Useless Personal Trivia

[Parts]

I did not learn to swim till I was 11 when I moved to Florida

[odeon]

I want a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. I tried a pair the other day and they were awesome.

What brand were they?

Some of the "active"  noise canceling headphones are truly amazing in how they can suspend the listener in a "soundproof environment."

I generally do not care much for Bose products, but their noise canceling 'phones are not bad at all.  We also have Sennheiser, B&W,  and Sony that do well, but you are going to be in the "over two hundred dollar"  range for the better ones.

The ones I tried were Bose headphones. The noise cancelling worked really well, I have to say, but I won't be buying them. I don't have any faith in Bose.

I'm going to buy a new pair of headphones, though. I'll go with AKGs.

Good choice. You are onto the higher dollar/krona products. The only problem I have found with AKGs is related to physical comfort. (They just do not fit my extra large size head very well) If you can preview some B&W (the ones with the ultra-soft lamb skin pads) - (I think they are made in the UK)  you might also like those.

My biggest problem with "Dr/Mr/Prof" Bose's products is that his ideas of what we want to hear and what I perceive as flat/neutral sound reproduction are quite at odds. While I accept that all manufacturerers "color" their Signature sound, Bose do not sound right to me. I have twenty dollar Sony's (I buy for the kids to destroy) that sound more neutral and cause less listener fatigue. (They are not as efficient, which is not that bad for kids. Hopefully they will not blow their ears out as fast.    )

Call me a minority, because all that bass noise sells like hell to most people, but most Bose products are not capable of pure, flat, uncolored, natural sounding reproduction.

Which is basically why I want the AKGs. I'm thinking I'll get either a q701 or the newer k712, both of which are basically flat. They say the k712 has addressed most of the k701/2 issues (as has the q701) but doesn't have the bumpy headbands that the q701 users complain about.

My only problem is that the k712 is quite expensive so I'm fretting about the cost. I know that if I get the q701 I'll keep wondering what the k712 would have been like.

Will look into the B&Ws, tho, if I can find a retailer within reach.

I caved in and ordered a pair of k712s.

The way my obsessions work, I wouldn't have been able to buy anything else without spending months questioning my decision.

[DirtDawg]

I want a pair of noise-cancelling headphones. I tried a pair the other day and they were awesome.

What brand were they?

Some of the "active"  noise canceling headphones are truly amazing in how they can suspend the listener in a "soundproof environment."

I generally do not care much for Bose products, but their noise canceling 'phones are not bad at all.  We also have Sennheiser, B&W,  and Sony that do well, but you are going to be in the "over two hundred dollar"  range for the better ones.

The ones I tried were Bose headphones. The noise cancelling worked really well, I have to say, but I won't be buying them. I don't have any faith in Bose.

I'm going to buy a new pair of headphones, though. I'll go with AKGs.

Good choice. You are onto the higher dollar/krona products. The only problem I have found with AKGs is related to physical comfort. (They just do not fit my extra large size head very well) If you can preview some B&W (the ones with the ultra-soft lamb skin pads) - (I think they are made in the UK)  you might also like those.

My biggest problem with "Dr/Mr/Prof" Bose's products is that his ideas of what we want to hear and what I perceive as flat/neutral sound reproduction are quite at odds. While I accept that all manufacturerers "color" their Signature sound, Bose do not sound right to me. I have twenty dollar Sony's (I buy for the kids to destroy) that sound more neutral and cause less listener fatigue. (They are not as efficient, which is not that bad for kids. Hopefully they will not blow their ears out as fast.    )

Call me a minority, because all that bass noise sells like hell to most people, but most Bose products are not capable of pure, flat, uncolored, natural sounding reproduction.

Which is basically why I want the AKGs. I'm thinking I'll get either a q701 or the newer k712, both of which are basically flat. They say the k712 has addressed most of the k701/2 issues (as has the q701) but doesn't have the bumpy headbands that the q701 users complain about.

My only problem is that the k712 is quite expensive so I'm fretting about the cost. I know that if I get the q701 I'll keep wondering what the k712 would have been like.

