/AG/ Audio General

fuck you guys this is gonna be a thing

>ask questions
>get answers
>discuss audio
>make fun of logitech fags

Other urls found in this thread:

soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16
soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17&Itemid=141
genelec.com/studio-monitors/sam-compact-studio-monitors/8350a-sam-studio-monitor
twitter.com/SFWRedditGifs

If you want to make it a thing you better put some more effort into the OP.

>>make fun of logitech fags
What's wrong with Logitech Z623 when they're only $99?

idk what to add :(

what's wrong with a blowjob from a hobo when it's only $5?

I don't see why this couldn't just go into the headphone general.

You mean vice versa

>what's wrong with a blowjob from a hobo when it's only $5?
The chance of it literally giving you a livelong disease is pretty high. Not the case with the Z623.

No, because you only have something go into something else if the something else existed earlier. Headphone general existed before this.

is it a good idea to get jbl 308 for music listening. don't recommend me floor speaker please, I need perfect sound positioning

my budget is $500-$700

being a pleb is a lifelong disease if it's not treated early enough

yeah those are solid speakers. probably not the most versatile, since they're powered, but they're definitely good. how big is your room? 8" woofers are great, but might be overkill if you're in a small room. and depending on your music, a smaller woofer might be more accurate

>Homo sapiens should be classified as plants because plants came first

That's a very shit analogy mate. That's not at all what I'm saying.

Whats a good rec for home speakers? Budget of 100-200 bucks. What's a good accompanying amp? Subwoofer?

>idk what to add :(

Add links to audio news sites and audio gear review sites. List a few stores where one can find deals on audio stuff. Write a wiki. Create an irc channel and link to it.

Look at other generals and take inspiration from them.

And don't forget to install gentoo.

forgot to add that it's a 4 by 5 meter room, treated with thick panels but no bass traps yet
that's what I'm going for, good powered shit for my PC, I already have Harman/Kardon + Wharfedale 5.1 and CD and Vinyl decks in other room for Hi-Fi-ish sound

if you need the perfect sound positioning, you might also consider the perfect size of your loudspeakers or else your stereofield will sound fucked up

No fuck you "general" threads are fucking cancer

Powered cheap speaks for my Audio Technica 60 turnatable?

music is everything except for modern electronic crap and extreme metal.
mostly jazz, rock, post-metal etc
I'm already sitting near 6.5 inch stereo on stands and it's pretty good but I want better mid range without sacrificing bass hence me looking at 8 inch woofers

Do reliable IEMs that you can use daily exist?

>tfw got myself z623 for Christmas
Short enough to fit under my monitors and bretty gud for muh tv/movies/gaymen after a bit of EQ adjustments. I really couldn't get bookshelf speakers because they'd have to be out on the side of my monitors and that's fucking weird when you're watching something in front of you.

which pair do you own?

i own KEF LS50 with 5.25" woofer in a 5x4m room and i the mids are perfect. the trebble is a bit sharp sometimes though. ls50 need a slightly bigger room i guess

what's wrong with a blowjob from a hobo when it's only $5?
Do you have a useful review?

>I already have Harman/Kardon + Wharfedale 5.1 and CD and Vinyl decks in other room for Hi-Fi-ish sound
that's fair enough. 4m by 5m is decent so the speakers should work well

does that TT have a built in phono stage? if yeah, I think Mackie MR mk3 are the cheapest you can get with good reviews ($220 for a pair). honestly though, I haven't heard many powered monitors, but if you're looking for cheap, there aren't a ton of options anyway

>>tfw got myself z623 for Christmas
computer speakers have a purpose and for most people buying them, they're good enough. if they work for you then that's great, but there's really no reason to buy them, since you can get a much better sound for the same price (or less) if you're willing to do the research
>z623 $130 (actually they're usually nearly $200 jesus fuck)
>lepai amp $30 + dayton b652s $65 for total of $95
sure space might be an issue, but there's probably small cheap bookshelf speakers out there

>>z623 $130 (actually they're usually nearly $200 jesus fuck)
They were $99

in canuckistan they're $130 right now on sale, so thats $99usd ish

again, convenience is a quality in itself, so I understand why people buy them

>tfw i got z623 for €85
>tfw Sup Forums think i got memed
>tfw triggered neckbeards

That's because you need to have REAL speakers to listen to anime music, you dumbass

>Listening to anime music

What are some good monitors to record and mix all sorts of different music with at around $200-250?

