I said hard, not impossible.

But the fit and durability of the Chifiman's aint for everyone.

I won't buy them, simply because they feel like toys with their rattly assembly, the cups don't swivel enough, unless you pay 1500€ fir tha arya and their lack of QC on models like the XS and even Susvara makes me not wanna give them my money.

A 600 series with Oratory EQ does the job just as well, whilst being of higher quality and from a more reputable brand.

You're probably right, though I've had a couple of friends smirk at my tale, and explain the insulting onslaught as "typical hi-fi nerd behaviour". I mean, I aspire to hi-fi nerdism myself, even if I don't yet have the purchasing history to prove it...

Maybe I should just find a third shop!

any ideas on how to do that other way?

I avoid those places to the extent that I'm able. While I don't want to paint with too broad a brush, the majority of my experiences with AV/hifi stores have been unpleasant. back when I was in my early 20s it seemed like I invariably got pegged as a poor and treated basically like a nuisance or an idiot who's just going to waste their time, now that I look like maybe I've got some midlife crisis money to spend I usually have to deal with pushy condescending sales people trying to upsell me. unpleasant vibes all around. All those places have been closing left and right over the past couple decades and I can't say I miss em. If you're in a large city there may be some existing local community of audiophiles who are happy to demo their gear and are usually much less insufferable.

Ok im having issue with my sml c200. First its randomly switches off, like loses signal through usb for no reason, and only random buttom presses might get back to where it suppose to be.

Second its having weird popping sound before playing audio, whenver i open new tab or play new video or anyhting there be initall small pop before playing audio properly.

I never had switching problem or any audio pop on o2 mayflower dac/amp. Sound quality wise there is no issue with c200.

I have speakers krk r7 connected to sml c200 taht are active, not passive so I doubt its power issue.

Any ideas? Or should I just return the unit.

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>No interest in the blind AB testing. That’s not how we listen to music.

That's not really relevant if the goal is to confirm whether or not we can spot a difference between two sources, though.

>And I’m gonna be honest, it’s blatantly obvious on some tracks.

If that's the case, blind testing it would be a breeze, no?

>There’s no myth to what I and many other people hear just because the science hasn’t been able to pinpoint what’s going on.

The science is actually pretty clear - if you think the difference is "blatantly obvious" but you still can't pass a simple listening test, then it's the placebo effect.

>What I do know is that one sounds much fuller and less compressed than the other.

That's the placebo effect.

>Also, as a matter of principle, I think when you have high performance gear it’s worth having the best quality source.

That's perfectly reasonable. You don't have to invent all the other stuff just to rationalize this, though.

You can find shitty salespeople everywhere.

When I was 22 my mate and I went into a Benz dealership and started looking at the E class in the showroom. The salesperson redirected us towards the used cars in the backlot, as "[...] an A class makes for a better 'starter car'".

In one Hi-Fi store they mockingly asked me whether I was at the right place, when I took out my phone and an aux cord to use as a source for the provided amplifier. I just did a 180 and left.

Heck, when I wanted to eat at a fancy restaurant once, they didn't believe me that I made the reservation. Ok, sure, neither me nor my mates wore a suit and tie, but still that ain't how you treat a customer. Suffice it to say, we took our business elsewhere.

Sometimes you just get unlucky.

That "S"ennheiser logo can affect sound by atleast 0.1%, no?

Is there any way to repair an iem driver? I have an aurisonics asg-1 plus and the left bud plays at a way lower volume than the right one. Is there anything I can do to salvage it? I've tried everything, from sucking on it, cleaning it with isopropyl alcohol, to open it, switching one for the other etc. I can't really describe it with audiophile terms, so the only thing I can say it is that one is at a lower volume than the other.

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I enjoy your reviews, too. I was interested in the Moondrop Venus because i like their IEMs and even bought a Moondrop Keyboard with integrated DAC (how cool is that?) for my office but after reading your Venus review I'm looking to Focal Elear now.

Did you had a chance to try a Focal Elear?

One thing I found through my previous job in audio sales.... I still prefer my ADH-700 and 700X over about anything 500 USD+ I've listened to. Pair that with my Fiio K5 Pro I have running it and I've always been a happy camper.

That said, some amazing headphones exist out there, I just can't justify the cost for myself.

definitely using the a pads then, the more you know!

I don’t doubt that, but the XS and those planars are at completely different price points.

The Magni 3+ seems like a good choice as long as the warranty isn't any worse.

Take a look at the Final Audio E-series.

I'm not sure if I would buy a used earphone from a stranger. Ear gunk and stuff... If you're after wow-factor, then the 7Hz Timeless might be just as good.

After a bit of Googling, I'm pretty sure they are practically identical.

I find XS to be great with stuff like rap/lofi or other types of music with bass focus, but without eq it's horrible for electric guitars in my opinion.

I assumed that wasn't a concern since you didn't specify a budget. In fact, you didn't specify a lot of things that could help me give you a better recommendation. There's a template linked in the OP.

Its very easy to beat hd600 series sound. Going from editon xs to hd600, the hd600 is a muddled mess, no bass extension and rolled off treble. The sundara easily beats hd600 series headphones as well.

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I cannot comment on S2, since I haven't heard it.

However, Beats and Sony (consumer grade) headphones do not have good reputation and are not known as good match for audiophile sound. So associating S2 with Beats and Sony is not a compliment.