Will look into the B&Ws, tho, if I can find a retailer within reach.

I caved in and ordered a pair of k712s.

The way my obsessions work, I wouldn't have been able to buy anything else without spending months questioning my decision.

NICE!

One can never short change an "obsession,"  so to speak.  I doubt that you will ever regret "spending the money," on a really great product, but we both realize that we will always keep looking.
 

[odeon]

Oh, I know. I've already started thinking about upgrading my headphone amp and getting a new FLAC player. My current one is slowly dying. Its battery is failing and it seems it will be very difficult to replace.

Better sound quality is always worth pursuing.

[DirtDawg]

Oh, I know. I've already started thinking about upgrading my headphone amp and getting a new FLAC player. My current one is slowly dying. Its battery is failing and it seems it will be very difficult to replace.

Better sound quality is always worth pursuing.

As it always has been.

Lately, I have begun to re-up my vinyl rig.  My Tube Pre is the first to be "attacked."  I have subbed in so many tubes that my mind just goes foggy.  I have gone to ONE tube change each month, for the past few months.  I either want to identify and define my Psychoacoustical Sweet Tooth or eliminate it altogether (possibly pretending, here) for at least a while.

My vinyl rig sounds "perfect" as it is, but if I change ONE thing, everything changes.

I am on my fourth generation re-doing the crossovers on my movie rig, as well.  I am almost there! (Have I mentioned that I am ALL JBL PRO in my movie rig, of late?  Dicing up the X-Os was the largest part of the job.)


I am probably too old for this. I know I have lost a great deal of hearing from my old R&R days, but I still hear shit other people can not.
 

I am convinced that I AM the only person who has to appreciate my own rig. (Notice how I capitalized God's Name there?  LOL  I AM the God of my stereo.)



I hope you enjoy your new headset!!

[odeon]

Not going to tube route, me, not if I can avoid it. I'm just too paranoid and would endlessly replace tubes, thinking that yes, maybe it would change things. Although I have to admit that it is very tempting to add warmth using a tube amp since the AKGs are likely more or less completely neutral, see where it would take me.

Crossovers in movie rigs can be a nightmare but I have nothing but good experiences with JBLs in cinemas and I assume you wouldn't dream of using their lower-end consumer products. Are you doing a 5.1 or a 7.1 setup?

What's always bothers me with home theatre equipment is that it's extremely difficult to ensure the identical handling of all three screen channels. The centre doesn't get the space it needs (usually the speaker is physically placed below the large-screen TV, unlike L & R that both get any space they need, comparatively speaking) so the speaker will always represent a compromise in physical dimensions and frequently in the driver. My Dali speakers are a good example of this. They are great but I don't have three identical screen channels.

My garage setup used to have five identical screen channels, as it handled the old Academy six-channel mag strip setup (5 screen channels, 1 surround) rather than the more recent 5.1 layout, but now that I'm moving to a newer Dolby processor, I'm going to lose the left and right extras. Oh well.

[DirtDawg]

Not going to tube route, me, not if I can avoid it. I'm just too paranoid and would endlessly replace tubes, thinking that yes, maybe it would change things. Although I have to admit that it is very tempting to add warmth using a tube amp since the AKGs are likely more or less completely neutral, see where it would take me.

Crossovers in movie rigs can be a nightmare but I have nothing but good experiences with JBLs in cinemas and I assume you wouldn't dream of using their lower-end consumer products. Are you doing a 5.1 or a 7.1 setup?

What's always bothers me with home theatre equipment is that it's extremely difficult to ensure the identical handling of all three screen channels. The centre doesn't get the space it needs (usually the speaker is physically placed below the large-screen TV, unlike L & R that both get any space they need, comparatively speaking) so the speaker will always represent a compromise in physical dimensions and frequently in the driver. My Dali speakers are a good example of this. They are great but I don't have three identical screen channels.

