Some OVERRATED High End Gear. - Page 13

Quote:

Originally Posted by purrin 



To be fair, I've heard a few high-end DACs that were voiced to sound warmer and more rolled-off than what I would consider neutral. I'm taking about a "house sound" sort of thing. I'm not naming them publicly though. You can PM me if you really want to know.

I owned a portable amp made in the late 90s ( I won't name them ) that was rolled off at the highs just to make portable CD players sound tolerable from my ER4S.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik 



Well, that and a 1" thick CNC-milled aluminum faceplate.

That is hilariously true. Uncle Erik, I think we are waging a losing struggle with listeners who think they can hear jitter, and two feet of power cord in a 150  mile power line. And who think that better looking gear sounds better, and better still if it costs more.

When are audio enthusiasts going to learn to choose gear with their eyes closed and their ears open?

Hey, there's pride on the line :p

Stax are really overrated. Whoever first made claims to their superiority must have been out of his mind I tell you! Boring, lifeless, totally unengaging. My dynamic Audio-Technica AD2000 is the complete opposite and remains my all-time favorite headphone. The folks who go on and on about electrostats have to be deluded in their thinking. Stats might play music but they have no soul. The only headphones I've heard that have soul are the AD2K and Grado HP1000, which, incidentally enough, are dynamic.

I feel totally ripped off right now and will be selling all of my electrostatic gear after RMAF. I'll say it again, Stax are vastly overrated on this forum. Dynamic is better.

(Actually, just kidding with the above, hah!) :p
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clarkmc2 
That is hilariously true. Uncle Erik, I think we are waging a losing struggle with listeners who think they can hear jitter, and two feet of power cord in a 150  mile power line. And who think that better looking gear sounds better, and better still if it costs more.

 

When are audio enthusiasts going to learn to choose gear with their eyes closed and their ears open?

If audiophiles chose gear with their ears only, that would be just as misguided. Do you have any idea how easy it would be for a vendor to make a shoddy piece of gear that still sounds good to at least one person? Audiophiles need to choose gear with their eyes, ears, and brains. Don't buy blindly based on either aesthetics or sound, or both - it should be what's inside that counts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla 
Steve, will you have your AD2ks at the show? If you are so adamant about them I'd love to give them a listen. I've kind of tossed off the idea of full size headphones giving me the presentation I wanted in favor of IEMs, but I always keep an open mind.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/556674/start-making-your-plans-for-2011-canjam-rmaf-rocky-mountain-audio-fest/120#post_7724116

Shakti stones,crystals,pyramids and voodoo in general

Nearly crapped in my pants.

Good one!
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr 

Stax are really overrated. Whoever first made claims to their superiority must have been out of his mind I tell you! Boring, lifeless, totally unengaging. My dynamic Audio-Technica AD2000 is the complete opposite and remains my all-time favorite headphone. The folks who go on and on about electrostats have to be deluded in their thinking. Stats might play music but they have no soul. The only headphones I've heard that have soul are the AD2K and Grado HP1000, which, incidentally enough, are dynamic.

 

I feel totally ripped off right now and will be selling all of my electrostatic gear after RMAF. I'll say it again, Stax are vastly overrated on this forum. Dynamic is better.

 

(Actually, just kidding with the above, hah!) :p
 

If audiophiles chose gear with their ears only, that would be just as misguided. Do you have any idea how easy it would be for a vendor to make a shoddy piece of gear that still sounds good to at least one person? Audiophiles need to choose gear with their eyes, ears, and brains. Don't buy blindly based on either aesthetics or sound, or both - it should be what's inside that counts.

Will you build me a DIY T2 then ? ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manyak 



Most people are intimidated by electronics these days, no thanks to all the stickers everywhere that say "Do not open, risk of electric shock and death". It's really amusing how many people think that if you remove the case of a CRT it'll, like, shoot lightning bolts at you or something. When I tell people I know how to repair them I get these really amazed looks as if I had the cure for cancer or something.

But while we're on the topic, do you have any links to any decent DIY designs? The only one I've seen around is the CMOY, which I don't want to bother with (for various reasons).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik 

If someone supplied gorgeous cases, DIY would become a lot more popular.

I think the demise of DIY is more of a general cultural change, brought on by the disappearance of manufacturing industry.  Back in the day the average joe either worked a manufacturing job or had brothers or neighbors who did, and making something himself was a default instinct.  My grandfathers were typical.  They made everything themselves - toys for the kids, windows for the house, all of it - because they were totally comfortable with the process.  All day long they saw steel go in one end of the factory and finished goods come out the other.  People don't see that anymore, so the default instinct is fading away.