catscratch
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Posts posted by catscratch
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I tend to listen at louder volumes with the O2's than with other headphones. It's not the lack of details, far from it, it's that their volume sweetspot seems to be a little bit higher than my normal preferred volume level.
That's basically the effect of Fletcher-Munson curves. The O2 doesn't have any treble emphasis whatsoever so it doesn't really sound flat until you hit the higher volume levels, whereas brighter headphones with more treble emphasis sound flat at lower volumes but start to sound bright and glaring as you crank the volume up.
I'd be willing to bet that some of the O2 vs [brighter headphone] preference has a lot to do with listening level. I do listen pretty loudly, not loud enough to be rock concert levels by a long mile (I can't even go to most concerts without earplugs) and not enough to risk noise-induced hearing loss but certainly not background listening levels either. The O2's dynamic and tactile presentation and awesome bass generally egg you on to crank it up more, too.
Glad to see the BH working out for you and also nice to see that you finally see what we're on about in the Mk1 vs Mk2 debate. I am so tempted by the BHSE it's not even funny but I do need the money for other things unfortunately.
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heh..yes he did.
Hopefully the funds are going towards the O2 Mk1?
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I wonder what kind of DRM this will use and what other tricks it will have to limit Fair Use and in general bully consumer rights, and do all that other stuff that everyone loves the music industry for. Album covers and lyrics are great but come on, the main reason IMO why this format would exist is to give the big labels even more control over the content of (not)your (licensed) music library.
I'll stick to FLAC for now.
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Ah. Well here's to hoping that it gets there safe and that Icelandic customs don't take a shine to it all of a sudden. Looking forward to the impressions.
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So where are the mandatory two tiny paragraphs about the sound? And do you still have the SR-Omega to try this with?
Oh, and congrats, too.
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I had just woken up from a strange dream in which I was posting on a message board dedicated to people who made survival shelters out of Tequila trees (they were a sort of pine tree whose needles could be soaked in water to make a passable tequila). I got up, staggered up I should say, and shabled off zombie-fashion to wash up. But then I heard the sound of a growling chihuahua coming from the window.
I stumbled closer and what I saw was a little cardboard box on the windowpane. It was covered with a lid, it was shaking as if something was dashing around inside, and it was growling.
Then, the lid popped off, and out peeked a little mouse, white with gray spots, and fuzzy. "Grrrr!" It said in a demented chihuahua voice. "I'll kick your ass! Grrrrr!"
It poised itself as if to jump at me out of the box, but then toppled over the side and fell on the floor. Picking itself up, it ran growling straight for my legs and started nibbling at my toes. I jumped back, but it went at me again and this time scrambled up my leg and started biting at my neck. It tickled more than it hurt.
I flicked the thing off, and it landed on the floor again. "Grrrrr!" it said, staring at me. "I'll nibble your fingers off!" Then it charged me again, went up my leg, and tried doing just what it threatened to do, tickling more than hurting again, and growling.
I flicked it off one more time. It flew through the air and landed in a cup that was standing on a table next to my bed. I usually keep cups full of water next to the bed, so that when I wake up in the middle of the night with cottonmouth I have something to drink. But this cup was full of beer. The mouse splashed, then tipped the cup over and flopped, in a messy puddle of mouse and beer, onto the floor.
It shook itself off, then scrambled up onto the bed and scampered under the blanket. "Grrrrr!" came the demented chihuahua voice from under the blanket. "I'll kick your ass! *hic!* ... where are you! *hic!*"
"The fucker's drunk!" I realized, and took a few steps back.
"Okay." I said to myself. "What drugs did you take last night?"
I had certainly been drinking. But the only thing that could make me hallucinate this badly was the Dramamine. I keep a box around in case of nausea and the like. But was I plastered enough last night to eat the whole box? I wasn't that drunk but maybe I had blacked out.
"Oh yeah!" I suddenly realized. "I'm dreaming!" Then I opened my eyes and woke up, and got up again, this time for real.
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I think neither the K1k nor the O2 do all that well under meet conditions. Also both require absolutely exact system matching. Which explains to me why both headphones have impressions that are all over the place. The O2 further exascerbates this problem because it requires a perfect fit, and can change sonically quite a bit depending on the fit. So there's even less chance of getting the sound you want right off the bat at a meet.
Another, admittedly strange plus of the K1k is that it puts no pressure whatsoever on the jaw and ears when you're wearing it. I have a friend that can't wear headphones since he gets sudden splitting headaches if anything puts sustained pressure on the ears, and can't really wear IEMs either due to comfort issues. The K1k on the other hand works out perfectly.
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The K1k to me sounds like what the SR-404 should have sounded like: very clean, clear, immensely airy and open sound with a slightly bright tonal balance, forward presentation, and massive dynamic range. Very vivid and exciting sound on some material with microdetail pushed forward. I really do like the K1k my comparison with the O2 notwithstanding. It gets the mids right which is the most important thing to my ears (though the O2 does mids even better).
