[simorag]

For me, music is both a world to explore and a mean to explore the world inside me. And the gear is the vehicle for both journeys.

The good thing is that these worlds - while inherently boundless - keep expanding and restlessly changing, and this is what prevents me to get bored in the first place.

Given how my rational and emotional framework have been built or programmed, I happen to enjoy the journey more and more as long as the vehicle keeps improving, or at least to be tuned to my ... driving style. It's an elusive quest and has its bumps along the road, but it paid dividends in the long run. And meeting interesting people as I go adds to the experience big time

I discovered that an increasingly good audio system is able to open larger channels for the spirit of the music flowing into my ear / brain / soul, sometimes by amplifying, or diffracting caleidoscopically sounds or relationships between them to create a multidimensional experience, or sometimes by enabling a direct, immediate path between a certain aspect of the musical content (it can be a minute detail such as a slight inflection of a voice, a rubato, the pluck of a cord, or the opposite i.e. the wholeness of a piece) and my sensory equipment.

I am fond of this crazy hobby as it keeps supporting my personal growth, entertainment, healing through music since close to four decades now.

...

Now reading my post again I ask myself what's its point ... but this is the Random Thougths thread, no?

 

[572217]

For me, music is both a world to explore and a mean to explore the world inside me. And the gear is the vehicle for both journeys.

The good thing is that these worlds - while inherently boundless - keep expanding and restlessly changing, and this is what prevents me to get bored in the first place.

Given how my rational and emotional framework have been built or programmed, I happen to enjoy the journey more and more as long as the vehicle keeps improving, or at least to be tuned to my ... driving style. It's an elusive quest and has its bumps along the road, but it paid dividends in the long run. And meeting interesting people as I go adds to the experience big time

I discovered that an increasingly good audio system is able to open larger channels for the spirit of the music flowing into my ear / brain / soul, sometimes by amplifying, or diffracting caleidoscopically sounds or relationships between them to create a multidimensional experience, or sometimes by enabling a direct, immediate path between a certain aspect of the musical content (it can be a minute detail such as a slight inflection of a voice, a rubato, the pluck of a cord, or the opposite i.e. the wholeness of a piece) and my sensory equipment.

I am fond of this crazy hobby as it keeps supporting my personal growth, entertainment, healing through music since close to four decades now.

...

Now reading my post again I ask myself what's its point ... but this is the Random Thougths thread, no?

Thank you for sharing! We are similar in many regards when it comes to our music and hifi journeys.

As I see it, in our hobby many ways lead to Rome. I guess there are a couple of main ones: interest in gear, interest in sound, interest in music, interest in the science behind it all. To me, these are equally valid. The only reservation I have is, when people who dominantly choose one path impose their view on others.

These paths are not mutually exclusive and usually have a weight. Here’s my weighting:

Gear when I am upgrading and tweaking. Sound when I am changing something in the system. Music, when I sit down and listen. Science or engineering almost never, as I believe things are too complex for a consumer to figure out. I am a computer scientist, so I know my way around one engineering discipline. That gives perspective as to the other disciplines involved.

There‘s also a distinction to be made around what music means in ones life. Is it entertainment? Thrills? Comfort? Healing? A journey? External? A view inside?

To me, life without music would be meaningless. Yes, this is a true statement. I can‘t imagine getting bored with music as it is as much a journey into the music as it is one inside.

A system, which fulfils my requirements, makes it easy to: vanish into the music, be moved, explore the music, explore oneself. The layers of tech go away and the music remains. Does it become live? No. It can not. The starting point is a recording after all. It can be immediate and immersive however, and that is good enough.

 

[Ciggavelli]

I kinda want to try IEMs again. Maybe a CIEM because my ear canals are weird (an ear doctor told me that once, and it's very hard to find tips that work with my ears). What's the best IEM? I'm a bass and treble head. I don't care as much about mids, but I like good mids. I know IEMs are crazy with different types of drivers. The TCs are my favorite headphones. Is there a comparable sound signature for an IEM you all have used?

 

[572217]

I kinda want to try IEMs again. Maybe a CIEM because my ear canals are weird (an ear doctor told me that once, and it's very hard to find tips that work with my ears). What's the best IEM? I'm a bass and treble head. I don't care as much about mids, but I like good mids. I know IEMs are crazy with different types of drivers. The TCs are my favorite headphones. Is there a comparable sound signature for an IEM you all have used?

