New Members - Introduce Yourself

Discussion in 'Tales from the Bully Pulpit' started by willc, Nov 15, 2021.

  1. khbaur330162

    khbaur330162 Almost "Made"

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    Hey.


    Thanks for the opportunity to mingle with you guys and hopefully grow in this hobby. I love to build things. I build headphones, cables, and so forth. I'm also even into some crazy stuffs just for fun -- for example, I'm currently working on fully powering my DAC and amplifier through batteries. Do my builds sound good? Idk, but usually I hear differences (or the Pygmalion bias? lol) and my builds are good enough to convince me of their merit. I'm here to mostly read up on this forum's hot takes on hi-fi gear for now, but maybe once I feel more comfortable I will begin to share some of my builds: build tutorials, impressions, comparisons, etc.

    One of my favorite headphone builds I've ever done is using Yamaha YH-100 drivers. This was an earlier mod I did that was reviewed by @Vtory:

    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...amic-headphones-compendium.12151/#post-384483

    Hopefully more of my builds will get sent to him for extra Yamaha Compednium love.


    Currently I listen to a lot of music mixes done by TheSoundYouNeed and Majestic Casual Hits (YouTube channels). Something about their highly dynamic, yet also well recorded music hits the spot for me. I also like a bit of EDM (Haywyre, Feed Me, Cashmere Cat, etc.), 1940's-1950's tunes, Electro-Swing, Jazz-Rock, and so on. I love to hear the textures of sounds/voices, spatial queues, sharp clean attack in upper-mids, and also love hearing new sounds I've never heard before.


    I've been active on Head-Fi as khbaur330162 (particularly in the Orthodynamic Roundup thread) for many years.


    Thanks again for letting me be a part of this community, and special thanks to @Philimon for getting my account verified finally.
     
  2. Tone?

    Tone? Acquaintance

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    Hello………I am Tone?


    Some here already know my from SHF and Goldensounds forum.


    Glad to be with you folks !
     
  3. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    I'm very glad my friend Matt finally joined sbaf. I can always vouch for him. We frequently chat a lot about various audio topics. He's an ambitious and crazy DIY guy who is always passionate with various experiments. He always opts out spending much (unlike me haha) and works on recipes based on vintages he scored. And whenever he found insufficiency or received interesting suggestions-- I sometimes unintentionally contribute by throwing out some idea -- he starts a new modding project to make things better. When such projects go well, he sometimes loans me his creations (along with some audio goods he thought worth trying out) and I used to give him my thoughts. Seeing how his projects were initiated and developed became a big pleasure and meaningful portion of my hobby. I don't necessarily agree with all his thoughts/audiophiling philosophies (and I am 100% sure he's also skeptical about some of claims I make haha), but we're good friends.

    I believe he will be an interesting addition to the community. Looking forward to seeing what he will bring to the table for this society.
     
    Last edited: Dec 23, 2022
  4. nedmanjo

    nedmanjo New

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    Hi all, I'm new to this forum and new as well to high-end audio and in my case simply higher end audio. Honestly, I'm a complete novice. Long story short, I converted hundreds of CD's to a lossless format to play from my PC. I went on to add a Schiit Modi 3, Magni 3 as well as a pair of monitor speakers. I have a vintage pair of Pioneer SE-2's, a pair of Pioneer SE-MJ5's and a pair of Monster DNA's. Nothing noteworthy but that's what I have. Sounds better than the onboard sound, better than my HT Omega eClaro but the USB signal noise is a joy killer. Looking forward to reading through the forums and hopefully learning a thing or two about audio.
     
  5. AudioFile12377

    AudioFile12377 New

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    Hi all, I recently joined this forum and hopefully will stay here for sometime. I've been in this hobby for ~3 years and have mostly focused on and have tried many portable DAC/Amps and IEMs with some limited experience with Headphones.

    I have been active on Head-Fi as Johnfg465vd for the past one year and have been a long time lurker on it and other websites before that.

    My current setup for Desktop use is the HiFiMan EF400 & HiFiMan Edition XS. As for my portable gear, I have the Chord Mojo 2 along with 5 IEMs under 500 USD.

