What It Really Means To Be Real, i.e. What Gear Do We Actually Use

Discussion in 'Tales from the Bully Pulpit' started by purr1n, May 17, 2023.

  1. Priidik

    Priidik MOT: Estelon

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    2,153
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Estonia
    All the environmental thinking is good direction, however for an average mortal it is good for sanity to take into consideration how carelessly big powers and super wealthy handle resources. Let's begin yet a random war where one day of destruction is not possible to make up for a small nation with environmentally healthy approach in a generation.
    Or these ridiculous things megarich build and do. How many candy papers to pick up and how many gasoline cars to retire to compensate for a rich bitch yacht.

    Before anyone jumps up I do realise the irony in the work I do and the industry. Life is not black and white :Violin:

    Personally I adhere for synergistic and harmonious relationship with the nature around me mostly for the spiritual benefit to myself.
     
    • Like Like x 3
    • heart heart x 1
    • List
    Last edited: May 29, 2023
  2. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,773
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    small island claimed by China
    ROFLMFAO
     
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 1
    • List
  3. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,773
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    small island claimed by China
    • Like Like x 12
    • Epic Epic x 3
    • List
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,778
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Nice!
     
  5. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,773
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    small island claimed by China
    Except I forgot I'm almost 58 and overdid it last night, pumping that board around. My left achilles area was super sore and tight this morning (imma goofy foot). Luckily I have some NSAID plasters on hand.
     
  6. mitochondrium

    mitochondrium Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2017
    Likes Received:
    1,115
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    A Cell
    At first I read SINAD plasters :)
     
  7. roshambo123

    roshambo123 Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    May 26, 2018
    Likes Received:
    2,763
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Here's a question: What would people consider their worst audio purchase? Worst in this case would be in the context of this thread, ie. thing you bought that was the most expensive that saw the least use, but probably kept for more than a two week demo period.
     
  8. Tchoupitoulas

    Tchoupitoulas Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2019
    Likes Received:
    3,711
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    PA
    HE1k v2

    I bought it last year, after it had dropped to $2k. I got mine for less than that as an open box. (I refuse to buy hifiman headphones second-hand, given their shite quality control - they've gotta come with a warranty).

    I'd heard the HE1k back when I first got into the hobby and had an HE400i, which I thought was the bees knees, and, not knowing any better, the HE1k blew me away when I first heard it at CanJam. Six or seven years later, I wanted to give it a proper audition in my own system. It was godawful. The build quality was worse than I'd expected, and I hadn't expected much to begin with. Worse was the lack of mid-bass punch and texture; worse still was the weirdly zingy treble, and worst of all were the recessed mids and the peculiar staging, with the music panned hard laterally, the vertical staging being quite tall, and the center image being almost entirely lacking, which made it sound like I was missing most of the music. You know when you accidentally look at the sun and have a blind spot momentarily? The HE1k is like that, except for there being a deaf spot in the middle of the music.

    I'd figured I'd lose $100-200 on the resale if they didn't pan out for me. I ended up being out of pocket $400. Twat that I am, I fully deserved my punishment.

    (You can get a pair on sale for $1.4k now from headphonesdotcom. Go on, you know you want to.)
     
  9. joch

    joch Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,397
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    the other side of the big ocean
    This probably deserves its own thread.
     
    • Like Like x 5
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 3
    • List
  10. gixxerwimp

    gixxerwimp Professional tricycle rider

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,773
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    small island claimed by China
    Massdrop x MEE audio Pinnacle PX IEMs

    Bought them based on Marv's impressions, but I don't blame him as I probably didn't read between the lines enough and only took the positives. They sounded super wonky, way forward, no (low)bass. Cables were cheap-ass and the whole thing was a waste of money. I gave them away to someone for their commute, explaining that they didn't sound great but would at least provide some passive noise protection.
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2023
  11. ColdsnapBry

    ColdsnapBry Almost "Made"

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2021
    Likes Received:
    640
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Earth
    ZMF Verite Open by far.
     
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 1
    • List
  12. joch

    joch Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Oct 8, 2015
    Likes Received:
    1,397
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    the other side of the big ocean
    This was what I felt too till I swapped pads.
     
    • Agreed, ditto, +1 Agreed, ditto, +1 x 1
    • List
  13. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2016
    Likes Received:
    8,802
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Tejas
    Dude, ZMF logo is freaking cool and looks so good on that shirt. I’d feel like a poser wearing it since I don’t own any ZMF but it’s a cool shirt.
     
  14. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2022
    Likes Received:
    1,990
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    The Deep South
    An 800, SDR'd, that I didn't have the sys for at the time. Still kept it longer than a fortnight, but man did I hate them...

    edit: wait, I actually only kept the pancake pad 650s that I bought local from CL for about 2 weeks. Only had a Little Dot warmpoo amp to drive them, fed by a Modi 2. All three of these components were a giant let down.
     
  15. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    14,134
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    India
    A cheap-ish pair of Yamaha bluetooth earbuds with a neckband, bought for my wife, this week.

    Now I know what one-note bass is. Fuzzy, one-note bass.

    Cheapish, but really should have been at least bearable for $40
     
  16. Phantaminum

    Phantaminum Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Mar 13, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1,976
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Dallas, TX
    Most gear I enjoyed while going through my audio journey.

    Except for the HD800 series.

    Not sure what it is about that headphone but it's as if my ears have a revulsion against their sound signature. Tried to pair the HD800 with warm sounding GOTL and Apex Teton. Hated it. Purchased the HD800s twice and sold them. My brother-in-law owns a pair for gaming and each time he asks me to listen to a track I make a stink face.
     
  17. Slade01

    Slade01 Almost "Made"

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2020
    Likes Received:
    692
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    New Jersey
    For me, it would be one of my first headphone purchases that broke the 1K mark - a ZMF Auteur. I probably didn't have the right system at the time, as well as the very neutral tuning - I found it extremely boring. But I kept it around for the longest time (months), because at that price I thought I was supposed to like it. Headphones at this price point should all sound phenomenal right? I did admire its technicality especially with timbre - one of the best I have heard, but on the whole, its a signature that I didn't enjoy as much as other headphones.

    This is one of the first hard lessons for me to learn that it's ok to not like some megabuck gear. High price doesn't mean - automatically awesome unicorn sounding life changing sound/music.

    Honorable mention: HD800. Another expensive one I wanted to like and while it was a sound staging god, its treble fatigue was just brutal punishment.
     
  18. Gazny

    Gazny MOT: ETA Audio

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    May 11, 2020
    Likes Received:
    2,209
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    open sky
    Mine has to be a thick solid core RCA Coax cable I had for my bifrost.

    Now it wasn't the sound or anything, instead it was the stiffness that had the leverage to sheer the rca jack out of the board due to my inexperience and negligence. most if not all connectors on equipment should be mounted to the panel imo.

    It was a real shame when I had to RMA it, sell it, and see it flipped a week later for more than I had sold it for.

    That was my worst purchase in my audio history.
     
  19. caute

    caute Lana Del Gayer than you

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Jul 12, 2022
    Likes Received:
    1,990
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    The Deep South
    have heard of pure copper furutech AC connectors falling out of walls, bc pure copper
     
  20. Pancakes

    Pancakes Friend

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2020
    Likes Received:
    1,418
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Atl
    Eargasm ear plugs (for concerts). Either didn't attenuate shit or if I jammed them in my ears to the point of pain, I couldn't hear a thing. No middle ground. Absolutely terrible product.
     

Share This Page