Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 12, 2018 16:19:17 GMT
Tyll has decided to retire and feels that it is time to move on. Although a loss to the headphone world, I can really empathise with him since as I get older, all of the things I used to obsess about have become the minutia of my listening. It was interesting to hear his choice of headphones to travel with ... Bose QC35 and Beats.
Same kind of thing with me. I most often use a Portapro these days since the music has become more important to me than the headphone.
Good luck to Tyll.
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Post by psych0 on May 12, 2018 17:09:41 GMT
Watching now...interesting.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 12, 2018 17:58:34 GMT
TBH, I don’t blame him. The more I read Hi-Fi forums, the more I feel like an alien.
I can’t take the ‘snobbery’ and ‘up their own rear’ approach of some forums or mini Mao Tse Tungs that are out there. Plus of course, the self appointed gurus who hear things that bats aren’t aware of in wires or whatever.......
Makes people frightened to write anything because they are intimidated or frightened of asking what they think might be a ‘daft’ question or even ..... sin of sins, actually talking ‘off topic’ and getting told off for it for actually creating .... ‘noise’.
Seriously, in forums, why can’t people talk? It’s kind of like being blinkered so that once that title has been set in stone, it has to stand there as some kind of reference, so no one dare mention anything else.
The more I read the more I become kind of jaded and put off by superiority and put downs that I see and think what’s the point? We all have the same interest and yet on forums all over the internet, discussing it can create havoc with the quicker witted Hitlers making people feel pretty awful.
So, I don’t really blame Tyll for retiring early because he has quite often walked the plank out there and stuck his kneck out and taken a lot of stuff too.
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Post by ronzo56 on May 12, 2018 18:37:29 GMT
Part of the reason Tyll retired was due to hearing loss. Makes we want to talk to my doctor about a hearing test. Haven’t had one in several years. Probably a good time to have it checked again. While I still have insurance coverage. 25 years sure went by fast. He’s hitting the road soon in a made over FedEx delivery truck. He has plenty to explore. U.S. is about 10 million square kilometers in size. That should keep him busy for a while.
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Post by psych0 on May 12, 2018 19:29:25 GMT
I can certainly relate, Ian. I've been avoiding forums lately (except for this one <3).
The only impression i get lately is of how unhappy people are. Just unhappy - with their gear and especially with other peoples gear, preferences and anything really. And music is rarely, if ever, mentioned. And they have these exaggerated claims in order to justify their own warped view...
I have close to no experience with high end headphones. I have, on the other hand, heard some pretty nice speaker systems, including custom made stuff upwards of $10k. Do i enjoy my studio monitors? Hell yes...making pancakes on a Saturday morning with my wife while listening to anything makes me really happy.
There was a thread a while ago on a Schiit glorifying forum about a guy's "audio journey". Basically, a few years ago he was extremely happy with the LCD2 (i think) and because he's financial situation allowed it, he wanted to improve (he's happiness). Now, after years with very high end stuff like Abyss, DNA Stratus (pretty much anything you can imagine) he managed to finally get some of that original enjoyment with a moded pair of HD650. Interesting journey but i think he lost something along the way...
When very expensive cable holders make a significant improvement to the sound, there's something wrong.
Can i hear the difference between $100 cable and a $5000 one? Nope, and i don't care if the more expensive one is coated in the tears of mermaids that add another dimension to the low end. I can't hear the difference between flac via asio/wasapi or streamed online. Do i care that other people do, even when measurements that go well beyond human abilities prove them wrong? Nope, not at all.
So yes, in this wonderful connected age where most people feel the urge to share everything in order to get a sense of self worth from the approval of strangers, i'll just turn the volume higher and enjoy the music.
I should stop rambling. Why have i posted this here...i have no idea.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 12, 2018 20:52:49 GMT
Oh yes. And his hearing Ron. Anyway, I don’t blame him and understand his reasons. I wouldn’t want to make a poor call on the internet since the resulting waves can be awful. Look what happened whenever Tyll made a call and the following waves. Or the measurement fraca with Jude.
It seems to me Vlad, that many ‘think’ they’re missing something after they’ve had a good read on forums. I do wonder whether people listen to the gear more than music. You don’t see many real discussions about music on them.
I have one ‘premium’ headphone and as much as I like it, I wouldn’t pay that much again. Sure, it offers clarity and weight but at around £1000, is that really worth it? I don’t think so. I have heard others but not bought them. To me, they offer another type of colouration with better clarity perhaps or bass, but they’re still all ‘coloured’ in their own way.
The fact that enthusiasts still feel the need to modify them shows that they are bothered by something enough to open up an expensive headphone and change it. So they’re still not good enough?
What gets most use here ..... a Portapro. Probably the HD650 gets second most use or maybe the msr7.