My garage setup used to have five identical screen channels, as it handled the old Academy six-channel mag strip setup (5 screen channels, 1 surround) rather than the more recent 5.1 layout, but now that I'm moving to a newer Dolby processor, I'm going to lose the left and right extras. Oh well.

My 5.4 (see how I did that, there?) system is all vintage (mid) eighties hardware (except for one rather large mid/low-bass box - dual eighteens - 2242 JBL) (My LFE is bi-amped). (It is complicated)

I am now using a pair of single 2205/2426/2370/2405 custom enclosures (which I built last summer) for Front L+R - Dual E110/2370/2426/ 2405 For Center - Single E110/2405 for surrounds.  So, in theory, they are all voiced to match each other, including the bi-amped sub-bass LFE channel.

(The front lows started out as E140s - a bit middy -, as if I was building a Cabaret style enclosure, then E145 - enhancing the bass-, then "custom" 2235 built on blown E140 baskets-it works per JBL interchangeability chart, finally Stock, ancient, AlNiCo 2205 drivers for the lows up front - best match, yet!)
I have been doing graphs for four months, trying to get the crossover just right. It was OK, at the start, but there is a reason that JBL studio crossovers are so incredibly complex.

Generally, JBL Studio monitors are designed to be used "between near field and far field" for realistic, highly dynamic representation of recorded media in a number of environments, using various room treatments to achieve fewer room nodes or reverberant anomalies within the listening space
(I know I do not have to mention this for your benefit, but for anyone els reading, sound re-enforcement must fill three dimensions- NOT just two).

Mine are not really an attempt to emulate studio monitors. Rather, I am attempting to emulate the cinema sound from my favorite era of movies. Works amazingly well.  Interestingly, it blows the modern movie soundtracks up like you HAVE to hear to believe!!

So far, my latest attempt at multi-channel surround in a small living space (sixteen by twenty four by eight to twelve -Cathedral ceilings) fits my needs.


edit: Sorry, I just realized, I put my room dimensions in feet, instead of meters. But, it is a fairly small room for so much sound. You know what that means.



Oh, did I mention, in case I want to "Rock teh House,"  with music; I can, without worrying if the speakers will give up before the listener does in a game of "auditory Chicken."
 

OH, incidentally, I do not use tubes in my cinema rig. It is all SS.

[Parts]

I worked in a photo store/lab when I was in high school

[skyblue1]

Today is International Happy Day

 Are you happy?

[odeon]

Not going to tube route, me, not if I can avoid it. I'm just too paranoid and would endlessly replace tubes, thinking that yes, maybe it would change things. Although I have to admit that it is very tempting to add warmth using a tube amp since the AKGs are likely more or less completely neutral, see where it would take me.

Crossovers in movie rigs can be a nightmare but I have nothing but good experiences with JBLs in cinemas and I assume you wouldn't dream of using their lower-end consumer products. Are you doing a 5.1 or a 7.1 setup?

What's always bothers me with home theatre equipment is that it's extremely difficult to ensure the identical handling of all three screen channels. The centre doesn't get the space it needs (usually the speaker is physically placed below the large-screen TV, unlike L & R that both get any space they need, comparatively speaking) so the speaker will always represent a compromise in physical dimensions and frequently in the driver. My Dali speakers are a good example of this. They are great but I don't have three identical screen channels.

My garage setup used to have five identical screen channels, as it handled the old Academy six-channel mag strip setup (5 screen channels, 1 surround) rather than the more recent 5.1 layout, but now that I'm moving to a newer Dolby processor, I'm going to lose the left and right extras. Oh well.

My 5.4 (see how I did that, there?) system is all vintage (mid) eighties hardware (except for one rather large mid/low-bass box - dual eighteens - 2242 JBL) (My LFE is bi-amped). (It is complicated)

I am now using a pair of single 2205/2426/2370/2405 custom enclosures (which I built last summer) for Front L+R - Dual E110/2370/2426/ 2405 For Center - Single E110/2405 for surrounds.  So, in theory, they are all voiced to match each other, including the bi-amped sub-bass LFE channel.

