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They do have replacement parts for the part but I do wonder if they don't send them under warranty as they had specific exclusions in their warranty terms for "headbands". It's under the "perishable goods category" that wear down with use but only getting ~3months out of the part is really short lifespan.
I expect their old designs lasted much longer.
It's specifically the glue that held the "leatherette" in place that dissolved that I can tell. Seems it's not fit for purpose. Looked rubbery and elastic.
I do wonder if they don't send them under warranty as they had specific exclusions in their warranty terms for "headbands". It's under the "perishable goods category" that wear down with use but only getting ~3months out of the part is really short lifespan.
Ya think? Yeah similar padded headbands can easily last a decade. Really seems defective to me as from the picture it didn't seem to wear down, it clearly separated where the plastic and fabric meets. Almost like it was cut, as I see no glue residue. IMHO, clearly a defect. Should be replaced/repaired under warranty!
Recently got a new pair of steelseries arctis pro wireless, they are a tiny bit smaller for my head than i'd prefer, but the sound quality/mic quality + the battery changestation etc. is honestly the best ive ever had.
I wish they just had the adjustability of like a logitech headset, and they would be perfect for my taste.
I have now owned and been listening to the OLLO S5X daily for a couple of weeks and can state that these are a pair of really good headphones. I just get more and more satisfied with them. These headphones were a real hit. No EQ is needed, but I have dampened the treble a little with the help of thin felt as suggested by @solderdude
I got these yesterday and am loving them. I don't have experience with tons of (quality) headphones. Most of my recent "critical" listening has been with the HE400se and TCZ IEMs, so the obligatory grain (chunk?) of salt applies here. The S5X sounds fantastic without EQ. It took a few hours before I put something on that triggered the "oooh, that's a bit harsh" due to the slight treble bump, but some minor EQ took care of that quite easily. I was a bit worried when I saw the cups were noticeably smaller than the HE400se (granted, those ear cups are enormous), but despite what I assume is my big head, I find these are even more comfortable.
Finally joined the Audeze club with the addition of the LCD-X 2021! Extremely happy with them and still playing with a few different eq options. Loving them so far.
Also just added the Monoprice M1570C to the collection. Was hard to pass up the $185 sale price last week and wanted to see their attempt at closed back planar. Still have more listening to do...
I have the AT-ATH50X in a bedroom system for sleepless nights and a carousel player with a Schiit DAC and hedphone amp. I have 2 pair of Beyer DT 770pro: 50 ohn and 250 ohn versions; AKG K701s, and 2 pair of the AKG K271s with one of them being mated to my new Asgard headphone amp. The Schiit Asgard is smooth and effortless and is a good math to my 75 year old ears with the slightly bright AGK K271. I have ordered the Gjallarhorn amp from Schiit and will be here Monday. My room is only 13 X13 and I sit 6 feel from the 3-way JBLs so this should work. It is replacing a sorry Denon receiver with a poor phono stage. Not tone controls and I have a passive 4 device box with a turntable, a Somy BluRay player, a Sony DVP NS755 CD/DVD player both going into the Project Audio S2 DAC. I also have my old Denon DRS 810 3 head cassette deck in spot 4. I have many music DVDs I enjoy.
@Drengur I have 361 and absolutely love the neutral sound. (Didin't like 371. Too bass heavy for my teaste. Returned). Now I am looking for another closed back for work and toying with the idea of getting Noire. Would you briefly explain the main difference between 361 and Noire? Thanks!
@Drengur I have 361 and absolutely love the neutral sound. (Didin't like 371. Too bass heavy for my teaste. Returned). Now I am looking for another closed back for work and toying with the idea of getting Noire. Would you briefly explain the main difference between 361 and Noire? Thanks!
Well. There is the obvious build quality difference. The Noires are well built and look quite luxurious. To describe the difference in sound quality... it is always hard to use words to describe. Compared to the DC the 361 sound quite lacking in what feels to be the upper midrange or the 2-5k range (I'm not a robot). You can EQ them, but what I find happens is that the problem just inverts. The DC have this balance to begin with. That is; they sound balanced out of the box, with more detail and all that. The 361 sound very, very dark when listening to music while not having any "more" bass, just more valleys in the mid-high frequencies.
I think you will find the Noire 2 are more to your liking if you are looking for neutral sound, than the 361. I bought the 361 for the exact same reason. And they are pretty good with a bit of EQ even compared to much more expensive headphones.
