audiophiles? ^%*&!% i think i'm addicted!

[NewSc2]

in the past 9 months, i've spent about $1900 on audio equipment, and in the next couple months, adding an HDTV and a DVD player, probably a center channel too. (i just got a job)

...and i'm a freshman in college. i barely have enough for rent and bills and groceries...

oh well here's the $1900:

Sennheiser HD580's $130 (love em)
VideoLogic Digitheatre DTS $340 (not much used anymore cuz of ----->
Swan Diva 4.1, R3 ~$900 (wonderful speakers, i spend about 4-5 hours listening to music and posting on AT nowadays)
Denon 1802 $320 (necessary item)
+ miscellaneous: speaker cable, interconnects, etc.

yep those are all in my bedroom

How many other audio freaks are there on here and how to cure this disease, I'd rather spend money elsewhere.. like i could instead be.. (getting a better amp, dedicated headphone amp, more CDs, SVS subwoofer)... ^@$$!

Oh well, Tiberius around here on AT got me onto avsforum where i then spent $1200 on the speakers/receiver, and i *had* to update everybody here about my purchase, and here it is:

they sound GREAT. my friends come over just to pop in their CDs and kick back. (a stocked beer fridge is always a plus for friends too i guess). Halo sounds great on the speakers, and every day all i do is browse hometheaterforum and avsforum (and sometimes head-fi) for good deals and tweaks. I should be studying @$*&!

any help would be appreciated. and no i don't think it'd help me by "donating" the equipment out



Edit: god how time flies.. i'm a sophomore now, not a freshman

 

[Darien]

and no i don't think it'd help me by "donating" the equipment out

Who said anything about donate?

Give 'em to me if you have problems studying -- I'll make good use of 'em

 

[Kerouactivist]

Thanks to NewSc2 the addiction is spreading I'm going to get a set of nice headphones, HEHE

Now if I could only make up my mind on what to get.

I've narrowed it down to basically grados 80-325
and the Sennheiser 580's and 590's.

Man it sucks when you have no good music stores around, to try these things out.

For those of you thinking about making the leap into quality headphones
I think that this Link is a good one just for a real quick idea of things

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: bthorny
Thanks to NewSc2 the addiction is spreading I'm going to get a set of nice headphones, HEHE

Now if I could only make up my mind on what to get.

I've narrowed it down to basically grados 80-325
and the Sennheiser 580's and 590's.

Man it sucks when you have no good music stores around, to try these things out.

omg what have i done

have you checked out www.headphone.com? (home of headroom). they give you a free 30-day trial of any headphones (+S&H). It was suggested to me to get a cheap amp from there, a pair of grados, and a couple pairs of sennheisers, and return whichever ones i didn't want. I didn't go that route, just deciding on the HD580's.

i took a blind jump into the HD580's and i seriously don't regret it. Buyers remorse is probably the #1 thing to avoid in this hobby, because everybody's always upgrading and wasting money in selling their used items. ahh i remember when i first got my HD580's. It produced the best sounds i had ever heard up until then, period.

 

[NewSc2]

I've narrowed it down to basically grados 80-325 and the Sennheiser 580's and 590's

The difference is probably minimal there between the headphones you have. Audio quality will be great, and if you've decided on those, you might wanna start honing in other factors (i.e. comfort, durability)

for the record, i've sat on my sennheisers, stepped on them a few times, probably dropped them every so often, and they still sound great (and if i ever try to sell them for the HD600's then i was just kidding about the damage i've done to it )

 

[Kerouactivist]

That sounds like a great idea, I may try it,
<----- Trys not to go to crazy, like order 20 sets hehe

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: bthorny
That sounds like a great idea, I may try it,
<----- Trys not to go to crazy, like order 20 pairs hehe

altho a second look... headroom it is on the more expensive side (great guides to headphones though)

if you lived any closer to SoCal (missouri is way out there) i would be glad to let you try my headphones out. maybe you can look around to see who has what around your area.



Edit: all this talk about headphones is making me hungry for upgrading my headphones (cable, source, amp)... argh this isn't helping me!

 

[DanTMWTMP]

i wanna watch lakers in a big screen TV w/ booming sound... <=( lucky u ahhahaha nice job what job?...i only get paid about 11 an hour....ahaha....

nice rack aha

 

[Shockwave]

Yay for you, you can list a price beside every peice of equipment you own.

Anyways, i think i may have to get those Etymotic's, I've heard alot of good about them. Also heard they were about the only thing that works on a plane.

