37
votes
Audio enthusiasts share your audio setups
Thought I would create a post where people can share their audio setups. What are you using? What do you like/dislike about your setup? Any planned upgrades?
Thought I would create a post where people can share their audio setups. What are you using? What do you like/dislike about your setup? Any planned upgrades?
As I have experience working in the A/V industry, I have a long list of equipment, although most is on the affordable end.
Outputs
Headphones
Sennheiser IE 100 Pro IEMs. These are my main portable option for headphones. If I am going for a walk or doing something around the house, these are what I tend to grab. Also, since they are small they tend to be what I graab if I am going somewhere and am unsure if I will need headphones.
Sennheiser HD 280 Pro. These are my workhorse headphones, and what I have had the longest. Being closed back they tend to be quite versatile, especially with good passive noise cancellation. If I am doing work in a coffeeshop or some other environment, these are what I tend to grab. I have modified these to have a removable cable using a mini XLR connector. Also, these headphones are what I grab when doing live audio events.
AKG K240. These are my open back headphones, that I tend to just use at my desk at home. They don't fold up, so are not a great portable option. They are quite comfy for longterm usage, and I find openbacks great at home so that I can hear what is happening around the house better while also having headphones on.
MEE M6 Pro Gen 2. These are my old IEMs that I have since upgraded from. They were decent, but the Sennheisers sound significantly better across all frequencies.
Speakers
Retro bookshelf passive speakers on my desk. These have no markings, and are a legitimate barn find on my wife's grandparents farm. They sound better than expected with decent audio quality, although they lack in the low end.
JBL Charge 3 Bluetooth Speaker (Link is the Charge 5). This does not work very well anymore, and I should really just recycle it at this point. Overall it sounded good and I enjoyed it. It was a bit on the pricey end, and while it sounded better than my wife's Anker speaker, it did not last as long.
DACs/Amps
I run a Schiit stack on my desk. For a DAC I run the Schiit Modi and for the amp I run the Schiit Magni (link seems to be a slightly different version than mine). I upgraded to this after getting my speakers, as my previous DAC/amp combo was struggling to drive my speakers. Overall, I quite enjoy them, especially the Magni. The magni works well in that when I plug in headphones, it automatically stops the speaker output (this is a common feature), and the 10dB switch on the front makes volume adjustments between speakers and headphones easy. It is also just convenient having a dedicated volume knob on my desk at all times, especially one that is smooth and not stepped increments.
For a portable setup I have a NuForce uDac3. This is what I was using before upgrading to the Schiit stack, and I have kept around as my portable option.
Inputs
Microphones
Audio Technica AT2020VThe only difference between the AT2020 and the AT2020V is that the AT2020V has a silver finish. It is a special edition mic, and the only reason I paid extra for the silver was at the time of ordering it the AT2020 was out of stock almost everywhere. I have used this mic for various things including spoken word (it is my main mic when I have to use a mic at my desk), singing, guitar, and grand piano. My personal favourite is to use it on guitar, as it gets a lot more clarity and detail compared to using the guitar pickup.
Vintage Electro Voice Model 664. This mic is of a similar quality to a Shure SM57, but tends to be a bit warmer. I have used this on a snare drum, electric guitar amp, vocals, and as a rear cajon mic. My preferred way to use this mic is to dual mic it with an SM57 on an electric guitar amp, an then two different tones can create some fun stereo imaging.
Telefunken M80. This is my most recent acquisition so I have not used mine that much but I have used a friend's a decent amount. This mic is just as diverse as a Shure SM58/SM57, being able to be used in all the same situations, but the Telefunken has much clearer top end. It does really well on guitar amps, snares, an vocals. I also recently used it as the front mic for a cajon and it sounded quite good.
Mixers
Soundcraft Notepad 12fx. This is what I use to be able to run my mics at my desk and connect it to my computer. I have also run extra cables to make the most of the various inputs. Using software on my computer, when gaming with friends I normally route my music to one channel, discord to another, and the game audio to a third channel. Then I can mix them all with my own voice back into my headphones, and have dedicated physical knobs to adjust volume. Part of this extensive volume routing is due to Civ V having terrible audio controls, and it was annoying to get all my different audio sources balanced. I do enjoy having the ability to route my mic into my headphones without latency, as it then removes the weird feeling of talking while wearing headphones. The two complaints I have with this mixer is the mic preamps feel a bit on the weak side and the inability to turn off the 48v phantom power.
Upgrade Plans
One area I want to upgrade is to keep the shells of my desktop speakers, but put new cones into them. I would consider switching out the single driver to a dual driver of a tweeter and woofer, in hopes of getting better low end.
The other thing I need to do is to build a wooden mic box for my Telefunken M80. My other two mics have custom wooden boxes that I have made (Audio Technica mic box and Electro Voice mic box), but I do not have access to the equipment needed right now to make one for the Telefunken.
Question: Assuming the audio output on my devices are able to drive my headphones, am I going to benefit much from a DAC? I've got sennheiser hd 650s for my headphones. When I got them, I had to do a little experimenting, the audio output on my front of my PC and the one on one of my 3 monitors have issues with the headphones at lower volumes alright, but the motherboard audio output and two of my 3 monitors seem to provide no issues.
It would be beneficial, but the question becomes how much benefit will it be? I first got my NuForce DAC after using my at the time gaming laptop and then immediately switching over to my cheap portable laptop for school but listening to the same music on the same headphones and I noticed a significant drop in quality. The significant drop in quality is when I learned that every headphone jack is a DAC, but they are of varying quality. My cheap portable laptop had a pretty poor one, so I purchased an external DAC/amp combo. My gaming laptop had a decent DAC built-in, so using my portable DAC at the time felt less necessary, and in particular I noticed my portable DAC had less bass response. So going with my portable DAC on that laptop felt like a tradeoff as my sound was a flatter frequency response which is good but can also feel not as fun. It sounds like your computer has a decent DAC, so it may be less of a concern for you. However, since you are running some pretty nice headphones, you may be able to get more out of your headphones with a DAC and an amp that can drive the headphones a bit better than your audio output.
