Hello, people. I too, am a person. A very wordy person, but a person nonetheless. I look forward to bonding over this fact with my fellow humans, as humans often do.
At my core, I'm just a simple music lover. My parents introduced me to all kinds of music growing up (save for hip-hop and electronic music, which I'm returning the favor with.) I think there's something for me in every genre of music. I learned to work a turntable system at age 10. Not bragging! Just saying, music is a major, inseparable component of my being. I have many fond memories of coming home from school, grabbing a record off of my mom's literal wall of records, tuning in, and dropping out. That was my first serious hobby. I'm always looking for ways to augment the experience and take it to places I haven't been to yet. There's still so much I haven't heard and so many ways I haven't heard it!
I am, I guess, what you would call an audiophile in that I love high-quality audio. That's what I'm always seeking. I've never been into the true 'audiophile-tier' stuff, but I also don't mess with anything that sounds less than 'damned good.' I'm not super persnickety or discerning, but I like to think that I know the difference between something that is 'excellent' and simply 'usable'. Now that I've discovered how good basic, well-made components can really sound, I'm kind of over settling for overpriced, sub-par equipment. Gimme the good stuff.
That being said, I'm a big believer in the notion that you don't have to spend a lot to have a high-end experience. The quality jump from consumer to entry-level hi-fi has been mind-blowing over these past few years of exploration. Every new piece of gear is a discovery that makes me re-evaluate everything. They all change the way I hear music... ...the way I listen to music. I love that. Its addicting. Eventually, I will find myself on the upper echelons, but I intend to explore every level.
Cred-wise, I'm not super in-the-loop outside of a few common things I've researched the hell out of. I'm not as tech-savvy as I'd like to be. I find that every time I join a forum for something, I instantly become more knowledgeable on a subject (or I convince myself that I do,) so here I am!
I guess you could say I'm basically here to learn how to lighten my wallet and crowd my braincase.
Nothing fancy going on over here, for now.
Headphone Setup:
-Modi 2 Uber
-FiiO e12
-Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro 250 ohm (<3 mmmf)
For a portable setup, I have a pair of Yamaha RH-5ma's that I pair with an Xduoo X3 (with or without e12.) Admittedly, those headphones, while decent, don't quite satisfy. I do have to respect them as my gateway to bigger and better things and I've learned to love their signature over the years (sometimes I actually yearn for it,) but I'm still looking lustfully at the Beyerdynamic DT-1350-80's... ...it's like being in a stable relationship that's gone stale.
Speaker Setup:
-Modi 2 Uber
-Schitt Sys (I just like having a nice-looking physical volume knob dedicated to the speakers... ...don't judge!)
-M-Audio BX5 D2
I've got it all on a $20 1-in, 4-out powered RCA splitter box. I know that's a sin to some, but I swear that I can't hear any change when I a/b. Noise floor didn't budge. Maybe I don't notice any signal loss through the box and cable runs because it all runs into amps... ...I dunno. I'm not a cableist, so maybe you gotta believe to experience the truth. It did worry me when I first set it up, but now I just kinda trust it. *shrugs* I run it DAC > input, output 1 > FiiO e12, output 2 > Sys > BX5 D2's. Works like it should and lets me hide my cables behind my TV/monitor.
All in all, decent budget setups, I think. Not exactly 'complete' in my mind, but I'm quite happy with them. I do plan to make some upgrades and additions soon, which is hopefully where you guys will come in. Cheers!
