Defense Against the Dark Arts - Page 4

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrillhaus 

First year undergraduate physics and chemistry.

I'm working on a PhD in metallurgy... Cables make me weep.

Quote:

Originally Posted by keanex 

I never was much of a believer in burn-in, but after now listening to many headphones I've heard characteristics of headphones change over time. Not every headphone benefits, but some definitely do. For full-sized headphones though I don't think people give pad break-in enough credit.

Absolutely. Changes in the pads will alter the angle and distance to the ear, and in the case of supraaural pads will also affect your ear shape. In addition to the psychological affects of comfort on audio, all these can have a profound effect on perceived audio quality.

I have personally yet to hear any significant change in sound due to driver burn-in.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Armaegis 

 

I have personally yet to hear any significant change in sound due to driver burn-in.

Depending on how you want to define 'significant', try the Ultrasone pro2500.  Listen out of the box and run it for a few weeks off your head and listen again.  Note particularly the tone of snare drums.  Maybe you'll get a better product variant than myself and others, who knows.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaxilus 

Depending on how you want to define 'significant', try the Ultrasone pro2500.  Listen out of the box and run it for a few weeks off your head and listen again.  Note particularly the tone of snare drums.  Maybe you'll get a better product variant than myself and others, who knows.  

See, now you just ruined it by introducing expectation bias.

I want to shake the hand of a man who has an accurate enough aural memory to correctly note the differences in tonality of a snare drum after a week of not hearing it.

I just got called out on a certain thread for not not believing in cables . If that wasn't dumb enough I went back today and some teeniee bopper of a girl is running around on the thread calling my gear limited. Dang never thought of my gear as limited lol Oh well haters will be haters and a fool is soon parted from his money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Head Injury 

See, now you just ruined it by introducing expectation bias.

Would that be the same expectation bias as believing headphones can't change in some way?    What happens when the irresistible force meets the immovable object?  

For me, I tend to associate sounds with images so if a sound deviates I often get a different picture.   

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesMcProgger 

OK, I get the "this cant be right" flash when I see a product with lack of information about it, not by media but by the manufacter itself. like the lack and refuse to public technical specs for a product, that sure means something is fishy. yes you know what 2 audio companies I am talking about.

May not be thinking of the same company/ies, but who needs specs when you have a giant metaphorical megaphone through which to shout "OPAMPS ARE EVIL!" until everyone either believes you or runs away?
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willakan 

Quote:

Originally Posted by JamesMcProgger 

OK, I get the "this cant be right" flash when I see a product with lack of information about it, not by media but by the manufacter itself. like the lack and refuse to public technical specs for a product, that sure means something is fishy. yes you know what 2 audio companies I am talking about.

 

May not be thinking of the same company/ies, but who needs specs when you have a giant metaphorical megaphone through which to shout "OPAMPS ARE EVIL!" until everyone either believes you or runs away?
 

 

the companies I was thinking about has the giant metaphorical megaphone to scream out "We're the best around".
 

I've noticed over the past year if i dont see any or little reviews on a product thats a possible sign its not as great as the few people who pointed it out to me. Its probably just a door to door forum salesman doing the rounds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigitalFreak 

I just got called out on a certain thread for not not believing in cables . If that wasn't dumb enough I went back today and some teeniee bopper of a girl is running around on the thread calling my gear limited. Dang never thought of my gear as limited lol Oh well haters will be haters and a fool is soon parted from his money.

Yea thats one of the oldest tricks in the book to demonise the non-believer or make them look intellectually medieval. Sort of like religion and fanatics.

Biggest red flag for me is lack of transparency. In what the product does, as well as what the product doesn't do. I won't go into specific manufacturers, but when one puts it out there that I can expect this and not that for my $###, that is refreshing. Same with audio download sites, if they can't backup what they are selling as the format you are paying for, then I question why I support them.

Transparency in communication also. I am more likely to stick with a company that communicates with their customer base say, about an issue with a product, software, or media, and acknowledges it and states they are dealing with said issue, even if it isn't in the immediate release or upgrade cycle.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by GarfLeonard 

Biggest red flag for me is lack of transparency. In what the product does, as well as what the product doesn't do. I won't go into specific manufacturers, but when one puts it out there that I can expect this and not that for my $###, that is refreshing. Same with audio download sites, if they can't backup what they are selling as the format you are paying for, then I question why I support them.

 

Transparency in communication also. I am more likely to stick with a company that communicates with their customer base say, about an issue with a product, software, or media, and acknowledges it and states they are dealing with said issue, even if it isn't in the immediate release or upgrade cycle.  

 

 

Anyone notice how it's becoming more of the norm nowadays? Seems like the second you plunk down your money you're on your own and if there's any problems you either hear excuses or no answer at all.

If you see this guy, run.

I can't get over how much that schematic looks like a penis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Head Injury 

I can't get over how much that schematic looks like a penis.

Uh, you might want to see a doctor?

I don't have the money to test them myself but when it comes to "power conditioners" I hear that the most important thing if how your electric lines were installed and grounded, a box at one outlet can't really do anything to help you if that is screwed up. They also say it doesn't make a difference in PQ, if it does it's certainly not noticeable. I still buy the cheapest ones that can fit on the AV shelf because you can route cables and they look tidier

As far as cables, well once again i'm not dropping that coin to compare them but it's generally agreed they don't make a difference in PQ, you're better off saving for some sort of calibration or a better display/source. You have to keep in mind not all Blu-rays are created equal and not all BD Players have the best processors themselves.

With speaker wire, well i was told to just get a 16Gauge and that was it, if you are running it very far you should move up a gauge. Though i have heard people say they did notice a difference when moving up to 14 or 12 gauge, they were talking about the cheap speaker wire still nothing too crazy expensive so i might give that a try one day. But then again, if you wire it up with the new wire you don't have much of a chance to A/B so you might trick yourself into thinking it's better cause you expect it to sound better..........