Thread: Audiophile question, What do you listen to your music on?

My main system. The speakers are getting replaced next year when I save up the Dosh.

Sony Taf530 ES amp
Rega Planar 3 Turntable
Mission 702e Speakers
Hitachi FT-5500 MK2 Tuner
Bog standard Sony CD players (CDP XE270-CDP XE530)
Sony Mini Disc Player JE480
Supra Speaker Cable

My rig:



Source: Playback Designs MPS-5 SACD player
Amplification: Cary SLP-05 preamp, Cary CAD-211AE triode power amp, SGR EL30S power amp
Speakers: Acapella High Violon, JL Audio F110 subwoofer X2

My kit:

Cambridge Azur 650C CD player
Cambridge Azur 650A amplifier
Krix Equinox Vs bookshelf speakers
Akg K272HD Headphones

My FM radio is the Tivoli Audio Model Two Stereo

I wish I could upgrade the stereo. I suppose we all do. However, I'm relatively happy with the equipment.
I regret spending so much on my headphones since I very rarely use them.
The radio is brilliant. If you are buying Tivoli Audio then you must at least listen to the stereo model. The sound quality, and stereo separation in particular, is superb.

While most of my duckets have been spent on music equipment, I'm happy to have a McIntosh mc-452 powering a c2300...both of which I basically recieved as a gift from my old job...with the present came a pair of Voice of the Theatre a7s...I only run my reel to reel and stereo receiver which routes my turntable and tape deck through this...sometimes I'll connect my mini disc as an aux but cd's and dvd audio I use a 7.2 system for

ALAC files->iPhone->EQ->Sony MDR-7506 from my pawned recording system. Best I can afford for now, but better than 128k mp3 and OEM earbuds.

Originally Posted by Ut Pictura

This is my system:
Rotel RCD-02 CD Player
Rotel RA-03 Integrated Amp
B&W (Bowers & Wilkins) 603S - floorstanding speakers
Magnum Dynalab MD-90 FM Analog Tuner
QED Silver Anniversary speaker cables
Ecosse and Transparent interconnects
For over 25 years I listened to vast amounts of music on cheap hi fi systems, being only interested in the "music". But when I had the opportunity to change it I did, and I have not looked back since. There are audiophile freaks - who seem more obsessed with equipment than with music - but as long as one keeps it all in perspective - a good sound system can be most gratifying.

Great philosophy, Ut Pictura. I've heard great things about Rotel. (Actually had one for a very brief period, but no speakers). Any chance of posting a Pic of your system?

Do you also have Super-Audio capability? I assume all the audiophile-quality systems have them now?

Originally Posted by kg4fxg

I mostly use my iPod (I have several) and Bose in-ear headphones.

Ah, another iPod person. What sort of headphone amp do you use? I have Grado 325's, and am using a portable Fiio E6 amp, which I don't find to improve the sound a whole lot (despite using a line-out dock). I have heard great things about the Cmoy amp.

This also side-tracks into the discussion about Appleloss vs. Flac. Apparently some people notice a huge difference between the two. That seems strange to me, but perhaps those people are blasting it out of 30K speakers using audiophile-grade iPod-compatible systems?

Which segues into another question: Do audiophile systems now come with iPod-compatibility? Or is that considered bad form, i.e., tacky?

GrosseFugue, an audiophile system is made of whatever you assemble it out of. If you choose to have SACD and iPod compatibility, that is your choice. My system has SACD, but no iPod ... because I hate Apple with a passion.

iPods are a convenience and a fashion statement, they aren't for audiophile listening! I do have one though, for the convenience aspect rather than the fashion statement (I'd rather hide mine than show it off!). But I don't listen to classical music on it, I save that for home listening on decent kit. I hate Apple's advertising, but so far have liked their products (but no more than "liked" really - they are over-hyped).

I've been listening to music on my headphones for half a year (at home I do have an old sound system by Sharp that still produces a satisfying sound for a non audiophile like me).
The headphones I've been listening with weren't something special so lately I decided to get a better pair. Since I'm short on money I thought that AKG K99 would be a good decision, as everything I read about them was only positive.
I must say I'm hugely disappointed. They are absolutely awful. The sound is muddy and sounds muffed, which contradicts all the reviews mentioning the clarity of the sound. I have to use an equalizer with Rock or Reggae presets, because they reproduce mid range sounds extremely bad, and the bass is not clear at all. They do sound quite good when used for Rock or other genres, but for classical music they must be one of the worst choices. I had a cheap Phillips headset for 20$ that managed to produce better sound. I read that they benefit from burn-in though, so I hope it's true. Listening to String Quartets is agony with them. Oh and they distort the sound when played in high volumes. Seriously, who the hell writes those reviews?
Screw this, I always have bad luck with headphones.

Originally Posted by Chrythes

....I thought that AKG K99 would be a good decision, as everything I read about them was only positive.
I must say I'm hugely disappointed. They are absolutely awful....Seriously, who the hell writes those reviews?
Screw this, I always have bad luck with headphones.

Sennheiser HD 280 Pro.

Re Post #66 from last year, I have a happy update to report. A technician was able to bring a long-time friend of the family back to life--Mission Cyrus PCM II CD player.

I have a Mac mini media server with 30tb of storage attached. I have multiple itunes libraries which total over a year's worth of music broken up by genre, and it streams via wifi throughout the house. I have a set of bookshelf speakers in my living room and a separate dedicated screening/listening room with a full 5:1 speaker setup.

Originally Posted by GrosseFugue

Ah, another iPod person. What sort of headphone amp do you use? I have Grado 325's, and am using a portable Fiio E6 amp, which I don't find to improve the sound a whole lot (despite using a line-out dock). I have heard great things about the Cmoy amp.

Headphone amps aren't necessary unless you are using big home headphones with your ipod. Some headphones will work fine with te headphone jack and some won't. But the audio quality of the ipod line out is equal to most stand alone CD players. Sound quality is dependent on your compression settings and your headphones, not whether you use an ipod or a CD player.

Originally Posted by bigshot

Headphone amps aren't necessary unless you are using big home headphones with your ipod. Some headphones will work fine with te headphone jack and some won't. But the audio quality of the ipod line out is equal to most stand alone CD players. Sound quality is dependent on your compression settings and your headphones, not whether you use an ipod or a CD player.

i don't call myself an audiophile, and i'm very skeptical of anyone claiming any radical audible difference between similar spec'ed equipment. i'm also a big advocate of the ABX test. that being said, theoretically, depending on the headphone impedance and source, you may need a hp amp, some would say perhaps even an external dac...

separately, most portable players and hp have great specs, on paper; low distortion, flat 20-20kHz response, but that's only under certain testing conditions. if the hp impedance is very high, you might find them too quiet, because the portable player may not be able to vary the voltage highly enough without clipping. if the hp imp is low, volume might seem ok, but the player may not be able to drive the hp with enough current to get a flat response all the way down the spectrum.

therefore, if you are experiencing low volume with your high imp hp, you might need an amp to up the voltage. if your bass is thinning out as you increase to normal volumes with your low imp hp, you probably could use an extra power supply somewhere in the chain.

an external dac will probably not be be necessary, unless it is included in the headphone amp (or vice-versa). personally, at the computer, i use low imp open hp with a soundcard that includes a hp amp which uses the pc's power supply; with my portable player, i use low imp earbuds, so i have to tolerate a less than spectacular sub bass at normal to higher volumes.

thankfully, to compensate, i have a BIG subwoofer in my 2.1 music/ht loudspeaker setup.