New Members - Introduce Yourself

Hello,

Quick personal headphone history rundown:

I was formerly active on HF in the late 2000s and attended CanJam and RMAF a few times. I went through buying/selling a bunch of gear and eventually landed on a setup which caused me to lose interest in further upgrades, and I haven't really been involved in any online headphone community since then. The recent AXPONA ignited my interest in newer headphone gear, which led me here.

My main desk setup is: PC -> AQ Dragonfly (V1, still works!) -> Monoprice Liquid Spark -> Senn HD 650

Some other headphones I own and enjoy are my MDR-CD900ST, MDR-F1, and Grado SR60

I picked up some things recently from AXPONA: the HarmonicDyne Eris, because they reminded me of my long lost MDR-XB700 which I have been nostalgic for, and the Wiim Ultra, which has been a good high-tech replacement for my old stereo preamp.

Anywho, I look forward to continuing to lurk here

 

hello ! i read "the review of audiosciencereview" and thought it was funny.

in fact i have written my own review of those fools here:

https://dissidentsound.discoursehos...ereview-twice-from-each-in-about-2-weeks/1152

but mine was not as thorough as yours, because i didn't think they warranted a better one.

i hope this place is better !

PS: not really interested in headphones. nobody mixes music using headphones. even affordable studio monitors beat the most expensive headphones in accuracy. no i am not saying that accuracy equals enjoyment but when $500 speakers are more accurate than $5,000 headphones you have to see there is an issue.

i can understand that studio monitors are not loud enough for some ( they're not loud enough for me ! ) and that's why i am designing my own speakers that can hit 135 db @ 30 hz at listening position while having the accuracy of studio monitors and response of 16 hz to 40 khz ...

for years i tried to get feedback on my design and just kept getting banned because nobody could understand it until i finally decided it was actually a good thing that they didn't understand and in fact i should keep it secret, so a few months ago i stopped sharing updates on the evolution of the design ( which is still evolving ).

but even though i no longer think others are entitled to my ideas i would like to maintain dialogue with the community so to speak, hence why i am here.

 

One would wonder at the ethics of making something that could probably cause permanent damage to most creatures smaller than a blue whale (135dB at 30Hz WHAT????), but hey at least you're pushing some limits. Sounds like a scary good time, think lots here would be curious to see what's up there!

EDIT: Welp seems like I should have looked around their linked forum more, JFC.

 

Your 'Age of Consent is a Crime Against Humanity'
post is nauseating. Get help now

 

Based on its contributions to date, @Dissident Sound is evidently a troll trying to amuse itself by seeing how fast it can get banned. @shotgunshane , lets not disappoint it.

 

The whole forum he runs is actually unhinged, that particular article you talking about is actually insane that someone wrote that and posted it...

 

HI all!

I am a Looooooooooong time lurker here, and I'm looking forward to sharing some thoughts on some good Schiit, so I thought I'd follow the rules and introduce myself here first!

I am a musician (trumpet and drum set), public radio employee, and college adjunct professor in the Pacific Northwest.

I got into Schiit Audio with a mani for a budding 2-channel system about 10 years ago and went full-on Fanboy. Now I have a full 2 channel system (Mimir, Skoll, Freya +, mono Aegirs) and now a heckuva headphone setup with Valhalla 3 and modius e as well as an old Vali 2 and modi, and even a fulla. (I also have an emotiva integrated and speakers that I like very much!)

Currently running Arya Stealth and Meze 99 neo for headphones. I have some Audeze isine DX, but they are unlistenable without the built - in dsp on their blutooth module, or significant EQ. I am shopping for something high-impedance to take full advantage of this Valhalla 3, so I'll be scouring SBAF for impressions!

Thanks, Everybody!

 

Hi everyone,

New here, fairly new into the hifi audio world. Hoping to learn some more about my listening preferences and gear setup.

 

I'm basically no one, but I like to measure hifi stuff from time to time. And I get WiiM devices to test them before the official launch because I'm a beta tester.

 

Re-introducing myself, not sure if it's necessary but I've not commented in literally years... Truth is after asking quite a few questions and reading quite a bit I just landed on a setup I've been happy with, so I'd mostly stopped looking at anything but the occasional cheap IEM. Only started lurking a bit more occasionally cause I'm intrigued by the ZMF Bokeh.

I still referenced/searched SBAF all the time when looking at cheap IEM, cable makers, etc. Might need to figure out a scaled down setup in the future if I move and/or start a new job (hence the interest in Bokeh), could even end up buying all that Schitt I thought you guys were supposed to be shilling but somehow never sold me on.

I still think of SBAF as an invaluable resource.

 

Ok ok, how about nitche Schiit? Pierus Maximus... It's only half Schiit. Maybe I should sell stuff for a living! I felt like that went really well.

