Hey guys and gals, I'd just like to share an experience I had with everyone here for better or for worse.
Today, while I was hanging out with a few friends, I put some classical music on in the background with crappy Bluetooth speakers (JBL Pulse I). To be specific, I put on Tchaikovsky's violin concerto. Here it is (in parts unfortunately) on youtube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok0IJhFGDpk.
By the way, this is an excellent recording in both sound quality and actual performance, and surpasses any other version of the piece I've listened to so far. I would highly recommend getting this CD if you're into this kind of stuff.
Anyway, I want to focus in on a particular moment while listening to the piece on that crappy speaker. It was around 9:30 in the video. You can hear the tempo of the piece rapidly accelerating and overall, things are getting pretty exciting. I can actually feel my heartbeat quickening along with the rising tempo, despite the low quality of the Bluetooth speakers. One of my friends even mentioned that she was getting stressed out (in a good way) while listening to that moment.
All in all, it felt great to be so into the music. It's been too long since I felt an emotional and almost physical reaction while listening to music.
So naturally, once I go home I try to reproduce this moment on my own system: Schiit Bifrost Uber into Bryston BHA-1 and (obviously) my HD800s. I queue up the piece in lossless, and I start listening. Great imaging, soundstage, and general fidelity as per usual on a high quality recording with the HD800s.
Anticipation rises as the part I mentioned previously draws near. Finally, it arrives and then... nothing. I don't feel anything. Sure it sounds great and all, but what happened to the quickening pulse and the excitement!?
At this point, a million questions are swirling in my head. Why should a $100 Bluetooth speaker illicit such an emotional response (which I feel is one of the most important attributes of any audio system) while my $3000+ headphone setup cannot? Is this due to the inherit advantages that speakers have over headphones? Was it just the state of mind I was in previously? Is it due to my amp synergy (I've heard reports that the pairing is flat and not very engaging)? Is it because of the HD800s "clinical" sound signature? Is my DAC bottlenecking my system? And so on and so forth.
So far, I've found no answers. Just more questions. Should I try modding the headphones? Should I try different amps? How about a new DAC? Would getting different headphones work? Why not just drop the headphone game altogether and move on to speakers? Maybe I'm just not in the mood anymore and should try again another time.
But stubbornly, I try listening to the piece once more. Since I'm frustrated, I decide to critically analyze every single second I listen to. So far so good. I'm thinking things like: "Wow, I can actually hear the reverberation of the violin against the room" and "I'm glad the HD800s are so revealing and transparent or else I wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the extremely rich and vibrant tone that Hilary Hahn produces with her violin. I mean, the violin is seriously singing right now!" I guess I'm not much of an analytical listener, huh.
Soon enough that dreaded moment at 9:30 arrives. And guess what? I'm too lost in the music to care. I do notice that there's still no faster heartbeat or whatever, but at this point I don't mind anymore. I'm enjoying the music goddammit! So what if I didn't get the exact same reaction as when I listened to that part before?
Instead, I keep on listening and I get close to the end of the first movement. The movement is getting to its climax and and then... could it be... yes! Hallelujah!! There it is. A slight shivering sensation coupled with a triumphant feeling from the music. All is well. My headphone setup is indeed capable of getting an emotional response from me, which again, is the most important aspect of any audio system to me.
So what's the point of all this? I'm not entirely sure; I felt like it was worth sharing though. Maybe my point is to remind you all to enjoy your music. Maybe it's to let you know that upgrading your system isn't all that important. Maybe there's no point at all. Who knows? Who cares?
Anyway, sorry for the long rambling post, and thanks for reading! I hope my story helps some of you somehow.
PS. I'd still like to know how to improve my system despite my epiphany. Its just not bothering me as much anymore. So if you got any suggestions...