Blue is Me

Tag: equipment

  • What guitar(s) do you play? What does your setup look like?

    Guitars:

    For a long time, I played a Fender Road-Worn 60s Stratocaster. I’ve had this guitar since 2009.

    It’s been significantly upgraded throughout the years. Rosewood fretboard on a 9.5′ maple neck. Alder body. Three tone sunburst with a relic finish. The tuners have been replaced with Schaller locking tuners. The original bone nut replaced with a Graphtech TUSQ nut. Pickguard has been replaced with a Jimi Hendrix Monterey Pop style pickguard. The bridge saddles are KTS Titanium saddles. Tremolo block is a KGC Brass tremolo block with a KGC Killer Brass Claw and Raw Vintage springs. Finally, the pickups are Rumpelstiltskin custom handwound pickups A3 5.8k / A5 5.8k / A5 6.3k.

    My secondary guitar is a Duesenberg Joe Walsh Alliance

    Everything is stock on this one. 12′ maple neck with Rosewood fretboard. Spruce and Maple body. Pickups are a Duesenberg noiseless single coil (Single Twin) and a mini humbucker (Little Toaster).

    Recently my main guitar has been the Yamaha Revstar Professional

    Just an amazing playing, feeling guitar. 12′ rosewood fretboard on a maple neck. Quilted maple top and mahogany body. The stock Yamaha pickups were replaced with TV Jones Zoomtrons.

    My main acoustic guitar since 2012 has been the Martin OMJM

    Rosewood neck, Engelmann Spruce top and Rosewood back and sides. Built in Fishman Gold plus electronics. Just a fantastic playing and sounding guitar.

    Strings:

    I almost always use Elixir extra light strings. Optiweb is preferred but Nanoweb is fine too. Tried a lot of other brands D’addario coated, Ernie Ball, Fender, DR, Sonotone, GHS, etc I always go back to Elixirs everytime.

    Picks:

    I like to use Dunlop Tortex picks I know there’s more expensive picks out there, but Tortex works well enough for me.

    Cables:

    I use Mogami 2524 for my patch cables and a mix of Bullet Cables (cause I like the coiled cords) and Rattlesnake Cables (love the construction).

    Amps:

    For a long time I used a Swart Atomic Jr

    A nice small great sounding 5W practice amp with 1x 12AX7 preamp tube, 1x 6V6 power tube, 1x GZ34 rectifier tube and a 8′ Weber speaker. Also has a surprisingly powerful reverb built in.

    However, I found that I wanted more headroom so for my main amp I now use a Supro Keeley 12

    Which has a built in effects loop. It’s a 25W amp that has 2x 12AX7, 2x 6V6, solid state rectifier and a 12′ Celestion Creamback speaker.

    I also use a Positive Grid Spark Mini as a portable travel amp which works well for that.

    Pedals:

    You can see them in the above photo. I always have a Boss TU3W and Boss RC5 as necessary pedals on my board cause I always use a tuner and a looper plus they act as great buffers for my chain. For my overdrives I use a Snouse Blackbox 2 as a nice medium gain drive with some dirt, MXR Timmy for a nice light gain transparent drive and Wampler Tumnus as a medium gain boost drive. Xotic SP Compressor for my compressor, Hermida EPH-3 (I know I have that Catalinbread Belle Epoch above but I swapped it out) as my main analog echo / delay, Tubesteader Lightkeeper as a preamp / tone conditioning effect pedal (that can also do a nice mid boost) and Fender Marine Layer as my reverb pedal. BBE Ben Wah is my wah pedal.

  • Why do guitarists tend to prefer older technology instead of newer technology?

    I feel that this is a widespread issue with guitarists is that they tend to be a very conservative bunch and tone snobs are everywhere. For the majority of guitarists, the 1950s and 1960s are held to be this gold standard and everything after that time period supposedly isn’t as good.

