MessiaaH's Audio Gear!

[MessiaaH]

Audiophile is a term usualy associated with men who are paranoid about there music.
So let's see if i meet the definition of what an audiophile is.

I've meant to do up a video review of these parts, but not getin the time, so ill juss do a writeup. It's long overdue. In the meantime, you can get a look of this gear in my Beast Machine Final Build Part1 Video, without further ado:

Parts:



Denon AH-D7000 Balanced:



Headroom Balanced Desktop DAC ontop Balanced Desktop AMP (UDAC/BUDA)








Headroom Desktop Powersupply




Money Shot :



Now that you've got a good look at the Gear:

This is a balanced headphone setup. Those who want details on what that is follow this link: http://www.headphone.com/learning-center/balanced-drive.php

But in layman's term, it carries headphones soaring to new hights, with EXCELLENT audio quality, clarity, deep solid impactful bass. With a balanced headphones you need a completely balanced setup otherwise yuh wasting time.

So i have Optical coming from my XFI going into the DAC which goes Balanced out to AMP which goes balanced out to Headphones. And the Powersupply below powers everything. This particular headphones is perfect for Rock/Electronica type music, and Movies sound AWESOME as well, transformers on this setup is orgasmic. Immerses you in games as well.

Ive previously owned the following headphones: Grado 325i, Sennheiser HD650, Denon D5000. Made the leap with this rig, simply the best audio setup money can buy. These babies are meant for HQ music, mp3s on this is a waste of time, you looking at FLAC or WMA Lossless (which i prefer becuase of tag information in windows 7 / media player 11). This setup provides a sonic detail that will let you hear the pluck of the musician's finger off his guitar string. The wonderfull UDAC provides deep black silence between the notes, no jumbled music here, you can disearn each and every instrument / vocal note. And the bass provided by the D700+BUDA combo is to die for. SOLID, POWERFUL bass. Think a high end car setup dat not dotish and boomy but clean powerful and nice.

To date, this setup has beaten every single car / home setup ive ever heard.
Of corse u loos the bodily impact from speakers/sub woffer. So when i want dat, i pair this rig, with ah nice Z5500 Woffer, when i want to feel d buckshot in meh chess in gears. and still get d heavenly expereince that is the UDAC/BUDA/D7000 combo.

Here's a little review on the headphones itself: http://videos.cnet.co.uk/39040486.htm

Well, The usual, comments, opinions, questions, etc, shoot..

Oh, Check out links to all the parts here:

Denon D7000 Balanced Headphones:  http://www.headphone.com/headphones/denon-ah-d7000-balanced-w-10ft-cardas-fat-pipe-xlr-cable.php

UDAC/BUDA : http://www.headphone.com/packages/ultra-balanced-desktop-stack-package.php

Power Supply: http://www.headphone.com/accessories/power-supplies/headroom-desktop-power-supply.php

Interconnect Cable:  http://www.headphone.com/accessories/dimarzio-xlr-balanced-interconnects-15ft.php

Earpad Upgrade for headphones: http://www.headphone.com/accessories/jmoney-v2-denon-earpads-for-d2000d5000d7000-pair.php

[firstchoicett]

nice

[TriniXaeno]

sweet.

What did it cost all total for you to put this together?

I've been a massive fan of headphones for years. Looking to upgrade very soon (probably this month).

One key feature for me is surround sound. Still seeking a 3D audio cue advantage in games which my current set does not quite deliver on. Left and Right is fine....but I want front, back, a little to the left, behind but a little to the right....lol

Also, a serious nice to have, is the ability to drive two headsets from the amp. As inevitably, the misses will want to take in a late night movie without disturbing baby. Two headphones, One amp. (-1 if you catch that reference)

[MessiaaH]

Well, you wont like the price of that particular setup, which is why i provided d links for man to go and see for they self, lol, but since u ask. That setup retails for

$4610USD.......

I got huge discounts, and got it all for ...$3875

I entered high end headphone music with d grados, but ah nice rig, is d Headroom Micro Amp + Denon D5000, costing aroudn $300US and $300US respectively. I was on that micro amp for about 3 years, whiles cycling d various headphones i listed. Micro Amp serve me WELL!

