HiWire

Can a pair of Sennheiser HD 800 S be driven well by an amp under $1,000? I've lost track of how current headphone amps stack up... would pairing it with a piece of Schiit Magni be... Heresy?

I think their Momentum brand was trying to gain access to mainstream consumers. They made decent inroads with reviewers, but the high prices of the products meant a lot of prospective shoppers were going for cheaper or more "innovative" (flavor of the month) products. I bought a pair of HD 599 SE to recapture the feel of my first Sennheiser headphones, the HD 320: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/sennheiser-hd-320.21653/ It's not a pair of HD 600 (-1), but it was about 1/4 the price and it's easy to drive with portable players. When I think of Sennheiser, I think of well-engineered, high quality, neutral headphones that are usually lightweight and open design. They're not fashion-driven products, emphasizing function over form. I also have a pair of HD1 In-Ear (wired) headphones that I use with my phone. Slightly U-shaped frequency response, but in a pleasant way. Sennheiser planned to rebrand them as Momentums but the product never came out and they're becoming more difficult to find as inventory dries up.

Happy Birthday!

I hope Sennheiser can make it... Koss is still around, despite a few minor problems: https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2019/01/29/koss-corp-loses-again-sachdeva-embezzlement-lawsuit/2709791002/

Any speculation on potential partners? I, for one, welcome our new Googleheiser overlords.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday!

Yes, I thought they'd sell more equipment during the pandemic for online classrooms, meetings, Zoom, music recording/performances, etc. I wonder if more mass-market companies like Logitech and Sony are undercutting them in various categories – the rapid shift to wireless products in the last few years may have caught more traditional companies off-guard.

Wow, this explains why they never released a follow-up to the HD1 In-Ear headphones.

Jar of Flies – Alice in Chains Yes, it was heavily overplayed, but this EP is full of beautiful music. And of course: Return to Forever

That's the most metal thing ever, short of literally precipitating the apocalypse with your epic brutal chords.

So... no to Yes? Thanks for the link!

Happy Birthday!

The Leftovers More than a little contrived, melodramatic, nihilistic, preachy, and silly(!) – just my cup of tea. Some odd parallels with the pandemic situation, so somewhat prescient.

Dying to Say This to You – The Sounds

Carboot Soul – Nightmares On Wax It's been a few years since I last listened to this one... Eldorado – Electric Light Orchestra

Nothing Lasts... But Nothing is Lost – Shpongle

It's that color on the sleeve of my CD. The album cover inside the jewel case is the standard beige.

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – Wilco

These Sony box things are the opposite of porn, in my opinion (they remind me of lighting equipment – so willfully ugly they have to sound good?), but it's interesting to see where Sony's research goes... at $7999, they're not a "desktop speaker" for most people. I might look into them if I was some kind of music professional and someone else was paying (and maybe hide them under some plants): Review: https://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/sony-sa-z1-nearfield-listening-system

I didn't even know the album was coming until I randomly saw it on the front page of AllMusic. A happy surprise to start 2021!

Happy Birthday!

I think I'll need a new computer to run this (it's a 2-person Polish game company and one of the them worked on Witcher 3) – Early Access in February, so it will be a while before the finished game is released:

I thought DCS wasn't that resource-intensive, but I've never looked at VR setups for it.

I hear you. I'd love a 3070 for gaming but it only seems to make sense when you let an OEM like Dell or HP absorb the cost. Putting a system together at today's prices (and availability) is ridiculous unless you shop for old or bottom-of-bin parts.