Hello and welcome @iamgarffi and @PastorOfMuppets.
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@prfallon69 I just wanted to say thank you for always doing an incredible job welcoming all of our new members! Welcome to all our new members, letās talk Audio!
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Hello! I think I forgot to introduce myself here, sorry for not doing that first. Iām mostly here because Iām upgrading my listening setups to get ready to record a new round of my own original music, based on vintage analog synths, my primary geeky musical passion, recording stuff thatās like Pink Floyd meets John Carpenter.
In the past I was under the impression that doing this on headphones was a āvery bad ideaā, so I avoided it, but headphone technology has changed, software has become available, etc. Iām moving back to nyc shortly, and most of the time I get to work on my music aside from my day job is at night, so if I could mix in headphone, thatād be super useful.
In the past Iāve used pretty standard stuff for tracking when I record, like Sennhesier HD280, but did mixing on my Neumann KH120a monitors through Focusrite 6i6 ADC/DAC.
For this next album though, Iām upgrading from front to back. 5 acoustimac 2 inch thick panels for treble reflelctions, 4 GIK 5 inch panel corner bass traps. Planning to upgrade monitors, most likely to ATC SCM20asl or SCM25a, Burl Bomber B2 ADC, not sure yet on DAC.
Still trying to figure out just how much of a role headphones will play in mixing for me going forward. Iāve currently got here my two top contenders: Raal sr1a w/Jotunheim R and HEDD Heddphones with JDS Atom (which is enough power when sourced from the headphone out on my interface), and upgrading my tools for listening to reference tracks, including Goodhertz Canopener software, Tidal trial subscription, SoundSource, etc. Iām just getting used to these, trying to decide which works better for this, and whether I can do my main mixing on cans, or still shouldnāt rely on these as much as monitors (in which case I wouldnāt keep the priciest stuff).
All of this has also made me interested in the opposite end of the spectrum, headphones for pure pleasure listening, that are designed to produce the warmest and most enjoyable listening experience possible rather than the most accurate. After all, if I primarily use reference tools, sometimes Iām going to just want to enjoy!
This has me curious about ācontroversialā headphones that put enjoyment first (what a crazy idea?!), stuff like Audioquest Nighthawk/Nightowl, or stuff that mixes accuracy with lusciousness, which is what I hear about stuff like ZMFās higher end stuff, Audeze LCD2c, or much of the ZMF line. A lot of biocellulose driver type stuff.
Luckily I have a day job, which both keeps me away from recording too much of my own music, but does make it possible to invest in tools that I can use as time allows, and some just for fun stuff as well.
As a long time community member fromthepuggle on Gearslutz (which can be a nasty place at times), and long ago a member of the UC Berkeley coops (a very welcoming and supportive student cooperative for housing), Iām all for a communal ethos of mutual support, with my role in that treating everyone with respect and civility, no matter how nasty or condescending they get to you. Anonymity should not be an excuse for being rude, and people from diverse backgrounds and walks of life all need to feel welcome in a place like this, something I very much want to help contribute to.
Well, thatās me.
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Welcome aboard.
You may find this thread interesting as itās an engineerās search for headphones suitable for mixing.
An audio engineerās quest for reference headphonesā¦ Pt. 1
He ends up with Focal Clear which is also among the favorites here for listening enjoyment.
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Greetings from Mill Creek, WA (just north of Seattle). Iām newer to the headphone hobby and really enjoying all the lively discussions here.
Hoping to learn from everyone and contribute as I go down the rabbit hole.
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Greetings to you @anon36506748, just watch out for the Cheshire cats, and most especially the Queen of Hearts.
And welcome all of you new members since the last time I posted here. Thank @anon36506748 for dangling an Alice in Wonderland reference that I just canāt resist. 
(then fading away)
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Welcome to this weeks new members, enjoy !
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Welcome to this weeks new members.
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Thanks, itās fun to be learning at 80.
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welcome to the community
@iamgarffi , @PastorOfMuppets , @chris962x , @chris962x , @anon36506748, @JM1959 , @mauaudio, @OldAudioGuy and @EWIPAUL
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Thanks. I am learning.
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Thank you! Learning a lot from the community.
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Hi everyone,
Iām Paul, originally from the UK, but have been in NZ for the last nearly 10 years. I first became aware of the potential of personal audio when I bought a Creative Zen Micro and Etymotic ER6is in the early 2000s, but Iāve only really got into it as a hobby in the last 10-12 months (lockdown being a major catalyst).
In order of acquisition, my current headphones are the original Sennheiser Momentum, Oppo PM-3, Oppo PM-2, Focal Clear Professional and Oppo PM-1. The PM-1s sound the best to me most often, so I think itās safe to say that my tastes lean towards warm, dark, intimate planars, but there are days (or times of day) that the Clears hit the spot.
My living room setup is an LG G8 streaming Tidal HiFi into a Schiit Magni 3+ or a JDS Labs El Amp II. My desktop setup is my MacBook Pro streaming Tidal into the AK 4493 version of the RME ADI-2 FS. If Iām not using the internal amp, this feeds a THX 789.
Iām neither an objectivist nor subjectivist: I believe there are real and meaningful differences (in descending order) between headphones, amps and DACs. However, my personal experience has been that psychoacoustic factors are unstable and unpredictable in both the short- and long-term, and I therefore need repeat exposure to audio equipment over a long period of time before my opinions settle.
Iāve been lurking on the forum for about 6 months and have found it to be unusually civil and informative, and have now reached a point where I feel I might have something worthwhile to contribute.
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Welcome to the community! You have some excellent gear. Iām sure whatever you have to say is fine as all sorts of view points often mesh smoothly here. No witch hunts. 
Iāve grown to accept there are very real audible differences between gear. Sometimes to the point certain headphones sound completely new to me, and skepticism on product reviews has only lowered over time. My favorite stuff comes from Schiit and Feliks at the moment.
If you like warmth, maybe check out some of the ZMF dynamics like the Aeolus or Atticus.
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hi all. thanks. i should have gotten into this hobby a long time ago. long time music nerd, but spent too much on mediocre āchi-fiā (i hate that term) since losing the multiple CX300s I had when I was running a lot. i think amazon music hd is bringing an influx of people into a community like this including myself - the ease and $ of streaming CD and better quality and wanting to take advantage.
Thus far I have a Topping NX4, Fiio BTR5, iFi zen DAC, and a magni 3/modi 3 stack. Looking to get a bifrost and modius probably next year. i have an old mdr-v6, he4xx, hd6xx, and meze 99 noir. amazed at all the differences and need to take the time to play with all of the differences. and a few iems for travel - er2xr and fiio fh3.
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