Is the practice of "seasoning" headphones just supersition? [more inside]
posted by rwhe on Jun 15, 2009 - 47 answers

How to place a good speaker in a corner? After investing in some decent audio gear, I find that I cannot avoid placing the left speaker in a corner due to space constraints. As expected, this emphasizes low the frequencies on that side and makes the sound stage a bit wonky. Short of moving the speaker, is there any way to mitigate this somewhat?
posted by aladfar on Jan 6, 2009 - 7 answers

I am a budget headphone audiophile with $250 to buy myself a toy. I do not want upgrade my amp or source at this point, would the AKG 701 headphones be a wasted investment? [more inside]
posted by jlowen on Jan 3, 2009 - 6 answers

VinylFilter: Looking for a quality Turntable and PreAmp to fill the needs of a poor audiophile ($500-650 Budget) [more inside]
posted by robdon on Oct 5, 2008 - 8 answers

Why are some of the high resolution MP3s I've encoded recently (at 320 kbps) still turning out with traces of faint, but audible jitter? [more inside]
posted by saulgoodman on Apr 5, 2008 - 9 answers

Is running-in of hi-fi equipment nonsense? What have been your genuine experiences pre/post run-in? [more inside]
posted by humblepigeon on Feb 11, 2008 - 26 answers

Bi-amping two cheap Sonic Impact T-amps — is it worth it? [more inside]
posted by humblepigeon on Jan 27, 2008 - 14 answers

Does anyone know of an audiophile/hi-fi club in the St. Louis area? I have recently become interested in DIY Hi-Fi and being a college student with little electronics experience I am looking for a way to get myself better acquainted with everything before I start to spend too much money. The internet has been a great resource, but having some real people around me who know what they are doing and would be willing to provide me with some direction would be very helpful.
posted by Bengston on Mar 28, 2007 - 4 answers

I received a new turntable for Christmas. I’m having a hard time following the owner’s manual and on-line resources that explain how to achieve the best possible sound quality. If my LPs play fine, to my ears anyway, how important is it to perfectly adjust the cartridge, tracking force, azimuth, etc.? Besides offending obsessive audiophiles, do I run the risk of damaging the records or turntable? [more inside]
posted by njm on Dec 28, 2006 - 7 answers

Does it make sense to use a special power cord for hi-fi equipment? I'm a novice hi-fi enthusiast, and I've read that you should replace the stock power cords that come with your audio equipment, using designated hi-fi power cords (like those made by AudioQuest or Cardas) instead. But I'm wondering if laying out all that money will actually make an appreciable difference in sound quality to someone who isn't an audio engineer. My hi-fi system consists of a Cambridge Audio receiver & CD player and Hsu Research's Ventriloquist 6.1 speakers and subwoofer. My speaker cables & interconnects are AudioQuest.
posted by zembla3 on Jul 10, 2006 - 26 answers

Is there any evidence to support the idea that headphones need to be "burned in" to sound better? [more inside]
posted by Prospero on Jun 5, 2006 - 18 answers

What are the best hi fi magazine(s) for someone like me? [more inside]
posted by Mean Mr. Bucket on Apr 25, 2006 - 13 answers

best solution for portable quality audio? [more inside]
posted by andrew cooke on Apr 8, 2006 - 22 answers