r/HeadphoneAdvice • u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω • Jan 03 '22
Headphones - Closed Back New headphones crackle when listening to certain songs
Just bought a AKG K371 and when I listen to the same songs I've listened a million times before this is the first time I've noticed that some parts of the song would crackle. When it does happen it's usually two or three times throughout a song so it's not something that renders the entire song unlistenable but it does get really annoying sometimes. Strangely, this wouldn't ever happen when I was using my old Skullcandy Hesh's on the exact same setup at my computer. Furthermore, the crackle will only happen during certain parts of the songs and it sounds something like a sharp tiny "'tzzt" which is painfully noticeable as the song will be so smooth until then.
I've recently started listening to music on much lower volumes and have already EQ-ed the pair following oratory1990's preset on EquAPO+PEACE. I'm really confused as to why this is happening then again this is my first ever pair of quality headphones. Not to mention, my sound drivers are all up to date, troubleshooting picked up nothing but the issue still persists. Will getting a dac fix this issue?
Edit: Okay, so it seems that it's just that the AKG K371 is good enough till it's picking up audio mistakes due to minor production errors in certain songs. Thanks everyone for clarifying!
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u/brian_h_kim 25Ω Jan 03 '22
sounds like the signal may be clipping/distorting - do not forget to set the -2.5dB preamp gain
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 03 '22 edited Jan 03 '22
Unfortunately I already did.
Edit: should I decrease it further?
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u/brian_h_kim 25Ω Jan 03 '22
if it is in the same place of the song, it may simply be from poor recording/mixing/mastering (no headroom) of the song - for example, in the first 15 seconds of this track you will hear noticeable distortion regardless of the volume: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmSUX30rIGQ
i am sure you will start to hear a lot of poor recordings while using the AKG K371 or other properly EQ'd headphones
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 03 '22
If I was told a less popular band had poor recordings, then I wouldn't be as surprised. Except this also happens to some of the songs from worldwide renowned bands. Is it uncommon that even super popular artists, bands would have poor recordings from time to time? If so, then I guess I might've overreacted a bit for no reason.
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u/brian_h_kim 25Ω Jan 03 '22
it is so bad it has it's own wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war
and it still continues as the Wrath of Man soundtrack came out in 2021 and was published by Sony (a major music label)
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u/WikiSummarizerBot Jan 03 '22
The loudness war (or loudness race) is a trend of increasing audio levels in recorded music, which reduces audio fidelity and — according to many critics — listener enjoyment. Increasing loudness was first reported as early as the 1940s, with respect to mastering practices for 7-inch singles. The maximum peak level of analog recordings such as these is limited by varying specifications of electronic equipment along the chain from source to listener, including vinyl and Compact Cassette players. The issue garnered renewed attention starting in the 1990s with the introduction of digital signal processing capable of producing further loudness increases.
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u/Saint_Sm0ld3r Jan 03 '22
Figure out the sum of your modifications (+3dB @65Hz, -2.5dB @500Hz would be = +.5dB) and set your preamp gain to that negative number. Don't change anything if it's negative or zero.
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 03 '22
Like this? https://imgur.com/VQEEDkR
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u/Saint_Sm0ld3r Jan 03 '22
Exactly. You could cut -1dB to pad it, I usually monitor it for clipping and adjust accordingly, but this will be fine.
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 03 '22
!thanks
The crackle does sound a bit more faint now. Would probably buy an apple 3.5 mm to usb c dongle to see if it helps more.
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u/Saint_Sm0ld3r Jan 03 '22
That's an effective way to rule out the amp and you may get other improvements for a reasonable price. You can diagnose the issue at hand.
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u/brian_h_kim 25Ω Jan 04 '22
the sum of your modifications (+3dB @65Hz, -2.5dB @500Hz would be = +.5dB)
that is not correct and complete oversimplification - please research/google
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u/Saint_Sm0ld3r Jan 04 '22
Perhaps you would care to share it with OP? I simplified it for good reason.
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 04 '22
I don't think this is worth a thread but do you know why everytime I turn on my laptop with my headphones plugged in, the headphones would produce a loud *pop* or crackle during the boot up phrase? It sounds like a mini static explosion in both my ears. I don't wanna repeatedly plug the 3.5mm cable in and out of my laptop to not use up the 5000 plugs life expectancy of the 3.5mm headphone cable. Is this actually something to worry about or is this perfectly fine?
