Cheepish Headphones Help.

[motoxer4533]

I forgot to mention... the m40's come with a 1/4" plug, so you wont be able to plug into the soundcard unless you buy an adapter. You must get a STEREO 1/4" to 1/8" STEREO adapter to be able to use it (unless you have a front panel with 1/4" jacks). They are only a few bucks, so dont sweat that. I have bought sets of them on ebay 10 for $3 + $1 shipping

EDIT: Like these!!

eBay: TWO 3.5 mm stereo Plug to 1/4" headphone Jack adapter (item 200097857271 end time Apr-10-07 16:49:43 PDT)

Crysalis... I'm just curious, and I don't know anything about the plugs your talking about. Would using these make the sound quailty decrease a little? Or would you not be able to notice, unless your an audiophile like yourself?

Again, just curious.

 

[Oreo]

Hmm, i think i can anser that. I would think it would degrade if the connector wasnt as of the same quality as the original jack. Also when the information is transfered from one wire, through something else, into a smaller connector there probably would be a small decrease in Audio perfromance, but i shouldnt think its noteiceble.

 

[Crysalis]

Would this be ok .... eBay.co.uk: Gold 3.5mm to 1/4 " Stereo Headphone Microphone Adaptor (item 260104526297 end time 11-Apr-07 19:45:00 BST)

Yes... same thing. Though, no need for the gold... unless it floats your boat, then by all means go for the gold. The M40's have a gold connector on them, so if you want a gold plated adapter, wouldn't hurt, but gold or not, you wont notice a difference.

Crysalis... I'm just curious, and I don't know anything about the plugs your talking about. Would using these make the sound quailty decrease a little? Or would you not be able to notice, unless your an audiophile like yourself?

The adapter, unless broken, will have NO effect on the quality. It merely changes the size of the connector. Its really just a plug and a jack with 3 wires connecting them in a plastic case.

 

[Oreo]

Thanks Crysalis. Hmm seems i was wrong, no change their .

I have a question, instea dof the ATH-M40fs, Ive been looking at the ATH-D40fs, Because they have enhanced bass i i listen to bass quite alot. The reviews for them are excellent, But do you have an opinion on them ?, or are they identical quality to the M40's, just with better bass ?

 

[Crysalis]

The loudness of the bass may be higher, but they will not handle them the same. The M40's will handle all frequencies very flat like (meaning highs will be as loud as lows which is what you would want). I haven't used/heard the d40's, but from their specs, they won't handle LOW frequencies as well, though they may be louder...

Short story:

• D40: Louder bass, but with distortion.
• M40: Less loud, but no distortion and better handling.

You can also change EQ settings to your liking. Be careful though... no matter what they are still only 40mm drivers... they can't push a 20 foot (60hz) wave like an 18" would so dont be boosting bass to the max. SUBTLE changes and SUBTRACTIVE EQ are the keys

 

[Oreo]

Ok thanks Cryalis. Id be stuck without you .

D40: Louder bass, but with distortion.

... Reminds me of my Z5500 sub, i dont like that . I dont want distortion at all. So flat means all frequencies are the same volume ??... Thats like... nothing like my Z5500's... LOL. Why is it a good thing ?, does it sound better ?

But will be bass on the M40's feel week just like a 2.0 Speakers system, wereas the D40's would sounds like a 2.1 system ?. Or will the M40's still deliver, deep, and punchy bass, Like ina 2.1speaker system ?.

Sorry for all the questions, but i want to spend my money correctley.

Crysalis, are you an Audio Engineer ?, I thought you had a job to do with audio somehow... what do you do ?, because this kind of thing interests me, alot. So im wondering what things i might like to do when im older to do with audio related stuff.

 

[Oreo]

Ive had a rethink, and ive decided that the ATH-D40fs probably are better for me, on the reviews i have read they say a few things that i require. Most people that were writing reviews on these were people in studios and doing music recording, nearly all of them said that they do NOT distort under extremely high volumes and that the Enhanced bass is definitely noticeable, and its exceptionally clear along with mid and high ranges.

They get slightly better reviews than the M40's, because people that listen to music (like me) complain that they are slightly lacking in the Midrange and Bass frequencies, which for me would be a total disaster. By know means am i a bass Junkie, but i do love Sharp,Clean,Punchy Bass. (Which i rarely get on my Z5500's it sounds muddy and just well bad in general, they only sound good when the sub is at 3/10's volume, But then it feels slightly too week).

People say that these heapdhones are still great for studio monitoring because (well a few guys said...) that they give about 99Percent flat response as the Monitor speakers do... (Although that sounds far fetched to me)

They will sound better than my Speakers and thats all i want really. and the enhanced bass will clean up my issue with the Muddy bass on the Z5500's.

Is there anyway to plug in my headphones and speakers into my SB Live card both at the same time ?


Thanks Crysalis

 

[Crysalis]

yes - I am a certified audio engineer. I dont work in a studio now, but have. I also do live sound (which i prefer), home theater setup/calibration, studio/live system calibrations...blah blah blah. Its funny you ask because I just finished some editing for some voice-over work.

I figured you would go with the D40. The m40 are FLAT, which is why people say that they aren't clear. They are the clearest things i have heard ever.

The d40 has a response of 20-28k. The m40 has a response of 5-28k.

Enhanced bass means that they d40 will boost the bass frequencies. On your 5500's, in the EQ, boost about 60 and 120 hz pretty high. This is "enhanced bass". Notice how muddy it gets?

That means the m40's will produce bass better at 20hz than the d40's will since the d40's probably start to drop off at around 30hz. The m40's start to drop off around 15hz (which we can't hear, but means that what we can hear sounds really good).

Its your choice. I gave my advice, but really the best advice is to listen to both headsets with no EQ curves or effects one after the other listening to the same professional mixed/mastered track.

 

[EricB]

P.S. It looks like my dad has his heart set on a new amplifier for his speakers. Anyone know how good this amp is... Linn Kisto

that's a preamp. it controls amps. LINN makes nice audio equipment.

 

[Oreo]

that's a preamp. it controls amps. LINN makes nice audio equipment.

I thought that aswell, god knows want amp he's really getting.


Anyway, you said the D40 will start to sound muddyat 30Hz, Is this frequency often used in music ?. I oticed my Z5500's go to about 33hz, so would start to sound rubbish at about 45hz, I have only ever heard to sub struggle with low frequncies 3 or 4 times sinse ive herd them, i could tell because it sounded muddy and distorted at a low volume, and it was very low. So i figured this was why.

So, although the D40's will sound worse when it gets to very low frequencies, is this likely to happen often ?

Im still going to read reviews on both, see what other people say.