After a good long while of dwelling on whether to drop another 400 or so on a new pair of headphones, or upgrading something else, I settled on an E10, a DAC/amp combination device that serves to replace my PC’s internal sound card. It replaces a Realtek ALC887 (desktop), and a Realtek ALC269 (notebook), both of which are integrated/onboard sound chips.
After getting some 40 hours of use on these pair of ‘phones, here’s the updated impression:
Bass: The bass seems to have evened out, not so in-your-face, but still very much felt and heard. It seems to have ‘moved back’ a little, almost like they traded an up-front spot for something more wide-sweeping. Positive change for me.
Mid-frequency: Not much noticeable change, maybe due to a lack of in-depth EQing.
Treble: Again, not much in the way of noticeable change, but the ‘sharp’ feeling seems to have lessened, to the benefit of clarity. Still undecided on the soundstage for this.
Comfort: I’m beginning to notice a slight tendency for the earcups to press on the rear of my earlobes. Not to the point of being uncomfortable, but it warrants occasional adjustment, especially if you’re prone to sweating. It gets a little warm in the ears after a while of extended listening (3+ hours continuous usage will definitely see this occur; over an hour of you’re in a warm area). The ATH-M50 stock earpads are definitely better in this sense. Clamping force is lessened (due to extended wearing), but doesn’t compromise in terms of isolation. I attribute this to the close fit of the earcups.
External noise/sound isolation: Without music through, they still leak a tiny bit of sound in, but otherwise unchanged from the first impressions.
Portability: They’re excellent in this respect. Folds up nicely, doesn’t feel like they’d break or loosen due to repeated transportation and folding.
Final comments: Very much satisfied with ‘em, price and all. Next in line, looking at a pair of Shure SRH440. Auditioned them a while ago, but since I lacked a serious pair of ‘phones to compare them to, I couldn’t tell if they were really good. I’ll be hauling the M35 to my next pre-purchase audition session, for a good side-by-side comparison with familiar tracks. Easier to tell ‘em apart this way.
Alright, I have a slew of draft posts all in varying stages of completion just waiting to be published, but since they all contain varying degrees of unconventional analogies and a healthy dose of my style of opinions (Read: dry humour mostly), I’ll opt for a perfectly good reason to kick a post up: my latest acquisition, in the form of Audio Technica’s ATH-M35 (278 at Jaben), the younger sibling of Head-Fi’s more popular headphone choices, the ATH-M50 (668 at Jaben). Images follow, so follow the break.
AP: Woman Sues Google over Utah Walking Directions
MSNBC: Woman sues Google over walking directions
One wonders, or should be wondering, “what happened to common sense?”. Failing that, what happened to LOOKING AROUND? Now I’m not usually one for bashing, but … … … oh WHO am I kidding?
Back to the topic at hand, woman sues Google after she followed Google’s walking directions, tried to cross a highway, and got hit by a car. Lady, I’m not sure if you were dropped on your head as a kid or you’re just plain brain-dead, but fast car + high-speed highway + pedestrian (almost always) = injury, with a major variable being severity of the injury.
For the benefit of those reading this, please do NOT laugh. It is a serious matter! Not all of us are fortunate enough to have tertiary education to teach us that crossing a highway is dangerous and may result in injury. Really.
Come on. The world’s 6.7 billion people are collectively draining the planet’s resources. Wouldn’t it be nice to see a reduction? Of people and of resource drain alike. I’m not being nihilistic, hostile (thanks, Joanna…), or heartless. I’m being practical, and so should you.