[gsk3]

My 580's arrived today. At first I plugged them into my amp and they didn't sound that different from my Sony earbuds, and I was thinking, man, what?
And then I listened for an hour, just sat and listening. It's amazing. I realized that one of my favorite recordings was a live recording when I heard a chair shuffle in the audience. I could hear the oboeist breathing before his/her solo in Danse Macabre. I could hear two trumpets playing overlaid on one another (a duet, but with the same part) in the fourth movement of Dvorak 8--I have performed that piece (as one of the trumpets) and didn't remember it while listening to that recording dozens of times!
Amazing.

If the last two weeks have taught me one thing, it's that quick ABX tests don't work in general. Real differences require time to appreciate, otherwise you wind up with the Bose effect, where the EQ matters more than the important characteristics of the sound itself. Hardware tests are very difficult to blind yourself to anyway.
Unfortunately, I'm a scientist (no, really, like I work in a lab and such), and so without double-blind controlled studies I will always be deeply skeptical, particularly given such a mental phenomenon. Did you know that placebo effects in Parkinson's disease can reach 30%, and in depression can be even higher? Rumours of one lossless format being noticeably more full than another certainly don't help my skepticism.

But anyway, for now I will just enjoy my little $200 can+amp setup and be happy, blissfully ignorant of all those even better even more expensive rigs out there.

--Ari

 

[Purgatos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsk3 But anyway, for now I will just enjoy my little $200 can+amp setup and be happy, blissfully ignorant of all those even better even more expensive rigs out there.

If you're always thinking about what's better you'll never enjoy what you have.

Glad you like it though! You've had your first eargasm... they grow up so fast.

 

[Audiofiler]

I found some rather surprising things about the 580's, and that they actually mate really well with an RA-1 Grado amp, not even the high gain model, normal Battery operated unit works wonders with the Senns..

If you are trying them on any vintage PCDP's...

Since the Senns are so power/current dependent, out of the Sony PCDP headphone jacks, found that the D-15 and D-25 work the best for the 580-600's..the D-33 is ok but the power is not as clean or as strong as the 15/25 out of the HP jack to support the Senns, and break up too soon in the volume pot..

 

[F107plus5]

Glad you're happy with your set-up, Great!!

Now here's a little secret.......shhhhh.....

RUN!! Log Off and don't look back!!

Hide your wallet and don't read another post!!

Yes; ignorance IS bliss!! Revel in that fact and Do Not attempt to gain another bit of information that may cause irreperable harm!

"Double-blind" here means closing both your eyes and not looking at your computer screen when this forum is up.

I hope it's not too late already!!

This is so sad.

 

[gsk3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by F107plus5 I hope it's not too late already!! This is so sad.

ROTFL. I'm already thinking about a different amp
But fortunately I'm too broke to even stretch my budget (since it's already been stretched to the breaking point by the headphones!).

Back to

Ari

 

[SR-71Panorama]

I agree completley. It really does take time to develop an informed opinion on differences, etc. I run my 650's and SR71, fed through various ipods, 4g, 5g and mini. I read reviews about lackluster audio quality in the mini, which was my first ipod, and was dumbfounded that people heard differences at all, let alone ones that necessitated avoidance of the mini. Several months have passed, and I can now hear clear as a bell the differences between ipods, despite using the sendstation pocketdock lineout, which yeilds more consistant performance than the different headphone jacks of the ipods. I can also never go back to ipod 'buds. It feels like Im listening to a frequency band of about 500 hz, not 20-20,000.
Congrats, enjoy the setup. But don't feel guilty for a second spending more money. Theres nothing immoral about upgrading. Your money is your buisness, despite whatever your spouse or Dr. Phil may say.

 

[Magnum22]

cool man. what's your amp? sweet deal gettin that kinda sound for $200.

 

[gsk3]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magnum22 cool man. what's your amp? sweet deal gettin that kinda sound for $200.

An older-generation Airhead. $45 shipped. I was hesitant at the time, but in retrospect it's worth that just for the crossfeed (although foobar can do it also, but then you're wedded to your computer*).
I'm pretty happy, yeah.

Ari

* What we really need is an automated foobar processor, that when you dump songs onto your iPod automatically normalizes them, adds crossfeed, and maybe applies one EQ to tracks from a certain genre and another to tracks from a different genre. And then maybe maybe add in a tube amp effect

 

[DevilDog]

You're right about having to spend a lot of time with headphones to appreciate them. The 580s are remarkable, provided they're driven correctly. You can drive them cheaply and well. It doesn't always have to be a >$500 amp. Of course a better amp may give you more, but not a whole lot.
I'm glad you're happy. I'm a fellow trumpet player, as well. Although I never played Mahler, more's the pity.