    So as a result, most Fenders, Gibsons etc that you can buy are modeled after 1950s and 1960s era spec, most amplifiers you can buy are modeled after 1950s and 1960s era amps, most pickups you can buy are modeled after 1950s and 1960s specs – and all of them use ‘vintage accuracy’ as a selling point for all of them. In addition, some people even pay more money for a ‘relic’d’ guitar or ‘aged’ pickups/hardware because it looks more vintage ‘authentic’.

    ^ believe it or not, people pay MORE in the guitar world to make things LOOK older and beat up.

    Even vintage effects like the 1960s Fuzz and Wah pedals are held in high regard despite their lower fidelity compared to modern effects.

    This means that newer technologies in the guitar world like modeling amps, DSP, active pickups, digital effects etc are shunned in favor of analog effects, tube amps, passive pickups etc because in the guitar world, older = ‘better’.

    But why do guitar players think that 50s and 60s = the best? Well, because of that’s where all the legendary guitar heroes came from. Clapton. Hendrix. Page. Beck. Blackmore. Gilmore. Green. Bloomfield. Harrison. Townshend. Richards. Kossoff. Iommi.

    and even newer guitarists like SRV, Frusciante, Slash, Bonamassa, Kenny Wayne Shepard etc often play vintage style guitars.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tltu3yVJWQg

    ^ I love how recently Josh Scott from JHS pedals basically trolled everyone on his channel for a year by pretending to play through a tube amp while he was actually playing through a modeling device- and nobody realized the difference. In the guitar world, you have a lot of tone snobs who swear their life on the ‘vintage = ALWAYS better’ mantra.

    It’s kind of a sad truth that many guitarists rather than embracing their own sound, want to sound like their guitar idols which also means they want to have the most authentic gear possible that replicates their guitar idol’s gear which likely means gear from the 1950s and 1960s.

    This results in a huge demand for guitars, amps, effects, pickups back then which is why vintage guitar equipment can fetch lots of $$ and why demand has created newer guitars, pickups, amps, effects etc to be exactly like the way they were back then!

    This kind of conservative thinking impedes innovation in the guitar space. As a result there’s only a handful of guitar, amp and effects companies that are innovating while the majority are focused on trying to re-create the sound and tone of the old 1950s and 1960s equipment.

    So personally, I dislike this way of thinking but that’s how unfortunately the guitar market is like.

  • Dec 2022 Gadget update

    Every 6 months I do an update on the state of my gadgets and what I use.

    Computers

    HP Dragonfly Elite (2020) – replaces 2017 Google Pixelbook, 2017 Porsche Design Book One

    The HP Dragonfly Elite is the lightest convertible laptop on the market, and replaces both my Porsche Design (much heavier) and Google Pixelbook (runs ChromeOS, less ports), and compared to the PD Book One I lose the detachable capability and microSD, compared to the Pixelbook I lose the 3:2 aspect ratio, compared to the HP Spectre X360 I would be losing the 4K OLED display, the better Ice Lake GPU and microSD slot, but in return I have the lightest convertible on the market which is very well built with very good battery life and a very good keyboard, and a lovely blue (my fav) color. Plus I got it for $1k which is actually cheaper than the Spectre and $800 off the MRSP, so I’m ok with that.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZnGoVPBGVI

     

    Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen (2021) – replaces 2020 Alienware m15 R2, 2016 Alienware 15 R3

    I’ve decided to go back to Alienware once again for my main gaming laptop – this time I got the slightly cheaper Ryzen edition with a better processor, RTX 3060 GPU (which should be fairly futureproof), the return of RAM sockets (yay) and a mechanical keyboard (co-designed with Cherry) which is probably the best I’ve ever used on a laptop. 

    https://youtu.be/gMoW_5moZIQ

    Macbook Air M2 (2022) – replaces 2020 Macbook Air M1, 2016 Macbook Pro 13

    Just overall a very convenient laptop to use. It’s got a smaller footprint than the M1 Macbook Air (almost as small as the HP Dragonfly Elite in fact), weighs only 2.7lbs, increased the RAM to 16GB so its snappier, and has a faster processor and new increased display size 13.6″ and upgraded design to boot.

