Crazy Bout Music

I noticed that in this recent few months I've been crazily addicted to good quality musics (which is music files above 192kbps). I dunno what really happened, but seems like I keep looking for the best sounds I can get, either from the Net or through the audio gears.

I've spent quite a fortune investing the gears in order to get the best sound quality I can ever get, so far.



Few months ago I still believe that I won't be spending more than RM 50 for audio gears, the max I may squeeze is up to RM 100.

After testing the Creative EP-630 which cost RM 55, I realised that the sound can be better if I spend a little more on those stuffs, so there starts my audiophile journey.

The Audio Technica monitoring headphones, the M30 & M50 are some of the best headphones I ever owned so far.



These types of headphones are usually used in studio for music production purpose (eg: recording & mixing), which requires accurate and precise sound signature in order to produce the best result.
Besides that, it's also quite popular for club DJs too, thanks to it's comfortable earpad which helps for long duration use, but also fully-covered the ears to achieve noise-isolation purpose.



These headphones.... cannot be compared with those of same price range. These pairs absolutely win hands down, in terms of the SQ and built quality.

Besides the headphones, I also trying to invest in good quality music source. Nowadays I rip the music CD in 256kbps. If I really like the songs, I would rip it in 320kbps, the best bit rate for compressed MP3 file.

If I really really like the CD, I would rip it in WAV lossless format, the uncompressed format which retain the same quality from the original CD.



You might want to suggest me to try out AAC & FLAC audio format. I've tried AAC and find it is quite good. I've yet to try FLAC but know it's another lossless format. Well, I rarely boot up iTunes (since not using iPod) so I did not rip audio under those formats.



My reasoning for all the money spend on these stuffs is based on the 5 senses we had.
I'm just fulfilling the hearing sense.

It's just like once you tasted a new delicious dish, you would never really want to turn back to the "old" one, the one not so delicious dish.
Same goes, once you saw something prettier, more beautiful, it's natural that you acted and go for the better ones.

Same concept applies for audio. Once you listened to the better quality, the previous settings would be obsolete. In order to improve the listening experience, one would be finding and trying around until one can get the ideal acoustic experience that one feels the best it is.

Audiophiles can be comparable to those photography enthusiasts, as both parties spent a lot of money improving their stuffs. Audiophiles would invest hundreds and thousands on amplifiers or custom-made gears, while photographer might play around with camera lenses, which is quite costly by their own right. DSLRs aren't cheap too, saw those really professional Canon DSLR selling bout RM 20k just for it's body, without the lenses yet!

Quote from fellow forumers:
"Haha, yeah man, I agree, this hobby can be(is) dangerous... VERY dangerous...

I regret getting into it but then I'm also happy at the same time... bitter sweet...
Mostly sweet though... "

"I think all of us here also like that then...i still remember first time went i buy my first headphone is like HUNDRED PLUS is i think very expensive then if i heard people buy few thousand ringgit headphones i think they all crazy...then now i think i have to take back my words then since now i playing a thousand ringgit item lol..."

Appreciating good quality music can be subjective, it's all depending on personal preference. Some may find a simple and budget setup sounded very good, but some are still not satisfied after spending thousands..... I don't think the word "greedy" is suitable to describe this.

Well, after all, we're just bunch of high-fidelity freaks.