[bifcake]

Happy New Year! The farts salute you

 

[MuZI]

18+ years…

 

[Davidzak64]

In the thread browsing, seeing how old farts interact with each other.

*wonders if I will be similar as an old fart down the line*

A glimpse into the future.

 

[nanahachi]

I was never a big poster, and I check in every once in a (long) while, but have been absent for a number of years. It's quite nice to be back on HF again. Seeing old familiar names still around is awesome. Happy belated new year, all

 

[elnero]

I was never a big poster, and I check in every once in a (long) while, but have been absent for a number of years. It's quite nice to be back on HF again. Seeing old familiar names still around is awesome. Happy belated new year, all

Now here's someone I haven't talked to in a long time. Hope you're doing well my friend.

 

[nanahachi]

You too man! PM incoming

 

[kugino]

iʻve been quite happy with some old, ahem, vintage gear...been listening to vinyl a bit more at home and on-the-go is via airpods pro and iphone these days. active noise cancellation and no wires is hard to beat when traveling, especially with kids.

that being said, is there any new equipment any of you old-farts have found especially special? iʻve been thinking of picking up a chord mojo2...other than that iʻm not sure.

 

[mulveling]

iʻve been quite happy with some old, ahem, vintage gear...been listening to vinyl a bit more at home and on-the-go is via airpods pro and iphone these days. active noise cancellation and no wires is hard to beat when traveling, especially with kids.

that being said, is there any new equipment any of you old-farts have found especially special? iʻve been thinking of picking up a chord mojo2...other than that iʻm not sure.

I really love ES Lab's recent ES-R10 "clone" of Sony MDR-R10. I'm one of the few who actually prefers the clone over OG, because it has a bit more bass (still not bass monsters, by any stretch) and maintains its composure much better while playing rock & heavy metal very loud It offers about 80 - 90% of the OG's magic midrange and soundstage. Anyways - fantastic tuning, good looks, reasonable price. A real proper "homage" to the OG. Obviously not up to the build quality standard of the OG, but pretty good for what it is, and genuine Zelkova wood cups were used in the right shape (unlike Hifiman's ugly abominations). The OG R10 is still the king for classical music, soundstage, and pure midrange.

I still use and like "old" head-fi amps, like: Headroom Max Balanced, Home Balanced (there 2006 amps were MUCH better than their earlier unbalanced iterations), and Headamp Gilmore Balanced Reference. I still have an upgraded "toaster" Singlepower SDS. And of course, the OG DIY T2. My favorite headphone ever is still Stax 009 (the original, not 009S) driven by the OG T2 (and only with THAT amp!). Amp-wise not much really catches my attention today, other than some of the DIY community projects, ECP Audio, and Kerry's Eksonic.

I found the Focal headphones like Utopia & Stellia interesting, but nothing that I "had to" own in the long run. I will say that the Hifiman Susvara was surprisingly amazing - I'd own one for sure if they weren't so expensive.

I have largely neglected digital sources ever since I first delved into vinyl 15 years ago. Haven't had a digital source hooked up to my speaker rig (Tannoys) since ~ 2010. I hate digital lol.

 

[kugino]

thanks for your thoughts, @mulveling...i saw that ES-R10 and was interested. i got a chance to listen to the R10 at the national meet in san jose a while back...same time that i also heard a reel to reel tape feeding some K1000 that made me pick up the K1000 back then...but i could never afford the R10.

i'm amazed at how many IEMs there are nowadays...i may pick up a mid-range pair one of these days.

 

[chesebert]

I really love ES Lab's recent ES-R10 "clone" of Sony MDR-R10. I'm one of the few who actually prefers the clone over OG, because it has a bit more bass (still not bass monsters, by any stretch) and maintains its composure much better while playing rock & heavy metal very loud It offers about 80 - 90% of the OG's magic midrange and soundstage. Anyways - fantastic tuning, good looks, reasonable price. A real proper "homage" to the OG. Obviously not up to the build quality standard of the OG, but pretty good for what it is, and genuine Zelkova wood cups were used in the right shape (unlike Hifiman's ugly abominations). The OG R10 is still the king for classical music, soundstage, and pure midrange.

I still use and like "old" head-fi amps, like: Headroom Max Balanced, Home Balanced (there 2006 amps were MUCH better than their earlier unbalanced iterations), and Headamp Gilmore Balanced Reference. I still have an upgraded "toaster" Singlepower SDS. And of course, the OG DIY T2. My favorite headphone ever is still Stax 009 (the original, not 009S) driven by the OG T2 (and only with THAT amp!). Amp-wise not much really catches my attention today, other than some of the DIY community projects, ECP Audio, and Kerry's Eksonic.

I found the Focal headphones like Utopia & Stellia interesting, but nothing that I "had to" own in the long run. I will say that the Hifiman Susvara was surprisingly amazing - I'd own one for sure if they weren't so expensive.

I have largely neglected digital sources ever since I first delved into vinyl 15 years ago. Haven't had a digital source hooked up to my speaker rig (Tannoys) since ~ 2010. I hate digital lol.

I used to think vinyl was the holy grail. Then on a fateful day in 2009 when I heard Linn Klimax DS demoed against LP12 and it was clear to me then that Klimax DS is the future both in sound quality and quality of life improvements. Klimax series has only gotten better over the last decade. If you want to just listen to music and not dick around with “tweaks” and “ear candy” sound effects you get Linn or Playback Designs.

Did I mention you have a beautiful system?

 

[lan]

Hey guys. Just checking in on this funny thread. It's nice to see some familiar names still. I went to NY CanJam today and it was funny to be around so many headphones again. The sheer number of products now is overwhelming!

 

[ScrapIron]

Found this thread while surfing around. Took a leave of ~15 years from audio. Got back into it a year ago via home theater, then 2 channel (streaming and vinyl). And just this week getting back into headphones. Not a prolific poster. Okay, a lurker, but this site has a wealth of information and great folks.

 

[hottyson]

Found this thread while surfing around. Took a leave of ~15 years from audio. Got back into it a year ago via home theater, then 2 channel (streaming and vinyl). And just this week getting back into headphones. Not a prolific poster. Okay, a lurker, but this site has a wealth of information and great folks.

We are in the same boat. I took ten years away from Head-fi and returned a couple of years ago to re-familiarize myself with the new gear. I am amazed at what is available nowadays. Welcome back.

 

[Mercuttio]

Samesies. The stuff today is unreal. Shame the prices aren't where they were though- I remember when "top of the line" was under $1k.

 

[Oregonian]

I'm "only" a 11 year member now................seeing all the guys from 2002ish is amazing. Cheers to y'all.............I never stopped visiting, just transitioned jobs in 2021 and visited rarely for a few months. Such a change over my short tenure...............costs are insane now. 60+ headphones owned/tested/auditioned thanks to this great money pit site!