    https://youtu.be/vr_Hp1mPa-Y

    Custom Lian Li case gaming PC – replaces 2019 Cyberpower Syber C Xtreme, 2015 Asus ROG G751, 2016 ThinkPad P70

    Parts: 
    Case: Cyberpower Syber C case -> Lian Li TU150 case
    Mobo: ASrock Z390M -> Asus ROG Strix B550-i
    CPU: Intel Core i5 9600k -> AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
    GPU: 8GB Nvidia RTX 2070
    RAM: 32GB Corsair Vengeance
    Storage: 1TB Intel 660P PCIE + 1TB Samsung 970 Evo PCIE + 3TB Seagate Barracuda Hybrid HDD
    PSU: Corsair 600 80 PLUS Gold SFW
    CPU Cooler: Zalmann CNPS8900 -> Noctua U12A
    Fans: -> Cooler Master Sickle Flow x3

    Decided to move to the AMD AM4 chipset to upgrade my performance, going from 6 cores with no hyperthreading on the Intel to a massive 8 cores 16 threads on the Ryzen 7 3800X. This is mainly to speed up things like video editing which I do a lot of. I also added some more storage, changed the CPU cooler to something a bit more high end and changed out the case to be the Lian Li TU150 as I think it’s the perfect balance between portability (aluminum so it only weighs 3.6kg), size (its not the smallest case but it supports a lot of configurations and has good thermals), affordability (only $100 USD), and appearance (very minimalistic). Also looked at ITX cases by FormD, NCase, Cooler Master, NZXT, Fractal Design, BeQuiet, Razer, Corsair, Thermaltake etc but Lian Li had the best balance for me. 

    https://youtu.be/yaS3UvtRF8o

    Tablets/Phones

    Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 (2022) – replaces 2021 Galaxy Z Fold 2, 2020 MS Surface Duo

    I like the Fold4 as it’s a vast improvement over the Fold2 with a bigger front display, better camera and lighter weight, which were my three main concerns with the Fold2. In addition it has water and dust resistance so overall it’s a massive upgrade over my Fold2 and serves as my main everyday phone now. It’s so nice to be able to just unfold into a bigger display for looking at maps, reading webpages and watching videos.

    https://youtu.be/kyKA9katLGk

    iPhone 12 Mini (2020) – replaces 2016 iPhone SE

    https://youtu.be/chJwVRfXWjg

    Went back to the mini because it’s an all around great phone. Portable, easy to carry, great camera, OLED screen and easy to use. The only issue is the small battery life, but thats mitigated by the fact that I’m constantly carrying around 2 phones (my Z Fold 4) anyways.

    2022 Planet Computers Astro Slide

    This phone is basically my main PMP (haven’t used this word in a long time since the days of my Archos 7!) device for watching videos now, and what helps it is the ability to prop up the display with a built in mechanical keyboard, a decent OLED display, a headphone jack and microSD expansion.

    https://youtu.be/TPv8ETum5YA

    Music

    ThieAudio Monarch MKII (2022) – replaces 2021 Noble Audio Khan, 2021 AK Solaris X 

    After lots of experimentation with different IEMs last year from the $600 Tansio Mirai LANDs to the $1200 AK/Campfire Solaris X to the $2000 Noble Audio Khans, I decided to settle with the $1000 ThieAudio Monarch MkIIs which are fantastic for the price, not quite as perfect as the Khans, but it comes close enough at half the cost of the Khans. 

    https://youtu.be/zJNHskpBPjI

    Master & Dynamic MW08 (2022) – replaces 2021 Nura NuraTrue, 2019 Sony WF-1000XM3

    The MW earbuds are a decent set of wireless earbuds. They’re not going to compete with my IEMs but for something convenient to use with my Motorola Razr Fold or my Macbook Air or my iPad Pro it works fine. Just need something that’s decent sounding and smaller size than the Sony WF-1000XM3s. Would have kept the Nura Buds but they need a specific app in order to work correctly (Which means they have to be used with a phone).

