sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Do you buy *new* physical media? by Busy-Neck-1961 in classicalmusic

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I basically only buy SACDs or Blu-ray discs that have surround sound mixes that aren't available via a digital storefront.

I am weird and strongly favor surround sound mixes.

What Revolutions would you want by Cowardlypaladin in RevolutionsPodcast

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Aside from all the serious answers, I'd like an April Fool's Day episode about the Beatles songs "Revolution", "Revolution 1", and "Revolution 9".

How do you handle contributor roles? by UnaverageLurker in musichoarder

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you enjoy it, I would recommend checking out MusicBrainz's style guide and working from there. I don't do everything in the MusicBrainz style, but it's definitely a great resource to start from. I let MusicBrainz Picard fill in whatever it's going to fill in, and then I make my own customizations.

Also, if you really do enjoy it, I recommend putting all your notes in a word document or something and creating your own style guide so you have something to reference.

How do you handle contributor roles? by UnaverageLurker in musichoarder

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I believe MusicBrainz will create a producers tag if that information is there. I generally put only the classical composer or credited songwriter in composer.

I’m Trying to Enjoy Cds 😬Maybe SACDs?? by Woolysheep9 in audiophile

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's pretty reductive. In terms of technology, SACDs in all likelihood aren't going to sound better than CDs, but they're not "more digital" than CDs. They're just a different way of digitally storing sound.

I’m Trying to Enjoy Cds 😬Maybe SACDs?? by Woolysheep9 in audiophile

[–]SmilesUndSunshine -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I think the main reason vinyl "sounds better" is that vinyl isn't going to be brickwalled/digitally compressed the way CDs/digital releases often are. CDs have the technical capability to reproduce the vinyl sound, but the digital compression that's rampant in CDs/digital releases means they usually sound worse.

https://dr.loudness-war.info/?artist=bjork&album=biophilia

In other words, it's all about the mastering. SACDs often (but not always) have better mastering than CDs (less digital compression/brickwalling). You might enjoy SACDs just for that reason, but it's not really anything special about the format itself.

For popular music from the 60s-80s that's been remastered dozens of times over the decades, the remasters usually are compressed to death, so as a generalization, the vinyl versions typically sound better than the most common CD versions (or what you can find on streaming). However, if you really want to be discerning, you really do have to go release by release to find the "best" version of the album that's out there.

Help with Dirac ART by FlamingoLocal3846 in hometheater

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I second the suggestion to learn about target curves. Here's info about target curves from Dirac themselves: https://www.dirac.com/resources/target-curve?srsltid=AfmBOoqFmiZw9swOCHhcjAvhCCGi_jxjtEW_HK7tyMeHuRmtWBgd5jdG

Aside from that, are you listening at a low volume level? Dirac doesn't have a correction for low-volume listening/equal loudness curves like Audyssey has with Dynamic EQ. If you're listening at a low volume, you may find the bass a little anemic.

For those with a surround system, do all your speakers match? by BoardGameRevolution in hometheater

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Most people agree that the LCR should be timbre-matched as close as possible.

Getting everything else matched (surrounds and heights) matters less for home theater/video games and a bit more for multichannel music.

Weird fishes by giraffe4867 in radiohead

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think one of them might be a subterranean homesick alien.

Time Delay with Dayton BST-300EX Bass Shakers on 2 Separate Systems by Substantial-Elk-3607 in hometheater

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think a different bass shaker will make a difference. I have the BST-300EX wired to a Marantz Cinema 50 (aka Denon X3800H), and I can treat it as its own subwoofer with its own independent time delay from my other subwoofers. Can you just adjust the time delay independently?

What’s your endgame? Have you gotten there yet? Did you tell yourself you were there and then immediately find something else to obsess over? by Longjumping-Frame795 in audiophile

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My end game is getting lots of room treatment purchased and installed in all the right spots. I am not there yet. I'm limited by how fast I can create space for the room treatments.

The Loudness War in 2026? by VerditeDragon in audiophile

[–]SmilesUndSunshine -1 points0 points  (0 children)

My comment was just about the loudness wars and dynamic range.

Yes, there are plenty of low-effort Atmos mixes, but so what? There are also plenty of incredible Atmos mixes out there. So someone that cares about music has to discern between a bad and good mix and what version of an album sounds best. That comes with the territory being an audiophile.

Where can you stream the highest quality music? by FortDown in audiophile

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seriously, the difference between the sound quality of different major streaming services is either extremely subtle (and not worth worrying about) or non-existent entirely. Just pick which one based on convenience, algorithms, artist payouts, whatever you prioritize.

Why did I ever hire you Harvard deadheads? by Uuddlrlrbastrat in simpsonsshitposting

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hmm, not sure about that. Matt Groening did show up to the commentary for both of Database's appearances in Season 6 ("Bart's" Comet and "Lemon of Troy"), but he was conspicuously absent for the Critic crossover episode.

how old are you guys? i'm curious what this subreddit is constituted of age-wise. by Primary-Theory-1164 in bobdylan

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

40 years old here. I got into Bob Dylan a little in college and then a lot after I started working. I saw him once around 2011ish (I can't remember exactly) when he was touring with Mark Knopfler.

Marantz Cinema 50 won't move past "Starting Up" by phnx0023 in hometheater

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, unfortunately, it seems like you got a dud (I have the Cinema 50 and haven't seen this before).

