Hello, my name is DragonPort, I'm an aspiring audiophile located in Massachusetts, U.S.A who loves computer hardware and software, video games and wishing I could draw, make music and create video games. I've always loved music, especially orchestral, classical, EDM, Rock Jazz, Funk, Rap, and Hip-hop, and soundtracks from Video Games the most. My most favorite albums are "Supernatural" by Santana, "Queen Platinum Edition" by Queen, "Cross" by Justice, "Halo 3: ODST" OST by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, "Hotline Miami Soundtrack" by various artists, and "Undertale OST" by Toby Fox.
I've only recently started getting into sound and hardware. I'm in the process of buying CD's and extracting to into my computer in FLAC format, then compressing it down to AAC 320 kbps (or MP3 320 kbps, if AAC at 320 is no better.) Or buying songs in FLAC that I cannot find in CD form. I'm not interested vinyl right now, no matter how much better it is than CD.
Right now my equipment includes:
The Creative Labs Recon3d Fatal1ty: As my first audio card, from someone who's always used onboard audio, it's a godsend to me.
The Harman Kardon Soundsticks III: Of course paired with the video card it's out of this world for being my first arguably high quality speaker set. However it seems to do something with auxiliary cords; the stock cord at first was fine at first, but would cause alot of feedback-like sound after sometime when touching metal or a connector. Then it eventually got so sensitive it would cause that sound without touching anything. Eventually the cord stopped working completely, so I replaced it with a red, braided auxiliary cord from Anker, another company I adore. Now it seems like the same thing is happening to that cord. So that's pretty concerning, and if that is the speaker set's fault, I'd have to give it 3.5/5 stars for making me spend money to replace parts it breaks.
An Audio Technica ATH-M50x: Of course I chose this as an entry level audiophile headset. I actually chose it for gaming, as a website told me its audio positioning is great, which I actually don't think so. But for music it is of course something to gush over, considering the price. However the stock ear pads aren't the most comfortable, but thats my only complaint. Also it accidently went through the washing machine, so the earpads and headband fabric is flaking off and is now an eyesore to look it, which is a real shame because I love this headset, and want to keep it for it being my first high quality headset, but not in this condition. So I'm planning on getting a new or bearly used pair to keep for my collection.
And my LG V20: Part of the reason I bought it (besides my Galaxy Note 7 being banned on airplanes and scaring this hell out of my mother) is because of the supposed DAC inside of it. It's my first DAC technically so I can't comment on how it is compared to standalone portable dacs (however I'm sure it doesn't compare to the dedicated amps.) But for someone who doesn't know that much about sound that much it's a huge step up from the Note 7 and every other phone I've used to listen to music. One thing I had about this phone is that the USB-C connector is USB 2.-freaking-0. I was so looking forward to copy music and videos at a blazing fast speed like the Note 7 to my V20 (which has a 256 Micro SD card thanks to buying the Note 7 and Samsung not wanting it returned) but it isn't even USB 3.0, let alone 3.1! I wish so badly that someone could switch this crap port for a faster one, but that's life. Second screen is sick though, gonna miss it when I upgrade.
I'm also planning on getting the following new equipment for the new year:
Audio Technica ATH-AD700X: For its superior sound positioning (according to almost half of the people in this fourm) and its low cost helping my budget, this was a no brainer buy for exclusively gaming on my PC. Its also from a company who's made a wonderful first impression on me with their M50xs.a a This will also be my first open back headset, so im hyped for that.
ASUS Xonar DX: Also buying for gaming, it was reccomended to me by PurpleAngel. He said that the audio processor in this was the same as the ASUS Essence STX II sound card, and guessed that the DAC chip would be similar if not almost just as good, so buying the Essence would be a waste of money, so shout out to PurpleAngel for helping a newbie out.
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x: This will be for music and videos. I guess you can call me a AT fan, it's just the M50x was so good, and I heard almost only good things from these two headsets. But I acknowledge that they may not be the best, and I have plans to buy a "beyerdynamic T1 2nd Gen" when I feel I have the knowledge and ears to actually use it appropriately (also holy crap it's nearly 900 on Amazon, I'm in my early twenties making ~$10/h!)
And finally the Magni 2 Uber AMP: Yeah there's an amp built into the sound card, but if I cared about built in equipment like that I wouldn't have a sound card in the first place. I hear great things about this product, also it's rear also has a RCA out port for a pair of speakers, perfect for my Sound Sticks.
I'm excited to learn and grow in this fourm, thanks for reading!