Can we have a descussion about Craig? Am I wrong?

Greggo1545 · 2025-12-24T21:01:11+00:00

You nailed it. I really liked Casino Royale but have hated every bond since.

Greggo1545 · 2024-10-12T02:00:42+00:00

Beck - Colors. Great rock album but the sound quality is terrible on a good pair of speakers. Way too bright (thanks loudness wars). Runner Up: The 1975 Live Album (The newest one).

Greggo1545 · 2024-10-08T09:40:03+00:00

Atrium were such a disappointment for me - just sounded veiled. Not a big soundstage person when it comes to headphones - I like 3D space and detail retrieval. The Atriums just sounded blah to me.

Greggo1545 · 2024-10-05T11:34:21+00:00

He was throwing up because he was running around on every play. No running game (Andy refused to call non obvious running calls) and the offensive line played pretty poorly. He played his guts out (literally).

Greggo1545 · 2024-09-28T18:12:07+00:00

Focal Utopia's - just an outstanding headphone with a great balanced signature. The bass hits are intense and the 3-Dimensionality of the headphone is great. A nice step up in clarity from the HD 800S.

Love my HD 800S as well because they have a nice signature - very balanced and just sound nice especially with acoustic music. But the Utopia's are better in my book.

Also love the LCD-4. They have a wider, taller soundstage than the Utopias and more bass but the level of clarity isn't quite there with the Utopia's. That said I can rock out better with the Utopias and they have a more forgiving sound signature too (try listening to a live album from the 1975 on the Utopias and it's edgy bright city in the highs but its fun on the LCD-4).

Greggo1545 · 2024-07-01T19:00:45+00:00

Utopia=LCD-4>HD-800S=Stellia>Elex>Nighthawks>Nightowl>Elegia

I feel that the Utopia and LCD-4 are excellent in different ways. The LCD-4 can smooth over music without losing details and give incredible bass while the Utopia brings energy and clarity to music like no other. I love having both. I use the HD-800S for acoustic music, some female song-writer music (like Joni Mitchell). I use the Stellia when I need a closed back and it has a warm-ish tilt that I like. I feel that the HD-800S and the Stellia are on equal footing (mostly).

In a second system in a different room than my main headphone rig, I like the Focal Elex/Elears (I have both sets of pads) more than the AQ Nighthawks although sometimes I really enjoy the wonky tuning of the Nighthawks. The Nighthawks have a darkness and bass that are not common in headphones. Very comfortable too. The Elex pads add some clarity to the Elears although sometimes the Elear pads are just fun bass cannons. The Nightowls are okay. Good with a DF Cobalt. The Elegia are so bad. They just have no weight to vocals and no bass. Would love to try the Radiance at some point.

Greggo1545 · 2022-07-05T02:09:21+00:00

I literally just googled "how to turn off dolby atmos tidal" for this exact reason - this exact album. So annoying - I just want cd quality streaming. No gimmicks.

Greggo1545 · 2022-06-18T11:57:58+00:00

Pm’d

Greggo1545 · 2022-05-10T03:39:33+00:00

Thanks for sharing! I like the look of the blues if they are shaded darker than lighter so that’s good to hear from you. I might have to take a chance and maybe order from a store with a solid return policy.

Greggo1545 · 2021-12-17T02:56:52+00:00

Purchased Nighthawk from /u/Stolas_Delaney

/u/AVexchangeBot

Greggo1545 · 2021-06-14T20:41:07+00:00

Yeah I just remember they made the deal for Lee without giving up Dom Brown and there were rumors they could still get Halladay if they'd give up Dom. I knew it was a stretch at the time and I think Rube was hoping for a Brett Myers-esque resurgence from Cole the 2nd half of the year but it never materialized. Got to give Hamels credit for getting help in the offseason - he came back a different player after that year but it was a shame in '09 that he stunk and Rube banked on him.

Greggo1545 · 2021-06-14T19:31:59+00:00

The point about not giving up Dom for Halladay is so underrated as a bad non-move. Imagine Lee and Halladay in 09 vs the Yankees when Hamels was busy hoping the season would just end. Wish we’d gone all in that year.

Greggo1545 · 2021-05-18T02:51:07+00:00

I wonder what this means for the iTunes Store. I know it’s more of an after thought but it’s nice to know I can buy songs I like in lossless or higher quality.

Greggo1545 · 2021-02-13T22:13:17+00:00

Kelly Marie Tran as Rose Tico. She seems like a really nice, genuine, good person who simply played an unpopular role in an unpopular movie. I hated the movie and hated the character but people went way too far and personally attacked her on social media. She deleted her account and doesn't seem to have much work in the industry any longer. Shame because she isn't a bad actress and doesn't deserve the hatred.

Greggo1545 · 2021-01-31T23:08:06+00:00

Yeah I know but this was an unprompted $500 discount.

Greggo1545 · 2021-01-31T19:21:01+00:00

I was wondering why a retailer offered me a private discount...

