Headphones

A question for headphone users - on all headphones I own (Sennheiser, Beyer, Hifiman, FiiO & others), deep bass on this track sounds very heavily distorted from the 50 sec mark & as far as I can tell this is on the master rather than overloaded via headphones.

Inhliziyo Yam(feat. Slidoo Man)

This YouTube link (1080pHD) sounds exactly the same as via Amazon Music Unlimited HD or Apple Music:

Is anyone else able to play this without distortion on their own setup or is it just too much for any headphone?
yeh some of us like a bit of distortion when used musically. it's a matter of taste, i guess... that's the way they recorded it. 🤷‍♂️
 
A question for headphone users - on all headphones I own (Sennheiser, Beyer, Hifiman, FiiO & others), deep bass on this track sounds very heavily distorted from the 50 sec mark & as far as I can tell this is on the master rather than overloaded via headphones.

Inhliziyo Yam(feat. Slidoo Man)

This YouTube link (1080pHD) sounds exactly the same as via Amazon Music Unlimited HD or Apple Music:

Is anyone else able to play this without distortion on their own setup or is it just too much for any headphone?
...gruesome 👹
 
There are songs out there that were either poorly recorded OR where the effect was done on purpose. Don't know if that's the case with this one but it is a possibility, especially if other material with deep/loud bass or subsonic material sounds OK on your setup.
 
There are songs out there that were either poorly recorded OR where the effect was done on purpose. Don't know if that's the case with this one but it is a possibility, especially if other material with deep/loud bass or subsonic material sounds OK on your setup.
Yes, but you have to like it 😉
 
Yes, but you have to like it 😉
I have plenty of recordings in my rather eclectic collection (and also streamed material) where I find the recording quality either mediocre, or sometimes so poor that I have to wonder what the engineer, artist and/or producer thought they were doing! But, like everything else in life, there are a wide variety of tastes out there. Just because I think something is a screw-up doesn't mean someone else isn't loving it.
 
I have plenty of recordings in my rather eclectic collection (and also streamed material) where I find the recording quality either mediocre, or sometimes so poor that I have to wonder what the engineer, artist and/or producer thought they were doing! But, like everything else in life, there are a wide variety of tastes out there. Just because I think something is a screw-up doesn't mean someone else isn't loving it.
Fine by me...for me it's gruesome, I speak for myself and not for others.
 
Fine by me...for me it's gruesome, I speak for myself and not for others.
I had seen a link to the artist on Amazon Music & the Ep containing this came up.

This first track is the most distorted but all of them have the same to different degrees. I couldn't listen to any but skipped through anyway thinking that perhaps it's just one badly mixed track or my headphones, streamer, amps, processors etc might be causing it - surely no producer could deliberately mix like this?

Apparently they can but I can't believe anybody would want to listen to it.
 
I have plenty of recordings in my rather eclectic collection (and also streamed material) where I find the recording quality either mediocre, or sometimes so poor that I have to wonder what the engineer, artist and/or producer thought they were doing! But, like everything else in life, there are a wide variety of tastes out there. Just because I think something is a screw-up doesn't mean someone else isn't loving it.
Yes I have few cds of Artist that I liked the sound on a radio and after buying them find them produced in a way I don't like the sound on a hifi and not bought any other of their cds after:(
 
|I ordered a new cable for the Fiio FT1 this morning before going to work. Not because I believe in sound miracles, but simply because the otherwise very good Fiio cable is very stiff (I mainly use the headphones with the mobile devices XDuoo X3 II, LG V30/V40 within my living area). The original cable is still used for stationary sessions.
Unfortunately, a good quality and flexible Geekria cable was not available in DE. I have ordered now this one, approx. €23,-
View attachment 19299
Unfortunately, the cable turned out not to be particularly durable. The inner core of the 3.5mm connector moves lengthwise inside the black plastic sleeve, I only noticed it because the left earphone didn't make any sound... After a little “pushing in” it worked again. Not very trustworthy. In this respect, a Linsoul Tripowin GranVia, reduced by 20%, is now doing its job. Much more stable and probably also a screw sleeve.

IMG_20250417_163652.jpg

Screenshot_20250417-164755.png
 
Unfortunately, the cable turned out not to be particularly durable. The inner core of the 3.5mm connector moves lengthwise inside the black plastic sleeve, I only noticed it because the left earphone didn't make any sound... After a little “pushing in” it worked again. Not very trustworthy. In this respect, a Linsoul Tripowin GranVia, reduced by 20%, is now doing its job. Much more stable and probably also a screw sleeve.

View attachment 19967

View attachment 19968
Bad luck, sorry to hear.

But what playback device do you use ( as shown on your picture ) . Is it worthwhile to buy a dedicated portable playback device, listening headphones or earbuds over bluetooth , using a mobile phone..
I am interested buying one, not the cheapest, but wont spend a fortune, approx €300,- something reasonable to recommend or think about?
 
Bad luck, sorry to hear.

But what playback device do you use ( as shown on your picture ) . Is it worthwhile to buy a dedicated portable playback device, listening headphones or earbuds over bluetooth , using a mobile phone..
I am interested buying one, not the cheapest, but wont spend a fortune, approx €300,- something reasonable to recommend or think about?
I'm not the one who posted the photo you're asking about, but a few months ago I bought a Hiby M300 for under US$200 and have been very pleased with it. I looked hard at their more expensive models but happy that I went with the one I bought.
 
Bad luck, sorry to hear.

But what playback device do you use ( as shown on your picture ) . Is it worthwhile to buy a dedicated portable playback device, listening headphones or earbuds over bluetooth , using a mobile phone..
I am interested buying one, not the cheapest, but wont spend a fortune, approx €300,- something reasonable to recommend or think about?
Yes, in my opinion it is definitely worth it. I still have two LG V40s and an LG V30 (phone with ESS Quad DAC) saved (after two years of use and contract expiry), which I use alternately for mobile music listening, but a DAP really has other advantages too. The compactness, the buttons arranged for listening to music, such as skip back/forwards, stop/play, different coloring of the LEDs depending on the output quality, etc. Also I can operate the device after selecting the album/playlist without having to rely on the screen.
I love being mobile and being able to use my devices. By mobile, I mean being able to move freely around the house and property and choose my listening position without having to change the (high-quality) source device. In spring/summer, you can lie on the lounger in the garden, in winter on the couch or sitting comfortably in front of the fireplace (while the wife watches her favorite TV show 😉)

For these reasons, I recently treated myself to the Fiio JM21 and a 1TB microSD. Purchase price for both together €300,-



The JM21 is based on a customized Android 13, also with support for all common Bluetooth codecs (I favorize cables most often, but also find cable-free helpful from time to time). It's possible to install and use your favorite apps via google playstore (in my case neutron and UAPP) etc.
In my opinion, it sounds really good and it has an acceptable battery life of around 9-11 hours.

If you have decided to buy a DAP - it's a very good (entry-level) device with which you can have great pleasure. Recommendation!
 
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