Audio Equipment

[Stereodude]

The complete lack or before and after audio file, even those can be cheated a bit, doesn't speak well for the product IMHO. It's likely just adding pleasant odd order distortion.

You can get similar products from other companies for less. http://www.music-group.com/Categories/Behringer/Signal-Processors/Enhancers-Exciters/SX3040/p/P0582

 

[mubs]

Cool, thanks SD. Behringer has a ton of dealers here, very surprising. They have dealers in really remote places, but only one in my metro city! No matter, I'll call around Monday.

How does this compare with the BBE series of similar equipment, would you know?

BTW, it seems the recommendation is to place this in-line, just before the speakers. What I'd like to do is re-record my stuff using this so once I'm done with that, I can play the re-recorded music without this unit. Or am I totally missing the point here?

 

[Stereodude]

I don't think the unit is really intended for home use. More recording studio or live sound. Without knowing what it is that you're trying to process it's a little hard to say. Like the input format, the output format, etc. At first blush without knowing details, recording to your PC and processing the digital recording with some plugins and putting that to a CD seems like a better plan.

 

[mubs]

At first blush without knowing details, recording to your PC and processing the digital recording with some plugins and putting that to a CD seems like a better plan.

Actually this suits my needs better than a discrete hardware device. 99% of my listening these days is at my PC.

Most of the music I listen to is either live recordings with makeshift equipment or old - '50s thru '70s professionally recorded songs. In either case the recordings are low-fi - lacking bass and treble, or having only mid-range and treble, and missing harmonics, etc. Dull, flat. I have a BSR equalizer (8+8 channel, I think, haven't used it in 20 years) that I bought from DAK in the late '80s, but that makes the sound too bright and introduces harshness. I was thinking something like these units will correct a significant chunk of the problem. Of course it can't put back what ain't there in the first place, but at least the harmonics can be, and the phase shift problem can be corrected.

Would be grateful for any pointers on processing software and plug-ins. Thanks.

 

[Stereodude]

Have you played around with Audacity?

It supports VST plugins. I haven't really messed with it, but it gives you nearly unlimited options.

http://www.audacityteam.org/download/plugins

 

[mubs]

Thanks. I do have Audacity and have used it only to chop off audio that I didn't want. The plugins page you linked to has links to other pages which are frighteningly humongous; it'll take me time to digest all that stuff!

 

[ddrueding]

I'm currently happy with all of my audio systems, but if you are in the market, I really respect this guys opinion.

[video=youtube_share;4Uhkmvd3XnI]https://youtu.be/4Uhkmvd3XnI[/video]

 

[mubs]

Thanks DD, these seem to be outstanding for the price! I've saved the info. These are out of range for now, since they need an amp to drive them pushing up the cost, plus there's no space for them near my monitor. Perhaps they'll be good to replace on my main stereo system, which is ~ 28 years old but still chugging along! 95% of my listening though is done at my PC using Logitech Z4 2.1 speakers, which are reasonably ok. Need of the hour is to fix the audio which is lo-fi, which made me revive this thread.

 

[CougTek]

I'll show you something that deeply pisses me off.

ELAC B5 Debut Series on Amazon.com : 230U$.

ELAC B5 Debut Series on Amazon.com : 1063$CDN.

Today, 1U$ is worth approximately 1.45$CDN. So the 230U$ speaker pair should be sold ~334$CDN. It is more than 3 times that.

The worst part is that it isn't even a rare occurence. It happens quite often.

 

[Handruin]

I'll show you something that deeply pisses me off.

ELAC B5 Debut Series on Amazon.com : 230U$.

ELAC B5 Debut Series on Amazon.com : 1063$CDN.

Today, 1U$ is worth approximately 1.45$CDN. So the 230U$ speaker pair should be sold ~334$CDN. It is more than 3 times that.

The worst part is that it isn't even a rare occurence. It happens quite often.

This happens in the US also. Your Amazon link has the item sold and shipped by HOPE FIRE who's probably price-gouging so put at least some of the blame on the reseller and not the difference between the US and Canada. The US link is sold and shipped from Amazon.

 

[Handruin]

Thanks DD, these seem to be outstanding for the price! I've saved the info. These are out of range for now, since they need an amp to drive them pushing up the cost, plus there's no space for them near my monitor. Perhaps they'll be good to replace on my main stereo system, which is ~ 28 years old but still chugging along! 95% of my listening though is done at my PC using Logitech Z4 2.1 speakers, which are reasonably ok. Need of the hour is to fix the audio which is lo-fi, which made me revive this thread.

