2021 Golden Schlong Nominations

Discussion in 'Leaderboard, Overboard, and Deals' started by purr1n, Nov 27, 2021.

  1. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    Tidal's not so bad. It's trying to differentiate to survive, and having MQA and other novelties are part of the strategy. It has recently relegated MQA to a non-mainstream gimmick tier together with Atmos and Sony 360.

    Tidal brought international access to lossless Redbook streaming, and provides developer access and support for Roon, Volumio, etc in a way that Spotify, Apple, Amazon streaming do not. That's awesome, not BS.
     
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    Last edited: Nov 29, 2021
  2. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    I am happy to have only one Golden Schlong award in my lifetime!
     
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  3. Cryptowolf

    Cryptowolf Repping Chi Town - Friend

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    I'd like to nominate @atomicbob and his thread about System Synergy for a lifetime value, excellence, and achievement award. How many of us entered the hobby thinking if we only purchased the TOTL headphone, amp, DAC, turnip twaddler, etc. that we would be welcomed into sonic Valhala? I'm going more than a bit grey about the muzzle, but it took me some time to discover that the interaction of components in the chain matters as much as the constituent parts. Atomic Bob and his thread helped me understand so much about this crazy hobby and how to customize a system to my tastes/broken ears.

    I hope the counsel will consider my modest nomination and recognize one of our own. Thank you.
     
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  4. Pancakes

    Pancakes Friend

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    I second that nomination but for the "sciency" things he does. The value he brings with *appropriate* measurements, the excellence of measurement methodology and, the longevity with which he's done it. Give that guy a long thick schlong.
     
  5. aamefford

    aamefford Nothing like chamberpot coffee

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    Man, I'm another one for the AirPods Pro. They are just plain *Good Enough*. Good enough that they were the final push off the slopes of the high end mountain for me. Wireless convenience, decent (and only decent) fit and comfort, better than decent, bordering on good sound quality, convenient as hell, and fantastic for phone calls. I'm totally sucked into the Apple ecosystem, so the convenience factor is big for me. That said, it's the first "apple thing" that not only doesn't suck sonically, it is really pretty darned good sonically.

    OK, long post to say Apple Air Pods Pro - V.

    Not E, not L (yet), though there is the story of running my OG AirPods through the washer and dryer. Five separate times over a couple of years. And they still work. A little dodgy after the 5th trip maybe....
     
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  6. Failed Engineer

    Failed Engineer Friend

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    The AirPods Pro for V. They have been for me in some ways a life changing product. They are the best running/endurance sport headphones I've ever had and it's not even close! They make running 15-20 miles go by in an instant. This kind of audio quality with no wires coming from my watch while I'm on a run is hard to wrap my head around. They should get a qualified E for best in class for use case.

    The 3F should get the L if it hasn't yet.
     
  7. Sonofsin

    Sonofsin Acquaintance

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    Vali2+ at least for value. And here we pay 195€, not 150$.
     
  8. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Not to here, they didn't.
     
  9. ColdsnapBry

    ColdsnapBry Almost "Made"

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    Man, I'm still using Porta Pros for anything outside and running. I love them for that.

    I'd be tempted to nominated Airpods Pro for brown starfish just for having to listen to their really average microphone on work calls all the time (some reason listening to someone speaking on a bad microphones trigger my tinnitus?). But happy you are all happy!
     
  10. Merrick

    Merrick A lidless ear

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    I'll echo the love for the AirPods Pro. The convenience factor is off the charts. They decimated my desire for portable anything or IEMs beyond what I already have. The transparency mode is so well executed that I would call it best in the entire noise canceling/wireless space, having heard a few of the competitors. And as much as spatial audio feels like a gimmick, well, it's a neat gimmick and I enjoy it. I use them when walking my dog, doing chores, they'd be about all I need to take on a trip. They're not perfect and the sound isn't true high end but they aren't bad in any one area and truly excellent in many others. My only true issue is that none of the Apple tips ever sealed fully in my ears, requiring trial and error testing with third party tips, but now I have happily settled on the Dekoni Bulletz which I get a great seal with and very good sound too.
     
  11. pavi

    pavi Almost "Made"

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    AirPods Pro — decent balance of convenience and SQ.

    Holo May KTE — especially partnered with HQPlayer. unending experimental fun...

    NAD C298 — i had no idea class D could be enjoyable. my other power amp is a class A Pass XA25, and i'm not yet sure if i have a preference between the two.

    SBAF itself — how can anyone argue with that?
     
  12. Pancakes

    Pancakes Friend

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    I can lol. It's self-serving and therefore cheapens the awards that legit products get. Yeah the schlongs are partly a joke but at the same time they exists for a reason.
     
  13. roshambo123

    roshambo123 Friend

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    Jotunheim 2 V
    Yggdrasil LIM E
    HD8XX Brown Starfish

    Honorable Mentions
    Clear Mg - Love it but only on Jot 2.
    Lokius - A great product I don't want or need.
    DAC2541 - It's good but too dry for me

    No @pavi, SBAF should not be able to nominate itself. Cue the Obama giving himself a medal meme
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2021
  14. loadexfa

    loadexfa MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Auteur (L) (E)
    HD 6XX (L) (V)
    Magni3+ (V)
    DNA (E) (L) - I'm really nominating the Stratus but from what I can tell, if you enjoy one DNA amp, you like them all.
    Pi2AES (L) (V) (E) - how many of us have this in our chain now?
    Roon (L) (E) - In addition to a solid UI, the one piece of software that can reliably stream to my Pi2AES.
    MQA (BS)

    I assume I shouldn't nominate the SFD-1 MK II (L, V, and E) due to being long out of production and hard to find. But I want to. :)

    Next year after more people have heard them, RD Modded Audeze (E). Perhaps being staff precludes him from participating.
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2021
  15. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    I am confused with some of these posts. I understand why people like r the Airpods Pro but similar competent products (both sound and noise cancelling wise) have been on the market for, at least, a few years but now seems like ANC is a new exciting thing. Am I missing something or did you guys only got to try now that's Apple dipped their toes into it?
     