 

[NewSc2]

dude, i don't even have a job yet! (i just got a job, so that's why i'll be buying the TV)

parents are doing very well these days so they pay for everything, and i made a couple grand over the summer that is nonexistent anymore because of the speakers. i'm in a bit of CC debt, but nothing a few months will pay off. good thing i don't got a gf anymore.

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: Shockwave
Yay for you, you can list a price beside every peice of equipment you own.

Anyways, i think i may have to get those Etymotic's, I've heard alot of good about them. Also heard they were about the only thing that works on a plane.

tell me how the etymotics are - people don't really like the HD580's in a library (even though i myself can barely hear the music )

 

[GoingUp]

Good thing I'm deaf so I don't have to worry about speakers.

 

[Shockwave]

Originally posted by: NewSc2

Originally posted by: Shockwave
Yay for you, you can list a price beside every peice of equipment you own.

Anyways, i think i may have to get those Etymotic's, I've heard alot of good about them. Also heard they were about the only thing that works on a plane.

tell me how the etymotics are - people don't really like the HD580's in a library (even though i myself can barely hear the music )

I would love to! But I havent tried them yet, thus the I think i may.... Not Guess what I got!

Anyways, I kinda asked a similiar quesiton in regards to which 'phones to get...I'll link it so you can flip through it.....

Here ya go!

 

[Shockwave]

Oh, and SC, I was just bustin your round ones about postin the price. Not something you usually see someone do when t-phey list their equipment...

Anyways, if you wanna check out some other good options, read this thread, its another one on Car sound.

Car sound forums are some of the best I have found anywhere in regards to audio.

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: Shockwave

Originally posted by: NewSc2

Originally posted by: Shockwave
Yay for you, you can list a price beside every peice of equipment you own.

Anyways, i think i may have to get those Etymotic's, I've heard alot of good about them. Also heard they were about the only thing that works on a plane.

tell me how the etymotics are - people don't really like the HD580's in a library (even though i myself can barely hear the music )

I would love to! But I havent tried them yet, thus the I think i may.... Not Guess what I got!

Anyways, I kinda asked a similiar quesiton in regards to which 'phones to get...I'll link it so you can flip through it.....

Here ya go!

hehe you may wanna check out head-fi forums for their FS/FT forum if you ever do decide to purchase the Etymotics. I would have recommended it if you still were looking for headphones, but basically you'll always get the same responses. Grado, Sennheiser, Etymotic, + amp.

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: Shockwave
Oh, and SC, I was just bustin your round ones about postin the price. Not something you usually see someone do when t-phey list their equipment...

Anyways, if you wanna check out some other good options, read this thread, its another one on Car sound.

Car sound forums are some of the best I have found anywhere in regards to audio.

heh the posting price may have been a bit too much, but people wonder why i'm in CC debt and i just gotta spout numbers every once in a while. Really good responses in those car sound forums btw - same responses you'd get at a lotta other places, except with less snooty audiophile discussion. If you ever wanna check out any other places, try out
AVS Forum or Home Theater Forum. They might all sound elitist with their $10k setups, but a few are very concerned about keeping the prices low. Plus really good DIY sections in here and it's a good springboard to other places.

 

[Shockwave]

Cool, I'll check those links out! Ya, I really hate snobs, they think their somehow superior because they have so much money in their audio equipment. RC (Richard Clark) has an amp test (For car amps, not home) saying if you can hear a difference between two amps (and YOU choose the brand) he will give you 10,000. NO ONE has won it. Ever. So, when people tell me stupid crap like cables make a difference in sound, i kinda get a bit suspicious and think maybe they just try to defend their expensive purchase. But hey, what do I know

Anyways, theres alot more in the amp challenge then just "Hear the difference, win 10 grand" They normalize each amp so it bypasses X-O's and what not. Basically, the point is a watt is a watt, and all amps produce them the same.

But, its not my money, so people can spend it as they see fit. I look for good speakers and good equipment, cables, eh, copper is copper.

And the Car Sound forum has some of the best in the car audio industry. Dan Wiggins from Adire )owner) Manville from JL (VP of advertisement or something) a Kicker spokesman, a very experienced PG installer, and alot of other very knoweldgably people who are generaly pretty nice and down to earth, which is why I like it so much.

Anyways, off to check those links you gave me!

Happy listening fellow Audio Freak! (I'm a car audio freak, not home, but we share the same goals right? Mines just portable so its better )

 

[Kerouactivist]

Still sweating the Grados/sennheiser decision i may have to take a road trip so I can hear these babies in action somewhere before I invest a bunch of money.