I think the O2's technical merits are undeniable but if the K1k's tonal balance sounds natural to your ears then I can completely see how the O2 would sound dark. But my hearing is the other way around and the K1k sounds a little too lean and hopped-up in the highs while the O2 is just right.
Source will of course be a massively important factor and with a dark source the O2 will sound dark, but if you don't care for the O2's presentation then no source change will probably fix that. I say "probably" since the O2 has responded more to source and amp changes than any other headphone I've ever had. It even makes me believe in cables (sort of; I hear a massive difference but I never did DBT so I am open to the possibility that I'm wrong).
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I also prefer the O2 over the K1k, for some of the reasons you mentioned. It has better resolution but presents its detail in a very natural and unobtrusive way. It's faster and tends to stay resolved no matter how complex the music gets, whereas the K1k is still a dynamic and begins to lose imaging and definition as the complexity racks up. The O2 also has the edge in bass extension. Its midrange is more fluid than the K1k generally, and I think it handles transients better. But the K1k does have better macrodynamics which together with the slightly overemphasized treble (to my ears) make it sound very exciting on some material. The O2 also has better imaging but the K1000 does have that massively wide and wide-open soundstage with natural crossfeed. Both headphones have very good impact and slam though I've never heard the O2 off the BH or the K1k off a truly monstrous amp. I do find the K1k to sound slightly more artificial and give you lots of initial "wow" factor, whereas the O2 is decidedly unimpressive on first listen with material that isn't impressively recorded to begin with, though it can sound impressive with the right source material and system. But over time flaws begin to be evident with the K1k which the O2 simply doesn't have, and it betters the K1k in more areas than the K1k betters it.
I don't find the O2's treble to be rolled-off in any way with the 717, but it was somewhat rolled-off with the SRD-7 Pro/Dared combo. However I also find the K1k's treble to be overemphasized slightly, and most headphones overdo the treble to my ears so I may just like a darker sound. However the O2 does not sound nearly as dark as the HD650 or even HD600 in my rig, and it was downright too bright with the 840c as source.
Would be nice to get my mitts on the BH but that will have to wait. I do like some tube color in there though so the WES may also be a good choice.
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Driver principle? From the looks I'm guessing dynamic?
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That being said, Kitchen Nightmares US is a joke in comparison. In the UK, he busts balls and makes people sell their cars to get a new stove. In the US, he lets them moan and then remakes their whole place on his own dollar to placate them. No go, Ramsay.
Actually, that doesn't bother me much. His general attitude seems to be the same. What does bother me is the way the content is presented. It's as if some studio exec said "hey, KN is a great show but what we need for our version are some 3-second Bruckheimer-style edits, non-stop dramatic cheesy synth music in the background and commentary straight out of "Cops!" After all that show worked, why not copy the style for this one!
There was content enough in there for some pretty good episodes but the presentation is absurd and ruins everything.
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On another note, Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares (UK) is AWESOME!
Yeah that's a great show. The US version is a disaster in comparison but that's to be expected I guess. I'm not a fan of his other stuff but a few parts of the F-word were pretty funny.
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Yeah, that's the point, the warmth and roll off are so subtle that don't make it a flaw nor convert it into a warm amp generally speaking IMHO, which was the impression I got from your comment
It's with difference the most neutral Stax amp I've listened to, and also in the same range of low coloration as the own B22, provided the SRD7 isn't considered a colored adapter hehehe. Using dynamic cans I wouldn't say the B22 is colored either.I never said it was a warm amp. It is a mostly neutral amp with a bit of warmth and tube flavor.
SRD-7 adds colorations too, as does whatever speaker amp you're running it from. The O2 is brutally revealing and colorations that would be inaudible on lesser phones are very clearly audible with the O2. Now this could be placebo, etc, blah blah blah and I'm definitely open to that idea. But I think I understand why people go on DAC and source-swapping binges after they get the O2. Every component sounds different. I'm only safe from the swapping madness since I can't really afford to indulge in it fully, but it would be a lie to say that I'm 100% happy with my source as it is (Opus 21), and it is still the best source I've ever had (but not ever heard).
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It could be the source, of course. But I've owned a fair number of Stax amps (313, 007t, 717, McAlister heap, SRD-7 Pro with various speaker amps tube and SS) and used a fair number of sources with them (Rega, 840c, Opus 21, various DACs) as well as a fair number of phones (007, 007mk2, 303, 404, 003, Gamma Pro modded), so I'm not pulling this out of my ass. I did direct comparisons though of course they weren't true ABX tests and memory is faulty. The 717's basic sound signature remains as a coloration on top of whatever source you're listening to and whatever phones you're listening with. It is a subtle coloration and the amp is more neutral than not but it's not perfect. I do like its sort of sound though.