    https://youtu.be/lgGnRa5fu7k

    Beyerdynamic T1 2nd gen (2022) – replaces 2022 Beyerdynamic DT1990Pro, 2018 Sony WH-1000XM3, 2017 Sony MDR-1000X

    These are my main over ear headphones now, although they are open back so they are not for outdoor use. And it was tough, I was comparing this with the Focal Elex and the Beyerdynamic DT1990Pro. With the xDuoo TA-26 tube headphone amp, these 600ohm headphones are easier to drive, and it’s got very detailed mids and a very wide soundstage. However, I have to say the Focals might be a touch more detailed but with smaller soundstage and the Beyers have more exciting highs/lows but more muted mids and also a smaller soundstage as well. So it was tough to pick between them all – for electronic music I think the DT1990Pros can’t be beat but for an all arounder I think the T1s are great and I prefer the soundstage of the T1s over the slightly more detail and clarity of the Elex’s. For soundstage, the T1s are the best by far. For mids, the T1s and Elex are fairly close. For highs/lows, I think the DT1990s take it. The Elex probably has the most balanced sound sig.

    https://youtu.be/UdTvI_VSzgk

    Hiby RS6 (2021) – replaces 2021 Astell&Kern SE100, 2020 Motorola Razr Fold

    This is my main DAP now.. after a comparison vs the AK SE100, it was a hard choice because although the HiBys used a unique and interesting R2R architecture, the SE100 with the Dual ESS9038Pro was also a solid performer as well. the sound quality of both were very similar, the SE100 had a better click wheel, but in the end the HiBy’s more ‘fun’ sound and (much) faster UI won me over and I kept the RS6 over the SE100. 

    https://youtu.be/H2ucbveCKbA

    Positive Grid Spark Mini (2022) – replaces 2017 Bose Soundlink Revolve (2017), 2015 Creative Soundblaster Roar 2

    It’s not more portable nor better sounding than my Bose Soundlink Revolve but when I’m traveling with my guitar, this pulls double duty as both a bluetooth speaker and a guitar amp. 

    https://youtu.be/Dp0A3IS2ntk

    DALI Oberon 1 + Monitor Audio Bronze 50 + Rotel A12 Integrated Amp + REL Tzero Mk3 – replaces 2021 Neat Acoustics Ministra, 2021 PMC DB1 Gold, 2019 Klipsch R-41PM, 2017 Creative SoundblasterX Katana, 2017 Klipsch the Three, Cambridge Audio Solo Preamp

    I did ALOT of speaker comparisons these past few years. And I’ve decided to focus on the combination of the DALI Oberon 1s paired with the MA Bronze 50s. I have two speaker sets because my Rotel A12s actually can drive two sets of speakers at once, so why not? I also have tried out the Neat Ministras, PMC DB1 Golds, Triangle BRO2s and Klipsch R40Ms and I feel that the DALI/MA combination for about $1000 USD combined gives me the best balance of price/performance ratio.

    https://youtu.be/ZOsF0BEMuYg

    MartinLogan 15i / MartinLogan 8i / MartinLogan 2i / MartinLogan Dynamo 400 + Marantz NR1510 – replaces 2019 LG SL10YG + SPK8, MartinLogan Motion 2i, MartinLogan Motion 6i

    I decided to turn in my soundbar for a dedicated 5.1 + receiver setup, and yes the audio does sound better! It’s a tradeoff though. The setup is more expensive, takes up more space, and more wires of course. In return for better sound quality.

    https://youtu.be/FJ1Bd8NEKVU

    Google Home Hub (2018) – replaces 2017 Yamaha Clock Radio

    The Google Home Hub replaces my Yamaha Clock Radio as a smart alarm clock + digital photo frame.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clzL9rzfqsc

