Author Topic: A new experience  (Read 4545 times)

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
A new experience
« on: July 15, 2007, 07:19:41 PM »
I got some new earbuds from biglou. They are awesome, but they got me thinking way too much -  :-k  I play them on my Creative Nomad Jukebox 3, which BTW has never sounded worse, now that I can hear the $.25 opamp output stage in exquisite detail. I have a new iPod nano, but haven't tried it yet. I hope it is better. If not, maybe Red Wine iMod? But even with the toy soundblaster mp3 player, the detail of listening with these high end Shure earbuds takes my breath away. The dynamics are a little stunted, tone is terrible, no air below 500Hz but the musical message and feeling is coming through easy and clear. I am connected in the way I have been striving to achieve with the stereo system. That is very unnerving after all the research, work, saving and spending on the stereo.

Hearing music on these headphones gives me a wakeup call. First, I realize now that there is NO amount of acoustic treatment I can do to my 7500 cu ft living room to make it sound as good as this earphone and still stay married. 2nd, how can a $600 portable rig even begin to come close in any parameter to a multi thousand dollar high end audio system? It does this, and in the most important way, listener involvement. I can hear and feel everything on the disc, and focus on whatever I want, or just veg-out and relax.

Now the scary thought: If I got Vinnie's iMod and some of them high falootin' molded in-earphones, with the expected perfect freq response, excellent tone and technically perfect acoustics, how much would I miss the big stereo playing in a 7500 cu ft sheetrock drum? Of course, Felix Hell's organ music and Sunday morning religious music radio show sound perfect in the mini mauseleum of my living room. Other than that, it is tough.

Of course, I would prefer the speakers and tube amps in a well treated room. I wish there was an easier way to preserve the soundstage, imaging and that 'surround you with music' feeling of speakers without giving up the technically great acoustics of heaphones/earbuds.

I would love to hear your thoughts :)
Thanks
Rich
« Last Edit: July 15, 2007, 07:27:48 PM by richidoo »

Offline Carlman

  • Audio Neurotic
  • *****
  • Posts: 3037
Re: A new experience
« Reply #1 on: July 15, 2007, 07:54:38 PM »
Well, the answer is probably both, unfortunately.  I think headphone/earbud listening is its own hobby and has its own appeal separate from your current setup.  I have flirted with it myself for a long time and have had a pair of Etymotic's in my sites for over a year now... But I've never taken the plunge.  I've heard lots of cheap earbuds and headphones that sounded good at first, then not so much, then kind of annoyed me.  I know there are better setups but I haven't gotten the gumption to invest in it.

Anyway, you can't have it all... happy family, perfect sound for personal listening, perfect sound for the 'big' experience, etc... Having a big and small system is kind of fun... like my little office system is cool for the 'small' experience and the one downstairs is nice for the 'big' one... and then there's the HT system which is fun in its own way.  Oh, and I have a pair of cheap Sennheisers and a portable .flac player that I use on occasion.... and earbuds that hurt my ears... etc... the obsession never ends... and finds new avenues all the time. ;)

-C
I really enjoy listening to music.

biglou

  • Guest
Re: A new experience
« Reply #2 on: July 15, 2007, 09:23:04 PM »
hmmm. headphones are difficult. at times i have invested heavily in cans and amps yet i always end up preferring a traditional 2 channel system. i think the single biggest drawbacks of headphones is that you dont feel the music over your body. on the other hand, the TOTL Stax set-up and a recliner is sweet. also, headhones really piss off people around you, it's kinda like asking people not to talk to you. i've been downsizing systems and trying to get back to killer budget audio and focus a bit more on music and less on listening critically. one point to remember is that no musical performance, listening session, or event is perfect. live music is run thru crap, can have feedback, the hall might be too big, your seat is close to drums or brass, and on. we own our musical experience and can actively choose to enjoy what we put on, notice the drawbacks, but then throw them out of your mind and just enjoy. lastly, neil young on am radio in a 1960s dodge pick up traveling thru the desert can sound just about perfect..

Black Sand Cable

  • Guest
Re: A new experience
« Reply #3 on: July 15, 2007, 09:57:12 PM »
I went down the headphone road once and it wasn't for me. Sound was excellent but being the bass nut that I am, I didn't feel it.....I just heard it and that is never going to cut it for me. I will take a bad room that packs a punch over headphones any day of the week!

Offline mdconnelly

  • Audio Neurotic
  • *****
  • Posts: 1439
  • new ways to dream...
Re: A new experience
« Reply #4 on: July 16, 2007, 06:38:45 AM »
Just got back from a week on a lake in the mountains of Virginia.   No hi-end audio rig but... beautiful low humidy weather, a hammock overlooking the lake, and a iAudio U3 with Sennheiser PX100 headphones.  I gotta tell ya, I can't remember when I enjoyed listening to music as much as I did this past week...   My ratio of music/nervosa went up dramatically!

The U3 is actually a very nice little player.   One of the few that will play flac with pretty good sound.  The earbuds that came with it are junk and I haven't yet found a pair of buds that work well for me, but the PX100 is lightweight with reasonable sound.

Rich, what are the earbuds you bought?

Offline richidoo

  • Out Of My Speaker Cabinet
  • ******
  • Posts: 11144
Re: A new experience
« Reply #5 on: July 16, 2007, 07:38:17 AM »
Hi Mike,
Glad you enjoyed your time away! The U3 looks pretty cool.

These are the earphones: http://www.shure.com/PersonalAudio/Products/Earphones/ESeries/us_pa_E500_pth_content

My 9yo son listened to Beatles and The Wiggles on them yesterday. Last night he told his mother that he wants to buy an iPod of his own so he can "borrow" daddy's earphones. haha  (NOT!)