Thread: Headphones & Speakers...

Bose is a nasty sound. Loud and thumpy but do definition whatsoever.

One of the best sub sat systems is Anthony Gallo. Designed better using spherical enclosures. Because we all know boxes are bad for acoustics, right? They use top notch drivers, yet they are still not on par with conventional speakers.

Bose make great PA and Pro stuff, that's it.

Every manufacturer I have visited. some in the US, Bose has been the least advanced as far as acoustic quality is concerned. Bose cornered a market and did it very well.

Possibly the best headphones ever created by man, but ye gods they're expensive!

The Oppo PM-1 headphones are brilliant, mesmerising and spellbinding. They're magical and captivating and wondrous and amazing. I love them.
High-end audio loving sound-wizards with cash to spend, you won't take my word for it and nor should you. Find a shop that sells them, give them a listen. Read more reviews, or better still, convince a friend to buy them so you can try them at home. I think you'll find they meet your listening requirements.
If you're an average punter, though, you should first consider that they are not ideal for travelling or listening in bustling environments. If you want to listen mainly on the train to work, buy some decent closed-back or noise cancelled cans instead - you'll save yourself a lot of cash.
Ultimately, for these to be worth buying you're going to need some stellar ears and a bank account to match. For everyone else, there's the B&W P7.


Oppo PM-1 review | Headphones Reviews | TechRadar

Time to bump this thread. So hear (so to speak) my choices for music listening devices:

Z50 Laptop | 15.6" Multimedia



I downloaded a media center to play my music. I was initially infatuated with Windows Media Center but it often keeps duplicate files even though you've removed all duplicates from your library, it won't play all file types and it will sometimes convert file types to WMA. Not to mention it's not going to be available (I take that to mean compatible as well) on Windows 10 and beyond presumably. So Fuck You Microsoft. So I went the extra mile and bought JRiver Media Center which retails at $49 with a free 30 day trial: Audio. Reviews: Headstage Arrow HE: Reviews, Impressions, Perceptions & Sensations - Page 226 and Computer Audiophile - JRiver Media Center 17 In Detail (JRMC is up to version 20 as of today). Very good media center, IMO. I am currently converting my music library files to lossless formats, all of which JRMC supports.

Next, I connect my Headstage Arrow headphone amplifier to my laptop. Latest model is the 5TX. It retails for $399 at Headphonia.com - Headstage Arrow 5TX (Normal Bass Boost)
Here's a review: Headstage Arrow HE: Reviews, Impressions, Perceptions & Sensations - Page 226 (note there are 227 pages of posts on this thread). Also, you'll find threads on every other listening device on head-fi.org.

I have to offer my impressions of this amp. I couldn't live without it. That said there are delivery issues, to say the least (you'll undoubtedly read about them on head-fi.org). The owner of the company is a man named Robert. He's a one man show, he's an engineer, constantly updating his product and offering new models. He cannot keep up with demand yet he promises delivery dates that he cannot meet. Also, there is a humongous queue for his latest model (not one delivery yet). He first promised a May delivery date, then June, etc., etc. I have no problems with him b/c I have one of his older models and am happy enough with that. So here is an alternative to who knows how long it will take to get a 5TX. You can buy older used versions online. For example, here is an ad for my current model, which I've owned for about 2 years: https://www.avforums.com/threads/hea...-sale.1818313/
If you do decide to wait for the 5TX, pay him thru Paypal (that's his preferred method as well). Then you will have 180 days to open a dispute. Note: if you open a dispute, it will automatically close in 30 days, with no chance to reopen it or open a new one (as is the case, if you don't open a dispute within 180 days of initial payment). If the dispute doesn't expedite your delivery, then you can open a claim (to get your money back) before the 30 days are up. This what I did. Robert refunded the money within 24 hours. I was shocked. I simply wanted to speed him up. When I asked if I could reorder it (I was given a $100 discount the first time), he said "Sure, no problem!" The guy is really nice. So I've re-ordered it and still paid the discounted price ($299). I'll wait 179 days, this time, before opening a dispute.

This is what it looks like:




It comes with a USB extension cord to charge the battery. The battery life is impressive and you can charge and listen at the same time. However, the charging cable is quite short (2" or 3"). Also, you don't have to use your computer to charge the battery. There are AC power plugs available with a USB port on the opposite side. They look something like this:


The amp also comes with a 3.5mm stereo audio male to audio mail extension cable to plug the amp into your listening device. Like this but only about 18 inches long. Of course, you can buy a longer one:


I plug Marshall Monitor ear over headphones ("Marshall" as in the manufacturer of just about every amp you've ever seen on the stage of a rock and roll band) into my amp:



Also, I have a 16 gb (not enough but) iPod Nano with excellent ear pods. I need them to stay put as I like to hike pretty fast. And I do connect my iPod to my amp.

Well I have always liked Sony for audio. Since the walkmans 555? Even the low end bluetooth ones, in ear, sound better - bass and clarity - than what you might casually buy in shopping mall, yes I have experimented. Sony means quality audio.

Although I use Sennheiser studio quality set for precision.

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

Possibly the best headphones ever created by man, but ye gods they're expensive!

They have cheaper headphones. OPPO also make probably THE BEST blueray player on the market.Not that expensive either.

You will need a decent amp for those airbuds. Here is a really cheap (But good) Amp made by a bloke in Canada.USD60 on mail order. Fantastic piece of kit to attach to your phone when listening to music on headphones .These little things rock!!

Electric Avenues |

various USB sound cards out there - you may want to look at reviews if you wish to go that route

http://www.everythingusb.com/sound-cards.html




I am only familiar with ADC's and DAC's used for instrumentation - Instrument OPamps are a bit more expensive than the average kind - but it is the same electronic principle

I think Troy or Hazz are our resident electronics engineering gurus