The Audiophile Thread

[DEALUX]

I thought about creating this topic for a while now. This is a place to share your hi-fi reference\studio audio equipment (speakers, headphones, DACs, and so on). It doesn't have to be anything expensive.

 

What is your audio set-up like? What would you like to buy next?

Edited June 1, 2020 by DEALUX

[Shaytan]

Cool thread idea, a shame it didn't got much attention.

 

I don't have really that much physical format audio neither "enthusiast-grade" equipment, because even though I love to listen to music I got used to the practicality of music streaming. I do have a turntable from my father (one of fancier ones with a sapphire point, whole speaker system and such) but never even seen it working because I don't have space for it (plus it must be damaged by now, too, at least the rubber belt gotta be). To complement it I also have quite a collection of LPs, also from my father. My personal CD collection is rather small consider I really only buy them when it'd an album I really like.

 

I'm considering getting a set of quality headphones, not only to listen to music with better quality but also for gaming and for practicing guitar; I've been looking for the model Marshall released a couple years ago but to be honest it's more because I like the design more than anything, although I'd prefer a model with replaceable wire for durability reasons (well, if someone has any sub $100 suggestions, they're welcome).

[HaRdSTyLe_83]

mine is a very old Pioneer DCS323 600w home theater that i now just use to listen music or play games from the computer. i cant say if its good or bad compared to newer things out there but its been good enough for me for more then 8 years.

[sivispacem]

I'd totally missed this thread. I grew up with a father who was a serious audiophile (a tonne of Cyrus and AVI kit and an original Linn Sondek LP12 comprise his hi-fi setup). It's something I've neglected a bit in the last couple of places I've lived, but I aim to remedy that fairly soon when we finish renovating the dining room.

 

The extent of my high end gear, headphones excluded, at the moment is a range of AudioEngine desktop bits attached to my PC. Pair of A2 active speakers plus a D1 DAC and headphone amplifier fed via Toslink optical straight from my PC. I've been looking at swapping those for carbonised bamboo passive P4s driven from an N22 desktop amplifier for my PC system, but buying a silly monitor took priority.

 

For the dining room, my current thinking is a second-hand Rega Elex-R driving AVI DM5s or something similar, plus something to enable streaming.

[Andreaz1]

I like good audio but I'm not too fancy. On my laptop I use Sony MDR-1A's as I like their bass. I have them plugged in to a Dragonfly Black v1.5 which makes everything a lot more vibrant and just... nicer.

Edited September 14, 2017 by Andreaz1

[DEALUX]

I'm considering getting a set of quality headphones, not only to listen to music with better quality but also for gaming and for practicing guitar; I've been looking for the model Marshall released a couple years ago but to be honest it's more because I like the design more than anything, although I'd prefer a model with replaceable wire for durability reasons (well, if someone has any sub $100 suggestions, they're welcome).

I'm taking a lot of suggestions from Z Reviews on YouTube. There's a

pair that he likes quite a bit for about $60. He has other recommendations in this guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Zeos/comments/66wz27/guide_headphones_general_usemusic/?st=j7kzwr37&sh=cf457d4e

 

Closed headphones are recommended for a start since you get a decent bass response which people generally prefer. Open headphones have better stereo image\sound stage (which is actually useful for gaming as well) but sometimes lack in bass (or just sound neutral).

 

I'd totally missed this thread. I grew up with a father who was a serious audiophile (a tonne of Cyrus and AVI kit and an original Linn Sondek LP12 comprise his hi-fi setup). It's something I've neglected a bit in the last couple of places I've lived, but I aim to remedy that fairly soon when we finish renovating the dining room.

I didn't think this would turn into a vinyl thread. I kinda laugh at audiophiles that spend too much time obsessing about vinyl. It's not even better in any measurable way than digital (signal amplitude is limited and it's a degrading sound "storage" solution). I'm more about signal purity and flatness (though absolute flatness would probably sounds boring to most people).

 

I actually bit the bullet and ordered a pair of AKG K-712 Pros from Thomann.de today. Got them for ≈$275 (including shipping), which I think is much lower than what it typically sells for in the US, but I got a B-stock version which was slightly cheaper (fingers crossed that I don't get a pair that's f*cked in some way; it was obviously returned by someone for some reason). I'm not expecting it to perform too well on my Fiio E10K but hopefully it won't be too bad until I decide to buy either another portable DAC\amp (I'm looking enviously at an OPPO HA-2, high end DAC\amp) or my dream desktop DAC, from Audio.gd (which is also a high end DAC\amp).

