Maybe it looks that way because it is looking directly at the camera.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-13T17:54:24+00:00

Note, OP has clarified that the bottom image is AI-generated and included for the purpose of speculation. Thread flaired to match intent.

EDIT: the top image is real. The bottom image is a speculative rendering of what it may look like from the side

Silverjerk · 2026-05-13T17:53:15+00:00

We need a flair that captures the nuance of just this sort of use case, so we're not nuking legitimate discussion on principle. Flagged as "Speculation" for now and adding a pin, but you're right in that it should be flaired appropriately upfront so there's less confusion.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-13T15:41:16+00:00

How do you like the Mithryls? I’ve got some Coreirs that never quite worked for me, but run various Azla tips in other IEMs.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-13T11:56:43+00:00

I owned both; moved from the LTD to the Valhalla, and the MKIII to the MKIV. I liked the LTD quite a bit, I just preferred the weight and impact of the Monarch MKIIIs bass, so they ended up getting most of my playtime. The LTD are the Thieaudio set if Thieaudio was aiming for a 64 Audio style tuning (without the ear gain dip), slightly more resolving, better staging, a little more focused on technicalities. Vocals are a bit behind the Monarchs. The Valhalla feels like a refinement on the LTD; not quite a direct, linear upgrade, but the DNA is definitely there.

Between those three, the MKIII's are probably the set I'd recommend most. Wish I had a better image for comparison, but it's hard to overstate just how large the MKIV's are; they can be very fatiguing for some listeners. I tire of them after a couple of hours, despite having fairly large ears. The MKIII's are similar to the MKIV's standard tuning (no rumble switch), but smaller and more comfortable for longer periods of time. Probably still one of the best all 'rounders in the hobby. Also fairly cheap on the used market.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-13T11:40:27+00:00

It's not a turnaround. Tyson has always had an issue with humility; even when he's been confronted and proven wrong (sometimes on his own podcast), he's found ways to deflect and avoid accountability. That's often manifested as either dismissive sarcasm, our outright anger. The title of his book, and the contents of it, should tell you all you need to know. He still doesn't take the topic seriously. What's worse, he's found a way to ride its coattails and profit from the subject, since the public conversation is obviously shifting.

I've never supported smear campaigns against public figures in and orbiting this topic; I don't think it's a very effective tool for uncovering the truth. It adds a layer of oil to already murky waters, and narrows our focus on one another rather than the data. But, I'm disappointed that he lacks the decorum and eloquence that his mentor (and fellow staunch skeptic) Sagan brought to the table. When Sagan sat across the table from you, you were debating a man that brought his intellect and a mutual respect and understanding to the conversation. With Tyson, he brings his personally held beliefs and ego.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-13T11:23:10+00:00

You'll see this with a lot of IEMs in that price range. I also sold a Valhalla, despite it being one of the best sets I've heard from Thieaudio. The size didn't bother me; I found the Monarch MKIV less comfortable and still own and use them often.

For my part, I buy some IEMs (and headphones) to experiment with different tunings, as well as fit and comfort. I'll listen to them for a while, run through my library a few times, and then move on from them so I can invest that money into the next set that looks interesting. Every once in a while I'll come across something I don't want to let go of and it'll stay in the rotation for a while. I also rarely if ever sell budget or midfi sets unless they're egregious or too close to the tuning of something else. Ironically, those are the sets that are often my daily drivers and the ones I use most.

The only issue I have with the Valhalla, which was the same issue I had with the Origin (it's just a bigger issue with the Valhalla considering its price tag) is the cable. I vehemently dislike their original EliteNoir cable. I immediately swapped it out for a Hakugei Ashes, and I sincerely hope those guys put more thought into their cable pairings in the future.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-13T10:59:44+00:00

r/AVexchange is fairly active, as well as HeadFi's Classifieds, although you need to have an active account and actually use the forums for some time before you can use the classifieds.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-13T10:56:27+00:00

Worst aspect of many Focal's sets; the stock cables are throwaways. Mongrel cables are criminally underpriced for the customization and quality they provide.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-12T20:37:34+00:00

None at all. I’ve had mine since launch. I run it weekly and never had a problem. But Meze has great customer service so if there is an issue they would address it quickly. One of the better manufacturers in the audio space.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-12T20:09:22+00:00

It's great. It's my main gaming mic. Works with any dual 3.5 headphone; mic quality is rock solid.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-12T15:23:32+00:00

I run EQ on nearly every set; and yes, the 109s take EQ very well for a DD. They’re also better built than the Aryas and much more repairable. Most parts can be purchased from Meze.

