My Impressions & Reviews
Headphones:
Sources & Amplifiers:
My Preferences
For D/A devices, I prefer to optimize for transparency. Specifically, I look for significantly low distortion, jitter, noise, crosstalk, and other errors that are a part of the overall reconstruction error of the analog signal. My preferences here lead me to lean in more towards measurements than subjective impressions, such that I see excellence in the former as necessary and positive signals in the latter as interesting.
Amplifiers are where I am open to euphonic distortions, and accordingly, I value nuanced, honest-to-self impressions from careful listeners, though depending on the amplifier in question, measurable excellence as well. I am curious about tube rolling and trying out various distortion signatures for their holistic euphonic effects. I prize nuanced, musical amplifiers with a special preference for Class A gain stages and precise, analog volume knobs.
For headphones, I prefer a neutral, natural tonal performance, with smoothness from the upper midrange through presence, and technicalities that sway musical rather than analytical. I look at measurements and subjective impressions roughly equally here. As this is the category that most impacts my experience, this is also the category I prefer to spend the most money on.
My hobbies do not include audio equipment, in the sense that I'm here for the destination, not the journey. My relationship with audio equipment is like my relationship with my cars. I don't buy a car often, but when I do, I like to buy something that is nicer than average, a great value, and lightly used when possible. For some parts of the car, I care about peak performance specs and ratings. For other parts, it's more subjective.
I wade through information here and elsewhere, editorializing what I read and filtering for signals that are useful to me. I'm not here to make friends, but I'm not here to make enemies either. I don't post often, but when I do I try to contribute with signals.
