[fanta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blipmusic /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anyway, sorry if I'm being a bit of an insensitive jerk towards the OP here but may I ask for a pic of your [the OP's] Pico? (nah, I really do hope you'll find it was worth it after listening some more and that it grows on you) I've ordered the same color combo as you (and I think IPodPJ was going mad over at that Pico pic thread over the same thing: lack of pics of gray/clear Picos )

Sorry but currently I only have a terrible cellphone camera. I just tried connecting it to my PC to get the few pics I took on it and it wouldn't install as I don't have the drivers apparently. It didn't come with a CD so I thought I didn't need them. Either way, even if you saw those pics it wouldn't help as they're dark and blurry and, eh, you get the point.

It does look amazing though! For a while I was worried and thought that I should've gotten a black one or something but now I feel like I made the right choice.

 

[milkweg]

This is the best method I have found to improve crap recordings and fix recordings with too much stereo seperation for headphones. In foobar install the channel mixer and dolbyHP plugins. Set channel mixer to six channels, set gain to 85% (100% can cause distortion), at the end of the plugin chain use soft clipping prevention. Much better but also a coloured sound. Play around with the settings to get the sound you like on your headphones.

 

[fanta]

Darkvoice 332 Headphone Tube Amplifier(2007new version) - eBay (item 260193226813 end time Jan-11-08 06:58:10 PST)


How much of a better amp would that be over the Pico?

I'm not going to actually buy it, at least not right now, but I'm curious....

milkweg: most of my music is from the iTunes store so I can only play them on iTunes. Using another player like foobar isn't an option for me unfortunately. And I never knew anybody used Dolby Headphone for music, interesting. I have the JVC adapter for it which I plan to use for movies and games, maybe I'll give it a try with music.

 

[OverlordXenu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif Your ears and brain will require lots of training.

I wish people would stop saying BS like that. You cannot train your ears or brain to be able to listen to more of the music. There is no such thing as a golden ear.

It feels as if every time I read one of your posts, it is filled with BS.

Edit: As others have said, people tend to overstate things on head-fi, trying to justify their purchase or something. Also, if you listen for defects/differences/whatever, even if there aren't any, you'll probably create them, in your mind.

If the Pico isn't an improvement, I'd sell it. $500 is way too much to keep something around that may not be doing anything.

 

[chouman]

I don't believe that is BS. Sure we can all hear, but we can't all describe what we're hearing. It's like saying everyone can sing. Yes, but with training and talent, some people will sing better than others. So yes, we can all hear, but some just have more experience listening for things like soundstage, prat, whatever else and also have more experience using the terms to describe it.

 

[OverlordXenu]

Singing is completely different from hearing...

Singing is a skill, hearing is a sense. Most people are born hearing, no one is born singing.

What I meant to say was, you can't train yourself to hear more than around 20Hz-20KHz. You can train yourself to look for things like artifacts in lossy music, but what does that have to do with listening to and enjoying music?

 

[Austin 3:16]

Hearing can also be a skill. You can read things being pointed out in the music and never before noticed....then suddenly, you notice it too. Trained.

 

[OverlordXenu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Austin 3:16 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hearing can also be a skill. You can read things being pointed out in the music and never before noticed....then suddenly, you notice it too. Trained.

Like this?

Or do you mean something else?

(I didn't "hear" "Hitler" until the video suggested it. Then I "heard" "seig heil Hitler" after a comment suggested that.)

 

[Austin 3:16]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OverlordXenu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Like this? Or do you mean something else? (I didn't "hear" "Hitler" until the video suggested it. Then I "heard" "seig heil Hitler" after a comment suggested that.)

No. I used to just listen to music. Then I started reading various audio forums and learned of things like imaging, one-note bass, tight bass, bright treble, etc. Now I notice stuff that I used to never pay attention to. I learned it.

 

[blipmusic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fanta /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry but currently I only have a terrible cellphone camera. I just tried connecting it to my PC to get the few pics I took on it and it wouldn't install as I don't have the drivers apparently. It didn't come with a CD so I thought I didn't need them. Either way, even if you saw those pics it wouldn't help as they're dark and blurry and, eh, you get the point. It does look amazing though! For a while I was worried and thought that I should've gotten a black one or something but now I feel like I made the right choice.

No worries.

