The Audiophiles' Lounge

smilerf · 24-06-2021 4:33am

The Nal wrote: »

Are there any USB DACs that dont top out at 24-bit / 96kHz? Dragonflys seems to. Just want to run something through my amp so I can play Tidal MQA from my phone app.

my Ztella can play some 384 tracks but they are mostly classical
I think it depends on the original recording

Sheeps · 24-06-2021 1:47pm

Does anyone here have a decent speaker setup?

cnocbui · 24-06-2021 1:52pm

Yes.

Sheeps · 24-06-2021 2:52pm

New house is finished in August, so looking at options for living room and kitchen. Just looking at an amp with options for multiple sources maybe 2.1. Any recommendations?

cnocbui · 24-06-2021 3:13pm

Sheeps wrote: »

New house is finished in August, so looking at options for living room and kitchen. Just looking at an amp with options for multiple sources maybe 2.1. Any recommendations?

My gear is mostly what you might call vintage, dating from the last century, so I wouldn't be up to speed on current offerings.

I have been partial to B&W speakers so they would be a recommendation as to ones to consider.

Farrelk · 24-06-2021 3:22pm

Looking for a set of really good headphones and the AKG K712 Pros seem to be the highest recommended ones here. Can a microphone be added to these handily enough? I'd need a micrphone, but doesn't need to be high quality by any means, just for chatting whilst gaming. Headphones will mainly be used for music which is why I'm looking at higher quality sound

Ryath · 24-06-2021 3:47pm

py2006 wrote: »

Howdy,

How are the Sennheiser HD 599 for Tv/movies etc??

Only have them a couple of weeks. Not an audiophile by any means but do like my music and proper hifi set ups. Mostly used on PC for gaming, listening to spotify and watching shows on Netflix and Disney Plus. They sound amazing with music and they are quite good with movies to.

Got them here for SE version for €108 delivered they do yo yo up in down in price though.
https://www.amazon.es/dp/B07Q7S7247/ref=ord_cart_shr?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A1AT7YVPFBWXBL

Ryath · 24-06-2021 4:31pm

Farrelk wrote: »

Looking for a set of really good headphones and the AKG K712 Pros seem to be the highest recommended ones here. Can a microphone be added to these handily enough? I'd need a micrphone, but doesn't need to be high quality by any means, just for chatting whilst gaming. Headphones will mainly be used for music which is why I'm looking at higher quality sound

V-Moda boom mic seems to be highly thought of. Doesn't work with the AKG 712 as they use a mini XLR connection and the mic has a 3.5mm one. You can get an adaptor but it will position the mic further away. I was considering this when looking at headphones myself but decided it wasn't a priority. My Sennheisers use a 2.5mm connector I'll mod it or get an adaptor if I find I need the mic.

Headphone with 3.5mm connector I considered

Philips Fidelio X2HR will work with them and are very well reviewed.

Sennheiser Game Ones do seem well reviewed and have a mic

or Drop Sennheiser PC38X

The Nal · 24-06-2021 5:03pm

Sheeps wrote: »

New house is finished in August, so looking at options for living room and kitchen. Just looking at an amp with options for multiple sources maybe 2.1. Any recommendations?

Do you have a budget in mind? Could be anything from a few 100 quid to 10s of thousands!

Sheeps · 24-06-2021 5:28pm

The Nal wrote: »

Do you have a budget in mind? Could be anything from a few 100 quid to 10s of thousands!

Considering all options, but somewhere around the €1500 mark would be good, if the sound is worth it.

thurlesdrunk · 25-06-2021 6:58pm

Farrelk wrote: »

Looking for a set of really good headphones and the AKG K712 Pros seem to be the highest recommended ones here. Can a microphone be added to these handily enough? I'd need a micrphone, but doesn't need to be high quality by any means, just for chatting whilst gaming. Headphones will mainly be used for music which is why I'm looking at higher quality sound

Using a modmic 4 with my K712 Pro's. Works well, easy to attach and remove quickly when you are not using the cans for gaming.

Gonzovision · 01-07-2021 2:56pm

Sheeps wrote: »

Considering all options, but somewhere around the €1500 mark would be good, if the sound is worth it.

