🌐│pc_gear

[quasi field]

They just assume that what they are hearing must certainly be a mechanical truth instead of something psychoacoustic

Multimeters are cheap, so if someone takes it seriously it's easy to get

[frigid ivy]

At the same time volume match listening only really matter for source gear review lol

So ehhhhhhh

[quasi field]

And at the same time doing «listening tests» to that stuff is entirely pointless

Most of the time

If I see a YouTube video that reviews an amplifier, dac or something like this, and it has a «listening impressions» highlight then I click out of the video

[frigid ivy]

Amps sometimes matter cuz some manufacturers just lie on the spec sheet and the amp will crap out at harder to drive stuff

[quasi field]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RLOtkR0fY0

Like this

This guy makes the dumbest reviews on the channel

He even measures and shows you that it's a transparent device, but then goes on to have a section where he talks about how it «sounds», which is also a longer section than the measurement one

[round lagoon]

I hope this mogs hd490 pro

[quasi field]

So stupid

Golden Sound is still snakeoil/placebo brained

[frigid ivy]

Idk they keep milking this release to the point where I'm starting to think it's going to be mid AF

[quasi field]

I'm only interested in seeing the performance after the PR blunder

Just to see if it were unfounded or not

[round lagoon]

a man can dream, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a massive dip at 4khz

[vague sparrow]

By the way @round lagoon I received my aful explorer

I just tried it a little bit today

For now apparently I like it

🙂

The treble seems ok for my taste not too tiring

But I dont know for some reason they seems to sound better on my macbook air than with an apple dongle on an iphone

But it might be in my head

[round lagoon]

it's just in your head

[vague sparrow]

Yeah I dont use any dac on the macbook air

Just the jack port

It is really nice

Now I am in no way an expert

[round lagoon]

not that bad

except the air

[quasi field]

Hold on let me see if I can refine it

This is more realistic

Improved the upper treble. It was too wavy before

[vague sparrow]

Can someone explain to me in simple term what is harman?

Is it the equalizer standard? Like a reference

[quasi field]

It would make sense if it were unsmoothed byt these are smoothed so it won't look like that

[round lagoon]

Hmm, I like this

Maybe not straight enough on the 50hz to 1.5khz, but it's good enough... for $200

[quasi field]

It's based on research into what sounds good in a headphone where many listeners (men/women though more men than women), both «normies» and trained listeners, were EQing a pair of headphones (HD 800 S) on their heads to see what levels of elevation were preferred. The target you see there is an average of it

[vague sparrow]

Oh nice

[quasi field]

There's a free shortened version of the study you can read. It's pretty interesting

[vague sparrow]

Yeah seems very interesting

[round lagoon]

Average, which means it could be 5db lower than that or 5db higher on the bass alone. But as long as you adjust some part to taste, you'll be pretty happy with what you have

[quasi field]

It also depends on age and gender

Men, especially younger ones prefer higher bass on average

This is from 249 listeners

[vague sparrow]

Honestly I have issue with treble

Too much treble I cant stand it

Bass even if too loud I guess I can handle them betterly

[quasi field]

https://acousticstoday.org/he-perception-and-measurement-of-headphone-sound-quality-what-do-listeners-prefer-sean-e-olive/

Here's a free summary of it

It's always important to remember that most people you meet online talking or asking about headphone recommendations are young males, so it makes sense that they want something that has actual bass in it

[round lagoon]

My ears prop too female, I like less bass

[quasi field]

@ducky I talked about PEQdB just a little bit with Listener on Reddit and he said that the results are skewed by the demographics by the people taking the test, which is definitely true (young males). However, young males is also the majority of for example Discord audiophiles or people on r/iems or r/headphones etc. So I think it still tells you the preference of the largest online demographic which is still a very relevant metric

[mental spade]

would also be heavily skewed to the type of music/content you listen to

[quasi field]

Addressed in the research already

The Harman target is currently the most neutral/high-fidelity target (for compatible GRAS rigs), as verified by actual listening tests. So if a newbie wants a recommendation just for something that «sounds good» then logically this is the starting point

It bothers me seeing people new to audio and get recommended clunky sounding headphones they're unlikely to like (without EQ)

[proper vector]

I mean it could be that some people heard Kanye and thought that the headphones were shite, but it was just Kanye

[quasi field]

That song is great imo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic5vxw3eijY

[mental spade]

Is a classic

[quasi field]

[round lagoon]

soo uhh, the HE-1? Close enough to harman 2018

[vague sparrow]

I have a question can you confirm that:

• every iems or headset has its own frequency response without touching anything
• when you use an equalizer you tweak this frequency response
• an eqalizer setting used for one iem wont work with another one, because at the end what you hear when using an equalizer reflect the interaction between the equalizer and the iem?

[proper vector]

Oh, the Chug Jug song

[quasi field]

Yes it's a very good pair of headphones

Scores a 99/100 on the predicted preference rating as measured by Oratory

He even noted that

It's very validating for the Harman research that the «best headphone in the world» (don't look too hard into that), is fairly Harman compliant

[round lagoon]

I mean, the chances of meeting the %0.1 is %0.1, so recommending he-1 is technically the best for 'no nonesense just the greatest' headphone.

[quasi field]

It's very likely that there are other headphones you would prefer (at least when listening blind. The confirmation bias is strong with this super fancy ultra expensive one)

But it's also unlikely that someone will listen to the HE-1 and think it sounds «bad»

[round lagoon]

I'll prop demo more headphone again this year, last time I was with friends.

This time, maybe 6 hours straight with dac that can more than drive the headphone.

[quasi field]

The setting you use for one will «work» for any other in the sense that it will amplify or deamplify the chosen frequencies. But it will probably not be desired as you did it to correct one with a different frequency response

I have listened to headphones with an EQ preset from another headphone applied and yes it sounds bad, usually

[vague sparrow]

Yeah make sense

[obtuse dove]

This tbh

[quasi field]

Unless you are listening to any egg shaped Hifiman. Then it will always work

[obtuse dove]

Protocol max is lowk pretty nice

[round lagoon]

ah yesh, the 'all hifiman' sounds the same

[quasi field]

Mostly true tbh. As long as referring to most of the eggmen

It may as well just be unit variation

[patent patrol]

is this a parody of that one fortnite song

[quasi field]

The cheaper models often measure better funnily enough

[round lagoon]

I be using the fiio qx13, it do more power (cope), but at least that'll satisfy people who thinks protocol max isn't enough for planar. Maybe I limit the choice to be headphone under $600

[quasi field]

When I had the Arya my friend got a Sundara. And when we shared them I actually found his Sundaras to sound nicer

[obtuse dove]

Protocol max is plenty for planars

As long as the device supplying the power isn't crippling it

Some androids don't pump out enough power from their USB-C ports to be able to use boost mode on the protocol max unfortunately

[round lagoon]

I'll be using my mac instead of my phone too, cause why not? I just gotta make sure to bring charger and sdcard containing my song

[obtuse dove]

Ngl the headphone jacks on all the new MacBooks are really good

Low impedance and have a surprising amount of power

It's better than my ROG Zephyrus G16 that's for sure

Heck my base model M5 MacBook Air headphone jack sounds way better than the G16 headphone jack

[quasi field]

The 2024 Air was measured by someone on ASR and it has a decent roll-off in the treble. Not a major thing though

6 dB down by 20 kHz

With the roll-off beginning at 16 kHz

[round lagoon]

Basically unnoticeable

[quasi field]

For very many I agree but it's not at the territory where I would say it's 100% transparent unless you're an anomaly

It wouldn't put me off in using it however as I'm not sure I'd ever pick it out with my music and hearing

[round lagoon]

So how straight it needs to be? Basically only a slight 1-3db roll off?

