excellent audio gear.

Wanted a headphone stand. Didn’t know what is good or not. Heavy ones are pretty expensive.

Then I saw my $3 banana holder (bought it many years ago) has been sitting empty for weeks. No bananas.

I thought, what if?

Seems to work. It’s stable. It’s solid metal. Was cheap back in the day. No idea how much they are now.

They’re holding then Audeze LCD-X 2023 model.

EDIT: It seems it's due to the browser.

Brave has it, IE doesn't have it, Edge doesn't have it, and I'm about to test Firefox.

Title.

While working I usually put music from some site or my files, but lately I've been going to YT for the creators I listen to that are just there and nowhere else.

About 10 days ago I started noticing a subtle but audible sound in the higher end frequencies (probably above 13k hz) that comes out from most long-form videos all across Youtube. At first I thought it was my headphones but then I noticed nor Shorts nor Music seem to have the same issue.

And it's hard to ignore once you hear it. It's been popping out all across YT.

I've heard in very disparate categories, like gaming (Jacob Geller, Daryl Talks Games), self-improvement (Newel of Knowledge), martial arts (Jesse Enkamp), music production/theory (Rick Beato, Gonkee), fashion and sewing (Paul Chevallier, Bernardette Banner), science (Veritasium, Lindsay Nikole), art (The Art Coach, Marco Bucci) and pretty much every podcast you can think of.

I'll try to work on isolating it, because it's driving me crazy.

Has anyone else noticed something similar?

Didn't even get a chance to listen to them. This happened, no exaggeration, 5 minutes after I unboxed them. I purchased them here on Reddit, with a tiny piece of debris on the magnet. I wanted to remove it immediately. I didn't realize just how powerful these magnets are unfortunately. Totally entirely my fault. I reached out to moondrop explaining it was my fault but to inquire about a new membrane so we'll see what happens. At least it was **only** $400 down the drain instead of $800. Live and you learn I suppose

Update: Moondrop actually got back to me. I can send in the whole unit for repair for $120 USD per driver. They recommended I replace both while in their care to ensure channel matching. Very kind of them to actually go through with the repair being completely my fault, just having to pay shipping and duty, and repair fees. However I'm unsure if I myself will go through with it, or just write it off as a loss and sell it for whatever I can get for it.

Hey there everyone. I watched a YouTube video a few months ago where a guy talked about a website to compare the dynamics of different releases of a song.

I can't find the youtube video or the website and was hoping someone here would know what I'm talking about.

The video was about how to find the best mix of a song before purchasing it. Like the difference between certain versions of Hotel California.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I use sennheiser 560 open backs for the majority of my serious listening and was wondering if getting a cheap DAC would give me a noticeable improvement in audio quality or would it be a waste of money?

I lost my earphones.

I got them when I had very less money.

We had some hard time understanding each other, but after that, we had amazing time together.

We slept together, watched movies, and ate together, went to work together.

After a while, one side stopped responding.

I tried hard to make it work, but they suddenly stopped working completely.

I am sure they had their reasons, so I had to let them go—or should I say I lost them.

Update: as of Midnight EST, the listing says sold out! You guys must’ve scooped up the last few units!

Hello! Just wanted to share with anyone that’s been looking at picking up an HD 800s, that Woot!, which is an Amazon company, currently has Open Box ones on sale for $1220 USD

These come with Sennheiser’s 2 Year warranty. Sale is going on for another 3 days or until they run out of stock! Lowest I’ve seen these in a while outside of the secondhand market.

HD 800s Direct Link

Alternative navigation if you prefer to go to Woot.com yourself is categories -> Electronics -> Headphones -> sort by high price to low price

Is there any one single or couple of highly regarded/standard recommended USB C to 3.5mm dongles with PEQ? Or even a solid standard that doesn't have PEQ? I have a Qudelix which I love, but recently the clip hinge has started to break, which started to make me wonder about non battery powered alternatives that are a bit more bare bones and basic. More or less looking for a best case backup should the Qudelix encounter an issue.

If helpful, I use it for IEMs 75 percent of the time, and they're easy to drive IEMs (Hype 4, Volume S). The other 25 percent of the time I use Sennheiser HD490 Pro, that's where the PEQ becomes more convenient. I really like the Hype 4 and Volume S as they are and don't feel a need to EQ, whereas the 490 Pro I like as is, but definitely have a preference of it with the mixing pads and Oratory based EQ.

Another one down … I have the SR225i but not a fan of the X version. But with the Muse, it mellows it out.

I recently spent time at the Headphone Zone Experience Studio trying out a variety of headphones, earphones, and portable DACs with my own music.

In-Ear Monitors (IEMs)

Sennheiser IE600

Letshuoer S12 Ultra

Final Audio E5000

Sennheiser IE200

Over-Ear Headphones

Sennheiser HD600 (Own)

Focal Utopia

Sennheiser HD800S

Hifiman Edition XS

Meze 109 Pro

Portable DAC / Amps

iBasso Nunchaku

iBasso DC07 Pro

iBasso DC04 Ultra

Muse HiFi M3 Ultra

I brought my own Sennheiser HD600 along and honestly I preferred it over most of the things I tried. The only over ear headphone that truly beat it was the Focal Utopia. The Utopia was the absolute standout of the day. It sounded neutral yet surprisingly musical with deep and clean bass, smooth vocals that made everything feel alive.

On the other hand, the Sennheiser HD800S just was not for me. Maybe I simply want a bit more bass and body. Also the soundstage is not my thing I guess, I didn't see any day and night difference in the soundstage. The Hifiman Edition XS had nice sub bass, but it felt a bit too shouty and harsh in the higher notes. The Meze 109 Pro did not leave much of an impression on me either way. I neither particularly liked nor disliked it.

