[TheGomdoRi]

I'm relatively new to Head-Fi I guess, read countless threads for information/insight/reviews, and contributed to a few discussions a where I could. I'm really happy in this community where people of diverse opinions can share knowledge and enjoy music. However, There are certain times where I'd find a thread and wonder how a person can purchase product X, when in my eyes, it is just plain snake oil.

This curiosity inspired me to open this thread on Head-Fier's opinions and audio philosophy.
I just want people to simply share their beliefs and please no arguing/flaming.
(If you have other criteria I can add to the OP, let me know

). Just copy/paste the section below and post away!
 
Copy/Paste Questionnaire!
If you agree/believe: YES, if not: NO
 
1. Burn-In:
2. Methods of burning-in (if yes, what?):
3. Termination/interconnects:
4. Power filtering/prep:
5. Synergy amongst equipment:
6. Replacement cables/recabling:
7. Tube amps preferred over solid states:
8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD:
9. More expensive gear is usually better gear:
10. Do you place emphasis and value on ABXing:

I'll start first.

 
1. Burn-In: No
2. Methods of burning-in (if yes, what?): No
3. Termination/interconnects: Maybe gold contacts for termination
4. Power filtering/prep: No
5. Synergy amongst equipment: No
6. Replacement cables/recabling: No
7. Tube amps preferred over solid states: Cannot comment, never heard tube amps
8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD: No, I prefer digital
9. More expensive gear is usually better gear: No
10. Do you place emphasis and weight on ABXing: Yes

 
 

 

[shrimants]

1. Burn-In: Yes, but I dont bother

2. Methods of burning-in (if yes, what?):I figure that normal use is plenty of burn in

3. Termination/interconnects:If everything else is already optimized, gold interconnects, high quality pure solder.
(Right now, I'm listening via a dell laptop or a netbook or a smartphone, the nexus one. there are so many audio bottlenecks there that interconnects will hardly make a difference. when i build the gamma 1 and gamma 2, i'll be using high quality parts)

4. Power filtering/prep:No, but depends on location
I'm sure there is noise and whatnot coming from the various badly wired house plugs, but a simple surge strip should do the trick more or less.

5. Synergy amongst equipment:??
what is this? matching equipment from same manufacturers? no. making sure equipment is balanced and within spec of each other? yes.

6. Replacement cables/recabling:Yes, depending on the product

7. Tube amps preferred over solid states:Yes, any day

8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD:No, digital. vinyl is degrades every time you play it

9. More expensive gear is usually better gear:Depends. 160 dollar bose headphones sound like 30 dollar creative earbuds. there is too much variance. You get what you pay for, sure, but rather than compare by price, compare by sound quality

10. Do you place emphasis and value on ABXing:yes?
I'll assume you mean switching back and forth between products. what other way is there to compare 2 things that is scientifically relevant? Keep in mind that this depends on the availability of the product. I'll never sit around on 5 pairs of high quality IEM's, I just want one pair that works for more or less everything. Why buy an upgrade if you'll still use the old junk?

 

[InnerSpace]

 
1. Burn-In:  Nothing beyond 20 or 30 minutes of warm-up and shakedown.

2. Methods of burning-in (if yes, what?): - -

3. Termination/interconnects:  Anything electrically conductive and mechanically well made.

4. Power filtering/prep: No.

5. Synergy amongst equipment: Yes.

6. Replacement cables/recabling:  For custom lengths or visual appearance, but not for sound.

7. Tube amps preferred over solid states:  Tubes, but I like plenty of solid state too.

8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD:  CD.

9. More expensive gear is usually better gear:  Numerous exceptions, but broadly speaking over a long period this statement trends true.

10. Do you place emphasis and value on ABXing:  Not blind ABXing (too difficult solo) but plenty of ABing.

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Good idea for a thread. My answers are
 
1. Burn-In: Speakers yes, but only when in use, otherwise they return to their original state. Otherwise no.
 
2. Methods of burning-in (if yes, what?): Play music through the speaker for a few minutes to a few hours, but that is it.
 
3. Termination/interconnects: Keep them clean and ensure signal integrity.
 
4. Power filtering/prep: Can help depending on location and even time of day.
 
5. Synergy amongst equipment: Yes, to do with attenuation between source and amp, impedance and sensitivity of speakers and problems such as ground loops. Other than that, synergy is too subjective and more in the mind.
 