[quasi field]

Depends on your hearing. But most devices I see measured don't even have a 0,2 dB roll-off by 20 kHz

[round lagoon]

I see, nice to hear

[quasi field]

(at least for headphone amplifiers)

[quasi field]

This is for the Schiit Magni Mesh

[round lagoon]

mmm, there's no measurement of qx13 on ASR, only fiio's one

at least most of what provided looks like this

[quasi field]

Most headphone amplifiers I see measured on ASR are completely flat

Usually when they are not «completely flat» it's something like a 0,1 dB roll-off by 20 kHz which doesn't matter to anyone

When there are really bad ones they are usually speaker amplifiers

[quasi field]

This is a random shitty valve(tube) amplifier

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/dayton-audio-hta20-hybrid-tube-amp-review.66742/

Here's your «analogue sound» bro

[round lagoon]

At least it's only 200

[quasi field]

Only 200 to get worse fidelity. What a steal

[hazy fiber]

https://fxtwitter.com/mel0nfps/status/2051776752880349423?s=46

mel0n_ (@mel0nFPS)

It's glass btw (shocking)
︀︀
︀︀🫡

**💬 5 ❤️ 36 👁️ 2.4K **

▶ Play video

FxTwitter · May 5, 2026, 9:31 PM

[winged pewter]

Doesnt tempered glass have good strength like that

Just if u tap the corner itll go boom

[latent sphinx]

Hey I'm thinking of upgrading my setup, I already have wooting in mind for my keyboard obviously, but I am having trouble deciding on my mouse and headset, I want a light mouse that is decent and will last a long time, but I don't want it to be like 200 dollars. And then for the headset, I am thinking of an open back headset but idk what to do for that one, maybe a long cord, maybe not, semi cheap for that too.

[quasi field]

Do you want a wired or wireless headset? And when you say headset you mean headphones with an included microphone right?

[terse ferry]

Remember mouse shape is always a king

[latent sphinx]

ok I shouldve been more specific yes, I mean just the headphones, I got a mic recently and its just habit saying headset, and wired for sure I dont want any wireless stuff, just ease of mind ig

[lunar holly]

casually getting earraped

[woven cairn]

usually tempered glass is hard to shatter in general. Even when you tap the corners. That's why glass shatter hammers exist in the first place

[woven cairn]

it depends in that case. Beyer Dynamic is a usually good pick unless you're using a DAC

your choices are entirely different as soon as you own a DAC

[round lagoon]

why would that be? DAC just convert Digital audio to Analog that can be understood by headphone.

[round lagoon]

HD560s for option below $200, ATH R50x for $160, Fiio jt7 for an option at $130.

Personally, I would go for hd560s or ath r50x, both tuned quite similar but you get more bass on r50x

[vague sparrow]

I am so happy with the aful explorer 🙂

I discovered this wtf I regret missing it
https://store.hiby.com/products/hiby-r4-x-evangelion?srsltid=AfmBOoqzjbOPWUzOe2fv3j10H3ulkdjLKQy_2V-nwvTu9FHkTLZ7IyRA

[proper vector]

I think that's because Beyer doesn't make DACs

[frozen patio]

A DAC doesn't allow you to use better headphones, it just allows you to use more headphones (read: if you buy a pair of 250 ohm cans, good luck using them with the 3.5mm input on the back of your motherboard).

[astral musk]

More headphone can be better headphone though.

[frozen patio]

Betterer for footstep hearings, badder for wallet.

[astral musk]

[proper vector]

Apple/Fiio JA11 DAC, 32 ohm headphones, done

[glossy anvil]

I using a headset i can hear footsteps dont know if others let me hear them better

[round lagoon]

that's an AMP, if you want to mention dongle dac/desktop dac that also has an amp. You would say dac/amp. Besides, some beyer kinda need an amp still (because some of them can be like 600 ohm lmao).

I any case, r50x is pretty drivable even on 0.5vrms.

[frozen patio]

Semantics fella. You're splitting hairs. You knew what I meant.

[round lagoon]

it's alright

In any case, good dac/amp can still be got for cheap. Fiio ka11 is pretty alright for $20 iirc.

[woven cairn]

you have a wider variety of products to choose from

[proper vector]

You have 3.5mm and 4.4mm, sometimes 6.3mm

[gray shuttle]

I have 6.3mm

[crude talon]

if you love a really really bright headphone

[lyric compass]

Hey guys, which gaming mouse do you guys use for Linux Gaming? I heard Wootility also supports Linux and wondering if there is a gaming mouse manufacturer who have native Linux support

[dry summit]

any mice works the same on linux, you just might not be able to configure it

[astral musk]

I'd argue that is what they mean by supported natively 😛

So a mouse that has web configuration should work

[dry summit]

i think the razer viper v4 has a web configuration now

i believe VGN, VXE, ATK and WLMouse have browser based hubs

Finalmouse uses XPanel

Keychron and Lemokey mice utilize VIA/QMK

or there are mice fully configurable with hardware buttons

[dry summit]

like Zowie/BenQ, Vaxee, and some RAWM

[proper vector]

Razer mice have amazing OpenRazer + RazerGenie suite
Other than that just take a look at what libratbag and Piper support, should be like 90% of gaming mice
I use DeathAdder, because you don't need software at all, just change DPI with a button

[dry summit]

there are other settings like polling rate and debounce on some mice

[patent patrol]

never stop bouncing

[dry summit]

i think most mice have a DPI button
if you dont configure anything besides that then it's fine to use without software

[proper vector]

Polling rate you can also set on Deathadder with same button

[dry summit]

i configured my op1 8k on windows once and it keeps the settings

[crude talon]

pulsar also has webdriver if no one mentioned them yet

and gwolves but fuck gw

[dry summit]

eS series is different, i believe

[proper vector]

Least it's not 8bitdo where you need v1 configurator for some devices, and v2 for other ones

[shy jungle]

Anyone got nice setting for this monitor (only playing cs2):

ASUS ROG Swift PG27AQDP 26.5" WOLED 2560x1440px 480Hz 0.03 ms

[dry summit]

i didnt know they made one with 480hz

[patent patrol]

it released in 2024

[dry summit]

i saw

[quasi field]

I used a 600 ohm one with my motherboard just fine

[vague sparrow]

tfw I missed the hiby r4 x evangelion because at the time I was not interested in audio stuff

[quasi field]

HD 560 S and AKG702 are my recommendations. I also recommend EQing them regardless of which you choose to get the best sound quality @latent sphinx

[quasi field]

Depending on the motherboard specs as well as sensitivity of the headphones you can use 250 ohm headphones with a motherboard fine

[quasi field]

I think it's worth being semantic about that when it can potentially mislead someone into buying a dac without a headphone amplifier when they want both

[tulip tide]

i use this basically - https://tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/asus-rog-swift-pg27aqdp, uniform brightness and 50 brightness

[patent patrol]

i use 30 unless its sunny

[tulip tide]

how many hours does urs have?

[patent patrol]

prob not much cuz i got a panel replacement

[tulip tide]

ahh

[dry summit]

i have the same monitor but 360hz and mine has 3252 hours in one year

[heady crystal]

702 hours after about 6-ish weeks with this glossy tandem WOLED

Probably closer to two months now that I think about it

Good monitor

We like these

[trim atlas]

i need to buy a new monitor eventually but the market is kinda confusing in what it offers atm, and the "best screens" according to RTings are like €2,7k... my 65 inch samsung flagship tv was cheaper

any recommendations for what to look at?

[patent patrol]

2.7k???

which one is that 😭

[elfin kayak]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJvhMpKUb-8

[trim atlas]

it goes up to 2,1k, my bad - still insane price for a pc monitor

i found an actual listing for that price a while ago that's why i decided to look at it later

[languid ridge]

u know u dont need to buy the most expensive listing right?

I can sell pine cones for 2k too

[trim atlas]

yes thank you, i was just looking at the list and saw the high segment was around that price and so i decided screw it, i'll look at it later

because no - i'm not about to pay 1k+ for a pc monitor

[sharp fiber]

its exactly 1k€

less on sale

[quasi field]

That's much more than I paid for mine

Mine was around 1400 euros

[sharp fiber]

if you pay anything above 1k its too much

lol

[quasi field]

I live in 25% VAT land

[sharp fiber]

i have 19%

[quasi field]

So I always get shafted

[dry summit]

27 inch 4k 240hz oled

but i can find that one for less than 1k€

[sharp fiber]

wait this one is even less

[languid ridge]

25,5 % VATlandia represents

[sharp fiber]

i thought we were talikng ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W

but its ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM

850€

[dry summit]

https://rog.asus.com/de/monitors/27-to-31-5-inches/rog-swift-oled-pg27ucdm/

[sharp fiber]

ye 850€ here

19% VAT

[quasi field]

Mine was 13 995 NOK when I bought it a year ago

[trim atlas]

I just wonder if i need this 240hz+ stuff etc, oled screen is nice but i’m just not sure what are decent options

[dry summit]

thats the dual one with 1440p 540hz and 720p 720hz right?

