I'm Sailing Away

545

The enormously complex setup I was running in Seattle is no more. Somewhat ironic, given the dramatic increase in available space. But it is an irony I can fully embrace.

All good things come to an end.

Active/critical listening will now be through my office speaker rig, at least until I put in the new “big” speaker system in its own room. I imagine a sizeable percentage of that listening time will be spinning vinyl.

Listening while I am “working”, or at least at my workstation, will either be with the speaker rig (behind me) or via the Devialet Phantom IIs on the desk (or maybe the AirPods Max if I need isolation for some unforeseen reason).

I will keep a headphone rig. Whether it is the Chord/Woo stack, and a choice selection of flagships, or the HE-1 will depend largely on what Sonova/Sennheiser have to say.

And I’ll keep a portable setup, if only for listening by the pool and for travel. Probably the 2Go/Hugo2 for the former and the AK SP200/Odin for the latter.

The part I am most excited about, however (other than the unfathomable tedium of all the stuff I now get to sell off) will be having my grand piano back in the house … really cannot wait for that!

21 Likes
546

Are you still as fond of the SR1a’s as you were a few months back? I understand that speakers and the HE-1 may obviate the need for them, but do you still think as highly of them?

p.s. the piano looks much more glamorous than headphones!

547

The SR1a, properly driven, remain the best overall headphone I have heard. And they deliver the closest-to-speakers experience you can get in headphones at any price (the next best option is the MySphere 3.x).

The HE-1 is interesting as a one-box, one-headphone solution.

That really only works for me in the context of absolute minimalism (i.e. on the boat), and/or in the presence of a decent speaker rig.

It’ll be the last headphone I let go, and probably not before the arrival of my own HE-1. Though the HSA-1b may go before them if I do plump for the Sennheisers, simply because I have other ways to drive them.

…

As for the piano … it is a lovely piece, even if I do say so myself. It’s an early 20th century piece, so the keys are ivory (no other option back then), and it has gorgeous tone. It’s been played by visiting virtuosos at our little charity flings … and they make me look like what I really am …

A ten-thumbed, tone-deaf*, talentless noise-polluter …

*I’m not really tone-deaf. There may be some truth to the talentless noise-polluter bits, however …

9 Likes
548

Thanks for the follow-up. I am getting close to purchasing the SR1a’s and appreciate your insight.

I can’t say I’ve ever knowingly seen a piano with ivory keys. Are they that much more striking?

549

The SR1a are phenomenal. Even via inexpensive speaker amps they’re revelatory. The Jotunheim R takes that to another level, and the HSA-1b takes it even further …

As for the piano …

Ivory keys have a natural tendency to color-up (shift away from pure-white). So they can look less immediately “impressive”. It tends to “age” them.

Weight and feel is very subtly different, but not really something to strive for.

I can’t lay claim to any noticeable difference in play. Aesthetics? Sure. As well as the environmental/preservations/social-conciousness factors. But this is an instrument that was brought to life before my father was born.

4 Likes
550

Is that you? When I read your posts I had assumed you were typing them wearing a full suit, regardless of surroundings.

I pulled the keyboard out from the Garage and set it up the other day. Mostly to get my young daughters into and interested in playing, but also for myself to stop reading headphone related content and sit down and learn / re-learn it.

3 Likes
551

That’s me … bald-stripe and all.

I think I was abusing Beethoven’s piano sonata #14 in that picture …

And while I was born, and brought up, in England and taught “always be comfortable in a suit”, I am generally rather more casual … excepting at “proper” musical, charity, or formal events.

The Seattle trend towards shorts and Birkenstocks at the opera was never my bag. But then Seattle likes to do everything dressed out of REI.

6 Likes
552

And don’t get me wrong … when I was still willing to do a day’s honest work, for a full week’s pay, I could have EASILY spent it at REI (love them). It’s just not, in my opinion, appropriate attire for the arts.

2 Likes
553

Ah, REI. Acronym foreign to I. A casual clothing company?

554

I believe @Torq is referring to the store known for recreational equipment…although correct me if I’m wrong.

https://www.rei.com/stores/seattle.html

555

My parents used to have a vintage piano with ivory keys. By the time they had it the keys had yellowed and cracked. They had dark lines in the natural grain, and some of the front overhanging lips were breaking on the corners. They eventually replaced the keys with synthetics for playability, and the removed ivory slices were surprisingly thin. They were certainly no thicker than a credit card, but didn’t feel fragile while glued in place.

