Stuff Jones

Answer: Could be. It couldn't hurt to disinfect tips/shells before/after use.
Depending on the infection, consider also the sinuses. You, yes you, have a sinus behind your ears.

I clean/dry my ears after i shower with a piece of paper towel. Using iems every day and so far no problems.

IEMs make your ears sweat and summer helps dry up the sweat. Winter months don’t and the sweat build up is a breeding place for bacteria, and overtime results in a bacterial infection.

Basically it would count as 1 tracks played to completion following random track selection, and count as 0 tracks not played to completion following random. The tracks would be scored by summation over time. (2/n)

This would avoid the ruts you can get into where you choose albums or tracks non randomly based on incomplete memory of preferences that becomes increasingly incomplete as your library expands. (3/3)

nm

Thank-you! added to my CD acquisition list.

Do it!

And we can make a drummer thread where we call the guitarists primadonas, and the bassists, well they just stay home and drink!

I used to work for Gibson, does that count?

@Woland that youtube link is blocked for me, but this works: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbMNtYhavU4


Speaking of opening up paths, I read the comments while first listening to that Schubert piece on YT and was led to this great movie in which the piece features memorably -- https://www.criterion.com/films/455-au-hasard-balthazar

A couple of decades back, I was enamored by the Schubert impromptus, so went to a cd store and listened to a dozen versions. The Edwin Fischer was a standout because there were moments that were so striking and powerful in his performance, but gentle and inoffensive in the others. Uchida does something similar in this recording.

I've downloaded au hasard Balthazar and will loop back.. thanks!

$2.5k used Amps and Sound amp, 600 used Schiit BF2, $1k Omega speakers, $250 HD650. remainder for cables and tubes.

and while I don’t know enough to spec a system, I imagine I could be satisfied with a high end DAP and a hybrid IEM for right around 5k.

I'd get a used pair of Klipsch Forte or Cornwall and a decent tube integrated. That could be done for between $3000-4000. The rest... maybe a Bifrost 2, a Jotunheim 2, and a pair of HD600. IEM... maybe JVC FDX1. But I'd definitely spend the majority of that sum on 2channel. Transport would be a Pi2AES, an UltraRendu, or a Bluesound Node 2i.

Wish there was a single DD iem, that didn't have weird FR problems. fingers crossed for the Dunu Zen pro

@Cellist88 - To me they don't sound weirder frequency wise than say the OG Andros and their sucked out lower mids or the OG Solaris and their sucked out upper mids. Then you have the Blessing 2 Dusk, which is fine but a little thin in the lower mids and the treble falls off. I guess my point is that I don't FQ quirks are unique to DDs.

@EagleWings - Just wanted to update you on those upper mids. I'm listening louder now in public and I do hear them a bit on some tracks. They're also a bit thin, which can make them sharp sounding.

Get unobtanium stuff while you can, things to get later can be bought later. I try to not buy gear I won't use immediately, 250£ monthly fun allowance to be used as I see fit, doesn't always work out.

Remember to take into account: The cost of your other hobbies and hobbies your wife has that you pay for. And spend a lot more on music—especially concerts, if possible—than on equipment.

If audio spending is deleterious to enjoyment of life in other hobbies/basic necessities, you're spending too much. I'm more of with @Jinxy245; depends if I'm willing to save up (another note though; I absolutely refuse to deal with $$$$$ tubes). Nothing wrong with saving up if you know what you're getting into.

My speaker setup is neutral DAC and speaker with a tube amp in the middle to dial in the right amount of warmth.

I'm more 2). front of chain more revealing, tune to your liking downstream.

The best option is to listen to whatever you think is the best way forward. Preference + synergy reigns surpreme. Unfortunately this means lots of auditioning

i can imagine the comments, “While lacking in bass, Brood X has overwhelming treble presence and off-putting timbre.’

I'm leaving it on DAC mode. It does charge in DAC mode, but I'm not sure what it does when it's fully charged.

Why would a manufacturer offer USB DAC mode if its bad for the battery?

Again, it depends on the design. Some manufacturers throw shit into their feature set expecting most people won’t use it that way or will only use it rarely, therefore it’s a non issue if a few people have some batteries die prematurely. If the manufacturer is worth its salt however and designed it properly, it will be designed to be reliable in all modes of operation.

ZX300 has a battery saver 80% mode. If your DAP does, it's prolly ok. But if it always charges to 100%, not so good for the battery.

Shorter means a lower probability for interference, right?

They're not amazingly shielded and the power and signal cables are snuggling up real close, so the power gets dirtier the longer the cable even before you add other nearby cables.

The audio signal doesn't degrade like analog though, since it's a digital packet with built-in error correction - when that fails the packet is invalid and gets dropped. It either works or it doesn't.

Provided the cables is short enough the packet gets there in good shape - per spec as AtomicBob says this is 5m though more is possible in theory - you could provide clean power with a split cable and an ifi Ipower or lps, but at that point just use a Pi.

The presence region is right where human hearing is most sensitive so elevations there (e.g. HD600, ER2XR) bring a real sense of in-your-face-ness that could lend a sense of, well, presence to sonic images. Of course, *because* hearing is far more sensitive there the listening experience can tend to be a bit tiring over time.

I've been pretty "fatigued" by many live performances, although not always by the sound. And not always music.

Production values can kill or elevate music. Add a FR that is too spikey in certain a certain region or regions and you can end up with Sony head-aches or DT48 "what the fuck?" Either way we can all write multiple page essays about this phenomenon here...

I got one from my in-laws, sounds pretty good when you raise it to be a bit more on axis. Hands down the best battery bank I have listened to.

I'm going to use it for travel. Throw it in a sock in your suitcase and you're good to go.

Confirmed that it's the AC power source (so far). Pops went away when unplugged.

It's a laptop? It's easy to say, because I use an under-desk anyway, but I'd be disinclined to use a laptop for serious audiophiliousness. Partly because of those power supplies. No audiophoolery, I think it is accepted that they can and do put audio-affecting noise into the system. But if it's good on battery, you have a solution. As long as the battery lasts.

Except... Noise when moving the mouse is another classic DPC Latency symptom. Not necessarily because of the mouse, but because of the video: the system prioritises the display of that moving mouse.

But shouldn't that make video impossible to watch? Good point: I don't know.