[trim atlas]

And not the break within a year for €900 type of products

[dry summit]

that one can also be found for less than 1k€

[sharp fiber]

ye, 270hz with ELMB on

[trim atlas]

My current screen is something like an LCD LG from 5 years ago so it kinda looks like shit

I bought an oled tv and i got infected 😆

[dry summit]

that does sound shit

what are you even looking for? do you prefer a high refreshrate for fps games or would you rather have a 4k monitor? and whats your budget?

[trim atlas]

Higher image quality, i like to watch movies on it too.. don’t play competitive fps, budget would be like €1k ish tops

[dry summit]

MSI MPG 321URX maybe

is a nice and big one

[proper vector]

My monitor?

[dry summit]

whats you monitor?

[sharp fiber]

then no reason to go anything beyond 120hz

[quasi field]

Depends on what you mean by need. It is a nice noticeable improvement to motion clarity

[sharp fiber]

look for a nice 120hz 4k OLED

[dry summit]

32 inch 4k QD-OLED with 240hz for less than 800€

[proper vector]

321URX

[sharp fiber]

if you play nothing comp or ranked then 120 is more than enough, you need to saturate 240fps in the first place, what are your specs?

[dry summit]

ooh i see

[heady crystal]

XG27AQWMG

[proper vector]

Gesundheit

[quasi field]

Aren't you a BFI fanboy? Don't need 240 fps to get 240 fps of persistence

[quasi field]

Asoundhood 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[sharp fiber]

lol what

u good bro?

[dry summit]

i feel like 240hz is nice to have even if you cant play every game at 4k 240

and if they have a 1k budget

[quasi field]

120 fps rendered + 120 from BFI = 240 fps persistence

[dry summit]

this seems like a good choice

[sharp fiber]

ok and?

[quasi field]

I only play single player games and yet I really appreciate the 240 Hz over 120

[quasi field]

if you play nothing comp or ranked then 120 is more than enough, you need to saturate 240fps in the first place
So the solution where consistantly more than 120 isn't necessarily achieveable can be BFI

[sharp fiber]

the point is why spend more and limit options by searching specifically for BFI implementations, many of which are bad, when they dont really care that much

[sharp fiber]

but you limit your options and they are not trying to minmax the experience

[quasi field]

Every oled monitor's BFI implementation is bad afaik

Compared to LG CX/C1

[sharp fiber]

explain

[proper vector]

But yeah, 321URX is a really nice monitor, beautiful colors, 90W PD USB-C built in, highly recommend
I have it for 2 months now and I so love it

[dry summit]

can recommend too

[quasi field]

They make you run at half of the max refresh rate and use that headroom to fill in fully black screens. And I'm not aware of this working at the same time as any g-sync type technology

Meanwile the now 7 year old LG CX (120 Hz TV) lets you run it at the max native of 120 Hz with BFI on for somewhere around 300 Hz persistence equivalent

[sharp fiber]

ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27AQWP-W does it better

better MPRT by far

[quasi field]

How so?

[quasi field]

That's just because the refresh rate is higher though

But the technology is otherwise the same afaik

[sharp fiber]

2,7ms on LG vs 1,851 ms on Asus

[sharp fiber]

so i get back to this question:

explain

[trim atlas]

not enough to saturate 240 that's for sure, i'm gonna get a new pc soonish i think

[sharp fiber]

first you say all are bad except LG C1

then you say they are the same

[quasi field]

I just did earlier

[quasi field]

C1 is a TV not a monitor

[sharp fiber]

we didnt specify monitors

[quasi field]

But I did....

[sharp fiber]

yeah but then you compared to LG C1

so which is it

either you compare monitors to monitors or all of them

[quasi field]

Yes, the BFI implementations of oled monitors are not like CX/C1. The monitors all have the same shitty half-assed implementation

[trim atlas]

thanks for the suggestion :>

[sharp fiber]

and VRR also has to be disabled for LG C1

there is no difference

[dry summit]

and thank calsy too

[trim atlas]

i'll have to get two new monitors at that time :> but first upgrade tower i think

[sharp fiber]

just that LG C1 is 120hz with bfi while Asus is 270 with ELMB, so 240 motion clarity vs 540

[trim atlas]

thanku

[sharp fiber]

the only special thing about it is bfi at native refresh, which isnt special really because its just 120hz

the only reason its usually halfed is because the strain is so big and turning off all pixels 270 times per second is insane enough

[quasi field]

Yes there is...
They work differently. You don't halve the refresh rate. They work at max refresh rate and lower more effectively. CX/C1 is sub-fram BFI unlike full-frame BFI like on the monitors

You get over 300 Hz of motion clarity with the CX when running at 120 fps

Rtings is sadly paywalled now but the measurements they had showed this

And so CX/C1 had the highest motion clarity in any oled display (besides VR) until we got 360 Hz oleds

[keen jay]

What are some good pc's that excel at cooling

Cases i mean

[trim atlas]

https://tenor.com/view/attacking-jake-sully-toruk-makto-avatar-fire-and-ash-dive-attack-fighting-gif-522618549178692284

toruk will be glorious in 4k oled

[sharp fiber]

anything with overproportionate total radiator surface

[sharp fiber]

i dont see anything about subframe bfi

ratings themselves said its directly tied to refresh

they also stated that 120hz bfi on lg c1 resulted in image duplication LMAO

[proper vector]

Flatout 2 in 4k 100fps (because game can't run faster)

[quasi field]

Compare these graphs from C1 and PG27UCDM. The former has pixels off for longer than it has them on, while the latter has them at the same time

So a CX and C1 will actually beat the PG27UCDM in persistence

[sharp fiber]

huh? we were never talking about that monitor

UCDM is only 240hz

idc about that monitor

[quasi field]

It was an example

[sharp fiber]

okay?😂

[quasi field]

Point is that the sub-refresh rolling-scan type BFI found in for example the LG CX is a better technique than the cheaper lower effort one found on every single oled gaming monitor. If a modern 480 Hz oled had that, then it would be able to use it while running at the full native 480 Hz and probably reach 1 ms persistence

[sharp fiber]

i will have to research "sub refresh rolling scan type bfi" because first you said C1 did it between refreshes but it doesnt, so i will have to look into it

[quasi field]

CX and C1 does have it, that's how they can do BFI at max refresh rate

[patent patrol]

is that why they so heavy

[patent patrol]

https://fixupx.com/vincent_teoh/status/2052016947865489864?s=46

Vincent Teoh (@Vincent_Teoh)

BREAKING: 27-inch 5K Tandem OLED monitor panel with RGB-stripe subpixel layout unveiled by LG Display at #DisplayWeek2026.
︀︀
︀︀- 5120 x 2880 pixel resolution
- 4-stack Tandem WOLED panel
- True RGB-stripe subpixel layout (no white subpixel)
- ~250 nits full-screen

**💬 4 🔁 5 ❤️ 89 👁️ 7.1K **

▶ Play video

FixupX · May 6, 2026, 1:25 PM

[quasi field]

Exciting

[patent patrol]

i been using rgb stripe oled for years

[dry summit]

i finally have my op1 8k back in working condition

the cable for it broke twice now and i'm hoping the zeromouse blade gets shipped by end of month then i can finally get rid of this mouse

[tacit linden]

Sounds like a high quality cable.

[patent patrol]

it do be shipping

[dry summit]

that mouse always has had issues with it, lots of people on their discord complaining
at least you get a replacement for free
the cable is already on like version 5 or 6, i don't remember
they asked me to send my old cable back so they can analyze what they can improve on it
this time they sent me one from portugal, presumably to see if this is an issue with a specific batch or factory

[dry summit]

so i've heard, i mailed them shortly before the last production update

[tacit linden]

Nice that you get a new one for free at least, just sucks having to wait for replacements etc when you want a flawless experience.

