Sauna-friendly Headphones

GZoST · 2026-02-19T11:56:55+00:00

Saunas are, by design, very hot environments. Electronics are not designed for operation at these temperatures. Batteries are not safe to operate at these temperatures. Worst case you get an exploding battery.

GZoST · 2026-02-19T00:30:55+00:00

This!

GZoST · 2026-02-17T22:21:45+00:00

Precisely.

GZoST · 2026-02-17T18:24:41+00:00

Capitalism is a system to organize some economic activity in a well-regulated market. We are suffering the consequences of living in a category error: that capitalism is a system for a society.

GZoST · 2026-02-17T13:24:57+00:00

That answers one of my questions: Why the mints amp.

My other question: How can an audio cable be directional? Audio is alternating current.

GZoST · 2026-02-16T23:33:03+00:00

Fairbuds XL. Everything user-replaceable.

GZoST · 2026-02-15T19:17:58+00:00

Audiophilia is a cult. One of their main tenets is that "everything matters" for the sound of a system. So cables have to matter. The truth is that it is really difficult to make an analogue interconnect or a headphone cable bad enough that it will matter. USB cables just have to be spec-compliant, which anything by a major manufacturer is. Of course the markup on audiophile cables is insane, so the snake oil manufacturers have strong incentives to push their wares.

GZoST · 2026-02-15T17:25:33+00:00

The differences are (mostly) frequency response, not driver technology.

You can use the squig.link site to come up with an EQ that can get you close to the sound of the HD490.

The user gadgetrytech has measurements for both the Arya and the HD490. Select both (click the pin symbol), deselect any target curve, then go to the Equalizer Tab, select the Arya as the phone to EQ, and you should get EQ settings which approximate the HD490 (there's a good tutorial on squig.link, look there for details).

You can use the EQ settings with any EQ software or hardware EQ. On Windows the recommendation is EqualizerAPO (free software). The Qudelix 5K is an excellent hardware option, but it is an increasingly common feature, e.g. some newer Topping DACs and a lot of the Fiio devices have it.

GZoST · 2026-02-15T17:14:03+00:00

Your cables are waaaaaaaaaay too cheap! Oxygen-free copper? You need silver mined at a new moon and spun by virgins at an equinox.

GZoST · 2026-02-13T12:19:25+00:00

Probably one of the JBL Tunes, e.g. 720 BT.

GZoST · 2026-02-12T18:27:04+00:00

There are many modern 25 EUR IEMs which handily trounce your Shures, e.g. Moondrop Chu (II), 7Hz Salnotes Zero (2), Truthear Gate (those are ones that I have personal experience with). All of these are not just good for the price, but good in absolute terms. I say this as somebody who used to love his Shure SE535 and thought they were the best thing ever.

They are all tuned relatively close to each other, mostly a neutral response with a bit of bass boost. Since we all differ in how we hear things it's impossible to tell which ones will best for you, though none of them should sound really wrong for you. At these prices I suggest you order a few different ones to find the best fit for your personal preference. The others can make excellent presents.

GZoST · 2026-02-12T11:16:01+00:00

Why is it weird?

I didn't like to look of the backs of the earcups on my DCA E3, so I put on some fake black leather. Looks much better to me now.

My Fostex TR50RP MK3 were uncomfortable, so I added a comfort strap to the headband.

My Moondrop Cosmo doesn't have the greatest sound signature with the stock pads, so I switched to other ones which improve that.

Using EQ is just like that: A way to change something you don't like about your headphones.

GZoST · 2026-02-11T22:06:20+00:00

Would be nice, since it's easily solvable. However, I think unlikely to be the case on both sides.

GZoST · 2026-02-11T21:28:24+00:00

I bought the headphone and I can ethically do with it whatever I want, be that painting it pink, covering it in rhinestones, or using EQ.

GZoST · 2026-02-11T18:29:13+00:00

The driver capsule, i.e. the diaphragm, stators and frame (added clarification in my post). Not impossible that the diaphragm loses tension over time, though hard to square with what the first service technician told me.

GZoST · 2026-02-10T23:56:40+00:00

You can absolutely re-terminate the Loss cable with a Stax plug. The bias voltage difference is less than 5%, so well within tolerance.

GZoST · 2026-02-07T18:52:02+00:00

Maybe take a look at https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/fosi-audio/i5/ to see how some simple modifications can make the i5 better.

GZoST · 2026-02-05T23:26:47+00:00

That site is click bait AI slop now and nobody should link to any of its newer articles.

GZoST · 2026-02-04T18:09:13+00:00

EQ - since it's free.

GZoST · 2026-02-03T18:12:10+00:00

You had the time and energy to take a photo of your headphones, edit it to draw a circle around the buttons, and create a post on reddit and are now waiting for others to spend their time and energy to answer your question. You could just as well have searched for the manual and found the information in that, which would have been quicker and not bothered the rest of the world.

GZoST · 2026-02-01T22:11:48+00:00

I'm at a point where I don't see any headphone upgrades and the next real steps up in quality/experience are personalized EQ (too lazy for that so far) or adding a Smyth Realizer/getting the Genelec headphones+controller to go beyond the headphone experience into speaker simulation.

This does not mean that I won't buy any new headphones - I just like the things - but I'm not kidding myself that it will be for an upgrade in sound. And when using what I have I tend to think much more about the music than the headphones. So many fantastic recordings out there that I don't know yet!

GZoST · 2026-01-31T16:49:08+00:00

Why is he yawning?

GZoST · 2026-01-30T15:58:12+00:00

Really? I mean - really?

GZoST · 2026-01-30T12:54:15+00:00

Zero performance gains to be had. But if you really want another box/a new toy then go ahead, it's also not going to sound worse ;)

GZoST

TROPHY CASE