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Post by outdoorguy on Nov 29, 2013 18:02:03 GMT
Yes, Audio Technica was also extremely helpful in repairing my 9 year old ATH-W5000's. My 595's are really great for video soundtracks while watching streaming video...Netflix, Amazon Prime. Their ability to bring all the excitement out of action movies is excellent. Since starting this thread...I still feel my AT AD-700's are still my value kings...when considering value, I think low cost and high performance, regardless (almost put irregardless in there..which is not a word) of a way more expensive product being "billed" as high value WITHIN it's price category. I'm thinking a couple a hundred $ U.S. and what can you buy/hear through, them. I think mods would be another category. The AD-700's from Audio Technica are easy to listen to and bring a fairly detailed presentation to about the widest soundstage I've encountered in headphone listening. It's a breathtaking soundstage where it's not just confined to "in-head" sound. Maybe if they weren't purple and gold..... Good stuff on this thread, thanks....J I found this site/thread very useful, don't want to link off site so I'll just tell you where it's at. head-fi>forums>help in getting started>introductions, help and recommendations. There are two threads there that may be of interest, 'shootout:100+ portable headphones compared' and 'battle of the flagships, 50 headphones compared'. Between these two forums I find a vast amount of knowledge on cans. FedEx just delivered the Shiit modi and ups should be delivering the aune x1 next week. Wife's not going to be happy.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2013 1:06:02 GMT
That's cool...the Schitt Modi is outtasite...
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Post by outdoorguy on Nov 30, 2013 4:43:34 GMT
One of them will be an early Christmas present for boy, his choice. ...and yes, we've all ready been playing with it. Just a short initial impression but in my opinion the hd681's sound better with the modi than the sr60's which in my opinion are just a tad too aggressive. Now if I can just do the high filter mod on the 681's...thinking happy thoughts.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2013 5:32:24 GMT
One of them will be an early Christmas present for boy, his choice. ...and yes, we've all ready been playing with it. Just a short initial impression but in my opinion the hd681's sound better with the modi than the sr60's which in my opinion are just a tad too aggressive. Now if I can just do the high filter mod on the 681's...thinking happy thoughts. Personally, I would prefer to spend my money on headphones that don't need filters, especially active filters just to stop sounding too aggressive in the HF area etc. although the L and C types are to me the lesser of the 2 evils. It goes against the grain with me to have a very high quality HA, with perhaps 3 Zeroes in the distortion measurements, then shove an opamp based filter and additional mediocre PSU in between a high quality source and the headphone amplifier. While it may not matter much with most MP3 or recent 16/44.1 recordings and sound quite pleasing, it certainly won't help with new DSD and 24/192 material from the likes of Barry Diament from Soundkeeper Recordings and Cookie Marenco from Blue Coast. Some of Barry's recordings such as "Americas" have genuine musical content up to as high as 57kHz !I am well aware of the feelings in another Proboards forum on this issue, but very few there appear to be interested in very high res material, other than perhaps the Admin who is designing a very worthwhile DSD capable project Alex
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2013 7:22:58 GMT
I think I'm a tad behind the times with downloading hi res files from top notch music download sources, Alex. I really appreciate learning about this and can see this will be my next adventure in audio. I'll need to, then, purchase a high res dac to accommodate this adventure. And, Schitt has some very nice ones in the $500 and sub-$500 range.