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The 717 does sound like it has some slight "tubey" colorations to me - slightly warmed-up tone color, somewhat laid-back presentation, slightly diffuse and overly airy soundstage, and is a bit rolled-off on both ends. Very slight colorations in all cases though and it is close to neutral, but not quite neutral. Mostly straight wire with gain but with a little bit of tube color thrown in.
I do like the warm tone color, but it needs to be less laid-back and polite for the 007. But for $900 or whatever it's an amazing bargain; it would still be a good buy for twice the price new. I would love to have an amp that's voiced in a similar way but with more power and a slightly more forward presentation.
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Gas - Gas 0095
Legendary ambient masterpiece still sounds amazing 14 years later.
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Just back from Orbfest, a 3-day psytrance/electronic music festival in upstate NY. Lots of good artists there - Hallucinogen played live as well as a Shpongle DJ set, Total Eclipse, Logic Bomb, basically an all-star psytrance lineup. Simon Posford (Hallucinogen) played a great set though I wish he wouldn't crank up the bass and treble so high and then play at 110dB; my ears were splitting and it was hurting the music enjoyment a lot. Of course psytrance systems are generally not known for their quality but this one was very good as far as club-style systems go and it could have sounded a lot better. Still, the live set was great, awesome energy and drive and some superb new tracks, though the mixing was at times slightly sloppy.
However, Simon's set was not the biggest surprise or the best set of the festival. Not by a long mile.
That honor belonged to an act named "Liquid Soul" (a.k.a. Nicola Capobianco) which I only heard of in passing since I have an awesome chillout track by him in a mix. But I saw him labeled as "progress trance" and not really having much interest in that sub-genre I let it be. But let's just say that I know what music I'm getting as soon as I possibly can. The set was melodic proggy Goa with fantastic complex classically-influenced melody, flawless mixing, great drive, awesome flow, basically you name it, it was there. It was the best set I've heard in years, bar none, and there wasn't a single weak moment in it. I'm definitely looking forward to hearing more.
Also note that there is a different hip-hop/electronic jazz act named "Liquid Soul" and that's not who I'm talking about.
Nice festival overall. I haven't slept in a few nights and just drove for damn near 6 hours so I'm a little loopy, but I'm glad I went. Even if we did get rained on and my tent proved to not quite be as water-proof as I hoped.
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Way to rub it in.
Oh, it's worse than that. These phones sound as good as they look. Seriously great bass out of these things, very good mids with natural tonality, and lots of punch. They're fantastic cans for rock and the like. Also very good detail but they're 'stats so that's a given.
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After you spend some time chasing a 9 inch tarantula around your house (I was on a research base in Indonesia) other bugs sort of lose their intimidation factor. I wish I remembered to get my camera...
The worst bug we have around in NJ is not one of the biggest, but certainly one of the most unpleasant - the brown recluse spider (Loxosceles reclusa). I would take a bite from any tarantula species, even the ones in the Poecilotheria genus which pack the most painful bite out of all tarantulas, over a brown recluse bite. The problem with the brown recluse is that it packs a necrotic venom (as opposed to a neurotoxic venom in most spiders) which locally but indiscriminantly attacks all tissues sometimes resulting in 2-3 inch wide necrotic lesions which cause permanent tissues damage, require skin grafts and can lead to major gangrene (though only a few bites turn out this way, most bites result in nothing but moderate pain). We also have wolf spiders which can get big but they're mostly harmless and are actually quite beneficial if you have them in your gardens. There are also black widows and ticks carrying Lyme disease but they're extremely rare. For the most part though this area is very safe as far as bugs go... look up human botflies sometime (Dermatobia hominis), and then be thankful that they aren't around.
I am thinking of getting a few tarantulas though, they make pretty cool pets and aren't hard to keep though they don't have much in the way of personality. They're mostly harmless to humans and are often docile enough to be handled though of course it's up to the individual animal's temperament. Some are also absolutely gorgeous and are basically living jewelry.
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Buddy Guy - Stone Crazy
Buddy Guy really cuts loose on what was probably a drug-fuelled rampage in the studio. Pretty amazing stuff really, the only studio album of his that manages to capture the atmosphere of his live shows.
It's with difference the most neutral Stax amp I've listened to, and also in the same range of low coloration as the own B22, provided the SRD7 isn't considered a colored adapter hehehe. Using dynamic cans I wouldn't say the B22 is colored either.
Stax SR-007 + ??? amp
in Headphone Amplification
Posted
This has been answered many times before. The search engine won't bite you if you ask it politely.
IMO you need at the very least a 717, or an SRD-7 Pro/Mk2 transformer box - which is more difficult to find - and a decent speaker amp behind it. You could get something weaker but then you're wasting your money since you'll get better sound for the same $ elsewhere.