Comments on Profile Post by E_Schaaf

  1. E_Schaaf
    E_Schaaf
    When has a mixing or mastering engineer ever thought "if only every listener had the same setup I do so that they could understand the music"? Never. And if that were the case, endgame would be NS10M, Auratones, and MDR7506 for everyone.
    Jun 13, 2022
  2. E_Schaaf
    E_Schaaf
    It's *hilarious* to me that some folks think that Harman target is 'what the artist intended' but then also continue on to say that the ideal is 'the same sound they had in the studio'. You think Harman-tuned gear is used in studios? Dafuq?
    Jun 13, 2022
    9suns likes this.
  3. 9suns
    9suns
    1000% agree. Most audiophiles have better setups than studios, and today most modern songs are recorded in home studios and mixed with entry level monitors so the bar is set quite low
    Jun 13, 2022
    Jinxy245 likes this.
  4. 9suns
    9suns
    "As the artist intended" 2022 edition: JBL LSR 305 mk2 & Focusrite Scarlett Solo. End game for 99.9999% of music by that same logic lmao
    Jun 13, 2022
    Thad E Ginathom and E_Schaaf like this.
  5. E_Schaaf
    E_Schaaf
    I don't care about what the artist intended, I care about my own enjoyment. The gear exists to serve my needs and bring me pleasure, not the other way around. Soon as it stops being fun and becomes a flame war about what's objectively best, we're already outside the scope of what the artist did actually intend which is just for listeners to enjoy their music...
    Jun 13, 2022
    zottel, atomicbob, Jinxy245 and 2 others like this.
  6. 9suns
    9suns
    Amen. The best setup is the one you like the most, that's everything that matters.
    Jun 13, 2022
  7. Qildail
    Qildail
    I get the point you're making, but for 99%, having it heard/purchased in the first place is enough to be what the artist intended.

    If this was a solved problem, we'd all have the same gear...
    Jun 13, 2022
    E_Schaaf likes this.
  8. E_Schaaf
    E_Schaaf
    I feel like the more interesting discussion for the sake of an audio forum is 'what kind of music did the headphone maker tune with'? I find my least favorite products are often the ones that seem to cater towards 'audiophile(tm)' productions. I like to tune to the lowest common denominator - the worst masters I can find. Because I'm more likely to listen to that stuff than female vocal fetish ballads.
    Jun 13, 2022
    Thad E Ginathom, 9suns and Qildail like this.
  9. AdvanTech
    AdvanTech
    As a creator, I'd have to respectfully disagree. If there weren't some sort of loose ideas of what reference was for image and sound, all the content you consume would be a complete shitshow of headaches. We might not need end-game reproduction, but we do need some sort of goal-posts of standards that artists are trying to work within.
    Jun 13, 2022
  10. E_Schaaf
    E_Schaaf
    It makes a lot more sense to have some sort of reference goalpost for production equipment - to be sure that what you make translates well to 'whatever listeners may have'. I'm mostly thinking about playback equipment, for hobbyists instead of creators.
    Jun 13, 2022
    Thad E Ginathom and 9suns like this.
  11. AdvanTech
    AdvanTech
    Also, I don't think any professional working with NS10Ms, Auratones, nor MDR7506s are using them as neutral references but as tools to hear different and sometimes less than ideal chains.
    Jun 13, 2022
    Thad E Ginathom likes this.
  12. E_Schaaf
    E_Schaaf
    Mainly what I'm getting at is that people who appeal to the 'objective reference' mentality are not in fact using gear marketed towards professionals who do need something more akin to an actual reference. Why don't these people buy active monitors and treat their rooms instead of cycling hifiman headphones from FOTM front-end electronics?
    Jun 13, 2022
    penguins, Thad E Ginathom and 9suns like this.
  13. E_Schaaf
    E_Schaaf
    I also know a lot more independent music producers using M50X from laptop jacks or some tiny KRKs in untreated rooms than proper equipment. And I am more likely to listen to their stuff than things with higher production value. Maybe that just means I have bad taste in music, but it is what it is.
    Jun 13, 2022
    9suns likes this.
  14. AdvanTech
    AdvanTech
    Yeah, it's true, there's an ocean of odd, overpriced, and colored 'audiophile' gear that people really should not be buying.

    Bad taste, good taste, who cares. If you're changing what music you listen to to suit your gear, you've already lost the game.
    Jun 13, 2022
    E_Schaaf likes this.
  15. Gazny
    Gazny
    I just came back from a live show, and their was this drone band that was Avant-garde but it was loud and passionate, and on the main stage they had a 10 piece band full of stiff players and it was so boring rigid. Some vosco, bosanova thing. Nothing about it stuck out to me other than decision paralysis because the band was too big and it seemed they had no real direction in a huge open space.
    Jun 13, 2022
  16. Gazny
    Gazny
    While the Drone band was dynamic in a concreate room, absolutely incredible.

    So what do artists intend? Do they all have intention or simply playing along.
    Jun 13, 2022
    penguins and E_Schaaf like this.
  17. Azimuth
    Azimuth
    And what about the producer and the mastering engineer? Are they chopped liver? They probably more time and care in making things sound good.
    Jun 13, 2022
    E_Schaaf and atomicbob like this.