For those of us with multiple headphones, which ones are you listening with now?

[JAnonymous5150]

Had to get some stuff done, but also needed to be able to hear the doorbell so I've switched to earbuds. I'm going with the Cypherus Audio Black Edition Customer Tuned and I'm running them off my Hiby RS6. These bad boys sound particularly fantastic on an rock genre that requires an authoritative and articulate low end.

On deck in my queue, is Steroid Puppets with their 2022 LP, Earthguest. This album is some top shelf instrumental prog/prog-metal. The music is intricate and well written and while many might concentrate on the guitar work, the drumming is the truly killer part to me. Dude behind the kit is holding down the rhythm section while often carrying the melody or bridges at the same time. That's not an easy thing to do as it requires great chops combined with complete limb independence which any competent drummer will tell you is perhaps the most difficult skill to master in the set. This album is straight fire from beginning to end.

 

[obstacleofaffliction]

Borderpatrol Dac-SEi-> Enleum HPA-23RM (current output) -> Abyss Diana V2

Very impressed by the great remastering of one of my favorite albums.

 

[theintention]

LOAK2-Ti / DC-Elite

Dawn Richard & Spencer Zahn - Quiet In A World Full of Noise

Wonderful, soulful ambient / r&b / classical release while I finish up work.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Borderpatrol Dac-SEi-> Enleum HPA-23RM (current output) -> Abyss Diana V2

Very impressed by the great remastering of one of my favorite albums.

I've been thinking about snagging one of these Border Patrol DACs to try. How do you like it and how does the presentation, tone, and technical performance compare to other similarly priced R2R DACs you've used, if you have any to compare it with? Any impressions or info would be appreciated, but you can also feel totally free to ignore my question if you'd rather not answer for one reason or another. They seem like a potentially unique option.

Topical Content:

Still on earbuds, but I had a hankering for my Simphonio Dragon 3+ so I switched to them and I got tired of having my DAP pocketed so I switched to my Qudelix 5k fo ease of use while moving around. The Dragon 3+ are one of the best balanced and most refined buds I've ever had the pleasure of using. They're silly good!

Up next in my musical rotation is Asa's Mezzanine with their 2022 album, When She Met Herself. I just discovered this one and got interrupted about halfway through when I tried to listen to it the first time. That first half was absolutely spectacular so I'm gonna give it another spin and I'm stoked to hear what the rest of the album has in store. The first half is incredibly good and I can't imagine the rest is gonna be anything other than on point. If that's the case then this is an instrumental prog-metal album that should not be missed.

 

[obstacleofaffliction]

I've been thinking about snagging one of these Border Patrol DACs to try. How do you like it and how does the presentation, tone, and technical performance compare to other similarly priced R2R DACs you've used, if you have any to compare it with? Any impressions or info would be appreciated, but you can also feel totally free to ignore my question if you'd rather not answer for one reason or another. They seem like a potentially unique option.

Topical Content:

Still on earbuds, but I had a hankering for my Simphonio Dragon 3+ so I switched to them and I got tired of having my DAP pocketed so I switched to my Qudelix 5k fo ease of use while moving around. The Dragon 3+ are one of the best balanced and most refined buds I've ever had the pleasure of using. They're silly good!

Up next in my musical rotation is Asa's Mezzanine with their 2022 album, When She Met Herself. I just discovered this one and got interrupted about halfway through when I tried to listen to it the first time. That first half was absolutely spectacular so I'm gonna give it another spin and I'm stoked to hear what the rest of the album has in store. The first half is incredibly good and I can't imagine the rest is gonna be anything other than on point. If that's the case then this is an instrumental prog-metal album that should not be missed.

I love the BorderPatrol DAC. For me, when it comes to performance and enjoyment, It fits perfectly between my other two dacs: LTA Aero and RME ADI-2 DAC FS.
I do find the BorderPatrol DAC to have a smooth natual sound with a wide soundstage. It is fast and punchy when the music calls for it. Like magic in a little box in my humble opinion. May be considered a bit unconventional by most audiophile standards.
Lastly, the Enleum HPA-23RM is wonderful on this dac. They have great synergy.
Cheers

 

[sygnus21]

Thanks to @Kammerat Rebekka for posting this - Danny Keane - Roamin' (2020)

Thanks to Singaravelan for introducing me to this album. It is pure fire! Absolutely adore this type of jazz, fusion, funk, African and Indian touches and of course that accordion (bandoleon?).

I just ordered this while listening to your post. I like it

I've been listening to this since getting it after seeing it posted back in Sept, and at each listening, the album grows more and more on me. The musicianship is excellent, and though, it's classified as jazz, I think it more world music, though there are some really great jazz infused tunes here.

