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Optimal headphone system made for Psy Trance


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I have found the optimal audio system that matches Psy Trance perfectly, so I thought I would share it here. It's very difficult to get synergy in an audio system and it takes many upgrades and tweaks to solve it. The best matching album for this rig is 'Astral Projection - Another World', in my last power cord upgrade a whole new layer of bass information has opened up that I didn't know was there! I'm probably the only one who knows how it's supposed to sound like, and it's pure genius, there are subtle bass melodies all over the place and that's just the first layer... It's the best album for mid-bass I have ever heard.

 

The only weakness in this system is transparency which is solved with a better amplifier and a Nordost Valhalla speaker cable ($11k) for the headphones. But for Psy Trance that isn't required.

 

I also have some budget systems here which are mostly optimized for speed, however, they have a brighter sound.

 

____________________________

 

Ranked by importance in the rig.

 

K1000 rig (high-end) (Smoothness and warmth! Vocals. Bass. Speed. Detail. Soundstage accuracy. Transparency. Synergy.)

 

 

AKG K1000 earspeakers

 

1) Stefan AudioArt Hardwired K1000 Headphone Cable (with silver soldered ends)

 

2) PS Audio P300 Power Plant

 

3) Nordost Valhalla power cord for power amplifier

 

4) Nordost Valhalla interconnect (modified with Xhadow XLR or Eichmann Bullet plugs)

 

5) Cary Audio CD-303/300 (transport and source)

 

6) Krell KAV 500i or similar old Krell (power amplifier)

 

7) PS Audio xStream Statement Power Cables between Power Plant, Ultimate Outlet and wall.

 

8) Nordost Valhalla power cord for transport

 

9) QuickSilver Contact Enhancer

 

10) PS Audio High Current Ultimate Outlet between wall and Power Plant.

 

11) PS Audio MultiWave II+

 

12) PS Audio Power Ports

 

13) Increase upsampling level of CD player (768 kHz).

 

14) Make Power Plant quieter.

 

 

New retail: $22 000

 

Value for the money: 10/10

 

 

Most of these can be found used for much cheaper, especially cables which are half price.

 

The price may be a bit extreme but it's only 1400 Psy Trance albums... This audio system was worth it for Another World album alone!

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The more money you pay the better it is. But I could probably get a only very slightly worse system for a 10th of that money. Probably a 100th. As the price rises, the betterness increases less and less.

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The more money you pay the better it is. But I could probably get a only very slightly worse system for a 10th of that money. Probably a 100th. As the price rises, the betterness increases less and less.

361123[/snapback]

That's right. It depends on your ears and experience if it's worth it. But comparing my headphone system to a $200 000 loudspeaker system makes it cheap. :D Actually all loudspeaker systems have less detail and transparency because they are further away from the ears. The advantage with loudspeakers is that the soundstage becomes more natural which is important for classical music because it's recorded live. But for Psy Trance headphones work fine.
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The more money you pay the better it is. But I could probably get a only very slightly worse system for a 10th of that money. Probably a 100th. As the price rises, the betterness increases less and less.

361123[/snapback]

not always true.

 

imo, You got to have a honest headphones, personally i always want a honest headphones. escpecially for music making, or sound editing.

For listening it's maybe better to have a dishonest headset.

 

What's the difference between honest & dishonest: With honest headphones the volume of all frequencies is the same.

With dishonest the most often used frequencies are favoured in volume. So it could sound a little more better but then again,parts of the sound could dissappear.

 

To make music, dishonest headphones suck. Some Headphones, like DJ gear, who are very often dishonest, are more expensive then honest headphones.

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The best matching album for this rig is 'Astral Projection - Another World', a whole new level of bass information has opened up that I didn't know was there! I'm probably the only one who knows how it's supposed to sound like, and it's pure genius, the best album of all time!

This quote alone is enough to proove you know shit about psy-trance. AP's album is far from being "the best album of all time", especially when it comes to mastering...

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wow that system is lots o money man

That is just too much for me

and anyways its impossible to afford for me

btu a week ago

I had an amazing experience

One of my friends father who is a great guy and an old hippie

who invested all his money on sound system

he didnt give a fuck bout buyin a car or a house hehe

we listened to some Shulman with him

oh my god

I felt like I ve never heard it before

it was incredibly good

cant explain

I didnt know my ears could hear such cyrstal clear sounds

so good sound system rocks

but they are much more than overpriced I guess

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What kind of audio system do you use for Psy Trance?

361122[/snapback]

(onboard) soundcard + Sony MDR-V150 headphones.

 

perfect enough for me -_-

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This quote alone is enough to proove you know shit about psy-trance. AP's album is far from being "the best album of all time", especially when it comes to mastering...

361282[/snapback]

Sorry, I wasn't clear enough, the best album for mid-bass only... Many others have higher quality overall of course. I have a review page and AP finishes last overall, but nothing is close to the mid-bass and I have almost given up searching, but I have only the albums that were recommended as the highest quality by others. Perhaps I should start looking for the albums that are not recommended instead (muddy bass because of bad audio system). If you have any recommendations I would love to hear them.

 

What is wrong with the mastering?

Edited by Patrick82
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Do you like Minimalist Trance?

361744[/snapback]

actually not :lol:

 

I also have a pair of AKG K55 ones ... but those are for the vinyl player in the other room :P

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fo that kind of money i'd rather buy some very high-end studio monitors, soundproof my living room, and rent Skazi's go-go dancers to perform while I listened to some killargh swedish forest music.