I do hope you'll feel better about more than just the color, though. It's a bit expensive for a (much too light) door stop. Should you decide that the Pico is not for you I don't think you'll have much trouble selling it.

FWIW, I'm quite new to this "hobby" as well, though I've been mostly looking at portable stuff and universal IEMs as that's where my interest lies currently. First getting the controversial Headphonia a year ago to my current Tomahawk for my ER4/Triple.Fi. Though, I *did* hear a difference on my first try with an amp (and after repeated A/B:ing). It wasn't a night and day difference as some might want you to believe but the dynamics and "fullness" of the sound improved enough to make me want to keep it. Going from hp-out to line-out was a big deal for me as the hiss/static went away (but that obviously isn't the problem here).

When I'm exhausted it's usually harder for me to pick out the change in dynamics as my ears get tired much faster in that state (kind of a "hyperacoustics" feeling). In my case it means that testing new and shiny headphone stuff late at night after a hard days work isn't that productive if it's change in sound sig I'm looking for (unless it really *is* a night and day difference).

Good luck and don't keep it if you feel it'll only be a sad reminder of a bad investment. Mine can't arrive soon enough, though.

 

[smeggy]

I tend to agree with OverlordXenu on the hearing training. You can't train your ears to work better, they are what they are. You can teach yourself to recognize certain things that your ears are hearing and put them into some form of context for a better understanding of what you hear. It gives you a better insight, not better hearing.

Maybe it's just semantics and we're all talking about the same thing. This is why definitions and explanations are helpful, it lets us use a common frame of reference to work from.

Much like visual art. People often see things like wrong perspectives that don't look right to them but they can't quite put their finger on what it is until the errors are properly explained and suddenly a light goes on. You don't see any better, you understand better. This is why art books include sections on one, two and three point perspective and examples. For some of us it's a natural ability to accurately dissect what we see/hear, for others it's a lot less intuitive.

Just to let you know, my eyes are shot to crap even though I'm an artist and my hearing is crappy these days too, though I'm still and audiophool.

Difference is, I know what to look and listen for in spite of my crappy vision/hearing. It's your brain that does the real work.

 

[PFKMan23]

If how you (smeggy) put it is what OverlordXenu was trying to articulate, then I agree with your assertion. To me it's not I hear more, but that I know how to process it in a different, more "informed" manner. IMO that can come from training and/or increased experience. The way I look at it is something akin to comparing how I have been able to lsiten to music from when I started out in the hobby, vs. now. Before, it was just bass and everything else. Now I better understand concepts like mid-bass, lower treble, upper/lower midrange, etc... It's not like they weren't there beforehand, it's just it didn't matter then.

 

[smeggy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If how you (smeggy) put it is what OverlordXenu was trying to articulate, then I agree with your assertion. To me it's not I hear more, but that I know how to process it in a different, more "informed" manner. IMO that can come from training and/or increased experience. The way I look at it is something akin to comparing how I have been able to lsiten to music from when I started out in the hobby, vs. now. Before, it was just bass and everything else. Now I better understand concepts like mid-bass, lower treble, upper/lower midrange, etc... It's not like they weren't there beforehand, it's just it didn't matter then.

Yep, it's al about interpretation. We all look at things from a different angle, our experiences are different and we all have a point of view. Ultimately it helps to have a common audio language that we all understand otherwise we'd have no idea what the hell we're trying to convey.

 

[Penchum]

Everyone who has working ears, hears everything within their ears range. That doesn't mean they are listening! The hardest part of hearing, is listening. So many distractions for your attention. With time and SKILL, you become a better listener. Whether it is people to people or people to audio, the same rules apply. Most married men can tell you all about this.

Honey, I might hear you, but I'm not listening!

 

[micaela]

When I was trying to get my head wrapped around the idea of describing sound or understanding the descriptions I read (because I'm not very good at describing) I used a simple eq to help me make the association between instruments & the frequency ranges they generally fall into. As I was listening I would focus on one range & adjust the eq for that range -- starting with it set at its lowest & slowly push the slide up until I could identify what I was hearing associated with that band at different levels. My hearing didn't change, but being able to name & get enjoyment & understanding from other people's descriptions has enhanced my listening experience, I think. There is a "cool factor" for me to be able to identify something that I never noticed before

I agree completely with what some of you are saying in that the changes between gear is much more subtle than some descriptions would lead you to believe. I guess the enjoyment factor associated with the subtle changes is up to each person.