Hello.
I'm a long time ASR reader and fan. This forum totally changed my perspective on audio. I'm an audio aficionado for the past 20 years.
In this journey I bought and swapped several speakers, integrated amps then monoblocks, preamps, turntables, phono stages, CD players, then dump the turntables and CD players and went the DAC and Streaming route. Oh and...cables! Yes, a lot of that, too.
ASR gave me a new and fresh vision of this passion hobby. And for that i'm really grateful. It eased and settled my mind regarding cables, mains noise, filters, expensive high end brands and overall snake oil! It was like breathing and really appreciate music again, in all his simplicity. The mind is a funny thing.
Well i went the measurements and cut the buXXX route and i'm glad i did.
In these days, and after moving to a new home my "audio spot" consists in a pair of Sennheiser HD600 and an AMP/DAC Loxjie D30. Very humble and minimal, but sound is good and very detailed.
Unfortunately, at some point, i was not getting what i want. I guess my ears are too sensitive, but the truth is that after listening for a while, i started to get listening fatigue and a lot of times an headache.
I then tried other DACs and amps. Yes, large improvements, but there was always that high frequencies discomfort in some music. I thought, maybe HD600 are too bright! So i went the EQ road. Tried several profiles, and find really good results, especially with Oratory Optimum HiFi curve profile. But...after a while, the same annoyance came along.
I tried several DACs all with AKM or ESS chips, and some Topping Amps. All best measurements status. Great stuff, but the problem persisted for me. Maybe too flat...
So i tried a totally different approach. I read some good things about pairing the HD600 with a tube Amp. And really without thinking too much, i bought the Xduoo TA-26. It's a tube amp and i'm sure it measures poorly.
But, what can i say? Problem solved for me! I just listen to music now! I swapped the stock tubes with some better ones and is bliss for me. Everything feels right.
I guess you can put it like this, Topping A90 (and similar) is like reading a science book for college. You keep focused and aware of all the details..
Xduuo is like reading a novel...your mind just flows and goes with the fantasy.
So, is ASR wrong? Of course not. I´m grateful for Amir effort in really changing things! And things had to change. The secret is in the knowledge. Now that i know what's available, what is important, what is just audio fluff, and what top measurements gear sounds like (and it sounds really awesome) i can now choose what works for me without doubts and uncertainty.
Maybe i like a bit of "distortion" on my listening sessions...maybe i´m too sensitive to "perfect clean precise" sound. Maybe my brain just cannot rest and enjoy the music with all those microdetails jumping everywhere, screaming my attention.. All i know is that i´m good now.
So, dont be too fanatic or blind. Now that you have the knowledge, experiment and feel what you really enjoy! Is not about being right. All the right decisions on paper are not always the right decision for you!
I´m still going to be a ASR reader and fan. Even more now!
I'm a long time ASR reader and fan. This forum totally changed my perspective on audio. I'm an audio aficionado for the past 20 years.
In this journey I bought and swapped several speakers, integrated amps then monoblocks, preamps, turntables, phono stages, CD players, then dump the turntables and CD players and went the DAC and Streaming route. Oh and...cables! Yes, a lot of that, too.
ASR gave me a new and fresh vision of this passion hobby. And for that i'm really grateful. It eased and settled my mind regarding cables, mains noise, filters, expensive high end brands and overall snake oil! It was like breathing and really appreciate music again, in all his simplicity. The mind is a funny thing.
Well i went the measurements and cut the buXXX route and i'm glad i did.
In these days, and after moving to a new home my "audio spot" consists in a pair of Sennheiser HD600 and an AMP/DAC Loxjie D30. Very humble and minimal, but sound is good and very detailed.
Unfortunately, at some point, i was not getting what i want. I guess my ears are too sensitive, but the truth is that after listening for a while, i started to get listening fatigue and a lot of times an headache.
I then tried other DACs and amps. Yes, large improvements, but there was always that high frequencies discomfort in some music. I thought, maybe HD600 are too bright! So i went the EQ road. Tried several profiles, and find really good results, especially with Oratory Optimum HiFi curve profile. But...after a while, the same annoyance came along.
I tried several DACs all with AKM or ESS chips, and some Topping Amps. All best measurements status. Great stuff, but the problem persisted for me. Maybe too flat...
So i tried a totally different approach. I read some good things about pairing the HD600 with a tube Amp. And really without thinking too much, i bought the Xduoo TA-26. It's a tube amp and i'm sure it measures poorly.
But, what can i say? Problem solved for me! I just listen to music now! I swapped the stock tubes with some better ones and is bliss for me. Everything feels right.
I guess you can put it like this, Topping A90 (and similar) is like reading a science book for college. You keep focused and aware of all the details..
Xduuo is like reading a novel...your mind just flows and goes with the fantasy.
So, is ASR wrong? Of course not. I´m grateful for Amir effort in really changing things! And things had to change. The secret is in the knowledge. Now that i know what's available, what is important, what is just audio fluff, and what top measurements gear sounds like (and it sounds really awesome) i can now choose what works for me without doubts and uncertainty.
Maybe i like a bit of "distortion" on my listening sessions...maybe i´m too sensitive to "perfect clean precise" sound. Maybe my brain just cannot rest and enjoy the music with all those microdetails jumping everywhere, screaming my attention.. All i know is that i´m good now.
So, dont be too fanatic or blind. Now that you have the knowledge, experiment and feel what you really enjoy! Is not about being right. All the right decisions on paper are not always the right decision for you!
I´m still going to be a ASR reader and fan. Even more now!