I have only tried Jerry Harvey in that category. Previously owned a Layla CIEM with my then AK SP2000 and will get myself a Sharona CIEM soon for the SP3000. Am also using a JH Jimy from time to time and previously owned a JH13v2 CIEM. The Layla was that sort of gear, where I have no desire whatsoever to look elsewhere. They keep your ear impressions on file for future purchases. A custom in ear is good for comfort and keeping out ambient noise. Works well in trains or on planes.

Will it be the TC sound signature? No. Will you enjoy the music? Yes.

An upgraded cable is worth the money. The treble and bass control they put in is flimsy and not useful for hifi use.

To me, the JH artist roster tells a story:

https://jhaudio.com/artist_roster

 

[iDesign]

I kinda want to try IEMs again. Maybe a CIEM because my ear canals are weird (an ear doctor told me that once, and it's very hard to find tips that work with my ears). What's the best IEM? I'm a bass and treble head. I don't care as much about mids, but I like good mids. I know IEMs are crazy with different types of drivers. The TCs are my favorite headphones. Is there a comparable sound signature for an IEM you all have used?

Custom in ear monitors are down a dirt road in terms of pulling a joker’s card in sound and they have virtually no resale value. And I tell you this as someone who spent tens of thousands on custom and universal flagship IEMs in my 20 years of Head-Fi. And with universal in ear monitors there are more models, shapes, and opinions than ever. The only way to make the right choice is to evaluate them at CanJam before spending a dime.

And artists rosters are hardly indicative of quality— musicians have a completely different set of use cases and standards than audiophiles. And such lists are often comprised of artists who wore a brand’s monitors once 15 years ago.

 

[572217]

And artists rosters are hardly indicative of quality— musicians have a completely different set of use cases and standards than audiophiles. And such lists are often comprised of artists who wore a brand’s monitors once 15 years ago.

Arguing this takes too much of my time.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

I kinda want to try IEMs again. Maybe a CIEM because my ear canals are weird (an ear doctor told me that once, and it's very hard to find tips that work with my ears). What's the best IEM? I'm a bass and treble head. I don't care as much about mids, but I like good mids. I know IEMs are crazy with different types of drivers. The TCs are my favorite headphones. Is there a comparable sound signature for an IEM you all have used?

Not exactly TC, but if you search for lively bite/impact, good sparkle treble, with strong bass response and big soundstage, Xenon 6 may become your new best friend. Also available in CIEM fit. A good pure silver cable should be match well to tighten the bass decay and add some extra clarity/soundstage.

 

[Ciggavelli]

Well, I did it. I sold off all my estats. I still have my 3ES Elite up for sale, but if it doesn't go for my bottom line price, I'll just keep it as a 300B pre amp to my CFA3. I'm not gonna lie, I'm feeling a little bit of regret selling my estat collection off , but no going back now. I'm strictly planars, dynamics, and ribbons from here on out (and maybe the HE-1 if I can justify the cost ).

 

[Ciggavelli]

Roon is fukcing up. They never have the lastest albums on Friday. Why does it take so long for that sh!t? They are forcing me to copy that sh!t with Allavsoft.

 

[kumar402]

I kinda want to try IEMs again. Maybe a CIEM because my ear canals are weird (an ear doctor told me that once, and it's very hard to find tips that work with my ears). What's the best IEM? I'm a bass and treble head. I don't care as much about mids, but I like good mids. I know IEMs are crazy with different types of drivers. The TCs are my favorite headphones. Is there a comparable sound signature for an IEM you all have used?

I think that watercooler thread is best place to check for high end IEMs.
I’m very happy with XE6 but whatever little I know about your preference based on some of your posts, I feel you may not like it due to bump in mid bass and not much in sub bass. However Custom XE6 may work out well.

 

[572217]

(reverse censorship)

 

[Ciggavelli]

Had more time to reflect on what my current system is about.

After I grew out of the ‘putting random shiny objects together’ phase about thirty years ago, my goal posts were ‘live’ and ‘precious time’. This also meant, that I was (and still am) not interested in the intricacies of audiophile criteria. I learned, that I enjoy music reproduction similar to what a PA system does in an amplified concert. What had not occurred to me until about three years ago, is that ‘live’ is an illusion. I had gotten very close to creating that illusion (for amplified concerts). The gear, room and effort involved were enormous. If I had to find a metaphor, it was like ‘the bassist plugs his bass not into the amp but into my belly’. I still watched movies at the time and had to stop watching scary movies, because the sound became so viscerally haunting. It also escaped me, how addictive the system was I had built. It dawned on me, I had reached the end of the ‘live’ road. Out went the 2–channel setup and I began my headphone journey.