Note: That Balanced Desktop Amp can power 2 Non-Balanced headphones simultaneously, for those who eh realise.

Note2: To respond to Wyatt's surround / 3d audio, all surround/3d audio headphones u ever see, is shit compaired to High End Reference Headphones from d likes of, Grado, Denon, Sennheiser, AGU, these type of headphones are so detailed, you could tell what branch of d tree ah man running on, dies why it hard for man to sneak up on me in gears, i alwasy hear dem coming, and i know exacrlty where dey coming from, what speed dey approaching, and what angel dey approaching from, all which does indicate to me what weapond dey approaching with and know how to counter

[TriniXaeno]

* TriniWyatt faints

[mailman166]

$4610USD....... O M G ... I could setup a small studio with that or buy some of those bigfoot studio speakers

http://www.barefootsound.com/barefoot/mm35.html

http://www.vintageking.com/Barefoot-Sound-MicroMain-35-Pair?sc=18&category=970

[MessiaaH]

if i have to spend dat kinda money on speakers, ill be looking at paradigm speakers with onkoyo receiver. will post links to dat lata.

But when u have yuh first child, u  go understand d need for high end headphone listening

And d fact that i could carry meh whole HiFi setup with meh when chaning locations is ah boon.

But like i said, the quality of this particular setup, i eh hear no speaker system that beat it yet. and i heard some high end setups, costing more money dan that. u have to spend about 10 grand US behind speakers, to match d quality coming out of dat setup dey.

And i use it all d time right through, if had pump d same money behind speakers, woulda only be able to bang out, ounce in ah while lol.

[Arcmanov]

No offense eh...but spending 4000+ US DOLLARS on just audio gear alone is madness.

You sure is not 400 US you mean?  The Tritton AX Pro headset is less than 1/10th the price of that
setup, and provides really great sound, AND can be hooked up to PCs and consoles.  Not to mention
the consoles can take advantage of the connectivity options so that users can have integrated voice chat.

Can your disturbingly expensive setup be that versatile?

I find it interesting that you would say 'all surround/3d audio headphones u ever see, is shit compared to...',  when the worth of the headset I mentioned, along with many others in that price range have been proven, at least for gaming.

I can now understand why we almost never see the brands of gear you mentioned even considered for mainstream reviews for the gaming public.


I can appreciate high-end audio, but I cannot, in ANY universe, justify (even to myself) spending thousands of US dollars on ONE component, unless it helping me to make money.


With that said, I'm still interested to hear how much 'better' all that gear sounds, compared to an Astro A40, or Tritton Ax Pro system.

[Crixx_Creww]

Hmm ignored this thread for a while, since i put audiophiles on the same level as console men
but after reading some of this thread i immediately remember the giz thread from last year.

http://gizmodo.com/5213042/why-we-need-audiophiles

There is a point where it becomes more than absurd... this point is of course several thousand us dollars above the point at which we can even HEAR the difference in sound quality... which does not stop the real audiophiles.

I gained a little respect for audio after reading through this giz article... decided i would never download a low bit small ass 3 meg mp3 again but that was it...bought some headfones...which hurt my ears after hours of loud music...
so in  fact alot of times i game with no sound...

atleast Mr Messiah hasnt reached this guys level as yet


ill throw this link in as well http://gizmodo.com/5214792/giz-explains-the-difference-between-100--and-100000-speakers

[MessiaaH]

Arcman, is juss like everything else in the entertainment industry, you think something sounds good, till u hear better, and when u try to go back, u realise, what u was listening to was actualy crap.

Is like watching bluray movies, den trying to go back to watch ah pirate movie.

Is like playing on ah ps3, den trying to go back to ps1.

Yuh dont knwo what yuh missing till yuh expereince something better.
And yuh doesnt know something coudl be DAT much better, cuase yuh juss never hear/expereince it before.

I did not start off with a 4000$ setup, i started off, with ah 200$ headphone, den upgrade to 300$, den bought ah 300$ amp.
I slowly crept into highfi, and once i expereinced it, and read pages upong pages upon pages of reviews, and information, and opionis, etc etc, i decided to delve in, and get d big guns.