I feel like it's not a bold statement to say that any dedicated DAC over $50 (and likely many under) will outperform all motherboard based DACs within reason. Even just the principle of "this is a larger and single purpose instrument intended to do the same thing" is enough to convince me that it'd be better let alone things like motherboard manufacturers having limited incentive to prioritize DAC quality and having to contend with size/cost constraints on their boards.
Regarding flat frequency responses, I ran into this with my audio technica m50 headphones which are known for their flatness. All this means in practicality is that you can set up your EQ curve to compensate how you would like. I almost always push both base and treble up a little to breathe some life into the sound (V shape).
I bought a Fosi DAC for like $60 dollars that greatly improved my sound. If I had to prescribe an attribute I would say "clarity" improved greatly.
In my response I tried to be informative in explaining the benefits of a DAC to provide information so that they can make their own decisions rather than just blindly recommending them to go out and buy new gear. I probably went too far the other direction and did not recommend a DAC enough. I do agree that even a low end DAC would probably be better than motherboard audio outputs.
As for flatness, I actually prefer flat sounding equipment personally. I just wanted to put flatness into the discussion, as someone may think why should I have to add EQ to my new upgraded gear to get it sounding like my old gear? Also, some people prefer flat sounding equipment on their own, some like flat sounding gear to EQ it to their tastes easier, whereas others just want a fun sound out of the box.
I think you did a great job explaining just that and I respect your discipline to avoid blindly recommending. Without that, things end up being like the obsessive hobby Reddits (audiophile, espresso, photography, keyboards, etc) where users recommend insane amounts of equipment even for "entry level". Hope I didn't convey disagreement with your message. Just wanted to add my own color.
You're definitely right to bring up flatness and EQ in general because they have such a large impact on how we enjoy listening. Arguably, having the right EQ to match your preference is more important than quality equipment.
I have a Schiit Modii/Magni stack on my desk as well and I love it. I use it with my Hifiman Sundara open back headphones and couldn’t ask for anything more
I actually quite prefer that it has 1/4" headphone jack instead of the standard 1/8". I could see that as a frustration for some people at first, but since I am running enough pro audio equipment, 1/4" is more standard for me. The bigger size is also kind of nice for desk organization, as some smaller portable DAC/amp combos just slide around too much on a desk. Whereas the Schiit stack is heavy enough that a headphone cable doesn't end up moving it around
So, I used to run a tiny startup manufacturing and selling flat wall-mounted speakers (failed because my chronic illness suddenly relapsed and I was the main guy, so at that time it couldn't run without me, might revisit in the future), so obviously I practiced dogfooding and to this day use a couple early prototypes.
I don't really want to fully dox myself here, but basically they're very carefully chosen full-range drivers in a box with a folded quarter-wave resonator inside to create bass, and the box is something over 10 cm thick and put either on the wall or among the books onto a bookshelf etc., which suppresses speaker-boundary interference with the back wall almost completely. Point source, reasonably linear response (also phase-linear, though I don't think that matters too much), very natural sounding, the downside being it works best in small rooms and doesn't play super deep and super loud.
However for most critical listening I actually use headphones, and the model is a bit ridiculous: Sennheiser HD 559, which until a couple years ago used to be the cheapest model in the "entry hifi" range, bought for about 70 USD. The reason why is simple: they are not linear at all, but their frequency response contains broad deviations and not narrow resonances, plus they have inflated bass, which means that they respond extremely well to equalization. I have them equalized using the AutoEQ database with some finetuning based on knowing what neutral speakers sound like.
With the linearizing EQ they are the best headphones I've had so far, miles better than something like AKG K702 or one pair of old now discontinued well-rated 2-way in ears that sold for about 200 USD. And since K702 do suffer from narrow resonances, the HD 559 are considerably more linear than the K702 even after I apply the same linearization EQ for both.
In the last year I've been working on some live recordings of my band and also very recently programming and evaluating an audio declipping algorithm and without these headphones I don't think I could do it. I trust them more than I used to trust 1k USD Genelec studio monitors (with the obvious problem that some things you just can't do on headphones well, like creating a realistic stereo field, but I wasn't doing that). People say you can do audio work on anything as long as you know your equipment and are used to it, but my experience says it's bullshit and it makes a huge difference.
As for the other parts of the audio chain, I don't think they matter nearly as much as speakers or headphones. I play music from the PC, use EqualizerAPO or EasyEffects or Linux, and while one day I'm going to buy a cheap Topping DAC, today is not the day and I'm usually using a Focusrite Scarlett Solo. And for an amp powering the speakers I use a chinese TDA7297 chip amp board bought for about 6 USD (I overpaid), with some very basic mods (bigger input capacitors), because that is by far the best quality to price ratio amp on the market probably ever, if you tend to use it for about 1 watt or less (so pretty much all desktop use).
As for potential upgrades, I'd love to get back to building speakers as a hobby and have many plans, but due to the illness neither the strenght nor the money to realize them at this moment. The speakers I have are nice but not real adult hifi - they lack the power, the subbass and they beam a little bit in the high end as do all fullrange drivers (though I did some amount of R&D to minimize it).
Sometime in the future I will 100% build some constant directivity high-power speakers with big waveguides because I think that's the way to best possible sound in a normal untreated room. Probably either Synergy Horns, which have the upside of being a true full-range point source but a downside of being angular and creating diffractions (and I already built some in the past), or a 2-way with the smoothest most low-diffraction constant directivity waveguide possible. Or combine both, something that I wanted to do for years and it seems like someone else finally did it.
All with an active DSP crossover and good quality class D chipamps, I don't see a reason to do it differently nowadays except for the practicality of having fewer devices.
I agree with this sentiment, but not fully. With some gear, you may end up not hearing certain frequencies, and so you may end up leaving some garbage in because your setup could not produce those frequencies. especially during the EQ stage of production, you will want something that can faithfully recreate frequencies. However, having something that you know how it sounds will help in creating the mix. Good headphones that you are unsure how they sound may lead you to having too much/little bass for example.
