[Mindblock]

I am a long time lurker, but infrequent poster, but because you guys have impacted my wallet as well as my life, I would like to share my story.

I have been an audiophile for many years and my current home system has Belles amps driving Vandersteen speakers and subs, with an Exemplar / Denon DVD 3910 for CD’s and a Basis Audio 2800 turntable with a venerable Dynavector Karat cartridge for vinyl. I USED to listen to that system quite a bit, but then HeadFi got in the way…..

Because I was traveling a lot at the time, I started my pursuit of portable audio that was "listenable" approximately 5 years ago with a purchase of Etymotic 4S IEM’s and a Total Bithead amp…..and life was good, at least for a couple of years. While I liked the Etys for their accuracy, transparency, and precision, I found them lacking in their ability to reproduce the low end presence I was looking for particularly in jazz and rock recordings.

After exhaustive reading of thoughts and opinions here, my next step was purchase of TripleFi 10’s which sounded great for a while, but quickly led me to question (based upon more reading here) if I was getting all I could from them. So I switched out the Total Bithead for a RSA P-51 Mustang and got a very nice sounding (and relatively inexpensive) iBasso LOD and cable…..and again, life was good…..for a while.

Earlier this year, upgraditis struck again, and as I type this I am hearing recorded music as I have never before heard it anywhere.

I am listening to Lossless files on an iPod Classic connected through a beautiful Elite SCSCag Viablue LOD from Whiplash Audio to the RSA P-51 Mustang and driving JH-13 Pro IEMS with the Whiplash Audio Elite TWag Replacement cable.....this is all ALMOST burned in (at just over 250 hours).

I have been hard pressed to take these monitors out of my ears as the music has literally come alive in front of me as these cables and monitors have transformed with their burn-in…..there is precision and depth in a soundstage with air around individual instruments and voices (many of which I have never heard before in what I had previously considered to be well known recordings)…..this system is not just reproducing “sound”…..no sir, this is MUSIC…..it is involving, as analytical as I ever want it to be but never at the expense of musicality. I can’t seem to go a day without listening to Johnny A’s “One November Night” or Tal Wilkenfeld’s “Transformation”.

Because I like my bass, I had waffled a bit in deciding between the JH-13’s and the JH-16’s and to my ears and for the music I listen to the JH-13’s in combination with Ray Samuels’ amp and Craig Sanborn’s cables are nothing short of outstanding, leaving nothing whatsoever to be desired.

THANK-YOU to all of you who have shared your experiences and opinions on this site, and, in no particular order, to Jerry Harvey, Ray Samuels, and Craig Sanborn for their time and effort in designing and producing outstanding gear that provides great music reproduction that is emotionally involving to the listener.

I am just glad that I finally got off the fence and started to enjoy really the music as it was meant to be enjoyed!!

 

[Anaxilus]

Gratz!!

 

[kingpage]

way to go...I can see myself like that in a decade, but things do change and I might move to loud speaker or full-sized headphone when I can afford a much higher price.

 

[SACD-Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mindblock /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am a long time lurker, but infrequent poster, but because you guys have impacted my wallet as well as my life, I would like to share my story. I have been an audiophile for many years and my current home system has Belles amps driving Vandersteen speakers and subs, with an Exemplar / Denon DVD 3910 for CD’s and a Basis Audio 2800 turntable with a venerable Dynavector Karat cartridge for vinyl. I USED to listen to that system quite a bit, but then HeadFi got in the way….. Because I was traveling a lot at the time, I started my pursuit of portable audio that was "listenable" approximately 5 years ago with a purchase of Etymotic 4S IEM’s and a Total Bithead amp…..and life was good, at least for a couple of years. While I liked the Etys for their accuracy, transparency, and precision, I found them lacking in their ability to reproduce the low end presence I was looking for particularly in jazz and rock recordings. After exhaustive reading of thoughts and opinions here, my next step was purchase of TripleFi 10’s which sounded great for a while, but quickly led me to question (based upon more reading here) if I was getting all I could from them. So I switched out the Total Bithead for a RSA P-51 Mustang and got a very nice sounding (and relatively inexpensive) iBasso LOD and cable…..and again, life was good…..for a while. Earlier this year, upgraditis struck again, and as I type this I am hearing recorded music as I have never before heard it anywhere. I am listening to Lossless files on an iPod Classic connected through a beautiful Elite SCSCag Viablue LOD from Whiplash Audio to the RSA P-51 Mustang and driving JH-13 Pro IEMS with the Whiplash Audio Elite TWag Replacement cable.....this is all ALMOST burned in (at just over 250 hours). I have been hard pressed to take these monitors out of my ears as the music has literally come alive in front of me as these cables and monitors have transformed with their burn-in…..there is precision and depth in a soundstage with air around individual instruments and voices (many of which I have never heard before in what I had previously considered to be well known recordings)…..this system is not just reproducing “sound”…..no sir, this is MUSIC…..it is involving, as analytical as I ever want it to be but never at the expense of musicality. I can’t seem to go a day without listening to Johnny A’s “One November Night” or Tal Wilkenfeld’s “Transformation”. Because I like my bass, I had waffled a bit in deciding between the JH-13’s and the JH-16’s and to my ears and for the music I listen to the JH-13’s in combination with Ray Samuels’ amp and Craig Sanborn’s cables are nothing short of outstanding, leaving nothing whatsoever to be desired. THANK-YOU to all of you who have shared your experiences and opinions on this site, and, in no particular order, to Jerry Harvey, Ray Samuels, and Craig Sanborn for their time and effort in designing and producing outstanding gear that provides great music reproduction that is emotionally involving to the listener. I am just glad that I finally got off the fence and started to enjoy really the music as it was meant to be enjoyed!!

Thank you for your kind response. Its very much appreciated!!

Craig

 

[Bennyboy71]

Great stuff. Music's pretty cool, isn't it?

 

[Mindblock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bennyboy71 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Great stuff. Music's pretty cool, isn't it?

Oh yeah.....music is VERY cool.

I will freely admit that for a while it seemed like I was more into the gear than the music.....I would ask myself "how much difference can an amp really make".....answer = a BIG difference.....say nothing about little things like a GOOD LOD and cables. Each step seemed to remove a layer of a veil that had been placed between me and the music and had me listening to and focusing upon the gear.

But now, with good files being fed through a great LOD / amp / cable to simply outstanding IEM's for the first time I am not hearing the gear and what I had considered to be "the veil" is GONE leaving me with the music and its full emotional impact. I really hope that it takes a LONG time to "get used to" this sound because it is really a lot of fun right now.