[passion4audio]

Hello!
 
I joined this forum in July of 2003... so 10 years now.
 
"Long time listener, first time poster".
 
I've been into "High End" audio since the mid-1970's.  
 
Co-founded T.H.E. SHOW (The Home Entertainment SHOW, Inc.) with Mike Maloney back in 1999 (actually, 1998 - the first "show" was January 1999).
 
Over the years my home system has gone through some wide swings.  At one point retail on the main two channel was just under $100,000.
 
As I learned more, I discovered that cost didn't always equal better sound.  I "toned down" the system and was more satisfied in both the short- and long-term.
 
Due to spending enormous hours in the office, I've put together a modest headphone system... mainly by researching on this forum.
 
Right now I'm running an Olive Musica into a Monarchy Audio NM24 DAC - then out to either the a set of Emotiva Airmotiv 5 speakers, or through an Aune T1 to a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-A900X phones.  Alternatively, I stream directly from a Macbook Retina (mainly using www.mog.com , or the Linn streams).
 
I know how "crazy" I went in purchasing equipment for my home system - but that was long ago in my "younger, wild" days.  I don't want to get to that point again with the office system, so I'm just trying to keep it simple and enjoy the music.
 
I can't tell you how much I enjoy Head-fi.org!  
 
Thanks for such a great website!

 

[ska-YJ]

congratulation!

Wow~~~~~

 
中频词，你记住了吗？

 

 

[uzumaki]

lol, you didn't mention any cables! What is your belief in cables after spending all that money?

 

[gikigill]

No obligatory "Sorry about your wallet " applies here.
 

 

[passion4audio]

Uzumaki, I went through a "cable phase" for a couple of years where I tried all sorts of speaker wire, interconnects and AC power cords.
 
I found, to my shock (pun intended) that the power cables made the most difference.  This difference became a little smaller when I "cleaned" up my AC by installing dedicated lines and running into a PS Audio PowerPlant Premier - however, the power cords still made a difference.  I'm still a bit perplexed as to this due to the crappy "lines" that run to the street, etc.  But that's what I found.
 
The interconnect cables made the second biggest difference.  I tried some pretty exotic (high priced) cables, and finally settled on the Supra (company) Sword (name of interconnect) - which, to me (and you may have a different experience) are KILLER for the price.
 
Speaker cables made the least difference, but assuming the rest of the system was up-to-par, the power was "clean", the mood was right and the stars were aligned - I could hear differences.  I ended up with some home made, high quality, twisted copper cables an "audio guru" made for me - and they allowed music to pass as fully and accurately as the highest priced cables I tried, so I question the price-to-performance ratio.
 
For my desktop headphone system, I'm just using the stock cables (USB from Macbook to Aune) and the stock (non-removable) Audio-Technica headphone cable.  LOVE the sound!
 
I'm sure pretty soon I'll be jonesing for a planar like the HiFiMan, but I'm happy now.
 
From my stereo odyssey, I've learned that it's better to enjoy the music rather than worry all the time about the gear... but I'm right there on that thin line.

 

[flatmap]

Nice to have you here.  You've clearly got a lot of experience we can all benefit from.  And I may use this post to show my wife how moderate my spending has been.  
 
For my own office setup, I've gone with an iPod, line out to external portable amp, and then (usually) the ATH M50s.  Sometimes, though, with Etymotic IEMs.

 

[passion4audio]

I forgot to mention that I also enjoy a pair of HiFiMan RE272 IEMs.  Very dynamic and clear.  I found when I matched them with a modest Digizoid Zu amp the
bass now comes into play and the sound is pretty darned enjoyable!
 
On further note, I guess from my experience I prescribe to the "Linn philosophy" - where the source component makes the most difference, and follows the chain up until the speakers (or headphones).  What isn't resolved properly upstream cannot be added and/or "fixed" (naturally/effectively at least) upstream.

 

[uzumaki]

Quote:

Uzumaki, I went through a "cable phase" for a couple of years where I tried all sorts of speaker wire, interconnects and AC power cords.
 
I found, to my shock (pun intended) that the power cables made the most difference.  This difference became a little smaller when I "cleaned" up my AC by installing dedicated lines and running into a PS Audio PowerPlant Premier - however, the power cords still made a difference.  I'm still a bit perplexed as to this due to the crappy "lines" that run to the street, etc.  But that's what I found.
 
The interconnect cables made the second biggest difference.  I tried some pretty exotic (high priced) cables, and finally settled on the Supra (company) Sword (name of interconnect) - which, to me (and you may have a different experience) are KILLER for the price.
 
Speaker cables made the least difference, but assuming the rest of the system was up-to-par, the power was "clean", the mood was right and the stars were aligned - I could hear differences.  I ended up with some home made, high quality, twisted copper cables an "audio guru" made for me - and they allowed music to pass as fully and accurately as the highest priced cables I tried, so I question the price-to-performance ratio.
 
For my desktop headphone system, I'm just using the stock cables (USB from Macbook to Aune) and the stock (non-removable) Audio-Technica headphone cable.  LOVE the sound!
 
I'm sure pretty soon I'll be jonesing for a planar like the HiFiMan, but I'm happy now.
 
From my stereo odyssey, I've learned that it's better to enjoy the music rather than worry all the time about the gear... but I'm right there on that thin line.
 
 

 
Interesting. What was your source of choice? Vinyl or CD?

 

[passion4audio]

Definitely vinyl, although digital did start to get a lot better through the years.