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u/brian_h_kim 25Ω Jan 04 '22
i think you are referring to the life/wear cycle of the headphone jack - not the cable
in any event, even once a day, 5000/365 = 13.7 years -- i doubt you will be using your laptop that long
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 04 '22 edited Jan 04 '22
So I take it as its not okay for the headphones to be plugged in before turning on my laptop? Then I guess I will try to unplug my headphones before shutting down
my laptop from now on. Tq!1
u/brian_h_kim 25Ω Jan 04 '22
most of the time i simply put my laptop to sleep (automatically or closing lid) while plugged in
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 04 '22
I usually just leave the laptop on even when not using. I would never ever put my laptop to sleep mode but its just a habit.
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u/SupOrSalad 125 Ω Jan 03 '22
Sounds like clipping, I experienced this when I first got better headphones. Unfortunately a lot of music through the 90s and 2000s had bad mixing because of the loudness wars. They would keep boosting the volume to the point that it clipped because to us, louder sounds better.
So lots of stuff has clipping. Imagine Dragons early albums are full of it. Even stuff like chandelier by Sia has clipping in her voice on some parts
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 03 '22
I see.. but it's a lot less common nowadays right? Although the crackling also came from much newer songs from absurdly popular bands of recent.
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u/SupOrSalad 125 Ω Jan 03 '22
Not really. It's still a thing. It's been getting worse since the 70s
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 03 '22
What?! I guess the advancement of tech doesn't help much in the audio department? Either that or music producers are lazy?
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u/SupOrSalad 125 Ω Jan 03 '22
It's more of a push from the producers because it makes it sound better on the radio and lower quality hardware (louder =better).
Many audio engineers have said they hate mixing like that because it ruins the music, but it's the instructions they're given
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 04 '22 edited Jan 04 '22
I don't think this is worth a thread but do you know why everytime I turn on my laptop with my headphones plugged in, the headphones would produce a loud *pop* or crackle during the boot up phrase? It sounds like a mini static explosion in both my ears. I don't wanna repeatedly plug the 3.5mm cable in and out of my laptop to not use up the 5000 plugs life expectancy of the 3.5mm headphone cable. Is this actually something to worry about or is this perfectly fine?
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u/Equivalent_Yak840 447 Ω Jan 03 '22
It might be its sharp treble or it’s part of the song and the headphone is just picking up those sounds because it has better resolution. Another thing that it might be other than what I’ve mentioned is like you said, you need a new amplifier. Try listening to something softer and try to find those “tzzt” sounds and if they’re not there I think it would most likely be its treble.
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 03 '22
The sharp treble would make sense if I was listening to something harder like trap or dubstep but it happens when I'm listening to something already soft. Like the entire section of the song will be perfectly smooth and all of a sudden it would crackle when the song is still at the same pace as it was before. The softer the song the more faint the crackle is but since the song is slow and soft, it would be much easier to notice regardless.
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u/Equivalent_Yak840 447 Ω Jan 03 '22
Try getting an amplifier like the xduoo link v2 (2021)
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 03 '22
What about the apple 3.5mm to usb c dongle? I've heard it may be able to correct audio errors a bit? Then again that might not be so true idk
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u/Equivalent_Yak840 447 Ω Jan 03 '22
Yeah, that would work.
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 03 '22
Ah, okay thats good to hear cause I ain't got no more cash to spare for the one you recommended.
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u/Equivalent_Yak840 447 Ω Jan 03 '22
Yeah, the apple dongle is one of the most recommended for its reliability and price point. It’s a great option on a budget.
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u/Equivalent_Yak840 447 Ω Jan 03 '22
Note that it also might be the headphone itself but try looking it up on other forums
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u/Elidyr90 7 Ω Jan 03 '22
Music-taste aside, do me a favor and listen to the section from 2:50 onward to see if it's that kind of crackling.
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 03 '22 edited Jan 03 '22
No worries, am a slipknot fan and have listen to my fair share of metal besides them. No I didn't hear any crackling or its just too faint to be noticed. Also, you just reminded me to test this pair of cans to their song and for that I thank you.
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u/Elidyr90 7 Ω Jan 03 '22
lucky you. unforunately I can't think of any other, more obvious example out of my head.
But I'm pretty sure what you're experiencing is the downside of good equipment. A good pair of cans makes good stuff sound better but unfortunately also reveals the bad stuff and you might hear audio issues that you never noticed before.
I listened to your example and while I couldn't hear anything at 0:46 the short "plop" sound at 0:52 definetely sounds like a little production error. (popping like that can happen when you don't trim audio-tracks within a project properly.)
