Headphone Recommendations?

The Lounge Other Gear
#365

actually this guy is telling people not to buy aiaiai tea-2’s and showing several alternatives that he feels are better… I might try his rode idea instead of picking up the tea-2’s myself… haven’t decided yet, because if I don’t check out the tma-2 it might nag me… I’m cursed with not being satisfied until I try all reasonable options

regarding the manufacturers or the YouTubers this ain’t tinder I’m not lookin for someone to bring home, these are just video brochures for me to glean information from… a video focal point if you will :slight_smile:

also having a gander at triangulating the truth between the product adverts, influencers, and everyday users on the forum is not all bad and can be often enlightening.

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#366

Speaking from experience, this is a very bad situation to be in with headphones. It’s a field that combines designs that introduce measurable-but-inconsequential variations with a community hell-bent on blowing up any discrepancy into an existential crisis. You can circle that drain for a good long while.

Here’s all you need:

  1. Decide if you want flat (mixing) or u-shaped (listening) response.
  2. Decide if you want open back or closed.
  3. Do not get wireless or noise cancelling.
  4. Do spend more than $100.

At this point there are probably 10 solid choices available. Buy one at random. Or the cheapest. Or go alphabetically. Or whatever. Wear them for a week. If they chafe or pinch, send them back and get the next on the list. If not, congratulations! You’ve found your headphones for life! <3

8 Likes
#367

This is EXACTLY how I feel about it too. It’s like that mobile app game (I forget what it was called now) that became a meme because of how aggressively it was marketed.

#368

This could be my favorite sentence ever.

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#369

Feels strange to decide to post in a forum to ask for advices and to be presented Youtube video links without any sort of advice/opinion/comment about it.

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#370

Yeah, that does seem weird. This one might help out a little more.

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#371

My issue with that guy is the try-hard wannabe presentation (completely appreciate that it’s subjective, but his videos are everything I hate about YouTube). Unfortunately we live in an age where being able to make YouTube videos is the only qualification needed to do so… just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

Totally agree with this, yes.
I don’t have a problem with YouTube videos from people with genuine user feedback and some degree of proficiency to back it up.
And triangulation is something I’m sure we all do.

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#372

It’s interesting how forums have remained since those usenet days as the best way to actually learn about something. Everything else is just drape and carpet.

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#373

Yes, shame It looks like he is now a instagrammer and youtubber

Not sure what he is trying to achieve these days

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#374

I’d legally change my name to Mr. AIAIAIAI for half that.

But I still won’t use their headphones.

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#375

the thing about the TMA-2’s though is that they are the only game in town for what they are +convenience, that video above is the first time I’ve even been able to find someone talking about alternatives… and then the question becomes if the alternatives sound better, are they as convenient …

I haven’t had the chance to try the tma-2 yet but I know beat makers who use them more than anything else to make music and can’t give up the wireless aspect… that’s the thing with beatmaking culture though, folks are willing to put up with a lot of cons in exchange for convenience…
Nobody seems to be buying these for the sound quality and everyone seems to be saying that just cutting that cord is worth $300

#376

I just don’t get this. Wireless is great for being mobile, dealing with things that are small enough that their ports are fragile or fiddly, and switching between multiple devices on the fly. But literally none of that is a factor with beat making.

Maybe in a studio with a desk big enough that getting from the phone amp to the other side requires a long run and dangling cables or something? Or for turntable DJing where you’re going back and forth to a crate and juggling vinyl?

But in exchange for the portability and freedom of movement I don’t really need, I have to keep them charged, worry about dropouts, fret over latency, and be aware of a much wider range of interference possibilities. Not to mention all the money I’m spending on integrated DACs, amps, and radios instead of isolation and drivers that actually make good sound. Doesn’t seem like a beneficial trade.

Indeed, it smacks of a solution in search of a problem — an impression which is only reinforced by their media blitz. If you’re not solving a real problem, you have to convince people your fake one is a real thing, like in old TV infomercials.

But maybe this more about me being lazy and sedentary and there are bunches of producers out there crafting sick jams on their morning jog? I’d love to hear from anyone who actually does use them for something and how it actually helped them.

3 Likes
#377

I think it just comes down to that we are so sensitive in so many ways when it comes to making music… things like computer noise and cables hugely affects how I feel, and I’ve noticed that the more I like a particular instrument the more I hate the headphone cable lol like for some reason bumping into the cable while on an mpc is less infuriating than when it happens while on the digitakt… it drives me nuts, and I’m the type of person that will tape or pin down cables to my shoulder etc… I dunno it’s just the subtleties of creative madness I guess

I just got a laptop that doesn’t make noise and it feels like I’m in an York peppermint Pattie commercial… before this I had my old laptop in another room at the end of a 30ft cable that cost me $150 bucks just so that I could minimize that noise.
I think a lot of people just hate knowing the cable is there much less it dangling around or pulling on you… anything that impedes your workflow becomes the enemy.

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#378

Nothing mad about it! You gotta do you. I withdraw my skepticism. :slight_smile:

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#379

I’m on the same page here. My entire studio is connected by cables. To wall outlets, patch bays, an interface, etc. I’m not going anywhere when I’m making music or mixing or whatever. Wireless headphones in a small home studio make no sense to me. I’ve had zero problems ever with a headphone cable. So any problem a wireless headphone introduces is just an additional problem I’m having to deal with for no reason.

#380

i don’t know why hate those cans. I really like them because they translate better than most “established” products in that price range (I have the S02 MK2 Speaker Units).The Sound quality is really much better than most other Cans like Beyerdynamics (that IMO are for Boomers who are stuck in the 80S and have problems with hearing the high end and no sense for clear low end). The Wireless feature is really a game changer if you consider that an average IEM Wireless System costs 4x the AIAIAI and adds a lot of bulk to your setup. No interference or Dropouts at all even in very “crowded” places with microphones etc. The Latency is not present at all in Live situations and if you run out of juice you can just plug in a cable. And they are very good as a daily driver headphone with the big ass battery. I use them with my phone a lot and for work because of the build in mic

#381

In the last week, I’ve caught my headphones cable twice, yanking it out of the headphones themselves and pulling my headphones amp to the point where it almost fell off the desk (and would have taken the MOTU M4 with it).

Wireless would be very nice if it weren’t for latency and the extremely crowded ISM spectrum.

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#382

I appreciate your advice though.

#383
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#384

downloaded the Sonarworks SoundID Reference trial today, wow that thing really made my dt770 sound really different, even with the stock profile I just made couple of tests on some recordings and damn that’s so much clearer! they even have a profile for my old shitty Sennheiser HD215, wild…
the only thing bothers me is that the vst is kinda glitchy, cpu crackles all of a sudden on my mbp, but it could be that my mac that is too busy to run it as VST, when using the standalone software is pretty smooth and I simply can use it as the output from live or mac, so no big deal overall.
anyway they have a sale upcoming to I think it’s well worth to pair the 770’s with it, I might consider in the future sending them in for custom calibration profile, but again, even the stock profile is doing very good job.

1 Like