6. Replacement cables/recabling: Blind testing shows all cables that work, do so to the same level, irrespective of price and means of manufacture. The exception is length which does have real effects.
 
7. Tube amps preferred over solid states: Not sure.
 
8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD: Subjective
 
9. More expensive gear is usually better gear: Debatable
 
10. Do you place emphasis and value on ABXing: Very much so.

 

[Yoga Flame]

 
1. Burn-In: No

 

2. Methods of burning-in (if yes, what?): No

 

3. Termination/interconnects: Good physical contact and no oxidation. Shielding.

 

4. Power filtering/prep: A good linear regulated PSU beats a switching wallwart any day. DIY is fun and educational. Never tried those fancy power conditioners.

 

5. Synergy amongst equipment: Impedance matching is important. And some headphones improve more from tube coloration than others.

 

6. Replacement cables/recabling: DIY is fun and educational. But sonic changes from cables are below my threshold of hearing.

 

7. Tube amps preferred over solid states: I like them both.

 

8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD: No.

 

9. More expensive gear is usually better gear: Up to a certain point, there is truth to that. But even then there are many exceptions.

 

10. Do you place emphasis and weight on ABXing: Yes.

 

 

[roadcykler]

1. Burn-In: Not for electronics but moving parts may loosen up a little

2. Methods of burning-in (if yes, what?): Just put them on or turn it on and listen. 

3. Termination/interconnects: Well made vs. not is about the only difference and cost isn't the only indicator of quality. (Check out the Lexicon BluRay player as evidence).

4. Power filtering/prep: Unsure. I use one that is supposed to provide a measurable difference but I also built a couple of power cables and started using those simultaneously. There was a noticeable (at least to me and I wasn't really expecting much) change for the better but from which piece is the question.

5. Synergy amongst equipment: I believe some equipment works better together than others but that's just me. 

6. Replacement cables/recabling: Placebo effect although new cables often look better than stock ones.

7. Tube amps preferred over solid states: Unsure. I Read here that a tube amp would sound so much better with my 600 ohm 880's but after listening to a Woo I found that wasn't the case. If there was a difference it was so slight as to not be noticeable by me.

8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD: For sound, yes. For ease of use, no.

9. More expensive gear is usually better gear: Maybe. A lot of the more expensive gear is due to it's availability/uniqueness or it's looks. Eye candy. 

10. Do you place emphasis and value on ABXing: If at all possible.
 

 
Doesn't a tube start degrading as soon as the first watt goes through it?

 

7. Tube amps preferred over solid states:Yes, any day

8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD:No, digital. vinyl is degrades every time you play it

 

 

 

[TheAttorney]

Well, Sound Science is not my natural home, so no surprise my responses are different to most so far...
 
1. Burn-In: Yes, but can't be bothered. Warm-up: Yes and can be bothered. Some cool running equipment, not all, takes days to sound its best. No idea why
2. Methods of burning-in (if yes, what?): Can't be bothered
3. Termination/interconnects: Yes, but I don't seek out particular types. SQ is what counts, irrespective of how it's made
4. Power filtering/prep: Yes, but need to try what's best for the circumstance
5. Synergy amongst equipment: Probably
6. Replacement cables/recabling: Yes
7. Tube amps preferred over solid states: Mostly, but good SS has it's own strengths and is more convenient
8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD: Probably for ultimate SQ, but digital is catching up and is MUCH more convenient
9. More expensive gear is usually better gear: Carefully chosen expensive gear is ALWAYS better than carefully chosen cheaper gear. But randomly chosen expensive gear will give random results.
10. Do you place emphasis and weight on ABXing: No. A particularly unreliable way of differentiating neutral components. Unless specifically trained to do so, which most of us aren't 

 

[shrimants]

not the first WATT, but definately really quickly, yeah. However, I suppose I am enamored with the idea behind tube amps more than the actual sound quality. Makes me feel all mad scientisty. In reality, I'm actually doing research on opamps and tube amps and whatnot and seeing how each works and from that I'll draw my own conclusions later on. So far though all i've seen is how ridiculously un-ideal op amps are. (circuits course in college)

 

[melomaniac]

okay, this is NOT a "philosophy" but simply a yes-no questionnaire, which is about as far away from philosophy as one could possibly get. nonetheless, here are my attitudes to your listed items:
 
