Patriot Mobile

Headphone Overkill

The #1 community for Gun Owners in Texas

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • benenglish

    Just Another Boomer
    Staff member
    Lifetime Member
    Admin
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Nov 22, 2011
    23,932
    96
    Spring
    What is it with human beings that pushes us to go overboard on whatever we love? I love guns and freely admit I have too many.

    I recently bought a new DAC, amp, and headphones. While researching my purchases, I found this picture. Once again, I realized that people often go way too far with their hobbies.

    This guy likes headphones. No, this isn't a retail display. This is a personal collection. (NOT MINE!) Holy cow!

    headphones_zpsdc9186f0.jpg
    Military Camp
     
    Last edited:

    benenglish

    Just Another Boomer
    Staff member
    Lifetime Member
    Admin
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Nov 22, 2011
    23,932
    96
    Spring
    Ben, what on God's green Earth do you do for a living??
    I'm retired. Believe me, the headphones, amp, and DAC I bought, all added together, would cost less than a quarter of what that guy spent on those Audeze headphones (the wooden ones, top center).

    Or did you mis-read my post and think that pic was of my collection? If so, then, well...I could only wish. ;)
     

    Glockster69

    TGT Addict
    BANNED!!!
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Jul 1, 2011
    27,739
    21
    Sorry to interrupt, Ben your inbox is full. Thanks for the link though, I forgot about that thread.
     

    Das Jared

    TGT Addict
    Rating - 100%
    4   0   0
    Jul 20, 2012
    8,273
    46
    Friendswood
    I'm retired. Believe me, the headphones, amp, and DAC I bought, all added together, would cost less than a quarter of what that guy spent on those Audeze headphones (the wooden ones, top center).

    Or did you mis-read my post and think that pic was of my collection? If so, then, well...I could only wish. ;)

    Ahhhhhh. Gotcha. Totes jelly

    sent from Jennifer Lawrence's bedroom
     

    Glockster69

    TGT Addict
    BANNED!!!
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Jul 1, 2011
    27,739
    21
    Believe me, the headphones, amp, and DAC I bought, all added together, would cost less than a quarter of what that guy spent on those Audeze headphones (the wooden ones, top center).

    Holy Fuuuuuuuuu! $1800 for a pair of phones!!!
     

    benenglish

    Just Another Boomer
    Staff member
    Lifetime Member
    Admin
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Nov 22, 2011
    23,932
    96
    Spring
    Holy Fuuuuuuuuu! $1800 for a pair of phones!!!

    Yeah, about that...

    The MSRP on these suckers has recently been marked down by about $800: https://www.staxusa.com/stax-sr-009.html

    Of course, they need a dedicated amp to run them and there are several on the market that cost roughly twice as much as those phones.

    High end audio is stupidly expensive.
     
    Last edited:

    matefrio

    ΔΕΞΑΙ
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jan 19, 2010
    11,249
    31
    Missouri, Texas Consulate HQ
    I'll stick with my old Grado 60s and the new Fiio E07K Andes USB DAC and Portable Headphone Amplifier I got last year.

    Had the grado's for too many years before i got an amp. Adding one made a huge difference and they were new again.

    Someday I'll get the docking station for it.
     
    Last edited:

    benenglish

    Just Another Boomer
    Staff member
    Lifetime Member
    Admin
    Rating - 100%
    7   0   0
    Nov 22, 2011
    23,932
    96
    Spring
    I'll stick with my old Grado 60s and the new Fiio E07K Andes USB DAC and Portable Headphone Amplifier...
    I got tired of my Audio-technica ATH-AD700 headphones plugged directly into the analog out of my desktop computer. I sprung for some low-end Audioquest cables, a Schiit Loki USB DAC, a Schiit Vali tube amp, and a set of Hifiman HE-300 cans.

    There are really two stupid things about that setup.

    First, the Loki will *only* accept DSD files. If I want to play *.flac files, they have to be converted from PCM to DSD on the fly before they're sent to the DAC. On Windows, that's not hard; both foobar and JRiver players can do it. But I'm a *nix guy, so my Linux machine can use just one player to get the job done, HQPlayer. HQPlayer is for audio tweaks. The interface is weird. There are an infinite combination of filtering options. The learning curve is steep. Yet it is hopeless as a tool to organize files by metadata. For all that, it's also *not* FOSS. It was the first piece of software I've paid for in years and it was ridiculously expensive at nearly $170.

    Second, once I got it all set up, I liked the sound so much that I never want to switch back to my AT phones. But because HQPlayer can't take over as the default sound player for Linux, I still have to use the analog audio out on the mobo whenever I want to listen to MP3s, watch Youtube, play a game, or hear any other sounds made by the computer. Bottom line? I'm going to have to buy a passive RCA switchbox so I can route everything to the Vali amp, then into my new 'phones. Good switchboxes are surprisingly costly. I spent another $140 for one this afternoon and I still need to buy about $70 in additional interconnects.

    I take back what I said about high end audio being stupid expensive. Even moderately good audio is stupidly expensive. :mad:
     

    matefrio

    ΔΕΞΑΙ
    Rating - 0%
    0   0   0
    Jan 19, 2010
    11,249
    31
    Missouri, Texas Consulate HQ
    I take back what I said about high end audio being stupid expensive. Even moderately good audio is stupidly expensive. :mad:

    That's why I had to stop with the setup I got. By the way. If you don't know about Chesky Records Binaural recordings take a listen to them.

    http://www.hdtracks.com/music/artist/view/id/4761/

    Here's a good starter: Dr. Chesky's Sensational, Fantastic, and Simply Amazing Binaural Sound Show | HDtracks - The World's Greatest-Sounding Music Downloads

    Start with the samples from the bottom up.

    For those who want to play put on some headphones and listen or you'll miss the point.

    My Fiio works pretty well on ubuntu, my main desktop.
     
    Last edited:
    Top Bottom