[cottaudio]

Here's your Sunday morning quote:

"It is surprising how easily one can become used to bad music" - F. Mendelssohn

And while I was quick nodding my head in agreement my second thought was "Wait... Does bad music actually exist at all?"

In case it does for you, how would you describe bad music? Not aiming for a genre or artist here so please refrain from throwing mud at others' favourites.

drftr

For me, I think saying music is “bad” implies you have to already have in mind what “good” is. I’d argue that we don’t have some universal truth of “good” with regards to music and so it must be subjective.
Therefore I prefer to say music I like or dislike to keep away from implying that I
know what is a universal truth hidden from others. Way beyond my pay grade!

Given that, music I dislike is usually something that doesn’t move me in some way - be it emotionally or physically. (Genre doesn’t matter)
I used to be a big snob when I was much younger, growing up classically trained and surrounded by orchestras and jazz, so at that point I thought I knew what was “good,” but around age 16 I realised I was talking out of my proverbial hah!

Mendelssohn is interesting regarding this because I believe he was very opinionated about music. Supposedly he was great friends with Berlioz and admired him as a person but despised his music aha. He was more into the baroque tradition than the more romantic one that was emerging. Many would certainly have a bone to pick with him about that!

Anyway bit long, I apologize!

 

[nocturne19]

Dear Watercoolers,
Having attended the 2024 Shenzhen Hi-End Audio and Headphone exhibition over the past few days, I would like to share some of my personal highlights with you all Source: LPGT

AAW Canary Pro. I find it to occupy a warm U-shaped tuning. Different from iems that occupy this signature as well, I find it to be pretty warm, allowing baritones to shine. One may find it too thick for sporanos, but overall I find it to sound pleasing on pop music with more than sufficient resolution.

qdc Emperor and Empress. Yeah your usual qdc iem. Still sounds clinical, with excellent technicalities and TOTL staging (and I mean that is really ACCURATE). The Empress is clinical, while the Emperor is warmer, probably due to more mid bass. Bass extension of both iems is sufficient.

qdc x Fitear Superior EX. Boy this guy loves power. Literally power-hungry, reminding me of Fitear DC variants. I find it to be U-shaped with excellent technicalities as a single DD, though accompanied with some sibilance. Considering its price though, its a killer. Definitely on my watchlist.

Oriolus Trailli and Trailli Ti. These birds can sing, and boy how beautiful they sound. Trailli OG is warm neutral, with TOTL resolution and staging. Bass actually does sound good as a BA, with solid texture and good extension. I can understand why it is the holy grail of many audiophiles - it just does everything so well. If I really have to nitpick I would say it could have more soundstage depth, but honestly as a TOTL released multiple years ago it still stands firm, not being outclassed by swarms of flagships. Trailli Ti sounds more neutral than Trailli, probably due to less bass. Technical wise I find it to have much improved soundstage depth, proving its worth as a super TOTL. Considering the absence of BCD drivers, having that depth is actually impressive. Overall I would say both birds are fantastic, both are all-rounders, choosing which one depends on your taste. OG is warmer, the overall soundscape sounds more romantic. Ti is 'cleaner', it presents music as how you would expect in real life. For personal enjoyment I prefer OG, but boy its not easy to get over Ti's depth.

Oriolus Percivali Pro. Your typical mid-forwardish Oriolus iem. Compared with Percavali OG, I hear Pro to have a grander soundstage with more accurate imaging. In fact technicalities are pretty impressive, challenging iems at the ~$2500 mark. Awaiting to see more reviews on it!

Canpur CP74E. My personal best among the Canpur lineup. Neutral sounding as usual, with pinpoint soundstage and imaging. Of course it could give more depth, but I consider it to be fair enough already. Bass does well with excellent texture and extension, not reaching the BCD bass of CP622D but one of the best BA bass I have heard. Price seems fair to me and I am looking forward to re-demo it!

AME Gaia. As a treble-sensitive person I dislike bright iems. Yes the AME Gaia is bright, on the kinds of Viking variants, yet I hear it to be pretty smooth despite being bass-light. Nonetheless it has one of the widest stages I have heard - being cuboidal-shaped instead just spreading horizontally. The only iems comparable are probably UM flagships and Oriolus Trailli Ti. Monsterous.

NG Audio Metis. Upper-mid-forwardish neutral iem with decent technicalities. It actually reminded me of Aroma Jewel, with much improved resolution and staging based on Jewel's stock cable. I can expect Jewel lovers to enjoy it as well.

Dunu Glacier. I actually like this iem, showcasing a neutral signature with accurate imaging. Shell actually feels lighter than you expect, and cable is pretty soft as well. Overall a well-done iem, with more refinement I actually do see it standing at the $2000-2500 range.

Unqiue Melody Mason FuSang Nuit Etoilee. I personally preferred it over Amber Pearl and Multiverse Mentor, sounding more effortless and refined. Though of course all 3 are super TOTLs, you can't really go wrong with any of them.

