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Comment by doix | Hacker News Reader

I was at a conference where someone was showing off the TIDAL studio master stuff. It definitely sounded different, I heard things in songs that I've listened to for years that I've not heard before.

I then realized that the headphones cost around $2000 (Audeze LCD-3) and a dac that I didn't recognize, but I'm sure it wasn't cheap.

But there were too many variables to tell what made the difference. Was it the expensive headphones + dac? Was it the better quality audio? Was it the different mastering of the song that I know?

Either way, I still listen to my "shit" audio setup because it's good enough for me and what I'm used too.

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I can tell you it probably was none of them.

I own Stax, electrostats that make Audeze look plebian, plugged into their fancy Stax amp (although not the fanciest), plugged into a Theta DAC that is basically a 44.1/48khz Schiit Yggy, and there isn't some amazing leap.

Also, fun fact, want a 90% Audeze LCD clone? Monoprice M1070 and M1570. I have the predecessor, the M1060, fucking amazing for a $300 can, but flawed enough that I recommend the newer models of it.

> It definitely sounded different, I heard things in songs that I've listened to for years that I've not heard before.

That usually means one of two things—

1. the frequency response of this new system is different, changing the relative loudness of different instruments;

2. the context caused you to concentrate on the music differently and your experience of it was therefore different.

The critical thing nobody ever says is "I heard things I never heard before, then I went back to my regular system and I stopped hearing the new thing." That never[0] happens—because the thing you hadn't noticed was there all along.

[0] Edit: Okay yes, so not never. I was assuming that the regular system is a reasonably competent modern setup. The median intentional audio system, shall we say.

> The critical thing nobody ever says is "I heard things I never heard before, then I went back to my regular system and I stopped hearing the new thing."

...well, I have, but only when I was a child, and my “regular system” was a thing my parents bought for probably less than $20.

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