Audiophiles...advice please

[guru]

Loudness Equalization and Bass Management in Windows.
With regards to music and movies and mild gaming, esp 5.1 surround movies, should I enable or disable these? Will these help or hinder my enveloping soundscape?
Currently have the Logitech Z 5300 (looking mayhaps at a 5500 / z2300 combo upgrade later)

[zcarz]

loudness equalisation off, bass management off
works for me

[RadeonHD]

While I am a self proclaimed audiophile and I do not posses medals and awards from around the world, I do however own a $6000 Denon AHD 7000 golden audiophile headphones aswell as a $1600 Asus Xonar STX audiophile sound card and a separate USB headphone AMP/DAC that cost me $1400

I have owned modified Logitech Z5500 with custom made RE SR 12" Sub 3cuft and tuned to 25hz connected to the Z5500 etc.

I have owned Z2300 and other stuff. I am in the process of building a Polk Audio home setup but because loud speaker is so much more expensive than a real audiophile headphone to get the same quality dollar per performance its taking me some time.

I take my audio very seriously I use foobar and play FLAC ripped songs or maybe 320KB/S MP3

I have owned many audiophile stuff the amount I sold right here on tuner over the years I honestly can't count anymore.

With that said and my years of experience YOU DISABLE EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT BUT ONLY IF YOU POSES AUDIOPHILE SPEAKERS.

You DO NOT poses audiophile speakers nor audiophile DAC so by disabling these enhancements on a logitech system you are actually making it sound more terrible.

The logitech does not have the quality to reproduce a flat and even sound across all frequencies.

Therefore you must adjust the EQ if you are using low end equipment like a Z5500 and under and yes a Z5500 is not even close to being considered high end yet alone audiophile.

Long story short use mp3 and WMP EQ for your logitech and all PC speakers. PC speakers have subwoofer thats one note designed for video games to produce explosions they cannot produce complex bass.

Radeon.

[zcarz]

^^that goes for some enhancements not all, the bass management and the loudness equalisation gives a flat sound

[RadeonHD]

^ yeah you gotta experiment with it and play around with the frequency.

But people in trinidad is all about loud bass. Logitech is focused on SPL and not SQ

Car audio is SPL

Expensive home audio is SQ and SPL is cheaper to make in some cases depending on the person building it, it actually sounds pretty good.

For example the 12" RE SR in its custom made box I had connected to my Z5500 amp sounded 1 trillion times better than the stock 10" Tang Band that came with the z5500

However it was much softer than the Z5500 tang band, its hard to have it both ways unless you very very rich.

[RadeonHD]

guru

I remembered a time you wanted to buy my Z5500 with the RE SR and you got a Z5300 you told me if I remember correct.

Here is my advice if you want audiophile and you not rich then you can do like me and move smart.

Invest in a good headphone setup. My setup cost lets say $8000 TT we using an example here with the xonar stx

according to the ratio this $8000 headphone and DAC/AMP would be equal to the sound quality of a $80,000 Home Audio Setup.

You can also get good denon D5000 headphones for $5000 or $4500 depending where you buy it and a D2000 for $3000 or so and trust me all these sound very similar I owned everyone of them. You can check all my old posts you will see me selling them they are sold already though.

You can spend $4000 on a headphone setup like the denon D2000 and a asus xonar stx sound card and match a $50,000 home setup quite easily. Its usually x10 and believe me when I sit in my office with the lights turned off with my eyes closed and my audiophile rig fired up the sound is truly heavenly the voice in some of these songs is like liquid gold.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

I am a fan of Logitech. IMO they make some of the best keyboards, pointing devices, webcams and universal remotes. But I also think that the words "audiophile" and "logitech Z****" should not be in the same sentence.

[HCCA]

Have to agree with the people that say Logitech ain't audiophile equipment, they're just affordable and loud. Would rather get a pair of good quality headphones and a headphone amp if i have to go over $1000 for a new set of pc speakers.

However Logitech systems seems to sound best when used with a Creative soundblaster sound card with the Crystallizer effect. Say like an X-Fi model up. Playing music as 24 bit conversion helps also.

And the Windows 7 sound enhancements sorta generic so i advise you get updated sound drivers for your sound card and use the effects from them.