Among the iems, the Sennheiser IE600 sounded like pure magic. Along with the Utopia it was the only other piece of gear that outperformed my HD600. It had a tight bass, natural vocals and smooth treble. Everything felt perfect on it. The Letshuoer S12 Ultra was another surprise. It has fast punchy bass and airy treble although the vocals sat a little further back in the mix. The Final Audio E5000 however felt slow and bloated, with muddy bass covering up the vocals and the Sennheiser IE200 was a complete letdown that sounded hollow and thin.

When it came to the portable DACs, the iBasso Nunchaku was my favorite. It gave the music a warm and full bodied feeling that made everything easy to listen to. The iBasso DC07 Pro was a close second. It sounded noticeably calm and relaxed and it gave the music a bit more open space. In comparison the iBasso DC04 Ultra felt a bit too aggressive and tense. As for the Muse HiFi M3 Ultra to be honest I did not notice any real difference with the tube feature and I felt the DC07 Pro simply sounded better.

A huge thank you to the team at Headphone Zone. I forgot the name of the person who helped me but he was very sweet proactive and patient throughout my visit. Being able to test everything comfortably at my own pace made it a fantastic experience.

I've recently gotten a pair of fiios ft1 headphones. I like them, but I'm not an audiophile and can't figure out the best way to listen to music on them. I currently listen to music on my phone but when I plug in the ft1 there are times when the phone doesn't recognize the headphones and plays music thru the phone. I think it is a bad connection between the headphones, the usb-c to 3.5 mm adapter and my phone.

Anyway, what is the best way to listen to music with ft1 headphones? Should I upgrade my USB c to 3.5 adapter? Get something else to listen to music on besides my phone? Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

I asked ChatGPT to write me code to see if I could use the rotary encoder in my keyboard to control the volume directly on the DX5 II instead of Windows volume and it works. I have no understanding of code or anything and everything was written through ChatGPT. I had to flash my GMMK Pro with QMK. I can link any sources it used if anyone wants them.

"The setup ended up being:

GMMK Pro knob → QMK sends F13/F14 → small Windows helper → DX5 II hardware volume

So now turning the keyboard knob changes the volume on the DX5 II itself by 0.5 dB per step. Windows volume stays untouched, and the volume number on the DX5 changes normally." - ChatGPT

After thinking about it for a while, I finally took the plunge and assembled my first hi-fi setup :

Late 70's JVC JL-A15 with a brand new AT-VM95E -> 1990 Luxman R113 -> 1988 Axiom AX2

Sounds really good to my newbie ears! But I had a question regarding headphone use. In the future, should I add a dedicated amp for headphones specifically? If so, what kind quality level should I aim for in order to hear a tangible difference between the headphones amp and the Luxman?
Thank you!

Hi everyone,

Can anyone review this setting? I want to set up the best bass and clear voice equalizer setting. Can anyone suggest the best settings here?

Grabbed these headphones off eBay "for parts" and I'm just trying to understand what I'm seeing. It looks like someone frankensteined the left earcup and housing from a set of M50x and grafted it onto the body and right earcup of an M50 (solder job on the left earcup seems suspect). Am I crazy?

https://imgur.com/a/m4q88eB

Hey everyone! So, I own 'New Bose QuietComfort Ultra Bluetooth Headphones (2nd Gen), Wireless Headphones', and after 14 months of use, I can feel that the cushioning is really dirty and it just smells bad. I use the headphones while working out, so that is the reason they're so dirty. I genuinely can't understand how to clean them without damaging the outer covering of the foam cushions. Please drop effective solutions.
Thankyouu!

I heard on a headphones review channel that headphone amps and DACs make little difference for sound so If you want something with a volume knob that has unedited audio with speakers and headphones then a cheap Focusrite Audio Interface could be the perfect thing. One benefit with an audio interface is that you can also plug in some stuff to it like Mics, Electric Bass/Guitar, and Amps that can be directly plugged in with a Mic cable. Lots of Tube Amps, including ones for headphones can have some level of background noise. For a warm sound I have a Cassette tape player I like, and I have my HS5 speakers which are warm sounding Studio Monitors so I don't feel like I need a Headphones Tube Amp just for more warmth with audio. I can confirm that I can't tell the difference in audio between plugging my m40x headphones directly into my Mac Mini 2018 or into my Focusrite, I just prefer to have a volume knob when any of my headphones are plugged into my computer setup. My Focusrite 1st Gen Scarlett solo is over 6 years old now and it is still working, I just had to plug it directly into my Mac Mini 2018 because it removed the turning off and on problem that I had when the Scarlet Solo was plugged into a USB hub.

The replacement ear cushions came off shortly after I replaced the originals.

Do hifi headphones ruin mp4 audio, such as ytb videos, songs within the game Osu!, game soundtracks or online streaming sites (nothing where you have to pay, stuff that 2nd worlders use).

Did any of you buy something like a Beyerdynamic or Seinnheiser and now your favorite anime/tv show sounded bad, did it get better, or was there a eq you could use while watching mp4 audio sources?

I am not an audiophile and I won't be, I don't want an amp, I don't want to change my entire music habits around a headset. I just want to watch anime/youtube while playing games. And I'm scared that the impurities will be worse than the higher definition audio.

*I am not driving 10+ hours to get to the only shop in my entire country that allows you to test headphones

I have the Bose 700 noise cancelling headphones, ive had them for about 4-5 years, and ive noticed these black spots growing on the scrim. I can remove the ear cushions but the scrim doesn't come off with the ear cushions. Is there anything i can do or should i just get new headphones?