These headphones will not be seen on any site refering to gaming headphones, becuase dey arent, dey are audiophile grade headphones.
Ppl who want gaming headphones usually not looking for thing dis high end, but it doesnt mean another headphones will be beter for gaming dan dis. HiFi headphones will demolish any gaming headphones in gaming. Becuase ppl making gaming headphones not expectin ppl to pay d kinda money for high end headphones, juss because it mark "gaming" on it doh mean it good lol.

Also, u ent see connectors behind dat amp? lol, i can hook dat up to anything.

And i run all my consoles through d pc, to take advantage of xfi anyways.
So once it applies crystilizer etc etc, den optical out to my amp, HEAVEN!

Used to run my ps2 optical striagh to pc, den out to speakers, sounds 5 times better once it pass through d xfi.

And unlike pc equipment, audio equpiment lifetime is years upon years.
I built a 3500-4000$ pc christmas, and by next christmas, time to upgrade, cuase something beter out. Fortunately in d music world it doh work so, what i buy go remain d best fuh years on end. long term investment

And like i say, i din jus wake up one morning and drop 4k on ah setup, i crept into high end listening, and made my purhcase based on numerous factors, and after expereincing what d setup offers, if i had to do it all over, i wud have bought it sooner.

Also, i dont use my headphoens just for gaming, all those gaming headphones, is solely juss for gaming, dont even think about doing nothing else on it, becuase dey will scream, under d pressure of some good poudning music, or high action films like transformers.

HiFi setups will handle any thing u throw at dem, and i dont use mines juss for gaming, heavy music and movies going through dem suckers. Which is really d primary use for HiFi headphones, music and movies.
But becuase dey are such high calibur, when applied to gaming, d level of detail and ermision is beyond anything, ah branded "gaming" headphones will ever offer. And ive listend to many gaming headphoens before, including some u name, so i know. And ive owned and listen to over 10 different classes of headphones before. so dis is years of expereince talking.

a 300$ HiFi headphones go demolish any gaming headphones out there. Add ah 300$ amp to dat, Heaven. and 600$ for a setup, is as far as i recomend most ppl to go, becuase of d serious deminishing returns involved in audio. High up u go, more money u spend, and less increase in performance. So u does spend like ah extra 1500-2000US for dat upper 20% of quality, which most men could care less for.

But i din want to spend 2000US, and always be wondering, what d best sounds like, and if i spend 2000US on audio equpiment, i wont want to upgrade no time soon, so i juss butt it, and lash.

My ears cant stop thanking me
Edit:

And to responde to crix, you are right, if you go to high, noticing d difference in quality becomes less and less, d key as u rigtfuly said, is source , if is mp3s u running, forget about it.  You need all ur music to be of the highest quality, same with movies, games is not a problem. But i think i hit ah nice level with what i got. But yea, it have other mad men out there, who take it to another level, running rigs costin 2 - 3 times what i pay lol.

[Crixx_Creww]

well according to de real audiophiles
that 3 to 5k us setup is "ok for the average listener"
Lol dem men from hell
$ 300 000 on ah stereo setup??
Madness

[Crixx_Creww]

What source u use for music?
The madmen in them articles is vinyl and other arbitrary madness that most people will never use.

What are the best digital formats you reccommend?
You wanna start a thread/forum on digital music formats?

I think most of us know where to go for best digital video formats
but for most people mp3 is still the defacto format
after reading up the articles i had started looking for mpeg4 music but if it have better out there
enlighten us plixxx

[mailman166]

Mad nesss :LOL: ... i agree with ARC i plan in future to spend this amt on speakers because i like music production and the possibilities of growing it into a viable business... Then again some guys buy 1M porshe's because of the noise of the engine why not 4K on some sexy looking and sounding "Aircraft carrier" headphones

[mailman166]

FLac rocks as far as audio... I doh know why in this bandwith heaven called planet earth 2010 we still using 128 Kbps for mp3 encoding...

