RAZ's TOTL review and rambles thread... could it be.... alive?

[gLer]

My take is that if you use Tidal and generally stream music when using your phone (as opposed to a DAP with your lossless music library), then MQA support is essential. Otherwise you're losing out on a huge slice of the market. Local lossless files always sound better to me, even non-hi-res vs streamed MQA, but since we're talking DAP dongles, chances are I'll be streaming when I use them.

 

[noplsestar]

My take is that if you use Tidal and generally stream music when using your phone (as opposed to a DAP with your lossless music library), then MQA support is essential. Otherwise you're losing out on a huge slice of the market. Local lossless files always sound better to me, even non-hi-res vs streamed MQA, but since we're talking DAP dongles, chances are I'll be streaming when I use them.

I have never tested streaming portals, but have read not once but multiple times by different members that Qobuz streaming generally sounds better than Tidal, no matter which format. Maybe you guys give it a try. It’s free for one month trial I think.

 

[gLer]

I have never tested streaming portals, but have read not once but multiple times by different members that Qobuz streaming generally sounds better than Tidal, no matter which format. Maybe you guys give it a try. It’s free for one month trial I think.

Qobuz isn't available in my region unfortunately. Amazon HD is also meant to be right up there but the app sucks.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Kinda stealing this discussion from another thread but I’m curious - what are people’s listening habits on here?

I’ll start - the majority of my listening is at a desk while working or playing TCGs, and a smaller but rather substantial portion while walking my dog

 

[Darkestred]

Mainly speakers (Ascend Sierra 2ex). Ironic as i love iems. If i'm not listening to speakers then i'll listen to iems on my schiit modi/magni/atom setup. If im out and about i used to use BT transmitters like BTR3 and ES100 but since TWS has evolved pretty nicely i will go TWS when out and about. I have moved away from DAPs.

 

[CANiSLAYu]

Kinda stealing this discussion from another thread but I’m curious - what are people’s listening habits on here?

Also desk while working, but that’s becoming less and less because of so many meetings and I manage a team and my folks are calling all day to ask questions or talk through things. Then I get an hour or two at night when I put my toddler to bed and then listen before bed myself.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Mainly speakers (Ascend Sierra 2ex). Ironic as i love iems. If i'm not listening to speakers then i'll listen to iems on my schiit modi/magni/atom setup. If im out and about i used to use BT transmitters like BTR3 and ES100 but since TWS has evolved pretty nicely i will go TWS when out and about. I have moved away from DAPs.

Oh man I leave my house without my wallet more often than I do without my DAP

 

[gLer]

Occasionally at the desk while working but more often than not, my 'serious' listening is done either in bed or on the couch, usually at night, hence my switch to IEMs. For casual listening I sometimes don't even bother taking out the DAP and expensive IEMs and just hook up the EarMen Sparrow and BLON-03 to my MacBook or phone. If I listen while walking it's phone and BLONs only as the expensive stuff never leaves the house. Likewise while travelling.

 

[bluestorm1992]

I am also moving away from DAPs. The LPG would be my only portable DAP for quite a while. The reason on my side is less on the usability but more on how much you get out of the money. I have the sense that those small dongles are going to function really well - just like what the S1 is compared to the LPGT. This is why I am so excited about the LP W1/W2. My current plan is to eventually pair the W2 with a AMP like Cayin C9 or Oriolus BA 300s (the pairing amp on their advertisement), and see how it would compare with the LPGT/Hugo 2.

In terms of the listening habits, I can only do serious listening while my wife is working/doing her own stuff - so that she doesn't get mad at me not responding to her. In the daytime I have to work as well, and I usually don't like having music on when writing papers; the music distracts me too much lol. So, that brings me to only be able to listen in some late night time, either with my desktop Diana setup or IEMs.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Kinda stealing this discussion from another thread but I’m curious - what are people’s listening habits on here?

I’ll start - the majority of my listening is at a desk while working or playing TCGs, and a smaller but rather substantial portion while walking my dog

I probably listen to music for 6-8 hours every day. So, I have lots of options for listening for every use case. It keeps the music listening fresh and non-fatiguing.

The majority of my listening happens at my desk. I have a Bottlehead Crack tube amp and a Hugo 2/2go. I am usually rotating listening based on genre between my VE8 IEMs and my HD800S full sized headphones. I only use the VE8s with the Hugo 2, but I alternate between directly connecting the HD800S to the Hugo 2 or the BHC with the Hugo 2 as DAC only. I really makes for a nice diversity of sound.

