[Construc_]

headphones? earphones? those things that make sounds and you put them in your side holes. whatever those are called.
its been years since ive carried a pair, and id like to get a decent set for using with the Tangara. any recommendations? wired are ideal.

[jacqueline]

I use a pair of salnotes zeroes most of the time! They were thirty bucks, they sound good, and they don't fall out of my ears. Everyone a give a lend of them to says "wow these are great!" and gets a pair for themselves.

At my desk I've got a pair of DT770 pros that I got specifically to test with Tangara. They sound great! Tho I wouldn't exactly say they're great value. Mostly I wish they were a little more convenient for wandering about home doing chores.

[OBLIVI10N]

I use the Jabra Elite 75t to listen with my phone, but when I receive my Tangara I'll get some proper wired headphones. I've bookmarked the Salnotes.

At my desk I've got a pair of DT770 pros

So do I!

[rayne]

dt770s are really nice! i think they're my fav headphones i've used, but i had to start using IEMs because over the ear headphones irritate my skin after a while (at least the ones i've tried)  

i know they're pretty widely unpopular because they have low bass response but i really like moondrop ssrs, they're not mega expensive, and also come in really gay colours! i think they sound pretty good? i'm not that into bass though! ymmv!

[mtm]

I have a pair of open-back Hifiman Sundaras (32 ohm) that sound great but can be tiring to wear for an extended time. Definitely in the market for some sort of IEM to use with the Tangara.

[neckspike]

I'm a little freak who loves the Sony MDR-EX15s which are probably the cheapest thing Sony makes.

[JessPhoenix]

I'm not sure if they're portable enough for when my queerPod arrives, but the Audio Technica ATH-M50x at my deskside haven't failed me in nearly a decade of use.

EDIT: If the prompt was "actually in ear" and not "lol whatever makes sound at your head" then my recommendation sucks: the ten dollar in-ear buds I bought at a Best Buy on a road trip 15 years ago and are probably still in the back of a drawer somewhere, unused since my phones started requiring bluetooth earbuds.

[kg1]

I have some KZ ZS10 Pro ($25-40) for a few years, and recently Moondrop Aria. I have dropped and hit the KZs daily, yanked them out getting them caught on objects, no issues so far

[Habmala]

When I backed the Tangara I got excited and dug out an old mp3 player and some headphones to go along with it. I think they are Bose qc20. They were probably expensive when I got them and likely old today but they absolutely samsh my modern Sony wireless earbuds (latest wireless mx5 or something I think) to pieces on every metric other than being wireless. Super comfortable and great sound, plus awesome noice canceling (I remember getting them for an airplane flight years ago).

[apfel]

wired, not in-ear, and well-known enough already I assume: I'm mostly using Koss porta pro for travel-friendly listening

[Cmaness20]

headphones? earphones? those things that make sounds and you put them in your side holes. whatever those are called.
its been years since ive carried a pair, and id like to get a decent set for using with the Tangara. any recommendations? wired are ideal.

I personally like the Sennheiser ie 200 also. Although I would suggest getting a different cord with them. I have a Gucraftsman cord I got that is expensive but such a better cord. You can get them on eBay for like 120. Over the head headphones I would suggest a pair of Sony 7506 yes the cord is insane but for listening at home I like those the best.

[mtm]

I just tried a pair of Etymotic ER4SR IEMs and, while they sounded great, discovered that I really dislike having something jammed that far down my ear canal. I have an order out for a pair of Grado SR80X headphones to try something a bit different

[jacqueline]

ooh those Grado ones look very friend-shaped. I love the look and the fit of smaller over ear headphones like that.

[hildebrind]

I apologize if this is a dumb question, but how do I know how much impedance to get in headphones? Do we know if the tangara can drive something with >100 ohms and still sound good?

I ask because the DT770 250 ohm variant is on sale

[ailurux]

Tangara can definitely handle those headphones, in fact I think those are one of the pairs of headphones we've been testing with

[jacqueline]

Yeah! A pair of DT770 @ 250ohms is our primary wired headphones. They work very good with Tangara, and with most other devices.