>a smaller woofer might be more accurate
The smaller version has a less bass extension.
>might be overkill if you're in a small room
There isn't any such thing as overkill.

That are somewhat rugged? Of course there are.
What price range, country and so on?

LS50 has bumps from 2-5 kHz.
>ls50 need a slightly bigger room i guess
How is the room placing a restriction on the sound?

Reviews for audio gear aren't useful. This is where the snake oil stuff gets pushed from.
Measurements are lacking. I can think of one site with a handy database.
>soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=16
They also do headphone measurements.

>That are somewhat rugged? Of course there are.
>What price range, country and so on?
Well I'm not buying anything soon, but I was just interested in if it actually existed. I guess I'd be looking at somewhere below 200€, and I'm in the Netherlands though I can order from German Amazon and stuff. I'd prefer a neutral soundstage, but I care more about it lasting long.

My PC's motherboard is directly plugged into my Marantz 5005 amplifier, would I gain something by having a dedicated soundcard? I only use stereo, no 5.1

thanks and sorry for late reply

how is it connected? if it has optical out and you use it you're fine. if not then your sound quality is formed in your soundcard and you'll benefit greatly from external audio interface or soundcard
plus not every mobo optical out can play 24bit 192khz files. mine was up to 96 and I have Beatles and few other bands in 24 192

I don't have an optical input, so the sound is coming out by jack. Would a 30-50€ PCI sound card be an improvement?

Might as well call this board /gg/ now.

depends on the card but generally speaking yes. get some used asus if you can't find something by ESI or similar pro equipment. creative is a joke.

I used x-fi elite pro and has same DAC as on lynxTWO (600+ euro)
switched to simple focusrite 2i2 (which has good but not lynx-level outputs) and what do you know? music finally stopped sounding like it's going through smiley-like equalizer and lower vocals/instruments became more natural to. lastly drivers are really good so that's big plus

used pro equipment, even if it's 10+ year old >>>>>>>> new brand garbage

>Reviews for audio gear aren't useful. This is where the snake oil stuff gets pushed from.
Not all reviews are made my "audiophiles".

audiobudget.com comes to mind.

>want new amp
>want new speakers
>want new turntable
>only have enough money for one
g-guess I'll get none :(

It's just someone sharing listening impressions. It's no better than anyone else doing the same thing, audiophiles or not. There are too many problems in sighted listening tests. It doesn't matter who is reviewing them.

But headphone general and "pro audio gear" are completely opposite thinga

The headphone general is just an autism containment thread

Not him but this, bump

So what you're saying is there's no real way of measuring how good audio gear is?

By that logic there's no real way to measure how good food is, yet we have Michelin star restaurants and food critics. There's no way to review cars, because every driver is different. There's no way to review TVs or screens because people's eyes are subjective.

By the way, you're wrong.

>So what you're saying is there's no real way of measuring how good audio gear is?
No, where did you get that idea? There absolutely is. Problem is that there are very few places where you see people bothering to measure the performance of audio gear and a few reviewers actually seem to understand the technology they are dealing with. Many are lazy and writing nice things about the product you are reviewing can be more beneficial to you as a reviewer even though it shouldn't(think of affiliate links in Youtube reviews). Another big reason which mainly applies to loudspeakers and headphones is that they are quite hard to measure in a way that the data gathered can be used by other people. Manufacturers are equally to blame here. They very rarely publish any meaningful information of their products. The data you see in audio gear spec sheets is almost completely useless at judging their performance.

Nobody reviews TVs or monitors by looking at them and writing something in the lines of "Hey that's pretty good" to conclude a review. They get measured, often calibrated based on the measurements, and this data is then shared along with the review. You don't eyeball performance but you can, of course, write something about how you subjectively feel the image looks like.

Same applies to some car reviews too. The thing about them is that they are purpose built devices which do not necessarily share any similar design goals and cars of very different type can be excellent at the job they are made for. Car industry also has some pretty strict standards for performance and what kind of data manufacturers have to publish themselves. It's a hell of a lot more transparent than audio.

Food analogy simply doesn't work. A more fitting comparison to audio gear would've been a review of the cutlery you use to eat food with. Audio gear is a tool, not an art.

>By the way, you're wrong.
Am I?

>There absolutely is. Problem is that there are very few places where you see people bothering to measure the performance of audio gear and a few reviewers actually seem to understand the technology they are dealing with.
Can you enlighten us as to the location of these very few places?

Since the quality of audio gear can be properly reviewed, who is doing these proper reviews?