[pugboy]

equalization has no place in "audiophile" equipment

[SR]

i started reading at audiophile and stopped as soon as i saw logitec

[jeff]

While I am a self proclaimed audiophile

Car audio is SPL
For example the 12" RE SR in its custom made box I had connected to my Z5500 amp sounded 1 trillion times better than the stock 10" Tang Band that came with the z5500

when i saw the title of this thread i was now coming in here to talk about the $60,000 velodyne sub and $80,000 bookshelfs i heard last week and then i saw RE SR in a box hooked up to a logitech amp

btw car audio is not spl and unfortunately you have proven yourself the opposite of an audiophile

guru,try the different settings to how you like it best, you are listening to it, not everyone else.

[zcarz]

car audio could be spl or sq

[RadeonHD]

While I am a self proclaimed audiophile

Car audio is SPL
For example the 12" RE SR in its custom made box I had connected to my Z5500 amp sounded 1 trillion times better than the stock 10" Tang Band that came with the z5500

when i saw the title of this thread i was now coming in here to talk about the $60,000 velodyne sub and $80,000 bookshelfs i heard last week and then i saw RE SR in a box hooked up to a logitech amp

btw car audio is not spl and unfortunately you have proven yourself the opposite of an audiophile

guru,try the different settings to how you like it best, you are listening to it, not everyone else.

^ I was making a general statement about car audio in Trinidad and believe me I do not have time to sit here and lecture you about the science in sound and why car audio could never be considered true audiophile.

MOST car audio is SPL and yes it can be SQ but it does not happen much in Trinidad.

Also the reason car audio is not considered suitable for audiophile is cause you need a very silent room. And With your engine running this is not going to be an audiophile experience. And no, you setting off another man's car alarm with some Mavado crap from 50 feet away is not audiophile music just taught I would clear this up.

I have heard some great SQ car audio but its nothing compared to listening to home audio in a very quiet room. Especially with headphones. Offcourse headphones lack the sound-stage of loud speakers but to gain in other areas.

I have had the pleasure of owning headphones costing from $2000 to $6000 and along with tube amps and other USB DAC/AMP

It would be stupid to consider inside a car with the engine and AC running to be suitable for audiophile. In most cases over the years with actual real investment in audiophile I have come to realize for you to notice the difference in a $4000 and a $6000 headphone you must be in a dark room with your eyes closed and absolutely no noise and listen very carefully. I even paid $1500 for Moon Audio Silver Dragon cables which I soldered in my previous Denon AHD2000 then moved it onto a Ultrasone HFI-780 S-Logic Headphone then moved it onto a Denon AHD 7000. And yes cables this expensive changes the sound and does make it sound better.

There is a reason home Audiophile with 1000 RMS costs upwards of $30,000 TT while the same power in a car costs a fraction of that. You can claim SQ in car how much you want but it could never truly compare to a single 10" Sunfire subwoofer that costs $20,000 by itself

Car audio will never compete with true audiophile, heck true audiophile requires a specially built room with special cables and special wood flooring etc etc etc. Sub most be positioned in a special location and you must sit in a special location.

But to explain to someone who thinks they know everything would be pointless.

With that said Logitech has the best Value for money and their stuff hold up very well. Only other brand that can compete with them in HT that is both value for money and can play decent music is Onkyo. But Onkyo is not that cheap about double the price for a Logitech.

[Duane 3NE 2NR]

^ I lol'd

[RadeonHD]

^ BTW the ultimate in SQ will come from a Tube Amp. How many car audio systems you seen in your time with tube amps?

With that said to each his own. Cause lets face it 90% of the world considers BOSE to be high end audiophile when bose is indeed the most rubbish. I bet everyone gonna tell me bose is the best when its actually the worst LOL

I out with that one. laters

[M_2NR]

guru,try the different settings to how you like it best, you are listening to it, not everyone else.

Damn right, it's your ears, test it out and see how it sounds. Whatever floats your boat and makes you happy that's your best way.

I was going to post first saying PM Alpine but he reach and i eh wanna get

[X_Factor]

^ I lol'd

X2
+ 1 sigh

[RASC]

^ I lol'd

I pee'd

PP'd???

[mazda_star]

Loudness Equalization and Bass Management in Windows.
With regards to music and movies and mild gaming, esp 5.1 surround movies, should I enable or disable these? Will these help or hinder my enveloping soundscape?
Currently have the Logitech Z 5300 (looking mayhaps at a 5500 / z2300 combo upgrade later)

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/arch ... 50038.aspx

[guru]

Thanks for all the advice people!
Alpine you always give solid info, but the thing is headphones wont work for me as i normally have 1 or two friends over and we do a movie night, plus when watching a movie by myself, the system distance and the bed is about 8ft+, and I figure trying to fall asleep with headphones on will be a bit problematic!