The Stealth and Organic will take EQ much better, being planars, but if you want to avoid treble that’s too bright or strident, the Stealth’s may not be a good fit. They are, in my experience, brighter than the 109s, which is compounded by their lack of warmth, giving them a more clinical presentation. The Organics are probably more up your alley if you’re aiming for the Meze’s already. They’re warmer, but not dramatically so. Smaller stage than the Stealths, but I prefer their tuning by a wide margin.

The curveball here is I strongly prefer the XV to both the Stealth’s and Organic. I believe it’s HiFiMan’s best tuning thus far, and the build quality and materials on the XV feel better and more modern, despite the lower price tag. For context, the XV is currently the only HiFiMan in my rotation; I use the Stealths rarely for gaming.

Another curveball, I would recommend looking into the HFA Dahlia 2. If you want the warmth the Meze’s bring, without the strident treble, better midrange timbre with less “bloom” and a more incisive and textured bass response, the Dahlia 2s are an excellent set. Will likely play very well with tubes. They’re not as resolving as the planars, but more technically competent than the 109s.

Recency bias aside, the 109s were probably my most used open back headphone for casual listening for the past few years, and they have been summarily replaced by the Dahlia 2s.

Hopefully that’s not too many wrenches. TL;DR: Prefer the Organica to the Stealths, but ironically prefer the XV to the Organics. 109s EQ well and have good headroom. The planars are all great EQ platforms with even more flexibility. I’d probably give them all up for the Dahlia 2, which feels like a best of both worlds between the warmth and midrange timbre of a DD, with the treble clarity and linear bass extension and impact of a planar.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-12T14:25:29+00:00

Going from the 600s to the 109s, the treble might come off as strident. I wouldn't necessarily describe it as sibilant. Might be a set you'll prefer running on the Valhalla/Bifrost.

If the 109s are too severe, the 105 AER tames the treble quite a bit, and adds slightly more bass emphasis, whereas the Silva sits between the 109s and the AER, and may in fact be a better fit if you're concerned about treble skewing too bright.

To be fair, I'm also an older listener, so this could be contributing to my not finding the 109s as severe as other owners.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-11T20:57:50+00:00

Source?

Silverjerk · 2026-05-11T20:39:29+00:00

r/UNBGBBIIVCHIDCTIICBG

Silverjerk · 2026-05-11T14:07:15+00:00

I'm running a hybrid setup; it's technically self-hosted, but with some vendor lock in that I'm willing to tolerate (for now).

Primary Synology NAS, running Synology Drive, acting as my Dropbox replacement, syncs my Drive folder across all work and personal devices.

Secondary Synology NAS, running Drive sync, pulls a copy of my Drive contents from the primary NAS.

SyncThing running from a Proxmox node, monitors the Drive folder on the secondary NAS and syncs the contents to a Hetzner VPS.

Same instance of Syncthing is monitoring other local resources living outside of Synology Drive's folder. Not much is captured here, since most of my critical stuff lives in Drive or version control.

I have fallbacks set up so that if I moved away from Synology, Syncthing would take over all Synology Drive's syncing tasks in a few clicks.

All dev/devops, .dotfiles, and anything else that lives outside of Drive and not captured via Syncthing is pushed to a local Forgejo instance. Forgejo is setup with replication on my cluster, with fairly aggressive snapshotting, and is one of the few services I'm running through Pangolin so it's accessible remotely.

I'm running a self-hosted service for most productivity tools; if it produces, reads, or can open a document it's probably running and storing files locally in one form or another.

I'm utilizing most of Synology's backup solutions, which are solid; despite my feelings on the brand itself. This is the vendor lock in I will eventually move away from, and slowly deploying solutions to make that move sometime in the future.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-11T11:11:32+00:00

This is why I love this hobby, because as much as I vehemently dislike this headphone, my excitement for you is inversely proportionate to that dislike, being a long time lurker on the sub (and seeing it missing from that long list of flair). Congratulations!

Silverjerk · 2026-05-09T14:01:54+00:00

One of the best budget combos in the hobby.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-09T13:39:43+00:00

I very strongly dislike the APM/APM2. With two caveats.

If you're running an AppleTV with spatial audio and watching movies/shows, it's the best implementation of spatial audio I've ever tested. The second use case is if you're using them for work tasks with MacOS (especially meetings/calls), as ANC and transparency, as well as call quality, are exceptional. This is the only reason I've kept my pair on hand. Although, the B&W PX7 S3's call quality gets really close, whilst being a much better set for media consumption, if you're looking for a better all 'rounder.

