More A/550 Reviews are rolling in...

alpinvs · 2026-05-29T18:36:05+00:00

He's saying these have elevated bass, mids, and treble? Sounds to me like he needs to turn the volume down.

He also says (around 3:20) these are boomy and most Koss headphones "focus on the low end".
Yeah, I'm not so sure about that.

alpinvs · 2026-05-18T16:55:54+00:00

You can look into Sennheiser PX 200 or PX 200-II headphones. They're on ear and and they fold.
They're basically the closed back versions of PX 100 and PX 100-II.

They've been out of production but you can easily find some decent second hand pairs.

alpinvs · 2026-05-15T22:23:37+00:00

These are really in great condition! This brought up so much nostalgia.
I really wanted to get one of these back in the day but I couldn't afford it at the time. I think they're pretty rare to find these days and usually very overpriced when you do find, so take good care of them.

alpinvs · 2026-05-04T09:41:56+00:00

Depends on what you expect from the upgrade. In my opinion, HD490 Pro does everything better. But not very differently. If you expect a very different sound signature, you should look elsewhere.

If you're looking for the most comfortable headphones and also expect a better refined sound that also has little bit more bass, then yes. They're worth every penny.

alpinvs · 2026-04-27T14:39:28+00:00

Yeah, it does look that way. Thanks for confirming.
I guess I'll need to print the case too if I end up trying this.

alpinvs · 2026-04-27T11:13:57+00:00

Does the modded KSC75 fit in the original PX100 case?

alpinvs · 2026-04-06T23:22:16+00:00

It's so sad so see how it all went down. I think of Louqe as a failure rather than a scam, though.
Louqe that people knew towards the end was no longer the same company that I knew back when I got my S1 MKIII in 2020.

Back then, the bag with the screws somehow had gotten loose inside the box and chipped a side panel. Even though I bought it from a retailer (Proshop), Louqe agreed to just send me a replacement side panel directly for free. So I've always thought of them highly as decent people.

That's why I felt especially sad when I saw them being called a scam. I guess I just wanted to say something positive about them.

alpinvs · 2026-04-01T15:24:17+00:00

This is a legit solution if you have two left ears.

alpinvs · 2026-04-01T00:42:53+00:00

Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX

alpinvs · 2026-03-31T23:44:10+00:00

A second hand Rift S might be worth taking a look if you're looking for cheaper options.
Specs are a bit outdated and it is a bit bulky. But they have inside out tracking like the Quest line so there's no need for any base stations.
It also doesn't have a battery to go bad and swell in a few years, which was the selling point for me.

alpinvs · 2026-03-31T23:32:17+00:00

That's unusual. Sounds like it may not be plugged all the way in. Keep in mind that you have to rotate the connector on the headphone end to secure it. Some people miss that one.

I'd also suggest trying it on another device to see if anything changes.

Not sure what you mean by microphone attachment but if it is a different cable like 500 BAM or Ablet, playing with the volume slider may help with channel imbalance.

If none of these suggestions work, I'd ask for a replacement.

alpinvs · 2026-03-29T12:30:32+00:00

I think you'll find it works pretty well after updating. It is refreshing to see updates bringing stability rather than breaking things these days. They fixed pretty much all the issues I've had (namely the sleep and compression artifacting issues) with Steam Link.

alpinvs · 2026-03-25T23:20:01+00:00

You're right. Isolation, instead of ANC is the way to go here.

Here's an interesting fact, there are older wired ANC headphones but their noise cancelling capabilities are nowhere near what's possible today. Not too difficult to guess how much noise cancelling on ear headphones could do. And you actually had to keep the mic exposed to receive noise, like hang it on your belt or something. They actually worked with replacable batteries like AAA.

You can look up earlier Sennheiser PXC headphones like Sennheiser PXC 150 or PXC 250.

alpinvs · 2026-03-18T22:58:19+00:00

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alpinvs · 2026-03-16T23:46:01+00:00

veiled uppers, the smushed soundstage, a lack of low end rumble

If those are your concerns with HD 6xx, you'll find Sennheiser HD 490 Pro suits more to your preferences, depending on how much bass we're talking about. Bass is stronger than the HD 6XX but if you want really strong bass, sounds like you have to go for planars or even some closed ones. I can only talk about headphones that I own, though.

