exwhyzed01
New Head-Fier
Hi All,
After weeks of researching Headphones, DACs and Amps, I recently began my audio journey starting with headphones, and ended-up with the Massdrop Sennheiser HD6xx. Finding them way too dark (i need some sizzle/more hi-hat-cymbal detail, which i can add with EQ), and the bass notes slurring together (I can't fix this), i stumbled upon a Headfi guide, by the user Lunatique, entitled
The most reliable/easiest way to EQ headphones properly to achieve the most ideal sound (for non-professionals)
I began following the initial steps and very early on, and when media players are being suggested, the guide indicates that VSTs can be used with the JRiver media player. WHAAAAAAT (in a good way)?!
I come from a background of making electronic music as a hobby, and VST instruments are an essential aspect. There are VSTs for everything...for seemingly every aspect of sound. From graphic to parametric EQs, Reverbs with hundreds of presets, Amplifiers, Air providers, Warmth bringers, Wideners, Distortions, Harmonic suppliers, Exciters, Compressors, Effects, Tape saturation/hisses, and an array of magical acoustic property adders (VSTs that use a blend of different combinations of audio-property tweaks to add character to sound).
If music can now be colored in a plethora of ear-pleasing ways...
- Do i need to continue endless hours of DAC/AMP researching, and then testing, to find one with the perfect sound for me?
- Can all DAC/Amp sound colorations be captured by combinations of plugins alone?
- Should I just get a basic and cheap clean sounding DAC and Amp (potential endless research hours still required for this task) to get sound to my headphones, and then tweak VST knobs and controls to my liking, resulting in audio-bliss for the rest of eternity?
I'm really interested in hearing of people's experiences and opinions on this.
Please find a small list below, of the types of VSTs I'm talking about.
P.S. For those who don't have experiences with VST's, its very easy to turn them on/off so you can A/B the sound at the click of a mouse. Users can tweak knobs to really over-drive an effect to hear what its all about, then scale it back to an almost imperceptible level. Users can also stack VSTs just like physical hardware, and the order you stack them makes a difference in the final output sound.
WARMTH
Klanghelm MJUC
PSP Vintage Warmer
Voxengo Warmifier
AIR
Plug-in Alliance Maag EQ4 (yellow and blue knobs on the right)
Slate Revival
Softube Abbey Road Studios Brilliance Pack
HARMONICS
Softube Harmonics Analog Saturation Processor
BBE H82 Harmonic Maximizer
SPL TwinTube
SATURATION
FabFilter Saturn 2
Soundtoys Decapitator
Softube Tape
WIDENING
Waves S1 Stereo Imager
Credland Audio StereoSavage
Ozone Imager
EXCITER
Waves Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter
iZotope Exciter
Audio Thing Valve Exciter
After weeks of researching Headphones, DACs and Amps, I recently began my audio journey starting with headphones, and ended-up with the Massdrop Sennheiser HD6xx. Finding them way too dark (i need some sizzle/more hi-hat-cymbal detail, which i can add with EQ), and the bass notes slurring together (I can't fix this), i stumbled upon a Headfi guide, by the user Lunatique, entitled
The most reliable/easiest way to EQ headphones properly to achieve the most ideal sound (for non-professionals)
I began following the initial steps and very early on, and when media players are being suggested, the guide indicates that VSTs can be used with the JRiver media player. WHAAAAAAT (in a good way)?!
I come from a background of making electronic music as a hobby, and VST instruments are an essential aspect. There are VSTs for everything...for seemingly every aspect of sound. From graphic to parametric EQs, Reverbs with hundreds of presets, Amplifiers, Air providers, Warmth bringers, Wideners, Distortions, Harmonic suppliers, Exciters, Compressors, Effects, Tape saturation/hisses, and an array of magical acoustic property adders (VSTs that use a blend of different combinations of audio-property tweaks to add character to sound).
If music can now be colored in a plethora of ear-pleasing ways...
- Do i need to continue endless hours of DAC/AMP researching, and then testing, to find one with the perfect sound for me?
- Can all DAC/Amp sound colorations be captured by combinations of plugins alone?
- Should I just get a basic and cheap clean sounding DAC and Amp (potential endless research hours still required for this task) to get sound to my headphones, and then tweak VST knobs and controls to my liking, resulting in audio-bliss for the rest of eternity?
I'm really interested in hearing of people's experiences and opinions on this.
Please find a small list below, of the types of VSTs I'm talking about.
P.S. For those who don't have experiences with VST's, its very easy to turn them on/off so you can A/B the sound at the click of a mouse. Users can tweak knobs to really over-drive an effect to hear what its all about, then scale it back to an almost imperceptible level. Users can also stack VSTs just like physical hardware, and the order you stack them makes a difference in the final output sound.
WARMTH
Klanghelm MJUC
PSP Vintage Warmer
Voxengo Warmifier
AIR
Plug-in Alliance Maag EQ4 (yellow and blue knobs on the right)
Slate Revival
Softube Abbey Road Studios Brilliance Pack
HARMONICS
Softube Harmonics Analog Saturation Processor
BBE H82 Harmonic Maximizer
SPL TwinTube
SATURATION
FabFilter Saturn 2
Soundtoys Decapitator
Softube Tape
WIDENING
Waves S1 Stereo Imager
Credland Audio StereoSavage
Ozone Imager
EXCITER
Waves Aphex Vintage Aural Exciter
iZotope Exciter
Audio Thing Valve Exciter
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