josecamoessilva
22-02-2014, 04:43
Hello all.
Just found the forum, but have been into music reproduction since the 70s, when as a pre-teen I built my first amplifiers (and synthesizers... it was the 70s!); fast forward to a EECS degree, a turn to the dark side (AI; decision sciences; inevitably, business consulting), so I ended up spending most of my listening time with headphones (as I work at the computer) and abandoning DIY audio. Last time I read anything technical in audio was at the end of the 20th century. (FYI, when I say technical I mean something like IEEE journals; I occasionally read HiFi magazines.)
After two trillion job-related moves, occasionally donating equipment instead of moving it, my system – such as it is – is a bunch of computers and hard drives with a few sets of headphones (nicest ones are Sennheiser HD650; will probably upgrade that, they're some years old). Looking to add a quality DAC and amplification (I have a good friend who makes tube-based amplifiers, so that'll be my first choice); I'd like speakers, but they'd have to be reasonably sized.
Music tastes are mostly classical, earlier rather than later, some jazz. Most notable recent acquisition was Deutsche Grammophon's Karajan 1970s retrospective (also have the 1960s one); I get at least one or two classical CDs a week, usually impulse purchases at boutique stores, mostly Baroque and Renaissance music. Latest jazz discs were a couple of Tomasz Stanko.
I convert all music to digital files for ease of movement, and mobility is always a criterion in all my choices. (Mobility ≠ on-the-go audio; I mean equipment that can be packed in a Pelican case and moved somewhat easily. I'm not much for walking around with tinny earphones, unaware of my surroundings on public streets. As far as I am concerned, earphones and iPods are great for listening to audiobooks, on exercise machines or planes.) About 4TB of music files from ripping my CDs w/ lossless compression. Some digital purchases, but I dislike lossy compression on principle. No reason to have a CD player since the CDs (and DVDs and the last of the LPs) are in storage.
Greatest problem, currently: headphones cover the brain's radiators (ears), so looking to buy something high quality, lightweight, that blocks outside noise reasonably, and air-conditioned. And a portable DAC for travel, something like a USB dongle that won't add too much weight to my travel kit.
Looking forward to being here,
JCS
Just found the forum, but have been into music reproduction since the 70s, when as a pre-teen I built my first amplifiers (and synthesizers... it was the 70s!); fast forward to a EECS degree, a turn to the dark side (AI; decision sciences; inevitably, business consulting), so I ended up spending most of my listening time with headphones (as I work at the computer) and abandoning DIY audio. Last time I read anything technical in audio was at the end of the 20th century. (FYI, when I say technical I mean something like IEEE journals; I occasionally read HiFi magazines.)
After two trillion job-related moves, occasionally donating equipment instead of moving it, my system – such as it is – is a bunch of computers and hard drives with a few sets of headphones (nicest ones are Sennheiser HD650; will probably upgrade that, they're some years old). Looking to add a quality DAC and amplification (I have a good friend who makes tube-based amplifiers, so that'll be my first choice); I'd like speakers, but they'd have to be reasonably sized.
Music tastes are mostly classical, earlier rather than later, some jazz. Most notable recent acquisition was Deutsche Grammophon's Karajan 1970s retrospective (also have the 1960s one); I get at least one or two classical CDs a week, usually impulse purchases at boutique stores, mostly Baroque and Renaissance music. Latest jazz discs were a couple of Tomasz Stanko.
I convert all music to digital files for ease of movement, and mobility is always a criterion in all my choices. (Mobility ≠ on-the-go audio; I mean equipment that can be packed in a Pelican case and moved somewhat easily. I'm not much for walking around with tinny earphones, unaware of my surroundings on public streets. As far as I am concerned, earphones and iPods are great for listening to audiobooks, on exercise machines or planes.) About 4TB of music files from ripping my CDs w/ lossless compression. Some digital purchases, but I dislike lossy compression on principle. No reason to have a CD player since the CDs (and DVDs and the last of the LPs) are in storage.
Greatest problem, currently: headphones cover the brain's radiators (ears), so looking to buy something high quality, lightweight, that blocks outside noise reasonably, and air-conditioned. And a portable DAC for travel, something like a USB dongle that won't add too much weight to my travel kit.
Looking forward to being here,
JCS