Excellent, Alex....j
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2013 7:50:18 GMT
Johnsan As you are in the USA, you can find a lot of high res material for DL from HDTracks. You will still need to research it though for user reviews , as there is a lot of over compressed stuff available, just as there is with normal CD. You will find quite a few user reviews at this link. www.computeraudiophile.com/f13-audiophile-downloads/Regards Alex
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Post by outdoorguy on Nov 30, 2013 20:29:43 GMT
[/quote] Personally, I would prefer to spend my money on headphones that don't need filters, especially active filters just to stop sounding too aggressive in the HF area etc. although the L and C types are to me the lesser of the 2 evils. It goes against the grain with me to have a very high quality HA, with perhaps 3 Zeroes in the distortion measurements, then shove an opamp based filter and additional mediocre PSU in between a high quality source and the headphone amplifier. While it may not matter much with most MP3 or recent 16/44.1 recordings and sound quite pleasing, it certainly won't help with new DSD and 24/192 material from the likes of Barry Diament from Soundkeeper Recordings and Cookie Marenco from Blue Coast. Some of Barry's recordings such as "Americas" have genuine musical content up to as high as 57kHz !I am well aware of the feelings in another Proboards forum on this issue, but very few there appear to be interested in very high res material, other than perhaps the Admin who is designing a very worthwhile DSD capable project Alex[/quote] I agree, I'd rather have a pair of headphones that were great right out of the box, unfortunately I have to live on a beer budget and it's hard to find champagne for the same price.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2013 20:35:43 GMT
Johnsan As you are in the USA, you can find a lot of high res material for DL from HDTracks. You will still need to research it though for user reviews , as there is a lot of over compressed stuff available, just as there is with normal CD. You will find quite a few user reviews at this link. www.computeraudiophile.com/f13-audiophile-downloads/Regards Alex Superb Alex! Thank you....I just today received a pair of 6414 dual triode tubes for my Croft pre and amp and they are everything I was hoping they'd be...so I'm re-energized with finding new playback material, again! Much appreciated info. j
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alex30
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Post by alex30 on Mar 29, 2014 20:21:58 GMT
I'm not sure that this is a particularly useful answer but the best value headphones are the ones that you are happy with. If you buy an inferior set and are not happy then you may think you have wasted your money. On the other hand if you push the boat out and buy a headphone that you really like then you will feel more comfortable with your purchase. Of course this is not to say that more expensive is better and I do believe that there is a VERY steep curve of diminishing returns in audio. When I bought my last headphone I knew that Grado offered outstanding sound at a great price but I decided to go for the AKG 702 on comfort grounds. They cost a lot more for similar sound quality but the comfort factor was spot on. What I am trying to say is that I spent more because I valued other things as well as the sound and so for me the AKG gave better value ie. I can actually wear them for extended periods whereas the Grado would have been poor value as I can't wear them for as long as I wish to listen to my music.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 30, 2014 3:08:45 GMT
Most recently I've gotten a Beyer DTX501p which are very hi-fi (unlike for example the Senn PX series), for $100 USD (MSRP). If the Soundmagic P30 are really the same headphone, then an even better value. I got a full-size Yamaha MT220 which is superior in most ways to the legendary ATH M50, for about the same price (low 100's USD). I got a B&O Form2 for about $100 which is very hi-fi OOB (out of box) with just a weak bass, but it takes the common bass boost from most amps or players perfectly, and sounds like a *good* $200 headphone. The Apple Earpods treble is quite awful OOB, but using the Audioforge app on the Apple players, it fixes up to a hi-fi sound quality that (for example) the Senn PX series can't match. I have the PX-100II and PX-200II. Probably the very best sounds I've gotten below $500 USD with or without tweaks have been the v-moda M80/XS, Klipsch Image One-II, Bose OE2, Beyer DTX501p, ATH ESW9a, and Earpods. From my limited experience, headphones with a really lean sound like the Beyer DT1350 or T51p just don't sound as good or as warm as these others no matter how much effort I put into doing EQ with them.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2014 23:55:35 GMT
I'm just wondering if anyone has put a TDS-202...or an original passive TDS....in line ahead of a hpa (headphone amp) to expand, intensify, bring back, the music, lost in fairly low res internet streaming music...from say, Digital Imported or Radiopervii, or the awfully basic looking Shoutcast sites? I find the AudioTechnica ATH-700's really are special with the TDS-202 (by Acoustic Research) ahead of them...the Senn 595's not so much...the AKG 702/701's definitely. The added 3db level increase helps the AKG's expand beautifully, whilst the AT's, being such sweethearts, just dig a bit deeper and expand their already HUGE soundstage. The TDS can make a sub $200 pair of hp's sound really excellent on 192Kbps streaming radio and really open up the AKG's...the comfort masters...at a bit dearer cost.
j
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2014 0:02:39 GMT
I'm just wondering if anyone has put a TDS-202...or an original passive TDS....in line ahead of a hpa (headphone amp) to expand, intensify, bring back, the music, lost in fairly low res internet streaming music...from say, Digital Imported or Radiopervii, or the awfully basic looking Shoutcast sites? I find the AudioTechnica ATH-700's really are special with the TDS-202 (by Acoustic Research) ahead of them...the Senn 595's not so much...the AKG 702/701's definitely. The added 3db level increase helps the AKG's expand beautifully, whilst the AT's, being such sweethearts, just dig a bit deeper and expand their already HUGE soundstage. The TDS can make a sub $200 pair of hp's sound really excellent on 192Kbps streaming radio and really open up the AKG's...the comfort masters...at a bit dearer cost. I seriously doubt that you can do much more than fiddle around the edges with lossy low resolution material. What has been discarded/masked during the conversion process is gone forever.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2014 2:05:23 GMT
In restoring Caruso's voice for the Caruso 2000 album, they did a fantastic job on the voice, but of course instruments weren't significant in the original recordings except as a backdrop, so those weren't restored - in fact they were replaced. So there is a real possibility of restoring fidelity to damaged/compressed recordings, but I don't know that there's much of a degree of automation in those restorations as yet, or when it will reach that point that we can do it at home. The other obstacle that wasn't solved for Caruso 2000 was the treble, or "presence" that makes the voice sound completely real and present, but I have heard that that problem will be solved in a handful of years - again not likely to be a turnkey solution that we can use at home - at least not yet. In the more distant future, perhaps 20 years, people will be able to compare an old and new recording at home, and using technology similar to Shazam that recognizes what music is playing, the software that compares the music will decide what the low-fi music is similar to and restore it according to the dynamics and tonality of the similar music.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2014 3:53:37 GMT
I seriously doubt that you can do much more than fiddle around the edges with lossy low resolution material. What has been discarded/masked during the conversion process is gone forever.
