Author Topic: Audiophiles: Get in here!  (Read 933 times)

Arakial

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Audiophiles: Get in here!
« on: May 25, 2011, 05:09:44 pm »
Post your current hardware and/or software that you use to appreciate your music. This can range anything from headphones, speakers, amps, soundcards, LP players, portable mp3 players and other peripherals to music formats, software music players, etc.

I'll start, but a preface before that. I'm not the most experienced when it comes to Audiophilogy or terminology thereto; if you are, bear with me... :oops:

Headphones: Sennheiser HD595
Very good, incredible mids and highs with decent bass. These headphones have amazing soundstage and instruments/voices that sound blended with other cans will quickly secern. As a result, acoustic or orchestral performances are incredibly warm and involving with these headphones. Some metal songs, on the other hand, will sound not as sublime due to the balanced out bass--an amp fixes this slightly. However, having a 50 ohm impedance, these are quite easy to drive, and sound great, without an amp, so they are good entry level cans for those who don't have the largest disposable income. Oh yeah, incredibly comfortable, but can be a little heavy.

Sound Card:
SB X-Fi
I've had this for a few years now and has been a pretty solid card, never really disappointing, but never really impressing either. I'm not really a zealot when it comes to the whole soundcard vs onboard argument, but if you have the money for it, get a decent soundcard.

Headphone amp:
Fiio E7
A little bit pricey; improves the soundstage and bass response of the hd595s, especially with portable mp3 players.

Software music player:
Winamp
Very configurable, and will do just about anything you need it to. To top it off, it has the best visualizer I've ever seen. Very satisfied.  8)

Portable mp3 player
Zune HD 32Gb
I was adventurous when I decided to go with Microsoft's, at the time, most recent "iPod killer". Suffice to say, initially I was a little disappointed with the lighter bass output of the Zune vis a vis the iPod (due to the iPod having a built-in amp, and the Zune lacking one.), but, with time, I noticed that the sound was much clearer, and less muddy than that of the iPod. Perhaps it was the built-in amp, or the quality of the AACs, as the Zune, and Zune Software, does no conversion to the mp3s supplied to it, but it just sounded better.

That's all I can think of for now... *whoosh*...





Ramsus

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Re: Audiophiles: Get in here!
« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2011, 05:34:36 pm »
KRK Rokit 5 studio monitors with a Fostex 110W subwoofer through a USB recording interface, but I'm selling the subwoofer since I really don't need the extended bass response.

Manly Man

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Re: Audiophiles: Get in here!
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2011, 08:19:31 pm »
I mostly just use my laptop, really. When I use headphones though, it's always going to be Skullcandy.

Had a set of these babies:



SK Pro Carbon, a hundred and fifty bucks for them, but so totally worth it.