 

I've been listening to my Meze 12 Classics for a few days now and the amount of detail in well produced songs is astounding (you can literally separate and focus on individual sounds). Hi-hats are no longer torturing my ear-drums. In fact they are very soothing to listen to (on well mixed songs). They remind me a lot of the AKG K-612 Pros that I returned. They have a similarly sized soundstage but lack some of the detail of the AKGs. I'm sure the K-712 Pros will be even more amazing. I'm a big fan of being able to hear individual sounds clearly and have a clear sense of where they are coming from.

 

I like good audio but I'm not too fancy. On my laptop I use Sony MDR-1A's as I like their bass. I have them plugged in to a Dragonfly Black v1.5 which makes everything a lot more vibrant and just... nicer.

Those seem nice but I was briefly considering a pair of Shures in that price range (in fact cheaper) but the AKGs will be the last headphones for me (at least for 4 years or so) unless I really want a closed reference pair as well. Now I'm more interested in investing in IEMs for portable use. I don't use headphones at home much (if at all) unless I start mixing\mastering stuff. Edited September 14, 2017 by ΣΓ

[Shaytan]

 

I'm considering getting a set of quality headphones, not only to listen to music with better quality but also for gaming and for practicing guitar; I've been looking for the model Marshall released a couple years ago but to be honest it's more because I like the design more than anything, although I'd prefer a model with replaceable wire for durability reasons (well, if someone has any sub $100 suggestions, they're welcome).

I'm taking a lot of suggestions from Z Reviews on YouTube. There's a

pair that he likes quite a bit for about $60. He has other recommendations in this guide: https://www.reddit.com/r/Zeos/comments/66wz27/guide_headphones_general_usemusic/?st=j7kzwr37&sh=cf457d4e

 

Closed headphones are recommended for a start since you get a decent bass response which people generally prefer. Open headphones have better stereo image\sound stage (which is actually useful for gaming as well) but sometimes lack in bass (or just sound neutral).

 

Actually I listen to pretty much just Rock and Heavy Metal (I'll spoiler 3 example songs of the kind of music I use to listen to for you to get a better idea, down bellow) so I believe bass isn't a thing for me? I really don't listen to techno, dance, dubstep or even those much heavier metal bands so I think the open headphones would be preferred for me but as you might've noticed I'm a complete noob on the matter (I do know moderate bass on digital EQs work the best for me, and my guitar experience tells me my music preference is richer in mids). About your Phillips suggestion, they seem really cool and I know prioritizing looks over sound quality is the wrong way around, but the thing I love about the Marshall Major II (that's the model I was referring to) is it's vintage looks and I'd really like having something like that over a more modern design.

 

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm7I3KZSNIo

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks btw!

[DEALUX]

Those Marshall ones look a little small. Z recommends another pair of Philips for open headphones under $100: https://www.amazon.com/Philips-SHP9500-Precision-Over-ear-Headphones/dp/B00ENMK1DW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1448205389&sr=8-1&keywords=philips+shp9500&linkCode=sl1&tag=zeos-20&linkId=0688cadd56dee7d5a52cda0fbcba8f59

 

Oh, and those have removable cable. Be aware that open headphones don't isolate outside sounds, so they're not really meant for listening in public (unless you don't mind people looking at you weirdly).

[DrSweatySphincter]

My Samson SR850's are nearing the end as I didn't even know my headphone jack was bent. Replace with new pair or any new suggestions?

[DEALUX]

Do you want to raise your budget? Do they have to be open or semi-open?

[HaRdSTyLe_83]

so i have been looking to get a tactile transducer, more to improve the racing sim, and the butckicker seem to be good, but its been out of stock for so long that i might just give up on that idea.

an alternative would be the subpack but it costs alot more and i dont know if it would work great with gaming , anyone knows of a good alternative ?

 

[DEALUX]

That's the weirdest invention I've seen so far that is related to audio gear. Is it out of stock though? It appears that I can order that right now.

[HaRdSTyLe_83]

bass shakers do the same as a subwoofer and can transfer the beat to the body or chair etc, used alot in home cinema to give that extra punch vibrating the couch, without needing to set the volume high you can still feel the explosions etc

the buttkicker is sold out in the retailer from my country, ordering from the web is something i didnt want to do the subpack is in stock but is almost 500$

Edited October 6, 2017 by HaRdSTyLe_83

[DEALUX]

 

 

I'm beginning to think that AKG is a hit-or-miss company. They clearly invested a lot in engineering this thing but it's actually worse that the K712 that I bought (which thankfully seems to be the best AKG). A lot of headphones in this price range are nothing but disappointments which makes we wonder: why the hell don't more companies invest in developing electrostats? I mean it is the best technology out there in terms of sound reproduction. Price for stuff like that would likely go down if more companies researched and developed more.

