The Watercooler -- Impressions, philosophical discussion and general banter. Index on first page. All welcome.

[wolfstar76]

Well, not too much I guess, until you ask for 37th time.

There's even a word for this: Developed country.

I call it a mental illness.

drftr

IMHO, it has nothing to do with developed countries, it is the evil of state/government own business, privatization is the only solution.

 

[wazzupi]

@Wolfhawk46 you're losing ground !!!

 

[maegnificant]

Quick (possibly stupid) question for crew: Is there need to keep a bit of storage headroom space open and unused on SD cards for performance efficiency reasons, or is it fine to fill it up to the max? Using a 1TB Micron card, and curious if I should keep I don’t know, 50GB empty for some reason.

I have had some problems with multiple sd cards for adding new music when they approach over 90% of their capacity. They get really slow and picky, sometimes don't accept certain folders and are just a pain in the a** to manage tbh. Had this on several 1TB, 512GB and lesser SD cards.

 

[Skyediver]

Yeah, and it isn't even with the snobbery of like, "I can do so much better." It's just super... in Indonesia, we call it gemas, where it's like, "You were soooo close!" There is the rare occasion where the adjustments needed are so small and doable without too much artifacting and degradation, that I've personally taken the time to "fix" it for my own consumption. An example would be Jos Ankin and Thomas Lang's prog-rock cover of Paganini's Caprice No. 24.

This is the version they released: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MrQtvWmyj0Q8iOHsT0NCBlKzsF0TU06c/view?usp=share_link

I thought it sounded quite good, but it felt a bit mono-sounding to me. The stereo spread was pretty narrow, and it only occupied the centre of my head. So, I decided to use an S1 Imager to widen the image, and I used EQ to take out a bit of energy around 5kHz and 300Hz, where I felt the record was slightly crowded dynamically.

This is the result: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OrRGU2UvpVHqHz3H5T8j1mqQD7Fua1AL/view?usp=share_link

Now, it's very debatable which is the "better" version. Some might say the original has a more upfront, punchy sound, while my interpretation is too relaxed for this genre of music. Some might say the relaxed master is a good complement to the heavy metal playing. I think there's no wrong answer. All I did was tweak it to be the record I want to hear, and that's good enough for me.


That's very true. When it comes to most chart-topping pop artists, I imagine their engineers are picked for them. Whereas, hip-hop artists usually collaborate very closely with their producer, and they leave the mastering up to them too. I think the best results come from musicians that hand-select their own engineers and are with them from start to finish. But, again, nothing is guaranteed. You just gotta swing and hope you hit a home run.

This discussion is fascinating. Makes you amazed that quality albums are ever produced when you consider how many people have to be aligned and on the same page creatively to produce any work. Maybe not as bad as producing a feature film and the armies needed for that, but still surprising to realize how many cooks in the kitchen there are.

 

[maegnificant]

As a father of a 2 year old daughter myself, I can relate. "Baby shark" is the most played song on my playlist . Most of my millennial friends I grew up with in Vancouver moved out of the city to raise children. I'm aways trying to find the balance between filling my audio "needs" while setting up my family up to weather the economy. These feelings hit me again when I came home from Canjam and my daughter started singing with glee "Daddy is here". I wouldn't trade this for anything that I have. Yes the chase is fun but the gear we seek out will be here at the end of the day (cheaper used too).

Time is also another factor. I am sure you noticed the age demographic around Canjam. Some audiophiles I talked to have spent decades building up the means to buy their gear and I am happy they get enjoy the fruits of their labour. I feel blessed that I get to sample some of those.

Btw, from a someone who works professionally with children: children don't care if it's "baby music" or something you like from the sound of it. They care about your emotions to the music way more than anything else. So my advice is to either look for solid childrens music made by professionals who have a message for children that you like, or just listen to what you like. They get way more emotional bonding out of seeing you listening to music you like and if it's more complex, even better. Children do not need to listen to over simplified music because they are children. That's a big myth and actually very hurtful to the development of music and people who listen to it.

My two cents on that.

 

[Ike1985]

@aaf evo Don't you have Jewel? If you do could you discuss how the Yatono 8w pairs with it and also what the cable does to sound in general? THANK YOU

 

[Stu Paddasso]

Speaking of delayed shipping, I am currently going through the worst customer experience I think I've ever had - I ordered a set of Denon D9200 from a store in the Netherlands on the 17th of February - almost a month later and still not here. I actually asked what shipping method they use before placing the order, and they said DHL or GLS... that was good enough for me, and I went ahead - only to then receive a tracking number with PostNL details, a regular postal service which I've previously experienced long delays with too (although it was only 3 weeks before), and sent instant shudders through me given this was a €1,300 purchase. Many emails back and forth later, and the attitude is bascically... we are sorry, we shipped it and now the fault of the carrier. I know under EU consumer law they must take full responsibility to deliver within 30 days (unless otherwise stated at time of purchase), at which point I am entitled to request a refund - currently at day 25. They are now saying the parcel is in Ireland as of last Friday, yet my local postal service has no record, and the seller hasn't provided evidence to show it's in Ireland! I could have walked the store in the Netherlands and back several times in the meantime, albeit with a ferry first from Ireland-UK-Netherlands

Anyway, I will certainly stick with a select few stores that I know I can trust in future - even though these guys seems a large enough business.