So much to enjoy, discover, and listen to on streaming internet radio stations and the TDS-202 adds to the enjoyment. j
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2014 4:06:03 GMT
I seriously doubt that you can do much more than fiddle around the edges with lossy low resolution material. What has been discarded/masked during the conversion process is gone forever.
So much to enjoy, discover, and listen to on streaming internet radio stations and the TDS-202 adds to the enjoyment. j Some very mixed reviews here : www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=89012
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2014 4:32:33 GMT
Sandyk...Thanks for the link to my home town audiokarma. I see where there is a quiet voice that suggests to keep trying the TDS-202 a bit more...to experiment. I've had a TDS (True Dimensional Sound) unit in one variation or another for nigh unto 13 years now...all the passive units: The Audiophile ($395), the AT ($195, I believe), and the 202 (originally $129, but on a close-out the price came down to $29.99 to $39.99). I don't think the 202 is being offered anymore from Audiovox/Recoton/Vox company (German, I believe). TDS even had the technology inserted into analog interconnects and car audio connections.
The deal with this tech is to experiment with it's placement in the system. I have (and had) many, many different systems since I bought my first TDS product. I never really thought it brought it's best performance to the table when placed twixt preamp and amp. Interesting though, that it could be easily tested with different sources when placed in the tape loop of an integrated amp or preamp. But, better still was wired directly twixt the source and pre or an analog input on an integrated. I don't know why it did what it does better that way than in a tape loop...I'm not a tech if there is a technical reason.
There are two reviews of the original passive "Audiophile" version on the old (1999) "Soundstage" on line hifi review site....and on the "Stereo Times" review site from 1998 (both still there, I believe). These are some "big" system placements of this technology by overly discerning critics.
My own assessment is one of: When choosing a placement for this tech, give it some time and adjust the level control to give the listener some time himself/herself to adjust to it's effects (increases level by 3db, it does). In a low res environment like internet streaming radio, usually produced at 128, 192, and 256...and sometimes at 320kbps...listen to determine if it's bringing more of the music out. With headphones, which can be the most critical tool, some of my headphones sound better than others with this tech. I think I mentioned that my Audio Technica ATH W-5000's sound (to me) more realistic when there is nothing up the line from the hp amp hooked up to them and the preamp (AudioNote M2-B) and the source. Maybe too much of a good thing, thing?...these headphones being extremely definitive on their own. And maybe the ortho's won't like this tech either. My Grado/125's do, the AT/AD-700's do, the Senn/595's..choose source wisely, and both the AKG-701's and 702's are affirmative. The only source in my collection that this tech is more overkill with, is my RAM modified Pioneer Elite PD-65 cdp with it's 4 volt output. A little "hot". But again, I'm being very critical...just lower the level a bit and choose cd's that fit.
That Audiokarma discussion, to me, is a perfect example of "YUK" and conversely, a determined, concerted attempt to discover the tech's effect and affect. I loved it!
But, since this tech is no more, I guess...as my old boss would say...it's a "mute" point. Moot, Moot, Moot...dude. LoL.
J
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Post by Deleted on Dec 13, 2014 13:00:51 GMT
Okeedokee here goes a system set-up for the high value Senn 595's: Computer player is Winamp that is streaming Chill/Lounge/House radio stations found on the Shoutcast website to a USB DAC Schiit Modi outputting via Kimber Timbre interconnects to an Acoustic Research TDS 202 sound enhancer and on to the modified Musical Fidelity X-cans v.1 via Acoustic Research interconnects. Tubes in the MF X-cans are a pair of Philips Mini-Watt, Heerlen date coded 7dj8's. Other value headphones tried in this most capable system have been the Audio Technica ATH AD-700 and Grado SR-125. These Senn 595 set are the most wonderful recreators of this type of music that I own...even considering the more expensive AKG-702 (made in Austria)type. The TDS puts some depth and coherence back into these low res computer streaming radio presentations. Again, glad I put the 595's back on...they're great! j
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