Have you tried the Blue Ella closed-back headphones? Interesting set - made more-so seeing them discounted 50% or more …
rolex vs a timex is not in any way analogous to lossy to lossless…
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They have a built-in amp?
BTW, welcome to the community Monty!
Yes - the Blue Ella have a built-in amp. They also work fine with the amp turned off using a suitable input (MacBook Pro seems to drive it well enough).
Not clear if the onboard amp adjusts the EQ. Been tricky to find any measurements on them so was curious if @Resolve had an opinion.
I agree. The availability of supply is unlikely to change mass market demand and consumption behaviors here. The mass market cares about convenience and cost for consuming tracks, not hi-res albums, especially in a down economy.
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It’s also true that Spotify could launch in a moment’s notice. Bandwidth makes up a real cost line for a company that is still just about breakeven (they lost <$50m on ~$3b in revenue last year; so they’re choosing to invest & lose money instead of being profitable because the market will let them). They could be profitable at a moment’s notice by making cuts. But with subscribers growing as fast as they still are, it seems a little crazy to add a measurable (even if not very meaningful) amount to their cost structure. Because you can be darn sure that once they give it to all these consumers who aren’t clamoring for it, they won’t be able to take it away.
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Added:
- Moondrop Venus
- Raal CA-1a
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As a paying bundle subscriber, I am standing by for them to finally follow through.
Not to mention their shareholders.
As applied to the mass market, I tend to think this will happen only if not premium priced. They will pursue the cheapest “good enough.”
Why is that? Both tell time. Both lossy and lossless play streaming music.
High-end watch makers want you to believe that their timepieces are more accurate than mass-market watches. What are we talking, tenths of a second or a second per month?
High-res streaming audio services want you to believe their music sounds better than lossy music. It does to me, but only with high-end gear.
Most people can’t tell the difference between lossy and lossless sound, so, like with high-end watches, you may be paying for the placebo or “prestige” effect.
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I think it’s that he’s questioning the idea of lossy time.
Perhaps
Time Lost ≠ Lossy Time
How can I be sure my time is continuous and not a discreet function with a high sample rate? I read that in classical and quantum mechanics, time is treated as continuous. But this gets quickly too zip-headed for me: universe - Is time continuous or discrete? - Physics Stack Exchange
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Sorry, dude: You lost me. 
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Lossy vs lossless is not equivalent to Timex vs Rolex. The watches both measure time in the same way, albeit with differences in quality and material. Lossy is qualitatively different than lossless.
I was being my usual absurdist self by taking the opposite view to extremes. Wondering what was left out of time measured on a Timex.
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I didn’t notice it with that one but I didn’t notice it with the hifimans either, so I think that may be down to a coupling thing.
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New to everything as of like a month ago, trying to digest all the information I have learned, especially from you, so thank you.
I just purchased the Anandas last week, great headphone and I would like a warmer companion thats under $1000 for r&b, soul, oldies but goodies, etc.
I was watching the first half of your 2+ hour Meze 109 Pro video last night and someone asked if they were warm and you suggested LCD-2F. They look great to me but worry about the heaviness.
If you are EQ’ing, couldn’t any headphone be warm?
Thank you
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Question is whether the driver can handle enough EQ to make the tuning warm without distortion. It’s much better to buy a headphone with the tuning – or at least close to it – that you desire.
EQ should be like fine-grain sandpaper to smooth rough edges, not a rip saw or belt sander.
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Ahhh okay, thank you, that makes sense. Besides LCD-2F, I will be checking them out to see how heavy they are soon.
Would you suggest anything thats warm or could adequately EQ-able to warm thats open-back?
Resolves list was very help but my options do not seem to be plentiful to complement the Anandas.
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What are you planning on pairing them with? And what are you looking for in the warmer headphones? A nice midrange? A solid amount of low end? Based on the music mentioned I’d guess mids?
Pairing them with the Zen Stack (IFI Dac/Amp and Zen Can) I just purchased the Zen Can(amp) so I could still return it if need be.
Yes I care mostly about the midrange, everything you said is spot on.
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It can be a little polarizing but have you thought about hd650? Great mids and it’s warmer. Another option is the radiance. I really like them with just about any genre. Also I’m a fan of my lcd 2.2 PF (haven’t heard the fazor lcd2) tho I think the radiance will have a little more clarity for the music you mentioned. And some planars like a little more current so keep that in mind. They may get loud but dynamics may lack some and can come off a little compressed (not always tho). DCA Noire is solid too from what I hear, tho more neutral.
Does it need to be a planar? How much you looking to spend?
The Sennheiser/Drop HD 6XX would be a nice compliment to the Ananda, as @Rhodey said. Smooth treble and just about the best damn mids in the business, and it’s only $220 new. Very narrow soundstage and three-blob imaging, though. Sound seems to come from the sides and front – not much of a 360-degree sense of sound.
Another option is the Audeze LCD-2C. Again, like the HD 6XX, it has relaxed treble. Some might even say blunted, but I say relaxed. Better soundstage and imaging than the HD 6XX, with rich bass and sub-bass that is pretty focused and doesn’t bleed into the mids. Forward mids that can get a smidge shouty on some tracks.
Negatives to the LCD-2C are that it’s $800-ish and heavy. More than three times the cost of the HD 6XX and probably double the weight. Impeccable construction, though. Built like tanks.
In summary, the HD 6XX sounds great with just about everything, especially mids-focused music like vocals, strings, acoustic. The LCD-2C is a GREAT rock headphone because of its rich, impactful bass and forward mids, along with a rolled-off treble that removes the bite from poorly mastered tracks or tracks infected by the “loudness wars” that ravage so many studios these days.
P.S.: Welcome to the community, @Rynos. Always good to have fresh blood!