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3 hours ago, Sheol said:

So $60 for a quality amp sounds pretty good. Which one?

Ayima A07. Gets pretty good reviews around the web. Swappable opamps. Will handle a 48v power supply. Rated at 300x2, but I would doubt that is accurate. My guess would be closer to 150x2 into 8 ohms. They have several well reviewed amps under roughly $175. The A08, T9, and the pro versions of all 3 would all be good choices for a small bedroom/office system or a backup whenever your main amp is out for servicing.

Products (aiyima.com) 

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Was posting about iems, thought about you and your Mezes, saw them on sale for $229 and bought them. This happened all in about 5 minutes. If my wife freaks out I will blame you haha! But looking forward to seeing feeling and hearing them. They are certainly a handsome looking pair of hps.

in my defense I did get picked up for a good assignment so this is a little reward for myself. 

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I just got my wife a pair of Sony WH-1000 XM4 bluetooth cans. I found my XM3s for a decent price whenever I got them... year and a half ago? They're great, anyway, and unlike the newer ones they support aptX. But now the NOS ones that are left are going for around $400, which is the same price as the newest version, which is stupid. Gotta say, after using over-ears exclusively for a while, I am never going back to in-ears. Torture devices. Horrible way to live.

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2 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

I just got my wife a pair of Sony WH-1000 XM4 bluetooth cans. I found my XM3s for a decent price whenever I got them... year and a half ago? They're great, anyway, and unlike the newer ones they support aptX. But now the NOS ones that are left are going for around $400, which is the same price as the newest version, which is stupid. Gotta say, after using over-ears exclusively for a while, I am never going back to in-ears. Torture devices. Horrible way to live.

Wow, I am kind of the opposite I guess. I discovered IEMs about a year ago and can't get enough. I do keep the volume low and am pretty meticulous getting to right tips.

Bluetooth is now just about in the hi-fi realm for audio quality right? Soon all our wired gear will be pointless, and there will be more must have things to buy. It never ends does it?

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19 minutes ago, Hungarino said:

Was posting about iems, thought about you and your Mezes, saw them on sale for $229 and bought them. This happened all in about 5 minutes. If my wife freaks out I will blame you haha! But looking forward to seeing feeling and hearing them. They are certainly a handsome looking pair of hps.

in my defense I did get picked up for a good assignment so this is a little reward for myself. 

That's a pretty good deal on a very respectable set of cans. Give them a chance to break in and look into the Brainwavz earpad upgrade to make them a tad more comfy (improves the bass and midrange some too). I've always thought they sound great straight from the source (no amp) but ymmv. And they are definitely built for life. Can't understand how they can sell them for so little money. I'd really like to try some of their other cans, but alas the prices increase exponentially and I just can't imagine that much of an upgrade for the amount I actually use them (headphones in general) being worthwhile.

17 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

I just got my wife a pair of Sony WH-1000 XM4 bluetooth cans. I found my XM3s for a decent price whenever I got them... year and a half ago? They're great, anyway, and unlike the newer ones they support aptX. But now the NOS ones that are left are going for around $400, which is the same price as the newest version, which is stupid. Gotta say, after using over-ears exclusively for a while, I am never going back to in-ears. Torture devices. Horrible way to live.

I use both but have to agree. If OTE's weren't impractical for most of my uses, I would never have another set of iems.

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I much prefer my [old] Senn HD200s for comfort from all of my cans and I also prefer to listen to my system instead of cans.  That being said, for blutooth IE headphones, the Sony XM4s I like, except for the bulk which makes me insecure they will fall out.  They sound really good though. 

I have owned a few Etymotics and those, despite all the hype were just intolerable imo.  The most uncomfortable POSs and absolutely the thinnest sounding cans I've ever heard.

 

 

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On 11/28/2022 at 10:18 PM, Hungarino said:

Wow, I am kind of the opposite I guess. I discovered IEMs about a year ago and can't get enough. I do keep the volume low and am pretty meticulous getting to right tips.

Bluetooth is now just about in the hi-fi realm for audio quality right? Soon all our wired gear will be pointless, and there will be more must have things to buy. It never ends does it?

It truly never ends. Just when I've got everything I need, something has to be replaced or fixed. Bluetooth connections over LDAC sound great when they're working properly though, and aptX sounds totally acceptable too. I hated Bluetooth for years because all I ever heard was through that shitty SBC codec, which devices still default to if they can't talk to each other some other way. 

Having said that, my pair of MDR-7506 sound just as good as they ever did, and I bet my old pair would too, if my son hadn't spilled a full cup of miso soup on them. RIP.

