I spent many Saturdays (and half my pay check :)) at the Shibuya HMV from 92-94. Bought my copy of The Orb's Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld CDs there as I was sick of listing to the cassette I'd copied off my buddy's UK originals. That same afternoon they were playing One Dove's Morning...

Best. Mullet. Ever.

Congrats on the A12, the simplicity of the white on clear shells is fantastic! I don’t recall needing any kind of ‘break-in’ period with my A12t, although getting used to the technique of locking them into my ears took a couple of days to get used to. I‘ve always been able to use mine for long...

Not all that much tbh, I’ve always been about the music first and foremost in this hobby. That said, if I’ve got a particular IEM in my ears or HP on my head, I might queue up music that plays to those strengths. But I’ve tried to pursue a modest collection of gear with enough variety in it to...

If you've spent $2600 on an end-game type headphone, $400 for a balanced amp to make them really shine is kind of a no-brainer, plus you'll get more out of the 2C at the same time.

Guess it hasn’t scanned ASR yet. :blush:

Great Stuff Dan, looking forward to those Toro y Moi instrumentals! I'm really enjoying this new John Cale album, some fantastic collabs in there esp. the Weyes Blood one. With the passing of so many greats recently, I feel it's important to really savour new stuff from true legends like this.

Of all the Jeff Beck collabs, this has to be my favourite:

Absolutely. I didn't get mine from half-way around the world overnight, but then again I didn't pay for shipping on top of my Serratus either, so how could I possibly complain. It should also be mentioned that TGXear will look after you with post-sale support and assistance. At first I was...

I think the biggest difference you'd notice would be going from the Magni's single-ended to the Jot2 balanced, assuming you've also got a balanced cable for your Ananda. I don't know that HP specifically, but pretty much any planar will sound much fuller and more dynamic the more power you feed...

At the beach on a day like today, I can’t help but hear this in my head…

For me, this entirely what the hobby is about, finding that gear or combination of gear that allows me to completely escape into the music. Sometimes my head just isn’t in the right place for it to work, but the Empyrean, Andro2020, and Cascade can pretty much always trigger this, while the...

If you are happy with the Audeze LCD2, then Empyrean is an upgrade in many ways. I don’t think you’d find it veiled, or having recessed vocals at all by comparison. Empyrean often gets dinged for not being as technical or detailed as other TOTL, but I really like it’s warm intimate style.

When I first started out in this hobby I consciously avoided balanced, as I felt that if it did make a difference, it wouldn't be as much as I'd experience by getting more/different headphones & IEMs instead. For the first year I was buying stuff the only thing that I had balanced was the...

Well, in favour of the LCD-2C is that it's a price-bracket or 2 below the Empyrean. I've had mine a little more than 2 years now, I don't think I'd get all that much for them second hand, so might as well keep them. One thing I do wish though is that the pads were easier to replace/swap, as...

I was quite happy with the Asgard3 when I first got my LCD-2C, but the upgrade to Jot2 balanced was also significant. Better bass tightness and control with noticeable improvement in dynamic range. Thing is, I got the Meze Empyrean at the same time as the Jot2, and figured I'd sell the LCD-2C...

Gaea has called in to my house on it’s Aussie Walkabout, kindly organised by @Damz87 My initial reaction was “Who stole all my mid bass??” having spent the morning with Empyrean. But after a few hours I’m starting to appreciate how well it renders guitars, strings, female vocals, cymbals...

Heard so much good feedback on those i must finally get a few. Those are the ones that come with the Chu IEM, right?

I know a lot of people say driver flex shouldn't cause any issues long-term, and it probably doesn't. But it always bugs me when I hear it, as if the manufacturer took a shortcut and chose not to design the IEM in a way that the driver doesn't flex. One IEM in particular that did this was my UM...

Some friend, who now won’t be able to hear you swear at them!😉 You might also look at the classifieds, these are popular enough headphones there’s usually something second hand available.

Listening for yourself is always the best test of any gear, so if you’ve heard the pairing already and are happy with it, that’s the main thing. The LCD-CB uses the same driver as the 2C, and i do know from using mine with various amps that the planar magnetic driver definitely scales very well...

Fair enough, FOMO is strong in this hobby :relaxed: From my own experience with the Xe6 and a few of the other bass-oriented IEMs around, coupled with the Cooler-consensus forming around it, to me it's almost a no-brainer. When, not If at this point...

Neither of those things sound right to me, especially a loose switch. The switches should feel tight & heavy, and switch with a very satisfying 'thunk'. Maybe the 1/4" jack would loosen up over time, but with that switch issue I'd get in touch with Schiit.