Hello, I just joined, primarily for the audiophile products. Looking at purchasing the NHT C3 speakers for our new living room. Space is about 15 feet wide by 33 long and they will fire long ways. Space is just for general listening, music room with all equipment is downstairs, so hoping they will fill it with sound nicely. Cheers.
Mar 18, 2024
Are we as consumers too trusting of Audio reviews? Are the recommendations we rely on actually reliable? Are our sound expectations reasonable? How often do we end up disappointed vs elated? Will Mike reach musical Nirvana when all his gear finally arrives?
Tune into this channel to find out the answers to these questions and more!
Oh and to answer your ponder about how we as consumers trusting reviews. Why not? Plus we are not only trusting reviews here Ray, but we are also believing in the proof of history. History in what these cans have achieved with numerous tests, reviews, YT reviews, comments from people in the audio industry. . .the list goes on. So ya, I do trust. Ever since I've gotten into tech, PC's, gaming, etc., I've ONLY bought items that I've researched through YT reviews, articles, etc. And you know what?....I've never gone wrong . . . not once. Not once have I ever been disappointed with a product I have purchased.
I didn‘t see the original thread post (just RayF’s post pondering the nature of headphone reviews), but I will say I have been to Sennheiser’s headquarters, and the HD 6XX are totally Sennheiser all the way (including headband and cushions, etc), exactly the same as the HD 650 except for the color and accessories, made for Massdrop and the community here, originally conceived as a limited time deal.
@hidefjunky I agree with you, sometimes you have to go on a little faith, but most reviewers try really hard and are very careful in sharing their observations (unless they parrot others), and they’re putting their work out there exposed for all to see. I think it’s usually obvious to see a well-written review and the thought put into them, or when someone is too brief or just sputtering their excitement. In the end, reviews are work, and I appreciate the effort and contributions to the community. In the case of the HD 650 and HD 6XX, there are SO MANY reviews that it’s easy to get an idea of what remains consistent.
The HD 650 surprised me a touch, actually. From the way detractors acted, I expected this warm, syrupy, midbass-almost-like-mainstream sound, almost like a refined Bose, but it wasn’t like that at all. You’ll find it in-between the GSP 500 and the ATH-GD1x, with more solidity than the AT yet not with the hype of the GSP, feeling more balanced than either of those and also less strain to produce the nuances than either of those. A mild coloration from neutral, in that it’s pretty natural feeling and detailed but that unstrained nature makes it NOT brutally revealing of upstream gear flaws. To make a metaphor, it’s like me lifting and carrying a heavy box versus someone who has already been lifting weights for months, the HD 650 is just able to do things with confidence and authority.
The surround DSP from the GSX 1000 sounds great with the HD 650, giving you that speaker-like out of your head effect, though the HD 650 has more authority when you connect a stronger amp inbetween the headphone and GSX. Is the ARC an amp?
Imagine trying to buy a television based solely on verbal descriptions of the picture quality and color gamut--as opposed to viewing models side by side at BestBuy. When you consider the word-salad of adjectives used to convey audio quality on this site, I can only imagine how that would translate to the visual--but I suspect it would be at least as humorous to read through...
In answer to your question about the ARC; YESSIR it sure is ! In fact, it's one helluva kicka$$ amp to say the least. They are handmade by a small company nearrrrrr New Jersey I think?.....But they drive high end cans like the HD650's like a formula 1 race car driver does to a Ferrari. I've had it for about a month now and I absolutely LOVE it.
Dude, you HAVE to read about it and watch a few YT videos on it. In fact, go to the Mayflower website and see it for yourself. It's design is very minimalistic, in fact, looks like it came from RadioShack LOL ! But trust me man, it's not.
Do me a favor and let me know when you get yours, as I will too.
I have my HD 650 (equivalent to the HD 6XX) already! But it sounds like you have a lot of good stuff from NJ or on the way from NJ soon ;) I’ll check out the Mayflower sometime, maybe at a meet, but I already have a Cavalli Liquid Carbon (pre-Massdrop) and this baby:
But I totally get where you’re coming from; a higher-end, carefully made amp can firmly grip the drivers of your headphone and control them to reveal new heights of scale, impact, and just fidelity in general.
Your headphone might arrive today (or yesterday)! What is the first song for your HD 6XX? I made a playlist of some songs that play to the HD 650’s strengths on Spotify, I think these are fun: https://open.spotify.com/user/evshrug/playlist/1ayeHWCdxJzNNzDVORlcTt?si=KJR9jC_oT2-9jIkUeviIfQ
@RayF I’m trying to Master the Salad... both in audio description and a better consistent diet. I totally “get” you about wanting that hands-on experience. I think CanJams and smaller local meets are the best places to try out headphones for a first impression. You get to hear them, usually on an optimized setup so you get to quickly gauge what the headphone (or other piece of gear) is capable of, without the guilt of going to Best Buy with the full intent to price hunt 😅 Even if you do decide to buy, CanJams usually have promo pricing. The past two years, I really felt taking a weekend off and a 7 hour bus ride over to New York City in Feburary was really worth it! ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE! Lol.
Still haven’t settled on a knife 🤣 You see that Spyderco Smock from Blade 2018? Would love to see that on Massdrop, HA!
Hadn't heard of that particular Spyderco but I did look it up. Preorders here for $167-ish:
https://www.bladehq.com/item--Spyderco-Smock-Flipper-Knife-Carbon--81450
Little video of the mechanism here:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BeVa82uHI1c/?hl=en
Cheers!