I found that in-ears irritated my ear canals worse the longer I used them. Even tips that seemed comfortable would still wind up bugging me. And then there was wax buildup, and I never found a pair that would truly stay put for enjoyable listening while I was walking or exercising. Always fiddling with the damn things. I had some decent ones over the years too, a pair of Shures, a nice-sounding pair of Monsters, some Sennheisers... There was great detail and intimacy to the sound, under the right conditions, but so not worth the trouble for me.

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30 minutes ago, FatherAlabaster said:

It truly never ends. Just when I've got everything I need, something has to be replaced or fixed. Bluetooth connections over LDAC sound great when they're working properly though, and aptX sounds totally acceptable too. I hated Bluetooth for years because all I ever heard was through that shitty SBC codec, which devices still default to if they can't talk to each other some other way. 

Having said that, my pair of MDR-7506 sound just as good as they ever did, and I bet my old pair would too, if my son hadn't spilled a full cup of miso soup on them. RIP.

I found that in-ears irritated my ear canals worse the longer I used them. Even tips that seemed comfortable would still wind up bugging me. And then there was wax buildup, and I never found a pair that would truly stay put for enjoyable listening while I was walking or exercising. Always fiddling with the damn things. I had some decent ones over the years too, a pair of Shures, a nice-sounding pair of Monsters, some Sennheisers... There was great detail and intimacy to the sound, under the right conditions, but so not worth the trouble for me.

I was comparing some iems then figured I would include a couple of hps and was surprised at the initial drop off of detail and depth when switching to hps until I adjusted correctly for power/volume. iems and hps are definitely different animals, to state the obvious.

Of course then I got to playing with the iem tips, another rabbit hole, and am finding that the silicon actually irritate less than the foam. This after going through all kinds of different foams to find the best. I will end up with about a zillion of each, but at least they are cheap and most came free with the iems.

My final humbling experience of the morning was nearly returning my new Moondrop Arias (on sale for $61) because the $15 pair of 7hz Zeros sound freakin' amazing. I know a lot of people probably eschew budget iems, but to my ears these things really sparkle and shine, so much that I questioned why I should keep the Arias. I finally convinced myself that the different signatures for different kinds of music justify keeping them. Now I just have to be sure to include hps more in the rotation otherwise they are just collecting dust.

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45 minutes ago, Hungarino said:

I was comparing some iems then figured I would include a couple of hps and was surprised at the initial drop off of detail and depth when switching to hps until I adjusted correctly for power/volume. iems and hps are definitely different animals, to state the obvious.

Of course then I got to playing with the iem tips, another rabbit hole, and am finding that the silicon actually irritate less than the foam. This after going through all kinds of different foams to find the best. I will end up with about a zillion of each, but at least they are cheap and most came free with the iems.

My final humbling experience of the morning was nearly returning my new Moondrop Arias (on sale for $61) because the $15 pair of 7hz Zeros sound freakin' amazing. I know a lot of people probably eschew budget iems, but to my ears these things really sparkle and shine, so much that I questioned why I should keep the Arias. I finally convinced myself that the different signatures for different kinds of music justify keeping them. Now I just have to be sure to include hps more in the rotation otherwise they are just collecting dust.

Silicon is easier to clean, too. Frequent cleaning is super important. I used to reuse foam earplugs for band practice... big mistake... ugh. Nothing beats finishing up a mix with one ear plugged up. The silicon ones with the flanges were probably my favorites, both for phones and plugs. I'm back to using the drugstore cheapie plugs at practice and shows these days, but I toss them as soon as I'm done.

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So this makes Boris album including the great collaboration with  Sunn0))),  Altar and a deluxe version of Pink with a bunch of extras (so if two versions of Pink cheating, then -1), album number 12 or 13-which is to say, they've been a pivotal part of my post 2000 heavy music exploration. My 22 conclusion is Heavy Rocks (22) rawks. 

One of my favorite Christmas gifts to myself is curating a year's end playlist with albums bought from the current year with older albums (I.e., Swans, old Scorpions, etc. purchased in 22) purchased within the same year. 22 is starting to shape up nicely. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

In the mail today:

Antichrist Imperium-Volume III complete with lyrics and satanic goat album porn-art or is it art-porn, I'm not sure which. 

Wake-Thought from Decent

Just now, markm said:

In the mail today:

Antichrist Imperium-Volume III complete with lyrics and satanic goat album porn-art or is it art-porn, I'm not sure which. I wasn't aware satanic goat-bat things got so many voluptuous women. Like, who knew?

