And, she’s live!
After a ton of typing, my review of the Lime Ears Anima is now up on THL! It’s an in-ear to me that isn’t afraid to add color to the TOTL space with its crisp, airy sound and huge, bouncy instruments. So, give it a read if that sounds like the in-ear for you, and don’t forget to hit
@Rockwell75 and
@mvvRAZ up for their respective tours, if you’re keen to give it a go too.
I also said a while ago that this review would be a really special one for me, personally, and it honestly has little to do with the review itself. It’s more about the announcement I’m about to make, because I felt that - given Lime Ears was where my reviewing career started - it’d be a fitting way to announce its end as well. I’m relieved to finally, finally announce that 2022 will be my final year as an audio reviewer. As soon as I finish my remaining reviews, which I expect to be around June or July, I’ll be stepping down from THL and putting down the pen for good.
I made this decision in August of last year, and it was - thank God - a really easy one for me to make. When Nic offered me the THL gig all the way back in 2017, I’d just graduated from college, but I hadn’t yet found my place in church. I did little more than watch a mix console 3 times a week, and I spent the rest of my time watching YouTube videos or playing video games. So, when the offer came, so did an opportunity to be productive and do something very much outside my comfort zone. Still, I always, always knew: Whenever God wanted to tag me in and get me going at church, I’d be ready to leave this gig behind in a heartbeat.
And, that’s what came to pass late last year. Recording, mixing and mastering jobs began piling up. My passion for drumming is stronger than ever. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to play and make music with my own band. We start laying tracks for my first original song in a few days, in fact. And, all of that has coincided with less and less of a drive to continue writing, which is how I realized the time had come for me to close this chapter of my life, and move on to bigger and better things.
It’s an extremely cheesy thing to say (as this entire post will probably come off to all of you), but these past 5 years have probably been the most formative of my life;
just second to my college years. For the first time ever, I was thrown into the deep end of having actual, professional responsibilities. I had to face dog-eat-dog competition, which - more than you guys can ever believe - was often toxic, bitter and anxiety-inducing.
Boy, do I have stories. And, I also learned the value of pacing myself and not letting work overshadow my mental health. These were experiences that changed me infinitely for the better, and I can look back on them now as gifts, rather than burdens.
I also learned that duty import taxes here in Jakarta are borderline criminal, but that’s for another discussion.
Above all (and I warned y’all this was gonna be cheesy), though, it was the relationships I got to build along the way that truly calcified this experience for me. Beyond all the brands I’ve worked with, the support that you guys, as a community across forums and across threads, have given me has been nothing short of riveting. From all the OG’s (you know who you are) who I barely see on the site anymore, to all of you guys now who are too many to name, it’s honestly your words of encouragement that have made every keystroke, every photo set and every hour I’ve spent on Lightroom worthwhile.
I can say with absolute certainty that I would’ve made this post a
long time ago if it wasn’t for all of you, so, from the very bottom of my heart, thank you.
With all that said, this (and my aforementioned remaining reviews) won’t be the end of me on Head-Fi either. I’ll still post and share like I usually do. I may throw in some fun content like a casual interview, or impressions of an IEM I might have tried on a trip, or some stuff from my recording/mixing/mastering sessions. To start, I’m planning a no-holds-barred AMA about my experiences as soon as I officially leave THL. So, if you ever wanted to ask a reviewer
anything at all, you can start getting your Q’s ready. But, yeah, though it won’t be as often or lengthy (which may even be a good thing for some of you), the door will always be open for new content to come in. At the same time, I really, really look forward to the day when I can visit Singapore or Japan
without having to worry about capturing enough content for Head-Fi. It’s such an alien concept to me at this point, and the mere thought of it sounds like an absolute relief.
As far as my replacement on THL goes, I’m handing the reins to the TOTL segment over to my ever-reliable colleague:
@ryanjsoo. He’s been a writer for the site longer than me, and he’s truly long-overdue for an opportunity like this. He never ceases to write like a pro, and I've basically stolen everything I know about IEM photography from him, so I assure you guys that my spot will be in very, very good hands.
Now, the
guy taking over Ryan’s spot on THL is someone all of you will likely be familiar with. As Nic heralded me onto the team with his retirement post, I’m incredibly honored to welcome our very own
@gLer onto the THL team!
Again, he’ll be taking over Ryan’s $1000-1500 segment on the site, and, as most of you will probably agree, I trust that he’ll be more than capable for the task at hand; both visually and aurally. Plus, along with folks like
@Rockwell75,
@aaf evo,
@Damz87, etc., I’m very relieved to see the community has a
ton of great movers well-integrated within it already, so you don’t need reviewers like me to introduce new stuff when they come out. It’s a more actual-customer-driven market now that wouldn’t have been imaginable back when I started out. And, with IEM tours becoming more and more frequent too, I’m happy to see brands and dealers embrace the change just as much.
To close this very long, very sentimental post, I want to again reiterate the love I have for this hobby and this community. I stumbled onto Head-Fi a shy, awkward teen who’d shudder at the thought of interacting with
any stranger, let alone online. And, now, I’m an almost-married (almost-engaged, technically) adult announcing his retirement from a five-year stint reviewing world-renowned audio products to a community of hundreds of genuine companions. As every beautiful development in my life has been, it’s a storyline only a being as out-there as God could’ve come up with, and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for it all. In lieu of bigger, deeper, more adequate words, all I have left to say is thank you… thank you… thank you.
Cheers,
Daniel
