Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

duke86fan said:
And I feel like the grado might be a downgrade because they are cheaper compared to sennheisers 170 dollars. Also the stigma of being joke headphones in audiophile world where its about sennheisers and hifimans and fostexs and audezes
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Price is essentially meaningless. All these headphones contain $20 of raw materials.

Don’t let price guide your judgment.
 
but yeah.. what sound signatures would you say the ortofon blue and nagaoka have.... i want something with a decent amount of bass but also a lot of clarity and texture.. i may change headphones in the future to planars or to grados but i just want something that has more heft to it in the highs
 
duke86fan said:
but yeah.. what sound signatures would you say the ortofon blue and nagaoka have.... i want something with a decent amount of bass but also a lot of clarity and texture.. i may change headphones in the future to planars or to grados but i just want something that has more heft to it in the highs
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The Ortofon is going to be crisper, more forward than then the Nagaoka. If your complaint is that your current setup is too laid back, it might be a better choice.
 
dropsonde said:
This has been an interesting discussion—I appreciate the comments and perspectives. It got me thinking about my listening space, gear and the decisions/compromises that have brought me here.

I have a fairly modest rig right now compared to most on this thread. I aspire to slowly upgrade when/if I have the budget but I’m also limited by my current space. I live in an older, smaller house (<2,000 square feet) and I’m lucky to have a dedicated room for listening, although not ideal geometry for audiophile sonics — nowhere close.

My wife has reasonably asked that it be cozy, comfortable and somewhere she would enjoy hanging out (that is, when I’m not playing my drone and experimental records 🙂). So having a lot of the qualities @Joe Mac described.

I was a full-time performing musician many years ago (at the low end of the spectrum) so I come from a DIY-sound-in-a-dive-bar-space aesthetic. I love and appreciate great sound because it was a unicorn to me for many years. But I also learned that a listening experience can be more than what goes into your ears.

While I aspire to great sound, acceptance of limitations has become part of my DNA. I will never be an audiophile to the level of the enthusiasts on this thread but I love thinking about possibilities. Which is why I appreciate this thread and the non-judgemental, generous and no-strings-attached guidance/advice that is exchanged here.

My space is a good balance right now. My wife is happy to hang out with me here and houseguests are drawn to the room. There is natural light. It’s got good lighting for a cozy ambiance after dark. There are spots for family photographs and personal knickknacks. The room is small and rectangular and the sonics could be better. There is sizable glass. I would love better gear but what I have doesn’t suck and gets the job done. Zu Souls someday, baby.

Here’s my space.

View attachment 66721
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Looks pretty amazing to me. Turn off the ceiling light, leave the sconces going with a small fire crackling away, glass of something in your hand and whatever your fave album is at the moment. Corny as it may sound, the ambience you have when listening impacts the listening experience as much as the gear can. It's a full sensory experience and that room appears to bring it.
 
Turbo said:
The M50's are definitely more bright and impactful. I used those only briefly because I tend to want closed headphones for long listening sessions and those were too tiring for that. The Senn's are more mellow and comfy for that purpose. The Grado's are fantastic and definitely worth a try if you get a chance - those are my everyday go-to headphones - open, balanced, just the right level of bass - I've been using Grado's for almost 20 years. They do end up being a little hard to wear after an hour or so though (I use the doughnut style foams on them).
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I have the Grado 225s with OEM foams and they hurt after an hour or so. They sound fantastic but I'd be happy to drop some more money on Grados for more comfort.
 
tbh i actually think part of the issues with my sennheisers making me sleepy on my phone are probably either lack of movement OR the fact that i am noticing a lack of impactful moments since these have more detail
 
Splunders said:
I have the Grado 225s with OEM foams and they hurt after an hour or so. They sound fantastic but I'd be happy to drop some more money on Grados for more comfort.
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I’ve got 325e and they are really brutal on the ears. I’ve seen some aftermarket foam I keep meaning to try, anyone ever use any of those?
 
duke86fan said:
the closest hifi shop in my area is in atlanta


thats an hour to an hour and a half drive JUST TO GET THERE, and then the same amount just to get back...


i basically have to figure out ortofon or nagaoka on my own and what headphones would work better than these sennheisers to have a less... relaxed and blended in sound (its like the mids and bass are not separated enough), maybe grado headphones are the answer, maybe the schiit magni 3 is the answer, maybe its just getting a cartridge.. i dunno and i dont have the 500 dollars for all of those
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If you want a less blended sound I'd say not Nagaoka (although I've only had the 110 and 200 so the 500 may be a bit more punchy). It's great as a cart. Like a big warm blanket. Also tracks like a muthafucker (although my new At does equally well) and depending on where you are in the range the interchangeable styli can be pretty useful but one thing I've noticed after coming on to my At is that I'm picking out bits of music that I hadn't really noticed. Things like over layed backing vocals, guitar elements that are buried in the track. I didn't really get that with the Nagaoka and I'm not sure that the sound is that much more relaxed. After all these years it seems like I personally prefer a bit more analysis and punch and a bit less big cozy sound after all.
 
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