Hi-Fi Headphones vs Bluetooth

AVForums

Help Support AVForums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

SirAfroPanda

New member
Joined
Oct 31, 2021
Messages
10
Reaction score
1
I currently own a pair of Beyerdynamic DT770s (80 ohms) which I'm running through an EarMen Sparrow DAC and have been using for the past month or so. Today, I just got a pair of Bose QuietComfort 35 IIs.

Straight off the bat, I expected a bigger disparity in audio quality between the two. My original intention was to use the DT770s at home and the QC35s [Edit - Bose Bluetooth QC35 headphones] on the go and at the office. However, given that there isn't that big a difference between them, I'm now considering just daily driving the QC35s for everything. The audio on the Bose sounds a little "closer" and less full, but not that significantly so.

I thought open-back Hi-Fi headphones may have a bigger difference, which they did after trying my friend's HD58x. They sounded wider and more immersive (sorry for not using the correct audio terms, I'm quite new to the scene). However, the difference still didn't seem that significant to me. My friend was able to tell the difference quite clearly having used his HD58x for a while, so I think it's something you gain an appreciation for.

I was considering picking up the 58x or even the 6XX since they are both on sale at Drop at the moment. I have an iFi Zen DAC which I would use to power them. But at this point, I'm not sure if it's worth spending another R3k-R4k if the difference is not that clear to me. I am interested if anyone has had similar experiences, and if it would be worth picking up the 6XX as I would acclimate to the higher quality sound? I already have the DAC so I'm not opposed to this path. I plan to sell my DT770s either way.
 
Top