New Members - Introduce Yourself

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

  1. Woland

    Woland Friend

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    Sorry, @darmok I did mean you not @JayGee!

    Is the use of a single test metric inevitably arbitrary and subjective? The single metric is essential for a ranking unless one totally dominates another..
     
  2. Dude111

    Dude111 New

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    Hello all.....

    Thank you to staff for directing me to this thread :)


    Looks like a nice place.........
     
  3. Dionyssius

    Dionyssius New

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    Probably not very usual, but I always ended up with new production tubes in a handful of tube products I used. First it was original Saga with a noname soviet 6SN7 clone - it fell apart pretty quickly and I got a new one from Electro-Harmonix. Also before Lyr I had Vali 2+ - its stock WE at some point developed something like a burn mark at the top and I replaced it with a gold pinned JJ, also new production. So when Lyr came with a new production Tung-Sol, I decided to keep it and it's pretty good to be fare.
     
  4. Eric Rosenfield

    Eric Rosenfield Facebook Friend

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    Hi. I'm new here!

    Current gear:
    Desktop Dacs: Bifrost 2/64, Modi Modibit 1 (in closet, need to sell), Modi+ (in closet, should sell but maybe hang on to just in case I need to set up a second listening station at some point)
    Amps: RebelAudio RebelAmp, Bottlehead Crack w/ Speedball
    Portable: Apple Dongle, Abigail, Qudelix 5k, Cayin RU6, Shure TW2 adaptors
    IEMs: JVC FDX1 (connected to TW2), Tripowin Olina SE, Truthear Hola, Sennheiser IE300, Moondrop Kato, Shure SE215 Pro (need to sell)
    Headphones: Sennheiser HD6XX (custom cans modded), Sennheiser HD6XX (back foam removed only), Sennheiser 560S, ETA Mini Semi-Closed, ETA Mini Closed (loaned out), VE Supernova, Grado SR60X, Koss Porta Pros (Yaxi Pads), Koss KSC75 (Yaxi Pads), Koss KPH30i (Grado Pads, in closet need to sell), Hifiman HE4XX (put on sale, no buyers yet), Sennheiser HD800S (broken, sent in for repair), ZMF Atrium (ordered, currently being manufactured)

    Owned a sold a lot more. Discovered I prefer dynamic drivers over both planars and balanced armatures. Crack recently acquired, first exploration of tubes.
     
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  5. JayGee

    JayGee New

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    Outside of amplification and speakers, I consider audio reproduction a solved problem since at least the 1990s.
    The specs of analog components as well as DA/AD designs have been past the ability of human ears to detect differences (unless poorly or deliberately designed) for at least 30 years.

    As for amps, they can and do react differently to loads, but if competently designed and not purposefully colored, generally do sound close to each other.

    Speakers are a different beast and account for the large majority of signal distortion in any audio reproduction chain.

    As @darmok mentioned earlier, a single standard test is a good starting point and if an amp is performing poorly in that category, we can be pretty assured that it will do the same with additional tests being applied.
     
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  6. darmok

    darmok Acquaintance

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    Everything that is subject to human discretion is in some way subjective. The choice to rank is subjective, the choice of what to rank is subjective, and the choice of metric to use for the ranking is as well. Subjective does not mean poorly motivated or without any basis in reasoning. It just means that different people with different perspectives can disagree using different arguments without one or the other being clearly wrong.

    In my view, the role of an expert reviewer is to help the reader make a decision that is good for them by presenting information in the right context. A review that ranks cars based on 0-100kph performance will help the reader if acceleration from a standstill to highway speeds is important to them. If this is the only number presented, then the reader who mainly drives around the city might be surprised to discover that a small electric car is actually quite fun to drive despite performing poorly in this metric. Similarly, the reader who reads a ranking of speakers based only on their frequency response and distortion at 2.83V @ 1m might be surprised to discover audible distortion when placed in a large home theater room and driven to might higher volumes when another speaker with a less "ideal" FR might distort less. In both cases the reader will walk away thinking that the so-called "objective" reviewer is full of crap when in reality the measurement simply failed to capture what was subjectively important to the reader.

