Audiophiles hifi appreciation thread old and new

someone else with a Gainclone! I built one about 10 years (with a LM3875) and its been in storage for years. Pulled it out of a box in the last lockdown and fixed it up/removed the volume control to keep it simple. My bad case layout means its still a bit noisy but been listening to it with a SMSL dac connected as a preamp and been enjoying it.

Hah sorry! You'll be back at it soon. Probably quite nice to have some time away then come back for a fresh perspective... though for me that often means weeks of research and a new purchase

Still not helping 😉

i have been using an imac staight into it with short speaker cables so that i can watch movies on the imac with sound through the speakers. it became a bit of a faff, so it is sitting in the cupbaord as a spare for when the radford has a problem

Sorry to hear you're having to shield, but what a great opportunity to buy some headphones/earphones from Amazon that can be returned if you don't like them 😉

One of the more expensive Linsoul models or something from Moondrop could be good.

Thanks for the suggestions, I really don’t want to go into a Zeos rabbit hole of headphones and amps, I’ll take a look at Linsoul and Moondrop for IEMs. The KZs have been a revelation, I prefer wearing them to big cans, didn’t think they could come close in terms of imaging but they’re very good.

I’ve already noticed that the Topping amp sounds a lot nicer than my Dragonfly red which gets really sibilant and harsh at higher volumes with these IEMs, maybe an upgrade to something like a DX3 would be worthwhile.

Just picked up a sealed sub to go with my B&W 685s and Naim amps. In the process of altering & extending our new place so not going to be able to listen properly for a few months but looking forward to it. Focusing on acoustic insulation at the mo so I can listen to music properly!

Yeah, no need to get sucked into his rabbit hole, but Linsoul appear to make good stuff if the internet hive mind is to be believed.

I have some Fiio FH3s now, which despite being one of their cheapests models, are also my favourite. Much more so than the FH7s which cost 3 times as much. I have no upgrade desire from these - which is very rare indeed.

Yeah, my cheap Blon 03 IEMS with a Calyx M DAP sound more enjoyable than my Stereo setup in many ways

Yeah it is, its all well and good having great gear, but when the music was recorded/mastered on the cheap it shows! And the better your system, the more it really shows.
Taking some of my favourite tracks to a mates house (before all of 2020 happened) who has an epic setup, utterly ruined them, now I always remember how just dull and flat they sounded, well, bit of an exaggeration but you know what I mean, don't meet your heroes....

On the other hand, Tidal/other streaming platforms have been great, can quickly just jump into something I'd not normally choose, and get it in good quality (often remastered or updated in some way).

On the headphone side, I recently started looking to source replacements for a couple of pairs I've had for 15 years. AT MH50's and Beyer DT250. Looked at Sennheiser 600/800 etc. ended up buying AT MH50 and DT250/250ohm. The AT's are a little boosted in the bass but the DT250/250 is a really decent almost flat closed can. Worth a try if you want a reasonably priced alternative to in ears.

It's on my list to get an in ear moulding made for iem's. Never got round to it though.

I'm looking for perhaps the impossible.

Headphones / ear phones / IEMs that can be worn for 10+ hours a day, 6 days a week.

I don't need noise isolation or cancellation, I'm looking for comfort as I wear glasses and don't wish to wear headphones all day or at least want to be more comfortable still.

I use ATH-R70x today... which are about as light and comfortable as I've ever found... but still, 10 hours a day is too much, ears get hot, and there's the ever present squeeze on the glasses.

Any suggestions?

I think switching between in-ear and over-ear headphones would be a good approach.
I doubt you'll find something that's comfortable for 10+ hours, 6 days a week.

Good fit is important with in-ears obviously, so depending on what you're comfortable with use the squishy foamy things, the silicon things or plastic ones that just happen to fit your ear well and experiment with replacement cusions for those.

If open-back / sound bleeding into your surrounding is an option, then for over-ears I found both Grado SR-60's or Koss Porta Pro's very comfortable (and good sounding).

Something custom moulded?

Good fit is important with in-ears obviously, so depending on what you're comfortable with use the squishy foamy things, the silicon things or plastic ones that just happen to fit your ear well and experiment with replacement cusions for those.

ATH-R70x for listening to music
Use AirPods or similar when on calls.

Use AirPods or similar when on calls.

I find these to be the worst.

My calls are a mix of Zoom, Meet, and Signal calls... I do everything via the computer, and all wired. Typically 30 minutes... somewhere in the range of 12-14 meetings per day.

What I loathe is how the bluetooth ones compress audio (so I never use the microphones on them) and have a tendency to disconnect resulting in messy meetings as participants reconnect.

Whilst I'd consider wireless, I suspect that if I go that route I'll opt for stage wireless systems using radio rather than bluetooth. But I'd want to find the right headphone / earphone / IEM before considering whether I want to go wireless on it.

fair, thats alot more meetings than me

Custom moulding came to mind too. The kind of things professional touring bands wear on stage.

Reminded me about getting them for the workshop. It’s been a surprisingly good year so I reckon my ears deserve a treat.

I've the excitement of a similar number of meetings and I definitely wouldn't recommend wireless (well bluetooth) for video calls/meets. The app prioritisation (on Windows at least) means that app notifications often disconnect me from the call to play the notification sound. It's particularly annoying when on calls with large audiences and people joining/leaving regularly.

You can change the settings on email, slack etc. and can prioritise video conferencing in audio settings, but it's a bit like playing whack-a-mole across multiple video platforms.

the ever present squeeze on the glasses

Struggle is real

.

Fully agree with the problem of all day comfort - I don't wear glasses but hate how my ears get hot and sweaty with over-ear headphones. Definitely go for a wired solution without any BT compression / dropout issues etc. Wired are definitely lighter as no batteries etc.

Personally I've settled with on-ear rather than over-the-ear, I use Bower and Wilkins P5 which are light and keep my ears relatively cool. The P3s are fabric and even more breathable I think.

Otherwise how about the IEMs Steve mentioned upthread?

The Bose QC 20 are very comfortable. I've worn them for long flights with no problem. Not sure if they're still in the range though. Otherwise custom in ear mouldings would be the obvious choice for comfort, except some people don't get on with them.

Or just buy the HD800s and let us know how good they are.

2 other options are :-

Titanium frame glasses
Monocle

worth considering :)