I did. I have Perforated pads. They are fantastic.
Any thoughts on how they compare to stock? Was there a particular reason you went with perforated? Iām eyeing suede at the moment since DMS said itās closest to stock
My original pads went bad and I had to get new ones. I just wanted to have perforated from that DMS review.
Was browsing Reddit and saw the 6XX is now $280. At that price, itās much harder to recommend if not on sale. The Sundara currently goes for $300
Listening with HD 650ās the real deal not the Drops version.
Using a Schitt Vali 2 + with a 6BZ7 SYlvania tube that cost me $3.75, got 4 for $15 NIB!
Feeding with a NOS dac and its superlative.
Goes to show you do not have to spend megabucks for tubes , amps etcā¦
Great cans for a decent price.
Yes there are better cans but for the price point here this is a decent really good setupā¦the dac could be a less expensive one than the ones I useā¦and still be really good.
1 Like
Hello all.
Has anyone had a problem with weird inner-ear / eardrum pain / discomfort from listening to these?
This is strangely more intense for me when using an Ifi Zen Can compared to an atom DAC.
Am I going crazy? Is this a normal thing? Could this be listener fatigue? Maybe a side effect of sensitive points on the skull and jaw from the strong clamp?
New to the whole audiophile thing.
Would be handy if anyone has insights on this.
Cheers.
There are a lot of things that can cause that but first and foremost go see a doctor - keeping your ears in good shape is not a joke. it might be something simple as adjusting the listening volmue / the headphone pressing on a sensitive area, but you are better off talking to a doctor just in case
2 Likes
Okay thank you. I will be safe and check in with a doctor.
It was very annoying because I was really enjoying the sound of them.
Itās funny they were fine for the first week on the atom dac and amp, then when I tried the Zen Can they seemed to sound much better but it also came along with this strange sensation.
Hopefully itās nothing serious and Iāll be able to enjoy this hobby in the long term.
1 Like
Thereās definitely clamp on the HD 6ā¦ Senns but eardrum pain doesnāt sound right (jaw/outer ear/temple/ pain are what Iāve experienced with various over ear models due to discomfort, but thatās a different story).
Right. Definitely going to pop to the GP this week to get my ears checked.
I tried the 6XX again after resting for a few days and felt a pinprick sensation on my left eardrum during the first song.
So I will be sticking to my Momentum 3ās for now which are perfectly enjoyable, and maybe build a bookshelf speaker system which will be less fatiguing than headphones.
So for anyone interested Iāve found out that listener fatigue can be caused by odd numbered harmonic distortions, which in turn can be caused by your solid state electronics.
Apparently it was a big problem when CDs first came out and if you do a bit of digging you can find people on forums who say they get around the problem by exclusively listening to vinyl or deliberately streaming compressed files.
This also explains why the problem was more intense on one amp compared to another, and not a problem when using Bluetooth headphones.
Anyway happy days.
I picked up the ZMF suede pads for my 6XX since DMS said they were the closest to stock. Overall, Iād say theyāre great and they donāt detract from 6XXās technicalities at all. I donāt have fresh stock pads to compare against, but they seem reasonably close to the originals. My only complaint is the 2k dip DMS measured. Itās possible that Iām misremembering how they used sound. But I get the impression they sound now sound a bit peaky in the upper regions because of it.
Anyway, if these pads prove to have better longevity than stock, then I donāt think Iām ever going back.
Edit: I picked up perf lamb version of the pads too since my 600 is also getting old. Suede is more comfortable, but I prefer the lamb skin tuning. So my default recommendation would be that for most situations. Iāll post some more thoughts later.
1 Like
Putting an update here as a resource for anyone that may have a similar ear pain problem.
It turned out I have a retracted eardrum i.e. itās sucked into the middle ear because thereās a problem equalising the pressure on either side of the eardrum.
So the lesson is: yes, see a doctor if thereās something funky going on with your ears.
2 Likes
Get well soon
Good for you following through and getting help. Wondering where else you
could post this so more will see it. Perhaps a short summary on āListening tonite?ā
I used to be a medic so im used to follow up, also the reason why my first though was a medical issue (the way you described it sound like a medical thing more than technical).
Anyway listening tonight might be a fair enough or a PSA post of its own on " audiophile self care" or something like that
1 Like
Yeah I may write a little post about it somewhere.
I sold my stack and 6XX as I thought it best to forget about this hobby until Iām sure thereās nothing wrong with my ears.
Well this is actually a bit of a downer.
It looks like this experience did lead to some damage to my hearing.
Iād had tinnitus for about a year that was maybe a 1 or 2 out of 10, and basically didnāt interfere with my life at all or bother me.
And a couple of months after this experience of using the 6xx for 3 weeks or so, with a strange eardrum tightness/pinprick sensation/listening fatigue which continued for a few weeks after ceasing using the headphones (diagnosed as retracted eardrum from blocked tubes), tinnitus has gone to a 4 or a 5 on a bad day. Basically bad enough to be a rather major bother and source of distress.
So itās a bit of a bummer really but not the end of the world.
So lesson learned for anyone out there any ear discomfort when listening to music is not your imagination and should be taken seriously.
Also things can still damage your hearing even if youāre listening at less than 85db.
1 Like
@AndyOrgan Sorry to hear of your experience. Good that you shared it. I have some tinnitus too, which seems to change at times so perhaps yours will improve over time. Iām older and also have some damage/wear n tear from being a percussionist (symphony and combos.) Rim shots and crash cymbal on the left soā¦! I think the important thing again for everyone is if you are having trouble get it checked out by a professional!
Yeah I never imagined Iād do any damage from headphones because I always assumed it had originally come from exposure to ultrasonic cleaners while at university, and Iāve never been one to play music above a reasonable level.
From what I can tell itās unlikely to get better but my dad supposedly had it at around my age and his went away after a few years of basically not listening to music so thereās always a chance.
So for me I can live without this hifi stuff in my life, and I donāt need music if itās going to risk making this worse.