    Cameras

    DJI Osmo Action 3 (2022) – replaces 2021 DJI Pocket 2, 2016 Sony HDR-AS300

    The Osmo Action 3 is a great action camera that replaces my Pocket 2 because it’s smaller than the Pocket 2 and has built in water resistance and cold resistance without using extra accessories. That makes it a lot more convenient and the mics are great too! This is definitely more of a straight up replacement for my older 2016 Sony AS300s. 

    https://youtu.be/icHcnM4p4LI

    Sony ZV-1 (2020) – replaces Sony A6000, DJI Osmo+

    The best camera for Youtube videos and Vlogs, it’s such a good value for the quality as it comes with a lens very similar to the 24mm Zeiss 1.8 prime I had before except this one is a 24-70mm zoom, making this one a great all around camera for everything, especially paired with a Zhiyun M2 for moving stability, plus 4K and HLG (HDR) capability so it’s a strict upgrade over my old Sony and DJI Osmo (with the Zhiyun). Also, the microphone is great, so I don’t need to use a dedicated Sony X/Y mic or my Shures anymore. 

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0CN_TWXLss

    Main Computer collection
    Lian Li Custom Desktop (2021) – AMD Ryzen 5800X, 32GB RAM, 5TB SSD+HDD, Geforce RTX 2070, 20lbs – main gaming pc
    13.3″ 1920×1080 – HP Dragonfly Elite (2020) – Intel Core i7 8565U, 16GB, 256GB SSD, 2.4lbs – main portable laptop
    13.6″ 2560×1440 – Apple Macbook Air M2 (2020) – Apple M2, 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 2.7lbs – secondary portable laptop
    15.6″ 1920×1080 165hz – Alienware m15 R5 Ryzen (2021) – AMD Ryzen 5800H, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Geforce RTX 3060, 5.6lbs – main gaming laptop

    Main Phone collection
    5.4″ 1808×2340 OLED – iPhone 12 mini (2020) – Apple A14 Bionic, 4GB RAM, 64GB Flash, iOS 14, 12MP F/1.6, Lightning – secondary phone
    7.6″ 1812×2176 OLED – Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 (2021) – Snapdragon 865, 12GB RAM, 256GB Flash, Android 12, 50MP F/1.8, USBC – main tablet / secondary phone
    6.39″ 2340×1080 OLED – Planet Computers Astro Slide (2022) – MediaTek Dimensity 800, 8GB, 128GB, Android 11, 48MP, USBC – secondary phone, main PMP

    Other devices

    Video game systems: PS3, PS4 Pro, PS5, PSTV, Nvidia Shield Pro, Cybiko Xtreme, Nokia Ngage, PS Vita, New Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch OLED, GPD Win 2, Nvidia Shield Portable, PSP Go, Razer Phone 2, GPD Win 3, Steam Deck, AyaNeo Air Pro

    UMPCs: GPD Micro, Toshiba Libretto W100, Vulcan Flipstart, Sony Vaio UX280, Sharp Netwalker, OpenPandora, Fujitsu UH900, Fujitsu U820, OQO Model 2, Samsung Q1, King Jim Portabook, Astro Slide, GPD Pocket 3

    Backup Laptops:  Google Pixelbook (light use laptop), ThinkPad TP25 (business laptop), Onkyo DX (dual screen netbook), ThinkPad X240 (Win 7), Thinkpad X61 (Win XP), Dell Latitude D600 (Win 98)

    Watches: Nomos Tetra 406 (dress), Junghans Meister Calendar (everyday), Frederique Constant Slimline Moonphase (dress/everyday), Oris GMT (travel), Pebble Time Steel, Fossil Abacus, Casio DBC32 DataBank, Motorola Moto 360 3rd gen, Apple Watch Series 3, Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2, Nixoid Nixie Tube watch, Tutima Fleiger Automatic (everyday), Raymond Weil Beatles (dress), Atowak Ettoire Drift Lite (everyday), Corniche Heritage Bleu Ardoise (everyday)

