VortexBlast

Hello, I have a Gigabyte P34w v3 that I bought 2 years and 6 months ago. 2 Weeks ago, it met its demise and blew a resistor or a capacitor during gameplay. I removed the back cover and it began sparking and well it's more than dead. Here's a shot of the motherboard. You can see there was a tiny fire. I have since replaced this laptop with an MSI GS63VR 7RF and now I am left with a choice. Do I part it out and sell various components or repair it and sell as a whole or use it as a back up? I went to a computer repair shop and he said that this need to be sent to Gigabyte for a motherboard replacement (quite obvious haha) and that this might cost me 400 to 500 euros not including the fact that I also need to replace the battery (it has become swollen) so I'm looking maybe 500 to 600 euros of repair? Spec wise, it's still pretty good for today's standards. It has an i7-4720HQ, GTX 970M, 16GB of HyperX DDR3 RAM, 500GB Samsung mSata SSD and a 1TB HDD. Thankfully, the SSD and the HDD is intact and in good condition. I don't know about the RAM though because I don't have another laptop that has DDR3 SO-DIMM slots to test it out. What are your suggestions? Part it out and recycle it? Or repair it and use it as a back up laptop or sell it? Thanks.

ABX testing is a very controversial method of testing in the audio world. It might make sense to you it might not make sense to another. Here are some articles that mentions why the ABX method is flawed: http://www.avguide.com/forums/blind-listening-tests-are-flawed-editorial http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue56/abx.htm And anyway, everyone has a different way to hear, interpret and perceive sound and this is a thread that asks what are the best headphones and not why ABX is the definitive test to differentiate headphones so let's not derail this thread.

While I haven't had the chance to do double blind testing or ABX testing I don't believe it is necessary. I have to agree though for DACs, the difference are subtler up to a point but I have to disagree for Headphones and Amps up to a price point. The problem with double blind test or ABX testing is that our brain cannot preserve sonic memory for long enough to notice the difference so the results are nullified or simply put, we won't be able to notice any differences. Various other problems with double blind testing is that it puts unnecessary pressure to the listener that will skew the results. ABX testing is essentially flawed and really doesn't matter. Long term testing and a "calibrated" ear is how we are able to make the differences. For instance whenever I want to hear a headphone or a system that I haven't heard before, I would listen to my headphones or system that I know full well at first as a reference point and then I will go and listen to the other headphone. If the headphone measurements are available, I would take a look and cross reference it with what I heard. For amps, the difference are between the headphones and also what kind of amp it is. Tube and Solid State amps sounds radically different and jumping from a portable amp to a more powerful desktop amp is very audible especially if you use hard to drive or low sensitivity headphones. But debating about the objective and the subjective absolutely goes to nowhere. I just keep an open mind and use my hearing and occasionally the measurements as well to judge if a headphone is worth it or not. I'm not saying that I have a "golden ear" and can pick out any differences but I have auditioned numerous types of headphones from low-end to the highest of high-end (Abyss AB-1266 and STAX SR-009) and I know when I hear something amazing or crap.

Too many headphones to list. I have heard so many headphones during meets and audio shows that I just don't know where to start. The Stax SR-009 and Abyss AB-1266 are my favourites but their astronomical price keeps me from the absolute favourite category. If I would pick my absolute favourite, it would be the Fostex TH-900 and it's baby brother, the TH-600 which just has a very beautiful sound and absolutely gorgeous looking as well. Honorable Mentions: Modded Fostex T50RP, I have a pair that I modded myself and they just have amazing potential, they can even rival high end headphones when modded correctly. Final Audio Design Piano Forte IX, very weird sound that only works with classical music and sounds awful with other genres but when you do listen to classical, it's exactly the same as listening in a concert hall. I just want to listen to classical with those IEM. HifiMan HE-500 for it's audiophile sound at a relatively reachable price. More soundstage than the LCD-2 and better treble for $300 less.