    I like music from a wide variety of genres except for classical music. If I were to narrow down my preference then I guess the most populated genres in my library would be electronic, alternative, indie & synthwave with some sprinkles of R&B & Pop.

    Thanks for letting me be part of the community and hope to meet new people and make some friends in the hobby.
     
  6. luckybaer

    luckybaer Friend

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    Yes, you are Tone?

    Glad to have you here.
     
  7. scrapiron

    scrapiron New

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    Getting back into audio after a 10 year hiatus. Started with some HT last year and moving back to 2 channel and enjoying digital music. Looking to refine components and get the 'best' sound (for me).
     
  8. rfernand

    rfernand Almost "Made"

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    Hello from the Pacific Northwest (and Happy New Year!)
     
  9. VibratingCans

    VibratingCans New

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    Hello,
    I lurk and occasionally use words to say things.

    Good noises in my ears make me happy. For a long time I was more dumb than now, and did not know mp3s bad, and ten dollar ear buds very bad.
    One day in the future, a total rando says, "Hey stupid, you make money. If you don't buy Fiio X3 Gen2, I'm going to throw your Coca Cola into the Twilight Zone."
    I then bought Fiio X3 Gen2, and no longer drink Coke.

    First sharing impressions as new Rando:
    Fiio X3 Gen2 is pretty good, ATH IM50 is kinda just ok, but too much money. Thank you, you may now dislike.

    Then, I learned about flac, and my life changed forever. As I lie down with my eyes closed and listen to X3 and flac, my brain grows stronger and I gain the ability to speak proper sentences and formulate increasingly complicated thoughts.
    "What album will I play next?"
    "What do I upgrade next?"
    "It's a good thing I have expendable income."
    and then what happened next would send me curiouser through a rabbit hole I would end up regretting to this day.
    Vinyl.

    So yeah, I've spent money on tables and carts and phonos and so much wax, and I love them. I also have a deliciously varied flac library, with some decent gear to listen to it with. And now I've been inducted as a member of an ultra elite brotherhood of music listening masterminds and audio gear assessors and impression-ators.
    The End.

    I updated my gear list if anyone cares. I also just purchased a Darlington Labs MP-7 phono preamp, but I don't have it yet. So yeah, cool, bye
     
  10. drgumbybrain

    drgumbybrain Science Nut

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    Hello folks and friends
    IM BACK IN THE GAME

    HAPPY 2023

    david de lucena
     
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  11. nooby1411

    nooby1411 New

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    Hi,
    I have been an audiophile for a short while now and absoulutely love reading up about gear. I have not had a lot of experience yet but would love to experience more gear. I hope that I can learn a lot more about it here!
     
  12. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    Welcome!
     
  13. AkaiMango

    AkaiMango New

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    Happy New Year!

    Several years ago I bought my first DAC and a set of active speakers, but my audiophile experience has not grown beyond what was purchased back then. My interest has been renewed with trial runs on Roon and Qobuz . I just purchased a streamer, and now I am looking into passive speakers and amps.

    My "journey" starts now!
     
  14. great_uq

    great_uq New

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    Hi,
    I encouraged myself to finally greeting you all here after long time became silent reader on this fun forum.
    First of all sorry if my English is terrible as I came from non english native country.
    I’ve been here for quite long time. Not remember since when but I remember the first time I came to this forum was related to HD800 mod and after that finding enjoyment in following all regarding hd800 from the mod itself, amp selection, etc. Getting myself to purchase the first “proper” amp for HD800 in the form of Laconic Night Blues. And countless of other recommendation that mostly schiit amp. And even still dream about to own the TOTL tube amp such as EC Zana Deux which until today never realized.
    But my journey on this forum did not end there. Going deeper to other sub forum of portable audio where my addiction really started. Modding was one of the reason I really enjoy this forum. I interested in Fostex TE02 mod as I at that time have one lying around and pretty enjoy the result of the mod. Then the JVC FD01 project also made me buy one and modded it. And after that SBAF really became my main source of audio stuff impression. My final journey of SBAF inspired audio device was the legendary combo of CA Andromeda OG x Sony ZX2 (sound adjustment off). This combo really stop my endless cycle of buy, try and sell various stuff. As I really not wanting anything anymore. Thanks SBAF for all this fun journey.
    Really want to say this 2 years ago when I for the first time signed up as member on this forum after become silent reader for a long time.
    And yes, the reason I post this is because I finally realize that there is no real “endgame” for this hobby. After really enjoy Andro+ZX2 combo for a long time and ignored any other, its now the time that I want to searching something more, something better and practical for my current needs and interest. And its finally time for me to ask for assistance on my trusted source of inspiration. Here
     
  15. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

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    You and me both, my friend!
     
