A discussion about what we want this community to become

General Headphone Discussion
#32

Not to simplify things but I think most of us want the same thing from each and every community we contribute too

Namely, a place where we can honestly discuss what we like, what we don’t like and why.

How we choose to discuss is of course another matter! I always enjoy debate but never name calling or insults, but again that’s pretty common, I imagine the Mod team will likely be pretty pro-active at creating a community that reflects them and their business well!

I also think that what will make this community special is the lack of sponsorships and adds! So negative impressions of a popular product will likely stand here because this team isn’t using any funding from any company to keep this board up! So I applaud that choice form them for obvious reasons.

That said I think a lot of us are already familiar with one another so all’s that left to do is enjoy ourselves and enjoy watching this community grow!

1 Like
#33

This.

SBAF can get toxic pretty quickly…especially if you like Audio GD products for some strange reason…

#34

Encourage and support the top contributors. Keep the toxic, manipulative individuals out. If someone is an excellent contributor, and it ends up going to their head and they become toxic, don’t hesitate to throw them out.

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#35

Or criticism of Schiit products. That tends to get sketchy there and they get touchy about the measurements.

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#36

Yep, people can be very protective about their gear. Especially a small handful of Schiit fanboys on certain web sites. Mind you it happens in everything. Nintendo vs Sega or Apple vs Android to name a few. It can be quite entertaining to see them go at it sometimes.
-Paul-

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#37

In case you haven’t seen it, check out this thread announcing the loaner program: Announcing the HEADPHONE Community Preview Program

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#38

A post was merged into an existing topic: The General Advice/Questions Thread

#39

Hello,
I am a new member and this is my first response in the forum.
I checked out other headphone forums before deciding to join. One of the forums I visited seemd to be high-brow and didn’t offer many replies to simple/basic questions. The other had very little activity.
I enjoy the down to earth discussions and common courtesy shown by other members.
I REALLY APPRECIATE the efforts of taronlissimore and core members to create this community.

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#40

Hello and welcome @tjsgarden. You’ll find decent people around here and and they are always willing to help. They have great patience to, heck, they put up with me. :grin:

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#41

Welcome @tjsgarden!!

I agree with everything you have posted so far :wink:

1 Like
#42

Welcome to the forum! While I still participate in other forums, I find this one the most suitable for me in terms of knowledge, maturity, courteousness friendliness, and willingness to discuss and collaborate/help.

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#43

Welcome to the Headphone.com forum :+1:

I have also found this site to be friendly and populated with some very knowledgeable yet down to earth members.
Although many can afford much more in the way of higher end gear than others, there is no snobbery that Ive experienced.
There seems a real appreciation for all levels of interest and knowledge, with many of the very active members always willing to land an ear and offer advice to anyone looking for such.

It has turned out to be a great forum and I hope to find the time to contribute more in the way of reviews and opinions on what I come across in the audio world.

It will be nice to hopefully progress to having enough interaction that I can gain the privilege of auditioning a few things through the generous loaner program offered :sunglasses: (So little time with so much to keep one busy)!

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#44

If you’ve posted impressions or a review of something on the forum, then you already qualify. If not, then that’s all you need to do.

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#45

Thanks for the input Ian. I realize I need to get a review in but the gear I’m using, although quite serviceable, is getting pretty long-in-the-tooth.
And the headphones I own have been reviewed to death.
Both my amp and DAC are several years old. The portable amp/dac in use is great; but for now at least, is no longer available to purchase.

So until I buy some new gear, I really don’t have much to offer in the way of reviews. And until I can hear some new gear, I’m reluctant to buy something I haven’t heard.
The one exception is perhaps a decent USB/SPDIF converter.
I’d like to buy a new balanced DAC but am torn as to how much to spend without being able to first hear/compare the unit. It would be nice to know beforehand know how much SQ benefit it provides.

Things were much easier when living in Toronto where I had access to head-fi meets and more people were active in the hobby. A few of whom I could audition and share gear with.
Being a bit of a jack-of-all trades (pardon the unintended pun :wink: I usually had something of value to offer in exchange for either borrowing or buying different gear.
I’m leaning towards the decent SPDIF converter mentioned, as I’d like to compare the SQ of my older, inexpensive DAC to any new one I decide to buy over the next little while.

It’s a bit of a “where do I start” challenge, as I’m quite happy with the sound I already have but do realize there’s certainly room for improvement (and/or different sound sigs).

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#46

Make sense.

Though I will say that the impressions (enough to get a feel for what’s being discussed - it does not need to be one of our feature-length reviews!) or review post for initial qualification can be on anything. It is more to see that people can/will do it than about what they are reviewing.

And such impressions posts do not need to be of something not reviewed before, nor is there a problem with having multiple perspectives (good or bad) for a given piece of gear.

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#47

@Torq
Good to hear and thanks for the encouragement.

Even if one impression is very similar to another, I know that speaking personally, multiple similar impressions can sometimes tilt the scales when making a decision for or against a particular piece of gear.
I’ll try to rustle something up so I can eventuality access/review some gear I’m interested in purchasing (like a decent balanced desktop DAC or some great IEMs that stay put)!

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#48

@Hellenback, I can only speak for me personally but I enjoy reading (and watching) reviews on gear that is not the latest and greatest. For one, it gives a perspective on changes and it also gives ideas on what to watch out for used.

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#49

I agree that a review is an opinion of the item no matter how old it is. It actually would be nice to see “older” products being reviewed today and see if they still hold up well over time!

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#50

I agree totally. Most reviews are posted while the item is still new or at least relatively new. It’s great to get a long term opinion on the same thing.

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#51

That’s great guys. I’m thinking to do an impression/review of an older Little Dot MVII+ SS balanced amp that was available for just a couple of years.

My one hesitation has been that I have no reference for comparison with another balanced SS amp
When I first decided to buy the original MKVII (1st gen. had no “+” designation) I contacted David ZheZhe at Little Dot. He replied that he was having trouble accessing one electronic component for the amp and It turned out that the part actually became unavailable.
David was then compelled to modify the amp somewhat and give it the MKVII+ moniker.
In the modification process, the overall power was reduced but the trade-off was that a faint “buzzing” sound on some units was altogether eliminated.

Initially, the MKVII was an incredibly powerful amp that could drive any headphone available at the time, including the AKG 1000.
I think IIRC the buzzing in some units had something to do with the exceptionally high output power.

Although the MKVII+ does not have the sheer power of the original, neither do any units have a potential to buzz.
There’s not the faintest background noise of any kind. And that’s true both during playback and between tracks (or on pause) even at full volume…which is not advisable while music is playing, unless you’re looking to go deaf.

It drives HD600/650s exceptionally well. IIRC (again) I believe the amp was designed around the Senn HD6XX, as they were the most popular “high end” cans at the time (how times and costs have changed)!
It was definitely designed/optimized for balanced output (4pin XLR) but does have a 1/4" receptacle for SE use.

The review would definitely be along the lines of how well the amp has stood up over the years.

I’d much prefer to have a modern SS amp that sells for the same price (or higher) as a reference/comparison before going forward.
It would then be a more accurate, informative and less subjective “impression”.

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