GeekNights Monday - Headphones

ALL the way up? WTF. A small amount of bass boost can add some nice oomph if listening to some powerful energetic music, but in what case is it ever a good idea to turn it to the literal MAX? What is the point of having the setting even go that high? The max you can set it should be the max that would ever make sense.

Exactly! Iā€™m not against bass, just against too much bass especially with my minor hearing loss. I like to have bass be at a moderate level and midrange and treble turned up a bit so I can hear it well. Depending on the music I might turn the lowest bass level down a little. But the way I see a lot of folks turning bass all the way up it becomes just noise to me.

I think every car Iā€™ve ever rented had the equalizer set to boost the bass to the maximum.

People who do this are contemptible.

So I basically have three pairs of headphones I use on a regular basis. I have some Monoprice wired ones that I picked up for $15 and that sound good enough for my purposes. I keep them at work now.

The second pair is a set of Bose QuietComfort wired headphones which I got mostly for travel, but I use them at home as well. I did some research and yes, while Bose has been known for futzing around with the sound, it also has the best noise cancellation tech, which is the reason why I went with these instead of others. I also got a good deal on a refurbished set, which helped.

The third pair is a set of el-cheapo Bluetooth earbuds I got from Amazon that I just use while doing chores, exercising, etc., where I want hands-free usage and donā€™t want to get tangled up with wires. They also work decently as a Bluetooth earpiece for the same hands-free usage.

Finally, I remember Time Cube quite well. Back in college, some buddies and I posted signs and table slips all over campus pointing to Time Cube and containing some choice quotes from the site at the time (the ā€œUntil Word is Cornered, All Math is fictionā€ bit went over well in the math department HQ). We were quite amused at the unusual looks people gave them.

Oh, and Gene Ray actually gave a lecture at MIT one year. I happened to be in attendance and got video of said lecture (as best I could with a hand-held DV camcorder from the back row). Maybe I should try to dig it up and post it to youtubeā€¦

Video of the lecture is in the documentary I posted.

On the go phones should be wireless today. The tech delivers great performance, even Bluetooth really. Very few reasons to use a wire except dead batteries. Then maybe have elcheapo wired earbuds as backup.

Of course I prefer my Monoprice and Beyerdynamics wired cans, plugged into an amp, being fed lossless flac or whatnot. As said thatā€™s when at home, in the office. But on the go (or hell just around the house doing chores) those little benefits all get mostly washed away and a decent set of BT cans will deliver sound you canā€™t complain about.

Speaking of, right now on AMAZONIA a set of Sennheiser 4.40 Bluetooth cans is $99 which is a pretty good deal. The 4.50 adds noise cancelling for a little extra, if thatā€™s needed. Iā€™m giving the 4.40 to my Mom for the Chrimmus.

This is timely; Iā€™m looking for a new pair of work headphones.

I have a sensory disorder, and part of that means my ears are sensitive, and part of it means that not having control over the sounds in my environment can lead to panic attacks. Iā€™m not quite at that point this exact second, but I have xanax standing by. Iā€™m at work, see, and my coworkers are talking. I can hear them when I have music on, even if I turn the volume up too loud. I was thinking of getting noise canceling headphones, but if those arenā€™t good for blocking people talking, they wonā€™t help. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Re: the bass discussion, I only like strong bass if itā€™s live. I love it when you can feel the bass deep in your chest. I want it cranked down if itā€™s not a concert, though.

You want the isolating earbuds instead of active noise cancelling.

Oh cool. I havenā€™t had a chance to check out that video yet.

Those are like earplugs but with headphones, yeah?
How much do you notice them in your ears? I guess it would depend on the brand, probably. Earplugs hurt if I leave them in too long, but I can wear some of them for much longer than others.

There are multiple tips to choose from, so you can pick whatever is the most comfortable.

https://www.etymotic.com/consumer/earphones.html

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Thanks, Iā€™ll take a look!

Iā€™m terrible at recognizing audio quality so I often go with whateverā€™s cheap or a Wirecutter recommendation.

My desktop headset is one of the ones with a USB soundcard and faux-surround: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SAYCVTQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I use the surround setting on-and-off; Iā€™m not always sure which things are mixed for surround (and Overwatchā€™s positional audio is actually worse with it on).

I also have a bluetooth headset because I got a Pixel 2 and needed to not deal with a dongle:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06ZZSQQTD/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Theyā€™re decent and donā€™t fall out; not having a wire going into your pocket actually makes a huge difference when youā€™re doing things. The biggest shortfall Iā€™m finding with Bluetooth headsets is that I canā€™t play rhythm games using them because theyā€™ve got an audio delay of something like 30-50ms.

@Apreche Thanks so much for that link! I canā€™t hear the chatterbox in the next cubicle at all, and these seem comfortable. My mental health thanks you.

@Apreche any opinions on those BeatsX? Iā€™m looking for hassle-free bluetooth isolating headphones - if they do work well with iOS and theyā€™re decent, Iā€™ll probably spring for 'em.

I have some older studio Beats I got on clearance for like $60 last year. They sound great I just wish you could turn off the active noise cancelling because that kills the battery if you donā€™t turn them off or unplug the cable from the headphones when you arenā€™t using them.

I just discovered this book is included in Amazonā€™s deal of the dayā€”the Kindle edition is $4 if you act quickly.

I try to avoid DRMed media, but $4! This is my first Kindle book.

I have the Sony MDR-7506ā€™s and love themā€¦and loved them even more after I modded them to accept a standard 3.5mm aux cable. This lets me use a long cable while cleaning, and a shorter cable with my phone or laptop. My short cable even has a mic and control buttons on it, so I can use it in phone calls and whatnot.

Here is the guide I used for the mod: DIY replaceable headphone cord mod to use Sony MDR-7506 with a straight coord (yesā€¦ ā€œlike beatsā€ but still better)

Update: Fuck the BeatsX. Right ear stopped working. Basically the same problem that happens with etymotic, only they lasted way less time. Etymotics usually last a year+. I bought these in December. Dead in under 5 months.

At least Apple provides some free warranty service.

In the world there are ten zillion different brands and models of earbuds, is there not even one that doesnā€™t suck? All I want is comfort, isolation, and durability. Replaceable cable please!

Shure has replaceable cables, excellent quality, multiple tip options.