/rant over

You mean you "CAN'T WALK ON WATER" I'm shattered!!! LOL

 

[aaf evo]

@aaf evo Don't you have Jewel? If you do could you discuss how the Yatono 8w pairs with it and also what the cable does to sound in general? THANK YOU

I don't anymore as I sold mine a while back, but maybe @wazzupi can share his insights on the 4W, or @Ojisan as he had the Jewel and 8 wire briefly... or @twister6 as I think he's tried it all?

 

[Skyediver]

You're up @Skyediver!

Appreciate the shoutout, but unlike many of the illustrious reviewers we have here, all I did was try and share a little bit of the passion I experienced with my buddies! Not nearly qualified (or interested really, we have pro reviewers and/or dedicated and skilled hobbyists for that) to convey the micro nuances of the lovely toys we get to sample.

Just a quick comment so I’m not skewered about my “review”, lol!

 

[maegnificant]

Cases arrived today for my Shanling M6U and M0 Pro - making a nice coloured stack with N7 underneath!

N7 by the way is phenomenal, proper honeymoon phase talk but like nothing I’ve heard before… detailed yet smooth, excellent clarity and incredibly visceral and immersive - amazing to strike this type of balance. As noted also in the N7 thread, I’ve been enjoying Fibae 5 up to now, but the N7 has brought them to another level altogether.

I tried using Bluetooth with the MO Pro, but it can't find my SE846s sadly... Do you have insights on that maybe?

 

[Tex Irie]

You're up @Skyediver!

@HiFiHawaii808 nice Silk Sonic Shirt! Have you ever caught their show in The Dolby Theater at Park MGM?

 

[552609]

@Wolfhawk46 you're losing ground !!!

NOOO!

 

[tone.texture.soul]

Hey all, it's been a while since I checked in

I've been on tour for work, another few weeks in India, now home for two weeks and then I ship back out to Taiwan. In the interim my new film, a full length documentary I've been working on for six years had its premiere last week. Pretty stoked, there was 700 people there and it got a standing ovation! So i've been busy one could say.

I also got my dream guitar, so happy to be back to playing. I spent almost 10 years looking for this guitar, so when it showed up online I had to jump on it. I wonder if any of you can spot the uniqueness of this instrument? It's crazy badass, one of a kind.

My plan to downgrade my gear in favor of spending more time on music was successful, sold off my LP6 AE, Aroma stack and Orpheus, pocketed some cash and got myself a Sony 1ZM2. What a great DAP, wonderful sound - while it is not the AE I enjoy it very much and for this period in my life it's perfect. I also received a like new First Times included in my sale, so in the end I still have a pretty decent TOTL setup. The FT is a great cable, but with the M2 I want something a little more energetic like FTS, OTL or 1950s Shielding - so if anyone wants a basically brand new First Times I would be open to trades or selling it. Let me know what you have.

I hope you're all doing well, and I really appreciate all the messages asking me to come back to HF I will definitely be around, I have a couple of reviews in the pipeline so you'll see more of me soon.

 

[stacey]

Well, not too much I guess, until you ask for 37th time.

There's even a word for this: Developed country.

I call it a mental illness.

drftr

It’s not a developed country thing. I got similar treatment from Bloom audio. I won’t elaborate too much but I nearly was left with a $3700 bill and no IEMs.

 

[stacey]

Hey all, it's been a while since I checked in

I've been on tour for work, another few weeks in India, now home for two weeks and then I ship back out to Taiwan. In the interim my new film, a full length documentary I've been working on for six years had its premiere last week. Pretty stoked, there was 700 people there and it got a standing ovation! So i've been busy one could say.

I also got my dream guitar, so happy to be back to playing. I spent almost 10 years looking for this guitar, so when it showed up online I had to jump on it. I wonder if any of you can spot the uniqueness of this instrument? It's crazy badass, one of a kind.

My plan to downgrade my gear in favor of spending more time on music was successful, sold off my LP6 AE, Aroma stack and Orpheus, pocketed some cash and got myself a Sony 1ZM2. What a great DAP, wonderful sound - while it is not the AE I enjoy it very much and for this period in my life it's perfect. I also received a like new First Times included in my sale, so in the end I still have a pretty decent TOTL setup. The FT is a great cable, but with the M2 I want something a little more energetic like FTS, OTL or 1950s Shielding - so if anyone wants a basically brand new First Times I would be open to trades or selling it. Let me know what you have.

I hope you're all doing well, and I really appreciate all the messages asking me to come back to HF I will definitely be around, I have a couple of reviews in the pipeline so you'll see more of me soon.

I see that it’s a 7 string. What’s with the frets?