An example is I was doing audio for a livestreamed event. The venue had a pair of Focal Celeste headphones provided for me. I forgot my Sennheiser HD 280 Pros for the first practice, so I used the Focals and they sounded great, and I was able to get a rough mix in. For the practice the day of, I had my Sennheisers and realized my bass was way too buried. I had an audio engineer friend who would mix on two separate pair of headphones, one of which was cheap Apple earbuds because that would give him a sense of what the average person was listening on
You're right, and your situation is something I didn't consider, I was only thinking about studio work because I've never done live sound. For studio work getting more accurate headphones is imo still an advantage because you can always judge things like the amount of bass by having and using reference recordings, but it takes longer. In a live setting there's not really an opportunity for that.
My experience has been that with okayish gear above some basic level of quality that I'm used to I can usually hear that something is wrong just as well as with great gear, but it's more difficult to find out what exactly and how to fix it and whether the fix is truly right, whereas with truly good gear I just know immediately, it becomes much simpler.
It's also not only about problem frequencies, things like dialing a reverb on the vocals just right, without overdoing it or making it sound too artificial, become so much easier as well. It just sounds more immediately clear to me.
I'm a self taught amateur, which probably influences just how big of a deal it is for me to truly hear things clearly, but I don't see how a pro wouldn't prefer this as well.
Yeah, if there is the time available to acclimatize to the better system it is worthwhile to use it. Reverb in general I hate mixing in headphones as it becomes too easy to overdo it and make the mix sound like a cave
I own the Sennheiser HD518 that are the slighter older, and even cheaper ancestor to the HD559. They were quite moddable and great for the price (like $50 or something).
I'm pretty happy with my mid-budget setup:
I have 3 headphones (Meze Classics 99, Beyerdynamic DT770 and Grado SR80X), two DACs (Fiio BTR7, Fiio KA13) and an IMG Stageline MX-2io audio interface for my Neat Worker Bee microphone and bass guitar.
All I'm missing are some over-ear open backs and a pair of bookshelf speakers, but I'm in no hurry.
I remember hearing reviews of Neat mics and they sound really good for their price point, sadly the Worker Bee did not stay in production long enough. Are you running any amp simulators on your bass guitar or just running it direct and clean?
There is a Worker Bee II now and it's pretty well-received also (and kind of a wildly good price atm).
I use the original v1 myself and love it
It's a great do-it-all mic, not sure why they stopped making them.
No amp simulators, but I have an MXR Dyna Comp compressor. I had it all hooked up with a Rocksmith mod to not need the official cable but at some point the mod broke and I haven't got it working again.
Is there a simulator you'd recommend?
There is not a specific amp simulator that I would recommend, although I remember working with an electric guitar player last summer who got a pedal simulator that was released recently that was well reviewed. The amp simulators I have used are the ones included in the digital mixers that were provided by the venues that I was working at. I find an amp simulator on a bass guitar quite beneficial in getting some tonal separation from the kick drum, so I rarely mix without throwing one on my bass guitar now.
Oh man which audio set up? I have so many!
Surround Setups
My main setup in our living room (primarily used for watching movies but I do also use for listening to music) contains a pair of Klipsch RP-280Fs, an RP-440C for the center, R-120SW for the sub, and 2 older RB-51 II Reference bookshelf speakers as the surrounds. We have this connected to a Denon AVR s760h receiver.
In my bedroom I have a surround setup with a pair of Q Acoustics 3020i's as the main speakers with 3010i's as the surrounds with an old Klipsch RC42IIBL center speaker. I'm planning on replacing this center with a home built one, but that project has been on the back burner for quite some time. Hoping to get that back up and running sometime this year! The subwoofer in this room is an SVS Sb1000. This setup is primarily used for movies or gaming, as it's also connected to another Denon receiver, but honestly I think it's my favorite sounding of my setups for music too. Might plan on reorganizing some of my setups, but may end up moving sometime so kind of waiting until we see if I move first. No point on reorganizing and just to tear it all back down in a few months.
Bookshelf Speakers
My office I have a pair of Emotiva B1+ for listening to music while I work from home. This is connected to a Dayton Audio HTA 100BT hybrid stereo tube amplifier. I also built a mini sub but it's not the best, was just a side project to add a little more rounding out of the bass. As this is in my home office this is mostly used for listening to music while working.
For my main desktop computer I have a pair of self-built Overnight Sensations bookshelf speakers that are at my desk. Photo of the finished speaker. This is paired with a Martin Logan Dynamo 300 for a subwoofer. This is connected to my PC via a Fosi Audio BT30D amplifier. This is mostly used for desktop music listening and gaming, as I do most of my gaming on the PC. I do have the computer routed to my surround setup in my bedroom though (different room) and game in there for surround on occasion which is much nicer for immersion.
Headphones
I had been using some old Sony WH-1000xm3's but they are starting to wear down. Recently got a gift card and was able to get a free set of B&W PX7 S2. Overall I prefer the music listening sound of the B&W but the Sony's have better noise canceling.
When gaming at my PC and NOT using the bookshelf speakers, I usually use a set of Logitec G735 as I found them to be one of the more comfortable headsets when I was trying on some different ones.
Probably an overkill amount of audio setups but I have definitely gotten a lot of enjoyment out of them. No major upgrades planned other than the center channel I mentioned.
My setup is one room with multiple different ways to listen, so I enjoy seeing the different approach where there are multiple room setups. Your Dayton Audio tube amplifier looks really cool. I kind of wish I went for a small tube amplifier for my speakers instead of my current Magni
I bought some cheap powered Edifier speakers and an Audio Technica turntable for my home office a while back, and recently added a WiiM Pro and a tiny desktop CD player to the setup. Most of the time I feed the WiiM using a Lyrion Music Server with all the music I've ripped over the past few decades, or cast audio to it when I want to listen to myNoise or podcasts, but every now and then I'll throw on an actual CD or some vinyl when I'm feeling nostalgic and just want to relax and listen to something.