Skip forward to today. Musical tastes have deepened and expanded a lot. The system is sober, meaning true and non–addictive. True means the recording of instruments like a piano sounds like a recording of a real piano. True also means, the music is a whole and not a collection of sounds or effects. When I listen to an orchestra playing a symphony, the musicians and the symphony both come together as the creation was intended. Sober and engaging go together. I sit down and the music envelops me. The distractions of the day cease. I can either explore the music or lose myself in it. So, different stage in life, different system. ‘Precious time’ remained.

What strikes me from your post is that "live" is an illusion. Well said.

This may not be what you meant, but this is why I don't believe in a "true" timbre. I think timbre is subjective. I know it's not a popular belief in the community, but I ideologically don't believe in timbre. It's all about the "color" you like.

Spatial representation is different of course. However, when I listen to music, I'm not trying to reproduce the live sound. I like that the sounds are all around my head. I like that certain FR sounds are emphasized. I like the tone certain headphones provide.

 

[572217]

What strikes me from your post is that "live" is an illusion. Well said.

This may not be what you meant, but this is why I don't believe in a "true" timbre. I think timbre is subjective. I know it's not a popular belief in the community, but I ideologically don't believe in timbre. It's all about the "color" you like.

Spatial representation is different of course. However, when I listen to music, I'm not trying to reproduce the live sound. I like that the sounds are all around my head. I like that certain FR sounds are emphasized. I like the tone certain headphones provide.

Thank you.

Let me quote from ‘Sounds Like’ by Stereophile:

Timbre — The recognisable characteristic sound “signature” of a musical instrument, by which it is possible to tell an oboe, for example, from a flute when both are sounding the same note.

In classical music, it is important for me to know whether I am listening to a flute or a transverse flute. The composers and conductors made conscious decisions on how to put the orchestra together. Being able to easily hear which instruments are coming to the fore, makes quite the difference. It is not exactly timbre, but for me piano is a litmus test. It‘s hard to reproduce piano convincingly. For me, when piano works, the other instruments do too.

Maybe the pitfall with focusing on timbre too much is, you can get lifeless sound. But there is a way around that.

What are you referring to, when you say “colour”?

I had to re–conceptualise spatial representation with headphones. I have no out–of–head experience, everything happens between the ears. I found thinking about a stage unhelpful. In classical music, I rather ask myself: is this an orchestra? Are they playing together? Is the experience pointing to the concert hall? Is it becoming a symphony? Can I explore the meaning? Can I follow the many threads? For popular music on headphones, things become very difficult, because recording engineers make such different decisions.

 

[Ciggavelli]

Thank you.

Let me quote from ‘Sounds Like’ by Stereophile:

Timbre — The recognisable characteristic sound “signature” of a musical instrument, by which it is possible to tell an oboe, for example, from a flute when both are sounding the same note.

In classical music, it is important for me to know whether I am listening to a flute or a transverse flute. The composers and conductors made conscious decisions on how to put the orchestra together. Being able to easily hear which instruments are coming to the fore, makes quite the difference. It is not exactly timbre, but for me piano is a litmus test. It‘s hard to reproduce piano convincingly. For me, when piano works, the other instruments do too.

Maybe the pitfall with focusing on timbre too much is, you can get lifeless sound. But there is a way around that.

What are you referring to, when you say “colour”?

I had to re–conceptualise spatial representation with headphones. I have no out–of–head experience, everything happens between the ears. I found thinking about a stage unhelpful. In classical music, I rather ask myself: is this an orchestra? Are they playing together? Is the experience pointing to the concert hall? Is it becoming a symphony? Can I explore the meaning? Can I follow the many threads? For popular music on headphones, things become very difficult, because recording engineers make such different decisions.