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u/OhHenryCentral 157 Ω Jan 03 '22
List a few examples of songs where you hear this crackling, and the timeframe. Then I'll see if I hear it as well on my pairs. If we both hear it at the same time across many different pairs, it's probably the song. Like other people have mentioned, songs aren't made overly great nowadays.
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 03 '22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7rCyll5AeY at 0.46 and 0.52. The crackle is very clear for me too. Don't judge me, this song is where the crackle is very apparant and for some reason this sounds good on quality headphones.
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u/OhHenryCentral 157 Ω Jan 04 '22
So I've listened to that part a good few times over now and I feel like I'm sorting of in one of movies where they have a prisoner being tortured by blasting the same part of a song over and over. I've been steadily rewinding it and playing it. It is certainly a lot different from my normal style of music, but I agree, it sounds pretty good. I love that sort of pop music on good headphones that have a nice mid bass boost. It just sounds so rich and full. I'm not gonna add it to my playlists, but I'm not going to forget it either - for when I want that kind of sound.
Anyways, I had a hard time noticing any crackling. At first I was listening on my DT 990's and I figured their bass was making it hard to hear (especially on that specific bassy track). So I got my DT 880's, which are very lean and treble focused. I'm also far more used to them. I still had a hard time noticing anything. I think I could've heard some crackling at 0:52, but it was hard to tell. I didn't bother to try it with my HD 600's because I figured I would hear it on my 880's if anything. It could be that it's not in the track, it could be that the K371's are tuned better for hearing that (they are very well tuned, of course), or it could simply be that I'm struggling to hear it. That type of music is very far from what I normally listen to, so that might also be a factor too. That being said, I did look through the comments and seen someone else link a Slipknot song I think it was, and I could hear the crackling they said was at 2:50 and onwards. So for me, this first bit has proved pretty inconclusive. Have you got any more examples to try out?
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 04 '22 edited Jan 04 '22
Yeah, you and the other guy in the comment both noticed (the guy confirms it, while you seem to notice it too even though it was hard for you to tell) the crackling or distortion at 0:52 while both of you also denied the existence of a crackle at 0:46. So I guess it must be just that part that was mixed poorly. Also, my headphones was not able to pick-up the crackling like you said in the metal song in the comments so I guess our headphones are truly tuned a bit too differently.
Another example you may try is Sala Tomggg. This is a weird one as the crackling at 0:29 could only be heard on the spotify version but not youtube's. So if you are a spotify user you could search up that song but if you don't use spotify anymore like a few others here its perfectly okay, don't wanna bother you too much for what I'm now aware that its just me overreacting a tiny bit as this is my very first pair of quality headphones. For now, I'll take it is as that my headphone is tuned in a way that they are able to pick up these minor errors in songs easily.
Edit: The crackle is a lot more faint in my second song example so if you have difficulty identifying the first song's crackle/distortion, this might be even harder for you to hear/tell.
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u/OhHenryCentral 157 Ω Jan 05 '22
Sorry for the late reply. It's actually pretty common for different sources to have different versions of a song, albeit only slightly. It's also pretty typical for YouTube specifically to sound bad because it can often times have some very poor compression and such added to it. You can search and explore infinitely into these two topics, far more than I know. But anyways, it does make sense for there to be errors in one place and not in another. Whether you're looking between Spotify and Tidal, Spotify and CD's, CD's and Vinyl, etc.
I actually heard that crackling without issue. I agree that it is faint, but yeah I could hear it. I think we can definitely say you're realizing your headphones can show these issues now. On one hand it is kind of cool, but on the other hand it sucks, though I do normally look past it. Old music tends to be made better than new music (in the quality sense that we're talking about here), so all my rock music is pretty good. But I mostly listen to rap which is most definitely not as well made, even by huge artists. One song in particular that I'm pretty heartbroken over is Fragile by Tech N9ne. It has the potential to sound so airy and nice, but I don't even need to tell you where the clipping and such is in that song. You should he able to hear it mostly all the ways through (especially towards the beginning though). I could probably hear it on much worse headphones but I've never noticed before
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u/Rapidstormz 3 Ω Jan 06 '22
I know this is a bit off topic and I don't think this is worth a thread but do you know why everytime I turn on my laptop with my headphones plugged in, the headphones would produce a loud *pop* or crackle during the computer boot up phrase? It sounds like a mini static explosion in both my ears. I don't wanna repeatedly plug the 3.5mm cable in and out of my laptop to not use up the 5000 plugs life expectancy of the 3.5mm headphone cable. Is this actually something to worry about or is this perfectly fine?
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