I'm sure a real audio enthusiast would probably scoff at the low budget gear, poor speaker placement, and all the other things I'm doing sub-optimally, but I use it literally every day and love the shit out of it.
edit: photo
I'm that guy and the only thing that I think is suboptimal here for your use is that, without knowing what exact model those speakers are, their sound is likely a level of quality below everything else and you might benefit a lot from getting better ones for not a lot of money - something like Kali LP-6 is imo one of the best deals in audio currently.
But I'm certainly not going to tell you to be unhappy with what you have.
Thank you for the suggestion. The speakers are definitely the first thing I'll upgrade when I get the itch to spend a bit more to improve things. These ones are R980Ts and I think I got them for around $80, so I never expected to be blown away by their sound, but they're good enough that I haven't felt a strong urge to replace them yet.
Edifier speakers punch way above their price tag. If you ever want to upgrade, their R1700BT sounds much nicer to me than the R980T and R1280T.
I've had a pair of the R1280DB for about 6 years now and have loved them. I think I spent just over $100 IIRC, and they've been way better than I expected.
I had a pair of those for about 5 years and I gave them to one of my children when I upgraded to the R1700BT. I agree they are very good for the price.
Looks like a nice and clean setup. Vinyls just seem like such a nice listening experience that I would love to get into them, but sadly I do not have the money or space to invest into it.
Photo
I did not expect to see anyone else on here with the Overnight Sensations home build. I did these myself, this was my finished product.
Overnight Sensations! Thank you, I remembered they had a longer name. Yours look incredible. We have a very mid-century space so we leaned into the mixed-wood sort of vibe. Not to mention it was a hell of a lot easier that way.
Thank you! For mine I went with a peel and stick vinyl wrap because I don't have a good space to do any priming/painting, so a vinyl wrap was a lot easier to achieve. Found some colors I liked and went for it, was very happy with how it turned out.
Also made a second pair as a Christmas present for a family member using a different color wrap, very happy with this one as well.
As an aside-
I'm curious what gets your audiophiles into this hobby. I enjoy music and movies the same as anyone else, but my hearing loss/tinnitus prevents me from really caring much about the audio quality beyond "can I hear this clearly?" and I struggle to understand how anyone can tell the difference between good and great sound.
I kind of got into it gradually. With my ADHD I always had music on in the background, and I just got the chance to gradually listen to higher end systems. Then I ended up doing work in the A/V field, which justified the purchases more (a good chunk of my setup is gifts though) and also involved getting more gear like mics
I got into headphones because I listen to music while I work, and I was given a nice used pair of headphoness by a friend and I was shocked at how much more I liked them. And away I went from there trying to get even better sounding stuff. It was a curse placed upon me!
I would simply say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder...! There aren't any concrete rules for enjoying sound (or any other art, for that matter) irrespective of one's abilities and sensitivities etc.
For example, I myself studied music and sound and have spent half of my life writing/recording music and being an avid enjoyer of noise. However, I don't have any fancy hifi systems nor any bonified listening spaces or anything - most of my active listening is done using shitty bluetooth headphones or simple active monitors :) And oftentimes that'll just be a Deftones or Mantar album while I'm doing building work in my house...!
I do have KRK Rokit 5s and some good cans like Beyerdynamic 770s and Audiotechnika etc but I only really use them when mixing my own stuff. The rest of the time, some MP3s played through the Bandcamp app on my blower is all I need to enjoy some noise.
I went to a hifi expo once and experienced how big of a difference between good and great sound there is and that was it.
Tinnitus is awful, I feel your pain. I can't remember a time without it (even as a kid) so unless it flares up I hardly notice it anymore.
Music is the medium of art I connect with the strongest, way more than any film or book - so I'm happy to spend a little more. Losing my hearing would be worse than losing a limb to me, it gives me so much joy.
I don't really care about the technical side of audio. I just want something reliable, comfortable, and let's me experience it as fully as I can.
I have a pair of monitors from psb but I don't know if they are that good, they seems low-mid range. I should maybe upgrade but it's a bit hard to know if it's worth it.
Oui! My speakers, the best part of my setup, are Triangle (a french company). They are the best speakers i have ever owned, although the passive radiator genesis were really awesome too. Their bass is astonishing for their size.
Driving them is a low end integra a/v receiver. Does a fine job. Audio comes from apple tv playing spotify and some alac ripped stuff.
I also have a wharfedale center channel i scored for $15 at a thrift store. Sounds great, not quite as awesome as the triangles.
Also a pair of sony mdr-7506’s when I really need to know what it sounds like.
Amateur music production/recording:
Mac mini M4 with Edifier R1280DB speakers
Audiobox iOne interface, Neat Worker Bee (v1) mic
Multiple guitars (6-string, 7-string, acoustic, bass)
Crate GMX212 guitar amp
Alesis Nitro Max (w/ Expansion and alternate Yamaha bass pad) e-drums
Daily driver PC:
Fiio E10K DAC -> Bose companion 2 series III speakers
Samson G-Track Mic
Living room:
PC and other sources- Audio-Technica Sound Burger Record Player
PC has a Fiio E10K DAC
These go into a Onkyo TX-SR393 receiver and out to a pair of KEF Q150s and a Jamo C 910 Sub
Headphones:
Too many pairs to count but my faves are:
Portable Speaker:
Bose SoundLink Color Bluetooth® speaker II
Interesting that you went for a dedicated USB mic for your daily driver PC, instead of using your audio interface and the Neat Bee. Is that just for convenience of not having to switch the audio interface between devices?
Yeah I got the USB mic many more years ago than the XLR Worker Bee. The USB mic was to upgrade my audio for discord / communications calls / gaming / etc, and I have used it to record acoustic guitar and vocals in the past before I got the Worker Bee, which is dedicated to music stuff.
I decided to set up a makeshift dedicated "recording studio" room in the house with its own dedicated computer and hardware, and already had the interface for guitar recording, and that's when I got the Worker Bee.