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2021
  16. Tachikoma

    Tachikoma Almost "Made"

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  17. pure5152

    pure5152 Friend

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    We're not shilling Apple; the Airpods Pro are just better than other options out there.

    The tonality is really good (well balanced, leaning slightly warm), and I'd say it has B+ technicalities (really good in my book, but a step below, say, FDX1). But the real improvements, as others have mentioned, are with noise cancellation and transparency mode, but also with ergonomics/usability.

    The noise cancellation itself is really good at blocking ambient noise, but a key thing is it keeps out body microphonics (like chewing noises, random jaw creaks, etc) while keeping your voice clear so it doesn't feel muffled/stifling like other noise cancellation does like sony or bose offerings or IEMs do with their ear tips-- this is big. The transparency mode is also insanely good, sometimes I forget I have them on; you can only notice them if you pay attention to extremely high ambient noise/air, but it's imperceptible if you don't listen for it.

    Other key ergonomic things are just really nice too. They stay in your ears very well, are very light so you don't feel weighted down, and there's zero cable microphonics for obvious reasons (lack of cable microphonics is highly underrated, something you only appreciate if you've tried IEMs for a while and then you try an Airpods-Pro like device). Battery life is excellent, I rarely need to think about charging the buds themselves, and the case needs charging just under once a week despite pretty constant use. The case is very small, smaller than competitors, so they're extremely portable. Can't stress how important ergonomics and usability is when on the go: with IEMs, it's remove from case, detangle the cable, plug into dap or bluetooth player, struggle to get a right fit with the ear tips, play music-- while with airpods, it's take out of case, plug into ears, play music, so much nicer. Again, other Airpods Pro-like products deliver these benefits too, but the Airpods Pros just have better sound quality and a better refined user experience than all of them.

    In practice the noise cancellation without muffling and the transparency mode packed with great tonality and good technicalities as well as great ergonomics just make it a joy to use in everyday situations, commutes, places where you usually use IEMs. If I want serious listening, I listen to my serious headphone setup, but on the go the above usability/ergonomics things mean more to me. I used to have FDX1, andromeda MW10, and other great IEMs I sold because things like the muffled sound of the eartips and the cable microphonics and tangling just started bugging me, and I realized I used the Airpods Pros 99% of the time when on the go anyways with no loss of enjoyment. I think that says more than enough.

    I love the Airpods Pros, and 100% feel they deserve at least a golden schlong for value.


    [​IMG]
     
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  18. JeremiahS

    JeremiahS Almost "Made"

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    I kindly disagree because to fully make use of the Airpods Pro you need to have an iPhone. For Android users there are better options like Samsung Buds Pro or Buds 2.
     
  19. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    - Only the Vali 2+ for Value this year for Silver or Gold.
    - "new Western Electric" with their 300B tubes as a honorable mention. Not a category, but given how much high end audio depends on good tubes, I'm very happy that these are slowly correcting the insanity of the vintage high end tube market. While a few particular tubes are still getting out of control, the fact that these were re-released and on all accounts are actually as good as or even better than the old tubes is no small feat and a very good sign for the high end tube market. To top it off, it seems like they've inspired "new Brimar" as well. Now if only they could get more sales and start work on some rectifiers (namely 274B and 422a).

    - Maybe the Fulla E for Value as an honorable mention. On the flip side it seems like not many people here have been able to hear it.
    - If the Wavedream is "still really good" after 2022, I may nominate it next year given that it's a top 3 DAC I've ever heard (both of the others cost WAY more)

    I'm really happy with my Stellaris as well and would also like to commend Donald's continued level of service well after the sale, but I'm hesitant to nominate this as there may not be enough people out there who have actually heard the Stellaris. Otherwise, if this is not a criteria or "more people" have heard it than I realize, then absolutely, it should be nominated.
     
  20. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    I will, with respect, disagree. I have all of those products, and I don't feel like the airpods is the second coming of audio heaven.

    First of all I disagree that it is "the best product out there". I will very hardly doubt someone has tried most top alternatives to blantly affirm this. It can be for certain uses but for others not even close to the best product available. Even if I set the non-iem/earbud products (which I prefer and, as such, makes my opinion a bit biased), as a overall product I prefer the Sony solution, not the xm3, because those were super uncomfortable to me, but as someone who has/had several different models the xm4 is a tier above the Airpod Pro's, or, at the very least, in the same level but again i never seen such "overexcitement" over the (valid) alternatives as I constantly see regarding the Pros, like its the last cookie in the package.

    Yes it is a great product but damn...

    Edit: not saying that it deserves/doesn't deserve an award (although being a naturally limited product by nature makes me think the later is more appropriate) but everything that it does, has been done before, one way or the other and it's the high excitement that made me curious.
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2021

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