The Music Equipment Thread - Any Audiophiles in The House?

[Done]

This is a thread for you to tell us how much money you spunked on audio equipment (Players, DACs, Amps, headphones, in-ear monitors, Speakers..etc.).

Personally, I am currently using a Yamaha EPH-100 directly out of my laptop's audio jack, and I am planning on digging up my old Fiio E17k to provide a cleaner output. The good thing is that they're all lightweight, affordable and very portable, so I can take this set-up with me from home to workplace and vice versa.

Anyone else would like to share theirs?

 

[tehpope]

Haven't used it in a few months, but my Stereo setup:

Amp: Yamaha DSP-A1
Speakers: Sansui SP-5500x
Turntable: Pro-Ject Debut Carbon (Stock)
Cart: Ortofon 2M red
Optical Media: Oppo DV-970HD (CD / HDCD / SACD)
Streaming: Chromecast Audio (Mini Optical > Optical)
Headphones: Sony MDR-7506

 

[Positron]

I just listen with headphones:

• Stax SR-404 with SRM-006t amp. I'm unhappy about the build quality of the headphone itself: the frame is extremely filmsy and mine is being held with lots of glue and duct tape. The amp lasts almost 2 decades and still going strong, despite being a tube amp.
• Yamaha CD-S2100 -- an astonishing player; the soundstage is a mile wide and the quick instant attacks make percussion sound frighteningly real. And this is not even their top-line player. I used to have a Meridian G08, which I still miss because of its luscious sound on strings, but the transport mechanism (a generic CD-ROM) is just too unreliable and fail in 5 years.

 

[Done]

I just listen with headphones:

• Stax SR-404 with SRM-006t amp. I'm unhappy about the build quality of the headphone itself: the frame is extremely filmsy and mine is being held with lots of glue and duct tape. The amp lasts almost 2 decades and still going strong, despite being a tube amp.
• Yamaha CD-2100 -- an astonishing player; the soundstage is a mile wide and the quick instant attacks make percussion sound frighteningly real. And this is not even their top-line player. I used to have a Meridian G08, which I still miss because of its luscious sound on strings, but the transport mechanism (a generic CD-ROM) is just too unreliable and fail in 5 years.

From what I hear, Stax owners swear by the sound quality, but all of them complain from build issues. How would you describe the sound signature?

I really want to own an open headphone at some point, but I love tactile sub-bass far too much to let go of closed ones (I listen to a lot of Rap and electronic music, in addition to traditional genres like Rock, alternative..etc.). This is the reason I went with the Yamaha EPH-100, which has a very good amount of sub-bass, with clean mids, while remaining nicely extended up-top, and most crucially, it has NO SIBILANCE!

However, it uses a micro-driver (Basically, the driver resides inside the nozzle), which means that the nozzle is considerably wider than normal IEMs, this presents fitment issues for people with narrow ear canals (ear seal is the most important thing when using IEMs), mine fits in with the smallest included double-flange tips.

 

[DumbDosh]

 

[Positron]

From what I hear, Stax owners swear by the sound quality, but all of them complain from build issues. How would you describe the sound signature?

I would say it is natural, open, with clear definition of highs. Electrostatics have a reputation of being bass-shy but that's not a problem for me; I'd rather have good quality (well-defined and nuanced) bass than chest-thumping. The newer generation of Stax is said to have improved on bass quantity but I haven't tested them yet.

Indeed, given headphone technology has improved so much since the past 5 years, when the time comes to replace my phones I'd give moving-coils serious consideration.

BTW one thing that I like about the Stax systems is the separate volume control on each channel: my right ear is slightly worse than my left!