It would be far too annoying to unhook all the wiring and stuff and keep moving my interface and XLR mic back and forth between my bedroom (where the daily driver PC is) and the recording room. That kind of friction is the kind of thing that keeps me from recording, so I try to reduce friction / barriers for myself to habits like practicing/recording so that I do them more often.
I have been tempted to switch from the USB mic to a second Worker Bee + cheap Interface though, just to have an XLR setup on my main PC too, but that's kind of pointless other than I've desired to get more modern since this G-Track is pushing 10-15 years probably at this point, if not more. But it works just fine so.. yeah
I understand the idea of trying to minimize friction, a few years back I got dedicated gear to try and reduce friction but then the project the gear was for kind of fizzled out shortly after getting the gear.
An upgrade path to switch to XLR could be a cheap interface and a different mic. That way, you could pull the second mic into the studio for different tones or when the Worker Bee is not ideal. You could even use the second mic for a stereo mic setup on your guitar amp, which can just create a very wide and full sounding electric guitar (as long as your guitar amp is not too loud for your Worker Bee, not sure what they are rated to).
I can confirm that the HD280s are like a vice for your head. I had to return them as I couldn't use them for more than 20 minutes.
It's so frustrating, because if I was able to wear them safely/without pain, they would probably immediately move up to be my #1 favorite headphones. I absolutely love the sound and have like 15 other pairs of headphones that just don't replicate that exact sound signature
I love these threads.
Headphones
Hifiman HE-6 - These are my most used headphones, I love them to death. I have them modded, mostly for comfort and convenience (pads, headband, and connectors). They are notorious for being hard to power, but you don't need a speaker amp like some people would insist.
Beyerdynamic DT-1990 Pro - Comfortable, fun sounds, honestly no real complaints other than I like my HE-6 better.
ZMF Vibro MK2 - Closed wooden headphones that have a nice warm sounds. They aren't exotic and fancy like the newer headphones from ZMF, but I find them nice especially with different pads.
E-MU Purpleheart - Inexpensive little wooden headphones from Massdrop. They are trivial to power in ways that rival IEMs and earbuds, so they work great for low powered devices like portable music players or the Nintendo Switch.
Others: I have a bunch of other headphones that I have collected over the years as I have a bad case of collecting gear (I won't even get into the keyboard collection). I have been slowly giving away to friends and family. Mostly from AudioTechnica, Beyerdynamic, Hifiman, AKG, and Sennheiser.
DAC
Topping E50 - This was the best affordable balanced DAC I could find for my HE-6. as a bonus the multiple outputs allow me to use my headphones and speakers without toggling them on or off like some of my previous DACs.
Amp
Drop + THX AAA 789 Linear Headphone Amplifier - Like the DAC, this amp was the best affordable way to power my HE-6. Before that I had a few Schiit DAC and Amps and a JDS Atom amp, which would be more than fine had they been able to handle my headphones.
Speakers
I sadly had to sell my old stereo setup many years ago with my giant speakers, so now I have a few pairs of powered bookshelf speakers. At this point, they are all from Edifier because they were excellent bang for the buck. Currently have two sets of Edifier R1700BT speakers.
Microphone
AudioTechnica AT2020 - Solid performance for my limited needs (work meetings and gaming chat). I run it off an inexpensive audio interface (Behringer UMC204HD).
Turntable
Sony PS-LX310BT - Just an inexpensive record player that connects to the Edifiers listed above. Nothing fancy here.
As someone who normally uses an AT2020 for voice when gaming, I recently tried a dynamic mic and found it sounded so much better. I love my AT2020, especially for the clarity on the high end, but when I used a dynamic mic it unsurprisingly just cleaned up my audio by picking up my keyboard and background noises way less. I will probably swap between the different mics now based on what I am feeling, but I would recommend trying a dynamic mic for gaming.
I haven't any had sort of issue with keyboard noise unless I am being obtuse and using my Model F while on chat. :)
My audio setup is finally at a consistent state and I am glad to not be spending money on it, but... do you have any dynamic mic recommendations? heh
If you have not had any issue, than I would recommend just staying with the AT2020, even with dynamic mics at my disposal I will probably still end up using my AT2020 on occasion. I have not used a Shure SM58 at a desk before, but that would probably work great, and another mic I have heard good things about but have not personally used is the Rode Podmic. The only mic I have used at my desk so far is my vintage Electro Voice which I really enjoyed the one time I have used it for gaming, but not a mic I would easily recommend
I have a Grace Audio SDAC and a Cavalli Liquid Spark headphone amp hooked to my computer. This combo works well with Mint Linux by the way.
My main set of headphones is a JM Audio XTC Open back. These headphones are tuned by the manufacturer to your specifications when you order them, and my pair is set to Warm, but Detailed. They come with three pair of pads, and I'm currently using the basic pleathor pads for maximum bass response, not that you will get massive amounts of bass from any open back.
My other open back is a Philips Fidelio X2, which has a more expansive sound and a warmer tone than the XTC, but can't match the XTC in overall clarity or detail reproduction. I suppose my Koss Porta Pros also count as open back, but I rarely use them these days, as they are a bit too muddy in comparison to my other sets.
The best closed back headphone I have right now is a Denon AH-D5200. It is a very handsome set, and has a middle of the road sound signature that appeals to most. It isn't as bassy as many claim and I like it for its smooth, relaxed tone. My Creative Aurvana Live! is a long-time favorite closed back, with a warm enveloping sound, and is easily the best headphone for less than $100 that I've heard.
And we come to the last in the collection, which is a HiFiman HE-R9. Straight out of the box, I wouldn't recommend these to anyone. They had very odd, echo prone plastic cups and so much bass, it drowned out everything else. I did some major surgery with mine, and turned them into semi-open headphones with some cherry wood cups that I made. Decent sound now, though still a little heavy on bass, which can be fun when I'm in the mood for that sound. No sense having multiple headphones if they all sound the same.
I'm not sure how to post pics here on Tildes, so I'll link a post I made over at Head-fi when I modified my HE-R9.