What about the JBL LSR305 Studio Monitor? They seem to have decent reviews and come as an active monitor so you wouldn't need a separate amp.

 

[CougTek]

It turns out that for this particular item, Amazon.com is willing to ship to Québec. The shipping and borders fees are high, but it's still way cheaper than buying it from their canayian site.

So... what's the best affordable amplifier these days? Anything less than 300U$ standing out?

 

[Handruin]

How about the Emotiva mini-X a-100 $219 USD? It's currently out of stock though.

Review video in English...

http://www.cnet.com/news/emotivas-sweet-sounding-219-amplifier/

 

[CougTek]

It indeed seems to be the best bang for the buck. Their XPA-200 also seems very nice, although twice as expensive, but it can push more power than the ELAC can accept, which is probably bad since I could blow up the speakers if I turn the nob too much.

 

[Handruin]

It indeed seems to be the best bang for the buck. Their XPA-200 also seems very nice, although twice as expensive, but it can push more power than the ELAC can accept, which is probably bad since I could blow up the speakers if I turn the nob too much.

You're better off with too much power than not enough anyway. I'd of recommended that amp but it wasn't in your listed budget range. I have the original XPA-5 which has more power (200W x 5) than my towers are rated for and I've never had an issue even when driving them to the point of hurting my ears.

 

[mubs]

Have you played around with Audacity?

SD,

I spent quite a bit of time last evening / night finding and downloading plug-ins for Audacity, then I found this in the Audacity Wiki

Limitations

No real-time effects: Audacity cannot yet preview an effect while changing the parameters of the effect. Audacity cannot yet apply effects to audio while it is playing or recording.

VST instrument (VSTi) plug-ins that generate sound are not supported. 64-bit VST plug-ins are not supported, nor are VST 3 plug-ins.

This makes it difficult / useless for me to use plug-ins, I would think.

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I'll show you something that deeply pisses me off.

The B5 is available here, but at twice the US AMZ price. You're not alone, Coug; life is unfair!

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What about the JBL LSR305 Studio Monitor? They seem to have decent reviews and come as an active monitor so you wouldn't need a separate amp.

Thanks Handy, info saved for future use. We are sorta veering off topic; I'm not looking for speakers / amps right now. Don't need them and no budget either. I am interested in sprucing up the sound, though.

 

[mubs]

After trawling the web, my assessment is that Aphex Exciter > Behringer Sonic Exciter SX3040 > BBE.

 

[Stereodude]

SD,

I spent quite a bit of time last evening / night finding and downloading plug-ins for Audacity, then I found this in the Audacity Wiki

This makes it difficult / useless for me to use plug-ins, I would think.

I'm not sure that it makes things unusable. I think it means you can't preview and adjust while it's playing, not that you can't adjust something preview it, adjust it again and preview it again. However, I don't have Audacity installed on this PC, so I can't test it to be sure either way.

 

[mubs]

I'm not sure that it makes things unusable. I think it means you can't preview and adjust while it's playing, not that you can't adjust something preview it, adjust it again and preview it again. However, I don't have Audacity installed on this PC, so I can't test it to be sure either way.

I realize that, but that much iteration for each number will kill me. I'll be dead before I'm done with a quarter of my stuff!

 

[ddrueding]

I'm a firm believer that the absolute top-end of audio gear is snake oil, but after using the line out from the Blue Yeti Mic for a while I put in a Schiit MODI 2 DAC and holy crap that is better.

 

[fb]

This DAC looks interesting, from the price-, audiophile- and geek point of view.

http://www.henryaudio.com

 

[Handruin]

This DAC looks interesting, from the price-, audiophile- and geek point of view.

http://www.henryaudio.com

I agree it's neat that this allows you to hack with it given that they offer the source code.

 

[Handruin]

Just for the heck of it I decided to try getting in on the Massdrop Sennheiser HD 6XX drop for $199.99 that opened this morning. They offered 5000 units and they all sold out in a short amount of time. Their servers were slammed with orders and lots of people had issues with timeouts, etc. I believe I was able to get in for one after refreshing my order for about 10 minutes.

I think it was so busy because this deal made headlines on other known sites:
https://www.cnet.com/news/get-a-special-edition-sennheiser-hd-650-headphone-for-200/
http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/8/13561356/sennheiser-hd-6xx-headphones-best-price-massdrop

 

[Stereodude]

I tried to get in and failed. There were openings, but my order wouldn't go through.

