aerius

Got a chance to hear these at an audio show a few days ago and in short, they suck. I'd heard the Stax amps are less than ideal so I did plug them into the Mjolnir audio amp at the Audeze table which improved things but not nearly enough to make them listenable. My main problem with them is they suck at dynamics & impact, especially in the lower midrange to bass region. Metal, rock, reggae, anything with kettle drums, all that stuff gets ruined since there's not nearly enough weight or impact down low. There's also some kind of wonky resonance in the midrange & treble which pops up from time to time, it sounds a bit like the cuppy or slightly out of phase sound you get from most closed headphones, not nearly as bad but still enough to annoy me. Didn't pay much attention to soundstaging, imaging, or detail & resolution. There were just way too many issues with the frequency response & lack of dynamics for me to really care about that stuff. Overall, I'd have to say it was one of the bigger disappointments I've had in the headphone world.

I'm not really fan of the HP-1000 series, it's too clinical sounding for me and a poor match for most of my music. It does the technical things well and I can pick out all the faults in the recordings, but I feel it sucks too much of the life & emotion out of the music. Keep in mind that my reference until the last year or so is the RS-1 so take that for what it's worth. I did try swapping the HP100SE to flat pads, tames the brightness a bit but it also shrinks the soundstage and makes everything smaller. It's kinda like going back to a 21" computer screen when I'm used to a 27" one. IMO it's better than the giant bowls but at the price the HP100SE is going for I'd much rather buy the S950 or try to hunt down a set of PS-1 Pros.

When the background singer is totally overqualified and decides to take over the song.

Tried out the HP100SE at the audio show today and it's not for me, darn thing sounds like an SR325 with more resolution and a bigger soundstage. It's too bright for me and it doesn't have the midrange magic of my RS-1. The overall frequency balance sounds like it was tuned for fans of the Senn HD800 or Stax 9000 series, it seems made for people who like a brighter more clinical sound that emphasizes detail & resolution. Yes it's punchy, dynamic, and checks the usual audiophile boxes, but way too much of the music I like just doesn't sound good. I think the Grado S950 beats the snot out of it any day, that one sounds like an RS-1 with Audeze LCD-XC soundstage & resolution, way more musical & forgiving and as far as I can tell in show conditions it doesn't give up any detail & resolution to the HP100SE.

Returning to the music from my childhood. I think my parents got me off to a pretty good start.

My musical tastes went in a different direction so I hadn't listened to this CD in years, on my LCD-XC it sounds totally different and way better than I remember from my K340 days. So much more punch & dynamics, and everything sounds tighter & more groovy.

Pelageya is one of my favourite singers even though most of her songs are in languages I don't understand. Here she performs a Ukrainian folk song with Veronika who was her student on one of their game shows.

Helmets are pretty simple, they should be comfortable & secure with enough ventilation to keep you from sweating too much. The hard part is finding one that fits your head well, for most people this isn't a problem, for those with big or weird shaped heads it can be difficult. What works well for me is simply putting the helmet on and adjusting the straps to a comfy & somewhat loose fit, then shaking my head around and headbanging a bit to see if the helmet stays securely in position. If it flops all over the place the fit is no good and you'll have to try out another size or model, if it only moves a little bit you can snug up the straps a bit and try again. If that stops the movement you're good, BUT you also want to make sure the straps aren't so tight that they're cutting off your circulation. After you find a helmet that fits securely, pay attention to any hot spots where the helmet, straps, or buckle is pressing into your head or flesh and causing discomfort. Sometimes you can fix this with padding & strap adjustments, sometimes you can't. If you can't get a comfy fit, move on to the next helmet. Finally, ventilation. Make sure the helmet has enough vents to keep you cool, this is gonna depend on the weather you ride in, how much you sweat, and your heat tolerance. I rotate through several helmets for this reason, I have a winter helmet with minimal vents, a spring & fall helmet which is reasonably well vented, and a summer helmet which maxes out the airflow & cooling.

Sarah Slean version of "Julia", performed via hologram with Our Lady Peace

Pelegeya is like the Russian Floor Jansen - she can sing pretty much any song in any style and make it sound good.

Picked up another classic Kona.

I think you'll like this one. A different take on "Now We Are Free" from Gladiator. Regardless of what you think of them, the Russian version of The Voice is stacked with talent.

Old school beats

When a comedy band writes better rock songs than most rock bands

Welcome to the Great Awakening and what many outside the US/NATO controlled info bubble have been preaching for a long time. Once you've spent some time seeing the world from outside the Western media bubble you'll see that it's very different than the filtered view we get from our corporate overlords. I think you'll enjoy the journey, just be prepared to have a lot of long-held myths and preconceptions shattered.

When an Italian comedy band is more metal than most metal bands

Ukrainian folk song performed by the wonderful Pelageya. This is why I own Grado RS-1 headphones, songs like this one become hauntingly beautiful.

Youtube can make some pretty good suggestions at times.