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

I'm with you on the high value, well thought out gear. There are people out there that want to drive a Fancerarri or Limpoghini, just cuz they can. It's a statement piece, that they can tell people about the story of the Tibetan monks that blessed the floor mat woven out of Yeti fur.

 

$30k…I can take a trip with the fam to Tibet and get my gears blessed at the same time.

 

That's because happiness is what it is, regardless of objects or people. Happiness doesn't "level up" like a video game bonus because you got a bigger toy. The happiness of a little girl with her beat up teddy bear is the same as a billionaire with his private jet. The difference is the little girl is at peace with her possession... the billionaire isn't and needs MOAR.

Watch 'Citizen Kane' for a clearer view into this metaphor.

 

There's a guy I don't usually agree with who yet still said a smart thing, that happiness and meaning aren't the same. You don't achieve happiness, you are and then you aren't, life makes sure of that. But orienting toward meaning gives your life a narrative and maybe happiness routinely flows from that, even during times you aren't happy.

 

Compression has always been needed. Compression sounds good or cool when not misused. Compressors are simply very smoothed over volume modulators and fun distortion machines. Otherwise detail will be masked, headroom lowered from excessive peaks, and performances leveled out or improved. You're not going to hear ghost notes above an electric guitar or a louder section of the orchestra. Your puny ape brain cannot filter things out without visual confirmation that it is in front of you. What's in front of you is realer than real, object permanence be damned. The recorded tracks must be processed to sound like they did in the flesh. And sometimes they will go way overboard because it sounds cool like Ringo Starr and Jon Bonham.

 

Well said. Happiness in general scientific terms appears to stem from the physiological state when dopamine is relatively high. That is a cheap trick and easily inflated. Even a drug addict can not sustain dopamine high - not to mention healthy person.

Many languages do not have a word for the state that is a balanced, content and in sync with surroundings way of being.
I think the Sanskrit word is ''anandah'' which in rough translation is supposed to mean ''joy''.
In my native language ''states of being'' include a thousand words describing various forms suffering and another thousand for achieving, desiring and reaching something. Not much about being content, happy with what you are or harmonious with your environment. English is about the same, really.

I read the book of Chuang Tzu, written in verses, in English. It describes this kind of person that is in blissful state and in flow of nature ' True Man' . Really, there is no better word for it in English? Anyone fluent in Mandarin can perhaps help here.

How can one be anything but amped up, stressed and in one's head all the time when the language itself already does not support better way of being?

 

I have nothing against people who spend tens of thousands on audio gear --- or whatever else is their chosen hobby. I have nothing, per se, against rich people, but I do prefer the ones that I see enjoying their spoils rather than stashing it all at the back of the cave and breathing fire at anyone who wants just a penny or two.

If I had that money, I'd do it too. People are entitled to their hobbies, at whatever level their finances allow.

Analogously, I have no need of a new camera. But when trying to talk myself out the plan to spend that money, this was the trump card: "Yep, taking pictures is my hobby. But what if collecting photo equipment is my hobby too?" So I'll probably buy the camera.

Many, if not most, SBAFs certainly have the hobby of collecting audio equipment. Whether they do it in the hundreds, thousands, tens-of-thousands, of currency units is up to them. As long as they are not starving their children

Of course, yes, I am against audiophoolery and the nonsense that expensively infects audio. Unpopularly so, at times, even here. But my ire is generally directed against the manufacturers and peddlers of the stuff. I guess that even an audiophool is entitled to his hobby. And the blood suckers will always be ready to sell.

There should be critics. There should be voices of sanity. Let each spend WTF they have in the purse and enjoy it, but let there be voices that point out that the price-tag system is actually not worth 10% of what they paid. And, if it is really good, let there be those to point out that one spend a great deal less and still be very, very happy listening to good music.

Let there be pleasure; let there be sanity. Let's go on enjoying the audio porn threads!

 

„I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars, the rest I just squandered“

George Best

 

I'd say go for it!
Ampeggio on the used market is not a bad deal. I prefer the Ampeggio to their other speakers anyway, except for maybe the Due. But that one is still leaner than the Ampeggio. You can sell it on at a later point, anyway. Plus you've already mentioned how much you liked it 10 years ago!

Frankly I think the treble isn't that far off from a soft dome in its presentation (it is less linear, though). It's paper after all. Or maybe it's my ferrite magnets. At shows it was always somewhat iffy, apart from the field coil this year.

I'd say it's rather the upper midrange (2-4kHz region) that still isn't the most linear.
I don't even think many speakers with a large midrange and small tweeter crossing over somewhere in this range are that much better, either. The dispersion has that narrowing and then widening, which we call the "Tannebaum" pattern in Germany (christmas tree basically) lol.
But a good, small single cone widebander can be smoother in this region (part of the appeal of Hathor, IMO). Or a well engineered coaxial.

Oops

Spoiler: dopamine tangent

Bit of a different topic, but I do think that higher than baseline dopamine can be maintained.
Otherwise ADHD meds would just end up pooping out after some time. But that's not what we see. The dosage very rarely has to be adjusted after the initial dosage finding period. And it's basically the same story for other psychiatric drugs, maybe except benzos (especially if misused).