As far as I have listened, I remember that they have some recessed mid range so they might not be ideal with vocal centric music. They have quite a bit of loose bass at the beginning but they should tighten up after their break in period. After that, they really have very tight and impactful bass. Treble wise, they're not sparkly and actually quite smooth. Comfort wise, they clamp hard out of the box but if you flatten the headband a few times, it will become much more comfortable. Build quality is top notch and the hinges are especially very sturdy. Oh and you obviously don't need an amp but I found out that they respond especially well with amping (I used my Fostex HP-P1 Dac/Amp when I tested the M-100). If I were a bass head and want to spend around $300 on headphones, I would buy the V-Moda M100 in a heartbeat but since I'm more of an audiophile head that likes everything to be neutral and natural with a sweet midrange, they aren't for me sadly. Try to look at the HifiMan HE-400 too if you can though they are open headphones but they have faster, harder hitting and tighter bass but they do have way less quantity and needs amplification.

Go ahead, they're very bass heavy but absolutely amazing to listen to drum and bass, electro, dubstep. Not my cup of tea but I absolutely loved it when I tried it with Pendulum.

Not to my ears though. For me, the best bang for the buck high end audiophile headphone system (Headphone + Amp + Dac) is around $1400 which consists of the HifiMan HE-500, Schiit Lyr Amp and Schiit Bifrost DAC. But then how much you're willing to spend and what you consider reasonable is entirely up to you. Once you go Planar Magnetic drivers, it's very hard to go back to Dynamic drivers. They're just too good especially in the bass department. But for headphones, pretty much the Sennheiser HD650, AKG K702 and Beyerdynamic DT880 are the last headphones to not be affected by diminishing returns. I will make an exception for the HE-500 though because it might be expensive but it's entirely worth the $600. The trade off is the need of a beefy amp, preferably tube amps.

These are one of my numerous headphones. HifiMan HE-500 + Schiit Lyr Amp

During my stay in Indonesia, I've auditioned numerous high end flagship headphones and IEMs that were available including the STAX SR-009, Abyss AB-1266, Audez'e LCD-3, HifiMan HE-6, AKG K1000 and even the mythical and extremely rare Final Audio Design Muramasa VIII and so on and so on... (but alas, haven't heard the Orpheus) As everybody said, there is no "the best" headphones in the world because taste is all in all very subjective and each headphone has its own sound signature that works with one or various genre of music. There is no jack of all trades and master of all headphones. But if I was to give one headphone the "best" moniker, it would be the STAX SR-009 followed closely by the Abyss AB-1266. This is only based on sonic finesse and not on how I like the sound or not (e.g: I wasn't favourable with the Abyss sound signature but it was mighty fun to listen to). Now what did I think about the STAX SR-009? I did my listening at a high end audio show and it was plugged through an SRM-727 MkII amp (hardly the ideal amp for the SR-009) and an M2Tech Vaughan Dac, that setup alone can cost north of $14000 in total, and honestly I was spoiled afterwards. In terms of sound signature, it was extremely neutral with an amazing midrange representation and the best and smoothest treble I have ever heard. Instrument separation was excellent, I could hear every instruments as layers and separated from each other. The bass is extremely tight and very fast as well (but the Abyss was a bit faster and had a bit more impact in the bass department) but it never overpowers the music and never muddles other instruments. It was just the right amount and the right quality of bass. The big question is, would I spend $15k in this system? If I was obscenely rich then absolutely but because I'm not rich I have to say no. When you go past around $1500 on an audiophile headphone rig (Headphone + Amp + DAC) the diminishing returns starts to hit very hard. I personally use an HifiMan HE-500 with a Schiit Lyr amplifier going through my Fostex HP-P1 DAC (could use a better DAC though) at home and I would say that while it is very far away from the SR-009 system, I had 65% as much pleasure as I did with the $15k rig. I understand why it costs that much and I understand the value in it and if I had the money, I absolutely would not think twice but it really just is beyond my reach. If you have the opportunity to listen to one, go ahead and don't be afraid to listen to it for a very long time (20 minutes minimum). It will spoil you and you will always try to aim higher, never looking below again but there will be a limit you will eventually reach that will make you think that the price is just too much.