Anyway, Tyll is almost becoming a traveller it seems; living in a ‘caravan’. I do wonder what he’ll do as he gets older or if the caravan develops a problem. I think the house is being sold so he has no roots. I also wonder what he’ll do with his gear? When I moved here, it was a downward move for me and I had to get rid of loads of stuff. The rest was put into the garage here. This house is too small for all the gear I had. I dread to think what I’d have done if I’d moved into a caravan!!
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Post by ronzo56 on May 12, 2018 22:12:37 GMT
From what he has said Ian, he isn’t taking much gear. Leaving most of it to his replacement. I think he decided to do this now while he is still young enough to enjoy the journey. Plus he’s burned out on writing about headphones. I wish him the best.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 13, 2018 7:56:19 GMT
I think that it’ll be quite a loss to the headphone world, Ron. He’s done a great deal via his site in the development of headphones since his influence has gone right through the industry and as he said, many headphone listeners now measure them for themselves so that in itself puts a little pressure on manufacturers to develop products that measure better.
I’ve enjoyed his work a great deal and loved his balanced approach.
I also hugely agree with his comment about prices at the end of his speech. Good for him, coming out with it.
I understand that he’s about to go on an adventure of his own and there is this kind of ‘wanderlust’ streak in him. Good for him. I also wish him a really happy retirement but at the same time, feel that a little hole has been made and he will really be missed.
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solderdude
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Post by solderdude on May 15, 2018 9:16:37 GMT
I think this great for Tyll himself.
It did come kind of as a surprise... the granddad od headphone audio stopping at his pinnacle. Wondering how the measurements continue and if a proper correction is invented. What will happen with all of his data ? What will the new guy be like ?
Tyll did help the headphone business improve for sure by giving it attention.
Agreed on the pricing... Still the new HD58X is cheap and excellent. Can easily be modded to sound exactly like a HD660S or even slightly better...
Things like the HD820 ... mmm not so fond off.. the pricing and attempts to cash in.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 15, 2018 12:14:11 GMT
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Post by Cranky on May 15, 2018 13:41:08 GMT
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 15, 2018 15:43:58 GMT
Prices are a complete farce.
I wonder whether the place selling over 4 grand sells them because people are too lazy to search around?
I think £4000 will become the new high end price now. To think, Senn hd650 at £175....... and that was high end!!!
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Post by lobalwarming on May 15, 2018 20:55:39 GMT
It was interesting to hear his choice of headphones to travel with ... Bose QC35 and Beats. To be fair to Tyll, he wanted the noise-cancelling Bose so he didn't go too nutz when driving that brutally noisy Gruman FedEx delivery truck. Selected the Beats to be hip for a stopover in a downtown Manhattan RV park. He did mention: What he doesn't state is what tube amp(s) he'll be solar-powering. Sounds like the G1217 Solstice would be a perfect match. Sure, might have to use some precious storage space for the tube collection - but living on the road with SS amps only is...tedious and boring. And, think of vintage gems he might find on the road - KR 6P5s, Raytheon 2C50s, TS RP 12SN7s for $20 from an ancient roadside electronics shop on Route 66. Road Tube Trip. A new, better sounding Youtube series.
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Rabbit
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Post by Rabbit on May 18, 2018 9:08:08 GMT
I understand completely what he’s doing with regards to headphone choices. I think, once you’ve heard so many, the novelty wears a bit thin and you come to the conclusion that it’s mostly small things that create the ‘higher end’ sound and they get smaller and smaller as you go up.
Then you start to think more in terms of comfort as well.......
My most used headphone ...... possibly a Portapro. Not the most comfortable, but the most convenient. When TV is playing in the room, my Sony NC. Outside if I want a bit of isolation, AT MSR7 or Senn IE8.
In fact, I had to get a paint brush out yesterday and dust off my TH900. It’s a dust magnet. Looks great in a cabinet though.....
Special occasions .... hd650 with Kameleon. Portable special occasions .... K712 with Ifi portable amp.
These days, for me, it’s a question of what’s close by and what’s comfortable .......
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jello
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Post by jello on May 18, 2018 12:19:20 GMT
Sad to see Tyll go. Big loss to the community but exciting times ahead for him! Looks like he is pretty stoked about it...safe travels to him and Putt I'm with you Ian. Novelty does start to wear a bit thin and I think I was starting to lose my passion a little too (ok, a lot). Best move I ever made was having the recent clear out and seriously thinning the herd to a manageable level. Now just have a few pairs (by my standards at least) that I will actually use and absolutely no desire to add anything else. Convenience is an underrated quality indeed. Mainly using my IEMs and Frans modded P82 these days and having a blast. Enjoying my listening more than I have in a long time and often plugged into a Bluetooth adapter! Sacrilege I know but convenience eh? Do still enjoy kicking back with a couple of beers now and again and spending a few hours with the AEON / TH-X00 and desktop amp & dac though. Appreciate them more that way. But a headphone to hand is worth two in the cupbpoard
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