The effect of headphone impedance on audio quality is generally a bit overstated IMO, but we tried to design Tangara's output stage such that unusually high impedances don't cause any issues with frequency response. You may want to watch out for the sensitivity of some higher-end headphones (e.g. fancy planars), but in general Tangara also has enough output power that these don't tend to be *too* problematic.

[taivlam]

At my desk I've got a pair of DT770 pros that I got specifically to test with Tangara. They sound great! Tho I wouldn't exactly say they're great value. Mostly I wish they were a little more convenient for wandering about home doing chores.

Perhaps a mobile hi-fi Bluetooth amp, such as Fiio BTR15 (which supersedes the BTR5) or BTR7/BTR17, could help make headphones more portable?  I know this is basically the use case for Tangara, but this could help someone who is trying to make do with their current smartphone.

I learned about these devices from watching a video (timestamped) from DankPods:

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I'm a little freak who loves the Sony MDR-EX15s which are probably the cheapest thing Sony makes.

I also have these earbuds (from BJ's, I think).  In my experience, the end of the cable jacket closest to the right angle connector on the blue color version tend tends to separate from the strain relief (especially in the cold); but the black color doesn't have this issue and thus is more elastic in this manner.

These "get the job done" - they won't sound as nice as IEMs, but something to keep in mind is that lower-end earbuds don't seem to be sensitive enough to pick up on any audio interference/white noise that IEMs might.

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I'm not sure if they're portable enough for when my queerPod arrives, but the Audio Technica ATH-M50x at my deskside haven't failed me in nearly a decade of use.

Not IEMs, but I've also had the ATH-M50x since maybe 2019.  (This was a recommendation from MKBHD, when I used to watch his videos.)
I haven't used those headphones a lot since, but maybe I'll use them more with the Tangara.

---

I have some KZ ZS10 Pro ($25-40) for a few years, and recently Moondrop Aria. I have dropped and hit the KZs daily, yanked them out getting them caught on objects, no issues so far

I recently bought the KZ ZS10 Pro IEMs, which is definitely a step up if you've only used cheaper earbuds previously.  I literally got them after taking the suggestion of DankPods seriously from his "Headphone Starter Guide" video (timestamped).

Totally random, but I've been use the non-mic version with Blue Yeti to monitor my voice during video calls; but besides listening to music, I'd probably use these if I ever had to do music analysis on a song or to have a easy-to-set-up listening device for making sure in a podcast or a video/film is free from extraneous noise.

Use KZ EDX PRO with the mic on phone calls.  The EDX PRO is a bit quieter compared to the ZS10 Pro - which is better for me, as I found the ZS10 Pro to be a bit loud, even for extended listening times on the quietest volume.

Long convoluted "story", but according to this video (timestamped): the KB KS1 is allegedly a clone of the KZ EDX; but the KZ EDX PRO has a nearly transparent design, so I went with this version.

[kianryan]

So, cheap Saltones 7hz Zero 2 seem to make a reasonable walkabout setup.  Quite heavy on the low end, but not unpleasant.  Make a nice stink if you're in that kind of mood.

I've just plugged in my Grados SR125X.  They're doing what Grado's do well, nice sound, a bit warm, little bit of sparkle.  Not too heavy down below, but you can listen with them all day.

Tangara is doing great.  Clean as hell, can't find any noise.

Now need to find something with a truly stinky bass.

[Construc_]

My Tangara arrived this morning, and my Salnotes 7Hz Zero arrived this afternoon!
They sound normal to me. Nothing particularly stands out, which is guess means they sound good?
Maybe a little lacking in the lows, and a little too sharp in the highs for my ears, but hey they were $40 AUD so I can't complain that much :)

Now to beg for an EQ...

[rdsh]

I got a pair of Moondrop Chu II (IEM) for €21 off Amazon and they sound great, especially given the price. They generally get good reviews from audiophiles.

Only downside is that they do pick up the noise floor as described in this update: https://www.crowdsupply.com/cool-tech-zo...io-quality, but it's very soft and only audible during quiet parts of a song. For some songs I actually kinda like it, makes it a bit Lo-Fi ish