By my bedside, I have a Chord Mojo/Poly with my HD650/600 headphones.

When I walk outside, I take my BTR5 and either VE8 or Shure SE846 IEMs. I usually walk for about 2 hours. So, there is a lot of listening time there.

When I travel, I take my Mojo/Poly, Hugo 2/2go, BTR5 and I have a DragonFly Red too that I rarely use anymore. I'll bring one full sized headphones in either the HD600/650 or 800S and my IEMs so I can maintain a diversity of listening as well. For a while, when I was stuck in California, I took my BHC with me, too. But, now that I am home, that stays where it is.

I also have Airpods Pro that I use mostly for phone calls and watching streaming services. I use my se846 IEMs on an airplane along with Bose QC35s for active and passive noise cancellation. I have the custom ear sleeves on the se846 so they fit perfectly, sound decent and isolate me almost completely from the airplane noise.

 

[KuroKitsu]

Kinda stealing this discussion from another thread but I’m curious - what are people’s listening habits on here?

I’ll start - the majority of my listening is at a desk while working or playing TCGs, and a smaller but rather substantial portion while walking my dog

It use to be 4 hours combined for commute with DAP and iems. Then on and off for 8 hours at work with a midfi usb dac/amp capable DAP. An hour or so in the evenings.

The past year its been
5-6 hours DAP and iems if doing housework
Maybe a couple hours iems off the desktop setup. And an hour or so before I hit the sack.

The only same routines is an hour with TWS off my phone for workout. And maybe an hour for a walk in the trails with DAP and iem.

Setups:
TWS (Galaxy Buds) + S20+ for workouts
1A + A3 for housework
1A + ToTL rotation when running errands or for a hike
E30 + 789 + ToTL rotation for desktop

Oh man I leave my house without my wallet more often than I do without my DAP

A lot of places are telling people to do contactless payments and as long as I have my phone its more or less fine. DAP is pretty much essential these days going out for errands, especially with the lineups to do anything.

 

[Deferenz]

Kinda stealing this discussion from another thread but I’m curious - what are people’s listening habits on here?

I’ll start - the majority of my listening is at a desk while working or playing TCGs, and a smaller but rather substantial portion while walking my dog

I mostly listen at my desk while working. I use my N6ii Dap or Lotoo S1, but rotate my IEM’s and cables depending on my mood. I listen for about 5 hours a day. If I’m doing more critical listening then I tend to sit in a relaxing chair that is away from other distractions.

My Dap, high-end IEMs and cables never leave my house. if I listen outside, go for a walk or go to the gym, I use an iPhone and my Billie Jean monitors.

 

[orpheus89]

interesting topic
I mainly listen to my speakers at home and occasionally headphones at the home-office (not that often, although music really helps me concentrate), but I guess most listening time goes to IEMs these days when I am out and about on walks..

 

[MaggotBrain]

I mostly listen to music on my ATC speakers when I’m home - but if it’s obscenely early or late I will often switch to headphones for courtesy - though if I’m reading and listening to something mellow I will probably just use the speakers. A sentence I don’t think that has ever been uttered in the English language is “stop blasting that Gordon Lightfoot!” If AC/DC beckons when folks are still sleeping, I’ll grab the Abyss.

When I’m at work, most of the time I’ll just use Airpod pros because my listening breaks are only 10-15 minutes at a clip for doing busywork). Lately though, i have been packing my Thummims with me for special occasions or for when I don’t want to be bothered - I’ve found that people are more apt to interrupt me when I have AirPods on then when I have the Thummim - probably half because the AirPods imply casual listening and half because the Thummims look pretty metal and surreptitiously convey don’t screw with me.

For chores around the house - either the hip DAC or WA11 with the Diana PhI because it is freaking amazing and I have to shoehorn my time with awesome sounding portable open backs.

i really love using the IEMS when I’m jogging or hiking, as that is truly my recharging the batteries time. My wife does yoga and meditation and wonders why I am so worry free when I do nothing of the sort but when you’ve got great music and views like this the sights and sounds are the best medicine.

 

[mvvRAZ]

Damn you guys are making me feel guilty... My gear gets some pretty intensive use, I can't fly without my A18S, I go hiking and jogging with my A12t, Thummim for city listening etc

It's interesting that TWS gets mentioned so often and that people with gear worth thousands still end up having the majority of their time on AirPods, Galaxy Buds etc etc. It would certainly be interesting for manufacturers to see this Imo, really goes to show where the trend is

@MaggotBrain to echo you, my walks with my dog and my Thummim are 4 out of the 5 reasons I still haven't lost it