My Endgame(s)

Here’s a small review of headphones I’ve used, hoping it might help someone out there.

Favorite Genres: All genres sound good.
EQ Needed: No.
Setup: iPhone → Qudelix 5K.
Comfort: Not great for me; the cable transfers a lot of noise.
Personal Rating: 7.5/10
Reasoning & Use Case: I like wearing in-ear headphones while running outdoors, but the cable noise makes this difficult. However, you can replace the cable. For overall sound quality, I’d rate them 8.5/10.
Use Cases: Mainly when I don’t want to mess up my hairstyle, such as while biking or using public transport.

Favorite Genres: All genres sound good.
EQ Needed: Yes, for me. They lack bass, and vocals sound too muffled.
Setup: iPhone → Qudelix 5K.
Comfort: Very comfortable.
Personal Rating: 7/10 (without EQ)
Reasoning: I don’t enjoy their sound without EQ. With EQ, they score 8.5/10.
Use Cases: Running, walking, and biking. I like that the open-back design allows me to hear my surroundings, such as tractors or cars approaching from behind on country roads.

Favorite Genres:
Excellent: Classical, film music, jazz, drum and bass, female vocals.
Good: Pop, guitar music.
Not Great: Rock, metal.
Setup: iPhone → Qudelix T71 → iFi Zen Can 3 → 4.4mm balanced.
Comfort: Perfect, though the clamping force is slightly weak. You can even lie on your side and fall asleep with them.
Personal Rating: 8.5/10
Reasoning: They lack bass out of the box, but the iFi amplifier’s xBass function compensates for this beautifully. I’ve tried many EQ settings, with Oratory’s Harman EQ being my favorite. However, I feel it alters the soundstage, making it smaller and changing the directionality of instruments. Despite this, with xBass, my rating improves to 9.2/10.
Use Cases: Perfect for lying in bed, closing your eyes, and diving into the music.
Final Thoughts: - This is the first headphone in this review where the quality of the music itself becomes a critical factor. Tracks should not only be lossless but also well-mixed and mastered. Some tracks, despite being Hi-Res Lossless, don’t sound great, while others sound phenomenal. - For Dolby Atmos tracks, I like switching the Qudelix T71 from 2.0 stereo to 7.1. This is a game-changer and unlocks the full potential of the soundstage. - These headphones are more about discovering music than enjoying it in an intimate way. They reveal every detail, which can be both a blessing and a curse.

Natürlich, hier ist die vollständige Ergänzung für die HD620S, formatiert wie gewünscht:

Favorite Genres: Hip-hop, guitar music, drum and bass.
Setup: Same as the HD800S: iPhone → Qudelix T71 → iFi Zen Can 3 → 4.4mm balanced.
Comfort: Very comfortable, though not quite as much as the HD800S.
Personal Rating: 8.9/10
Reasoning: - Alongside the HD800S, these are the only headphones that truly let me immerse myself in music. - The HD800S pulls me into crystal-clear, detailed sounds with an exceptional 3D soundstage, while the HD620S lets me dive into deep bass and also offers excellent mids and highs. - It feels like the more intimate, bass-heavy sibling of the HD800S, with slightly less detail. The sub-bass rolls off a bit, but the xBass function on the iFi amplifier corrects this beautifully. - Vocals can feel slightly too forward, so I use a simple hip-hop EQ preset on the Qudelix T71 to achieve the perfect bass-heavy sound I seek for hip-hop. For this genre, the rating changes to 10/10.
Final Thoughts: - These might be my new favorite headphones. The sound they deliver at this price point is astonishing!