I posted a picture of a portable headphone dac/amp on the “picture of a random thing in your house” thread, and it occurred to me that this might actually make a pretty good thread.
So, calling all audiophiles, musicians, and the average person who just enjoys a good tune: Let’s talk shop and show pictures of our favorite audio toys.
Edit: I’d love to see what people use to listen to music, no matter how cheap or expensive. How important is music to you in your life? What kind of equipment do you use? Do you still have cassette tapes, CDs, and/or records? This is the thread to share all, not just specialty equipment.
Personally, I preferred the blue color of the original hipdac, but the burnt orange is okay too. New chip set; allows for MQA decoding. I like that it has a button for extra power output and also a bass boost button. I’m not a huge bass head, but some headphones just need a little extra something sometimes and I like having the option.
I’ve been considering a portable dac/amp that has wifi. Anyone here have opinions on the current offerings on the market?
Okay that’s pretty amazing. I’ve never seen one of those in person. How does it work? Do you have a lot of… are they called ‘reels’? The tape for the audio? How’d you get your hands on that beast?
I love it! it’s just like a cassette player, just a little bigger. I’ve got a bunch of reels. a lot of classical and oldies. I play it on lazy Sundays or when I’m in the mood for deep cleaning my apartment, which is not often hah. I got it at a flea market.
@les I love that! Would you be willing to share a picture of some of the reels? I love older audio stuff.
@Eke that’s a real bummer that it got added the year after. What does the “android update” let you do? My car is a 2014 and the electronic radio system is fairly mundane. It let’s me connect my phone with wifi for calls/texts and I can play music through my phone, but that’s about it. It still has a CD player, and I keep a book of CDs in my car.
@Salty it does look like a flask, doesn’t it!! it’s actually a cool little device. You plug in your phone, or other audio player, and also your headphones, and it boosts power to the headphones (because different headphones require a different amount of power to run their best, especially more expensive ones) and it also helps the conversion process of the music from digital to analog (which is called a DAC) for better listening. All electronics that allow audio have a DAC built in (because that is what allows you to hear the files) but they’re not always very good. So, in general, it improves the sound quality of what you’re listening to. Instead of liquid escape it has musical escape
The existing head unit and software have a touch screen for some semi smart stuff. Chevy was trying to do own their own kind of app store briefly for using phone-connected apps on screen. And for controlling the radio, Bluetooth music, seeing Onstar nav, etc.
I didn’t notice it didn’t have a CD player till I left the lot! Mistook a slot in the trim panel (dammit).
But the update/hack might let me use normal Android Auto. Where you just connect a phone and the interface comes up on the car screen with nav and music and stuff. In principle by loading some software and adding a USB dongle.
I’ve had that in rental cars and it’s a way better interface than what I got. Or Chevy’s clunky older stuff.
No CD player?? Well, to be fair, I think a lot of new vehicles aren’t putting them in, but I like having it.
Oh man… Chevy just needs to stick to making vehicles and leave the app stuff to other people. Well, good luck. Come back and tell us how it worked out. Easily accessible music in my car is a must. I don’t think that’s really the place you want it to be difficult.
Yeah, I miss popping in a CD. Even have some old road mixes.
And so far nope! Didn’t work. Found a dongle, but the software to connect it isn’t officially compiled for the processor in my head unit. Fudge. Not quite done trying but not optimistic.
Looked at some fancy receiver upgrades on Crutchfield. But apparently the harness adapter doesn’t support XM radio? Or they just don’t have XM receivers? Is that a thing? Boo.
I bought this cute little controller a few months back and then have had no time to mix tracks. Hoping this fall when the weather is crappier I will be home more. It should be fun to play with.
@Soberbilly Sounds like you have a nice set up. I have a Pyle receiver and it’s crap. Totally a bad call on my part, but I haven’t decided I hate it enough to replace it yet. How do you like your Onkyo?
I have a Pro-ject player and a Cambridge Audio preamp. I don’t play vinyl as much as I might if I didn’t share walls on both sides of where I live. Growing up in apartment living has made me paranoid of infringing on my neighbors with my music, so I’ve invested heavily in headphone listening. I know I could listen to the vinyl via headphones, but at that point I’d rather bring out a CD or high quality digital file.
@Eke Sorry to hear it didn’t work out. Can you just get the whole thing pulled out and replaced? That’s probably the more extreme solution though…
@Its_me_Stella Now that looks like a fun toy! Have you done much music mixing in the past?
Thiel made beautiful speakers, both in sound quality and design. Really classic. I don’t blame you for holding on to them all this time. I honestly didn’t invest a whole lot into the Sonys I have set up. I like Sony and they sound good enough. Even if I wasn’t concerned about bothering my neighbors, I really just don’t have a very optimal space for the sound.
Which Bowers & Wilkins do you have?
Headphones are definitely one of the holes I throw my money down. Skullcandy, Bose, Sony, Hifiman, Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, etc. Just about everything is wired for better sound. I don’t use the wireless Bose QC 45 for music (because the sound quality just isn’t there, in my opinion), but they’re fantastic for audio books, podcasts, etc., when I need to keep the sound down.
If you are in the market for IEMs, I will say that the Timeless 7HZ are awesome. Most planar IEMs suck, but these ones are fantastic. I almost feel like the price is a steal for the sound quality you get. I like some good bass and these really do the job. The only thing I don’t much like is the weird large disk shape of the outer side of the ear pieces.
Do you use an external DAC and/or amp when you use your iPod?
Oh man…I remember those. I had a friend as a kid, whose Dad was a huge audiophile. He spent some money on his system and had the best equipment he could afford. He had a r2r just like that, as well as a very nice turn table. Bonus was he was a huge Pink Floyd fan. The first time I heard Dark Side of The Moon was during a sleep over. His Dad through it on and we laid in the middle of the floor just bathed in sound.
Both my kids have been bitten by the “Retro is Better” bug. My son is all about music on vinyl and my daughter eschews contemporary music for 80’s and 90’s styles. Both have told me I need to get back to analog, because it’s better.
I have to explain that because I wear hearing aids, everything I hear is digital. Yes, my memory of analog music is fond, but it will be just a memory
Dont consider myself an audiophile but, after listening to anything through bowers and wilkins speakers and headphones, i appreciate high end audio equipment!
I need to get out more.
And for controlling the radio, Bluetooth music, seeing Onstar nav, etc.
Well, to be fair, I think a lot of new vehicles aren’t putting them in, but I like having it.