    I'm not as confident as @JayGee when it comes to DACs. We have an abstract model that tells us that a signal digitized by an ideal ADC with a sufficient sampling rate can be reproduced exactly by an ideal DAC. It doesn't tell us what the correct behavior is when attempting to reproduce an input that was not digitized by an ideal ADC or which did not originate from an ADC at all. Thus I'm open to the idea that different filter designs can have an effect, however subtle. It goes back to how you define the problem: are you attempting to reproduce accurately digitized audio, or are you attempting to produce audio from an abstract digital signal?
     
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  7. Dude111

    Dude111 New

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    Welcome Eric :)

    I do hope ya like it here........
     
  8. niaruh

    niaruh New

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    Hi finally got down to joining after much lurking - im in to stats!
     
  9. JayGee

    JayGee New

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    New to this site also, but welcome aboard.
     
  10. Taguro

    Taguro Almost "Made"

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    Hi to all! From the Philippines here.

    I've been an SBAF lurker since 2016. I've been in the hobby since 2012. I've always appreciated SBAF's approach to both measurements and subjective listening. A lot of my purchases over the years have definitely been the result of reading here, and I'm glad to say, they've all panned out amazing.

    I both have a headphone and two channel speaker system. Headphones are where I got my start, but last year, I finally had the means to go ham on a speaker setup.

    Headphone system: Schiit Yggdrasil A2 -> Ferrum OOR/HYPSOS and Eddie Current Studio Jr. (300B ver) -> Focal Utopia (my favorite headphone) and Hifiman Susvara

    Nearfield desktop speakers: Focal Solo6 Be (active speakers) with the Ferrum OOR as preamp.

    Speaker system: Holo Audio May KTE -> Luxman L509f -> Focal Sopra N1

    My musical tastes aren't the typical audiophile flair. I listen to a lot of anisong (anime songs), J-pop, J-rock, some K-pop, 90's pop, city pop, rock and metal. I do frequently fly for concerts in Japan, and my experiences there have led me to look for that "I am there" feeling in my audio chains.
     
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  11. Desert.Snake

    Desert.Snake New

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    Hello! I apologize in advance if my thoughts or text are not perfect. I'm from Eastern Europe and use google translator.

    It all started in 2007, when I needed headphones so as not to disturb my relatives at night. I bought what was in the nearest electronics store - Sven AP-880 and connected them to the 3.5 mm output on Genius speakers. After a while they broke - the wire frayed. I didn't know how to fix them back then, so I bought a better one - Sennheiser HD 415.

    After a while, I realized that my ears hurt for some reason. Not the outer part of the ears (cartilage), but something inside the ear, maybe the eardrum. Then my first money began to appear and I decided to read the Internet. Then we used modems and activation cards for 30-60-120 minutes - LOL. It turned out that there are a great many headphones. Then I believed the advertisement and ordered the Grado SR80. I used them for about half a year, and began to notice that they sound rather tiring and, most importantly, now the outer parts of the ears began to hurt - the cartilage.

    Then I found a local forum of headphone enthusiasts, read for a long time. I came to the conclusion that I do not need a bright sound and professional headphones are best suited for this. I saved up money and bought Beyerdinamic dt880 pro and then sold the SR80. It was 2009.