 

[Handruin]

I played the two browser window game. I left one open and spinning as part of processing and refreshed the other getting the "Ooops" message. Eventually it went through after several tries. It looks like I got two orders to go through but I know they'll remove one of them because of the processing issues.

 

[ddrueding]

My Blue Yeti mic at home now has an annoying digital whine to it (kid has caused it to hit the floor many times). The mic is connected using a direct USB interface, so I'm assuming it must be within the mic itself. Does anyone have a recommendation for a mic with good quality, vibration isolation from the surface, and a USB interface?

 

[Handruin]

I also went with a Blue Yeti Pro as my microphone of choice. Maybe the audio-technica AT2020USB+? I've never used it so you may want to research it before pulling the trigger.

An alternative depending on what you're doing and your budget might be a Rode NT1KIT Condenser Microphone with a usb mixer board like this BEHRINGER XENYX 302USB. This would give you more control and you could even get the mic onto a movable arm stand since it will use standard microphone stands. This might help keep it from being damaged from your kid. The mixer will show as a sound card under windows and give you a little more control. It's more expensive and more complicated so I don't know if it will fit your needs.

 

[Handruin]

Looks like Rode also has a USB mic in the same price range as the Audio-technica called the Rode NT USB.

 

[ddrueding]

Ended up picking up some more absurd stuff, I'll test it at home for now before it needs to be deployed.

https://amzn.com/B00SLIUYL8
https://amzn.com/B001PPXFAG

 

[ddrueding]

Ended up picking up some more absurd stuff, I'll test it at home for now before it needs to be deployed.

https://amzn.com/B00SLIUYL8
https://amzn.com/B001PPXFAG

This worked great, but was absurd overkill for game comms. That equipment is now at a large venue serving as intended. I just went back to the Yeti.

 

[ddrueding]

I did however just pick up a pair of HiFiMan HE-400i headphones. They are very good and absurdly comfortable.

 

[Stereodude]

I have some HE-500's that I bought several years ago. They sound amazing. They're not all that comfortable though.

 

[Handruin]

My Massdrop Sennheiser HD6XX came yesterday and I've enjoyed listening to them so far. I have a XDuoo XD-05 DAC/Amp coming (also from Massdrop) to help drive these headphones a little better. Even with the amp/DAC in my LG V10 they sound pretty good. I'm certainly curious to know more about how a Planar Magnetic headphones would sound when compared to a dynamic driver. Are the HE-560's a decent pair of headphones for this type of driver or are some of the other competitors like the Audeze LCD2 worth more consideration? I've read concerns of the quality of construction of both but perhaps they're just a few bad ones that people complain about.

 

[Stereodude]

Yes, the HE-560's should be very decent. I think it somewhat comes down to what sort of sound signature you prefer. I'm not sure if there are Head-Fi meets around you or any CanJam events where you could hear them and others.

 

[Handruin]

That's part of what I'd like to learn more about. Without trying that style driver I won't know if I like the sound signature. That's a good thought about checking for meetups in my area to see if I can try them out.

 

[Stereodude]

That's part of what I'd like to learn more about. Without trying that style driver I won't know if I like the sound signature.

Planar magnetic drivers don't really have an inherent sound signature. They have more of a lack of coloration of conventional drivers. I was referring more to whether you'd like the HE-560 or the LCD-2 with the sound signature comment. The HE-500 are a bit analytic somewhat like a studio monitor. I haven't heard the Audeze LCD-2. I have their EL-8 closed back headphones, which are much more studio monitor like than the HE-500. However, the EL-8 reportedly are the odd man out in the Audeze lineup compared to their other PM headphones being the only one with that sort of sound signature.

 

[Handruin]

I'm curious to understand that if planar magnetic headphones lack a sound signature, then what is happening in the varying degrees of cost in some of these headphones? I understand some have very beautiful woodwork but is it varying degrees of the lack of audible coloration that happens as you get into the more expensive headphones? Is it also the size and bass response or all of the above?

 

[ddrueding]

For the ones I was looking at, the differences seemed to be about frequency response range, weight, and impedance. The audio profile on the 400i is very flat (almost like shooting video in a flat colorspace), but I quickly grew accustomed to it.

 

[Handruin]

This thread suggests that Hifiman is no longer shipping replacement parts for their products. Customers need to ship their headphones to China for service if something breaks.

 

[Stereodude]

Well, I guess I won't be buying any more HiFiMAN products.