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4? How long does your 80 quid Yammy typically last?

Hey here's a news update. Summary: don't make the same mistake as I. Don't trust an "artisan" to fabricate an amplifier for you. It's a nightmare. So I traveled back and forth 5 times to the artisan's workshop who lives 60 km south of Paris. The traffic is really bad on weekdays and now on Sundays due to the vacation rush. Expect a 2-3 hour round trip on bad traffic with a 1€70 pay toll both ways. As a customer paying a high price (1800€ ouch!) you expect the amplifier to work just fine out of the door. It was never the case. I had to go back to the artisan multiple times to fix the high noise floor (hum and hissing). The noise floor was attenuated everytime, but not enough. I still hear the hum. And it's still annoying as heck. Last Sunday I returned to the workshop for the last time and told the guy "I don't want this amp, it hums. Keep your money I don't care anymore. I'm sick of driving to your workshop. I want to enjoy my weekends. I'll just buy a used Atoll amp for 250€ on the used market. It won't hum and it will sound lovely". He told me: "You're never going to get the same enjoyment out of a transistor amp. I'll fix your tube amplifier and drive to your house next Sunday. The 100Hz hum comes from the AC current. I'll have to install diodes to convert the AC current into DC. It will be silent afterwards". My emotions are just all over the place. He should have fixed the problem 2 months ago. There's no excuse for not using diodes to kill the 100Hz hum. It's lazy and stupid. He doesn't know how to effectively design an amplifier. I'm fed up. I just want to get an amplifier of any kind, set it up and relax. You can easily find a NAD, Yamaha, Atoll, Cambridge Audio, Denon, Pioneer or Sony amp on the used market with serviceable A/B amplification for 300€ or less. They just work. They sound fine.

After waiting what feels like 4 months it's finally ready! My custom order for an EL34 tube amp is finalized. Why is the noise floor so darn high!? My speakers are sensitive AF. They're 4" fullrange drivers. It sounds amazing but that noise floor tho.

"Nobody actually buys anything based on measurements". That's the most hypocritical thing I heard all year. You can flip the statement around and say "People call products hot garbage without even experiencing them because the measurements are disappointing". To be clear, I value personal experience over other people's opinions and 'objective measurements'. Somehow this statement is mocked by the folks at ASR who never listen to speakers and prefer to look at graphs instead. I understand that they have this perspective because they have 0 opportunities to listen to other speakers without spending money. So if you're buying a product for hundreds or thousands of dollars based on recommendations alone it better be near perfect. Anything south of perfection is hot garbage. This is the root of the problem: the ASR angry mob mentality. Please don't flip this discussion into a debate over the scientific method. I'm just saying that the buyer who purchases the speakers for themselves (not ASR, not some test dummy, not you) have the final word. Period. Ultimately, I want the Audiophile community to be more social and organize Meetups. I want to showcase my system and I want to experience other people's systems. I want to buy/sell/trade components with others. I want to share music recommendations. I don't want to argue through X,Y and Z that a product is 'scientifically' better than another.

I wholeheartedly agree with the OP. I know very well that everyone will imply that I'm entirely wrong and ignorant. I'm growing tired of this internet herd mentality around "objectivity" in the context of audio. Everyone is taking the moral high ground of "science" to argue that a particular speaker/headphone is great or absolute trash. There's no in-between. Subjective opinions aren't worth squat if they disagree with the measurements. Measurements >>> enjoying the product. The bottom line is that buyers cannot sample products before purchasing so they have to rely on "objective" reviews when considering a product. Now "objective" reviews are the final world. I'll tell you that if you were in a position to sample many products you'll have a completely different perspective on the hobby. You wouldn't give two hoots about what strangers think on the internet and you'll earn the superpower of listening to music without thinking about the equipment and its minute flaws or graphs. I mean just imagine calling a movie trash because the colors in a particular scene are oversaturated and the grass looks fluorescent. Nevermind the mind-blowing plot and the great acting. The director sucks because they don't know how to make grass look natural LOL I seriously think that the Audiophile community is more interested in performance graphs than actually hearing music. Are you buying the headphones for the test dummy or yourself!?

Hey! Congrats. Like I said, the baseline Xiaomi Airdots are nice to have. Just don't be too demanding with sound quality. It's likely that other earphones sound better. I can't give you an honest answer.

Man! That's so gimmicky. I just use the Xiaomi Airdots. They sound OK. They work really well. And they're cheap cheap cheap. I have a seriously good hi-fi system at home. But when I'm out and about the ambient noise kinda defeats the purpose of Hi-Fi sound quality.

For gaming I really love Sennheiser open backs. The Sennheiser HD559 is excellent. They are very comfortable and non-fatiguing. The 559 is sold around $80. There is no need for a headphone amp. Even your phone can power them. You can also purchase the 599 for $160, but I doubt that it will be a significant upgrade over the 559.

Closer Acoustics OGY and REL T5X. The disappointing Klipsch RP600M made me do this! The OGY are the tiniest transmission line speakers, they use full-range EMS LB5 drivers. No cross-over to muck the mids.

Hey! To me most headphones sound like the Audio Technica M50x. They have boosted bass. Yes the mids could be a little more clear. Yes the treble is harsh at times. So I'm out of options if you want headphones with more bass than the M50x. Most headphones will have as much or less bass than the M50x. The difference will be in bass quality. EDIT: Check out Superlux HD 681 EVO or Sennheiser HD 280 Pro or Sennheiser HD 25.

I currently have a Poco X3 NFC and the stereo speakers are definitely a standout feature. Most other cheap phones compromise and use a pathetic mono speaker. I play music on my phone at full blast while I work. I also watch a lot of YouTube and don't like the discomfort of using wireless earbuds.