[mr quick]

Did you ever end up getting a pair of HS8's? I love the HS series, although personally I might've gone with HS7's and a HS sub instead. I live in a complex now so I can't really use speakers. I use my studio headset(Beyer DT 770) for listening to music, which works brilliantly.

[DEALUX]

No, but I'm still thinking about it. I bought another pair of AKGs, the K712s and another portable DAC\amp a few days ago, the OPPO HA-2. Holy f*ck was I oblivious to the difference a DAC can make to the sound quality coming out of speakers and headphones. I was initially worried that the OPPO wasn't going to be significantly better than my old Fiio E10K (for $300+; the E10K was $100) but I was quite wrong. The Sabre32 chip is so good that it made it harder for me to distinguish between my cheap $100 speakers and the reference AKGs. It pushes a lot of detail, every instrument has an impact that it didn't have before due to the vastly improved transparency (instruments no longer sound as if they are all trying to occupy a crammed space; they all exist somewhere in the space in front of me). Stereo image width and accuracy is improved as well, even on my cheap speakers which previously didn't really show any stereo image. I noticed that the moment I plugged them into the OPPO they started to exhibit a strange room presence and I could almost feel where the voice of the singer is coming from for instance.

 

I will start saving up for monitors starting December. I'm still considering the HS8s but now I'm kinda leaning more towards the more expensive

from PreSonus. I like the ribbon ("AMT") tweeter design on those and the monitors certainly look cool overall. I think they are meant to compete with the HS8s but there are not enough reviews on them. The other more expensive choice would be the

, which are their top of the line monitors. What makes these special is the coaxial design which delivers incredible stereo image width and accuracy. Apparently it's very "3D" like in the sense that sound has a sort of presence in the room that makes it seem like you are listening to live instruments and singers. However, I'm not sure if I want to save $1500+ for a pair. That seems too daunting. I will decide when I start gathering some money. There's certainly no shortage of good studio monitors out there and it's not always the big brands that deliver the best sound and I want something a bit more special.

[HaRdSTyLe_83]

@ΣΓ you seem like a guy who can figure this out to me

 

i have some headphones from JBL (around 50$) that i only used in my old iphone4 to listen to music, but the thing is, when i plug them into my pc or my newest phone (huawei) the sound doesnt get so loud. do i need a DAC in my pc?

 

 

edit: are the Sennheiser momentum 2 any good?

Edited October 23, 2017 by HaRdSTyLe_83

[sivispacem]

I don't particularly rate the Momentums. Don't get me wrong, they produce a great sound, bit they're expensive compared to most competitor offerings of similar sound quality and I never found them very comfortable.

[DEALUX]

Yeah, you can get something a lot better for 300 euros depending on whether you want an open or closed pair. I'm assuming you want a closed pair since you use headphones with your phone. You don't need that much money for a decent pair of closed cans. If I had 300 euros to throw on any pair of headphones the obvious choice for me would be the Monoprice Monolith M1060, which are planar magnetic. Sound is supposed to be superior to most dynamic driver headphones and it's only $300 (built kinda cheap but you're paying for the sound). However, open headphones like that aren't usable in public since they leak most of the sound in the environment and they don't isolate your ears from the outside noise either.

Edited February 4, 2018 by Dealux

[DrSweatySphincter]

Do you want to raise your budget? Do they have to be open or semi-open?

wow sorry for late reply but I dont really want to raise my budget as of now. The open seems to be doing well for me.

[DEALUX]

Goddamn. I wish I were loaded to afford speakers like these (they look like they are from the future):

 

 

They cost about $175,000: https://pmc-speakers.com/products/professional/active/qb1-xbd

Edited November 5, 2017 by ΣΓ

[HaRdSTyLe_83]

^^ lmao, i could buy a car (with speakers) for that amount.

replaced my desktop speakers for some Roth audio oli ra1, they were cheap (under 100$) and only 50w but they sound much better then the pioneers i had. next thing will be to add a bass shaker to the chair just to give that extra thump

Edited November 30, 2017 by HaRdSTyLe_83

[DEALUX]

Those look pretty decent for the money. I spent about that amount on mine but they are very prone to buzzing\electrical interference, and not the stuff you might hear in the background coming from onboard audio. It's much worse so I want to buy a new set of speakers myself in a few months but I can't really decide.

Edited February 4, 2018 by Dealux

[HaRdSTyLe_83]

i ended up getting the Vmoda M100 for less then 200$, first time buying headphones with some quality, they sound so much better then any of the others before

 

edit: on the pc they still have lower volume then on the iphone, would a DAC help?