    In 2010, I was intrigued by the HD600 and made an exchange with a forum member of my DT880 pro for his HD600. After a couple of months, I realized that they are similar to Grado in many records, my ears got tired of their treble. I sold them, along the way, began to delve into the history of earphones. And I started something like a gold rush - I bought / sold / exchanged and I had these copies:
    - AKG K401 (too bright sound)
    - AKG K601
    - Beyer DT990 E 2003/32 (treble sound like the squeal of a stone-cutting machine, terrible)
    - Senn HD595 (pretty nice sound, but something was missing)
    - Beyerdynamic DT990 pro 600 ohm (~86-87, great sound and resolution)
    - Beyerdynamic DT550 600 ohm (~86-87, great sound and resolution - I did not hear the differences from their brothers DT990 600 ohm)
    - Senn HD650 (quite balanced sound, but I lacked bass and I read articles about their veil that I started to hear it, so around 2014 I gave it to a friend)
    - German Maestro GMP 400 (similar to HD650, but brighter in the upper frequencies and some kind of overtone, I can’t describe, something like a 650 veil, but a little different)
    - Audio-technica ATH-W100 (beautiful, but the sound is too light)
    - Beyer DT48E 25 ohm (beautiful vocals)
    - German Maestro GMP 8.300d (this was almost perfect for me in terms of sound (tonal balance, but I just wanted even more resolution), but there were problems that they were too closed and I did not hear phone calls, whistling kettles that were burning, and everyone around, so I gave their familiar musician. His dog gnawed them, they fell, went with him on long-distance trips and now with him, the sound is still beautiful and the body is just as strong)
    - Stax SR-3/SRD-5 (I only had them for a month but they were one of the best sounds I've heard but my ear cartilage hurt from the fit so was a gift to a friend)
    - Koss PRO 4 AAA Plus (comfortable, but didn’t really like the sound - worse than DT 48)
    - Koss PRO 4 AAA (very few differences from Koss PRO 4 AAA Plus)
    - Yamaha HP3 and HP50 (nice relaxed sound, but little detail)
    - Yamaha RH-5MА (did not like, little details and bass)
    - RFT HOK-80-2 (strange sound, sold to a friend, he found out that at the factory they turned on one earpiece in antiphase, after correcting they played very well from his words)
    - TDS-7 (this is torture for ear cartilage, few details on treble)
    - AKG K240S Recabled (I bought it with a broken wire and a broken plug in a cup - I soldered a home-made wire from silver-plated copper, but it turned out that the soldering points had to be filled with something, otherwise the wire frayed and break away from the soldering point - put it in the closet, someday I'll fix them)
    - AKG K240 Monitor 600 ohm (beautiful clear sound, gave the girl)
    - Fostex T20 V1 (a pleasant sound at first, but after a week I realized that it was too bright and my ears started to hurt somewhere inside in the area of ??the eardrum even at a quiet volume)
    - Sony MDR-7506 (too bright and harsh sound, terrible)
    - Telephonics TDH-50P and Telephonics TDH-39P mono (torture for ear cartilage, the sound is similar to DT48, but more clamped)
    - Beyer DT48S 25 ohm Gray Pads (70s, good sound, more pleasant than DT48E)
    - Audio-Technica W10VTG (too much treble, lightweight)
    - JVC Victor DX700 (nice sound, enough bass mids and treble, but lacked resolution)
    - Precide Ergo AMT (I liked the sound, but I didn’t like the fact that despite the openness of the head it was hot + some slightly strange timbres on the recordings of symphonic music, hard to describe in words like Lovecraft gods)
    - Beyer DT48A 5 ohm (50's, accidental hit on the table when removing from the head killed one speaker - the coil broke into 2 parts. I tried to fix it with glue, but only bent the coil and ruined the speaker. but I found out that the membrane is made of 3 layers - transparent plastic / aluminum / transparent plastic. Feels like crushing and cutting 1 in 1 like a pack of pills. Gave to a friend as a spare speaker donor)
    - Beyer DT48 A.00 (real audiometric headphones, rubber pads kill ear cartilage, but the bass is just fine, it really is there, although not as powerful as in modern headphones)
    - Alessandro Music Series Pro (this was an attempt to give Grado a chance, as they are described on the forums as being more neutral. They are really less bright, but they again began to put pressure on the ear cartilage and I wanted more details)
    - Grado GS1000 (this is the strangest thing that I had - as if you are sitting in a huge hole under water, there are high frequencies, there is bass (not very clear), but there is almost no middle)
    - Precide Ergo Mod 2 (also a little strange sound, reminded HD650)
    - Beyer DT48 Snr129 and Snr091 (50's, both are 5 ohm, sound very similar to A.00 but even more resolution, extremely good for vocals)
    - Beyer DT28 25 ohm (these are newer - 70s, also a good sound (for DT48), but dead pads, now in the process of selecting suitable ones)
    - AKG K701 and 702 (too much treble, the inner ear starts to hurt)
    - MB Quart K800 Headset (the sound is more deaf and less detailed than 8.300d, but there is a microphone. Good enough for online games where communication or Internet video chats is important)
    - AKG K240DF (this is the most optimal sound for me, if use the right source and a powerful amplifier)

    As you can see, I spent little time on the sound source and amplification. From the very beginning, I had only the built-in sound of the motherboard from the very beginning, then Asus Xonar Essence ST, then M-Audio 2496, then E-MU 0404, further external DAC on PCM63 and TDA1541. I sold them in 2015 and now I use the built-in realtek sound card.

