I just switched from using ASIO, 96khz sampling rate and bit perfect to Directsound 48khz sampling rate and can not hear a difference on EMU0404 USB and HD595 headphones. I've also done ABX testing of lossless to 256kb/s mp3 and can't hear a difference there either. I can tell when a song is poorly recorded though and has distortions in it so it's not like I am deaf or anything. I can tell the difference between good speakers/amps and not so good speakers/amps too. The biggest improvement I have made to my headphone listening enjoyment has been via software by adding channel mixer and dolby headphone plugins to foobar.

I've read a good amount on how Vista's audio is good enough to not require ASIO. If he can't hear differences now, suggesting ASIO definitely isn't the way to go, since that difference isn't (or shouldn't be) as big as between the penguin and the Pico.

Quote:



You are forgetting that the Laws of Physics do not apply to audio

I would NOT say it's a lot of work (other than if you have to re-rip your CDs to higher quality).

For me, I started telling the difference when:
- I switched from 128 or 192kbps MP3s to 256 or higher (most of mine are 320 or lossless).
- I would listen to an entire album (or better yet, a longer stretch like 2-3 hours or 2-3 days) one way and then switch the setup. Going back and forth from one song on one rig and then another, I couldn't tell much difference. It was Immersive Experience A vs. Immersive Experience B, not Rig A vs. Rig B.

Hope that helps. If not, you should be able to get back all of your money on your Pico selling it on Head-Fi. Or return it.

I also had the same problem. There were almost no difference from my old cans to my new senn 650. Then a week later i tried to use my old and they sounded muddy and way too dark. I think i had to addapt to the new kind of sound the 650's provided. Now there is nothing better than to listen to these awsome cans!

More listening, less talk.

If you still don't think there's an improvement after a month or two, go ahead and ditch the new toy - you'll probably get decent money for it.

Quote:



Are you sure?

Quote:



LOL, I forgot about that bit. If I had remembered then it probably would of sounded so much better at the time.

You'll frequently hear people express 'night and day' differences, *astounding* changes in detail, 'huge step up in quality' etc.

Translated to English, this means subtle differences, nuances and relatively small improvements for the most part. There is a tendency in Hi-Fi to overstate things. Differences in Amps and DACs are a much more subtle thing than 'phones provided the amps are decently designed in the first place. There are differences and sometimes they are more obvious than others but at a cursory listen they may not be what a novice is expecting from the hyperbole.

Changing amps is not like changing headphones where the differences really are massively obvious, and even then most are not sure what these differences mean. 'It sounds better' springs to mind as a common vocalization. What sounds different is harder for most to nail down without familiarity with the terminology and experience.

You aren't deaf, you are probably not an idiot , you simply aren't hearing what you were led to expect. Don't feel bad, we all become a little disillusioned from time to time. Knowing what you're hearing and how you're hearing it may be as simple as your prior statement of certain tracks becoming annoying. You may be hearing what a crappy recording you have for the first time. That's a big difference right there showing the amp/dac to be more detailed and revealing than your old gear, not a good thing for you I admit, having your music to be reproduced, warts and all, as not so great but it's there and you are now aware of it.

This is what good gear does, it totally screws a lot of music for you as you find out they did a ****ty job recording it. Such is life. Find a good recording of something and it'll make you grin from ear to ear. Give it time, learn to appreciate the subtleties in recordings and allow your brain to assimilate the new level of listening.

PS, I keep gear around that can make most crappy recordings sound at least listenable when they would otherwise be a total loss on much of my other gear. Many find the Stax 003 to be dull and rolled off at the top end, but it works very well on overly bright Japanese recordings which are downright painful on my AKG K1000.

Quote:



Aww... You had to mention Supercar. Sadly they split up about 2,5 yrs ago. I'm not much for the "billboard top 100" in j-pop (to be honest, saying "dislike" is being gentle, but I'm like that when it comes to most "radiohit music" so don't pay me too much attention) but Supercar's later work was nice. BTW, if you want to hear a lot of songs from their album Highvision, which the song you mentioned is from, check out the japanese movie Ping-pong (1, haven't seen the sequel).


Anyway, sorry if I'm being a bit of an insensitive jerk towards the OP here but may I ask for a pic of your [the OP's] Pico? (nah, I really do hope you'll find it was worth it after listening some more and that it grows on you) I've ordered the same color combo as you (and I think IPodPJ was going mad over at that Pico pic thread over the same thing: lack of pics of gray/clear Picos )

are you computer savvy? if you are, do a dual booth with windows xp....

i have a dac/amp(ibasso D1) and previously i am running a dual boot system. changing between windows xp and windows vista with a simple restart, i can assure you that microsoft pretty screw up the audio in vista.. even with asio, the fault is still there.

On vista, the first thing i notice is the audio will sound like 'just beside your ear'; the soundstage kinda collapsed.

with hd650 and such a good device like pico, playing lossy audio format does no justice. even with ibasso D1 and hd595, i can hear a different between lossy and lossless.

what you can do now is to find some cds and a computer with windows xp. if you try it with windows vista, it may mask all the hi-def/benefits of lossless or cd playback, affecting your audio bliss with pico and 650.

Quote:




OMG Smeggy, you're totally right. i often see people rave about certain headphones/amps/dacs using descriptions such as hearing 'night and day' only when i tried it was more of a subtle difference if anything. i guess that's why i was sorely disappointed with my Senn HD-590s as my first audiophile grade headphones. -_- the headphones that really seem to make a 'big' difference to me was the SR-60 which i love. not to jack this thread or anything, but is there any other headphones that you'd recommend that has the most pronounced difference on a budget? thought i'd get the AKG 81dj's...

Quote:



I believe I have most of their albums somewhere. I've seen ping pong, did not know a sequel was made.

Quote:



I've been using the AKG K81DJ since the first Head-fi National Meet. Last night I made the biiiiig mistake of putting on my wife's AT buds for a quick dogwalk.

QUE HORIBLE!

I ran back screaming to my AKG. Those buds sounded like they were broken, they were so tinny, and when i pressed them against my head for more bass, it was just muffly! Argh! Thank goodness for sealed portable cans!

Quote:




The Great Jahn has responded to my post! I've been blessed! I'll take your 'mistake' as a confirmation for me to get the 81dj's. Can't wait!