 
1. Burn-In: yes (with amplifiers, but not headphones or cables)

2. Methods of burning-in (if yes, what?): yes - plain use

3. Termination/interconnects: yes - good quality termination is expected to guarantee good physical contact

4. Power filtering/prep: maybe - it depends on where your walls are in the world

5. Synergy amongst equipment: yes

6. Replacement cables/recabling: yes

7. Tube amps preferred over solid states: no, use both and enjoy the variety

8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD: no

9. More expensive gear is usually better gear: no - more telling is whether gear maintains exchange value or not; but let's focus on use value

10. Do you place emphasis and value on ABXing: no - rare that I get into a duel or shootout with anyone

 

[TheGomdoRi]

Well if the yes/no questionnaire depicts your general stance on audio, why can't it be called a philosophy

Anyways keep the posts coming!
It's really interesting to see your insights,
Hmm.. only if I could get some of those Headphonus Supremus guys to post here too lol

 

[Happy Camper]

Moar power Scotty.

 

[Prog Rock Man]

Quote:

Well if the yes/no questionnaire depicts your general stance on audio, why can't it be called a philosophy

Anyways keep the posts coming!
It's really interesting to see your insights,
Hmm.. only if I could get some of those Headphonus Supremus guys to post here too lol

I am a headphonus Supremus, but one of the few known to stand for Sound Science over subjective suggestion. You could post the same question in the general discussions as many forum members stay out of this part of the forum. It scares them by challenging their weird beliefs!
 

 

[Currawong]

I'll bite:
 
 
1. Burn-In: Depends on the equipment. Some electronics I've observed seem to respond significantly to heat from running, even if no music is playing, some not, or I haven't noticed. Sometimes I don't care. With headphones, maybe, I don't know. I'm sure my brain adapts as much as the materials, if not more.

2. Methods of burning-in (if yes, what?): Daily use. Sometimes I've left equipment switched on.

3. Termination/interconnects: No simple yes or no for this one, but I think a lot of it is down to people hearing tonal changes. I believe I've heard differences between cables, but I'm of the attitude that I'd like to know why when something happens.

4. Power filtering/prep: Yes. I use noise filters, but don't feel they are of use with all gear, as some amps I have contain considerable and effective power filtering themselves. I will probably try a power regenerator out of curiosity.

5. Synergy amongst equipment: Yes. Some of it is related to tonal differences and some likely due to impedance differences and the way electronic circuits are affected. As far as I know it is all measurable.

6. Replacement cables/recabling: Same as #3. I think for headphones a lot of it is aesthetic for people and as long as people accept they are basically paying almost entirely for someone to assemble the cable and stuff-all for the materials. Sometimes I've felt it made a significant and consistent difference with certain pairs of headphones. Again, I'd like to know why.

7. Tube amps preferred over solid states: I don't have a simple answer for this. I've enjoyed listening to music through both.

8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD: N/A at present.

9. More expensive gear is usually better gear: No, not necessarily.  Define "better"? I only buy something more expensive if I have the confidence that it will make a significant improvement to my listening enjoyment.

10. Do you place emphasis and value on ABXing: No. I place a value on anything that helps me understand what I'm hearing better, but my emphasis is on self-awareness, so my thinking is far more complex when I consider these things.

 

[TheAttorney]

Quote:

I am a headphonus Supremus, but one of the few known to stand for Sound Science over subjective suggestion. You could post the same question in the general discussions as many forum members stay out of this part of the forum. It scares them by challenging their weird beliefs!

Hey, there's no need to be so aggressive with that last sentence. This thread is about people sharing their philosophy/beliefs. The OP specifically asked us to be civil about it.
 
 

 

[Cataphract]

1. Burn-In: No
2. Methods of burning-in (if yes, what?): No
3. Termination/interconnects: Maybe gold contacts for termination
4. Power filtering/prep: No
5. Synergy amongst equipment: No
6. Replacement cables/recabling: No
7. Tube amps preferred over solid states: No
8. Analog/Vinyl preferred over digital/CD: Depends on the album
9. More expensive gear is usually better gear: Up to a point for speakers (JBL LSR6328P + sub in a good room), iffy for everything else
10. Do you place emphasis and weight on ABXing: Yes
 
Since I do not have the funds for exhaustive DBT myself, I rely on the science for determining which products are superior. While research by the likes of Sean Olive has been very helpful in the realm of loudspeakers, headphones remain a big grey area simply by their nature of being close to the head. I really have to wonder at how much you have to spend on a pair of headphones before differences between two units become purely lateral rather than definitive steps forward in overall quality.