    Of the amps were in series Laconic 06, MS Audio HHP 1.0, Laconic 08 Zana, SPL Auditor 2910, Schiit Asgard 1 (only this last one)

    All the above described fever with purchases/sales/exchanges ended in 2015 - I bought Asgard 1, K240DF and they played so synergistically for me that until the middle of 2021 I used only them and everything suited me.

    I sold most of them and now I have them in my closet - AKG K240DF, Beyer DT48 Snr 091, MB Quart K800 Headset, Yamaha HP-3 (I thought I sold it, but it ended up at the bottom of a bag of headphones), Beyer DT550 600 ohm, Beyer DT48 25 ohm 70's, AKG K240S Recabled and HD650 - more on this below:

    In 2021, I started noticing that the ear pads on my 240DF were worn out, the headband was also stretched and they started to press on the ear cartilage. I started looking for a replacement - I put modern pads from AKG240 MK2, from German Maestro, from Beyer 990 and 770. The sound is still not the same. So I decided to look for original pads in good condition.

    I put 240DF aside until I found suitable pads and took the HD650 from a friend (who hasn't used them in this years). Oddly enough, but I liked the sound and I used them until the last couple of months in stock form. It so happened that I was making a trip to another city and went to an old friend on the forum and listened to him Sennheiser HD800. Then I again remembered that veil on the HD650 and decided to change the cable. I did not really believe in the influence of cables, but there was a financial opportunity and I decided to experiment. I ordered a Litz wire cable from a local manufacturer.

    And this is where the sound really changed. They are small but quite important to me. It was really amazing to hear familiar music with new colors. What I noticed right away was that the stage got bigger (the length of the path of flying crap overhead in electronic music became a bit longer). Further, I more clearly heard low drums and some quiet low brass in Bruckner's 9th symphony. What I would call the same veil went to the treble, just like bells, cymbals and triangles became more clearly audible. As for the middle and vocals, disappointment awaited here - male vocals sound correct but quieter than with a standard cable, while female low vocals (mezzo-soprano) in one of the frequency bands that distinguish a male voice from a female one became very quiet and almost invisible against the background of everything else (for example, Gluck - Orfeo ed Euridice (Wien 1953, Michael Gielen) Walhall Eternity Series, VLCD 0113, the contrast at the beginning of act 2 is especially noticeable). Also songs where there is a male vocal and a higher male vocal or a low female vocal sings along, the second voice practically disappears (Judas Priest - Nostradamus album).


    At the same time I came across the site of the RIP engineer McIntosh - http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm#nominal
    I also looked at the old HD650 tests for innerfidelity (2013), there was a graph of impedance versus frequency with a noticeable peak around 100 Hz and an increase in frequency from 5 kHz. I read that such impedance jumps can cause distortion in the amplifier and are used for speakers by engineer Zobel boards to compensate for the inductive component of the coils so that this is the minimum reactive load for the amplifier ( http://www.roger-russell.com/idszobel/idszobel.htm )

    Since I have a litz cable, it has a capacitive component that is clearly more than a standard cable and I think that it can affect the headphones like a Zobel mini-board, partially compensating for the inductance of the speaker coils. In the article above, it was indicated that some amplifier circuits respond to increased cable capacitance, I quote :

    *** Capacitance is of concern not so much that it could cause a possible high frequency rolloff but that it can affect the amplifier feedback and cause the leading edge of transients to overshoot. This in turn can make an audible difference in the system sound. It can make the sound brighter, which some audiophiles mistake as greater detail. ***

    I have a hunch that maybe my Asgard 1 might react in the same way to cable capacitance, but I don't have the equipment to measure that and be sure. While searching on the internet I came across this discussion and decided to come here for help as I see that people here are very experienced and love measurements
    https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/hatedis650-oh-god-the-dark-side-please-don’t.10847/

    I would like to find out if this is true or the subjective fantasies of the writer (I mean McIntosh engineer site above and the information on it)

    I put a photo of the back side of the DT48 Snr129 membrane on the avatar. I opened it to tighten the screws on the contact wires, since the speaker of the left ear began to play quieter due to old age. It turned out that it was necessary to simply tighten the screw and everything began to play with the same volume. As you can see, there are spots in some places - apparently moisture from the air has found weaknesses in the plastic and has begun to oxidize the membrane under the coating.

    as for the experience of listening to live music - I participate in an avocational choir, go to the opera to the local theater, an example (filmed from a fixed camera Sony HDR-GW66, no microphone support on the stage, only clear voices and a real orchestra)
     
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  12. kimiifrit

    kimiifrit New

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    Hello from NJ.