Well. There is the obvious build quality difference. The Noires are well built and look quite luxurious. To describe the difference in sound quality... it is always hard to use words to describe. Compared to the DC the 361 sound quite lacking in what feels to be the upper midrange or the 2-5k range (I'm not a robot). You can EQ them, but what I find happens is that the problem just inverts. The DC have this balance to begin with. That is; they sound balanced out of the box, with more detail and all that. The 361 sound very, very dark when listening to music while not having any "more" bass, just more valleys in the mid-high frequencies.
I think you will find the Noire 2 are more to your liking if you are looking for neutral sound, than the 361. I bought the 361 for the exact same reason. And they are pretty good with a bit of EQ even compared to much more expensive headphones.
Thank you so much for the detailed description @Drengur . Sounds like there is a very good chance I'll like the Noire. I found Beyer 1990 too bright and fatiguing. So I hope Noire is less piercing than 1990. As you said, describing these things is hard, so I'll try Noire since I can return it. Thanks again!
The only TWO headphones I'll ever need to satisfy me:
Drop + Dan Clark Audio Aeon X Open without any filter pads (best subjectively sounding under 500 USD wired headphone ever, the GOAT headphone for my subjective preference, made me literally cry on some occasion just because it sounds extremely lifelike and realistic, less than 0.05% THD at 90 dB SPL (10Hz-10 KHz) and as good as 95% of Susvara for 1/15th the price and 99% of Dan Clark Expanse for 1/10th the price) and Sony MDR 7506 (BT and ETA Mini closed modded, less than 1% THD 20-20 KHz at 100 dB SPL which is decent for a DD headphone (not IEM) driver, Best subjectively sounding non-ANC custom made Bluetooth headphone ever at 80 USD (Bill of Materials), IMHO as good as Focal Bathy's or sonically better, about 99% as good as Focal Clear OG for 1/10th of the price). Never needed to EQ these headphones and will never, ever part with these pairs.
I have the AT-ATH50X in a bedroom system for sleepless nights and a carousel player with a Schiit DAC and hedphone amp. I have 2 pair of Beyer DT 770pro: 50 ohn and 250 ohn versions; AKG K701s, and 2 pair of the AKG K271s with one of them being mated to my new Asgard headphone amp. The Schiit Asgard is smooth and effortless and is a good math to my 75 year old ears with the slightly bright AGK K271. I have ordered the Gjallarhorn amp from Schiit and will be here Monday. My room is only 13 X13 and I sit 6 feel from the 3-way JBLs so this should work. It is replacing a sorry Denon receiver with a poor phono stage. Not tone controls and I have a passive 4 device box with a turntable, a Somy BluRay player, a Sony DVP NS755 CD/DVD player both going into the Project Audio S2 DAC. I also have my old Denon DRS 810 3 head cassette deck in spot 4. I have many music DVDs I enjoy.
I got the RØDE NTH-100 because I wanted to see why there are glowing reviews even though the frequency response is not stellar. Also was interested in the alleged excellent build quality and comfort for the low price.
And what do you know: the build quality and comfort was indeed excellent. And the wonky frequency response created wonky listening experience. It was not completely "bad" as such big bass, warm and relaxing, but I don't know why I would listen to stuff with that kind of sound? As somebody said in ASR thread about these things: they are not made for listening to music but they are good for what they were made to do.
I returned them and from the limited supply on hand at the store I picked Austrian Audio HI-X50s which I'm listening right now. Again, without eq there is some weirdness going on with midrange. Not that bad with all recordings, but pretty horrible with others. Why they do this kind of things?
With SoundID reference EQ sound is very good, I think I'm keeping these as my travel headphones for longer trips (I still don't like to use IEMs if there is an option).
Back to the LCD-2 rosewood from the LCD-2C because I'm a sucker for wood rings, and there was a high-Q peak in the LCD-3 I could never iron out. The tricky bit is that there are no reliable measurements and EQ profiles for the latest wood LCD-2 Fazor with the pad revision, grille change and driver update. But with some educated guess and a lot of listening, I managed to get this profile.
Yeah similar padded headbands can easily last a decade. Really seems defective to me as from the picture it didn't seem to wear down, it clearly separated where the plastic and fabric meets. Almost like it was cut, as I see no glue residue. IMHO, clearly a defect. Should be replaced/repaired under warranty!