I'd definitely have a look at some KEF LS50 metas, and maybe a Cambridge Audio or Marantz streamer.

https://www.richersounds.com/marantz-melody-x-m-cr612-black-kef-ls50-meta-titanium-grey.html

Something like that. The KEFs are great.

Dr.Winston O'Boogie · 01-10-2021 11:25am

Hi all,

I am using Jabra 65ts at the moment for my earphones when listening to music/joining work calls. I really like them but looking to upgrade a bit to something maybe with higher quality audio for music. Any reccomendations? Budget would be max 200 euro.

cnocbui · 01-10-2021 12:49pm

Are there any HiFi bluetooth earphones? Given the limited size of the batteries, I would be seriously wondering whether the analog amp in these is going to allow for the dynamic range the amp in a phone can provide from the vastly larger battery via wires.

Sheeps · 01-10-2021 1:13pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117962437#Comment_117962437

Are you looking for headphones or replacement earbuds? If you go wired you're going to get far superior audio quality (depending on your source) for your money.

Open back headphones for less than €200

Philips Fidelio X2HR

Beyerdynamic DT 990

Closed back headphones for less than €200

Beyerdynamic DT 880

Beyerdynamic DT 770

AudioTechica M40X

Dr.Winston O'Boogie · 04-10-2021 3:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/117962937#Comment_117962937

Cheers earbuds I think, have a fairly decent hifi set of wired headphones for listening in the house but looking for an upgrade on the jabra with good microphone for calls and good audio for when I'm out and about.

xtal191 · 19-11-2021 4:16pm

Anyone buy from Drop.com before? HD6xx are $195 delivered, any idea how much extra I'd have to pay?

cnocbui · 19-11-2021 4:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118192155#Comment_118192155

Might want to peruse this first: https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058200515/an-post-returning-packages-from-outside-the-eu-see-1st-post#latest

Sheeps · 20-11-2021 8:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118192155#Comment_118192155

Yeah, bought lots of stuff from Drop before including the HD6XX with THX 789 AAA to pair. I got hit with customs and had to pay vat at 21% and duty, as well as a €10 handling fee with an Post too. Still worth it because the 6XX are such a great pair of headphones.

Bluefoam · 22-12-2021 11:31pm

Santy is bringing me a set of Momentum 3's from my Christmas bonus...

I've been using Deezer for years because it knows me and the algorithm just gives me good music selections...

I've been using the standard bitrate on my wired Momentum 1's, but I've noticed recently that they now have a FLAC 1411kbps format. So the question is, should I use the highest bitrate across the board, or will the new headphones be able to handle the level of quality? Should I just stick with 320kbps?

cnocbui · 23-12-2021 1:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118363734#Comment_118363734

I don't believe people can hear a difference between even 223 Kbps AAC and an uncompressed source, so It's probably not worth your while worrying over. I have a test file I made to demonstrate this, which I can give you a link for if you want. You could also get a hold of Foobar ABX comparator, which is software that will let you run a double blind trial to see if you can hear a difference in your own music. I think it makes compressed copies of lossless files and then plays them and the original back to you and asks if they sound the same or one sounded better than the other. At the end of the test it produces a report telling you whether you could hear a difference with a statistical confidence: https://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_abx

Thousands of people have done Foobar tests and it's pretty conclusive that you aren't loosing anything with medium and higher rates of compression.

Bluefoam · 23-12-2021 2:04pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118365533#Comment_118365533

I'm happy enough to go with the 320kbps... To be honest, I can do without the extra battery drain, but am looking forward to being able to get more clarity in the music and pick out the instruments more effectively. Thanks for the response!