Wake-Thought from Decent

 

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So a list of everything I purchased musically in 2022 - quiet year but my finances are still recovering:

 

CD (12):

Darkthrone - Eternal Hails

Darkthrone - Astral Fortress

Enforced - Kill Grid

Exciter - Violence and Force

GBH - City Baby's Revenge

Megadeth - The Sick, The Dead And The Dying

Midnight - Let There Be Witchery

Motorhead - We Are Motorhead

Nosce Teipsum - Nothing Remains

Overkill - Under The Influence

Sepultura - Schizophrenia (2nd time owning this one)

Skyclad - Prince Of The Poverty Line (finally found a copy!  One of my favourite albums of all time)

I have new Sodom "40 Years At War - The Greatest Hell of Sodom" on order and it may arrive this year.

Vinyl (5)

Brutal Truth - Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses

Cancer - To The Gory End

Cave In - Heavy Pendulum

Ironhawk - Ritual of the Warpath

Power Trip - Manifest Decimation

 

I did sell a handful of albums too (Destruction's Cracked Brain, Mindsnare's Unholy Rush, GBH live album and Nasty Savage's Penetration Point).

 

 

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I'm still picking up music and will continue. Last year I was still grabbing stuff as late as February. It's been a modest year for me. Think I'm slowing down.

I've got about 23 2022 CDs of mostly metal, only 6 bandcamp, but the surprise was 30 non '22 CDs-vintage bands, nostalgia filling in discographies. I've probably got 10 more non 22 albums I'd like grab. 

The bulk of non metal albums include

  • Motorhead (7)
  • Kiss (7)-basically their entire early discography
  • Scorpions (4)
  • Queen (4)
  • Swans (3 comps-8 discs) 
  • Motley Crue (2)

And some classic rock. I start off slow and kick into gear mid summer. All told with whatever I get in the next few weeks will probably push my total get to 75 or 80 some of which I'll get in early '23-still, a ridiculous level of consumption. But it's only rock and roll.  

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2 hours ago, navybsn said:

If I list all the shit I bought this year, my wife my find it and might take away my access to the interwebs. Not GG levels or anything, but easily 100 on bc and CD combined. Maybe only a handful of LPs, but I truly don't keep track anymore.

Man I wish had that kind of muoolah!   So much back catalogue and it just keeps growing cause I don't have the funds to buy it!

 

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I wish I didn't spend so much on non music shit. I just spent $200 on oil, $30 for an oil filter and $130 for a fuel filter so I can give the ute a birthday around the same time Jesus wants one. Buying oil in bulk does save me a little bit but I can't get the same quantity locally for less than $280, so ebay it is, sorry Mr. Postman but you need to deliver me another bulk package.

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Most were $5 or less. I did splurge more this year on expensive (think $8-10 bc's) than usual because quality over quantity. $500 works out to $60/month. I figure I spent closer to $125 average but that includes 6-8 LPs at $30 a pop and a dozen or more new CDs at $12-15. The majority of physical purchases were older stuff I'm catching up on. A few preorders. I'm totally cool with most new stuff being digital at least until I know it's something I want to keep around forever unless I just can't get it digital or the price difference makes it a non issue. If it's $8/digital or $12/CD, it's CD every time. Only about 60% are metal. The costs of having diverse tastes.

Neither you nor I want to know what I spent on metal tourism. I very deliberately don't keep track. But I saw 19 shows this year, 3 local.

2 minutes ago, KillaKukumba said:

I wish I didn't spend so much on non music shit. I just spent $200 on oil, $30 for an oil filter and $130 for a fuel filter so I can give the ute a birthday around the same time Jesus wants one. Buying oil in bulk does save me a little bit but I can't get the same quantity locally for less than $280, so ebay it is, sorry Mr. Postman but you need to deliver me another bulk package.

Tell me about it. I maintain a small fleet, house costs, and waste more on other things than I do on music.

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I have to order CDs/vinyl from either the local independent record shop who can't get a lot f stuff in or online retailers.

Postage to Oz is expensive so I go locals but even then it's expensive:

CDs: USD $20.50 - $26.60  

Vinyl: USD $30 - $50.

Postage: free if from local shop, 4 items at Utopia or purchase over USD$68 at Resist Records.

Postage from overseas is insane - I order a War Against Women CD from the US for the wife before COVID and the postage was more than the CD.

Total spent on those 17 albums/EPs = AUD $560 or USD$383 (I've kept tabs on my spending this year).  Average is AUD$33 or USD$22.53.

Australians get butt raped repeatedly when it comes to prices of anything.  Lucky country indeed.  🙄

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