[Crixx_Creww]

grazi mail man
will be looking up this flac you speaks of

[Arcmanov]

Oh I'm quite sure you didn't 'wake up a morning' and buy all that by vaps, but still.  It amazes me that people spend that kinda money on just audio.  That is like four mid-range gaming PCs there.

I think you made your point quite well, but I'm a gamer first and foremost.
I almost NEVER watch movies on a headset, because I tend to like it LOUD,
and listening to loud movies like that will murder your hearing in very short order, so its Logitech speakers for that.

...and to think I was agonizing over spending 179 US for the Tritton Ax Pro eh.

[MessiaaH]

Yea crix, MUSIC FORMATS!!!!:

I have ah couple vinyl albums, (doh ask meh where ah get it ), but d format yuh want to use is either

FLAC or WMA Lossless.

Both are lossless formats, lossless meaning, you loose no quiality from d oringal disc. Flac and WMA Lossess, is like Zip Files, and supported players, Unzips dem on the fly and plays it back. As such, you can rip an orignal disc, and the album will be 300MB as apposed to the orignal 600mb, but if u burn d 300MB FLAC/WMA L files it wud be as if u burning an iso rip of d original disc.

That being said, the type of compressiong mp3 uses, it actualy removes data from d files, on low end setups u wont notice d difference, but on ah high end setup like mine, u notice complete musical notes, MISSING from d song. I.E. on a high end setup using FLAC/WMA L you hear stuff in d music, dat just DOES NOT exsist in d mp3, FLAC/WMA L dont remove any data, juss compresses it like rar/zip.

Now, i've expereinment with both flac and wma, and most of d Lossless music you able to "aquire" on the net, will be flac, becuase its d more widely accepted format. WMA Lossless is microsfot format, and since i using windows 7, and window mobile phone, i opt to use dat format. it has better ID3 Tag support, track ratings, album / artist info, cover art built into d file, etc etc, so all my music is WMA Lossless.

DB PowerAmp is d tool to use, to convert from any music format to anything else, juss need d appropriate plugins depending.

Also i using windows media player, which gets missing information from d net, and put it in d music file itself.

My vote goes to WMA Lossless.

[Redfish]

*Looks at cost Messiah estimated...........pats 35us headset and then pats wallet*


Go strong Messiah, like I really in the flipping wrong line a wuk yes lmao

[MessiaaH]

Yea arcman, if you're a gamer first, den i dont think justifying these kinda setups is posible lol.

But i does listen to msuic, and watch movies / tv series, more dan i does game.

And you say yuh like yuh thing LOUD!, like yuh din read meh part about pairing dis setup, with meh logitech z5500 woffer , and let me tell u, d combo is insane. U feeling megatron voice in yuh chess, and d headphones giving u a quality to such a level, u hearing ever single mechanical piece of that transformer as he is trasnforming, d scene in Transfoerms 1 where d little robot infultrate airforce one. and d cookie fall out d woman hand and roll on d ground next to d robot, you coulda hear each rotation of dat cookie, you could make out d texture of d ground it fall on, and how ruff/smooth d carpet it was rollin on is. Dies d level of quality only posible, with rigs like this.

[woodyear99]

Wow nice setup MessiaaH. Indeed having a high end audio setup is not for everyone and hey some may say that a $200 headphones is good enough. Then again there are gamers who enjoy playing on their mid-low end gpus etc, saying that spending more is a waste of money. Some people will spend a few thousand to get just a small increase in fps. We've seen some of the hardware ppl on GATT have, seems as though people not as focused on the audio and more about the visuals.

That said if you enjoy music and want the highest quality then yeah I'm sure cheaper equipment not going to cut it. While some may say that audio quality differences between the $100 and $1000 setup not that noticeable I am sure to you there is a definite difference.

But yeah I myself struggle to purchase a headphones that over $100 US though in time I think I will to take advantage of surround sound in games.

d scene in Transfoerms 1 where d little robot infultrate airforce one. and d cookie fall out d woman hand and roll on d ground next to d robot, you coulda hear each rotation of dat cookie, you could make out d texture of d ground it fall on, and how ruff/smooth d carpet it was rollin on is. Dies d level of quality only posible, with rigs like this.

Wow with that kind of setup anything else will feel like low definition yes.