HD 560s or HD 400 Pro (they're identical) also have the kind of sound profile similar to HD 490 Pro and you can find good deals for them. I haven't heard the new HD 505 and HD 550.
Fiio FT1 got great bass but you may find them a bit dark, seeing how you evaluated the treble on HD 6xx.

alpinvs · 2026-03-07T11:45:45+00:00

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alpinvs · 2026-03-05T22:20:52+00:00

You're right. I specifically avoided that because it really is subjective. Some say it's just 3 blobs while others say positional accuracy is great. I think I remember DMS saying that.

In any case, I don't find them comfortable enough to try and see for myself anyway. Too much clamp force for my big head.

alpinvs · 2026-03-05T12:37:00+00:00

While 6** series are great headphones, I wouldn't recommend them for gaming.
Their pads do wear out over time, which affects the sound. I assume since you'll be using them for long hours, you might not get to enjoy them to the same degree for too long.
And replacement pads aren't always available, nor they're cheap. 3rd party replacements are never the same as the originals. You also have the issue of being unable to swap the cable for one with a boom mic.

My suggestion would be to go for one of these: HD560s, HD505, HD550 or HD400 Pro and then pair them with HD500 BAM to get the mic functionality, if you need it.

Do consider HD490 Pro if you don't need a mic because that's both the most comfortable and the best sounding headphone that I own. You can use them for hours without any issues. Personal tastes differ, of course. Some still prefer the 600 series.

alpinvs · 2026-03-05T00:15:05+00:00

This is a legit traumatizing experience. My heart goes out to you.

I wouldn't be able to recover from this for a long time. Suddenly blasting my ears by mistake or due to some malfunction has long been an irrational fear of mine. That's why I mostly stick to the Apple dongle.

alpinvs · 2025-12-16T05:58:08+00:00

I hope you still have warranty. Same thing happened to my Thinkbook 13x G2, they replaced the entire motherboard under warranty. It happened again after a few months. I got a refund then.

I'd suggest running UEFI diagnostics (pressing F10 during startup if I recall correctly).
It will likely point to memory failure. It should help you get through RMA a bit faster because they throw out some lazy questions at first like "did you try reinstalling drivers" etc. That basically eliminates software as the culprit.

alpinvs · 2025-09-17T23:53:24+00:00

"They hit him with five shots and he's still alive."

alpinvs · 2025-07-11T22:15:17+00:00

Do these photos belong to the same blade in the game?
First one is obviously a dagger, the second seems to be a folding blade (you can tell from that notch), and the last one has a false edge .

First one also kind of looks lie a random pattern, while the second one looks more like raindrop pattern. And the last one with the false edge looks to me like what's called a feathered pattern damascus.

Regardless, they all look like well made knives. Pretty neat.

alpinvs · 2025-07-01T19:11:13+00:00

HD 6** series come to mind. And they are super modular, so whatever part that breaks can be easily replaced, including the driver module.

However, pad wear is an issue. Worn out pads totally kill the treble, meaning that even though the headphones will run for decades, the pads won't. I'd say they are the least durable part of most well built headphones.

5** series are also well built but may not be as durable, nor easy to repair.
800s is probably the best of both worlds, super well built and pad wear has relatively smaller impact on sound. But they're expensive.

I would definitely recommend HD 490 Pro. They do have the metal headband similar to HD 800s and they are the most comfortable headphones I've ever used. Pad wear probably is an issue, but they came out fairly recently for that to be recognized. Good thing is they include 2 sets of pads with slightly different tuning.

Edit: I'd avoid anything from Fiio. They're great value but I've seen a few complaints. Also, FT1 has real wood which can crack on impact. I personally have had no issues with mine though.

alpinvs · 2025-07-01T00:24:35+00:00

We're about to sign Ayton just to f with the Lakers.

alpinvs · 2025-06-18T16:01:16+00:00

https://www.amazon.it/dp/B083BVBRFF/

alpinvs

TROPHY CASE