[Rockwell75]

IEM of the year survey closes in t-minus 24 hours.

 

[Scubadevils]

IEM of the year survey closes in t-minus 24 hours.

No Camelot in there?! Still my number 1 choice, that might change in time with Loki or Perpetua but for now still on top.

 

[Rockwell75]

No Camelot in there?! Still my number 1 choice, that might change in time with Loki or Perpetua but for now still on top.

That was an oversight sorry, as it did qualify. I missed a couple in the lower bracket also.

 

[jchandler3]

15 years ago I made the exact same mistake when I decided to take photography seriously, I will not name names but the reviewer that led me astray has something in common with our friend and Cooler founder Jeff.

Many of us were led astray by that guy.

 

[CharlyBrown]

See my reply, not having a wife is a bless, you will know once you are married .

I'm married and still happy after many years. Even with an often stressful life with two kids. Yes, It's a bumpy road at times but I for one, have zero regrets and my life is better than it was when I was only in short-term relationships or single. But you need to find the right person in the first place and be willing to grow together.

 

[drftr]

But you need to find the right person in the first place

Demoing is underrated!

drftr

 

[Simpeler]

Almost all parts are in, starting the new year with……


Building a 2 way speaker system

Goal is to learn more about woodworking, electronics and audio theory.
(And ofc something nice sounding)

Last year I went to High/end Munich, where some mind blown systems where presented.
It inspired me to venture into creation. Especially the Fleedwood Deville.

Next year for me will be about creating and learning

 

[Scubadevils]

Here’s a weekend survey question I don’t think we’ve done before: What did you sleep on/resist for far too long only for it to become an indispensable part of your life? As a twist give both audio and non audio examples if you want.

Interestingly for me, I’ve been pondering this question and instead of me looking back, it has inspired me to look forward and take action on an illness that I was diagnosed with in mid 2020. It’s an autoimmune disease that is mostly irritating at best, and quite uncomfortable at worst at the moment, but has the potential for more serious consequences ultimately if left untreated… the fact that the symptoms are not the worst, and often intermittent, it’s easy to forget the issue even exists, and in the busyness of life, it stupidly gets kicked to touch. It requires significant dietary changes and probably at least annual treatment (which again I’ve chosen to ignore) but I can’t continue to wear blinkers - time to take action.

It’s strange as I look after myself well physically, and while I used to meditate on a regular basis, that also fell off a cliff when I was ill ahead of the diagnosis in 2020 - I firmly believe in the benefits of meditation, both from direct experience for probably 15 years now and the regular accounts I read in various books… yet this fell away I think due to the COVID era and being hit with the illness at around the same time. I gave up smoking about 16 years ago when my kids were very young, a switch flicked in my head to note I now have little people I’m responsible for helping to become bigger people, and ultimately smoking (30 a day) was a selfish act - what had been so difficult to do before with many attempts, became so much easier when framed that way… plus I used to spend the money every week on CDs and vinyl - a nice treat at the end of every week I have that same obvious switch flicking now, and already today took a small step to address the problem - ‘Kaizen’.

Aside from that, I should have bought Perpetua sooner

 

[CharlyBrown]

Audio : Streaming music. Baffles me why I resisted for so long...
Non Audio : A positive mindset regardless of whats going on.

This is a great contribution, imho A positive mindset and always assume good intent. I'm working on both (not easy at times, though)

 

[CharlyBrown]

I thought of a few off the top of my head. This better not show up in a future video of yours without due credit.

1) Assume you hear the same way someone else does, and vice-versa: Audio is massively subjective. What’s perfect to someone else may not be perfect to you, and what’s trash to them might appeal to you. That’s not even mentioning the different music you may listen to, different sources you may have, etc.

2) Only read one or two reviews before making a purchase: Going off no. 1, it’s best to gather as many data points as you can before buying anything, so bias is as minimized as possible.

3) Think a brand’s flagship is the one you “have to” buy: This is a mistake I’ve even seen veterans make. Sometimes, the flagship may have better technical performance, but also a tone you may not agree with. So, never discount a brand’s cheaper offerings. They might happen to be the best ones for you.

4) Think reference sound is the ultimate sound: It’s not. Just like warm, bright, punchy or relaxed, it’s just one of many sounds. You might love it, you might hate it. Don’t let marketing fool you. A lot of the products that brands call reference would be laughed out of the studio by actual engineers anyway.

