[apatN]

I know a lot of you guys have put lots of money in their rig just to hear very subtle improvements and I was wondering when you're not in your 2k$ heaven, but just outside without any headphone or speakers.

Do you still pick up those subtle sounds? When you're walking through a city are you listening to whatever you hear? Listening to every woodpecker, bushes and wind when you're in a forest? Or are you just ignoring all of those sounds, making just your way home to get to hear your brandnew Orpheus that you recently bought?

 

[bperboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apatN /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know a lot of you guys have put lots of money in their rig just to hear very subtle improvements and I was wondering when you're not in your 2k$ heaven, but just outside without any headphone or speakers. Do you still pick up those subtle sounds? When you're walking through a city are you listening to whatever you hear? Listening to every woodpecker, bushes and wind when you're in a forest? Or are you just ignoring all of those sounds, making just your way home to get to hear your brandnew Orpheus that you recently bought?

I think people strike a fine balance between the sounds of human creation and the natural world. You have to keep in mind that many people here like the music, as well as getting gear, but that doesn't exclude them from ever going outside. If anything, this hobby attunes one's hearing and allows you to notice more audible details in the real world.

 

[Lord Chaos]

Good question, ApatN. I specifically seek out quiet places just so that I can hear the subtle sounds of the real world. I like mountain biking because I can get to those places without having to drive. The whole car-dedicated city thing is an assault on all senses, but especially on hearing. I go out early in the morning, before the helicopters, airplanes loud cars and radios are going, so that I can hear the canyon wrens in their cliffside nests and little lizards scratching through the dry leaves.

 

[GlendaleViper]

There is no more beautiful soundtrack than the woods.

 

[apatN]

Wow cool, nice replies!

Nice to see you guys really do like sounds, and not just calling themselves audiophile as they buy expensive stuff. Sure the hobby is all about getting that right sound by buying other equipment, but in the end all that really matters is you like sound in it's purest form.

We got a flat roof here where I like to sit at night. Just for relaxation, you know? Especially when I just finished my training. I can hear all the leaves moving by the wind, and just the silence and peace up there, no headphone can match that

With that being said, recently I was in Amsterdam with my school and just the noise there. I couldn't live there, from around every corner there are cars coming, trams passing by and planes flying over. No, just let me live in Zuidlaarderveen

 

[rlanger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlendaleViper /img/forum/go_quote.gif There is no more beautiful soundtrack than the woods.

I'm partial to the new Rainforest release, but yeah, the woods have some good stuff too!

 

[GlendaleViper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rlanger /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm partial to the new Rainforest release, but yeah, the woods have some good stuff too!

Meh, if it ain't binaural, I don't want none of it!

Seriously though, nothing replaces the total package. Sitting on a huge, smooth rock surrounded by brooks and a lake, wind blowing through the trees... it's one of those rare instances where the visual experience is integral to the audible.

Then again, there's the other side of the coin: Sitting in the dark in a tent after a storm, while coyotes bay all around you, getting ever closer...

Quote:

Originally Posted by apatN Sure the hobby is all about getting that right sound by buying other equipment, but in the end all that really matters is you like sound in it's purest form.

And this is why it's so important (IMO) to get out and see live music. How can you obtain sonic purity if you've never experienced it?

 

[Advil]

I do notice more sounds now. I like to try to pay attention to the most subtle noises and vibrations in every situation, it's not something that just happened because of head-fi, it's something I kind of TRY to do.

And now I always have to critique music and the equipment it's being played on. When I worked at Old Navy I'd always whine about how congested the sound was from those crappy speakers. I like it but I hate it because nothing is good enough anymore.

 

[Lord Chaos]

I really detest ambient music. I used to work for an engineering company. One day I came in to work on the weekend and the first thing I did was turn off the Muzak. The one other person there promptly complained.

If I have to listen to something I want it to have real content to make it worth hearing. Otherwise, just keep quiet. Music that's just sold by the hour with no human being involved just irritates me.

I like to walk along streams, listening to the different sounds from different places. Riffles make a kind of quiet hiss; falls make a loud hiss with some lower frequencies. Water falling past a cavity will sometimes make a very nice low-frequency restful sound I could listen to all day. I keep meaning to get some portable recording equipment and seek out places like that.

I used to climb one of the ponderosa pines outside our cabin in Colorado. Wind whispered through the needles, picking up when storms approached. Thunder would echo off the cliffs along the Continental Divide. If it looked to be a storm with legs, coming our way, I'd move to the porch of the cabin.

I have the Rainforest CD, bought as part of a 6-CD set. They're good recordings but I wish they'd been set up differently. They need tracks of various lengths that I can assemble with music into a playlist.

 

[Wodgy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlendaleViper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Meh, if it ain't binaural, I don't want none of it!

Does anyone know if there are any good binaural "environment" recordings? I'd be interested in picking some up.

 

[ericlikeseatin]

growing up in NYC and now living in philly metro, my brain has a natural tendency to silence most sounds of the city. i still remember going off to cornell for college (ithaca, NY), and thinking how quiet everything was at first. then after turning off that noise cancellation that my brain had, i discovered the sounds of the wind, birds, leaves rustling, woodpeckers, and lots of other shouty nature things, for lack of better words. i trained myself to listen for details such as acorns dropping from trees, bird droppings falling from the sky, and running water in the distance. living in the middle of nowhere for 4 years really has changed my life.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlendaleViper /img/forum/go_quote.gif And this is why it's so important (IMO) to get out and see live music. How can you obtain sonic purity if you've never experienced it?

I've been to 20+ classical music concerts this academic year alone (Sept-May) and it frequently reminds me of how real instruments sound like. I also play the violin so what I strive for in this hobby is to bring what real life sounds like into the comfort of my own listening rig within the constraints of my wallet.