[patent patrol]

some people received them already

[dry summit]

last time it only took 2 days for the cable to get here but this time it almost took a week

[dry summit]

last time ive talked to support they told me none have shipped yet but maybe they started with that now

i'm so excited to try a 22g wireless mouse on my glass pad

it's gonna be insane

[crude talon]

woled but no white subpixel 🤨 do we call that woled

[quasi field]

Yes. There's still a white layer which is what gives it the name woled

[vague sparrow]

ok guys remember I told you I received the aful explorer guess what I got today? Tripowin zowie cable

they are not so stiff way way way better

dont hurt my ear

the sound is the same of course but I prefer soft cable like these one

[patent patrol]

it supports 120hz

[obtuse dove]

Very nice!

[obtuse dove]

Yes because the there is still a while OLED pixel layer

[quasi field]

Not bad but I won't upgrade until there's 5k 240 Hz

Ideally with the BlurBusters CRT shader built-in on a hardware level. Now that would be epic

[patent patrol]

gotta wait a bit for that

productivity monitor

[quasi field]

Just have to wait for someone to put it inside an ugly gaming brand chassis

[patent patrol]

samsung has like 180hz

[vague sparrow]

ok new amd radeon driver

apparently reddit is mad about it

because nothing new

[patent patrol]

have they never seen a nvidia driver

[vague sparrow]

maybe all these gpu companies dont care anymore about gamer anyway

[frigid ivy]

consumer gpus are like 10% of both nvidia and AMD total revenue nowadays.

not surprising where they choose to focus

[vague sparrow]

at this point I know it is not possible but I wish there was a chinese company or something only focused on gpu for gaming

at least not for AI

[mental spade]

https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1t5e2e1

[wispy blaze]

Op18k just built different

[dry summit]

i have an op1 8k

i just wish the cables they are using were better

[wispy blaze]

I might turn one into a ftip mouse

And use one of those aftermarket cables

That are schizo light

[glossy anvil]

What color?

[dry summit]

white

[glossy anvil]

Ooooo

[dry summit]

cause my whole setup is white

[bitter sapphire]

i soo wanted to get this

[dry summit]

i love the purple one

[glossy anvil]

Its a nice mouse my hands are on the medium size tho

[glossy anvil]

Ah it said haptics:3

Def slow when you use default haptics

I heard

Need to be 1 but it makes the mouse super sensitive

[vague sparrow]

Dont know if good but love the color

[bitter sapphire]

https://pmm.gg/products/pulse-mod-kit?variant=56293118378249 and i kinda wanna get this for funsies

[wispy blaze]

Idk if I can get past the cable or not

But I would like to try one still

I know the stock shape would be smaller than I want

[mental spade]

Not what they said or found in their testing if you go through the comments

[glossy anvil]

Ohhh

I see

[patent patrol]

so just be goated

[glossy anvil]

Ah yeah

[patent patrol]

also why we not testing the wireless endgame gears

[glossy anvil]

I think cause the wired one is faster but yeah wireless would be nice

Not a fan of superstrike shape anyways

[patent patrol]

my fav shape

[glossy anvil]

I use viper v3 clone

[heady zenith]

i wanted a second one maybe even third.... only got one

and they are non existant second hand

[rain turret]

Get a Zero, they come in frosted purple and has all the bells and whistles internally.

[glossy anvil]

atk zero?

[vague sparrow]

Viper shape is the best I found. Just wish there was a mini viper updated so I could test it

[sharp fiber]

Wdym? The haptic motor just provides feedback

[sharp fiber]

I personally play sens 1 since day 2 and its perfect tbh

[glossy anvil]

ah

not sure if i would like the tech cause i do like how the optical mouse switches sound

[sharp fiber]

I personally hate it, my main switches on my weight, scroll wheel and switch modded superlight 2 turned out to be huano brown shell white/yellow dots and haptic on 1 is kind of like that, but nicer

With fully open backs i just dont like hearing a click. I hear everything and i need silence

[glossy anvil]

ohhhh

yeah the switches can be loud which is not great for people who have to listen to it

superstrike is cool not sure if they havfe a reliable scroll wheel

[sharp fiber]

And i own and have tried many switches, lol

Just one of the boxes

[sharp fiber]

Easily changeable

But yes they did switch to ttc silver dustproof

[glossy anvil]

oh thats pretty good

[sharp fiber]

I guess i will just swap it to ttc gold dustproof should it ever fail

I have spares

[glossy anvil]

i think i saw a video that said it was 120$ tho i might have missed it

180 dollars is alot for a mouse

[sharp fiber]

Yea it is

[honest sand]

Headphones suggestion?

[jaunty hawk]

Budget?

The ft1s are good but they are closer to 200$

[wet coral]

its better getting just headphones and a standalone mic

im currently using sennheiser hd560s and a fifine mic

[glossy anvil]

if i have a hyperx cloud 3 wireless headset, would other headphones let me hear footsteps better or i should stick with this one i can hear them just fine

[honest sand]

are the sennheiser hd560s rlly that good?

[languid ridge]

ATH-R50x

[round lagoon]

Hd490 pro and if you want closed back, hd480 pro.

[glossy anvil]

Wow 480pro new

[mild flint]

i've never used an open back headphone, what's the difference?

[quasi field]

No matter what you get I recommend EQing it. I also recommend 560S or AKG K702

[white jackal]

i am personally using hifiman edition xs and really like them but they are not the best for everyone

i'd honestly recommend going to a store to try out a bunch of different headphones to get an idea of what sound signature you prefer

[quasi field]

It means the outer part has openings, big or large. It means less outside noise is being blocked which is bad in noisy environments. But in optimal evironments it can be nice because it's cooler on the ears
Open back headphones also usually perform a bit more consistently across different heads and are a little better at tolerating leaks (glasses or thick hair breaking the seal between earpads and your head)

[quasi field]

Should just EQ at home instead

[mild flint]

oooo i see thank you

[white jackal]

if you get a headphone that is closer to what is ideal for you already, you'll need to do less EQing for it to sound the best

[quasi field]

HD 560 S or AKG K702 + Oratory's Harman 2018 EQ preset + adjusting a few of the bands as mentioned in the document to taste is my recommendation for a very high certainty of being happy with the results

[white jackal]

i personally prefer open backs for gaming at home because it lets you hear some of your surroundings, so if you live with other people or are waiting for a package you can still hear a knock on the door or the doorbell for example. I do also like my open backs a bit more but that may just be cause the only closed backs ive had were abysmal dogshit

if you plan on using the headphones outside as well, i'd rather go for closed backs tho

[mild flint]

okay noted

[heady zenith]

dont forget about the mythical soundstage

[white jackal]

like, an open back wont do you any good at all if you wear it on a plane

all you'll hear is plane noise

[heady zenith]

that just means you didnt turn up your volume high enough

[white jackal]

true, if you turn it up high enough you won't hear anything ever again, including plane noise

[mild flint]

atp i'd just get a closed back so i can use the same headphone wherever lol

[heady zenith]

see now you get it

[mild flint]

this is true, if you're deaf you don't have to worry about headphones anymore

[white jackal]

yeah, i have at home gaming headphones and "take anywhere whatever throw them in your pocket" earphones

[quasi field]

If you don't EQ (which is a mistake) then closed backs are often better since many more of them have actual bass shelfs unlike so many open back headphones

[mild flint]

i honestly don't know what EQ means

[white jackal]

i'll be honest with you

i took one of the edition xs presets you said

and took off everything except the bass shelf

sounds good to me

[heady zenith]

equalize. basically fiddle with frequency bands to make some higher or lower than others and adjust the response curve

[quasi field]

Oratory?

[white jackal]

yeah

i think so

[mild flint]

is there like a site for this or an app?

[heady zenith]

multiple sites and multiple apps

[mild flint]

or is it like a software for certain headphones

oh i see

[heady zenith]

just like a lot of things audio everyone has an opinion just like everyones got an ass

[white jackal]

you said this before but honestly i liked it most with just the bass shelf

[quasi field]

It's not weird if you only kept the bass. The headphone is already fairly close to Harman 2018 and so doesn't need major fixing

[white jackal]

yeah it just sounds good

needed a bit more kick in the low end and that's about it for me

[mild flint]

what app/site are you using?

