Thanks so much GrindingThud!

Quote:   I had so much to write I put it in a blog article. Thousands of hours of field recording listening await the curious ear!

Well, it's nice of you to ask about my own work.   I have two albums available on BandCamp in their entirety. Which tracks one finds strange will vary with your tolerance to different sounds! On "The Drones" track 3, "Roadworks", is an untouched field recording... although most listeners...

Quote:   No-one can really advise anyone else on spending money. I do not know your lifestyle, income, or where else you could be spending the money!   But there is no doubt a great deal of improvement to be had over cheap headphones. And the HD 25 cans are very good value for the...

Just became a member here and want to thank you for this insane review. Though I am sure the pleasure was all yours!   I will never be able to afford even one item from your list but thank goodness I somehow manage to enjoy music despite this limitation!

Wow, cool. You should note that that is only a legend about the dragonflies. They don't actually do that!   I have heard quite a few insect recordings and, as a field recordist, have even made some rather poor attempts myself. Just yesterday I took this photo, so you know I like dragonflies...

What the heck does "reversive" mean?    Matching cans with chip sets is taking obsessive-compulsion a bit too far!   The HD 25-1 II sound great with portable devices since they are efficient and block external sounds very well. If you wear glasses (as I do) they are not the most...

Fair enough. I was basing my comments off the nine different A/D boxes you listed earlier.

Cool. I have asked a couple of sellers. They tend to post copy'n'paste product images, so I can't depend on those.

Thanks for that tip. Is there any way to know based on serial numbers or some obvious visible mark?   I will be looking second-hand, since otherwise it's not within the budget. This means buying over the internet, unseen.

There is a wealth of information on this site regarding headphone amps. But I remain unconvinced they are required to get decent sound, so long as one is using a professional D/A in the first place. I suppose the only way to find out is to try a bunch of them, but that is not feasible. Though I...

P.S. I think the Sennheiser HD-25 C II are basically the same as what I recommended. Except it has a curly cable! And this model may be more available, depending on where you shop.

It won't be easy to decide since headphones are such a personal matter. What one person likes another one won't. I will say that for DJing there are generally a few requirements:   1. Swivel cups, so that you can have one ear listening to the house while another cues.   2. A good seal...

Quote:   Hence my smilie!   But given the long list of stuff that hasn't worked out for the OP, it might be good to knock the problem on its head with "overkill" and then forget about it forever. That's what I did. And that's what I convinced a friend to do last month.   Never...

Good advice considering I have earlier today been looking at the Q701. ;-)   The K271 I own is good value, but I have heard K701/2 cans several times and they are obviously better. Given that the Q701 is slightly better yet (from reports) it seems a good place to be.

Quote:   For better sound than what you've used before, plus the best drivers in the industry, get an RME device. Of course, then you'd be spending $2000 to use a fraction of the interface. ;-)   But it would do you forever. And would act as your A/D/A. Presuming a half-rack unit is...

This article keeps making the rounds but never gets any better. It's badly written, unsubstantiated crap. Basically one guy's opinion without any justification. Exactly how you should not write an essay. Just to consider the first paragraph:   "The fact that so many books still name the...

It's sort of a photo I took, except I reversed out the bird. Reflects my interest in everyday sounds.

Nice to see people here enjoying the good life! I love to cook when my hands let me. Made some lovely fried potatoes to go with chicken tonight. More bother than any other way of cooking spuds, but worth it!

Just re-watched "L'avventura" and have to say it's now my second-favourite Antonioni film. Must have been freakin' radical in 1960.

Mrs. Torrance: "I'm The Bird"

Yeah, that's what I always end up thinking. :-)   The other half of my brain says "If you sell a couple things, you can buy more!"

I just noticed how old this thread is. Oh well, I will follow up my previous post with some specific advice in case anyone else reads this.   For vocals consider a robust dynamic mic that can do double-duty on-stage or in the studio. That saves money in the long run. Again, it's best to...

This is an impossible task given the constraints you present. Consider:   1. Everyone's voice is different. One mic, even a very good one, might not flatter your friend's voice. Another might do fine. You can't tell without trying.   2. Generally I would use a pair of mics for piano, in...

I have to say that living an artist's life I rarely get to drink the single malts I love, two of which would be Talisker and Lagavulin. However I do pick up inexpensive Irish whiskeys, which are OK if you like your stuff sweet.   Here's one thing I find odd... whenever I have tried an older...