 

Hi all, I have been in the hobby on and off for the better part of a decade. Always known about SBAF, especially looking at all the HD800 mods people have been working on for years and years which I found to be very interesting.

Current collection consists of a small Schiit desktop setup (Modi MB2 + Piety/Valhalla 2) + HD800, and a Mojo 2 + IER-Z1R / 7th Acoustics Supernova for my portable setup!

Thanks Everyone!

 

Hi.
I've been reading this forum for quite some time and decided to finally make an account.
I'm only using headphones at the moment, hoping that I will finally buy a flat and be able to make a speaker setup.

 

Hi SBAf-ers,
Ramon from The Netherlands checkin' in. Tired of all those marketing bozos and snake oil salesmen. Here for some refreshing takes on our life-time hobby. Current setup (fully balanced):

HQplayer Desktop --> RPI5 NAA --> Topping D70 OCTO PRO --> DIY Neurochrome Modulus-86 10th Anniversary --> Fostex 208Sigma BLH

 

Hello,

I've been involved in audio since college (a long time ago ). I slowly upgraded gear until my kids were born. Then everything stopped until they moved out. I've been slowly upgrading gear from the 1990's. I still have my speakers and the electronic x-over made for them. Now, being retired, I am interested in hearing about interesting options or new products that may increase my listening experience. I usually try to buy used if possible. A little while ago I read about BACCH4Mac on another forum and eventually added that to my system. My current audio chain: Fanless PC based streamer (Windows 11 running MusicBee w/ ZeroZone external LPS)>Lifatec TOSLINK>RME Digiface USB>WyWires Platinum USB>Apple Mac Mini (running BACCH4Mac w/ TeraDak external LPS)>WyWires Platinum USB (same one as before)>RME Digiface USB (same one as before)>Lifatec TOSLINK>Aesthetix Pandora DAC>Tara Labs Two XLR>TriangleArt Reference Preamp>Tara Labs Two XLR>Apogee DAX x-over>Silent Source Music Reference RCA to Fezz Audio 300B Mira Ceti monoblock amps for tweeter/midrange and Nordost Valkyrja XLR to PS Audio M1200 Class D amps for bass>Apogee Diva speakers. I have DIY grounding boxes on everything but the speakers and cables. I am using a Shunyata Research Everest conditioner for everything but the PC based streamer. The PC based streamer is plugged into a Bybee Curl Pro Model Purifier.

 

Hello all,

It was just brought to my attention by the forum platform that I've yet to introduce myself, so...

My name is Deaj, and (as you may have guessed by my presence here) I like audio gear, or rather, I like what good audio gear provides me.

Music has been a driving force in my life. I was born just a few months before The Beatles 'Sgt Peppers' album was released. Upon its release, my parents brought home a copy, listened through, and then kept listening to it for the next year+ to the exclusion of their album library, and listened often thereafter. All Beatles releases were on hand and most spent time on the turntable throughout my youngest years, as did much of the music inspired by them. They had an eclectic collection but both of my parents were very much rock and roll and electric blues fans. They were always bringing home something new to listen to.

My earliest auditory memories came right off of that Sgt. Peppers, and it became the earliest installment of the soundtrack of my life. That soundtrack continues to this day, with new and old music regularly adding to my library. My favorite music, just as is the case for so many people, stems from music heard through from earliest exposure through somewhere in young adult years.

Going back at least three generations before mine my family has generated many musicians, and most were creative types besides - painters, writers, designers, inventors, and entrepreneurs (on the ideas side, less so business management). My mom was painter, dad was a musician in early years and later an entrepreneur, my older sister a folk guitar player / singer, and my younger brother was a prolific music writer (with two symphonies under his belt by 14 years of age) and a monster rock guitar player. Boy could sing too! I could sing well from an early age, started on guitar at 10, learned fast, played parties with friends through high school, and played semi-pro in local rock bands for about ten years or so. I married (still happy and very much in love 32 years later, settled, and started a family. I switched to bass when my son was born, and this has been my primary instrument ever since. I've work on various recording projects over the years since the switch to bass, a few brief live projects - mostly tribute acts. I also taught myself to play clarinet starting about fifteen years back. I've always kept playing music at a hobby level - never wanted to have anything to do with the record industry.

My entry into audio electronics started with vintage tube guitar amps, which I collected for more than a decade. It eventually became too expensive to keep them maintained through amp techs so I learned enough to be able to keep them healthy and sounding great. I rented amps out to local studios to help pay for this 'addiction'. When I met my soon to be wife I had somewhere around thirty amps and began to sell them off, knowing that I was the only one of the two of us that thought them acceptable replacement for furniture. By the time we married I'd taken it down to just one 20 watt combo. All of them sold for several times my purchase price.