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I did some comparisons and this makes the K1000 earspeaker system 3+ times more valuable than a $2400 headphone system. Only to my ears of course.

 

 

Comparisons

 

Is there really such a big difference between the systems that they are worth the extra money? I didn't think so at first but once again have been proven wrong!

 

1 level = worthy upgrade

5 levels = night and day difference

 

K501 rig VS K1000 rig (high-end) = 300 levels higher.

 

 

K1000 rig (high-end) VS real life = 25 levels higher.

 

 

Sennheiser HD590 VS AKG K501 = 10 levels higher.

 

 

 

Comparison was made with 'Chicane - Far From The Maddening Crowds'.

 

 

 

My upgrades

 

Levels higher (based from memory only)

 

Valhalla for amp = 15

High Current Ultimate Outlet = 5

QuickSilver on everything = 15?

QuickSilver on fuses = 2

MultiWave II+ = 5

xStream Statement = 60

44.1 kHz to 768 kHz = 5

 

Numbers are only accurate when based on the order the upgrades were made. If Valhalla was last it would have made a much bigger difference. Every upgrade was a night and day difference.

 

You can read more about the individual components Here.

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So 22.000 dollar headphones, will make me LISTEN better or PRODUCE better? No thanks, I prefer my Monitors as a reference.

 

By the way:

 

did you hear about this before?

 

OTITIS EXTERNA (OUTER EAR INFECTION OR SWIMMER'S EAR)

 

About Your Diagnosis

Otitis externa is an infection or inflammation of the outer ear canal (from the eardrum to the outer opening). It can be caused by bacteria or a fungus that infects the lining of the ear canal. The infection can come from swimming in contaminated water or from inflammation caused by an allergy to hair spray. It can also be caused by the regular use of earphones, which can trap moisture in the ear canal. It usually lasts 7-10 days with treatment.

 

I have had it many many times, and its really not nice. I used my headphones A LOT for mastering before. Just because I couldnt play loud music in the house during nights.

 

Now I use my headphones MUCH less, and I have almost NO problems with my ears at all.

 

Anyways,

 

I would never use headphones for mastering again, because the result is not as accurate as on a good monitoring system.

 

I can recommend KRK Monitors or Genelec Monitors

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I did some comparisons and this makes the K1000 earspeaker system 3+ times more valuable than a $2400 headphone system. Only to my ears of course.

Comparisons

 

Is there really such a big difference between the systems that they are worth the extra money? I didn't think so at first but once again have been proven wrong!

 

1 level = worthy upgrade

5 levels = night and day difference

 

K501 rig VS K1000 rig (high-end) = 300 levels higher.

K1000 rig (high-end) VS real life = 25 levels higher.

Sennheiser HD590 VS AKG K501 = 10 levels higher.

Comparison was made with 'Chicane - Far From The Maddening Crowds'.

My upgrades

 

Levels higher (based from memory only)

 

Valhalla for amp = 15

High Current Ultimate Outlet = 5

QuickSilver on everything = 15?

QuickSilver on fuses = 2

MultiWave II+ = 5

xStream Statement = 60

44.1 kHz to 768 kHz = 5

 

Numbers are only accurate when based on the order the upgrades were made. If Valhalla was last it would have made a much bigger difference. Every upgrade was a night and day difference.

 

You can read more about the individual components Here.

363631[/snapback]

And you sell these, right?! :)
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What kind of audio system do you use for Psy Trance?

361122[/snapback]

well a $22,000 sound rig is a little out of my budget at the moment, but im using my panasonic sound system at the moment. 5 satelite speakers and a sub. 500watts RMS. sufficient for my houseand the neighnours.

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well a $22,000 sound rig is a little out of my budget at the moment, but im using my panasonic sound system at the moment. 5 satelite speakers and a sub. 500watts RMS. sufficient for my houseand the neighnours.

364539[/snapback]

 

I dont see why anyone need to use $22,000 for this. Even a great pair of monitors like genelec (for music production) would not come near that price. Far from! Some people think the more money they use on equipment the better they get at making music.

 

And mastering on Headphones? Why on heavens name would anyone master on a pair of Headphones? Thats doomed to fail.

 

And Astrals old production as a good example of a perfect production or mastering (even in the midrange)... hmmm sorry but no. I could name way better examples but I dont like this "who's got the biggest......." ;)

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I dont see why anyone need to use $22,000 for this.  Even a great pair of monitors like genelec would not come near that price. Far from!  Some people think the more money they use on equipment the better they get at making music.

 

And mastering on Headphones?  Why on heavens name would anyone master on a pair of Headphones?  Thats doomed to fail.

364548[/snapback]

i hear you have the same headphones as me. Sony MDR-V700's? they are totally sweet.

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i hear you have the same headphones as me. Sony MDR-V700's? they are totally sweet.

364550[/snapback]

Yes I have used them for quite a while :) But that's for Dj'ing and not music production. I use monitors for music production. My experience tell me that no headphones whatesoever will do the job. You can easily make the music in your headphones but you need monitors for mixing and indeed mastering. And mastering is not that easily done as some here think.. It takes years to learn and it's a sience in itself and a good result is quite hard to obtain without traing. There's a reason why people have degrees in mastering. It's not just something done fast in Cubase via a vstfx plugin ;)

 

And yeah the Sony's are lovable headies for the Dj gigs :P

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