    Tablets: iPad Pro 10.5, Sony Tablet P, iPad Air, Lenovo Flex 20

    PMPs: Philips PMC, iPod Nano, MS Zune, Creative Zen vision m, Archos 7, Cowon V5W, Hiby RS6

    Flip Phones: Samsung Galaxy Folder 2, Samsung Alias 2, Motorola Razr Fold

    Vertical Sliders: Sony Ericsson W995, Nokia N95, Samsung Exclaim

    Horizontal Sliders: HTC Dream (Tmobile G1), Nokia N900, Sony Xperia Play, Samsung Exclaim, TMobile Sidekick 3, TMobile Sidekick Slide

    Unique form factor: HTC Universal, Motorola Flipout, Nokia E70, HTC Advantage X7500, Nokia E90, LG EnvTouch, Unihertz Jelly 2, Palm phone, Nokia XpressMusic 3250, Nokia N-gage, Nokia E72, Motorola V70, Sony Ericsson P990, Toshiba G910, Nokia N93i, Neptune Pine, Blackberry Key2, Unihertz Titan Pocket

    PDAs: Palm TX, Sharp Zaurus, Sony UX50, Zipit Z2, Casio BE300, HP iPAQ 210, Psion 5MX, HP Jornada 720, MS Kin 2, Sony Mylo 2

    Unique OS: Amazon Fire Phone (FireOS), ZTE Open C (FirefoxOS), Samsung Z1 (TizenOS), HP Pre 3 (WebOS), Blackberry Porsche 9981 (BB 7 OS), Blackberry Passport (BB 10 OS), Nokia N810 (Maemo), Nokia E7 (Symbian 3), HP Elite X3 (Win 10), Palm Treo 700p (PalmOS), Sony Xperia XA2 (Sailfish X), LG Nexus 5 (Ubuntu Touch), PinePhone (Manjaro Linux), Essential Phone (LineageOS)

    Displays: LG C9 OLED TV (main TV), Acer Predator XB271HU  (gaming monitor), LG 29WK600 (ultrawide work monitor), MMT FHD Monitor2Go (portable monitor), Royole Moon (HMD), Oculus Quest 2 (VR)

    Cameras: DJI Osmo Action 3, Sony ZV-1

    Headphones: Monster Gratitude (earphone), ThieAudio Monarch MKII (IEM), Master & Dynamic MW08 (wireless earbuds), Sony WF-1000XM3 (backup wireless earbuds), Sony WH-1000XM3 (wireless/NC/closed), Razer Anzu (smart glasses), Beyerdynamic T1 2nd gen (open back)

    Speakers: Monitor Audio Bronze 50 + DALI Oberon 1 + REL Tzero Mk3 (desktop), Triangle BRO3 + Edifier T5 (turntable), MartinLogan Motion 15i + MartinLogan Motion 8i + MartinLogan Motion 2i + MartinLogan Dynamo 400 (home theater), Ruark Audio R1 mk4 (alarm), Google Home Hub (picture frame/assistant), PreSonus Eris (monitors), Bose Soundlink Revolve (portable)

    Misc Audio Electronics: Rotel A12 (integrated amp/dac), Creative X3 (headphone amp/dac), Behringer Xenyx Q502 (Mixer), Fluance RT85 w/Ortofon Blue cartridge (turntable), Marantz NR1510 (receiver), Shanling UA2 (phone DAC), Fosi Audio Box X4 (tube phono preamp), Dayton Audio HTA100BT (hybrid tube amp), Focusrite Scarlett Solo (USB interface), xDuoo TA-26 (tube headphone amp)

    Microphones: Shure SM48 (dynamic), MXL50 (condenser), Blue Yeti Nano (USB)