Not a big exhibition, but I find myself enjoying a lot of gear I thought I was out of the rabbit hole, but seems I'm falling deeper right now

 

[drftr]

For me, I think saying music is “bad” implies you have to already have in mind what “good” is. I’d argue that we don’t have some universal truth of “good” with regards to music and so it must be subjective.
Therefore I prefer to say music I like or dislike to keep away from implying that I
know what is a universal truth hidden from others. Way beyond my pay grade!

Given that, music I dislike is usually something that doesn’t move me in some way - be it emotionally or physically. (Genre doesn’t matter)
I used to be a big snob when I was much younger, growing up classically trained and surrounded by orchestras and jazz, so at that point I thought I knew what was “good,” but around age 16 I realised I was talking out of my proverbial hah!

Mendelssohn is interesting regarding this because I believe he was very opinionated about music. Supposedly he was great friends with Berlioz and admired him as a person but despised his music aha. He was more into the baroque tradition than the more romantic one that was emerging. Many would certainly have a bone to pick with him about that!

Anyway bit long, I apologize!

I'm not interested in a Yes or No but into the thoughts you put into words. I agree with you and on second reading I thought Felix' thoughts were a bit pedantic. So I would want to read from people that subscribe to his point of view to see what I can learn from it.

My first thought was that if I'm not emotionally moved by the music it must not be good. Then I thought about works like Music For 18 Musicians and stuff and figured that if music simply creates an interest and thought stream it might be good as well, as it does something.

Not sure...

drftr

 

[Scubadevils]

The world would be better if everyone takes what they do as serious as he does, I imagined.

Anyhow, change to the world comes from inside our home.

Now is now. Next time is next time.

Yes absolutely, I loved the simplicity of the story yet how powerful the message. I’ve been thinking about it since which is always a sign of a great movie.

 

[cottaudio]

I'm not interested in a Yes or No but into the thoughts you put into words. I agree with you and on second reading I thought Felix' thoughts were a bit pedantic. So I would want to read from people that subscribe to his point of view to see what I can learn from it.

My first thought was that if I'm not emotionally moved by the music it must not be good. Then I thought about works like Music For 18 Musicians and stuff and figured that if music simply creates an interest and thought stream it might be good as well, as it does something.

Not sure...

drftr

Yeah that makes sense. I too would be interested to hear about those who think similarly to him, certainly a strong chance they know something I don’t and can learn to see music in a different light.

I think when I say “moves me emotionally” I mean that it brings about some kind of emotion (anything really - happy, sad, angry, confused, etc.) which in turn causes some sort of interest or reflection. Could be interest on what’s going on in the music, self reflection, reflection on composer/artists intent, whatever, but does, as you say, something outside of just creating wiggly air.

Unless that’s the point, would I find completely randomized frequencies in a random order/timing interesting? Perhaps I would… a tough question you’ve posed for a Sunday, much appreciated!

 

[drftr]

would I find completely randomized frequencies in a random order/timing interesting?

You may find yourself sitting down for it to give it a chance, then do that 5 times more to see if it's growing on you. If you're anything like me you'd want to try to understand the concept behind the seemingly random notes and why on Earth it was composed that way. And did you really lose time if it did nothing for you? Or did you actually learn something because of it? Tough call.

drftr

 

[cottaudio]

You may find yourself sitting down for it to give it a chance, then do that 5 times more to see if it's growing on you. If you're anything like me you'd want to try to understand the concept behind the seemingly random notes and why on Earth it was composed that way. And did you really lose time if it did nothing for you? Or did you actually learn something because of it? Tough call.

drftr

I’m certainly like you in that respect. I think as a young teenager I had something similar with Schoenberg Peripetie, sat in class not quite grasping what was happening but really intrigued by why.

Our time is precious, but so is our time with music, sound, and our own thoughts. A tough call indeed!

 

[chickenmcnug]

Something interesting I discovered today, VEX has its serial number on the shell:

 

[wolfstar76]

What if someone's elevator music is someone else's album of the year? Is music (or any art really) good if it tickles your senses? Perhaps even if it's in a negative way?

drftr

Like this bad?

 

[Rolu]

Something interesting I discovered today, VEX has its serial number on the shell:

Why is that interesting?

 

[tjzurlaaa]

Crazy how the right pairing can put a grown man to tiers Aura + Gold Brick is pure magic

 

[linux4ever]

My rn6 is up on the classifieds:

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/fir-radon-6-rn6.68091/

Not happy about selling them, but need to bail family out of debt. DM me if interested.

Good luck with the sale and hope you're able to help your family out

 

[MonochromeFashionLawyer]

I decided a few years ago to upgrade everything to flac and it was a lot of work ripping CD/DVDA/SACDs and downloading tons.

I am sure that was a gargantuan task. What software did you use to rip all of those discs?

 

[MonochromeFashionLawyer]

You sure you don’t have a transcoded track or two?

Oh I’m sure I do. Funny enough I even found a few “record labeled leaked” MP3 albums in my collection. Each track had a voice over that said something like “Go support the artist and purchase the album on xxxx date” or “Wouldn’t it be nice to purchase this album instead of hearing this voice over?” And of course a virus or two. Those P2P days were wild.

 

[chickenmcnug]

Why is that interesting?

Why be a ?