 

[blahblah99]

well lets see, in comparision, I'm going to spend:

$600 - 6.5" front component speakers for my car. Not sure which brand yet, new or used, but its going to be competition level.
$400 - 4-channel precision power amplifier.
$300 - 6.5" coaxial speakers for the rear.
$400 - head unit, USED.
$300 - a JL sub, dual voice coil.
$400 - 2ch amplifier, dunno which one yet.

There you go, about $2,400 for a sound system that goes in my car. Not including miscellaneous stuff that I'll be getting like fuse holders, cabling, dynamat, etc etc. Not including labor also.

As for my home theatre, I have a cheapo Pioneer dts receiver with infinity towers in the front, and some bookshelf speakers in the rear, and a yamaha center channel. I also have a toshiba dvd player, an apex dvd player, two vcrs, and an old dedicated two channel amp for my two 12" subs.

EDIT: Also, the deal with picking the difference between the two amps based on what you hear is quite common. There's this test called the ABX tester in which two amps are set up identically, and the box switches between the two amp. The listener gets to listen to X, and then gets to switch between A and B and picks which one sounds like X. This trial is ran about 10-15 times and from what my manager told me, no one has been able to get a 90% on that test. The point is unless the amp is very poorly designed, the listener is not going to be able to tell the difference at regular listening levels. Only at higher output levels will the difference become more obvious (due to amp clipping, etc)

 

[ElFenix]

mmm stereo

 

[TNTrulez]

Originally posted by: blahblah99
well lets see, in comparision, I'm going to spend:

$600 - 6.5" front component speakers for my car. Not sure which brand yet, new or used, but its going to be competition level.
$400 - 4-channel precision power amplifier.
$300 - 6.5" coaxial speakers for the rear.
$400 - head unit, USED.
$300 - a JL sub, dual voice coil.
$400 - 2ch amplifier, dunno which one yet.

There you go, about $2,400 for a sound system that goes in my car. Not including miscellaneous stuff that I'll be getting like fuse holders, cabling, dynamat, etc etc. Not including labor also.

As for my home theatre, I have a cheapo Pioneer dts receiver with infinity towers in the front, and some bookshelf speakers in the rear, and a yamaha center channel. I also have a toshiba dvd player, an apex dvd player, two vcrs, and an old dedicated two channel amp for my two 12" subs.

EDIT: Also, the deal with picking the difference between the two amps based on what you hear is quite common. There's this test called the ABX tester in which two amps are set up identically, and the box switches between the two amp. The listener gets to listen to X, and then gets to switch between A and B and picks which one sounds like X. This trial is ran about 10-15 times and from what my manager told me, no one has been able to get a 90% on that test. The point is unless the amp is very poorly designed, the listener is not going to be able to tell the difference at regular listening levels. Only at higher output levels will the difference become more obvious (due to amp clipping, etc)

And then your car gets jacked for its audio equipment. Ouch! Happened to my friend 3 times already.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

Heheh I have Swan Diva 2.1s and a TBSC .

 

[virtuamike]

I just bought a pair of Koss Pro-4AAs, been breaking em in all week, they're finally sounding nice (but my neck is damn sore, these things are heavy!!!). Decided I wanted a closed design, I didn't want distractions. The Grado's sounded nice but I wanted to be different, don't see too many people buying Pro-4AAs.

I run Energy in my living room (C2, AC-300, Take-2 rears, EXL-S12) w/ a Yamaha 595A, the receiver could use an upgrade but I'm lazy, besides I can't ever find a used Outlaw 1050 for a good price. Plus I keep saying that I'll upgrade subs for an Adire Rava but my neighbors complain enough as it is, an Adire for the apt would be overkill.

Best way to cure the disease is to buy until you're happy, when you run out of things to buy then you'll eventually stop

 

[sobriquet]

I know how you feel. I'm starting to put together a (not so) hi-fi system, though only for music (not for DVDs and whatnot). The first component I'm buying is a turntable. I've got way too many LPs just sitting in my closet right now. Past that, I'm looking for a solid 2-channel amp (I'd love to have a NAD 3240PE if I can find one, they sound amazing). As far as speakers, I initially set a budget of $600, but I'll probably end up getting something for quite a bit less. The KEF Cresta2 bookshelf speaker sounds fantastic, and a pair can be had for around $200, so I might just get those with a sub. I have a lot of plans for components and whatnot, but my bank account is far from able to comply.

 

[NewSc2]

Originally posted by: Jellomancer
Heheh I have Swan Diva 2.1s and a TBSC .

Sadly, I haven't had much to compare the Swans to yet, but I've just been going along with popular opinion at AVSForum. (not to say i don't like the swans, they're very detailed and light)