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/modding-the-hifiman-he-r9.970170/
There are three pics in the first post and an explanation of the process.
Awesome, thanks!
Love reading through other people's gear and living vicariously through them! Lol. Let me add mine:
Desktop Setup
I run my PC to a Topping L30/E30 stack. Relatively cheap amp/dac combo that definitely gets the job done.
My newest headphone is an E-MU Teak. Beautiful looking phones that pack a mean punch - bass on this sounds so good and is definitely a highlight. Doom and drone sounds great on this, zoning out to Sunn O))) never sounded better (on headphones, I mean. I'm sure their live shows don't even compare).
My other headphones are the Phillips X2HR. These have been through quite a bit, I've replaced the elastic band at the top (with several daisy chained rubber bands, haha) and the ear cups with a plush velour one. These things are COMFY. Literally pillows for your ears. I use these when I'm not listening to metal, the soundstage is pretty great on these.
Used to have an m50x too, but sold that off.
Portable setup
I (reluctantly) bought a portable dac that costs about a 100 USD a while back, the FiiO KA3. I was running through too many poorly built dongles like the apple one. I was disgusted at the amount of times the cable broke on those, and the amount of E-waste I was generating. I decided to get the KA3 because it had a cable that could be replaced - something I hoped I didn't need to do. Anyway, I'm on my 4th cable now. No idea why these cables break so frequently. It's annoying. I hate that they removed the 3.5mm jack. Also this dac slurps my phone battery like its juice, and gets hot to the touch. I kind of hate it, but it sounds pretty good.
Anyway, the whole reason I got a portable DAC was because I loved using my IEMs, the Tin HiFi P1 Max. These are planar IEMs that have a comfy, warm sound that I just love. It's perfect for listening on the go, and I really have no complaints with it.
Probably not going to get any more headphones/dacs/iems in a while, but I am looking for bookshelf speakers! Anyone have any recommendations?
Those E-MU Teak headphones are beautiful. I quite like wood on audio gear, but am always concerned with durability. When getting my Telefunken M80 mic, there is an option to get it made out of cherry wood instead of metal. However, I decided to get the metal version due to durability concerns since if I treat this mic well it should last for decades.
It is good that at least they have a removable cable on the KA3, but I do agree that removing the headphone jack does create more ewaste due to dongles breaking or the limited lifespan of the bluetooth headphones battery
Speakers
Yamaha HS5 - my ever reliable main monitors. I've had them for over a decade now and know them pretty well. Not too much info on the low-end but a nice and honest midrange that doesn't get fatiguing.
Creative Pebble v2 - these are a handy little pair I like to keep on the side, usually for getting an extra perspective for reference on a mix or else hooking up to hardware synths when I want to get away from screens.
Headphones
Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro - primary headphones when I'm at home and used both for working on audio and general listening late at night. Pretty much permanently hooked up to my audio interface / computer.
Audio Technica ATH-M50xBT2 - the trusty travel companions. They spend a lot of their time living in my work bag and are an invaluable companion on quiet night shifts.
DAC / Amp
MOTU M4 - great bang for the buck audio interface. Has a really nice DAC built-in which was an important criteria (besides the pre-amp quality) when choosing - shout out to Julian Krause's YT channel and his incredibly thorough audio interface testing which was invaluable here.
Home Entertainment
Sony HT-S2000 - I picked this up when living in a tiny old 1-bed apartment and it fit the bill as a substantial upgrade over the TV's crappy speakers that wouldn't piss off the neighbours, nor break the bank. I'll likely upgrade at some point but it's good enough that I'm in no rush for now.
The M4 looks like a really nice and well featured. My DAC on my Soundcraft Notepad 12fx had some noise for the first time a few days ago and it was annoying. I am hoping it is a one time issue as I have used it before lots with no issues
The M4 has served me well for a few years now. I'm mostly working in the box at home so it has all the I/O I need, mainly for DI guitars and synths. For a while there were some issues with noise on the speaker outs but I tracked this down to a ground loop issue, a simple isolator I got for like €12 on Amazon sorted it though (think it's essentially a wee 1:1 transformer).
My noise issue is electrical noise happening via the USB, not a ground loop. Luckily I do not do any music production at home, so it is mainly just a personal nuisance when I am using voice chat, so I am not going to dive into troubleshooting it yet.
That's fair, these kinds of issues can be a right pain to diagnose once you dig in. Though if you are certain it's from the USB it might be worth trying a powered USB hub.
Phono Cartridges: London Reference and London Jubilee
Phono Turntable: Well Tempered Turntable and Garrard 301
Tuner: Sansui TU-X1
Cassette: Nakamichi RX-505
Phono Pre-Amps: Threshold FET-10 and EAR 834
Preamp: Custom made passive preamplifier
cables: handmade cables
Amplifier: Wellborne Moondog 2A3 Monoblock SET
Speakers: Edgarhorn Titans and Carfrae Little Big Horn speakers
I have customized everything in my system, and I am very happy with the sound.
Planned for the future:
My main setup is in our small, multi-use living room/kitchen/dining room. I have slowly added components over the years, and it currently is:
At my desk, I run a simple setup:
I previously had a pair of Sennheiser IE200 in-ears which I loved, but then seem to have lost on a plane recently. I'm massively disappointed by that, because they were my favorite for hifi listening when I traveled.
Edit: I’m really considering running my Mac Mini with something like the Blackhole loop back software to pull it into MainStage and run a tube saturator or other effects to experiment with plugins to liven up the sound for certain records. And, I really want to rip my vinyl records to FLAC/ALAC and have them locally because the turntable really only gets used by my wife.
I was looking at the IE200s when I got the IE100s, and they seemed great although I vaguely recall that replacement cables were going to be pricey so I chose the IE100s. Sennheiser was not the brand I would have expected to have such phenomenal IEMs, but I am glad I picked them up.