As ivory is bone, the feel was of bone – a little warmer to the touch than plastic, and with slightly different vibration characteristics. A polished bone or stag handled pocket knife (e.g., Case folders) feels about the same. Ivory didn’t make a significant difference for playing.

That old piano had a definite Victorian era feel about it. One could imagine the pre-WW1 class system and the big money required for buying a piano 100 years ago. But to be honest, it was showing its age and didn’t play very well. They made billiard balls from ivory back then too…

I have an REI membership card, so I don’t hate…but REI markets itself to upscale, urban, and fashion-conscious outdoor dreamers and adventurers. I imagine that canned spray-on dirt sells to the same buyers. REI’s demographics seem really different from the old New England outdoor company L.L. Bean, let alone hunting and fishing clothing stores (e.g., Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops). Common nicknames for REI include: “Really Expensive Inventory” and “Return Every Item”.

1 Like
556

Mm ok. So Katmandu equivalent here.

557

I’ve never had a problem with the quality of REI’s self branded goods, and they are certainly price competitive.

REI is two things, and outdoor clothing line, and a one of retail stores that sell their own gear, but also all other manufacturers.

(wait until you see the bifurcation in Patagonia’s demographics)

558

My systems simplification (a.k.a. “The Purge”) begins in earnest …

I say in earnest, as I have already “accidentally” sold my Chord Hugo M-Scaler and Hugo TT2, as well as my Benchmark HPA4 (which I never talked much about), purely from casual chatting. I wasn’t even ready to list them, but it just worked out for all parties through general discussion … and they’re now with their new owners.

…

A solid of week of 99% speaker listening, with no complaints from my wife, means that headphones move from the “necessity” category to the “because I want them”.

This yields an almost dizzying array of new possibilities.

One is that I no longer need a headphone with speaker-like characteristics. As good as the best of them are (SR1a, MySphere 3.2, HD800S), they’re still not really on the same plane as a properly sorted, high-end, 2-channel system. Better, perhaps, in some respects, and certainly much less expensive, but it’s still not quite the same.

This doesn’t necessarily mean those headphones are going anywhere, at least until the HE-1 situation clarifies, but it likely means I won’t need my HSA-1b anymore … as I am relegating solid-state headphone drive to the DAVE (everything else will be driven by the WA234), and the SR1a will be off the Étude (short term) and Ultima 5 (if the HE-1 doesn’t work out, and probably gone if it does).

…

My travel/portable setups are going to be heavily impacted as well, but for different reasons. Primarily the realization (or at least the acknowledgement of reality) that for my preferred IEMs, ambient noise in travel scenarios (at least while in transit) effectively nullifies their better capabilities vs. much easier-to-deal-with but less capable Bluetooth ANC in-ear solutions.

I’ll keep my favorite IEM (Empire Ears Odin), mostly for at-destination listening, but I think it is time for the rest of my portable/travel setup to go.

So sometime tomorrow I’ll make official listings for my Cayin N8 (it’d be staying if it could stream, or even work wired from my phone), AAW Canary, UM MEST and tia Fourté.

…

Then the hard part starts … culling the headphone herd …

12 Likes
559

The Odin. Have it with me right now. Very good in most ways. Can’t help but want a bit more bass presence with them. They seem to EQ ok at least, so no problem playing from the desktop rig. The iDSD Signature’s “X-Bass” does help for semi-portable use.

560

Does the Odin respond to playing around with impedance with an impedance adapter? It may give it a bit of a bass boost to your liking.

561

Not sure. Won’t add the 5db I’m after :stuck_out_tongue:

562

I think +5 dB qualifies as more than a “bit” more bass … with the Odin I’d say that puts things firmly into bass-head territory. Which is great if that’s what you like, but it’d be way too much for me.

And with IEMs I do like a bit more bass than neutral.

The gentle V-shaped of the Odin’s response hits that perfectly. The bass is tastefully elevated over neutral. More bass would be heading down the Legend X path, which was just overpoweringly bassy (and not very well controlled) for me, or even the original CA Vega.

563

Even plus 4-5 I don’t think it’s real basshead, but yeah, maybe close. Sort of still feels similar to the 64 Nio or U12T with M15 module territory.

564

There is also the chance I’m not getting a good fit or deep enough fit to be getting their full amount of bass. So may play a part.