Any other audiophiles on this forum? Head-Fi members?

[eskil]

I'm a bit of an audiophile, but being a broke college student, I obviously can't afford high tech equipment. I have custom built speakers though and collect some vinyl, at least the recordings known for a superior mastering in that format. Since I'm at uni right now and had to leave my setup behind, I'm using a Sennheiser HD595 with a custom built headphone amp, no DAC though. It suits me well, but I'm not sure I'd qualify as a proper audiophile. Especially because I never cared about cable voodoo etc.

[dogman91]

I've tried some vinyl rips but for most releases I'm not a big fan.

Have you tried any of pbthal's releases? Far and away the best versions of albums I've heard on every one of them.

[ZenErik]

I've tried some vinyl rips but for most releases I'm not a big fan.

Have you tried any of pbthal's releases? Far and away the best versions of albums I've heard on every one of them.

I have not. Will check it out once I get back to work on Tuesday. I really wish they were downloadable torrents instead of being split up .RAR archives. Minor annoyance!

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Redifer]

The sound quality on these headphones is the best I've heard. ... Issues with poor recordings that actually detract from the listening experience. It's nice to hear all the little micro details, but it also sucks when hear how terribly some of your favorite songs may have been recorded, haha.

Yeah, don't dare listen to any kind of compressed audio on those headphones (either file compression like MP3 or compression as in compressing the dynamic range which so many studios do these days to make their songs appear "louder"). You need some songs with some real dynamic range to truly appreciate those. I think my Sony V600's suck at high frequencies mainly so that MP3s sound better with them. That way people try 'em with their iPods and they're like "Ooo! Sony is good!" Of course I usually have uncompressed AIF or losslessly compressed files on my iPod.

As for Monster, you are a bit confused about Monster and audiophiles. Audiophiles generally aren't a fan of Monster cables.

They used to be, but you're right... not so much any more. I think a large part of that is Monster started focusing on general consumers. Most self-described audiophiles like stuff that most people do not or could not have. Too mainstream.

I generally go with Monoprice. They offer great quality at rock bottom prices. Works for me.

I agree, Monoprice is fantastic. As long as decent shielding is used, you should be OK. Only on super long runs do you start needing to pay more attention. Still, if you sat anyone in a room and played the same sound demo for them I doubt they'd be able to tell the difference between a twisted pair and a non-twisted pair. Some audiophiles even go to great lengths to make sure the twisted pair is twisted in a certain direction.

Oh, I got a bunch of HDMI cables for 1 cent each off of Amazon once. It was awesome. Cost about $5 or so to ship them all. This was a few years ago and they are all still working perfectly.