They’re priced in a way where replacement cables don’t make sense. I think I picked up my pair for around $130, which is pound-for-pound the best return on investment I’ve ever gotten on any audio equipment. They could legitimately replace my loudspeaker setup if life suddenly went south, and I’d still feel like I had access to the joy of hifi.
At my desktop I have a pair of ATH-AD700s. I've used them for 16 years and they've shaped to my head like my head has shaped to them. They're hooked up to a MOTU M2 interface, and then I've got an AT2020 mic for discord, voice, and sax recording, plus with a crappy Amazon bass mini-amp for bass and guitar practice or recording.
Off my desktop, I've got a pair of Edifier Bluetooth earbuds for work and a pair of Sony XM5s for everything else.
I could actually use two recommendations:
Someday these ATH-AD700s are going to kick the bucket. Like, maybe not at this point, but maybe! Does audio technica have a model that would be a direct step up, or a good replacement from these? I'm mainly asking from a mix of gaming and listening to music with a touch of audio editing in a quiet basement.
Are there any decent, inexpensive amps in the like $100 range that would be good for a bass and/or guitar that are relatively compact?
I'm just getting into electric guitar (2 days ago), and I bought me a boss katana mini as a starter amp. It's pretty small and good! I don't have experiences with other amps, so I can't really compare. But it's pretty compact and portable!
Only thing is, I hear you shouldn't run a bass guitar through it. MIght blow out the speakers.
Ii can't speak to guitar amps at all, but I had the closed version of those headphones and bought them around the same time (ATH-A700). AudioTechnica has multiple newer direct steps up from the ATH-AD700: ATH-AD900X , ATH-AD1000X, and I believe there is a 2000x model as well. I demoed the ATH-AD900 at one point and decided they weren't the direction I wanted to go (ended up getting the Beyerdynamic DT-880), but the 1000x looks pretty nice.
I would not have considered using the AT2020 to mic a sax, but it probably does a decent job for that. If I were to mic a sax, I would probably reach for a Shure SM57, but I could see an AT2020 capturing a detailed recording.
I imagine it's not ideal, but I haven't done recording for others on it yet so I'm just making do. Thank you though, if I move to anything else I'll grab one!
If you have a room with decent acoustics, placing the mic a couple feet away from the sax could get you some really good natural sounding tone using the AT2020. The Shure SM57 would probably do good as an alternative, but I am unsure if it would be worth the upgrade. Part of the reason I have used an SM57 on a sax before is it does well on almost anything and I frequently have one available to me.
I consider myself an audio enthusiast but I highly doubt my setup reflects that.
I have a Yamaha RX-V677 receiver connected to Klipsh R-41M bookshelf speakers and a Sony subwoofer. It's plenty for the bedroom/office. Typical input is Spotify Connect now that I downgraded from Tidal (I would cast from Tidal to my Chromecast dongle but it is not as slick as Connect). I want to add a turntable, which will require a built-in or discrete pre-amp. Decision/research fatigue has hampered that.
Bose QC35II for noise canceling over ears, a gift and adequate. AirPods Pro that I would not buy again, less because of the audio quality and more because of everything else. Audio Technica ATX-M50 for the digital piano.
Bose SoundLink Flex for portable Bluetooth speaker. It's OK, I wouldn't give it a strong recommendation, though.
Nothing too crazy for me personally
Surround
Monitor Audio Silver 7G, 100's for Front Left/Right C250 for Center and FX for surrounds. This is paired with a SVS PB-1000 Pro, all connected to a Denon 4800h.
Mainly this set up is for films / games, but do also occasionally use it for locally streaming music.
Earphones
A pair of Shure se-425's that have been used for a long time now, to the point I have no idea what's a good replacement when they do eventually die.
Others
Otherwise some inherited audio equipment that I've yet to properly set up. (had it set up for a little while but currently being stored)
Exposure VII & VIII pre-amp and amp, Ditton 100 bookshelf speakers, that have seen better days and will potentially get replaced at some.
A replacement for the Shure SE425s could be just getting another pair, or I have found Sennheiser to make really nice IEMs.
Thankfully for now they're still going strong, but should the need arise in future I'll be sure to have a look at Sennheiser's offerings.
The Aonic 4 looks to be the replacement for the SE-425.
I'm not an audio enthusiast necessarily, but I want the music I'm listening to sound good without breaking the bank. I have the iconic Sennheiser HD 600 headphones, and a MiniFuse 2 audio interface. They work well together. I also have a Samson Q7 that works exceptionally well for gaming nights on Discord.
For mobile, I value convenience over sound quality (though it's a balance), so I have the AirPods 3.
I'm pretty happy with what I have, so I don't plan on upgrading. The only thing I might change is to get a microphone arm, but my desk is not necessarily suited for that. I'm currently using a desktop stand and it can be somewhat obtrusive, but it's not that big of a deal even when playing competitive games.
Questions
Outputs
Speakers
Headphones
Input
Beta 58 is a great mic, and in some situations the hypercardoid pattern is useful compared the SM58 with the standard cardoid pattern
I like it. I’ve learned the limitations and trade-offs between regular cardioid and hypercardioid the hard way while micing other speakers.
Pick up patterns are something that you never think about until you have issues
i use short three legged stools from a thrift store. abot 3’ elevation.
I have a weird "modern" mix of one of those 80s hi-fi setups which uses modern components and older vintage stuff. Basically in full, I have a Tape Deck, CD Player, and Turntable which switch into a headphone amp via a switchbox. I'll go through each one.
Tape Deck: Technics RS-M218
This is the oldest machine in my system and I got it for a relatively cheap price off of ebay, it was sold in "near-pristine condition" and is used for whatever cassettes I have. It's an entry level deck which was released in 1980 and like many decks of the era has options for NR, Chrome/Metal/Normal tapes, and can fast-forward and auto-stop. It has mechanical issues such as occasional slowdown probably due to belts and the pinch roller needs to be serviced with some rubber renue, but otherwise it works totally fine. Besides this the FL meter on one channel goes all the way up and I have no idea why, possibly a capacitor issue. The other problem with decks is that you need to know how to service them and this is a huge problem because they're just mechanically hard to understand. I have a service manual for mine and intend to try and fix some aspects of it. Overall, it's not a bad machine but I only have it to listen to tapes I record for fun, and it looks pretty cool.
