I remember that J. Gordon Holt used to say "Who cares how long it lasts if it doesn't sound good?" And I would always respond "Who cares how good it sounds if it doesn't last?"

I had a Stax SRX MkIII, and I'd say the DT-48 holds up OK on the low end, perhaps on the high end but I'm not sure of that yet. But I'm pretty sure that despite a great sounding midrange overall, the DT-48 still has some midrange coloration that the Stax would not have, and the Sennheiser 800...

Not disingenuous at all! I don't think you can draw such a distinct line between the "classes" of gear or their aficionados. Besides, forums like this run on the advertising, and all those advertisers' products surely fall into that "highly marketed" audiophile class. So what's the story? Are we...

I don't drink Coke or Pepsi, and would recommend against it for anyone who cares about their health. Same reason I recommend good hi-fi gear for listening to those CD's or whatever. Better for your mental/spiritual health. And good hi-fi gear does sound better than the typical K-Mart stereo...

One of the three fundamental laws of logic: "Whatever is, is." So who cares what Apple does? The tracks will either be or they won't be. Either way it's a package deal. If you really want lossless super-fi tracks, you'd be better off starting with Stereophile's sources and branching off from...

Yes, I do have golden ears, and by your snide remarks, I see that you don't. Too bad for you. Maybe you listen to your hi-fi gear and just imagine that you have the best stuff, or maybe "good enough" is good enough for you. Fine - but why are you here?

  Quote: I think I mostly agree with this, not enough disagreement to mention anyway.  IQ numbers are good for blowing off the Appeal To Authority arguments - not saying you intended that - just that I tend to be the rebellious sort.  Personally I can vouch for certain speaker cable...

  Quote:  I see - down about 9-1/2 db at about 12-13 khz, down about 4db at 5 khz.  In the case of my Senn.800 and DT-48E, I suspect the 48E is down in that region about the same as the 800 is up, which makes for quite a difference combined.  So I don't know how this curve would relate to...

Here's a little tidbit I thought y'all would enjoy.  It's from the Pasadena Symphony binaural recording of Also Sprach Zarathustra circa 1994, gold-plated CD:   "This binaural recording of the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra was produced using a Neumann KU-100 'dummy head' microphone system...

  Quote: I got several CD's this week by Mediaeval Baebes, and they say "recorded in 24-bit" whatever.  So I would like the original digital mixdowns of those, and I presume they would be 24 bits.  Then I've heard of higher bitrates or other technologies that are directed toward making...

  Quote: Dale has been on the Web since before the Web.  Dale sold HP proprietary computers in Beverly Hills before that.  Check my site dalethorn.com, and check my Amazon reviews.   I've been around the block a few times, ya hear?  

Anyone who's paid by the music or hi-fi industry or their academic partners are suspect. But it's hard to get an "authoritative" report from ordinary joes, yes? Well, actually, there is one way, and it's lengthy, arduous, and boring to most people. You have to stick around a long time and learn...

I trust me, and my 200-plus IQ, to sort out who's lying and who's not. I see you deliberately avoided mentioning J. Gordon Holt. Hmmmmm. For the record, I don't hear differences in amps as a rule, sometimes in loudspeaker cables, very definitely in headphones. But even though Holt is dead, I...

Lots of good commentary here, and some hand-waving dismissals.  Indeed, have we come to the point where complex electronic products all sound the same, even when tubes/valves are used?  I have heard that tests have been done asking subjects to listen to CD tracks and then 192k MP3's from those...

If I had that button it would make my DT-48E sound more like my Senn.800, which is a slight boost around 7khz maybe.