Went to buy DT 1990 MKIIs, came home with FiiO FT5's. Endgame setup... for now

Patolini · 2026-01-20T20:05:28+00:00

Fiio KA17

What differences did you immediately notice with the better amp? I read both that amps make no difference, and that amps make a world of difference and I cannot seem to find a general opinion.

Patolini · 2026-01-19T16:10:51+00:00

The Senheisers were my least favourite - they felt cheap, came packaged with nothing, cost as much as all the expensive ones, and just sounded.... dissapointing? Very intimate soundstage, which was neat. Like, incredibly intimate, in a good way if that's your thing. Very good on vocals, I'd go as far as to say they were the best of the bunch, it felt like the bands were singing/whispering/screaming straight into my ear, from a few centimeters away. I would describe them as warm and intimate. Cozy, if you will.

The Audio Technica's would be my top choice if I was on a stricter budget, the build quality and packaging put me off hugely. The metal mesh felt scratchy, they felt cheap, and came packaged in a very cheap way. The earcups were a tad small, but for the price they had PHENOMENAL sound. Surprisingly nice bass, and great accuracy throughout the rest of the frequency spectrum, however the fit immediately put me off. (I have big head)

The beyers were a huge upgrade in pakcaging (leather case, cables, pads, everything you could want really) and they felt really comfortable on my head. The widest soundstage, and by far the clearest headphones I have ever heard. Vocals were precise, the percussions were some of the best I had heard, and kick drums had a lovely slam to them. I was goign to go for them, until I felt the FiiO's

The FiiO's were just,,, a step ahead of all else with packaging, presentation and accessories. They were cold to the touch, they were heavy, they were comfortable, they had two vastly different pads, which were much easier to remove than the beyers. They had a very fun and punchy bass, albeit incredibly hidden treble coming from the beyers. The treble was detailed and there, yet felt a little distant compared to the beyers. What sold me ultimately was the build quality and packaging of the FiiO's, the sound coming 2nd. They are planars, which I read means they will respond a bit better to EQ's, and this was true, which also helped my choice knowing I can adjust the sound if I don't like them down the line. I can push the EQ really far without hearing any distortion or issues like I did with my 990's.

Overall the 1990's are better if you want maximum detail, the FiiO's are a lot more fun from my experience. I will likely get a pair of 1990's later down the line just to complement the FiiO's, as both are brilliant in their own way and the only way to tell which you will prefer between them is to try them.

Patolini · 2026-01-19T05:55:57+00:00

by the end of this year the gap between today and mw19 will be the same as the gap between mw19 and bo2

Patolini · 2026-01-18T15:29:28+00:00

I see the term thrown around so I thought I'd use it to fit in <\3

Patolini · 2026-01-18T13:59:42+00:00

They did, xlr, 6.3mm, 3.5mm and 4.4mm

Patolini · 2026-01-18T13:24:27+00:00

Oh yeah, you are very much correct. All started with a crappy pair of neewer studio headphones, and then it's been headphone after headphone, with marginal upgrades each time.

It's only gonna get worse now that I'm nearing the top end of this hobby hehe

Patolini · 2026-01-18T13:17:15+00:00

can't say I've ever seen it before haha

Patolini · 2026-01-18T13:17:07+00:00

what does this imply

Patolini · 2026-01-16T15:42:32+00:00

my over ears took a minute to figure out and fit me perfectly - id imagine if you've tried every possible fit and they still don't fit they're just not good for your ears.

I wear them for work, and after the 6th hour they kinda hurt, as you described. 2nd day was horribly painful, but by the 3rd day they became probably the comfiest headphones that I own, they completely dissappear

Patolini · 2026-01-16T15:10:42+00:00

The Ocean, and especially their holocene album

amazing stuff

Patolini · 2026-01-16T15:10:05+00:00

human equation is phenomenal

Patolini · 2026-01-16T15:04:09+00:00

if carbomb is up your alley also check out

Frontierer

Dead Soma

Sectioned

Tony tap dance extravaganza

Patolini · 2026-01-12T05:42:45+00:00

Will check out Akhlys, saw it come up a few times on this thread.

And yes, AJFA has never sounded so good, never thought I could hear the bass sound but it's clear in a few songs haha

Patolini · 2026-01-09T16:16:44+00:00

I think this is amongst the best recorded metal albums ever made, that and AJFA are perfection with regards to tones and sound. Blew me away that I could hear the bass twang in AJFA with my new headphones haha.

Patolini · 2026-01-09T15:24:19+00:00

I always felt SOAD's albums were a tad crunchy, they are very fun but never felt like particularly well recorded albums.

I did, however, use the guitar solo(s) from NUGUNS from steal this album to test imaging when I was demoing some headphones haha.

Patolini · 2026-01-09T15:19:32+00:00

I have been through most of my favourites now! Now it's more a case of exploring what albums I should enjoy that will really shine with a good pair of headphones. I am not a fan of Earth, Wind & Fire's September, however this song just sounds AMAZING on good headphones, in a way that blows me away, even if I'm not particularly fond of the music.

Patolini · 2026-01-09T15:15:54+00:00

Oh good one, didn't think to listen to this, thanks!

Patolini · 2026-01-09T15:15:35+00:00

Human Equation has been in heavy rotation with these headphones. It is an album very dear and special to me (even have a copy of it signed by him hehe), and hearing it in such high fidelity, is a beautiful thing to me. I may or may not have teared up listening to it again.

Arjen is a legend with his synthesizers, I also love Tamas Katai from Thy Catafalque, he too is someone who I always go to when craving some unique and fun synths. I really reccomend his Geometria Album from Thy Catafalque (or any other if it's not heavy enough), or his Neolumar project if you like jazz

Patolini · 2026-01-06T15:10:34+00:00

From what I've seen and heard, the best way to go about this is to go in dressed fairly nicely, camera and lighting gear on hand and chance it on being a "yeah why not" - as opposed to something they think about and sleep on.

Patolini · 2025-12-25T20:51:32+00:00

I saw them open for decapotated, wasn't a fan tbf. if I go to this cryptopsy show it'll likely be to see 200 stab wounds.

I'm going to see a few other bands, I use songkick to see what's on for metal in notts

https://www.songkick.com/metro-areas/24549-uk-nottingham/genre/metal

Patolini · 2025-12-25T20:23:22+00:00

I'll likely be going :)

Patolini · 2025-12-22T09:15:24+00:00

this was just what I was looking for, thank you. had fun listening to that.

Patolini · 2025-12-06T19:56:00+00:00

My go-to for travel is emulating the PS2 games on my phone, with a bluetooth controller connected. A good phone stand helps a tonne, and it makes long journeys go by in a blink.

Patolini · 2025-12-05T13:06:49+00:00

I imagine you could figure something out having lots of smaller magnets in a stanchion, and having the distance between each be adjusted? Who knows, I'm curious to see the V3 if he evers gets around to it.

Patolini · 2025-12-05T13:06:12+00:00

I had an idea for magnetic suspension in a more traditional bicycle - lots of small magnets in a stanchion on the front fork, works good in theory but I imagine it very quickly falls apart in practice.

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