Of course that's not getting "high" or feeling extremely happy. Though I'd argue there are maybe three antidepressants which could be said to achieve that.

 

I just realized something..... @purr1n lost his higher feq hearing with Grados. Age does wonders.

 

hello,

i currently run this stack (bottom to top):

Schitt Bifrost 64 bit
Schitt Sys, Schitt Loki (OG)
Schitt Lyr 2
Schitt Asgard 2.

all of which are obsolete bar the Sys.

i have mid-fi (less than USD$300) headphones, other than Focal Clear MG Pro (ostensibly acquired for MrsForBin , as she loved, loved, loved, the loaner pair.)

i listen to music.

so, apparently, i am a Schitt fanboi.
(assembled in the USA, parts sourced in the USA, blah, blah, blah...)

i would humbly suggest that an end-game stack (as of today, 27 Sept 2023), could be the following:
Schitt Mjolnir 3 USD$1199
Schitt Loki Max USD$1499
Schitt Yggdrasil+ OG USD$2699

and if you want that tubey magic. a Bottlehead Mainline 1.1 Headphone Amplifier Kit USD$1429, kit assembly by
Paul Birkeland USD$750.

will this run every non-electrostatic to its full potential? more than likely. not. could it provide musical pleasure for most headphones? i think so.

the extreme nervosa concerning system synergy with the HD800, blew my head open.

is compromise, and multiple peices of on the head hardware possible?

Jack of All Trades, Masters of Library Science.

cheers!

 

Mine was plugged into the headphone-out of my Cyrus integrated amplifier. It made me very happy. The amplifier failed, now it is plugged into the headphone-out of my MOTU M4. It makes me happy. I have even plugged it into my phone! (I need to listen to something, and the headphone to hand was the headphone to hand)

No way am I going to claim that either of the last two options are all anybody needs. They are not even all that I need. But it is still music going into my ears.

I'm not going to argue that getting the best out of hd800 might require careful attention to synergy, and might well get rather more expensive. Absolutely, I do want at least a decent amp on the end of my hd800 lead again!

Extreme nervosa is completely unnecessary. But, as I said before, everyone is entitled to their hobby.

 

I just have to say that for some people whom "mid-fi" is the end point - both the Lyr 2 and Asgard 2 are incredible sounding for their value. I actually recently just tried the Asgard 2 out of an old curiosity, and I was highly impressed to get that kind of sound now - and to be had in the used market for 100-ish dollars (the price of a a pair of vacuum tubes these days), getting a Class A amp sound, is astonishing.

Also a quick note on the Asgard 2, I actually tried it because many here described it as "warm"...poo. I actually listened to it with 2 different headphones. One was a Sony MDR-1AM2, which when first hearing it, I thought everyone was on the money - the Asgard 2 is pretty warm. Then listened on a Grado RS2e - here the Asgard 2 sounded like a completely different amp - very neutral / bright. It felt like listening to two distinctly very different amps - so FWIW, always consider how much influence headphones are actually bringing into the equation, and a testament to an amplifier to how transparent it can be.

For my own adventures in downgrading, and also riding with mid-fi headphones my setup is currently: Bifrost 2/64 > MCTH

I mainly listen on Grados (mainly e-series), that Sony Headphone aforementioned, and a Fostex TH600, also fairly outdated by many standards, but high value for what you can buy them for today.

 

Finally finished building another barge.





44" stiff drop deck
111mm 74A wheels
220mm hangers
RKP trucks
43/49deg rear/front angles

Rides like an absolute dream. Comfortable up to 30mph/50kph. The 5kW power system allows reaching top speed in about 4s. Helical steel gears sing wonderfully at speed!

 

Obviously people can see all my gear in profile, however I sort of have a new fascination.

I never really enjoyed playing records on headphones, was always a speaker thing for me. Plus I love the blackground and layering and technical abilities if my digital headphones chains.

Recently I picked up a used Zphono XRM as I am always on the phono stage merry go round.

XLR out to liquid platinum using cherry Atticus, SL1200 MK5, AT95ML and I'll be damned if this doesn't sound incredible and fun to listen to. I paid $350 for this TT 10 years ago, the 95ML is $169 but I got 2 for the price of 1 with no use from someone who bailed out on vinyl. Phono stage was $325 shipped used.

 

This. I learned this lesson the hard way when I raced to get the very first Sony CD player; idiotically selling too many of my AAA firs/second pressings of classical and jazz. Yeah, I was an engineer that fell for the “perfect sound forever” hope (turns out about 15 years before they finally figured how HOW to implement to match the theory).

Fortunately, I had time to replace them. Have just under 2000 LP’s. Perhaps 300 CDs. Don’t do (yet?) any streaming.

There are reasons we value original Blue Notes, RCA Shaded Dogs from 1957-early 60’s, and so on; and 1S/2S’s are the “grail”, etc…

Those reasons being said well above by Marv.

 

Oh, and even better than 1s (1st gen stamper) is Acetates (acetate on METAL, cut direct from the mix console to validate things like groove spacing/spread, dynamic range, etc.).

I’ve exactly two of these, one was destroyed (bent) in a move (argh!(). The Other, is a Herbie Hancock piece that would blow you away… deets you wouldn’t believe and a clarity and expansiveness to be shivered at…

Great threat to lurk/learn/share