Turntable and Preamp: Fluance RT-80, Schitt Mani phono preamp.
My first-ever turntable I got, It's pretty much the entry level model which has a conical AT cartridge but is functionally the same from their RT81 and 82 models. It now has a Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge which has done me well for 2-4 years, which I might need to replace soon but is otherwise a pleasant sounding cartridge. It plugs into the Schitt Mani to bypass the built-in preamp and the sound quality is phenomenal. Otherwise, unlike cassette decks of the modern era they still make pretty good turntables and if you want to get into the hobby there are good options.
CD Player: Spectronic DVD Player
Terrible DVD player I found in the basement. It fits on a Hi-fi cabinet and I'd replace it with something better but I only really listen to CD's in the car. If you guys have any opinions of a good cabinet system which connects into RCA plugs just fine then let me know.
Amp/Equalizer: Schitt Magni Headphone Amp and Loki Mini Equalizer
The equalizer takes the switcher input (Basic 4-way switcher which allows you to press between different audio signals) and then goes to the Headphone amp, which is then connected to speakers (explained later) which are enabled when the headphones are plugged out of the system. The Schitt Magni is pretty good for the money, despite me using it with Grado headphones which have low impedance. They sound absolutely amazing with breyerdynamics 600 ohm headphones but those are too bright and require equalization to sound decent with vinyl records. I've yet to try some other headphones with High Impedance since they're a bit rare, so any suggestions would be nice.
The Equalizer is a nice touch but I might switch it out with a proper component one if I can find one.
Finally, my speakers are Edifier bookshelf speakers which are also connected to a computer.
An equalizer for my setup would be nice. In university I had access to a musician practice room and I would sit on a couch with musician wedge monitors as speakers and play around with the 31 band GEQ. It was a really fun listening experience, but spoiled me too much on EQ settings
I think Equalizers are totally fine in a few instances - my EQ is a 4 band EQ and I only use it for pressings or headphones which require some sort of EQ to enjoy. For instance, alot of older records are very distorted and can lack bass, adding in EQ can fix this (though obviously you don't want to go overboard). Headphones like the Breyerdynamics are notoriously detailed, so having EQ where you decrease the treble and increase the bass will make your listening experience more palpable, and this is especially true for records as they can have alot of problems with the high-range (As in, tracking and sibilance).
I think for speakers they're more or less a necessity to equalize your listening experience (get it), but for headphones they're loved or hated.
Does… a BTR5 connected to a DT990 count?
Yeah it counts, that seems like a nice little combo
Edifier 1280T (white/gray version, just for gaming tbh)
Grado RS2X (for music)
Porta Pro with Yaxis (for games or occassionally music too)
Moondrop Chu (for listening in public)
HD599 (were my fist pair of "actual" headphones I got in 2018 or so)
Also have a DAP (M0 Pro). Why? Love it for using it on the bus and felt like using a completely offline player for my music (mostly instrumental bought on bandcamp, Steam or wherever you are able to actually BUY music)... phone has DAC and headphone jack whenever I want to listen to music through YouTube.
I remember when I bought the Grados btw. I tried out a lot of headphones over the last 3 years and my affinity for details and treble made the RS2X my absolute favourites. Close to them were some other headphones too, but ALL of them were like... err... 6000 bucks, so naaah (stuff like the Stax x9000 or unreleased Final Audio headphones I forgot the name of, haha).
A DAP is something I am interested into getting as it seems like such an enjoyable listening experience. I want it for both the portable aspect but also to create such a limited distraction-free listening experience, rather than just sitting on my phone or computer. I am currently working on a DIY solution, and hopefully will get a prototype working in the next week.
Something like the M0 Pro could be worth it to be portable as well.
Otherwise you could look into bigger ones for around 150-200 or so.
I would say they are really nice for not getting distracted, however they can also be "fun to use" as a device "just for music".
If I were still looking at options, the M0 looks quite promising. I ended up starting to create my own DIY solution based on a Raspberry Pi and my old USB DAC, I am just currently waiting for some parts to come in. I have come across FiiO's DAPs, but did not like how they were just another android device, just with good audio components, which make them only a slightly better option than my phone for removing distractions
I still enjoy my Polk RTi A9s a lot, in part because they're absolutely gorgeous and I love the rounded shape to the tower. But last year I picked up a pair of returned, Definitive Technology Demand D15 floor standing speakers for much, much less than MSRP. I can't get over how great they sound whether the source audio is from a hi-fi system or an mp3 played off a cheap tablet. It's also my first gloss-white+silver speaker setup, so it looks purdy.
The biggest thing about the DT speakers for me is the inclusion of an active subwoofer in each speaker. So I have a stereo subwoofer for recordings that support it, but in general a balanced bass without having to buy individual (and large) subwoofer units on their own. Huge amount of space and money savings. On top of that, they have a passive bass radiators on each side of each speaker, to help balance the bass even better and there's a little bit of bass separation for recordings where the percussion section had multiple microphones set up.
I have a stand-alone active DT subwoofer for my entertainment area, and it's much the same way. It has one active woofer and two passive bass radiators on each side to help reduce distortion and balance the resonance (the fourth side of the cube is the power switch and plugs). While the active sub is of course more powerful, the DT 15s (or 17s) are so, so great for stereo/2.1/2.2/4.2 music that it's an exciting experience every time I turn them on.
I work in radio and as a musician, so I know a bit about audio, but I don't get crazy about it with my home setup. Here's what I've got:
For recording:
Having only worked in Reaper as a DAW, I find it to be a nice DAW to use. If I end up doing more work in Reaper again, I may check out Reaper ReaTooled to see how I like it
I use Pro Tools at work a lot, so ReaTooled made Reaper more comfortable for me. Less reprogramming of my muscle memory for keyboard shortcuts.