This is the fourth headphone i have killed so far. And it only took two weeks! That’s a new personal best!
A couple of days ago i started hearing small pops on the right channel every time i was stretching the cable out. I already expected that i was going to need a new cable at some point, so i ordered a few supplies and built a new one. It initially seemed to work, but i just heard the same popping sound again. It would be quite weird for my cable to develop the exact same fault on the same channel as the one made by HiFiMan, so the headphone itself is probably faulty.
Well, i’ll probably have to send these back. At least i got to experience my music library from a new perspective for a while.
MOTU M2 on a Windows PC. My Sundaras have the same problem on my motherboard audio output. I also checked my sources with my other headphones, but nothing seems to be wrong with them.
That sounds very suspect. before you throw anything out or start buying new things I’d try and make 100% sure it wasn’t an issue upstream that these headphones reveal more easily.
The possibility that you are Superheterodyne the head phone slayer does exist but I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion without definitive investigating first.
I have problems with static / popping with both my 4xx’s and Sundaras, but nothing with the PM-50s I’m currently testing (both are similar planars). I have been actively doing the stuff I’ve been doing with the sundaras to try to get popping through them with the new cans. Nothing so far. I think it’s a static / noise / ground-loop issue that the Hifimans really reveal.
Would recommend going balanced (solved most of the problem with noise), getting a conditioner, figuring out exactly what is the source of the static/noise, minimzing the movements that cause the issue, or switching cans.
It can also be RF Noise from either a phone or Wi-Fi, the only real way to confirm is to turn off wi-fi in all nearby devices. If it is RF Noise it’s usually picked up by the interconnects and more sensitive headphones will make it more obvious.
So mine happens/happened whenever I moved. Mostly when I got up from the chair. Idle I had no issues. Could that also be RF noise? Most of the time it happened I felt some sort of static. However, your explanation makes sense. The balanced stuff has pretty much eliminated it entirely.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me, and/or my chair (actually a car seat because arcade/sim racing), but some people know I’m a static electricity generator, and that’s why I had to RMA my JDS Labs Atom.
Since then I found out I need to remove my headphones (especially planars!) and I need to put my hands on my AVR (metal frame) when I stand up, so it slowly dissipates the static electricity. Otherwise, there’s possibly a ton of static electricity in me, my T50RPs absorb it all like a damn vacuum (loud crackling sounds – it’s raining static in there), and if I touch the amp “because I’m scared of breaking the amp or the headphones”… well, that’s how I broke my JDS Atom. It’s all plastic but I stood up to unplug the RCA cables and burned the left channel of the amp.
And even if I have non-planar headphones (or no headphones) on my ears and stand up, I can, most of the time, turn off my monitor at will just by touching anything in front of me: AVR, DAC, Amp, or my monitors plastic bezels.
So, yeah. You might be a small static electricity generator too. As a precaution, “ground” yourself when you stand up.
That might be what happened with my Schiit Magni Heresy… Still need to send it in and claim warranty/rma. Left channel died after one too many times standing up from the chair.
Yep, that’s what I’ve been doing. It helps a bit, but still doesn’t solve it entirely. I need to get some unpainted metal nearby (cause all that’s nearby is painted). Also, sidenote, my chair is cloth…so that REALLY doesn’t help. Also these problems have been occurring less as the humidity is slowly increasing post-winter.
The Hifimans seem to really like it as well lol. PM-50s haven’t had it yet though. Not sure why.
Yep, RIP my Magni Heresy. Exact same problem!
Okay, not that bad on my end. Just my Magni Heresy has issues. Going balanced / using my other non-Schiit amps/dacs has all but eliminated the issue. Prolly cause they’re properly built lol.
Have been doing, will keep doing, and thank you for the advice! This makes me feel a lot better that at least one other person has the same problem
Sidenote, PM-50s…no static issues. Good planar. Would recommend. I don’t have to feel scared standing up anymore!
As a precaution, “ground” yourself when you stand up.