The HiFi thread

[Dales Cannon]

Over the last few days I have had the chance to listen to the same music from a variety of sources. Mp3, flac, record etc.

Without doubt the higher sample rate flac wins. Even at mp3 sampling rates the flac file is better than the mp3 and I have to say record. Master recordings fit in between.

Listening to some classic Doors and Cure in all formats. Do I mention here that I went to the Cure's first Ozzy concert? Before anyone knew who they were

So get a good decoder and decent flac files and be digital. And keep your records cos they be good too.

 

[droenn]

Have been thinking about getting some noise cancelling headphones (like Sony WH1000 XM2 or B&W PX) for travel and iPad use. But maybe a good set of IEMs with high isolation might be better for general use? Weston W10s? One of the Shures?

Any recommendations?

 

[Dales Cannon]

I bought Sennheisers. PXC-350 or something like that.

 

[Oddjob]

Have been thinking about getting some noise cancelling headphones (like Sony WH1000 XM2 or B&W PX) for travel and iPad use. But maybe a good set of IEMs with high isolation might be better for general use? Weston W10s? One of the Shures?

Any recommendations?

I'm pretty sure that Etymotic ER4 still have the highest isolation. The cables can give out though and then you either have to send them back to Etymotic for new cables at $100 a pop, or use adapters and Shure compatible cables which you can get off ebay or out of Hong Kong made of all sorts of fancy cable.

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

 

[link1896]

Hurts me to say, but the bose quiet comfort 25 are bloody good for the money if your want big over the head noise cancelling headphones. Impressive noise cancelling capabilities. About the point of diminishing returns for headphones driven by an iPhone.

 

[Dales Cannon]

Hurts me to say, but the bose quiet comfort 25 are bloody good for the money if your want big over the head noise cancelling headphones. Impressive noise cancelling capabilities. About the point of diminishing returns for headphones driven by an iPhone.

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek

 

[carpetrunner]

I'm thinking of the Sony WH1000xM2 - the Senheisers are a very tight fit around my ears.

I'll be mostly listening to FLAC over bluetooth - so I'm very interested in getting the Sony LDAC
drivers running on my Win10 laptop - anyone know how to tell if LDAC is supported?
- Carpetrunner

 

[droenn]

Sony WH1000xm2 seems pretty decent in terms of price and features and are very comfortable. The B&Ws tend to outscore them on reviews, but not sure where I'll find a pair to try on for comfort in Canberra.. Perhaps DJs.

I wanted Etymotics years ago, but its hard to justify $500 on a set of IEMs that can be lost/ broken much easier than full cans. Maybe the HF3 might be a good compromise.

I just ordered some new Comply foam tips for current (budget) IEMs - seeing how isolation goes with new tips. Maybe I'll put it off a while longer if rejuvenating them a bit helps.

 

[carpetrunner]

Picked up some B&W PX from DJs in Chatswood today - very happy, they even gave me a $20 gift certificate.
The B&W's are firmer than around the ear cups relative to the Sonys, which gives them a more substantial feel when they are on. The leather cups just feel much nicer than the Sonys - I've had them on for 6 hours and they still feel great.

The user interface is simple and effective.

The sound quality is up there on bluetooth. I'll have to fiddle with the 3 different levels of active noise cancelling and bluetooth vs USB vs analog to get a better feel for the options/tradeoffs... and dig out my original CDs to rip a few more FLACs so I can tell the difference.

- Carpetrunner

 

[Dales Cannon]

CD will limit the sample rate and the flac files will probably sound the same. Some CDs are higher than 44k (?) though. Good luck.

 

[droenn]

Picked up some B&W PX from DJs in Chatswood today - very happy, they even gave me a $20 gift certificate.
The B&W's are firmer than around the ear cups relative to the Sonys, which gives them a more substantial feel when they are on. The leather cups just feel much nicer than the Sonys - I've had them on for 6 hours and they still feel great.

The user interface is simple and effective.

The sound quality is up there on bluetooth. I'll have to fiddle with the 3 different levels of active noise cancelling and bluetooth vs USB vs analog to get a better feel for the options/tradeoffs... and dig out my original CDs to rip a few more FLACs so I can tell the difference.

- Carpetrunner

But which colour did you get?! haha - good to hear they are awesome!

 

[Calvin27]

Picked up some B&W PX

Wow jealous. How is the mid range on those? My 4.50BTs are getting a little tired (not really but hey any excuse) and th eproblem I have with a lot of headphones is they go bass crazy.

CD will limit the sample rate and the flac files will probably sound the same. Some CDs are higher than 44k (?) though. Good luck.

Where can you get flac files from? I haven't managed to find a reputable source to date. too young to have records lol.

 

[Dales Cannon]

Google is your friend if your friends cannot help!

Some places wont sell to Oz and prices vary so do some research first.

A mate gave me some Beatles flac files. And while I am not the biggest Beatles fan I do like some. Files varied from 44k which were ripped of CDs of unknown quality to 192k master recordings.

 

[droenn]

bandcamp and the like allow for .flac options. otherwise rip from CD using EAC etc (if you still have a CD drive!!).

plenty of dodgy options too...

 

[Calvin27]

A mate gave me some Beatles flac files. And while I am not the biggest Beatles fan I do like some. Files varied from 44k which were ripped of CDs of unknown quality to 192k master recordings.

Yeah I've got the beatles too, but I was hoping for some reliable source (paid even lol) with a bigger library. Most of the usual culprits I already have the files for and the others I find seem to vary in quality. Trying to avoid cds, but looks like i don't really have a choice.

 

[carpetrunner]

But which colour did you get?! haha - good to hear they are awesome!

Gold of course.

 

[carpetrunner]

FLAC is surfacing on most web sites... https://www.zdigital.com.au (part of 7digital?)
Most in there is at least 16bit FLAC - there are a reasonable number of 24bit FLAC in there too.
- carpetrunner

 

[droenn]

Ended up getting the Sennheiser PXC 550s. Really wanted the B&W but these were on special for a couple hundred less.

Very comfy, nice controls. Will see how the rest works now.

 

[MasterOfReality]

Probably doesn't quite fit here but here goes.

I have some Paradigm MilleniaOnes that aren't being used:

https://www.paradigm.com/products-archived/series=millenia/model=milleniaone-2.0-system/page=specs

I'm setting up a home office and thought it might be good to put them to use.

Has anybody had experiences with small desktop amps like the Audioengine N22 or similar?

https://audioengineusa.com/shop/amplifiers/n22-desktop-audio-amplifier/

I'd rather get something thats small form factor and can sit on the desk nicely instead of a full blown receiver.

Or should I not bother and just get something like the Bose Companion 20 or similar? I actually like Bose headphones and sound docks. Home theater stuff not so much!

Cheers.

 

[droenn]

Audioengine generally make good stuff. I have their DAC which has been solid for about 6 years now.

You might want to think about a DAC as well if you're going straight from PC to that amp, but otherwise should be fine for an office setup.

I think there are some integrated DAC/ desktop amp solutions,but you'll start paying a bit more.