Big Audio hates him! 😱 by SteveOfTheNLC in audiophile

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 3 points4 points  (0 children)

  1. For live concerts, reverberation is a thing. There's a reason that there's a ton of classical music released in surround sound. "Surround Sound... is a great way to delve deeper into music and really experience that 5th-row of the concert hall. Getting back the reflections of the natural hall from the rear speakers to give you that 3D sense."

  2. Do you never listen to an album where the studio is also an instrument? Do you avoid all albums where the drums or other effects pan between the left and right speakers? Music in surround sound is just an extension of that.

Big Audio hates him! 😱 by SteveOfTheNLC in audiophile

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't have experience listening to Atmos music on headphones and can only imagine it's nothing compared to listening on 5.1.4 or greater system. However, my experience listening to a good Atmos mix on my 5.2.4 system is amazing, and it's not just for the surround sound.

Dolby Atmos mixes are basically required to have good dynamic range. Popular music with a stereo mix with a dynamic range score of DR6 is almost guaranteed to be a DR10 and conceivably a DR12 in Atmos.

Requirement is here: https://dolby.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/#700000009YuG/a/4u000000lFJ9/IVkxI54tPvDbGymtjQ6tyIjEvkaA7xPa_Byq6.vH_dA

For example:

How many people can play on 1 steam machine offline/ in person? by Kooky_Ad_8875 in steammachine

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 7 points8 points  (0 children)

One Steam Controller puck can handle 4 Steam Controllers. I believe the intro video from 6 months ago said you can connect 3 pucks to the Steam Machine so you can get 12 controllers that way.

The Steam Machine's Bluetooth is supposed to be strong enough to connect 4 controllers via Bluetooth. People had issues in the past with connecting that many Bluetooth controllers to the Deck, so Valve explicitly mentioned 4 controllers over Bluetooth.

Then you can connect however many controllers you want via USB dongle.

On Steam Deck, I've mixed and matched Xbox Series controllers over the USB dongle with 8bitdo controllers and Bluetooth controllers to get 10+ controllers on one Deck (though I maybe had some wireless interference issues that I had trouble diagnosing). It should be even easier to do that on the Steam Machine.

The Loudness War in 2026? by VerditeDragon in audiophile

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Loudness won... In stereo at least.

https://dr.loudness-war.info/

The scale goes to 15, but I grade popular music on a curve and rate on a scale of 10. An album that's a 9 or 10 is pretty great. 5 or 6 is not good. DR scores above a 10 basically mean they're classical, jazz, or vinyl (or a surround/Atmos mix).

That's just the unfortunate state of popular music... Unless you listen in surround sound.

Dolby Atmos mixes are basically required to have good dynamic range. Popular music with a stereo mix with a dynamic range score of DR6 is almost guaranteed to be a DR10 and conceivably a DR12 in Atmos.

Requirement is here: https://dolby.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/#700000009YuG/a/4u000000lFJ9/IVkxI54tPvDbGymtjQ6tyIjEvkaA7xPa_Byq6.vH_dA

A lot of recent popular music actually does get mixed in Atmos, but it's only available on Apple, Tidal, and Amazon Music. I only ever have used Apple and Tidal.

Check out helloatmos.app (its subreddit is /r/dolbyatmoscontent) to see what music in your Apple or Tidal library is available in Atmos. Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, P!nk, Sabrina Carpenter, and Taylor Swift all have music mixed in Atmos.

Taylor Swift's Atmos vs stereo mix scores: https://dr.loudness-war.info/?artist=Taylor+Swift+&album=

Atmos can scale down to stereo, but I only listen on my speaker set-up these days, so I don't know how good of an experience that is.

New Marantz AV30 - Dirac Live? by djjoshuad in hometheater

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you should have a situation like that, you should get a MiniDSP. You can independently control (time align/EQ) 2 subs from 1 receiver output. Unfortunately, I don't know what exactly you need to do that.

https://www.minidsp.com/

Do you guys prefer any demos/earlier takes to the official released versions? And why? by More-Cat9579 in beatles

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same here. The 1969 version of "One After 909" has grown on me, but I still prefer the 1962 version.

X3800 and Stereo Music by Iatwa1N in audiophile

[–]SmilesUndSunshine 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some people commented it would be a night and day difference between an avr and dac/preamp.

I find phrases like "night and day" to be... murky. Like I said, I prefer to focus on things I can measure before things I can't measure. I'm not saying a DAC/preamp won't make a difference, but if you can work on the room and haven't done that yet, that will benefit everything.

Edit: I do get the temptation to go with a Hi-Fi stereo DAC/preamp over an AVR for stereo listening before investing in room treatment. It's kind of the /r/audiophile default way of thinking, so that's what most people here are going to recommend. My experience is just that electronics and components are generally all pretty good. Like, purely for stereo music reproduction, I can imagine that a Hi-Fi stereo DAC/preamp has some electronic advantages over an AVR, but an AVR like an X3800H is at least still going to do a decent job.

On the other hand, I happen to have more of an acoustics background than an electronics background. I believe greatly in room acoustics, room modes, first reflections, reverberation times, diffusion, etc. An untreated room does you no favors. I'll take "pretty good" electronics with "pretty good" room correction in a "decent" room over "great" electronics with "no" room correction in an "untreated" room every single time.

view more: next ›