    Storage: 1x Synology DS220j, 1x Synology DS220+, 1x Synology DS412+, 2x Synology DS416j, 1x Synology DS418j, 2x Synology DS416slim, 1x Synology DS419slim, 3x Patriot Memory USB sticks, 3x Lexar memory USB sticks, 1x Porsche Design LaCIE external HDD, 2x Toshiba Canvio external HDD

    Keyboards: Roccat Vulcan 121 (desktop), Corsair K63 wireless (backup), Ducky 2 SF Blue (backup), CoolerMaster SK622 (backup), Logitech MX Mechanical Mini (work), Lenovo Wireless Keyboard (Lenovo Flex), Mini Keyboard (Nvidia Shield)

    Mice: Logitech MX Master 3 (work mouse), Logitech MX Anywhere 2S (travel), Corsair Dark Core (travel/gaming), Logitech G502 (desktop), Lenovo Wireless Mouse (Lenovo Flex)

    Controllers: Nvidia Shield controller (Shield), Nintendo Switch Joycons (Switch), Nintendo Switch Pro Controller (Switch), Sony PS3 Controller x2 (PS3), Sony PS4 controller x2 (PS4), Sony PS5 controller x2 (PS5), Sony PS4 controller (PSTV), Razer Wolverine Ultimate (PC), Hori Fighting Commander (Nvidia Shield, PC emulation, Switch), Hori Arcade Pro Stick (PC emulation, Switch), Hori Split Pad Compact (Switch)

    Guitar Amps: Milkman 1W+ (main), Vox Mini5 (travel/busking), Positive Grid Spark Mini (travel)

    Guitars: Fender Stratocaster w/Rumpelstiltskin pickups (secondary electric), Martin OMJM (main acoustic), Lava ME 2 (travel acoustic/electric), Duesenberg Alliance Joe Walsh (main electric), G&L ASAT Special (secondary electric)

    Pedals: Boss TU3W (tuner), Catalinbread Epoch Boost (preamp/boost), Tubesteader Lightkeeper (Boost/OD), Fender Marine Layer Reverb (reverb), BBE Wah (Wah), Wampler Euphoria (D type OD), Xotic Compressor (Compressor), Wampler Tumnus (K type OD), Boss RC5 (Looper)

    https://youtu.be/0pVHHdiEtyY

    https://youtu.be/f7Ke8BxfVtg

    https://youtu.be/QVmiykbxW3U

    https://youtu.be/YTo-9vM7pLY

  • What is the best audio equipment brand?

    I guess I can separate this into equipment and price tiers.

    See, it all depends on the tier. There is no ‘best’, there could be better sounding *at the same price point* but once you get up higher in price, my belief is there is no ‘best’ or ‘better’ at the higher end, just different depending on what type of sound you like.

    Headphones/IEMs

    Affordable Tier

    Audio-Technica

    V-Moda

    Beats

    FiiO

    AKG

    Koss

    Etymotic

    Mid-range Tier

    Sony (they are in every tier but I like their mid range the best)

    Sennheiser (they are in every tier but I like their mid range the best)

    Denon

    Grado

    Master&Dynamic

    Bowers&Wilkins

    Bang&Olufsen

    Shure

    High end Tier

    Meze Audio

    Audeze

    Hifiman

    64Audio

    Empire Ears

    Vision Ears

    Campfire Audio

    JH Audio

    Noble Audio

    Stax

    Focal

    Abyss

     

    Speakers

    Affordable Tier

    Emotiva

    SVS

    Edifier

    Nakamichi

    Yamaha

    Pioneer

    LG

    Samsung

    Onkyo

    JBL

    Audioengine

    Fluance

    Kanto

    Philips

    JAMO

    Mid-range Tier

    Polk Audio

    Def Tech

    Klipsch

    Sony

    Bose

    Sonos

    Q Acoustics

    Triangle

    Totem

    Genelec

    Harman Kardon

    High end Tier

    Neat Acoustics

    PMC

    Quad

    ATC

    Spendor

    Harbeth

    Monitor Audio

    KEF

    Bowers&Wilkins

    KLH

    Revel

    Wilson

    GoldenEar

    Paradigm

    Buchardt

    Dali

    Dynaudio

    Focal

    Acoustic Energy

    Sonus Faber

    Devialet

    MartinLogan

    Magnepan

    Tekton

     