[white jackal]

equalizer APO with peace gui

[mild flint]

thank you

[proper vector]

want some popcorn?

[white jackal]

just search peace gui and you should find it

[quasi field]

https://giphy.com/gifs/flower-daisy-aligator-5KiibQkiFJMqhNXpvL

[white jackal]

what is this creature

[quasi field]

No idea. There are so many vaguely similar critters. I call them all mouse-likes, or some mouse-lites

[proper vector]

Link says it's aligator

[astral musk]

Looks like a gopher of some kind

[versed fossil]

prairie dog i think

[patent patrol]

if anyone uses PG27AQDP

[tulip tide]

thanks chief

careful i think it resets all the settings, so better take pics

[patent patrol]

this one taking ages again

[tulip tide]

yeah i'm trying via usb and it failed so many times already

[patent patrol]

i got mine to 105

so it is possible...

[tulip tide]

ill try usb cable now

i'm already on 105

[patent patrol]

had one fail and one that just kept going so i stopped it

[tulip tide]

ok it went through first try via usb cable

[patent patrol]

i dont think i even have one of those cables

[crude talon]

are we fr getting a third wallhack miku pad

[normal acorn]

https://x.com/WallhackHQ/status/2052420212838793244

WALLHACK© (@WallhackHQ)

Born online. Built for the stage.

▶ Play video

X · May 7, 2026, 4:08 PM

seems like it

[quasi field]

They really seem to exaggerate the marketing for these things

[normal acorn]

Miku sells

it makes sense

[lament siren]

miku desu

[normal acorn]

when is our tuuuuuuuuuuurn

[crude talon]

one more shift overtime for this

[bitter sapphire]

make it happen

[normal acorn]

ive triiiiiiiied

[bitter sapphire]

try again but harder

[normal acorn]

ur so right

[sinful swift]

nice steam W

https://store.steampowered.com/news/group/45479024/view/702141174212725149

[proper vector]

Verry poggies

[sinful swift]

What they should have done first off tbh,

Reservation details:

Reservations will be limited to one Steam Controller per user.

Once you receive an order email, you have three days (72 hours) to make your purchase on Steam.

For now, customers who have already purchased a Steam Controller are not yet eligible to reserve another Steam Controller.

Additionally:

Your account must be in good standing on Steam

You must have made a purchase on Steam prior to April 27, 2026

Replenishment of inventory will vary from region to region. We will start fulfilling reservations next week in the US / Canada, and UK / EU / AU in the following weeks.

[raven leaf]

Sounds good

[sinful swift]

the one per user limit should have been there from the start, open up second orders later but hey

atleast I Can get my hands on one, the scalpers on ebay are gonna be annoyed tho lmao

[proper vector]

I mean, if you have account in good standing and old enough you should be able to get a reservation for two, but I get where they are coming from

[deep hawk]

Would have preferred them doing a rolling eligibility window starting with accounts that have been active since 2015 when they stopped selling the last one >_>

[proper vector]

That'd also be good

[deep hawk]

It was limited to 2, that's very reasonable imo

[quasi field]

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/1t68zpq/still_worth/

One of the most iconic headphone dac/amps still to this day
(sorry for breaking up the Steam controller talk)

[proper vector]

8 years? That's nothing for quality audio stuff

[quasi field]

Yeah it's not very old yet but it's been iconic since day 1

fast
I hate slow amplifiers!

[proper vector]

colored DAC

Bruh

[quasi field]

No doubt he never did a proper blind listening test to even make sure that whatever he thinks is coloured is audibly so

Most amplifiers and dacs people talk about as if they are coloured usually aren't

[proper vector]

DAC is supposed to be flat, like a table
EQ is for coloring

[deep hawk]

My new one is oddly square shaped and I like it

[proper vector]

[deep hawk]

Don't uh mind the wires

[quasi field]

When I was a noob I was told to buy the Singxer SA-1 since it's «warm sounding» and «pairs well with the Hifiman Arya»
Meanwhile here are some of the measurements of the SA-1

[proper vector]

Flat as they come

[round lagoon]

nice to see you enjoying the dac

[quasi field]

It's annoying how normalised misunderstandings and rejection of measurements and science are in the audio world. Compare it to displays. In the world of displays, everyone accepts that only an accurate display is high fidelity. If I say that only neutral sounding audio gear is high fidelity some people lose their minds. And imagine if people discarded all the colour accuracy or response time measurements and such people take of their monitors because «measurements don't tell the whole story». Sure there are variables in the sense that monitors have different colour accuracy out of the box etc. but still. It's very analogous to audio gear throughout

And yes on the deepest darkest audiophile forums there are many bored pensioners claiming their audiophile cables makes the colours on their oleds pop even more

[white jackal]

i cant believe it

audiophiles believing in snake oil???

never seen that before

[terse ferry]

Me with random dongle dac on computer..

[round lagoon]

ahh, it's too common it's even in my country. One of the audio store here even sells cable that 'changes' the sound.

[white jackal]

my mic has a headphone jack so i just use that

[terse ferry]

Thats why truthear hexa is best..

[quasi field]

Most new in-ears I see release are overall very good, unlike for over-ear headphones

[terse ferry]

@quasi field there is no cheap neutral tho

[quasi field]

There's a new pair released every day. I'm sure I could find many under $30 that are reasonably neutral

[terse ferry]

I want truthear hexa neutral

[quasi field]

Of course finding one that is «100% neutral» is kind of pointless in terms of recommendation as what's required to reach that will depend on the person

[round lagoon]

I kinda wanna get ER2SE someday, it's always been on the back of my mind to get but never bothered to

[crude talon]

no bass
even the xr doesn't have much

[quasi field]

He seems to be on the lower end of preferred bass so it might not suck to him

[round lagoon]

I mean, I very much prefer hd490 with the very flat mids and bass, maybe if I EQ the er2se's treble, I can make it sound similar.

[crude talon]

I should get new foam tips for mine
on one of them the glue came off

[quasi field]

Truthear Gate

[round lagoon]

hmm, $90 on taobao with shipping

[quasi field]

It's fairly close and costs anywhere from $17 to $22 depending on reviewer

[ivory tiger]

I think I will pick up the steam controller, wanted to get a controller for my PC a long time now

[round lagoon]

I'm prop waiting months until it's in my place at a higher price

[ivory tiger]

Wanted to play so many games with controller and never made the step of getting a controller
Seems like a sign

[quasi field]

@round lagoon

It feels like when you enter 4 digits that in-ears actually get worse on average

[round lagoon]

I mean, it's almost flat

Maybe they just wanna copy how a speaker measured

[quasi field]

[round lagoon]

Just EQ I guess

[crude talon]

js don't buy it

[quasi field]

Yes that's smartest

Audio has come a long way. It's funny that old speakers would advertise that they can reach 13 kHz on the box

@obtuse dove

[obtuse dove]

speaker tech has deffo come a long way indeed

yeah single speaker systems used to suck at treble frequencies

multi-speaker systems with dedicated subs and tweeters dont struggle with this.

[quasi field]

That speaker I sent was apparently also marketed as a full range speaker lol

[vague sparrow]

Guys I love the aful explorer

[terse ferry]

Truthear gate is v shape

[quasi field]

So is Hexa

«V-shaped» is not a bad thing, depending on how you define it. You do generally want a boost down below and one higher up for a neutral sound

[crude talon]

bro missed the graph comparison

[obtuse dove]

Oh wack

Idt I've ever seen a single speaker that can actually provide a consistent frequency response from 20Hz to 20kHz

Usually ones that can do that utilize multiple speakers

[terse ferry]

Truthear hexa is cheapest neutral. Other neutral iems are reference right?

[obtuse dove]

Not necessarily

[quasi field]

What's the difference between neutral and reference?

[obtuse dove]

Research has consistently shown that 'neutral' is what sounds best.