My 2 cents: the Apple dongle DAC is underrated AF. I recon that it outperforms the Audioquest Dragonfly Black 1.3 for 1/10th the price. I say this because the noise floor on the Audioquest Dragonfly Black 1.3 is quite high and noticeable. The Apple dongle is silent. On first glance the Dragonfly Black is 'better' because it outputs way more power and bass. But the Apple dongle DAC is simply cleaner. This is just one example of how the "Audiophile" community is full of BS. Audioquest is a "holy" brand like Sennheiser and nobody dares to criticize. There are so many assumptions out there that "more expensive = better". Specific products get more coverage than others for marketing reasons. And a human being (consumer or reviewer) can only sample so many products and everything is subjective anyways. It gets especially confusing when you combine products with different sound characteristics, the performance can varry drastically. One thing is certain: price plays a huge role in the perception of a product. I'll add that getting into the "audiophile" hobby implies buying a lot of products based on biased opinions. It's hard to find your "sweet spot" based on your gear and preferences.

Hey sorry to revive this topic. But Samsung is giving out huge mail-in rebates on their soundbars and TVs at this moment. Go to Samsung's official website/store, you'll see. Otherwise, I don't have much experience with soundbars.

Summary: This guy measured 1000+ earphones in his lifetime. He has a few favorites. The Samsung Galaxy buds are his pick as they offer good sound quality and are readily available everywhere.

I am thinking of KEEPS. It's some kind of off the counter medication to prevent hair loss. They sponsored a bunch of YouTubers & Streamers. For the longest time Donut Media was sponsored by KEEPS. They're a car channel FYI.

The GBA is an absolute joy to emulate. There are many colorful Zelda and Pokémon games, a boatload of JRPGs and platformers etc... I just love the colorful pixelated graphics of the GBA and regreted not having the backlit Gameboy Advance SP ever since.

I went to the Made in France fair in Paris (MIF Expo) and stumbled upon this perfect coffee table. It is made from the finest oak and feels heavy AF. No veneer or MDF. The table was built in Paris. I have even spoke to the artisan. The price was eye-watering obviously

Nice! Are you a land surveyor? (I can't see why people would buy hatchets outside of this context)

100% Agree! I tried my gosh darn hardest to love the cheap and powerful KZ IEMs. But they wouldn't stop falling out of my ears due to the strange design, the heavy enclosures and that awful wire. My TWS earphones just stay in.

I like the 5 or 6 Queen songs which get overplayed on the radio LOL. Billy Joel has some dope songs as well. I kinda see a trend here with all 60s and 70s rock 100% Agree that Jon Bonham can't save me from boredom. But the song Fool in the Rain is God tier if you can somehow block the whiny vocals out of your mind. The level of syncopation is nuts...

I find myself dying of boredom when listening to these bands. But I will admit that Led Zeppelin has a legendary drummer who somehow elevates the whiny vocals which annoy me. The rest of the lineup is pretty standard for 60s and 70s rock. There are some undeniably good songs, but listening to an entire album feels like an absolute chore when there are promongated "jams". I haven't listened much to the Doors but I'm not genuinely motivated to do so But what do I know, I listen to Vaporwave and HyperPop

They sound good but have no bass. What are your other options?

@AnonSchlingel You have many DIY audio shops in Germany which sell quality audio components. One brand stands out: VISATON. Speaker hobbiests seem to love that brand. You can easily find VISATON Exciter drivers around 20€~60€ online. Unfortunately, I have no experience with those. Perhaps you can call an DIY audio shop and get some answers. Here are some links: https://www.lautsprechershop.de/chassis/visaton_wandler_fr.htm https://www.reichelt.com/fr/en/exciters-c4594.html

I use the Airdots daily and have zero problems. The volume gets really high without distorting. I don't want to test any further The connection reliability is fine as well. I haven't tested other True Wireless earphones, but I can tell you that the Airdots didn't disappoint considering the price.

You have to learn Indian cuisine then. Many western countries have lackluster vegetarian recipes. Indian cuisine is the most convincing way to learn how to appreciate vegetables. It's full of flavor and color. The other issue is that some "vegetables" are more filling then others. It's important to consume beans, lentils and chickpeas to feel satiated. If you only eat tomatoes, cucumber and iceberg lettuce you'll be starving. I love the old method which worked since the beginning of mankind: open markets. The seller literally fills your bags full of groceries in minutes, and with a smile. I'm sorry but having to weigh your own vegetables is a pain in the butt, especially if you live in France. Since self-checkout has become a thing, stores realized that customers were weighing 1 apple and purchasing 5. So weighing your own vegetables is a no-go, a cashier must weigh your vegetables instead. There are fewer cashiers available compared to 10 years ago as well. So if you commit the sin of buying anything in bulk, you'll have to wait 15~20 minutes in line instead of using the speedy self-checkout. And cashiers are slow AF in France. This is of course less of a problem with giant supermarkets, but then you have to trample over people and waste hours finding all of the foods dispersed over 80 aisles, 20 of which are just wine, dairy and charcuterie. I'm also the kind of guy who doesn't believe that choice is necessarily a good thing in the context of consuming food. I'd rather choose between 5 or 10 great products rather than 1000 mediocre products you hesitate to trust. So please give me "whatever", especially if that "whatever" is guaranteed to be delicious and worth my money. My point is: I spend less time and money shopping at open markets; the quality of the products and service are superior to grocery stores. I feel stupid every time I buy vegetables, meat or bread at grocery stores.