[ColtMrFire]

Is there a video player equivalent to the great sounding amarra?  I watch alot of high def .mkv files with DTS tracks....having amarra makes me realize how much I've been compromising on sound quality with VLC player.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

VLC isn't actually bad - from my listening its SQ on live performances isn't that much behind the audio ripped from the same video file played on MediaMonkey (if it's really even of lower quality at all). Just set it to 100% and use the potentiometer on your amp. If Amarra sounds better for you then just use that for pure audio and VLC for video.

 

[SandvichDISH]

I like VLC, but I hate the ability to go over 100%. It just sounds terrible. And since they mapped the volume to the scroll wheel I might have VLC on my secondary screen and not realize it's still selected, I try to scroll up/down on a website and I end up changing the volume. 
I don't like software volume control anyway, it's generally just a quality killer.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

...they mapped the volume to the scroll wheel I might have VLC on my secondary screen and not realize it's still selected, I try to scroll up/down on a website and I end up changing the volume. 

 
Never noticed that - usually when I use VLC I just watch the video, and use MediaMonkey for music (while browsing, or not). Good thing I found out about this before I make any mistake of answering Skype or doing anything other than VLC only to get a nasty surprise.

 

[Kodhifi]

Quote:

I've had my Senn hd600 (plus audioengine d1 amp) for a few days and have been enjoying them.  But tonight I was lying in bed far from the computer and listening to some music with the help of an extension cable...I had my wireless mouse next to me so I could control the computer from the bed.  I was listening to Danny Elfman's remastered Batman score in VLC player, and the volume was a bit too low so I leaned forward with the mouse to get a closer look at the (very small) volume control on VLC player...when I tried to move the slider up a bit, the mouse suddenly went haywire and cranked it nearly all the way up, but only for a split second until I got control back and lowered the volume...but in that split second I heard the music distort in the headphones.
 
Suddenly I am certain I've done some damage to the cans...though I am not really certain because they sound the same, but for some reason I think they're suddenly less detailed.  I am listening to other recognizable music in my collection to make sure everything sounds the same, I don't know if it is my paranoia playing tricks on my ears, or what...can something like what just happened ruin headphones?

 
Wow the D1 did that? I don't use the onboard amp because it doesn't get loud enough for me on quiet sources like blu-ray movies and classical but even with the volume all the way up listening to skrillex it's never distorted in my headphone before.
 
I can tell you that you didn't damage your headphones though. What causes damage is heat and friction, you would have to drive them at insane volume for several minutes before the voice coils got hot enough to start de-laminating or de-gausing the magnet. That kind of damage initially would present as sudden dips in volume at certain frequencies as it would effect the ease with which the voice coil can move in it's enclosure, like it would bind sometimes which would cause crackling and drops in volume at certain frequencies.
 
Anyway please rest assured, the Audioengine Amp has a perfect gain on it and even at 100% volume at Windows mixer and physical volume knob, it isn't enough to distort 250ohm Beyerdynamics, in fact it sounds badass. It's not even loud enough to hurt my hearing hehe, I'd guess maybe 94db at max volume on a loud song.
 
If your media player like VLC allows you to increase gain to get a louder volume, what you probably heard was digital clipping. 16bit audio has 65,356 levels of voltage and when you turn it up all the way and max out the DAC then it basically turns any wave into a square wave since there is no 65,357, 65,358 etc etc. This is a very nasty kind of distortion to hear but shouldn't have hurt your headphones.