I don't have the financial freedom to buy what i want, so i'm figuring i'd start with the logics and then slowly upgrade. Its a 10 x12 room. This person I know upgraded by replacing the satellites with Monitor Audio Vector 10 2 way book shelve speakers, saying they're all 8ohm and about 80w per satellite, thus the amp integrated in the Z5500 sub is more than able to handle it.. Those run about $1500TT a pair tho lol

[SR]

^ I lol'd

[crazybalhead]

My honest advice Guru???

Firstly, you should have never bought that logitech if you are serious about music.

Secondly, you don't have to spend a lot of money to get good sound. A pair of excellent bookshelf speakers would have been a much better start.

Finally, if you already have the speakers, my advice would be to read up on speaker placement and room acoustics and place your speaker optimally, before relying on equalisation to correct inherent problems.

[ru$$ell]

^ I lol'd

[Hook]

lol...what an arsehole!

All I read was "I'm an audiophile...blah blah blah...I spent an enormous amount of money on headphones because I know all about audio...blah blah blah...I'm telling you I'm not gonna lecture you, but I'mma lecture you anyway...blah blah blah...car audio is just SPL...blah blah blah...'twas a general statement (blackpedal)...blah blah blah...I'm a presumptuouscock who thinks your definition of SQ is blasting dancehall in a car park because I'm so aloof...blah blah blah...you'll never afford super expensive audio equipment so your car will always sound likeshit hitting water...blah blah blah...tube amplifiers give the best SQ...blah blah blah...Bose is for plebs...blah blah blah..."

To the OP: it works out better to examine reviews, ask opinions, maybe even visit the stores to hear it yourself before purchasing equipment. And even so, how it sounds in the store and in your own installation may be worlds apart. Not everyone's ears hears the same thing. Ultimately, it's to please you, not ppl on this forum.

Now you didn't start off great, but there are things to be done if you're not interested in selling your existing set-up in favor of a better quality one...speakers placement in the room, replacing speakers in their enclosures, equalization...there's some stuff you can do.
You don't have to spend a million dollars on your music to get a million-dollar sound. It's about what sounds good to YOU.

[16 cycles]

6000k for a headphone????

http://www.amazon.com/AKG-Acoustics-K-2 ... 363&sr=1-1

^ AKG pretty clean and efficient headphone- very comfortable as well

[rodfarva]

based on what you have, trust your own ear. if you prefer how things sound with those enhancements enabled, go for it.

BUT, Most well encoded music/video is meant to be heard with NO additional processing (ie enhancements)
and most good music is designed to be played on Stereo speakers - Left and right Channels

With that said Logitech has the best Value for money and their stuff hold up very well. Only other brand that can compete with them in HT that is both value for money and can play decent music is Onkyo. But Onkyo is not that cheap about double the price for a Logitech.

I know that music/audio interpretation is very subjective, but this comparison makes me wonder

[silent_riot]

Trust your ears and not the self proclaimed audiophiles.
Owning "audiophile" equipment or equipment of a certain value does not make you an audiophile as has been proven in the thread.

Get acquainted with live sound performances and train your ear to listen for qualities of good sound.

You may want good sound but incorrectly used the term audiophile instead, thus understand what is good sound first and tune your system accordingly.

[Rainman]

lol...what an arsehole!

All I read was "I'm an audiophile...blah blah blah...I spent an enormous amount of money on headphones because I know all about audio...blah blah blah...I'm telling you I'm not gonna lecture you, but I'mma lecture you anyway...blah blah blah...car audio is just SPL...blah blah blah...'twas a general statement (blackpedal)...blah blah blah...I'm a presumptuouscock who thinks your definition of SQ is blasting dancehall in a car park because I'm so aloof...blah blah blah...you'll never afford super expensive audio equipment so your car will always sound likeshit hitting water...blah blah blah...tube amplifiers give the best SQ...blah blah blah...Bose is for plebs...blah blah blah..."

To the OP: it works out better to examine reviews, ask opinions, maybe even visit the stores to hear it yourself before purchasing equipment. And even so, how it sounds in the store and in your own installation may be worlds apart. Not everyone's ears hears the same thing. Ultimately, it's to please you, not ppl on this forum.

Now you didn't start off great, but there are things to be done if you're not interested in selling your existing set-up in favor of a better quality one...speakers placement in the room, replacing speakers in their enclosures, equalization...there's some stuff you can do.
You don't have to spend a million dollars on your music to get a million-dollar sound. It's about what sounds good to YOU.

ALL TEN!

[SR]

compressed music can never be used for truly Arsesessing audio equipment

no matter how lost lessss it may be its still compressed and missing some fundamentals