Zanth
SHAman who knew of Head-Fi ten years prior to its existence
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2001
- Posts
- 9,570
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- 44
Since the third week of November (as has been customary for the last 7 years of my life) I begin to listen to music in very high quantity due to me sitting at my desk studying for 8-16 hours/day. In so doing, I am *forced* to listen to a wide range of cds, to save from going insane due to repetitive music. I have just over 1000 cds (which I actually purchased) and that lends to much rediscovery during these grueling times. This year has been somewhat different. Four years ago I purchased a pair of SR60s which pretty well blew me outta the water in terms of listening experience. I had to use headphones because of housemates, I would start studying customarily around 8 pm and end my epic jaunts around 7-8 am in the morning (I am a night owl). These strange hours suited me well as my housemates at the time were early sleepers and so I had the house to myself. Of course, I couldn't blare music through speakers at these ungodly late hours. Enter my dire need for headphones. I began to research headphones. I didn't have much money but I wanted something that sounded out-of-this-world for the low cost and I needed them to be driven by a portable, since I didn't want to buy two pairs (my goal was some nice library listening as well). I discovered the name Grado and from some rave reviews over the net and especially from what I believe was the first Headroom website; I ordered a pair of Grado SR60s from the local Hi-fi shop. At $140 Canadian I thought they were a bit much, but when I gave them a serious listening that evening I was floored. I could not understand how headphones could sound so amazing. I don't listen to music horribly loud, and Grados are driven so easily that I didn't need to force the volume knob (this worked out well since these VERY open cans would not work in a library if the volume creaped up past 4 on the 10 V scale).
I went nuts listening to all of my discs (at the time I had around 200) and I just kept listening and listening, quickly rediscovering some old favourites, and listening to them with a newfound detail and a greater appreciation.
Advance to this past November. Exams were approaching, this year a few weeks early. I knew what was coming, my long hours of listening, no worries though, I knew I had my cd collection to depend on, which had now grown to 5x the amount I had when I picked up the 60s. What was unique about this year was that my wife of 1 year, recognizing my passion for music, headphones and the masochistic desire to stay in school for what seems like forever, decided to give me an early Christmas present. She bought me the RS-1s (after just getting me the RA-1 a month earlier for our 1 year anniversary). I was of course enthralled. I went nuts listening to my old favourites, and I went out and bought a bunch of new disks I had been contemplating getting. Time passed, and I was sitting in heaven listening for 8-10 hours a day to my headphones and loving every second. The detail, warmth, soundstage, deep bass was well displayed via my collection. Tonight I sit here, finished for another semester, waiting for Christmas to come, doing some casual surfing on head-fi and headwize and listening to a cd I picked up when I first bought the SR60s and one that I have not listened to in 3 years. The disk is ru Receiving, a compilation of some nice electronic music put out by Much Music, the Canadian music station. I was enjoying my revisit with some old friends: Portishead, DJ Shadow, Lamb etc...until I reached track 11 - The Orb: Toxygene (the way out est begbe mix). I was absolutely floored by this track, by the sound engineering of and the quality reproduction on this release. Above and beyond this I was MYSTIFIED by the unbelievable magic the RS1s were able to produce with this track. At one point, there was this metalic ticking which I thought was my computer chair hitting something (I am a fidgit and I am always moving) but it was not the chair, but rather the recording which sounded as if it were coming from behind my head and about 2 feet below shoulder level. Never had I truly experienced soundstaging like this. The detail was so true as to make me believe it was a real metalic clicking right behind me, the sound staging to perfect as to think this click was near the base of my spine!! Was I imagining this? Nope, I pressed pause, and this small background sound in the track disappeared only to reappear when I pressed play. This is supposed to be there, it was fluid with the other instruments and was just one more layer this great genius of techno could add in there.
I know others here have had similar experiences with their cans, maybe from Senns, Etys or their Grados. Whatever the name, whatever the number, rediscovering your own music through impecable headphones is a real treat! I believe I will spend most of my holidays (post family obligations) sitting back and listening to my collection through my new headphones, listening, appreciating and rediscovering why I bought these disks in the first place. You don't need uberhigh-end cans to get these sensations, of course it can't hurt, and I can't complain
Merry Christmas everyone!
I went nuts listening to all of my discs (at the time I had around 200) and I just kept listening and listening, quickly rediscovering some old favourites, and listening to them with a newfound detail and a greater appreciation.
Advance to this past November. Exams were approaching, this year a few weeks early. I knew what was coming, my long hours of listening, no worries though, I knew I had my cd collection to depend on, which had now grown to 5x the amount I had when I picked up the 60s. What was unique about this year was that my wife of 1 year, recognizing my passion for music, headphones and the masochistic desire to stay in school for what seems like forever, decided to give me an early Christmas present. She bought me the RS-1s (after just getting me the RA-1 a month earlier for our 1 year anniversary). I was of course enthralled. I went nuts listening to my old favourites, and I went out and bought a bunch of new disks I had been contemplating getting. Time passed, and I was sitting in heaven listening for 8-10 hours a day to my headphones and loving every second. The detail, warmth, soundstage, deep bass was well displayed via my collection. Tonight I sit here, finished for another semester, waiting for Christmas to come, doing some casual surfing on head-fi and headwize and listening to a cd I picked up when I first bought the SR60s and one that I have not listened to in 3 years. The disk is ru Receiving, a compilation of some nice electronic music put out by Much Music, the Canadian music station. I was enjoying my revisit with some old friends: Portishead, DJ Shadow, Lamb etc...until I reached track 11 - The Orb: Toxygene (the way out est begbe mix). I was absolutely floored by this track, by the sound engineering of and the quality reproduction on this release. Above and beyond this I was MYSTIFIED by the unbelievable magic the RS1s were able to produce with this track. At one point, there was this metalic ticking which I thought was my computer chair hitting something (I am a fidgit and I am always moving) but it was not the chair, but rather the recording which sounded as if it were coming from behind my head and about 2 feet below shoulder level. Never had I truly experienced soundstaging like this. The detail was so true as to make me believe it was a real metalic clicking right behind me, the sound staging to perfect as to think this click was near the base of my spine!! Was I imagining this? Nope, I pressed pause, and this small background sound in the track disappeared only to reappear when I pressed play. This is supposed to be there, it was fluid with the other instruments and was just one more layer this great genius of techno could add in there.
I know others here have had similar experiences with their cans, maybe from Senns, Etys or their Grados. Whatever the name, whatever the number, rediscovering your own music through impecable headphones is a real treat! I believe I will spend most of my holidays (post family obligations) sitting back and listening to my collection through my new headphones, listening, appreciating and rediscovering why I bought these disks in the first place. You don't need uberhigh-end cans to get these sensations, of course it can't hurt, and I can't complain
Merry Christmas everyone!
