Any Audiophiles In Here??

[FeurMensch]

I know I'm a moderate Audiophile. What I mean is that I 't dish out $500 for headphones, but some for $120 are good to me. For me I can't have a cheap pair of Cans, I need something with more "oomph" and fidelity, clarity, and overall sound-stage.That's why I currently opted for a pair of Sehnnheiser HD555 headphones and they sound really good to me (YAY! They work on my Ipod Mini 2G!!). I don't have a headphone amp, but I'm about getting one.

My brother on the other hand has the HD595 headphones and a CMOY portable amp ready to go. Boy those 595's sound way better, but they cost'd around $250 on eBay I believe. The amp was $60 also??

If you haven't heard a HQ Can then you haven't even begun to listen to music! Go out to a store that sells some high-end headphones and take a listen, you will drool with awe as you hear stuff you've never heard before!!

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Now, are any of you Audiophiles? I would really like to know what Cans (Headphones) you are using and what amp (if you have one) you are using as well. Just let me know what you all think...

EDIT: My brother gave me his 30GB 5G (100GB upgraded ) Ipod, so all my music is uncompressed now!!

[TheSelfishGene]

I don't understand why you'd get an expensive set of headphones to listen to compressed audio on an ipod.

I just like the convenience of bud earphones, and compressed audio.
I hate crappy little tin-pot speakers, so I'll usually spend at least $20 on a set of earphones, but no more than $35-$40.

I can't be bothered lugging around a set of cans, and listening to uncompressed audio. At home with a good set up it's great, but convenience wins out for me everytime.

I don't always listen to music on my ipod too. About 50% of the time I listen to radio bootlegs and podcasts, which aren't really worth enhancing with top end gear.

Just my $0.02 on it all.

[kevstah2004]

What's better VBR or 320kbps compression? also is wma compression really better than mp3? which one deadens background adlib's and instruments the most?

[Dot50Cal]

VBR just means its a variable bitrate. So if theres no sound or not much going on, it'll drop to a lower bitrate. Usually, I think you can set a max bitrate there. So go with 320, VBR. for MP3 vs WMA, it depends on what encoder you use. I haven't been keeping up for a long time, but WMA wasn't so good compared to the top of the line MP3 encoder.

[Umon Daisuke]

I'm with Gene on this one. Seems pointless to spend good money and end up listening to lossy tracks. If you were using lossless compression, it's another matter. The convenience factor is a good point also, but to each his own.

Although I have a few MP3's, the majority of my collection is in WAVE, FLAC, or Apple Lossless (experimenting led me to choose the latest... pretty good codec). Forget about WMA lossless and any MS codec.

Anyway, if you're on a tighter budget, go with the 555. If you're not opting for lossless, the differences you're hearing between the 555 and 595 is a classic placebo effect.

[kevstah2004]

VBR just means its a variable bitrate. So if theres no sound or not much going on, it'll drop to a lower bitrate. Usually, I think you can set a max bitrate there. So go with 320, VBR. for MP3 vs WMA, it depends on what encoder you use. I haven't been keeping up for a long time, but WMA wasn't so good compared to the top of the line MP3 encoder.

I thought VBR goes higher than 320kbps at certain points though if there's more stuff going on therefore equaling better quality, I've seen it at 418kbps before.
The wma encoder I use is Windows Media Audio 9 Professional.
I don't believe in lossless audio codes if I wanted lossess I'd encode all my cds in .WAV PCM 44.100 kHz, 16 Bit, Stereo.

[The Dude]

To be honest sound doesn't really bother me too much, considering 99% of the time I use a set of 5.1 PC speakers I bought 5+ years ago to listen to music, or if I have too, a £40 pair of Sennheiser headphones I picked up a year or so ago on sale.

For my Ipod I use some standard panasonic headphones I got as a gift last year.

[Umon Daisuke]

I don't believe in lossless audio codes if I wanted lossess I'd encode all my cds in .WAV PCM 44.100 kHz, 16 Bit, Stereo.

I wouldn't go any other route with CD's. Most of my collection on my HDD is in WAVE, and I really don't get the notion of why anyone wouldn't "believe" in lossless codecs since they retain all the fidelity (90% of the time) of the original master whereas lossy codecs don't. Plus, WAVE is uncompressed PCM, so it takes more space (50% more on average depending on the source compared to Apple's). Unless it's SACD, I've found that Apple's codec is just as good as WAVE. Give it a try.

Lossless compression is only getting better, particularly with home theatre. I used to be a PCM snob until I watched a movie with DTS MA encoding, and the difference was practically non-existent.

[Scream]

I'm not really an audiophile but I can appreciate a good pair of headphones (just as I can see the difference between DVD and blu-ray). I only have some Sony earbuds at the moment as listening to headphones is something you usually do when you are alone but I'm hardly ever alone.

When I buy music online it's usually wave or 320kbps CBR MP3, that's good enough for me..

By the way anyone know anything about "darth beyers"?

[FeurMensch]

I don't understand why you'd get an expensive set of headphones to listen to compressed audio on an ipod.

I just like the convenience of bud earphones, and compressed audio.
I hate crappy little tin-pot speakers, so I'll usually spend at least $20 on a set of earphones, but no more than $35-$40.

I can't be bothered lugging around a set of cans, and listening to uncompressed audio. At home with a good set up it's great, but convenience wins out for me everytime.

I don't always listen to music on my ipod too. About 50% of the time I listen to radio bootlegs and podcasts, which aren't really worth enhancing with top end gear.

Just my $0.02 on it all.

Well none of the music on the Ipod is compressed, it's all WAV files that are full CD quality.

[Dot50Cal]

Can an ipod even decode wav's without downgrading them on the fly?

[FeurMensch]

I think it does a full decode since I did tests and my WAVE files sounded way better than MP3/MP4/AAC. At least they do to me.

[Gideon Quinn]

Yup, self confessed audiofile here. My mp3 player is filled with high quality WAV's and i have a big pair of Technica monitor headphones - I just can't stand what MP3 compression does to cymbals or anything with lots of high end or gain - It just sounds like a horrible fizz. Anything above 2k hz just sounds hideous...

[Spera01]

I didn't even know they sold headphones for $500!

Personally for me, doesn't really matter, as long as I can hear what I'm listening too and the sound quality is decent, thats good enough for me.

[Helegad]

Anything below 128kbps is unacceptable for me, and that's as picky as I get.