That said, I actually prefer the first half of the album (tracks 1-7), over the last half (8-11) of the album, the second half seems scattered and directionless to me. Nonetheless, for me, its the first 7 tracks that make this album for me. Oddly, though the album reminds me of J's Bee (Japanese jazz group) first album 5 (five). Unfortunately, that album is out of print and hard to find, but if one runs across a copy, I highly suggest getting it. But yeah, it's in the same mode as Roamin' and a favorite of mine as well.

Favs on Roamin' are Twenty Tonnes of Tension, Addis, Igor, Olomouc.

Oh, and the sound quality of this (both) recordings is outstanding, even through my Bose 700 NC headphones BT'd to laptop running Plex. CD ripped to PC in FLAC....

 

[OctavianH]

 

[Davidzak64]

K340 Electrostat-Dynamic-System < Lake people RS 08 < Loxjie D30 < Amazon Music HD.

 

[Spawn300Z]

Playback designs MPD-8 -> Riviera AIC-10 with Telefunken G73-R Black -> Danacable Lazuli Nirvana with Speaker Taps -> Abyss AB1266 Phi TC

Marcus Miller Frankenstein

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I love the BorderPatrol DAC. For me, when it comes to performance and enjoyment, It fits perfectly between my other two dacs: LTA Aero and RME ADI-2 DAC FS.
I do find the BorderPatrol DAC to have a smooth natual sound with a wide soundstage. It is fast and punchy when the music calls for it. Like magic in a little box in my humble opinion. May be considered a bit unconventional by most audiophile standards.
Lastly, the Enleum HPA-23RM is wonderful on this dac. They have great synergy.
Cheers

Thank you very much for the info. The comparison to the LTA Aero was particularly helpful because I have a buddy with an Aero and I find that it goes a little too far into the colored side of things for my liking so the idea that the BP DAC doesn't go as far as good to know.

Topical Content:

My ThieAudio Origins showed up just now so I'm unboxing them and getting my tip collection ready so I can do some tip rolling while I put them through their paces in a little bit. For right now the DCA Expanse get the nod and I'm running them off my Burson Soloist 3XGT and Schiit Yggdrasil MIB which is being fed by a Wiim Pro.

As far as musical enjoyment goes, I'm listening to Kjjjjjjjjj's self-titled album from back in 2016. I came across these Argentinians on Bandcamp and wanted to give them a more thorough listen before deciding on possible purchases so I looked them up on Qobuz. They have a kind of post-rock meets math rock sound, at times sounding something like a more low-key version of Strawberry Girls. Very interesting indeed.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

I got the ThieAudio Origins all setup and plugged into the main rig (Ferrum Oor/Hypsos and Holo May KTE) just because I can. Time to see what these bad boys are all about!

First up musically is Adrian Weiss with his 2014 release, East Game. I'm making my way through his discography and it has been crazy good. Obviously, the exceptional guitar playing is front and center, but the guys he has rockin' the bass and slingin' beats are no slouches. Just track after track of instrumental prog-metal goodness. If I had one nitpick it's that the albums, especially the earlier ones, could use a bit more thematic cohesion, but it's easy to forgive when the tracks themselves are of such high quality. Gangster AF!

 

[Singaravelan]

On Aful P8

Fab start to Saturday with

 

[rids57]

I got the ThieAudio Origins all setup and plugged into the main rig (Ferrum Oor/Hypsos and Holo May KTE) just because I can. Time to see what these bad boys are all about!

First up musically is Adrian Weiss with his 2014 release, East Game. I'm making my way through his discography and it has been crazy good. Obviously, the exceptional guitar playing is front and center, but the guys he has rockin' the bass and slingin' beats are no slouches. Just track after track of instrumental prog-metal goodness. If I had one nitpick it's that the albums, especially the earlier ones, could use a bit more thematic cohesion, but it's easy to forgive when the tracks themselves are of such high quality. Gangster AF!

I went through all four of them last night - very impressed to say the least

 

[rids57]

Qobuz > HoloAudio Cyan 2 > Violectric V222 > Quad Era-1

Meanwhile (2024) by Eric Clapton - Dropped today and hasn't even propagated through to roon yet, so I'm braving the Qobuz app. What can I say, nothing new here, just EC doing what he's been doing for decades with the assistance of such luminaries as Van Morrison and the late, great Jeff Beck amongst others. He may be 79 years of age but he can still play a mean guitar and his voice is still fine, so long may he continue. Enjoyed last night's session so have stayed with the Quads, though I have switched to the V222 which I think controls the bass slightly better. Next up, the new James Bay album

 

[Singaravelan]

Mojo 2 > Vali 3 > Grado PS500x

Blood Incantation's new album "Absolute Elsewhere" dropped today

So cool.. Enjoyed it a lot.

Now on Aful P8, something gentle and creative to listen before I head to the dentist...