Headfonics: Grado goes "e" - an interview with Jonathan Grado

Grado fans, and fans of portable and home headphone audio everywhere, you owe it to yourself to get acquainted with Grado. Thanks to Headfonics' interview with Jonathan Grado, vice president of Grado's marketing department, you can. As many of you know, Grado aren't the typical commodity headphone maker. In their own words:

“We don’t come out with new headphones every 6 months, every year, etc. We don’t have a set revision timeframe. We found a way to make the sound better so we started expanding on that, and a few years later we had The e Series. We’d only come out with something new when we think it’s a worthy improvement and produces a sound we’re proud of.”

Alas, this modus operandi is practically nonexistent in the general headphone world. It is, in fact, anathema to the spam method employed by companies like Audio Technica and Sony, that make dozens upon dozens of models a year in order to keep a good display section up at Yodobashi. 

Full article: Grado goes “e” – An Interview with Jonathan Grado

RMAA summary: iBasso DX90 VS Astell & Kern AK240

Not Really a fair fight is it? But then again, iBasso's take no prisoners when it comes to raw performance. 

NOTE: never should RMAA results from different sources be directly compared. Anomalies are returned due to myriad variations in setup and test methodology. Data trends, however, reflect actual performance. And in this case, the AK240 isn't able to best the much less expensive DX90.

All tests were volume matched to within 0,1 dB using the same cables and input device, an Edirol FA-66. NL stands for no load; SM2 stands for the Earsonics SM2. Trust me, the SM2 is a bugger of an earphone to drive for all but the cleverest of equipment.

Review Units Hurt the Audio Community & How We Can Help

Lachlan, conductor of some of YouTube's finest video reviews of audio (and other) gear, essays the evils of the current review system...

“there is a subtle, industry wide bias towards saying positive things about a product and a brand. Reviewers who tend to say more positive things (within reason) are rewarded with increased exposure because they have access to more things to review. There is strong incentive to moderate negative opinions, but no real incentive to moderate positive ones.”

and what can be done to fix it. According to him, crowd sourcing is the best option:

“We tip staff in restaurants for a night’s service - why should we not be willing to tip people who are providing a service to the community time and time again with their reviews?

I started my campaign on Patreon and I think that is the best model because it is a crowdfunding website which supports small ongoing contributions to any person who produces any sort of content on a regular basis. Consistency and stable revenue is important if you want to keep the shark swimming.

But if ljokerl had a Kickstarter, I would pledge. If Tyll Hertsens had an Indiegogo, I would pledge. If ClieOS or Shigzeo or Tomscy2000 or any of the wonderful members of this community simply gave others a chance to support them, I would do it because I owe them for teaching me so much, and I want to see a situation where the people who spend so much time and effort giving to the community are paid not by external parties, but by the very people that enjoy their content.”

And with that, Lachlan kicks off what I think could be the start to a viable and more honest review system. Support him on patreon. I did.

Headfonia: a look back at portable minidisk

The next instalment of Headfonia's monthly Back to the Future Friday column features my familiar rambling:

“we have come a long way from the elegance and simplicity of the removable optical media world. My memories of MD are bittersweet. I miss it, yet I know that what I listen through today is higher fidelity even if it isn’t as enjoyable an experience. But I will always pine for the elegance and simplicity of the minidisc.”

as well as a small decade-later user essay from Headfonia's kingpin: Lieven. 

“If all the review samples I received sounded like this I would be a very happy guy. I’m kidding, I’m quite happy as it is thank you, but I’m just trying to say that the SQ of this 15 year old device beats a lot of players out there. Sony did that good of a job and I’m lucky to own one of these classic units. I actually saw new old stock versions of my exact unit being offered online for over $500 USD. (Back in the day, the MZR70 sold for around $250 USD.)”

Back to the Future Friday: portable minidisk

RMAA summary: AK240, DX90, MD-DR7, & iPod shuffle

The above is a summary for the RMAA tests of the following devices:

Astell & Kern AK240
iBasso DX90
Sharp MD-DR7 
iPod shuffle 512

All tests were performed with the same input hardware, a lowly Edirol FA-66. Volume outputs were matched to within 0,5 dB. These are unloaded scores.

(BTW, I like the AK240 more than I care to admit.)

8 Bothans: an interview with Master & Dynamic

Two Fridays ago, Scott, Matt, and Drew of Master & Dynamic sat down to answer a few questions I had regarding their line of headphones including the MH40, which I rather dig. Key to their design/engineering strategy is focus. I digs it.

“M&D: As we move into a society where work spaces open up, we think that creative people will most enjoy our stuff. Our headphones help them tune out sundry conversations in collaborative work spaces around them and tune into their work. We designed our headphones to meet our needs. We are creating something for people like us. We are our demographic. And we think that everyone wants to be creative. And we want our phones to be part of the toolset that enables their creativity.

The other thing is that focus is paramount. If you start with intent, you can focus. By targeting a demographic, we were able to storyboard what we want, and sift out the stuff that we didn’t. We could really hone in on the problems we wanted to solve. And we want to make stuff that really connects to our customers. We want customers to return. It is kind of a Leica approach, where relationship and focusing on the long-term trumps a lot of other stuff.”

The full interview text is up at Headfonia

Which is ultimate-er? Leica M (240) and Astell & Kern AK240

The Leica M (model 240) looks nothing like the Astell & Kern AK240, and it appears to lack optical output, not to mention support for DSD audio files. No matter. There must be a connection somewhere. I'm doing my damndest to suss it.

MD Recorders: the cheapest DAC for your Astell & Kern AK DAP

In the course of reviewing Tralucent's 1Plus2 earphone, I have borrowed some pretty cool gear. Astell & Kern's now-outdated AK120 is one of those. It's got a decent quality output, a slick interface; best of all, it is compact. It has also fuelled the seller's market for portable toslink-equipped DACs. 

Tralucent's own DAC/amp is a truly excellent option. Its performance is top-flight performance, it's battery life decent, and its form factor quite splendid. But when it hits online and retailer shelves, it will come with a price to match its performance. Across the board, that tends to be the story.

Except for the Minidisk recorder.

The above photo shows my twelve year-old Sharp MD-DR7 minidisk recorder. Beaters can be had for 20$, while ones in better shape go for up to 70$. Sharp turned a corner with the release of its Auvi series. Prior to Auvi (featuring 1-bit processing), Sharp was considered a second-tier option whose lineup was riddled with hardware problems. Auvi units were well built, easy-to-use, and good-sounding.

A testament to that is that my MD-DR7 lives on. And using it as an outboard DAC couldn't be easier. 

Just pop in an MD, click record, plug in your headphones, and voila! you've got a DAC for chump change. There are a few benefits: noiseless headphone outputs, small form factors, good battery life, and, believe it or not, a bonafide living room-HiFi sound.

What do I mean by living room-HiFi? More channel bleed, higher levels of distortion, the use of older DAC units; but best of all, MDs are simple to operate. Channel bleed helps to emulate the convivial sound of speakers, where, because the stereo image travels through the same medium, L and R channels simultaneously arrive at both ears. Your brain does the filtering. 

Rife with channel bleed and low L/R contrast, old MD recorders return some of the openness and natural imaging your ears are used to hearing, and that headphones stomp with relentless precision.

The problem MD recorders have is that their sync capabilities are limited to 16-bit/48 kHz, meaning you can't enjoy DSD music through an outboard MD DAC. Ho hum.

Today, MD recorders are inexpensive. But prices are ticking back up as they become rare commodities. I picked up a second MD-DR7 from Yahoo! Auctions for about 50$. So far, it's been worth it.