I guess for me, I like the spatial aspects of headphones. It's not "realistic," in the live sense, but it provides a new way of listening to music. I have some modest speakers, and it's a way different experience. The soundstage and imagining on speakers is just "different." I'd love to have a TOTL speaker setup, but it's not possible where I live. I'm into surround sound too. I use the A16 Realiser from time to time, and the 5.1 representation is very cool. You hear sounds all around you. It's a very out of the head experience. It's hard to describe if you haven't experienced it, but he sounds come from far left, and behind your head, etc.

By color, I mean the flavor that the headphones provide. I know that is just an synonym, but it is the different "filters" headphones provide is very important to me. The Sr1a, and probably TCs, are very sterile. They're black and just to the point. The Susvara is more off-white. It provides a different, more laid back filter. The Calderas are warmer, and the ACs are much warmer. They provide a more hazy brown like filter, which works well with certain genres (like stoner and doom).

Now, granted I listen to very distorted music, and also very electronic music (with hip-hop). I don't think there is a "correct" timbre for those types of music. I listen to say a Pantera album in headphones, and then see them live (which was like 25 years ago), and they sound very different. I prefer the "studio" headphone sound. Live venues often do not provide good sound quality. I've been to some of the best theatres and venues in NYC, and most of the time I am disappointed by their sound quality. Also, I don't know how you can have a correct timbre, when you are distorting the sound so much with pedals and filters.

I think there is a divide in the community (and I don't mean that in a bad way). The classical folks want different things than the metal and hip-hop folks. I am part of the latter community. We want different things. Classical music is much more complex than metal or hip-hop, though metal has some classical elements to it, and I consider it modern classical. With so many instruments in an orchestra, you probably need much more accurate spatial representation. You probably also need better differentiation of instruments. I mean we're talking about 30+ musicians compared to like 5 from metal. Hip-hop is a completely different subject.

I think classical folks really like estats, for the resolution and imagining. I think metal folks like planars. Maybe hip-hop folks like planars and dynamics, but they dislike estats. I recently got out of estats because my genres just aren't compatible.

 

[572217]

I guess for me, I like the spatial aspects of headphones. It's not "realistic," in the live sense, but it provides a new way of listening to music. I have some modest speakers, and it's a way different experience. The soundstage and imagining on speakers is just "different." I'd love to have a TOTL speaker setup, but it's not possible where I live. I'm into surround sound too. I use the A16 Realiser from time to time, and the 5.1 representation is very cool. You hear sounds all around you. It's a very out of the head experience. It's hard to describe if you haven't experienced it, but he sounds come from far left, and behind your head, etc.

By color, I mean the flavor that the headphones provide. I know that is just an synonym, but it is the different "filters" headphones provide is very important to me. The Sr1a, and probably TCs, are very sterile. They're black and just to the point. The Susvara is more off-white. It provides a different, more laid back filter. The Calderas are warmer, and the ACs are much warmer. They provide a more hazy brown like filter, which works well with certain genres (like stoner and doom).

Now, granted I listen to very distorted music, and also very electronic music (with hip-hop). I don't think there is a "correct" timbre for those types of music. I listen to say a Pantera album in headphones, and then see them live (which was like 25 years ago), and they sound very different. I prefer the "studio" headphone sound. Live venues often do not provide good sound quality. I've been to some of the best theatres and venues in NYC, and most of the time I am disappointed by their sound quality. Also, I don't know how you can have a correct timbre, when you are distorting the sound so much with pedals and filters.

I think there is a divide in the community (and I don't mean that in a bad way). The classical folks want different things than the metal and hip-hop folks. I am part of the latter community. We want different things. Classical music is much more complex than metal or hip-hop, though metal has some classical elements to it, and I consider it modern classical. With so many instruments in an orchestra, you probably need much more accurate spatial representation. You probably also need better differentiation of instruments. I mean we're talking about 30+ musicians compared to like 5 from metal. Hip-hop is a completely different subject.

I think classical folks really like estats, for the resolution and imagining. I think metal folks like planars. Maybe hip-hop folks like planars and dynamics, but they dislike estats. I recently got out of estats because my genres just aren't compatible.

Thank you!

I listen to these genres at the moment: doom metal, progressive metal, alternative folk, alternative rock, post–rock, prog rock, industrial / gothic, classical, blues, experimental, alternative pop, art pop, dream pop, and quite a bit of electronic music from different sub–genres (gotta have artistic value).

I had to find a system, which accommodates any genre I enjoy and also works with mediocre to bad recordings.

Live amplified concerts can suck.