And ngl, I dislike the JM1 target with an 8db tilt

[quasi field]

I still haven't tried it

[obtuse dove]

I personally never liked it, my ears gravitate towards Harman sounding earbuds

[quasi field]

I don't own a single pair of in-ears anymore so I can't try

[obtuse dove]

Ah rip

[quasi field]

The audio «community» is quite backwards from the display one. In the display world if you say that only accurate colours is high fidelity people will agree. If you say only neutral audio gear is high fidelity people think you're ridiculous. And imagine if people in the display industry would constantly discredit display measurements of colour accuracy and response time measurements because «our eyes aren't measuring tools» or whatever

[obtuse dove]

Yeah

Tbf past a certain point most people would stop noticing the difference

When it comes to displays

Minus the outliers whose sole purpose is to color grade footage for a film.

[quasi field]

I feel like brightness is where displays have the most room to improve

And then brightness is very much related to colour accuracy since the brighter you can go the more colours you will produce

[obtuse dove]

Also color uniformity of the light source, like last gen WOLEDs tend to have less saturated colors than QD-OLED because the while OLEDs don't have perfect distribution of red, green, and blue.

Whereas with QD-OLED that's kind of a non issue since it re-emits the blue light from its blue pixel layer but helps with color uniformity across its spectrum when you command white light.

Current gen WOLEDs tried to solve this by adding an additional blue OLED layer to its white OLED pixels which helps with the reduced blue color saturation issues with previous gen WOLEDs

[quasi field]

Microled waiting room?

[quasi field]

@obtuse dove

https://tenor.com/view/skeleton-gif-13148928981517710530

[obtuse dove]

Hello!?!?

Bro atp these people are just saying words lmao

[quasi field]

«by precisely handling the timing»
Amplifiers have timing like dacs now?

[white jackal]

A fast amplifier has low latency

Gaming amp anyone?

[heady crystal]

At least they’re not converting MP3 to PDF

[proper vector]

yet

[bitter sapphire]

Bee movie script into mp3

[tribal shadow]

So what they are trying to say is that it doesn't smooth

[proper vector]

No, wait, of course they aren't
You wouldn't caught them dead with any mp3 file
Only flacs or wavs

[patent patrol]

https://fixupx.com/logitechg/status/2052486465624375613?s=46

Logitech G (@LogitechG)

CYAN JUST DROPPED IN EUROPE 💙
︀︀
︀︀Get your hands on a cool new color – PRO X SUPERLIGHT 2 CYAN

**💬 5 🔁 2 ❤️ 46 👁️ 11.1K **

▶ Play video

FixupX · May 7, 2026, 8:31 PM

blue

[deep hawk]

New printer cartridges???

[patent patrol]

finally u can print black and white again 😭

[proper vector]

I love how they made this whole-ass trailer, but didn't show mouse in it

[patent patrol]

[proper vector]

Throwing xkcd at me just like that?

[crude talon]

it’s a maybe

[proper vector]

[plain schooner]

https://tenor.com/view/cat-smiling-cat-cute-cat-cat-meme-smiling-gif-10086598795453609558

[lament siren]

compared to the previous one it looks mid

[quasi field]

@obtuse dove now «Currawong», another audiophile talking head YouTuber that doesn't measure has joined in

but it clearly didn't have enough capacitance in the PSU for bass, making a lot of music sound thin
I have no idea what this means or how it would make sense

This brings me back. Audiophiles used to hate that amplifier

[obtuse dove]

vro what!?

that makes zero sense

sure psus have capacitors, but theyre for rectification of AC to DC and not for massive power fluctuations

[quasi field]

I had no idea Currawong had Reddit. These are the type of things he posts:

[white jackal]

this guy talking like every headphone is like those vintage estats that need a dedicated amp to drive

[dry summit]

i just have my sony xm6 and I’m very happy

[quasi field]

There's also this idea at times that being harder to drive has a positive effect on sound quality. So the more a headphone sweats your amplifier the better that has to be for sound some reason

[white jackal]

i feel like a lot of these things are folk wisdoms from like the 60s

when good headphones were a premium product and did need a lot of power

[quasi field]

I'm not sure what they ran them out of back in the day. Were there dedicated headphone amplifiers or did people just use speaker ones? Speaker ones definitely could run them no problem

This is the AKG K60, a headphone from the 70s

[tribal shadow]

most ran them out of their hifi stack

aka some kind of receiver or similar with amps

that also had speaker amps inside

[quasi field]

Makes me happy how far we've come in this regard. Wireless or just a tiny dongle

[tribal shadow]

eh

not everything is happy to run out of a dongle

[frigid ivy]

A lot of amp back then also weren't living up to the spec sheet. Weaker or crapping out before the stated power output.

[quasi field]

While true those are rarely uniquely good headphones anyway. I can't think of many at all

Headphones that need substantial power seems to often be substantially flawed in sound anyway

[frigid ivy]

Modhouse tungsten is a pretty well regarded headphone

And it needs an amp that can provide 20 volt output

[tribal shadow]

anything estat requires an energizer, those tend to be bulky

[quasi field]

Okay sure but I wasn't counting those. (And most aren't particularly good anyway!)
I'm talking about ones that don't need elaborate technologies

[frigid ivy]

The original HE6 also were like 70-80 db/mw. So you might actually need up to 1w to get to 110 db for crest factor.

[quasi field]

Is this the original one?

[tribal shadow]

btw not disagreeing with you, as far as amps goes linearity is most there is nowadays

[frigid ivy]

Yes

[tribal shadow]

and anything above 96db SINAD is kinda useless as well

[frigid ivy]

Yeah cd quality is all you need

[quasi field]

I think 95-99% of audiophile headphones can be ran out of a good dongle

[tribal shadow]

probably

[frigid ivy]

Also for certain dynamic headphones the imperative curve can get crazy around the bass area

[round lagoon]

there's some $200 dongle that can do 1w of power out of balanced

so yeh

[frigid ivy]

Like some audio technica get to like 1000+ ohms in the bass region

Some amps can't handle that, so the bass actually does sound thin

[frigid ivy]

Hd600 is also like 500 ohms in the bass region

[round lagoon]

😭

still no measurement of hd480 pro on squig

😭

[white jackal]

bro doesnt know about preamp

💀

[terse ferry]

@round lagoon you only need seprate dac if in built dac is not powerful to drive headphones

[tacit linden]

Sounds like snakeoil to me, how do you preamp before you amp? Timetravel?

[round lagoon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSWZFthwggo

[quasi field]

I remember being interested in this one a few years ago. What are they saying?

[round lagoon]

good soundstage

[quasi field]

[round lagoon]

€ 2.499,00

With that amount I can get hd490 pro, hd800s, and HEDD D1

[round lagoon]

also linear bass

[twilit flame]

And some McDonald fries

[round lagoon]

imo, this feels like a badly priced headphone, if it's like €1000 less, it could be a nice alternative to hd800s

[quasi field]

Samd

[quasi field]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MotwPfvDsPU

Crinear Reference did well here

[plain schooner]

This actually looks nice

[crude talon]

all the miku pads look great(not biased at all)
I think I like the other two better though

[dry summit]

i put my 60he strap on my 80he travel case

[white jackal]

what the heck

you cant do that

[dry summit]

why can I not?

[white jackal]

mixing 80he and 60he

[dry summit]

i'm not mixing them

[obtuse dove]

I wonder how it will do against the epz p40

[round lagoon]

I checked the squig and the p40 also has a fairly linear treble (light red)

[obtuse dove]

aye its very good for its price!

[round lagoon]

$160 according to this squig, pretty noice

[obtuse dove]

Yeah, very good IEM to EQ off of because of the smooth FR

And it's not insanely expensive

[vague sparrow]

So what are the gentlemen here things about the reference?

[frigid ivy]

https://www.techpowerup.com/348867/keychron-launches-q11-ultra-split-wireless-mechanical-keyboard

Oh man a wooting version of this would be the dream

[crude talon]

not nearly ergonomic enough

if it’s ergo we’re doing tented dactyl or bust

[glossy shale]

https://x.com/wallhackhq/status/2052782835069530201?s=46

WALLHACK© (@WallhackHQ)

WALLHACK SP-005 MIKU OS - An icon, redefined. Hatsune Miku.

Global Drop 21st of May - Early Access for Discord Members.

▶ Play video

X · May 8, 2026, 4:09 PM

new miku?

ts is cute as hell

[round lagoon]

https://fosiaudio.com/pages/fosi-audio-md3-magnetic-dac-headphone-amp

$150, not released yet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YqMqrqGQtA

[vital gorge]

Tldw?

