Friends and their History

Discussion in 'The Meeting Place' started by Case, Dec 23, 2017.

  1. Case

    Case Anxious Head (Formerly Wilson)

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    So I profile posted on how it would be interesting hear from the senior members about how they got started in the hobby and their journey especially, those ah ha moments. @Marvey said to start a post on it. I'm hoping for something like the old couples from When Harry Met Sally or the real members of Easy Company from Band of Brothers or just Mel Blanc.

    What I would like to know from the Imperial Guard (established Friends, the ones the rest of us rely on to get our bearings) are along the lines of:

    How did you get into headphones? When/ why did you decide to focus on equipment? If you are into measurements (of headphones...), how did that start? What were the Holy Sh*t and/or Ah Ha moments? Really important (for me) - how did you meet the other members of the Guard? Anything else fun and/or enlightening?
     
  2. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Some are born to headphones, some achieve headphones, and some have headphones thrust upon them.

    After a few years, and not unreasonably, my wife stopped saying, "I don't mind if you listen to your music in the night." Otherwise, frankly, I wouldn't be here.

    I was put off headphones many years ago, by the claustrophobic, world blocking feeling of closed-back 'phones. Other than doing the necessary world exclusion for commuting, I kept this point of view, which prevented me from even discovering the world of open-back phones --- until I had too

    I'm not a headphone-hobby buyer/seller/experimenter, but still, at my level of the market one can turn over headphones a lot quicker than speakers. Even though this whole thing was forced on me, I have still enjoyed my discoveries and experiences of 'phones over what has been just the last few years of my much longer life.

    So, I was dragged, kicking and screaming, into the world of headphones but now... I quite like it!

    :pirate07:
     
  3. Case

    Case Anxious Head (Formerly Wilson)

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    @Thad E Ginathom , thanks for posting! When and how did you start to like headphones? Have you met any Changstarians and/or Friends in person?
     
  4. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Well, given the change in wifely policy, I had to shop. With some advice from the internet, I auditioned and bought my Audia Technicas with wings. Super comfortable; I liked the sound.

    Blind, and with a lot of internet help, I then went for HD600, which took me a while to get used to, sort out some pre-amp inconsistencies, and then realise how good they are. There is a pair of HD800s on my desk, which were immediate hearing bliss, but they are still just-visiting.

    I can't remember how we came across each other, but I was sitting in a veggie restaurant with a guy called @Koth Ganesh, fairly well known among hifi folk here as being the city's headphone man. We were bemoaning the state of audio forums, and the amount of bull manure sloshing around them, especially one particular one which I had stopped posting on because I was not allowed to use the word audiophool. I asked him if he had ever heard of Changstar and, up until then, he hadn't.

    How I found Changstar, especially as I am hardly a hardliner headphoner, I don't remember. I spend most of my days browsing the web, sometimes standing up to see if my legs, and the car, will get me out to a concert. I say occasionally, but... I listen to far more live music than recorded music these days.
     
  5. Koth Ganesh

    Koth Ganesh Friend

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    Nick, we met through PMs in HF (in which I incorrectly guessed your nationality based on your avatar) and decided to meet at the veggie restaurant on the beach. Funnily, I was dressed in jeans and T-shirt; Mr Thad was in full South Indian attire ! That's when he mentioned CS. I came back and sent an email to Marv requesting to join. That was the easy part. The rougher part was a rude awakening about my headphones (Audez'e), my stat preferences etc by Anax. Hey, I survived...:D
     
  6. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Oh yes! I tend to forget headfi, although I should give it credit for some of my early headphone learning.

    Anax never knew me well enough to get to me, although he tried. He only managed irritating-11-year-old with me!
     
  7. Arun Kumar

    Arun Kumar Friend

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    A restaurant...Ooh fancy! The first time @Koth Ganesh and I met (a month and a half back?) it was in a parking lot :D
     
  8. Case

    Case Anxious Head (Formerly Wilson)

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    I've heard about Anax... steering clear. @Koth Ganesh, how did you arrive at Audeze? Was there time spent in Mid-Fi purgatory?
     
  9. Koth Ganesh

    Koth Ganesh Friend

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    I hate to rant on another forum but I was totally influenced in my early purchases by Head-fi. My first planar was the HE-400; however I hooked on to the Audez'e bandwagon pretty quickly. The first purchase was the LCD 2.2 (used). I liked it a lot but then sold it to a local here in India. Then went on a spree with the LCD-3 (not impressed, traded it for a Stax 009), LCX-XC (yuck and emphasized more forcibly by Marv and Anax :)), and the LCD-X (not half bad). However three driver failures across the X and the XC left me very chastened. Heck, I sold the X to @sorrodje on our forum and as soon as it reached him, a driver failed. So, yeah, a colorful history. And to think,all this time I had the HD 600, 650 and the 800 !
     
  10. Case

    Case Anxious Head (Formerly Wilson)

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    @Koth Ganesh, how did you decide that you wanted to do research on headphones? I made the mistake of looking at, in succession, Amazon and HF. Wasted plenty of time and money that way...
     
  11. Koth Ganesh

    Koth Ganesh Friend

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    The research part was really after joining CS. A very interesting thread there (and definitely here on SBAF) is one on dynamics versus electrostats. If memory serves me right, it was mostly between OJNeg and Milos. I was not doing much of critical listening before reading this. So I had quite a few aha moments. At the same time, just by the expedient act of throwing a lot of money on a whole bunch of headphones, I had managed to get a few right (like the Senns). The flip side is that I have way too many HPs I cannot sell in India because the hobby is not that well developed yet (and expensive).
     
  12. DigMe

    DigMe Friend

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    More like

    How this played out in my head -

    @Koth Ganesh arrives:

    [​IMG]





    Then @Thad E Ginathom shows up:

    [​IMG]
     
  13. Arun Kumar

    Arun Kumar Friend

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    South Indian style is more like this

    [​IMG]
     
  14. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    I wish we had a photo of the actual event!

    But I think we can go with what you guys have so far :)
     
  15. Arun Kumar

    Arun Kumar Friend

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    What we can do is to have a Chennai meetup and take pictures :). But of course, I digress from the point of this thread.
     
  16. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    We encountered each other on Royapettah High Road once. ISTR he was looking for a pharmacy.

    Originally I was going to buy a Gungnir off him, but, the more I tried to like it (it was real Schiit, right, and it had all the inputs and outputs I wanted in a DAC) the less I actually did.

    Yes, we can, and should do that. Let't talk about it late January, after I've recovered from The Season*


    *A massive explosion of hundreds of classical-Indian-music concerts that starts here some time in December and ends some time in January.
     
  17. Arun Kumar

    Arun Kumar Friend

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    Incidentally my office is pretty close to Koth's house. So we get to meet often.
     
  18. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Right. That's us done. :D


    Next please!

    \/
     
  19. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    @sfoclt , how's the USB out quality on that thing?
     
  20. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    can you two please report on the best findings of indian food near this location?
    am hoping someone's grandmother or father have influenced local kitchens.
    this is a critical data point so I can choose a retirement home and live near by one glorious day.
     

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