[m8o]

I wasn't sure what forum would be best, amp, headphone, etc., so I put it here where I think the common denominator is ... where the emotional musical experience is discussed.

So with that intro, here's the request for your thoughts... [not too long-winded'a intro for once.

] What music/artist/album/whatever is uniquely special and completely engaging with your particular set of headphones and electronics?

To start things off, I'll start with what came to me the 1st time I heard it with my home setup. I am using:
- DT880 headphones
- a Little Dot III+ amp
- being driven from either an iPod
- or from my computer with a RealTek ALC850 based soundcard
- using Foobar2000 with ASIO drivers -- I don't use an EQ or any DSP.

This combo is doing a lot right. I'm loving Trance and the sort with this setup. I love Jazz with this setup. I love Synthpop with this setup. I love NewWave with this setup [now not so "new", so call it "1stWave"]. I love a lot with this setup. But there's one thing I think this setup, primarily because of the amp I think, I found special recently.

Led Zeppelin! It blew my mind the 1st time I played a Zeppelin track from the MP3 library with this setup. It just sounds the "rightest" I've ever heard; engaging is what I mean. I'm one who's heard it all on a lot of 2-ch systems, big & small, expensive & cheap. But hearing it now on headphones with my setup.... I stayed up until about 3:30am last night listening to most all the tracks from the 6 Zeppelin albums I have in my library @ the moment. I do wish I'd break out the albums, as there's a lot of hiss in this MP3/soundcard reproduction when the music signal isn't cranking. But I can easily look past that by the whole experience I'm hearing (anyway, it would be replaced with snap crackle and pop from the albums). As I'm writing I'm listening again. And Plant just started singing in The Song Remains The Same. ...oop, had to stop writing to do some obligatory air guitar as Jimmy Page took off after he finished the verse... LOL

Anyway, lets hear about those outstanding instances of synchronicity you've experienced with your equipment and particular kind of music.

P.S. Hope this thread isn't duplicative, else it should have been name with a "yet another..."

 

[Azure]

Source: Sony SCD-CE595
Amplifier: STAX SRM-313
Headphones: STAX SR-404

Genre synergy: Electronica, trance, house

Specific song synergy (Since 99% of the people won't be familiar with import music, I'll upload an archive containing a few songs):

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AB3TFHP5

Akira Yamaoka - Empty of the Sky
Akira Yamaoka - iFuturelist
Alice DeeJay - Waiting for Your Love
CASCADA - MIRACLE SAD Extended Mix
Ryu - The Strong Jaeger Ryu* remix
Sparker - Brightness Darkness (WHITELIGHT Mix)

Just to name a few songs...

 

[Azure]

Anyone else?

 

[pds6]

m8o says:
Quote:

Anyway, lets hear about those outstanding instances of synchronicity you've experienced with your equipment and particular kind of music.

I love to use my Portaphile V2 (Maxxed) with live music. Absolutely fabulous sound.

 

[m8o]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure Anyone else?

we ain't get'n much luv....

 

[Coltrane]

I'm really surprised you picked Led Zeppelin as the best. They actually stood out as one of the underperforming bands on my DT880s. I just dont think they do high energy rock very well.

Acoustic guitars and sparsely layered music sounds the best. Bob Dylan - Time Out of Mind really sticks as a perfect album for these cans. A little dark, with lots of little elements that all sound crystal clear. Densely layered electric guitar or classical doesnt fare quite as well. Led Zeppelin 3, for example, would sound amazing on these things. Led Zepplin 2, not so much.

Anything with clearly articulated bass lines also sound great (like The beatles.) DT880s dont have alot of bass, but it is very very clean.

Tom Waits also sounds great. Lots of little things that add up to the a whole.

 

[Purgatos]

Check my sig for my equipment.

My home rig does symphonies and string ensembles as well as I could hope, while my mobile rig is best for electronica and dance.

This is no coincidence, those are the genres I listen to the most in the two situations.

Oh, just thought of another one. David Bowie sounds GREAT on my home rig. GREAT.

 

[Ikrit42]

Winamp KS --> AV-710 --> Furman SP-20 amp --> MS-1s.

Moby Dick really hit me last week while I was listening to some Zeppelin again...
The drums just sounded perfect.

I used to think Cake sounded great with this rig, but now it feels enclosed... like a physical pressure on my head. Not sure what's up.

 

[m8o]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coltrane I'm really surprised you picked Led Zeppelin as the best. They actually stood out as one of the underperforming bands on my DT880s. I just dont think they do high energy rock very well.

You know, it's all the amp. I hope you come across a LD II+ or preferably III+ at a meet or a friend. Try them with the DT880 and Zeppelin and let me know if I'm crazy or not.

I just set up my laptop and 'older' Audigy 2 NX box (no over or upsampling to spoil the fun), brought the LD III+ down to it to audition whether I'll be embarrasing myself bringing it to the NY meet, and listend to a bunch of tracks. It just reinforced that the amp/phone combo really doesn't do "Seal" anywhere near as well as it does "Led Zeppelin" when 'cranked'. It's all about the harmonic signature of the amp (call it what it is, distortion). But the harmonics the LD produce meshes so perfectly with Zep IMO.
edit: forgot to say ... the Little Dots use a DHT power tube.

 

[GreatDane]

[insert any female jazz artist]>CDP>Aphex processor>Corda-Cross-1>Woo Audio 3> HD 650=

 

[roadtonowhere08]

I have my setup in my sig.

I have to say that with my setup, anything with distorted, powerful guitar sounds out of this world. It sounds raw, punchy, and has power behind each note.

So far, the song that demonstrates best what I am talking about is Swallow the Sun's "Solitude". Most of you will probably hate the song, but the immense power and rawness of that guitar riff is insane. I have a newfound love of Grados because of how well it replicates the power of electric guitars.

 

[muckluck]

I think Little Dot + Led Zeppelin = eargasm. When I first played In The Light with my Juli@>LDII+>SA3000 I almost teared due to how beautiful it sounded.