    I started my journey with IEMs and portable devices, now I am transiting into the headphone spaces, currently a happy owner of MDR-R10, T+A Solitaire P and Fostex TH900Mk2. These cans are driven by my affordable solid state amp for most of the time, but I was getting intrigued by boutique tube amps like EC, DNA etc. Here on SBAF seems to be a lot of discussions on those brands, happliy lurking around at this moment.
     
  13. DRKSHDW

    DRKSHDW New

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    Hello from California!

    My HiFi world has been shaken up a bit so I am looking for some new equipment for my office. For quite some time I had a pair of Wilson Audio speakers in my office and a pair of HD650 headphones with a ChiFi DAC/Amp. The speakers have moved out into the living room and I made the mistake of selling my headphones and DAC/Amp when I got the Air Pod Max. Welp, they didn't workout.
    I bought a pair of HD800s on sale at adorama for $1199 and now I am here looking for a new DAC/AMP combo or separates.
     
  14. Chris Cables

    Chris Cables MOT: Chris Cables

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    Longtime lurker to this forum but decided to sign up specifically to make a contribution to the HD650 appreciation thread.

    Liking the straight-talking, honest and enthusiastic atmosphere of the forum a LOT better than some of the other forums I frequent and I'm ashamed it's taken me this long to sign up to be honest!

    Recently converted my lifelong hobby (cables) into a fulltime commercial entity 'Chris Cables' and retired from a 30 year career in Nuclear, Aerospace and Hi-tech engineering.
    A scary venture with considerable risks but it's working out well and the order book is currently full, so the future looks bright.
    I guess that earmarks me as an MOT but I'm not here to shill my wares, so I'm off over to the HD650 thread right now to make my first worthwhile contribution here...
    :D
     
  15. jeromeof

    jeromeof New

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    Longtime lurker - but admirer of this forum - happy to contribute going forward
     
  16. Simple Tim

    Simple Tim New

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    Hi SBAF.

    I've been lurking around here for years after getting interested in home audio, and after wasting time other places have found sbaf to be a much better source for solid information on headphones, etc. Having said that it was all theory and no application until I finally had some spare funds last year, when I was able to make some purchases. I've been enjoying the journey since then.

    As far as musical tastes, my favorite music is classical with vocals: stuff like Arvo Part's Te Deum or Faure's Requiem. After that electronic of various types. Besides gear reviews, I've appreciated some of the music recommendations I've found on sbaf which have expanded my palette a bit.

    My thanks to all those who have put in the work over the years to make sbaf such a useful and enjoyable resource. Cheers.
     
  17. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    AKG K240 DF, you know good sound. Welcome.
     
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  18. Chris Cables

    Chris Cables MOT: Chris Cables

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    replied to the wrong post
     
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  19. Chris Cables

    Chris Cables MOT: Chris Cables

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    Welcome. Great to read that you can hear a discernible difference in SQ/SS when using different cable materials!
    The HD600/650's are amongst some of the headphones which benefit the most from a cable upgrade.
    The later revised Sennheiser stock cables are good but you enter a whole new world when playing around with litz or loose braided copper and/or SPC!
    I'm all about the braid at the moment as the geometry promotes lower induced voltage (induction) with the net result that it increases noise immunity, i.e. EMI/RFI mitigation.
    What spec is your HD650 cable?

    [​IMG]
     
  20. QooStrike

    QooStrike New

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    Greetings from sunny/hot SG.

    Audio journey started many years ago, the heydays of Krell and Apogee. Managed to snagged a baby Apogee stage then, but afterwards didn't have any more budget left for a Krell or Mark Levison. Playback was kind of half half for a long time until I got my hands on ICEAMPs eAR-1001 Refs.

    Sound still not yet improved further until I managed to drive my EARs in Balanced mode via Logitech Transporter with a Promethius TVC Balanced Preamp. Now quite keen to upgrade my DAC to Theta Digital (Moffett's creation). Hoping to seek further advise from fellow SBAFs on how to select check on those Old Thetas. vs wondering if I should go for those modern R2R DACs.

    Not really much into headphones, more towards 2 channel stereo high fi. Have a Hifi man entry level Planar Magnetics and quite happy with that.

    Looking forward to share and learn more with fellow friends.
     

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