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Cheddar
12
Aug 10, 2018
BLUF: Warm / Fun Sound, Cost, Comfort, Leakage, and Isolation.
IMO, closed backs are pointless for: 1. Commute (ANC is a must for me) 2. Workout (IEMs are preferable)
But they do have some value at work. Given I already have a pair of ANC headphones for commute (Bose QC), I don't want to carry work headphones in my pack. So I want something I'd feel safe leaving in the office over the weekend. And obviously, they must sound better than the QC I'm already carrying around for commuting, or I'd just use them instead. Sound signature should be warm or even fun, as my focus should be on the work - i.e. I'm more likely to listen to pop than opera.
Priorities then are, in descending order: Warm / Fun Sound, Cost, Comfort, Leakage, and Isolation.
Right now, I have the E-MU Purplehearts for work. I've considered the Thinksound ON2, ATH-M50x, and maybe even Sony MDR-V6 as a possible change. A $150-or-so item with a similar value proposition to the Purplehearts would be appealing.
At home, where cost is less of an issue until my wife sees the receipt and starts to wonder why I couldn't have bought a new sofa with the funds instead: the E-MU Teak, TR-X00 Ebony, Oppo PM-3, Audeze LCD2, and PSB M4U have all hit my short-list. However, the fact these happen to be closed back is incidental.
CheddarI’m hearing you about the audio instead of the (needed) new sofa! My wife falls asleep watching TV on ours all the time, to where the padding is almost flattened and the middle seat back support struts broke, so the center of the couch seatback is free and arcs back when you sit on it. I mean, sure a $250 Audeze Mobius is cheaper than a good quality new couch (that hopefully would last longer than the two years it took us to break this one), but I’m still not sure how I (successfully) convinced my wife that the Mobius was a good investment.
Shame about Oppo Digital, I really liked their PM2 and hoped to see further developments of their line.
Cheddar
12
Aug 11, 2018
EvshrugWell, she did get her sofa - an IKEA Kivik that she's quite happy with. Our prior sofa was originally white but had turned various shades of other colours over the years (two dogs and a toddler); likewise, one of the support beam had broken in half; and our dog ate one of the foam cushions which was going to cost $100 to repair.
Yeah, it's be nice if Oppo returned to the market. I never got a chance to sample their products, but everyone agreed they'd hit gold.
CheddarI had participated in the Head-Fi review tour for the PM2 , bought an Oppo PM3, and my wife actually won a PM3 of her own at a CanJam. I wish I’d bought the PM2 (could only afford it at the time if I had managed to see a B-Stock), it had a fairly even response without a particular frequency standing out, average soundstage, very comfortable pads, easy to transport or play on-the-go, non fatiguing to wear and listen to while on long gaming marathons after college classes... it was, in my eyes, an upgraded jack of all trades. I make more money now, and if my wife hadn’t just lost her job I might be trying to buy one now before they became hard to find.

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Off topic: a friend is telling me to look at IKEA couches with microfiber, since my cat won’t be able to claw it and it should resist my wife’s drink stains. My main worry is she’ll flatten the padding in the couch by sleeping on it, like she flattens the inside of the soles of her running shoes every six months. I really would appre to hear about your experience with your new sofa!
Cheddar
12
Sep 11, 2018
EvshrugHeh, I hear you; if I hadn't just lost my job I'd be saving up too. After spending far too much time on pro/con sheets and frequency measurements - which turns out to be the true hobby - I narrowed my options down to the PM series as the only entry I was really interested in spending funds on. (After running a few hearing tests, I realized either all my headphones are bright - they aren't - or my hearing has measurably degraded.)
So far, we quite like the sofa. Other customers have complained about the foam being too firm, but it's the correct grade to use for seat cushions (seat cushions should be a firmer grade of foam than back cushions). And with both of us needing to lose a few pounds, the firmer grade is good for longevity. It's held up well this past month anyways, which includes it being slept on for about three weeks.
More importantly - at least for our model - we can buy replacement sofa and cushion covers instead of reupholstering the whole thing. Which means even if the foam flattens, we can replace it. When I was pricing foam, it was about $100 for enough to replace the seat cushions on a full-sized sofa. I probably would have tried to repair the one we originally had if it hadn't sustained frame damage.
CheddarI really appreciate the info, as off-topic as it may seem! Ours has frame damage too. Part of me wants to just build a couch for the cost savings, but I am no carpenter.
Sorry to hear about your change of job status... it seems almost like jumping job to job has become the modern norm instead of building a career. I’ve been looking at ways to reduce my cost of living... I can technically do my current job from anywhere with internet and shelter, and the appeal has been growing for me to stop handing out rent money and instead making or converting a tiny home or RV. I’d be able to attend more audio meets, which would help my current work, and also be able to travel and stay at rewarding places in the US. I’d be up for trying to make it happen now if my wife agreed to an adventure! Kind of like the Hobbit’s adventure, changed his life but made it all the more interesting :)
EvshrugThe off topic continues!
I reattached the back of my couch and now it’s nice and secure, and I’m reconsidering the whole mobile home thing because I’m thinking security could be an issue.
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