5) Base purchases off a specs sheet: More drivers does not mean better. More crossovers does not mean better. They just give the tuner more options to craft the IEM’s sound with. Whether or not they did a good job crafting is another matter entirely. Not all drivers and crossovers are made the same either. A single-driver IEM with 5 years of R&D can leave a slapped-together, 10-driver hybrid in the dust. So, don’t be shocked if the former turns out pricier and better.

6) Listen way too loud: Not only can this give you a bad impression of an IEM, but it’s bad for your long-term hearing as well. Train yourself to listen quieter, and I guarantee you’ll get more out of IEMs; even the ones you already have.

7) Settle for a lesser product, rather than save a bit more for the one you actually want: I’ve seen people do this countless times, and it only leads to disappointment. After a while, they end up selling off the IEM they settled for at a loss, then saving up again to get what they originally wanted anyway. Save yourself the hassle, just wait a bit longer for the next paycheck or two, and spend it on something you truly desire.

8) Overestimate the differences cables, burn-in, etc. can make: I’ve seen salespeople snake beginners into buying a product they don’t really want by telling them 100 hours of burn-in or swapping out the cable will fix all its problems. In reality, the changes those bring are completely situational, and they won’t turn an IEM into something it’s not. This is especially true if you’re a beginner and you can barely hear those differences anyway.

The last one’s the most situational, but I feel it’s the most crucial one too.

9) Buying without trying: I know, in 70-80% of the world, this is simply down to unavailability. Not everyone lives in SG, HK or JPN, where auditioning every IEM in the world is a car or subway ride away. But, rather than gambling, buying blind and potentially incurring massive losses, I’d always recommend spending the money to go to your nearest CanJam or audio meet, if possible. It’s money you’re likely to lose if you’re blind buying anyway, and you’re at least guaranteed the chance to meet fellow Head-Fi’ers, explore a new city and meet the people behind the products you love. The dozens of products you get to try are almost a bonus, and just those 2 days should be enough to give you a base vocabulary of IEMs that you can then interpret reviews or comparisons better with. For example, maybe you heard the Fei Wan at a CanJam and loved it, but wanted less treble. The next time a respected poster calls an IEM a “warmer Fei Wan,” you’ll know to look out for that IEM.

Where was your post when I started my audio journey?? Can we please pin this extremely valuable post @Rockwell75? Maybe we find even more such points!

I just saw you already did the later in post #75,969 and @AxLvR in #76,010!

Sorry, just working through the latest 10 pages. This thread is moving fast lately!

 

[CharlyBrown]

Demoing is underrated!

drftr

In this case, a proof of concept is required.

 

[drftr]

Aside from that, I should have bought Perpetua sooner

Dude...

drftr

 

[gLer]

I am using ier-z1r and r6 pro2. I know you are a z1r fan too and I heard you have the R8II. Which one is more suitable for Z1R in terms of synergy between R8II and R6 pro2?

R8 II is a wholesale upgrade over the R6P2 with the Z1R. Synergy is exceptional, and the extra power of the R8 II is immediately noticeable.too.

 

[Neweymatt]

A couple folks have approached me recently about the idea of a Watercooler Youtube channel

Wow, that's a hell of a complement to this wonderful community! but...

A large part of the appeal of this community to me is that it's grass-roots and made up exclusively of hobbyists and all sorts of folks all levels of the industry gathered simply for the joy of fellowship and community. I am afraid that if we were to go down the path of monetizing, or otherwise trying to cash in the Watercooler name as a "brand" or start chasing likes, clicks, affiliations and sponsorship- then a good deal of what makes this place great would be lost...imho.

... I couldn't agree more. I've been here since Page 1, and the fact that we all come here as peers to share a little or a lot, to learn a little or a lot is what makes it so great. Trying to monetise it or brand it in any way would ruin it for all of us. HeadFi already has it's own branding anyway, I don't think we need anything else here.

 

[gryphonos]

Here’s a weekend survey question I don’t think we’ve done before: What did you sleep on/resist for far too long only for it to become an indispensable part of your life? As a twist give both audio and non audio examples if you want.

Audio:
I have been working with high-end audio for decades and have successively built up a stereo setup and continually optimised it with the aim of establishing a sound characteristic that is as close as possible to the live sound in a concert. To do this, as I have always done, I regularly attended classical and jazz concerts and memorized the sound as a benchmark for making adjustments to my stereo setup. I stayed away from iem by convincing myself that they couldn't reproduce music with adequate quality.

Now to realize that during this time I missed a lot (everything?) regarding the development of IEM, which I now very much regret. On the other hand, it's better to arrive at the IEM late than never.


Private:
regarding the private area I can not report about anything alike to the audio area. Or maybe later.