About 18 years ago I got very sick due to a pharmacy error with a critical medication refill, and this nearly ended my life by causing a complete metabolic crash. As I recovered I found I was left with severe pain in all joints and a painful skin sensitivity. These symptoms have since been determined to be neurological, and eventually found to be untreatable. Attempts to treat symptoms had the unintended consequence of compromising my immune system, making me easily susceptible to contagious illnesses.

I went back to work as soon as I thought myself able and spent the next three years working myself into the ground, coming home every day and going straight to bed, wake up, drag myself to work, lather, rinse, repeat. As time moved on I would get sick, each time for longer duration with less and less time between bouts, and eventually had to stop. It took months for me to recover from the last bout. Once I recovered I found that I'd learned to manage pain pretty effectively (that's its own story...). It required/requires managing activity level. All activity requires restraint and constant monitoring, but I've become effective in managing pain that I lead a very happy life. It taken years to get back to playing bass and guitar, but I'm playing at a level now that I truly enjoy it as much as when I was young, even if not at the same level of proficiency.

While not playing I started messing with analog guitar effects - mostly boost, compressor, overdrive, and distortion pedal circuits. When I'd built something I found compelling I would document the project in a way that made building them as close to 'paint-by-numbers as possible, then post them online along with some demo audio. After many requests to build and sell them I eventually gave in and built therm in batches of twelve at a time. They sold well right up until I burned out.

Around this time I had begun taking interest in headphones and related gear. Unfortunately, this interest started well after I'd caused hearing damage and had developed tinnitus (fortunately not painful, and has basically become the new silence). Mine manifests as something very close to the sound crickets - lots of them. The hearing damage is, of course, from a lot of time in front of loud guitar amplifiers. The deficit is nearly the same in both ears is nearly identical and looks like the inverse of the frequency of your average guitar speaker/enclosure. Again, fortunately, my brain seems to have compensated for this gradual change and I hear what my brain expects to hear, so I am able to enjoy music as much as I ever have. The deficit does bring some limitations that I can't compensate for and so I'm a 'mid-fi' listener. At some point refinements are lost on my ears. The plus here is that I'll never broke buying audio gear.

In 2018, I'd begun to tinker with Grado headphones, and eventually took to building my own. I ended up stuck in a wheelchair for three months after breaking both ankles (I don't like being bored). I ended up with two headphones with RS2 type cups, one loaded with Symphones V8 drivers, and the other with Symphones V9 drivers. I build two more with the V8 drivers - one for a close friend, and one for my son. All of the headphones I built beyond these four were sold to cover the cost of their parts.

I have a few headphones besides that I really enjoy - an iBasso SR2 dynamic, a FIIO FT5 planar (a Harmon PEQ preset for the FT5 cloth pads adds versatility to this headphone), a beyerdynamic DT250 250ohm dynamic (I find most beyer's to be a very unpleasant listen, but the DT250's make for a great daily driver for content consumption, gaming, etc.), and several IEM's I use when out and about. I decided a while back to stick with Schiit Audio components - a Bifrost 2/64 DAC, a Lokius EQ (used only to take advantage of the Bifrost's balanced outputs, SE out of the Lokius, a SAGA preamp , a Lyr 3 amp with a decent stock of NOS 6SN7 and 7N7 tubes, and an Asgard 3 (likely to be replaced with an Asgard X, if it ends up being an upgrade). Chasing improvement beyond pricing on mid-sized components is often lost on my ears. This keeps my gear turnover to a minimum, without leaving me feeling like I'm missing something.

I also have a Fractal Audio AxeFX III guitar & bass DSP unit with extraordinary amp and cabinet modeling, and studio quality effects processing, extending well beyond instrument effects.

I haven't been very active online over the past few years due to repeated bouts with Covid interspersed with colds and sinus infections. I've recently begun to take my health much more seriously changing my eating habits, adding as much exercise as I can manage, and moving to a consistent sleep schedule. I've lost 55 lbs and this has allowed me to increase physical activity, and I'm beginning to expand my interaction with others beyond family and my closest friends, making for a much improved state of mind. I hope to participate here moving forward, beyond just reading (something that has been a most informative and enjoyable activity for me).

ETA:
Whoa, I just started typing and time flew by. This turned out to be way beyond a self introduction - more like a brief self biography. I've been listening through a long Steely Dan playlist while typing and time zipped by. I'll leave it be at this point. I apologize for the novela.

 

@djdenniswhatever , that sort of the Malazan Book of the Fallen of into posts. Welcome and I would love to see some of your headphones you made!

 

Epic introduction indeed! Good to know that you have been steeped in music since you were a baby. Sad to know of your ill health.

A big welcome!

 

Here's what I was able to find. There are builds using other wood species and drivers than shown here, but these well represent the various builds I turned out while this hobby was active (my first project was a Grado SR325 mod using only the cups from a non-functioning donor headphone, some of the wood cups were purchased, some I had turned for specific builds, and the guitar in the fourth picture is one I built some 20 years ago):

 

Thank you!