(The front lows started out as E140s - a bit middy -, as if I was building a Cabaret style enclosure, then E145 - enhancing the bass-, then "custom" 2235 built on blown E140 baskets-it works per JBL interchangeability chart, finally Stock, ancient, AlNiCo 2205 drivers for the lows up front - best match, yet!)
I have been doing graphs for four months, trying to get the crossover just right. It was OK, at the start, but there is a reason that JBL studio crossovers are so incredibly complex.

Generally, JBL Studio monitors are designed to be used "between near field and far field" for realistic, highly dynamic representation of recorded media in a number of environments, using various room treatments to achieve fewer room nodes or reverberant anomalies within the listening space
(I know I do not have to mention this for your benefit, but for anyone els reading, sound re-enforcement must fill three dimensions- NOT just two).

Mine are not really an attempt to emulate studio monitors. Rather, I am attempting to emulate the cinema sound from my favorite era of movies. Works amazingly well.  Interestingly, it blows the modern movie soundtracks up like you HAVE to hear to believe!!

So far, my latest attempt at multi-channel surround in a small living space (sixteen by twenty four by eight to twelve -Cathedral ceilings) fits my needs.


edit: Sorry, I just realized, I put my room dimensions in feet, instead of meters. But, it is a fairly small room for so much sound. You know what that means.



Oh, did I mention, in case I want to "Rock teh House,"  with music; I can, without worrying if the speakers will give up before the listener does in a game of "auditory Chicken."
 

OH, incidentally, I do not use tubes in my cinema rig. It is all SS.

You wouldn't want to use tubes in a cinema setup, though, if you want to emulate a movie theatre sound. I imagine the Dolby curve is pretty hard to do without solid state.

Not getting a clear idea of your sub setup here. You wouldn't happen to have pics, would you?

I'd love a demo, in any case. How big is the room?

[renaeden]

I may have written this before. But when I am sitting at a table and my feet get bumped, I am instantly furious. I can't stand having my feet bumped. I also can't stand people putting their bare feet near me. It just irks me.

[DirtDawg]

Not going to tube route, me, not if I can avoid it. I'm just too paranoid and would endlessly replace tubes, thinking that yes, maybe it would change things. Although I have to admit that it is very tempting to add warmth using a tube amp since the AKGs are likely more or less completely neutral, see where it would take me.

Crossovers in movie rigs can be a nightmare but I have nothing but good experiences with JBLs in cinemas and I assume you wouldn't dream of using their lower-end consumer products. Are you doing a 5.1 or a 7.1 setup?

What's always bothers me with home theatre equipment is that it's extremely difficult to ensure the identical handling of all three screen channels. The center doesn't get the space it needs (usually the speaker is physically placed below the large-screen TV, unlike L & R that both get any space they need, comparatively speaking) so the speaker will always represent a compromise in physical dimensions and frequently in the driver. My Dali speakers are a good example of this. They are great but I don't have three identical screen channels.

My garage setup used to have five identical screen channels, as it handled the old Academy six-channel mag strip setup (5 screen channels, 1 surround) rather than the more recent 5.1 layout, but now that I'm moving to a newer Dolby processor, I'm going to lose the left and right extras. Oh well.

My 5.4 (see how I did that, there?) system is all vintage (mid) eighties hardware (except for one rather large mid/low-bass box - dual eighteens - 2242 JBL) (My LFE is bi-amped). (It is complicated)

I am now using a pair of single 2205/2426/2370/2405 custom enclosures (which I built last summer) for Front L+R - Dual E110/2370/2426/ 2405 For Center - Single E110/2405 for surrounds.  So, in theory, they are all voiced to match each other, including the bi-amped sub-bass LFE channel.

(The front lows started out as E140s - a bit middy -, as if I was building a Cabaret style enclosure, then E145 - enhancing the bass-, then "custom" 2235 built on blown E140 baskets-it works per JBL interchangeability chart, finally Stock, ancient, AlNiCo 2205 drivers for the lows up front - best match, yet!)
I have been doing graphs for four months, trying to get the crossover just right. It was OK, at the start, but there is a reason that JBL studio crossovers are so incredibly complex.