[glossy anvil]

Im still iffy about a cheap oled or a good ips monitor

[round lagoon]

Low brightness but still an Oled

[glossy shale]

just wait for nervegear

[deep hawk]

Don't you have a GT80 case for your 80HE that includes a strap?

Oh lord that was hours ago... I blame Discord

[white jackal]

But the strap i use is not from 60he

So it‘s fine

[vague sparrow]

What do you guys think of the crinear reference?

[quasi field]

It measures well with fairly smooth treble making it a good EQ platform. I don't know about comfort as I haven't tried it. I'm skeptical about claiming that JM-1 with a tilt is some neutral reference however

Skeptical because it simply hasn't been proven to be the case, while PEQdB actually points to it not being the case (at least for a young male demographic)

[round lagoon]

I just think it's okay. I might like how the bass and the mids are tuned, but the treble might be a step too low for my taste.

[vague sparrow]

Apparently one reviewer said it is for people wanting to enjoy music as it was recorded in studio

Without too much coloring

[quasi field]

That is the golden standard of high-fidelity audio. The question is just how well it actually does this for a majority of people. While I haven't tried it I can tell that it would sound less neutral to me than the Variations

[round lagoon]

if I'm lucky it should be on my 'local' audio store to try soon, so maybe in 2-3 months I can try it

[quasi field]

Too little low bass for me with too much from 150 to 800

[obtuse dove]

epz P40 measures pretty smooth and its cheaper than reference

actually might be even smoother than reference

[vague sparrow]

Apparently super review dont like it

[obtuse dove]

I tried it on my mom and dad, they prefer peqdb diamond beta over the other target curves on the shootout.

same applies to my sister

[quasi field]

That's quite good

[obtuse dove]

lowk he has some pretty hot takes

epz p40 is one of them

for a 160 dollar IEM they measure extremely well

very good to EQ off of

[quasi field]

What does he say about them?

Too bright maybe?

[round lagoon]

https://youtu.be/wA3ck9LNLek?t=584

yep, very bright

[vague sparrow]

If they are too bright then the reference might be better

Now it is not the same price

The epz looks so good 😮

[quasi field]

Easy fix with one high-shelf filter

[obtuse dove]

epz P40 is also surprisingly in-line with the PeqDB diamond beta target as well

[quasi field]

I'm still surprised by how good my Astro A50s sound. Even with the PEQdB EQ that lifts up the upper treble significantly it doesn't sting or sound sharp. Every frequency is very well balanced and I can max out the volume of my headset (real flaw there) without any part of the frequency spectrum sticking out or hurting
Definitely one of the best pair of headphones I have ever had

I want to send them to Oratory to have them measured

That way I could do a 100% correction of potential channel imbalance

[trim atlas]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH6vsniindM this is kinda dope

[blissful gust]

I like that

[vital gorge]

Looks like a legroom nightmare

Hard pass from me

I already struggle with the normal desk supports

[trim atlas]

fair enough, it looks super cool but i imagine it'll get pretty warm

think i'm gonna buy something like this, i really need a new desk

[vital gorge]

IKEA has good desks as well

[quasi field]

I'm currently using the Utespelare

[trim atlas]

this one is from ikea, the mittzon

like €390 ish

[proper vector]

Get Chinesium
I got this one, 160x80, for 150€, it's really amazing quality for that price

[quasi field]

What a stupid place to hang the Airpods Max

[trim atlas]

i don't like the desk surface being made of more than one piece

most of the chinesiums are like that from what i've seen

[proper vector]

Yeah, but they are really well leveled to each other

[patent patrol]

yep and stability

[trim atlas]

if you don't mind you don't mind - i do

and i can only have like 120x80 desk currently because there is a slot inbetween cabinets

[vital gorge]

I got a flexispot e7 plus. Put on my own top

[trim atlas]

200kg max weight is kinda nice

[vital gorge]

That is complete overkill lol. But the 4 legs stability was what I was looking for

[trim atlas]

the ikea one has only 80kg max so if it has 3 screens, peripherals and i lean on it with full weight, it may just come down
and i'm not a heavy person

only downside is the e7 plus doesn't come in 120cm width size 😭

[ancient mantle]

For me the problem is the opposite it does not come with a size that supports a 300cm desk.
So I use the cheapest ikea legs under there holds up okayish but definitely not ideal and my secondary 250cm desk is sagging a little bit in the middle.

Height adjustable could be cool, maybe I could look into getting one for a corner desk and mounting it in line.

[sharp fiber]

Lol my pc + external radiator alone is ~70kg

[trim atlas]

... why

[ancient mantle]

damn 70kg

[sharp fiber]

Pc is almost 50

[trim atlas]

did you get the tiger tank computer case or what

[dry summit]

i dont know how heavy my pc is actually

but i assume very heavy

[trim atlas]

i think mines like 25-35 ish max

with corsair 4000d airflow case

[dry summit]

there are 3 glass panels on mine

[trim atlas]

i have one

they do add weight

[trim atlas]

show setup?

[ancient mantle]

Hmm let me weigh mine.

[trim atlas]

you cán buy triple motor legs

https://desky.com.au/products/boardroom-triple-sit-stand-desk-frame?variant=39294535860380 yoooo up to 420cm in length

[quasi field]

Could have used a heavy desk when I had a CRT with speakers

[trim atlas]

this might be something for you

210kg lifting capacity

[ancient mantle]

hella expensve though but good to know it exists

[trim atlas]

it's australian dollars

would be about €700

basic version - but yeah it fixes your problem so hopefully there are more products like it

[ancient mantle]

Just weight my pc, reasonably large case 420mm radiator comes in at 22kg ish. (kind of awkward photo) but good enough for now.

(yes there is a mess, yes I need to clean it up)

[dry summit]

i think mine is closer to 30-40 ish?

[ancient mantle]

What do you have in it in that case?
Glass panels way something but not that much

25-30 maybe unless you chug it full of stuff

[dry summit]

probably 25-30 then

[sharp fiber]

Yeah you really need to stuff it to get as unreasonable as i have

The waterblocks are heavy, almost 4 Liters of coolant, triple rad, over 32 fittings, it goes on

[ancient mantle]

Did you weigh your setup?

[sharp fiber]

I added all weights together so its possible i underestimate the weight a little

I weighed fittings and multiplied by amount etc

and other single components i didnt have specific weight values for

[ancient mantle]

Didn't think fittings would be that much then again adds up I guess

[sharp fiber]

Yeah they arent individually but it does add up

And i have a lot of them

[trim atlas]

nice setup, you could zip tie a few of the cables together to reduce clutter

like this

and that big external black box on the right is the water cooler system?

[sharp fiber]

Yeah i dont see any of it when i sit so i dont care

When i do a final desk setup at some point and dont rest almost 13k€ on a 100€ ikea desktop i will do perfect cable management

[trim atlas]

haha fair enough, you do have alot on the desk

[sharp fiber]

Btw we have the same 2 decade old speakers you probably also dont use anymore i just saw

I just keep them because i dont want to throw them away

[sharp fiber]

Yeah there are a fair bit of cables

[trim atlas]

fun fact i found that picture on google, but i DID own those speakers a long time ago

[sharp fiber]

Ah okay lol mb

[trim atlas]

with the sub

[sharp fiber]

Exactly

Have them since at least 15 years and dont use them lol

[trim atlas]

yeah fair, they were pretty decent for the time though

i have these since forever because i didn't want to have a sub anymore since my desk is inbetween cabinets and a diagonal wall - i enjoy the bass but my neighbors don't

cost me like €100 or something, relatively decent for the price

[sharp fiber]

I dont really use speakers at all

I love headphones too much

[round lagoon]

I have these, sounds as nice as arcade speaker

[trim atlas]

fair enough, i like my headphones but sometimes i don't wanna wear them like when going out soon (headset screws up my hair)
and in summer it can get pretty warm, most of us don't have AC because we need it like 5 days a year

[sharp fiber]

Yeah i also dont have AC

thats what i love about my pads and fully open planars in general, you never get warm or anything

[trim atlas]

i have astro a50's with gel cushions but it only helps so much 😆

[trim atlas]

i would love open back headphones but our parrot would make short work of that

[sharp fiber]

Lol yeah

[trim atlas]

the a50 has no chance against the parrot either

[sharp fiber]

I hear everything thats kinda also the reason for a fully noiseless pc

[obtuse dove]

I use open backs at work because it allows me to hear everything.