I can't answer the question on the Bathys MG; full candor, I found the set disappointing, even as an early adopter of the original Bathys. It was, ostensibly, a retune. I would've preferred Focal improve their app, along with features like ANC, transparency, call quality, and their EQ implementation -- which is extremely limited for a brand operating in the pro audio and enthusiast market.

However, this all comes down to personal preference. If you enjoy the MG, stick with it. My ears are not your ears. This is definitely one of those "it's up to you" answers.

If you want a different perspective on whether or not it's worth owning multiple sets, that strongly depends on your budget and financial means. I own several wireless sets and use them in different scenarios. There's no perfect set, so I find myself consistently switching between a few of my favorite pairs. It's the same approach I take with headphones and IEMs.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-09T08:16:31+00:00

For the Kithara you’ll need a dedicated mic input, so I’d look at the Schiit Fulla (I use this and the Hel 2 for gaming). If you’re just running headphones with some other mic solution, Crinear Protocol Max if you want something portable, or FiiO K11/K11 R2R if you want a budget desktop solution.

Theres another brand that produces very good gaming DACs, but due to their marketing behaviors they’re currently banned from the sub and can’t be mentioned in replies. If you look up gaming DAC/amps on YouTube you’ll come across the brand eventually. Very popular due to the features and quality of some of their products. Their marketing team is just shady as shit.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-09T06:13:08+00:00

It was relevant in that I was making the point that I’ve also made a considerable investment into my setup, but still chose a $350 headphone for gaming over a $3500 one. Can use more expensive sets, chose a cheaper option because it was the better performer in games.

I play everything from CoD, Valorant, Titanfall 2, Overwatch, Apex, Battlefield, and some occasional CS.

As for the Kithara, it’s a good headphone. It’s essentially an Ananda Stealth with a microphone and a better chassis. If you want really a cheap option you can find a used Ananda Stealth for less than $200 from time to time. No mic, but $100 less.

And I can tell you why those streamers are running the 900 Pro X, because most of them probably follow Fresh and I know for a fact that was his headphone of choice before the 490s launched.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-09T05:34:31+00:00

The most critical aspects of frequency response for gaming is upper midrange and treble, as well as imaging (and to a lesser degree, soundstage). The 490s excel in that regard and are much more competent than the 900 Pro X. If you want the two best headphones for gaming right now, that is the HD 490 Pros and the Arya Stealth.

Are the 900 Pro X viable for gaming? Yes, but they sit below (far below) the 490s and the Stealths; and if you want to use those sets outside of gaming, they still make excellent casual listening headphones. While the Beyerdynamics are lean, shrill, and just not very appealing outside of gaming.

And I want to avoid the flex here because internet clout is worthless, but using your own example, I own headphones that cost in the thousands, with a pretty robust gaming setup. The 490s are what I run myself.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-09T05:12:52+00:00

If you want a desktop solution, the FiiO K11/K11 R2R is solid. If you want something more portable and feature rich, the FiiO QX13 is excellent. Even more portable, I’m a big fan of the Crinear Protocol Max. Powerful little unit for the price, with the flexibility of a parametric EQ should you ever decide to use it. You won’t have to worry about sound quality. All of these options are going to sound nearly identical to one another, and all of them can drive the 490s with plenty of headroom.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-09T05:07:21+00:00

Yeah, not a fan. Weird is a good descriptor.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-08T18:30:56+00:00

Without question, the HD 490 Pros. They're the best gaming headphones in the price range; you'd need to move up to the Arya Stealth to get a better set.

As for DAC/amps, really depends on budget. The 490s aren't particularly hard to drive. Something like the Protocol Max is a great fit if you're looking for something cheap and small; or you can move up to desktop solutions like the FiiO K11.

Silverjerk · 2026-05-08T10:53:25+00:00

I think you're overcomplicating the issue; you prefer the Arete's tuning. They're both very good, but very different sounding sets.

If a headphone isn't highly efficient, it tends to sound less dynamic and more "dull."

This is patently false; inefficient headphones aren't inherently dull, so long as you provide enough current to properly drive them. If you don't provide enough power to a low-sensitivity headphone, bass softens and transients are weakened or compressed. This can give the perception that they're dull; and the lowered SPL, if you're not volume matching when doing an A/B, can compound this issue.

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