Generally, JBL Studio monitors are designed to be used "between near field and far field" for realistic, highly dynamic representation of recorded media in a number of environments, using various room treatments to achieve fewer room nodes or reverberant anomalies within the listening space
(I know I do not have to mention this for your benefit, but for anyone els reading, sound re-enforcement must fill three dimensions- NOT just two).

Mine are not really an attempt to emulate studio monitors. Rather, I am attempting to emulate the cinema sound from my favorite era of movies. Works amazingly well.  Interestingly, it blows the modern movie soundtracks up like you HAVE to hear to believe!!

So far, my latest attempt at multi-channel surround in a small living space (sixteen by twenty four by eight to twelve -Cathedral ceilings) fits my needs.


edit: Sorry, I just realized, I put my room dimensions in feet, instead of meters. But, it is a fairly small room for so much sound. You know what that means.



Oh, did I mention, in case I want to "Rock teh House,"  with music; I can, without worrying if the speakers will give up before the listener does in a game of "auditory Chicken."
 

OH, incidentally, I do not use tubes in my cinema rig. It is all SS.

You wouldn't want to use tubes in a cinema setup, though, if you want to emulate a movie theatre sound. I imagine the Dolby curve is pretty hard to do without solid state.

Not getting a clear idea of your sub setup here. You wouldn't happen to have pics, would you?

I'd love a demo, in any case. How big is the room?

I can tell you that you will never hear my sub system, the way I have it set up now. You can only feel it.  I used an old desk (for a short time I pulled out the couch and set that monster behind the couch - THAT was awesome!!   but, we really needed the two feet of floor area) which is a part of the living space environment as cover for the twelve cubic foot cabinet housing dual eighteens (JBL 2242 - only have six hundred watts on the two. It runs from a hard cut-off at sixteen Hz up to twenty eight Hz, where the crossover defers to a single fifteen in a corner (two hundred watts) and a dual ten in another location near a corner (four hundred watts on that one) and another High excursion ten in a sealed enclosure half-way down the wall opposite the dual eighteens, playing the same subrange as the dual eighteens, hidden by a table (two hundred watts on that one). My LFE channel defers to the full range tops, which are set above sixty Hz. The Subs are hard crossed from sixteen to eighty Hz, using four different enclosures, in four different locations, exciting as many room nodes as possible, since using large scale bass control is out of the question. Think of it as another way of skinning the cat, so to speak. Excite every node possible, turn it down a bit and the approach is almost flat, still. Control the units with the power settings and the crossover points.
I used to run a third octave EQ before the LFE crossover, but with careful room placement of the various enclosures, I have eliminated the EQ as unnecessary.

I mentioned my room size, but I put it in feet. Estimating here, just under 5 meters by just over seven meters floor size, with a Cathedral ceiling rising to almost four meters in the center. So, yeah, fairly small listening space.

The only place I use tubes/valves is in my bedroom two channel set up. Open Box dual fifteens, single eight and dual ribbon tweets. I keep them against the wall, unless I am planning a listening session.

I have a much more simple 7.2 set up for a bedroom movie rig. (All are mounted at the ceiling) It is very simple, using Klipsch Quintets (ordered two extras) for fronts, center and surrounds, two small JBLs consumer grade/home use eight inch subs (identical) for LFE, one in a corner near the headboard and one behind the audio cabinet under the center channel.

I have a fairly modern Sony AV receiver to power the bedroom system.

As you can see, my wife has a very high tolerance for my hobbies and a great sense of humor.

[Genesis]

I have a Leprechaun as my Mascot. Oh wait..... that was before the Cat....

[Parts]

I may have written this before. But when I am sitting at a table and my feet get bumped, I am instantly furious. I can't stand having my feet bumped. I also can't stand people putting their bare feet near me. It just irks me.

One of my son's is like that

[El-Presidente]

I like to strike martial arts fighting poses prior to farting.  I strike my best Bruce Lee pose then let loose a searing gale of flatus.