Recent content by truckers_atlas

I still can't quite put my finger as to why I rated Harman Beta 2024 as generally a step behind the top-tier targets (Headphones.com, LMG.) I consistently wished for a treble tone control on the SoundGuys target to turn down the treble. Cymbals, hi-hats, and handclaps felt too prominent and...

Stop Making Sense by the Talking Heads: The Long Goodbye by LCD Soundsystem:

At risk of looking like more of an idiot than I usually am, here are my results from the test:

If you're willing and or able to EQ, the Edition XS from Hifiman's refurb store for $279 is where I'd go. Hifiman offers the same 1-year warranty on their refurbs as their new products, and I've heard good things about their customer support in case something breaks. Don't forget to play around...

I drove down to Tampa again for this year's show. I spent about half my time in the headphone rooms, and the other half in the stereo rooms. Here's my show report and highlights from the stereo rooms I visited: Perlisten had two rooms at the show: a traditional two-channel room, and a home...

While I can't say I'm a huge fan of the British band Wet Leg, I had never been so thrilled to hear Wet Leg than when I saw their LP in the Pro-Ject room last year. For those going, you can park for free in the mall parking lot that's across the street since the hotel's garage will likely be...

Listener reverse-engineered the Sennheiser measurement to find that it was calibrated against a flat diffuse field target for a 5128. Here's what the Sennheiser measurement looks like for both pads with that calibration removed: And the 490 Pro compared to other headphones (Sennheiser...

The rise of Chinese manufacturers over the past half-decade has really invigorated the IEM space. Today $50 (Truthear Zero Red) can get you something that'll blow away the finicky, unreliable junk that Head-Fi loved about a decade ago. That being said, if you're only going to use these with...

I had to downsize similarly from a 2.0 system with tower speakers in my living room recently due to a living room redesign. I bought both the Polk MagniFi Mini AX, which was recommended by Brent Butterworth in The Wirecutter, and a pair of HomePods 2. Both systems were physically compact, and...

A large reason I bought a turbo 3 2 years ago was that Bose system. It was a lot better than what any other mainstream automaker will sell you at this price range. For example, the now last-gen Accord had a nice interior, but the good stereo was the one thing Honda saved for the Acura TLX. IIRC...

I dipped into the food court at a local mall recently. The next thing I was shocked at after how little food I got for the money was how loud the food court was. My Apple Watch confirmed my feelings. The music was being played at an average of 75 dB with peaks at 80 dB. I typically run my...

Kali IN-UNF are excellent if like me, you don't even have the space for traditional studio monitors. I have a pair on my desk right now and they're very impressive. The IN-UNF has mostly cured me of whatever desire I had to look into high-end open-back headphones, like the Hifiman Arya. There's...

How well does the Edition XS breathe? I'm thinking about upgrading from Sundara purely for comfort reasons. While I've seen people talk about the bigger earcups and cup swivel, I haven't seen many people talk about how breathable the Edition XS is. When I wear the Sundara it feels like a...

You're not alone here in being disappointed with the Stealth. When I demoed the Stealth, it just sounded off. The Stealth had zero impact despite the Stealth having the Harman bass shelf built in. I much preferred the Aeon 2 Closed with perforated pads, which is essentially an Aeon 2 Noire in...

I bought a pair of HomePod 2s to use as TV speakers, and I ended up returning them. I thought the HomePod 2s would make a compelling alternative to soundbars, which I've never loved for music playback, and the new crop of powered bookshelf speakers, which in this price range are just all various...