Yup, exactly that, they get it. You really feel like ur getting a luxury product, love that!

Focal, as a company, is on another level compared to hifiman. France and elegant representation go hand in hand.

Scam audio products, I wouldn't but anything from them

Yeah, I'm getting an LCD-5 soonish most likely, but I'm mainly interested in having experience with the difference and knowing if there's anything meaningful there. I already know that it's mostly pointless to go past the well measuring $100-150 DACs up to $500, but whether TOTL could add something interests me. Like I prefer HE6se V2 over almost all headphones 4-8 times it's price, but an LCD-5 is damn nice at 10 times the price.

Differences are subtle, buying a other pair of headphones is mostly a better investment than a high end DAC. Changeing headphone can make alot of difference, a other DAC not really. A good dac with a shitty headphone will still sound shitty. A great headphone with a shitty dac will still sound kinda good in my personal experience.

I mean all bluetooth audio devices have a DAC built it already. A desktop DAC is different. Likely mixing any external dacs or amps with BT devices will only make them worse since they usually have internal DSP without which they'd lose all purposeful tuning.

I have 40+ headphones, dozen dacs and amps etc, but the high end dac side of things I have little experience with.

Hate that so much! The focal unboxing experience is so nice imo, nice box + nice case just helps me mentally justify buying expensive stuff 😅

> uses proprietary cable for power.

the may is sold with a power supply unit, that takes a normal IEC cable

​

>uses the same 1 cent part from china

then you haven't seen the May's BOM (not that i agree with the price, but its definitely not from china); Rubycon ZLH caps, Panasonic FC, Vishay Caps

Different animals.

Big difference physically. The Etys have that deep insertion that bothers some folks. The result is excellent isolation, and very little sticking out from your ear. The B2D, on the other hand, is a chonker of an IEM. I messed with multiple sets of tips until I found the right fit. YMMV but with the right tips the isolation is also solid. I could wear the Etys longer, ie a long plane ride. I've fallen asleep with both (though not recommended).

ER2XR cable isn't detachable/ replaceable, and it's very thin. No complaints about it though. Overall, it is a much smaller, lighter package. B2D stock cable is kinda meh, but there are multiple options to swap it out (including ones with microphones, or balanced 2.5mm connectors if that's your thing).

Not sure I'm qualified to accurately describe or offer much opinion about their sound comparison. Both resolve well, especially at their respective price tags. Bass is more present on the B2D, generally a fuller sound overall.

I reach for the B2D (or my Arias) more often than the Etys, but they were 3x-4x the price...

I had the PX5/7 from reviews the headphones were supposed to be very good with huge soundstage.

I never felt that, had to remove earpads to enjoy them better but went momentum 3, for me these are very good and enjoy them more.

I will try getting a dac and re use my PX5 maybe I might recoup the 350usd lost, but then I might be wasting more money rather than just enjoy my momentum 3.

Audio quality really depends on

1 headphones 2 Source quality 3 subjective preference and also music type 4 EQ 5 Transmission type

I have played around with the above and still enjoy my headphones but will consider a dac only for serious listening, to me it's like getting a VR device,some get immersed by VR, for some it's still not good enough but just a gimmick

Keyword, slow you can do a lot of iterations by prototyping. When you offer a product for sale you assume you got it right. Any rush to iterate usually comes from 2 things. 1. It's a disappointment and doesn't perform like you expect. 2. The product has been out long enough that sales have leveled or dropped off and you think a new iteration will boost sales again.

Think Blessing vs Blessing 2 vs Blessing 3. The B2 came out within a year of the B1 because it was a disappointment. Whereas the B3 is coming out almost 3 years after the B2.

The Zero hasn't been out for very long. It's hardware has already been tuned by Crin. It's sold reasonably well. While it is entirely possible that it is either a new release or SE with a different tune based on the zero hardware. The typical reasons for something like this don't really apply.

If I look down and see the Y connector is twisted, I'm taking my headphones off and twisting them around to get it straight lol

That's my biggest pet peeve because it gets out of control too fast and then becomes annoying.

Ahh yes you are new here, welcome 😂 it only gets worse lol

We've got graphs of Project Red and when comparing the most recent revision to the Zero it seems to have slightly less upper mids. It very closely follows the IEF Neutral target curve

that's the worst thing about living in a big city. i can be the asshole neighbor with a 300 watt subwoofer or i can be the neighbor that uses headphones and has dusty speakers lmao

I think that you will always have this. That is why it is good to ask for help here, all these good folks are always ready to help you to make the right choice. So thanks for sharing this for others to benefit from.

Moon Audio is a joke, these are not very unimportant parts but definitely not worth that much. Ripoff/scam idk what it's called but basically, don't buy Moon Audio.

Oh god no I don't tell them that lol

If someone comes over and sees the headphones and goes "those look fancy" I'll tell them yeah they are but tbh I have no interest in going down the rabbit hole with them.

What usually happens is that I mention that I like headphones and say what I have and they pretend to be interested and then the conversation moves on. The person might have the opportunity to try something out for one reason or another and I end up with a DM asking what they can get for cheap to get a taste of what they heard.

One story I have: A friend of mine needed a pair of headphones for a Teams call and she didn't have any so I just let her borrow the Audio Technica ATH-M50X I had since I wasn't using them and they weren't too expensive. She said they sounded amazing and asked how much they cost. I said they were actually quite cheap (£120) but apparently my version of cheap and her's were very different. Either way, she ended up buying some Sony WH1000 XM4 a few weeks later after she had saved up. Not exactly audiophile quality but way better than what she was using before.

Looks, features, and the same sound you can get for a fraction of the price.

Untangle and straighten it out long, use something to hold it tight on either end. Add heat, start with a hair dryer and if that doesn't do the trick try a heat gun, but be careful not to melt the cable.

Zach's 6xx suede pads are also supremely comfortable while having nearly identical measurements to stock.

Got ZMF 8xx lambskin pads + pilot pad in the mail! Can't wait

I have HD 6XX from the first drop in 2016, it says MADE IN IRELAND on both sides of the headband.

i have both, but almost never use the speakers to not bother anyone.

Why not have both ? XD