Detachable cables are a must, as the central point of failure. Filters to block earwax and other material from entering the driver are appreciated.

Earpiece itself should be moderately durable, but there's a limit to how much these can be reinforced. I've seen people come up with creative ways of destroying or deliberately abuse their gear.

My knowledge of the general market is not comprehensive. I can think of some of Audio Technica's IM lines, IM02 for instance. I would advise you to look for other models if you ever make the purchase.

These people lack the ability or knowledge to measure the devices, and lack vocabulary to describe their subjective experience in a way that relates to physical parameters.

Regarding that site, measuring in-ears well is difficult to do on the cheap, and that site has a very serious coupler issue.

>These people lack the ability or knowledge to measure the devices,
OK.

Please point to some people who don't lack this ability and who, in your opinion, review audio equipment the right way.

user here posted SoundStage! magazine's loudspeaker measurement database. Here is their amplifier measurement database:

soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17&Itemid=141

Stereophile does similar thing but they both focus on high end gear.

A collection of measurements of headphones(and headphone related gear) can be found on the /hpg/ wiki page, there are multiple resources for those.

There are hobbyist measurements of varying quality scattered around on sites like DIY Audio, Hydrogenaudio, Super Best Audio Friends, Head-Fi, Home Theater Shack, subreddits, blogs(noaudiophile.com, Archimago etc).

Scientific papers released on various audio related subjects often have some measurements in them too, many are behind a pay wall.

Manufacturer's can post measurements of their gear, some more useful than others. A good example can be found from the "Operating Manual" here:

genelec.com/studio-monitors/sam-compact-studio-monitors/8350a-sam-studio-monitor

There is no institute or systematic place which measures audio products and publishes the data. You have to hope someone does it. Doing the right measurements consistently is not easy and there's plenty work to be done on improving the correlation of measurements with what is audible. Nonlinear distortion is a good example of something which often gets published as a number but even if we had full distortion plots, IMD and THD with multiple harmonics, the data they show is of very little use.

>people who don't lack this ability
John Atkinson of Stereophile comes to mind as someone has reviewed a large number of products.
I strongly disagree with his take on audio and editorial style. There's still enough information to glean from his reviews, so it works well enough.

Found a Marantz PM25 amplifier.
Turning the bass and treble knobs makes a scratchy noise out the speakers. Is this something a layman like me could fix?

Besides the scratchy noise, turning the knobs is like all or nothing, the treble and bass vary immensely.

>Besides the scratchy noise, turning the knobs is like all or nothing, the treble and bass vary immensely.
Oh, it also affects the volume somehow.
If I leave the knobs in a "stable" position, it sounds good though.

Well, not much information to go on. Either the amp chips, capacitors or resistors are fucked. You have to find out which by opening it up and testing the circuits.

>your sound quality is formed in your soundcard and you'll benefit greatly from external audio interface or soundcard
This is far from some form of universal truth. Modern integrated codecs can easily provide fidelity good enough to exceed human hearing, especially if it's line-level use and not some hard to drive headphone. They can also be shit and suffer from very audible interference and noise, but if the motherboard is well designed and that isn't an issue it's highly debatable if an external DAC or different internal sound card will provide any sort of audible benefit. Of course this all assumes you're not using some crappy form of DSP from the drivers, that can make anything sound like shit although it's not the hardware's fault.

I personally couldn't really hear any significant difference on HD650 + O2 between ALC1150 with a good implementation, Xonar DX or a V-DAC II.

Eh, I'll pry it open when I get home. What should I be looking for? Thanks

Scratchy pots are more often a symptom of physical wear or dirt in the pot itself rather than the "amp chips" being fucked.

>What should I be looking for?
Well, there can be obvious signs like burn marks. But it's best to get a schematic of the insides from the manufacturer then use a multimeter to test it all.

The crackling could also come from the speakers.

i have the same budget for speakers, currently i'm torn between the Q Acoustics 3020 (passive) and the Presonus Eris E4.5 (active).
the sub is still in the air as most cheap subs i've look into are 120v only and i live in a 240v country

I see. At least those should be simpler to replace if necessary. Can I use something like WD40 to clean them up a bit?

The speakers are fine. I have used them before in a different setup.

i'm planning on buying the Teac AI-101DA-B integrated amp but i read that it can cause BSOD among other issues on win 10, does anyone have any experience with this?

Yeah I think there's some sort of WD40 contact cleaner spray, you can always try that before anything else.

Alright, thanks for the help