** Confessions of a Failing Audiophile ** - I hated the LCD2

[swbf2cheater]

I'm all for anything that sounds great and doesn't require me to buy something else just to make it sound nice

 

[DavidMahler]

 
Quote:

I'm finding that more and more of the general populace actually do know what good sound it, but simply don't care. They've head good speakers and headphones, but then shrug and go back to their buds and laptop speakers.
 
Ridiculous example: I've got a friend taking broadcasting and studio classes in college and she works with a bunch of AKGs and Senns all day long. She fully acknowledges that those headphones sound far better than her ibuds, but she still likes the buds because she's used to them.
 
Ugh, it's like the current generation of listeners are being trained to prefer poorly recorded and poorly reproduced music.
 

That is weird!
 
The saddest ever thing ever said to me regarding high end audio, and I'll never forget it is...
 
About 6 years ago my best friend / bandmate got his first iPod.  I think at the time iTunes default ripper was 128 kbps AAC.  He was ripping his massive CD collection in default mode not really knowing the program.  So we're at the studio and I'm sitting there with my band...all experienced musicians....taking a a nice break, eating....and I turn to my friend and I say.... so how you liking having your library on-the-go, and he says "it's really nice though I've only ripped a few dozen cds so far".... so I said... "next time i'm over at your place, remind me to show you how to make the audio quality really good"  so another band member turns and says "he knows how to raise the volume" followed by a burst of laughter from everyone including me.....but I gifted this guy a pair of HD25-1II a few months later only to find him with a pair for 20 dollar skull candys a few weeks after I gifted him the headphones....... and his response..... "I like loud"....mind you the HD25 out of an iPod is plenty loud for most people.

 

[InnerSpace]

Quote:

I'm finding that more and more of the general populace actually do know what good sound it, but simply don't care.
 

Not just the general populace.  My grown-up daughter is the same.  There was no headphone jack on her new TV, so I lent her a Violectric V200 to hook up to the audio outs.  She was all OMG I can hear everything!! ... but shows no interest at all in enhancing her music system or anything else.  She's heard the cause and effect, but ignores it.  Like there's a wire loose somewhere.
 

 

[purrin]

I actually think it's wire loose with us.

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

I actually think it's wire loose with us.

I'm afraid I must concur with purrin.  Spending thousands of dollars on audio rigs, carrying around bricks that we call "portable", not to mention some of the other things we do in the name of better sound quality.  Yes, I believe we might have a few loose screws.

 

[Graphicism]

People don't have problems wearing glasses or contacts to improve their vision, so why is it so absurd to wear better headphones to improve audio?

 

[Armaegis]

Because public perception of "better" requires there be a "b" emblazoned on the side...

 

[mythless]

Interesting read.  Only read bits and pieces of the replies on this thread but overall, it's quite interesting.

 

[Digital-Pride]

Quote:

People don't have problems wearing glasses or contacts to improve their vision, so why is it so absurd to wear better headphones to improve audio?

Because having good vision is a necessity while improving one's musical enjoyment is not.  And really aren't all hobbies a little absurd to someone who doesn't share the same interest?

 

[cheapskateaudio]

It does not surprise me that the OP hated the LCD2... Most audiophiles *hate* headphones. When I first got into high-end audio I disliked my system the more "high-end" it sounded. The best sound I got was with the xcanv2 + hd 600's. I also really liked the Grado SR 225's out of a portable headphone jack. 
 
Regarding IEM's, there is definitely some truth to what the OP says in my view. I think that IEM's easily outperform over the ear headphones in many ways. However, they will never, ever, ever replace over the ear headphones because over the ear sound more natural to *most* people. I have owned/own some good IEM's from Sony and Sennheiser and at no time did I prefer those over my HD600's/650's. I prefer headphones for many types of listening because I work at a computer and don't have an office that is also my listening room. But if I could, I would absolutely setup my office as a listening room and hook up a nice speaker system, no doubt in my mind.
 
The other question is, do I need HD650's to enjoy music? No, I enjoy my PMX 680's almost as much when I exercise. 
 
That being said, HD 650's offer a lot more, does it translate into more enjoyment of the *music*? Not a lot more for me, just a little. 
 
Enjoyment of music is a weird thing. There are two parts to it really. You've got the music itself, and the experience of listening to music. If you imagine a novelist describing being at a concert he could tell you all about how the music sounds, whether it's loud, grungy, etc, he could talk about the things people said, the way the music reverberated in the environment of the concert hall, but he could hardly explain how he enjoyed the music except to use trite and overused adjectives...  Most people are content to just enjoy music in that indescribable sense, some of us want the experience of it as well.
 
 

 

[WarriorAnt]

Quote:

It does not surprise me that the OP hated the LCD2... Most audiophiles *hate* headphones. When I first got into high-end audio I disliked my system the more "high-end" it sounded. The best sound I got was with the xcanv2 + hd 600's. I also really liked the Grado SR 225's out of a portable headphone jack. 
 

My very first headphone rig was the Wyred 4 Sound DAC-2, the Violectric V200 and the LCD-2 Rev.1.   I did not like it at all.  I found the LCD-2 Rev.1 lacking.  But when the LCD-2 R.2 came out I purchased it and now I absolutely love the rig.  I can't get enough of it. I spend far too much time attached to it.  Before this rig I pretty much hated the headphone experience.  30 years as an audiophile, 24 years as a professional mixer and editor in NYC, I am enamored with my headphone rig.
 

 

[Graphicism]

Quote:

Because having good vision is a necessity while improving one's musical enjoyment is not.  And really aren't all hobbies a little absurd to someone who doesn't share the same interest?

I would consider those that listen to music to be sharing the same hobby. Much like we might not chat about speakers much but I'm sure the majority if not all people here if they listen to music on speakers now and again would prefer good ones over say built in laptop speakers. I play guitar maybe once a month, I'd like to have a much better guitar setup than I do, same goes for photography. I watch a movie almost every night so I want a good TV, not a crappy small one. On the other hand I don't fish, don't have any interest in fishing so don't care about rods.

 

[RudeWolf]

More threads like these and I actually might buy one. So far it seemed that Audeze treats the earpads with heroin or something.

 

[ianmedium]

More threads like these and I actually might buy one. So far it seemed that Audeze treats the earpads with heroin or something.

The drug in question is sublime music reproduction

 

[cheapskateaudio]

 
Quote:

...24 years as a professional mixer and editor in NYC, I am enamored with my headphone rig.
 

I did say *most* not all. I do love headphone listening, but it's just not the same as good speakers, for me personally. It speaks volumes about your listening choices to mention that you're a professional sound mixer, which means that for you personally, the experience of sound is going to be a much more involved, and analytical one.