[trim atlas]

i have airpods pro 2 for that hahaha

[obtuse dove]

If only the work assigned computer were a Mac 😭

[trim atlas]

yeah that's nice

[trim atlas]

haha fair enough - does it run on linux?

because on steam deck you can download a pack that is like a compatibility mod for full functionality of the airpods if i understood correctly

[obtuse dove]

No they use Windows 11 Enterprise

[crude talon]

I used airpods for a couple months on android and it’s just fine
not missing out on much

[trim atlas]

what functionalities does it lack running on android?

[crude talon]

can’t just airpods at work anymore though

[crude talon]

one major thing is missing battery indications

missing ear detection, adaptive mode, conversation awareness

can’t change settings either

[trim atlas]

oh that's pretty huge

yeah they'll sound fine but i would defo miss those

[crude talon]

conversation awareness is just a bother because I talk to myself all the time

[trim atlas]

fair enough

so can you still put them in full noise cancelling/transparant mode?

[crude talon]

yeah

[obtuse dove]

Using the squeeze thing yeah

But not through the phone iirc

[trim atlas]

ah okay yeah that's good then

missing ear detection is nice if you move around alot - i have to move alot during work and if i were to drop one airpod without knowing where.... i can build camp at my workplace to siege the floor

[bitter sapphire]

oh true i become a happy owner of a Airpods 3 Pro

[patent patrol]

https://x.com/yutaaexe/status/2053148399793238045?s=46

Yuta (@Yutaaexe)

Somehow a bird managed to fly into my room and shit on my finalmouse centerpiece

X · May 9, 2026, 4:21 PM

[trim atlas]

good bird

[round lagoon]

It's destined to be shit on

[obtuse dove]

lmao

[patent patrol]

5

damn

[sinful swift]

they genuinely are some the best apple product period

better than any wireless pair Ive ever bought, theres no competition

[patent patrol]

2 pro better

[sinful swift]

SOUND wise yea, but the fit of the pro 3s feel so much nicer

and the ANC is leagues better in my opnion

[patent patrol]

not using much anc

[sinful swift]

thats fair, from a pure sound perspective yea

its just as an overall general use earbud its an improvement across the board

[crude talon]

transparency is so good

[sinful swift]

I love mine so much lmao

[patent patrol]

maybe the ultra or whatever the highend pods are named are better

[crude talon]

Max

[sinful swift]

the Maxs? Ive heard they do sound better

[patent patrol]

no the small ones

with the cameras

[sinful swift]

there arent better ones YET

airpod pro 4s I think you mean, those are rumored to come out in sept 2026

[patent patrol]

dont think they call them pros

[crude talon]

with cameras blud
not beating the spyware allegations

[sinful swift]

I can't have em at my workplace smh

yea I think the camera ones are gonn have to be a different line

like the OLED touch macbook pro

[crude talon]

if we get touch on a macbook it’s joever

[round lagoon]

I want eye tracking macbook instead

[sinful swift]

thats a thing apperantly

a touch oled 16inch or something

basically a pro with a touch screen and remade bezels

so no notch anymore

The one thing I hate in my 14inch pro, its so annyoing smh. It does NOTHING usefull why is it so big

[crude talon]

I love the notch

[sinful swift]

but why? on the phones its okay, I get it..faceID and everything

[crude talon]

it just there to look cute
just like me frfr

[sinful swift]

but the macbook camera sucks as is, no faceID and its so THICK

smh, atleast I can use my iphone as camera. Its better than any webcam Ive tried

[sinful swift]

thats fair :p

[round lagoon]

I'm okay with the notch, since the macbook screen is like 16:11, I don't really lose screen real estate.

[sinful swift]

a little whimsy in your life

[crude talon]

it's neat that you can watch a 16:9 video with the menu bar and dock up and it still be the same size as fullscreen

also man sensitive iems suck ass
I’m at minimum volume and this is still too loud

[patent patrol]

sensitive ahh ears

[crude talon]

maybe
I think I usually listen at 55-65dB according to my apple health app

at work I gotta be between 70-80 to hear shit

joever

[round lagoon]

😭

at least it's still within safe level

[patent patrol]

CAN U HEAR MEEE 🔊

[crude talon]

🗣️

was actually sitting and screaming at my coworker trying to hold a conversation

press running at like 114dB and it’s about 90dB where we were sitting

[round lagoon]

at that point, it's a workplace hazard

[crude talon]

yeah I'm always wearing my hearing protection when machines are running, hopefully soundproofing will be improved soon

[frigid ivy]

still better than this guy

https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/1sa8j61/i_was_averaging_92_to_95db_all_these_years_am_i/

[crude talon]

fucked up

I still prefer lower volumes outside of my workplace

[frigid ivy]

rough readings shows I listen to about 70db at the max

[crude talon]

and I try to keep my volume as low as I can while I'm still able to hear anything when I'm there

[round lagoon]

Mine about 65db peak, but I'm just using my phone's mic against the headphone

so maybe 70db

I set my dac volume so that at low gain, at 85/120, I would get precisely that at max volume on my mac.

[vague sparrow]

Ok I have a question. I played with my aful explorer (not the best set for playing I know but whatever). I dont want to use an external mic and I got a cable with a microphone but I find the volume low when I test myself on windows

How could I amplify the volume of the microphone?

[round lagoon]

there should be an option on the control panel to increase the volume of the mic

[raven leaf]

Yeah give it the +30dB boost

[vague sparrow]

In windows 11 in parameter sound where you can record yourself talking the is a volume slider

I put 100 and recorded myself

I can hear me but it is not very strong

[round lagoon]

then there should be an ingame option + other people can increase the volume of your mic through the game/chatting software.

[vague sparrow]

Ok I will tell them if they dont hear me

Honestly I dont want to get an external microphone

I am too lazy for thinking about positioning it and all

[quasi field]

Gen 5?

[quasi field]

dB(A) averaged over time I assume, since 70 dBSPL is nothing

I easily reach 100 dBSPL daily

[trim atlas]

i believe gen 4

[quasi field]

Do you EQ them? They have a quite poor sound out of the box

[hasty dagger]

anyone know about zifriend tk68? i just need opinions

[trim atlas]

yeah they were pretty shit out of the box, they only work properly with eq

like really really bad, had high pitched whirring noise and what not out of the box

range was 0

[quasi field]

Whirring noise?!

[trim atlas]

high pitched crackling perhaps, it was bad

and i knew i had to get an eq to make them work but when i took them out of the box i was considering sending them back

[quasi field]

That sounds like something was bad with your unit

[trim atlas]

could be, i used it far over the warranty and with eq it's working pretty well outside of some software issues lately

so i'm defo considering replacing it with something, but over ear headphones are just not really good bang for buck compared to IEM's - i'm still exploring ^^

i would consider open back headphones.. but we have a very very loud parrot like this, that is able to penetrate even my airpods pro 2 active noise cancelling mode 🙁

[quasi field]

I use the Gen 5 which is a fairly excellent headset

They improved he sound by quite a lot for it

[trim atlas]

size and weight of a tennis racket, but the sound of a fking jet engine

maybe i'll get the gen 5, but still IEM's for the same price or similar may outperform them

[round lagoon]

hmm, $200-250 iem, maybe

[trim atlas]

astro a50 is probably around €250 i guess

[hasty dagger]

anyone know about zifriend tk68? i just need opinions

[quasi field]

$20 in-ears outperform almost every headphone in existence

It's just far easier to make great in-ears

[trim atlas]

it does fit my keyboard theme, holy shit

[trim atlas]

ngl i think my airpods outperform my and alot of over-ear headsets at this point

[round lagoon]

That reminds me, I should do more research, the only IEM that I faintly remember being my fav like hd490 pro is like Dunu Braindance. The treble on those is soo high and nice.

The treble is how I EQ the harman 2019 along with the mids to liking.