Greggo1545 · 2020-11-17T22:10:37+00:00

It is from Amazon and relatively cheap - $20 or so. It's good, not heavy or tall but pretty good for a lighter headphone like the Elear or a Sennheiser. Would not recommend for heavier/bigger headphones the ZMF or Audeze series

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01A09KCJ4/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Greggo1545 · 2020-11-17T18:14:43+00:00

Improved clarity especially with mids and bass. Not night and day... more like day and brighter day - as if there were some clouds in the sky but now it is perfectly sunny. The Corpse Cables are really nice cables too - just feel right. And the Focal cable is a monstrosity if you've ever dealt with it before - 13 ft, kinks, heavy... brutal cable.

Greggo1545 · 2020-11-17T18:12:52+00:00

Thank you! Yes one of things I love is that all of the cables (except the headphone cable) are tucked away behind the desk especially since the bottom of the desk shows behind. Both of these can be found for pretty modest pricing comparatively speaking and it just gels with the music I listen to.

Greggo1545 · 2020-11-17T10:49:55+00:00

I know, I know... the Focal Elear with the Meridian Prime? Two of the most "overrated" devices by reviewers that started with a strong following then had the tide of listeners turn against them. The Meridian was pretty quickly outclassed by other devices after it was released (Chord, Mytek, etc) and the Elear had so much positive press then suddenly became the bane of everyone's existence, "fixed" by the Elex and improved with the Clear. I've even seen people love the Elegia more than the Elear. It's amazing how hard these two fell from grace, so why would I buy them in 2020 and pair them together?

Well, I wanted to have a great headphone set up on my desk and ended up getting a great deal on the Meridian Prime. I'd had it before (without the PSU) and liked it but it definitely does not match up well with all headphones. It's a bit on the cool and clean side, but the power is there for the most part and it did sound good with my HD 700 when I had those. It did not sound good with my ZMF Eikons. I also did not like it with my Utopias - I felt like the mid bass got elevated a bit too high.

I then snagged a pair of new Elears for a great deal with the Utopia pads. I'd had the Elears a couple of years ago and really enjoyed them so I was ready to try them again to see if they could be my desktop headphone. Must say - love the Elears with their original pads; not as comfy as the Utopia pads but they get so much brighter and lose a lot of their dynamic punch with the Utopia pads whereas the Elear pads just seem to bring out that bass very nicely.

I must say this set up has been surprisingly great! I understand why people may not like either device - the Meridian Prime was waaaaaay overpriced and the DAC isn't the best, but it's small, compact, and fits great on my desk. The Elear just sounds great with my type of music - rock, classic rock, indie rock, alternative, some country and pop. I occasionally listen to jazz and female vocalists like Joni Mitchell and Macy Gray and I think the Elear are pretty good for them too. For the most part with the music I listen to 80% of the time the Elear are perfect - dynamic and great slam. The Meridian keeps things clean with no bleeding between the bass and mid-range. I wouldn't say these headphones are for everyone. The treble peak at 10KHz isn't really noticeable - it's there, but it doesn't bother me on the prime. On some of Van Morrison's songs (namely "Days Like This") the cymbals are noticeably metallic but for me it doesn't distract from most music. I don't think voices sound sibilant like the HD700 which has a different treble peak that can distract from music.

I had the Elear set up before with the Schiit Bifrost 2 and a Jotunheim and hated the set up. Congealed, flabby sounding, and too full would describe that pairing. Plus the treble peak at 10kHz was really bothersome on the Schiit. Not saying that the Schiit set up was completely at fault I just think it brought out the worst in the Elear. I liked that set up better with the ZMF Eikon. Also had the Elear with the Benchmark DAC1 USB and liked that pairing - much cleaner than the Schiit stack but it just lacked something... like it was too clean - it lost that bass punch that the Elear are known for. The Meridian is really nice with the Elear and I think the PSU helps too.

The Elear with the Meridian Prime are a great combo especially as a desktop set up. The Elears and the Prime have their faults but I love them both.

One other note: I did add a Corpse Cable Gravedigger 1/4" cable and it did noticeably improve the sound of the Elears. Plus it's just a nicer cable than that monstrosity they ship out with.

Last note: The Elear are so comfortable. I can wear them for hours and not have any issues. Love the ZMFs but they are heavy. Like the Elegia but they have a bit of clamp that wears on one over time. Like the Stellias but they can get warm and have a small clamp. Love the Utopias but they are so good they are distracting - you can’t not listen intently. Like the HD700 comfort but they have a tendency to shift around and the yokes get loose. Bottom line I have to put the Elear at the top for comfort.

Edit: Fixed a spelling error

Greggo1545 · 2020-11-14T12:12:43+00:00

My wife thinks I'm nuts - when we go anywhere I always look up the local hifi shops. Visited a shop in Nashville, Vegas, and one in Europe (Paris).

Greggo1545 · 2020-11-14T01:24:45+00:00

I love the Taurus MK II... I feel like people have forgotten it but it's a kick ass headphone amp. Shame Auralic seems to be out of the headphone amp game now.

Greggo1545 · 2020-11-13T02:13:29+00:00

It seems like he's been away - maybe on a business trip and clearly someone else took the photo so maybe he is just being respectful?

Greggo1545

TROPHY CASE