I have recently come back to listening to electronic music after about a month long break, but I noticed something off about the sound output of my headphones - the mids sometimes sound quite flat (e.g. certain vocals) and the sides have a lot more prominent details - something I’m confident I don’t remember before.
Well, to specify my hardware and use case, I have a:
I’ve tried to test anything that I could, and this is what I found out:
it’s probably not the DAC dongle, as I have an Asus mini PC (with Ubuntu Linux) with a good audio hardware and I can’t tell any difference
I have tried listening to the same song on other platforms and I can’t really tell either
The thing is, not all songs sound wrong (but most do), so what’s the chance that there’s actually something wrong with my headphones? Pretty low if I may guess? The fact that I took a break might be why I’m feeling that way, but certain parts of songs really feel… strange.
Is there any way for me to figure out whether this is just in my head? If something is actually wrong - what headphones would you recommend me? The budget is about €140-150, preferably up to 110
Not sure what the issue is technically speaking but in that case I would say either just pick up another alpha as they should be very cheap these days or step it up to a newer model. Cloud 3 and 3 S are very good though they don’t have the bass slider and slightly more narrow pads(can and probably should pad swap the unit) but if you wanted a separate cheap option swing the steel series arctis nova 3 or 5 wireless both of these should be within budget if not quite cheap depending where you get it.. also change the pads as stock are a bit scratchy, would say just use wicked cushions for those depending on the sound signature you want. Both units software should let you tune them quite well.
Can’t recommend the true successor to the alpha(alpha 2) due to all the problems. At the very least if you did pick up another alpha even temporarily you could rule out the issue being the headset itself.
So for the Cloud III, the cable below the headphones is basically a USB DAC, similar to what I have?
Cloud III S seem to be only wireless and quite a bit more expensive, but I think I trust a proprietary transmitter more than Bluetooth, so that’s good that it has an option.
EDIT:
The III S wireless seem to be a great package - my phone has a USB-C port that often disconnects, so I’d be able to use these easily there. The battery life is great too. And most importantly, the sound quality is similar and maybe a bit better than my Cloud Alphas. They cost €150, but for the universality I think it’s a good deal
