[Joe Bloggs]

So... I've 4000+ posts here but have hardly visited this place since 2005...
 
Old Pa even started a Happy Birthday thread for me back in 2006 but I never saw it until now.  Gee that was embarrassing...

 
So can anybody fill me in on what has happened since then?  Does Jude still own this place?  How many members from way back then are still active now?  I'm trying to remember people I knew from back then and so far I don't see anyone still posting... but whoever's reading this, maybe you remember me?

 
Etys have bitten the dust again since last year... Senn HD580s sitting in the drawer with a broken cable... Porta Corda sitting in the closet with the volume pot being too wonky for me to find much use for it... that's it it's official: every piece of audiophile gear in my possession walks the green mile

still haven't watched that movie by the way so still don't know what my custom title means

 
Have come full circle with a recent pair of $1x canalphones sounding really good to my ears after equalization... gonna post a review of these phones nobody's heard of and start a wave of people trying to get their $10 phones to sound like $300 ones again

(wait the Sony EX70 were more like $30 instead of $10... well this is going to be even better guys

)
 
But now that my head-fi interest has been piqued again at least I'm going to get around to send my gear in for repairs

 

[markkr]

Hey I remember seeing posts from you back in the day. Welcome Back!
 
Where do we begin with the changes since 2005.... oh man, you have allot of catching up to do 

 
 

 

[pigmode]

I disappeared shortly after you. Basically the new head-fi is a brave new world--lots of great new products and developments. 

 

[Happy Camper]

Product out the yang. The crowd is younger, portable and don't buy advice too often. Xin, Singlepower are now toast. Bad business and many members victims. Xin just stopped communicating. Singlepower just flat lied and stole from many members.

Most all of the older hobby gang have left to other sites, though they can be found from time to time. The place has become more marketing and less family IMO. Still a quality site with many characters, just not as colorful as back in the day. It's the members that make the place and that doesn't change.

Anyway, welcome home and you may want to check out http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/522921/any-old-fart-head-fi-ers-still-around

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Thanks guys, nice to be remembered

 
Happy Camper, you joined after I disappeared and now you seem to consider yourself an old fart

 
I notice that links to posts more than a few years old are misdirecting... wonder if that can be fixed?  Oh well, I've fixed the link to my head-fi SWAT team

 

[ssavage]

I dont know you but i still missed you

 

[Uncle Erik]

Happy Camper is an old fart, like me. Happy Camper is a good guy and a valuable member who contributes a lot. He is worth getting to know.

Lots has changed. You can spend a few weeks catching up on all the new gear. Much of it is portable, but there are several notable new full-sized headphones now. Prices for the top end have moved past $1,000. Many more amps, as well. Solid state seems to have lost the war - everyone wants tubes today. Vinyl is going mainstream, too.

Then there's the sad and somewhat bizarre demise of Singlepower. It's worth browsing those threads - the biggest scandal we've had. Woo turned into a big manufacturer, and Craig Uthus transitioned from Moth Audio to Eddie Current. Both manufacturers have great products. Dr. Meier and Ray Samuels are still around and doing great.

As for headphones, Sennheiser brought out the HD-800 and Beyerdynamic has a high-end hit with the T1, along with a cult resurgence of their DT48 (I love them). Grado brought out the GS-1000 which was popular, but had a backlash. Grado's PS-1000 hasn't gained traction, either. A new high-end competitor emerged with Audez'e and their LCD2 planar. I haven't bought one (yet) but have heard them and they are excellent. AKG discontinued their old line and gave us the K-601 and the polarizing K-701. I truly hate it, but it has a following with noobs because it's a cheap flagship. AKG also introduced a fluorescent green version as the Q-701. Go figure. Audio-Technica's M50 is the choice of noobs these days, and modded Denons are bought by bassheads. Stax has a new top offering, but I haven't heard it. And Jerry Harvey Audio is a heavy hitter with their JH13 and JH16 custom IEMs. I fell hard for the JH13 and will pick one up sooner or later.

Speaking of transitions, Tyll is no longer associated with HeadRoom. There are a couple threads discussing this.

DIY has introduced lots of great designs. The best-regarded is probably AMB's sublime Beta22 amp. One of the truly great solid state designs that even the tubeheads like.

You've missed some CanJams, too. Every one has been a blast. My favorite was the '09 Los Angeles CanJam. About 500 people showed up and it was a party start to finish.

Jude is still The Man here. Watch his Head-Fi videos - they're great. Some of old the mods and admins have moved on, but quite a few of the old guard check in. You probably don't know me or Currawong, but we've been on Staff for a bit and do our best to help out here.

Plenty else, too. Though I only know of you through old posts, it's great to have you back.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Wow, thanks for the great summary... although to be honest I don't remember many of the manufacturers you mentioned in the first place.  New gear never managed to hold my interest for long after I joined anyway--I was always more interested in software optimization of the source signal before it reaches my gear.  Things like equalization, HRTF-based crossfeed...  I know it's already a 40-page long thread (but over so many years), but PiccoloNamek's tutorial on compensating for ear canal resonances and parametric equalization in general have made such a night and day difference to the sound quality I'm getting that I'm surprised it's not getting more discussion and suggestions for improvement.
 
I see myself sending the etys and senns in for repair, maybe getting a new sound card for $100 tops, writing reviews on how these phones sound after parametric equalization, then I'd probably run out of things to say again gearwise.  Maybe I should visit the music forum more... but I've always found it hard to introduce myself to new music.  Even the best tunes seem to sound flat if I've never heard of the band or music before and just get it based on a recommendation... some tunes then eventually grow on me, many do not...

 

[sulkoudai]

HEY JOE!!
 
HEY!!!
 
 
....HEY!!

 

[khaos974]

Parametric equalization: very nice softwares like Electri-Q, PSP Neon, Easy-Q that mostly work via a VST host for the player of your choice. Foobar2000 is a reference these days.
Crossfeed and assimilated: Tone Boosters Isone is a very nice VST plugin, another solution would be foobar + channel mixer + Dolby headphones.

I believe there are threads in the computer audio section.

 

[Happy Camper]

Thanks guys, nice to be remembered

 
Happy Camper, you joined after I disappeared and now you seem to consider yourself an old fart

 
I notice that links to posts more than a few years old are misdirecting... wonder if that can be fixed?  Oh well, I've fixed the link to my head-fi SWAT team

Old fart in human years, Head Fi years, not so much.

The site blew up a couple years ago and the links got scrambled.

 

[Joe Bloggs]

Quote:

Parametric equalization: very nice softwares like Electri-Q, PSP Neon, Easy-Q that mostly work via a VST host for the player of your choice. Foobar2000 is a reference these days.
Crossfeed and assimilated: Tone Boosters Isone is a very nice VST plugin, another solution would be foobar + channel mixer + Dolby headphones.

I believe there are threads in the computer audio section.

Thanks--yes, this looks like an interesting new section of Head-Fi for me to inhabit

Cheers!

 

[AmanGeorge]

The Smyth Realiser might be an interesting piece of kit for you to read up on