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ULDE?

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Ash View Drop Down
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    Posted: 12 Apr 2020 at 1:56pm
Digital vs vinyl isn't a one-sided victory. Some music is mastered better on vinyl and some is mastered better in digital. In an ideal world with no budget or space limits, you would use both and enjoy the better sounding rendition after comparing both. This isn't a viable option for most though. Same with headphones. Most people don't have the money/time/space to buy all the headphone models that have ever been produced and compare them all to find one that actually is high fidelity and ergonomically works for their style of listening. A few years back, I was actively trying to help others to take the guesswork out of headphone selection by picking what I liked and presenting it to others who shared the same listening objective.  But there is so much choice, high expense, a minefield of false information and discontinued parts/models basically unobtainable. Nowadays, it is probably less hassle to go to speakers for high fidelity. Graham Slee takes half the guesswork out of it with his fantastic Proprius monoblocks, which are a big but solid investment. After that, excellent speaker drivers are better value for money than top headphones thanks to affordable Mark Audio drivers and nearfield cardboard boxes. Probably the most sensible route for testing and learning. Digital EQ or DSP like the miniDSP 2x4HD would allow on-the-fly alteration of the frequency levels to optimise their sound in the listening room. Nearfield listening means the direct sound is dominant so reduced room signature imparted on the reproduction.

Much less cost than the $4000 MySphere 3.1 headphone, which is the only mega-buck headphone product that I trust to do the job it is marketed for and still requires good driving electronics.


Edited by Ash - 12 Apr 2020 at 2:34pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote dogrelata Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 Apr 2020 at 12:39pm
Thanks Ash.

I have to confess a lot of my listening is whilst sitting at my computer doing other things with music playing at low volumes in the background.  I must also confess that by the time another hour had passed from posting the above yesterday, I was starting to find the HD 650s a bit fatiguing.  When we return to WFH next week, I may plug them in again to see how they fare at even lower volumes.

One of the things I meant to mention yesterday was how the numerous changes made to the set up over the last 30 months has affected one important aspect of my digital listening experience, in particular the GSP components.

Since going fully digital a few years ago, I've found the digital equivalent of some LPs I used to own a bit dull and lifeless compared to the analogue versions.  That has slowly been changing during that time and the last holdouts are finally starting to sound like I remember them on LP, thanks to the ULDE. 
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Graham Slee View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Apr 2020 at 8:27pm
Originally posted by Ash Ash wrote:

I am not particularly intelligent...


Could have fooled me!

(stop being modest!)
That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Apr 2020 at 8:01pm
Agreed. Reading is fine but let always your ears decide what you like.

Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Apr 2020 at 7:58pm
I am not particularly intelligent and I don't actually know that much however on the subject of headphones, I know enough to get the job done and obtain a pleasing result. Your expectations and outlook mature when you emotionally engage with music; when you just listen for the sheer love of it .Keep an open mind and question the validity of claims made by others.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Fatmangolf Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Apr 2020 at 7:49pm
A wise investment and it shows how the whole system evolves. I agree with Ash about the benefits of extended listening and comaprisons of different amps and headphones. A few years ago I upgraded my Solo Ultralinear to the current ULDE spec and it works very well with all my headphones, which are just a fraction of the range Ash has tested.

Jon

Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ash Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 11 Apr 2020 at 7:41pm
A DAC/amp like the Bitzie was a very valuable tool for me from 2013-2014 because of its superb sound and dual headphone output. I could directly compare headphones side-by-side. If I still had my Bitzie and various vintage 300 Ohm Sennheiser models like HD 250, 540, 560, 600 and the more recent HD800 and if you and I could sit down together, listen to some great music, listen carefully and draw some comparisons between them, it would be quite apparent that the HD650 isn't actually very good. So with the ULDE, you are in for further wow moments when you substitute the HD650 with something that has better resolution and an even frequency emphasis. Transducer is the most important part of your equipment. I have plugged headphones into decent computer headphone outputs and listened to youtube music for many years and used that to judge headphone performance as well. With the same handicap, you can still draw comparisons between devices with extended and careful listening.
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