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  16. metalvganime

    metalvganime New

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    Hello, I've been a long time follower of SBAF and have lurked around for a while even though I only registered here recently.

    I really enjoy reading the quality of discussion on the SBAF forums and its a great source of information on really good but perhaps lesser-known or obscure gear that is either almost entirely ignored on head-fi or heavily overshadowed there for whatever reason. As someone who admittedly listens to poorly recorded rock and electronic (compressed and overly loud mastering with low DR) for the most part, its still interesting to see how various gear sounds with my music and trying to find the best synergy between the various components in my chain can be a frustrating yet rewarding experiment when I can occasionally free up the funds to change things up from time to time.

    I used to always consider myself a solid-state guy (running my trusty Pro iCAN with a Yggdrasil A1 for the longest time) when it comes to amps but now the DNA Starlett that I recently bought based on all the recommendations here is by far and away my favorite amp with the dynamics I own (HD600, HD800, ZMF Auteur).

    I hope to learn much more about good interesting gear here on SBAF and maybe also get to know people around here a little better too.
     
  17. x79ftw

    x79ftw New

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    Hi,
    I've been a lurker for a while and have been content with my setup, the Schiit Opamp mod thread and streaming devices have sparked my interest in the hobby again.
     
  18. sound67

    sound67 New

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    I'm Tom from Frankfurt, Germany. I found this board through Google. Have been on Germany's biggest hifi discussion board, "hifi-forum.de" for two decades, which is a frequent source of annoyance to me on behalf of the many, many arrogant and obnoxious self-appointed "audiophiles" there who'll mock you if you don't spend thousands and thousands on your gear. I should know, because I used to be one of them. ;) In my defence though, I never believed in "cable sound" nor did I put little stones on the top of my speakers to make them sound better.

    Twenty years ago I had fairly high-grade stereo and surround setups (one for mostly classical music, the other for movies and pop/rock). However, I sold those over the years for trivial matters like paying for food and rent, and in the past few years I didn't have a dedicated stereo setup anymore, listening to music either through wireless headphones (currently Sennheiser Momentum 4) on the road and active monitor speakers (ADAM A5) in my home office. For movies, this past year I used a sound bar which I was really unhappy with.

    In the 2000s I experimented with all kinds of hifi gear, including tube amplifiers, tube CD players, 5.1 amps and speakers. Most of the tube gear I imported from China directly.

    Anyway, I still had a pair of very decent Klipsch bookshelves (Reference RB-75) standing around, gathering dust, as well as a Brennan CB7 CD ripper/player and an LG BR player. And so I decided to buy a small amp to get my stereo system up and running again. To that end I recently purchased an Aiyima Tube T9 Pro, a cheap Chinese amp/DAC jack of all trades, which works beautifully with the Klipschs. To which I added a Wiim Mini Streamer .... today.

    My ears will need to re-adjust to "room listening" again after years of headphones and near field monitors though.

    My whole "new/old" setup costs substantially less than a single one of the most valuable speakers I once owned (KEF Reference floorstanders) or my old ASR Emitter amplifier (5,600 Deutschmarks in 1994, and a disaster BTW), but that's fine by me.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2023
  19. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    Welcome! I absolutely love Germany and the surrounding areas. Frankfurt gave me a bad taste out of the gate though. Using the railway into I think the main station at Frankfurt. The area around there is a little scummy until you get to town square. I prefer less city and more small town. Up around the brothers grimm trail area? Does that ring a bell?
     
  20. sound67

    sound67 New

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    The area around Frankfurt central station is the city's red light district, full of brothels and peopled by junkies. More than ten years ago I had a "strip bar obsession" myself which cost me dearly, so I know the area fairly well. At least I used to, pre-Covid (fewer brothels now, more junkies). ;)
     

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