I bought 3 different headphones: Creative Aurvana SE, Koss KSC75, Linsoul QKZ x HBB and a dongle DAC/AMP with CX31993 chip. (also all my music library is FLAC and MP3 320kbps)
As you can see, I’m very much on the cheaper side, but I did my research and got hype reading how these two headphones (Aurvana Se and KSC75) are kings and can beat a lot of pricier headphones. I bought qkzxhbb because I listen to some heavy bass focused EDM music, that’s like 30% of my library, the rest is orchestral/classical and pop music.
I was disappointed at first, not because they sound bad but because I expected so much more. I come from cheap bluetooth headphones (Soundpeats Q35 HD) so I was expecting a LOT of improvement (again, because people say they can beat $100-200 dollar headphones).
As the days went by I was trying Oratory and Autoeq presets and I think they improved, not only because I found good equalizations but also because I got used to the headphones.
So this is my final conclusion:
Creative Aurvana SE: very good with Oratory EQ and some bass adjustments, it is perfect to be on my computer all day. It is also VERY light and comfortable. I love how well it goes with all the musical pieces I throw at them BUT not all of them surprised me, just some.Isolation don’t exist on these.
Koss KSC75: every time I swap from Aurvana SE to these I almost regret buying the Aurvana. It’s incredible how good they are for only 20 bucks. They don’t need EQ, but sometimes if I want some more bass I just add 5 dB on bass and… Jesus, this is good.Some people say these lack resolution and sub bass, fortunately I can’t say they have worse resolution than Aurvana, I only notice some lack of body on bass but tbh I don’t care, I’m pleased even when listening bass focused EDM. My only complaint is comfort is not great, I get sore after 2 hours of listening, yeah, I know it can be solved buying a cheap headband and better pads, but if I do that, they would cost about the same as the Aurvana, so I just prefer using them when I’m not on my computer.
Linsoul QKZ x HBB: I though they sound as good as the others just more bassy, but after some days they sound like crap, even bass sound bad and no matter how I EQ them or which eartip I put on them, they just sound bad. I don’t think they’re broken or something, I just got used to Aurvana and Koss glory. I gave them as a gift to my sister who says they sound good (she also tried every headphone I bought).
Put the Koss on a headband and you’ll regret the Aurvana even more