Edited January 31, 2018 by HaRdSTyLe_83

[DEALUX]

The bass extension on those headphones looks a bit unreal on the graph that I saw, perhaps compromising a bit of the midrange detail. From what people say about them they are basshead headphones. Having gotten used to deep neutral sounding bass myself I can't really stand the sound of stuff that's bloated in the bass region but those don't seem to do too much of that.

 

Yes, a DAC\amp would help if the volume is too low generally. It's also better to have an external volume knob as opposed to adjusting the digital volume on your computer. A Fiio E10K will do the job. Funny thing about this DAC is that I recently went back and listened to it again and I was dumbfounded to find that I can't tell the difference between different DACs anymore. I also have an OPPO HA-2 and a Roland interface for my monitors and they all sound the same to me now. I even played two interfaces at the same time through my reference speakers and I can't say which is better. It's all within the realm of placebo though the OPPO with the higher res DAC and better specs on paper may in fact offer a tiny bit more detail perhaps in terms of sound stage\stereo image but very subtle.

 

So for $100, the Fiio E10K is really great value. I can't tell any obvious differences between it and the HA-2, which is a $300 portable DAC\amp (but the build quality on the latter is top-notch).

Edited February 4, 2018 by Dealux

[Mister Pink]

I recently purchased the Audio Technica ATH M-40x's. I was on a super tight budget and these are around 100 yoyos. They got mostly very positive reviews with many comparing them to a 300 dollar pair of studio headphones.

 

I'm still learning or training my ear to decipher what quality audio is even if it can be subjective to a point, I still believe there's almost a scientific answer. I know I've been impressed by cheap headphones like Sennheiser's HD 202's when I owned a pair about 10 years ago but I'm sure I had less of a clue back then of what I was "looking" out for. Skip to now when I'm trying to produce music, I'm trying to mix audio so I can separate the instruments and synths in the mix so they're not competing with each other in same frequency domain. So now, I guess I'm training my ears to try be a little more objective with audio.

 

When I picked these headphones up, some reviews mentioned people criticizing the lack of bass. And I suppose that's what I wanted. There's no bass boost in these but more a realistic representation of the audio presented which is really what I wanted. I know I should be mixing on studio monitors or next, even open-back headphones but in my position, I had to opt for the choice that allows me to use these headphones on the go too.

 

So, I've been listening to various electronic artists like AIR, Plaid and Aphex Twin (FLAC), as well as some old classic rock and, I'm very impressed with these headphones. I'm hearing my music collection in a new way. I think closer to the way it was intended to be heard.

 

I think they're a perfect start for me or a perfect budget but quality headphones for anyone that wants to produce/mix on budget. I had one track I completed with my old headphones so I went back and redone the mix and it helped me so much and really improved how I was handling the mix.

 

Edited February 10, 2018 by Mister Pink

[DEALUX]

Yeah, those are not a bad place to start judging by a sound demo I just heard and some reviews I've seen. Instrument separation (i.e. transparency) is the main thing that separates a good pair of headphones and a crappy one.

 

I have devised a playlist of songs to test my gear with and it consists of a lot of female vocals stuff, some EDM songs and some pop ones, but mostly because those tend to be the most well produced songs and you can really hear the separation of the instruments on good equipment.

[mystk]

If any of you guys are looking for some great bang for buck IEMs, I highly recommend the Audio Technica ATH-LS50iS. Comes with a mic and volume control and has a great sound signature with decent isolation and comfort. Relatively cheap too.

 

If you want all that with insane isolation, get the SE215s. I had a pair up until the cable broke. I've been using it for close to five years though so I'm cool with it breaking.

[DEALUX]

At that price they should come with Comply tips. The Mezes I have are about the same price and they do have those foam tips.

 

I don't know that I would recommend IEMs to anyone though, unless you really can't do bigger headphones. My recently purchased AKG K550 is so much better than the IEMs I was using previously. Bigger sound (IEMs tend to sound tiny), very neutral sound signature, clean, balanced, and well extended bass response, and pretty good imaging (they sound really close to a full-range speaker). I'm not going back to IEMs anytime soon. Perhaps I would like to try some of the planar ones or the fancier electrostats (Shure has one but it's pricy as f*ck) though I probably would still prefer full-size headphones even on the go.

Edited February 24, 2018 by Dealux

[ｘ]

I've been running the Fostex TH-X00 with custom Lawton wood cups and an FiiO E10k for the past 2 years now. Have always been tempted to grab one of the Audeze LCD series but I've heard some real bad stories regarding quality control.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 25, 2018 by Exqlusive