Bluefoam · 23-12-2021 11:21pm

Is anyone using Sony 360 Reality Audio? More to the point, is anyone using it with non Sony headphones? Is it a good experience?

uncle_sam_ie · 24-12-2021 7:53pm

Simple question. Is there a significant upgrade to the Dt 1990? The Dt 1990 is unbelievable. I have the Hd 6xx, good headphone but the Dt 1990 blows it out of the water. I have the money to buy the LCD X or the Hifiman Arya but are they really a lot better?

a

_CreeD_ · 26-12-2021 4:35pm

Noticing the different between lossy and non-lossy sources depends on many things. The music type, how it's content matches against the destructive logic in the codec algorithm, the quality of it's mix/master, the playback equipment, your own hearing etc. You may not hear a difference but statments like 'I don't believe people can hear a difference between even 223 Kbps AAC and an uncompressed source' are just as bad as the other extreme of 'if you can't hear a difference you must be deaf' . You may not with your music preferences, gear and hearing (and there's nothing wrong with that) but applying that to everyone is simply wrong. I don't hear a difference on everything and I'll happily listen to lossy sources when I don't have any other available or through my lossy bluetooth cans when on the move and still enjoy the content but I do hear a difference on my main cans on most content and will absolutely prefer lossless there, especially well recorded complex instrumental tracks where lossy can easily smear and blur let alone have clearly audible artefacts.

cnocbui · 28-12-2021 12:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118374804#Comment_118374804

The basis of my statement was that in over a decade of challenging people who insist they can hear a clear and audible difference between compressed and an uncompressed source - the chalk and cheese brigade - not a single person has shown that they can hear a difference.

Here is a file I made you can test yourself on: https://mega.nz/file/xdwFWJSB#sjDftGxQbgRv0Pv2uvzfxhLln_fMCud9AzDYeuuwNQQ

It was made from a WAV ripped from a CD. The WAV was used to generate a 223 kbps AAC version. Segments of the AAC file were then spliced back into the WAV, replacing their coincident WAV sections, so that on playback, some sections are uncompressed source and others are from the the compressed rip. No one has ever named the time codes relevant to the different sections

Foobar is the gold standard, though, and gets around the claim the track I used isn't the right one.

There is a forum dedicated to the discussion of audio codecs and compression schemes - https://hydrogenaud.io/ - which has this site rule:

"All members that put forth a statement concerning subjective sound quality, must -- to the best of their ability -- provide objective support for their claims. Acceptable means of support are double blind listening tests (ABX or ABC/HR) demonstrating that the member can discern a difference perceptually, together with a test sample to allow others to reproduce their findings. Graphs, non-blind listening tests, waveform difference comparisons, and so on, are not acceptable means of providing support."

Not many people on that forum have ever successfully backed up a claim to be able to hear a difference between moderate to high bit rate compressed and uncompressed source. So overall I think my general claim of disbelief is more than valid as there is a lot of reliable data to support it and a dearth of data that doesn't.

The magician Randi, offered a $1 million prize to anyone who could prove they could hear a difference between a $7,250 Pearanjou speaker cable and an ordinary cheapish Monster cable, after some reviewer spouted the usual nonsense guff about the speaker cable having a 'sound'. AFAIK, no one ever claimed the prize.

_CreeD_ · 28-12-2021 3:41pm

I agree it's subjective and then as I said highly variable even for the same listener. My mother is also a music lover and I'd demo any new components with her. One time I was showing the difference I noticed with new Carbon Fiber vs. Silver cables vs. Out-of-the-box (and I know some of the differences there can simply be from impedance mismatching and how that could affect amp performance). She noticed the difference as clearly as I did, which again was not on everything we played but some well known tracks to us both, but she thought the out of the box cables were the best. Nothing wrong with that, we both thought bass was a little heavier with them and she preferred that. I don't do ABX testing as while tempting I don't want to go down the route of letting the need to quantify get in the way of my enjoyment so my own confidence in an ability to differentiate on some content is based on my own repeated real experiences of listening to a track through say Roon that I have multiple versions of and knowing it's not playing the lossless version. I'm not exaggerating or just trying to prove a point, there have been many times I would be listening and think it sounded a little flatter than it should or could eventually hear the artefacts (usually around hi-hats) and sure enough it was on the lossy version. On my own tracks (I compose occasionally, not very good but I know them inside out) I have had the same experience accidentally playing 16bit lossless vs. the 24bit master. Now that is an extreme case but again part of the reason I'll agree in many situations even I won't know the difference but in some I will, so it can never be an absolute that no one ever will.