    Amplifiers/DACs

    Affordable Tier

    Denon

    Onkyo

    Schiit

    Topping

    Chord

    Mid-range Tier

    NAD

    Peachtree Audio

    Cambridge Audio

    Marantz

    High end Tier

    Technics

    Accuphase

    Luxman

    McIntosh

    PS Audio

    Naim

    Linn

    Rega

    Roksan

    Cyrus

    Arcam

    Simaudio

    Anthem

    Lyngdorf

    Burmester

    Mark Levinson

    Parasound

    Meridian

    dCS

    Hegel

    Pass

    Bryston

    Creek

    Krell

    Musical Fidelity

  • What Japanese audio brands, besides Sony and Audio-Technica, are the best for headphones, speakers, or audio equipment?

    Somebody mentioned Technical Audio Devices. On their website they say:

    Technical Audio Devices Laboratories, Inc. (TADL) is the only Japanese high-end audio manufacturer that specializes in both audio components and speaker systems

     

    This is true. Asian audio companies traditionally do not manufacture high end speakers. They mostly leave the high end speaker business to American, Canadian and European companies. The reason for this is because Japanese people rarely live in big enough homes where they can make use of large speakers. Most Japanese, like other Asians, live in small high rise apartments or villas. This means having a large speaker system just isn’t very feasible – both in terms of volume level and being able to fit it in their homes.

    That’s why companies like Sony, Panasonic, Yamaha, Nakamichi, Onkyo, JVC, Pioneer tend to focus on small soundbars and TAD perhaps being the only high end Japanese speaker company.

    As for amplifiers and headphones well that’s where Japanese audio companies can excel at because they definitely have enough room for those in their homes.

    for headphones, besides Sony and Audio-Technica, there’s also Denon, Fostex and the legendary STAX which introduced electro-static headphones to the world, STAX being the most high end.

    For amplifiers and receivers, there’s quite a few including Luxman, Accuphase, Yamaha, Technics, Denon, Marantz, Kenwood – with Technics, Luxman and Accuphase being very high end.

  • What is your favorite piece of audio equipment?

    I’m going based on design (because I don’t have the financial means to own all these except the BT ones). I think all of these are very beautifully designed.

    Network streamers

    Naim Uniti Atom

    Cambridge Audio EVO150

    Linn Klimax DSM

    SimAudio Moon Ace

    Aurender W20SE

    Amplifiers

    Accuphase E-5000

    McIntosh MC901

    Luxman SQ-N150

    Lyngdorf TDAI-3400

    Cyrus i9-XR

    Speakers

    Wilson Audio Chronosonic XVX

    Bowers and Wilkins Nautilus

    Meridian Audio DSP8000XE

    MartinLogan Neolith

    Burmester BC350

    Headphones

    Grado GS3000e

    Sennheiser HE-1

    Audeze CRBN

    Focal Utopia

    Meze Empyrean

    Turntables

    Technics SL1000

    Rega Planar 10

    Roksan Xerxes 20 Plus

    Mark Levinson 5105

    Yamaha GT-5000

    DAPs

    Luxury&Precision LP6

    Caiyin N8ii

    Astell&Kern SP2000T

    IEMs

    64Audio Nio

    Shure KSE1500

    Empire Ears Odin

    Bluetooth speakers

    Klipsch the Three II

    Bang and Olufsen Beosound 2

    Ruark Audio R5

    Devialet Phantom

    Marshall Stanmore II

    Thats alot of Hi-Fi porn right there for me.. haha