It's actually a full-on DAC/amp in an itty-bitty dongle package. It almost certainly will send a cleaner signal, which you'll hear as a lower noise floor.

Just getting into the hobby, though? It's not a place I'd put money. I think if you had a $100 budget, you'd be better off with a set of $80 Arias plugged straight into your phone's headphone jack than a set of $20 Holas plugged into a $80 portable dac/amp. Where hardware is concerned, the closer to your ears the more important it is.

You probably could, but if you've got micro-usb, then the apple dongle probably isn't your huckleberry. If you have a headphone jack, I'd just rock that for now, and if you don't, I'd see what the Android folk suggest.

So, much like mech keyboards, the joy of headphones is in finding what hits your subjectives. Are you a basshead? Treble junkie? Audiophile flat neutral killjoy? Do you prefer intimate sound or the widest soundscape you can find? Something that you can wear about town or only when you're sitting at your climate-controlled listening station?

Koss Portapros are an easy recommendation, provided you find them on sale. For $30 they're amazing. For $50, I'd pass. They get even better with some aftermarket pads on them (Yaxi pads are like $12).

If you're more into IEMs, you're flat spoiled by choice, and there's a new hotness cheap IEM about every four months. Most recently that's the Salnotes Zero and Truthear Hola, previously it was the Moondrop Chu. The BLON BL-03 used to be a big rec, and they're great provided you can get the bastards to seal (you pretty much need aftermarket tips). I've been eyeballing the Truthear Zero, though the last thing I need is yet another pair of cheap IEMs. The Moondrop Aria are a solid recommendation that stays under $100.

The great thing about IEMs is you don't have to think about amplification. Just get an apple dongle (or equivalent) and go.

And fountain pens... hence r/mechanicalheadpens

> really HARD to beat the HD 600/650. I'd even go a step further and say it is really hard NO MATTER how much you spend

I feel pretty complete in my headphone journey, but the frequency in which I see comments like this makes me really want to pick up a 6XX.

I'm not sure that I'd like it, though. I have a set of HD555s with a foam-delete mod, and they're probably my least favorite in my collection for sound signature. I don't know how reflective the 555 would be of the 6XX's sound, but if it's more similar than different, then the 6XX wouldn't be for me. As it is, I EQ a bit more bass into my Sundaras to get them where I like them.

You're probably bass sensitive. You can EQ down the bass or get a different set of headphones that are less bass focused.

I did a quick googling and couldn't find a FRS for those, but being closed back and a consumer product, I'd assume they're at least a bit V-shaped.

It's supposed to be neutral, so I can see it being described as not having oomph. I know I certainly prefer more bass than a "true neutral" curve.

I use profiles from the AutoEq project. It's a big improvement on my Chus, barely perceptible on my Sundaras, and makes things atrociously bad with my Blues.

One thing I'd double check since you said it's actively bad across four different headphones is make sure that you're either preamping down or taking the curve and only reducing frequencies (i.e. peaks at 0).

Could also be that you don't like Harman.

One thing I would recommend is price out all these mods, and then look at what that money could get you in a set of IEMs or TWS. While you may not go down that route, I think it's good to know what the opportunity cost is and make sure that the end result is the best use of your money for your wants/needs.

> New to all this so may be missing something

If you are, it's just finding the right music. At the end of the day all of this is just about enjoying what you listen to; as much as we like to focus on the gear, the gear is meaningless without the jams.

Seems to be akin to having the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap. There's just a subset of people for whom ANC creates a uncomfortable sensation of pressure in their ears.

What I'm curious about, and haven't read anything either way, is if those who experience it do so with all ANC or just specific versions of ANC. Can you use Sony 1000XMx series without this sensation? What about Airpod Pros/Maxes? Sennheiser Momentums?

That's where you sit down in a quiet room with a glass or three of Scotch* while you listen to your music.

* - replace with your preferred intoxicant and quantity thereoft

I think we all did, or still do. For me it took having 10-12 different pairs and realizing that while they're are differences, the differences start getting smaller and smaller to the point where I really only notice them doing back-to-back testing. Sure, that new IEM might be better, but is the experience better enough to warrant the time and money? At a certain point, I just have other things I want to devote my finances towards and if I really want the music to sound magical, the Scotch mod works better than dropping a grand on new hardware.

That extra bit of resolution can be a double-edged sword, but it's mostly good. Depending on what you listen to, it might make you aware of how poorly produced/recorded some of your music is, but it will also let you experience how wonderfully a lot of other music is produced/recorded.

FWIW, I primarily listen to Spotify. I can hear the difference doing A-B comparisons to something like Apple Lossless, but I pretty much have to be doing back-to-back listens. You'll hear more difference between a well versus poorly produced track than you will Spotify versus something else.