(Big audio geek rant ahead - just ignore it if you are not a sound nut like me )

To say that I am a audiophile person would be a bit of an understatement. I hardly leave the house without my iPod and even while working I love to listen to music via headphones. My brain simply loves to be close to the sound of music.

There are three things in my life were I am constantly looking for a better gadget: keyboards (because I type a lot), mouse (for smooth clicking) and headphones (I only have that set of ears). Sure I also love to shop for good monitors (because I want to be nice to my eyes as well) and a kickass computer - but usually both items don’t need changing only every two years.

When it comes to my ears I am VERY picky. As a kid I had several serious infection and some operations on my ears - so I am extra sensitive when it comes to my eardrums. Plus I still can hear grass growing although I had these operations and tortured my ears with techno music in the early 90’s. Yes, I will donate my amazing ears to science when I die …

Sound Quality in the Digital Age

In the age of the every shrinking music players buying the right and good headphones is important as well as a joke. Why? Because of sound compression and bad sound chips.

Compression: Many MP3s sound like shit, because they have been ripped with a low compression setting (like 128 or 192 kps) and therefore ‘hiss’ or ‘jitter’. So with good headphones you can hear all these ‘damages’ done to good music. I try to get the highest quality rips for my music collection - it should be at least 256 kps or more.

Sound Chips: This little bugger transforms your digital MP3 files back into proper music. Most PCs have terrible sound chips, their quality makes most sound engineers weep and kill themselves. If you combine a bad sound chip with a low quality MP3 than you get the sound quality of a 1930’s radio transmission.

iPod’s are supposed to have good sound chips, but are still vulnerable to bad MP3s (shit in - shit out). That is one of the reasons why Apple pushed it’s AAC sound format when it introduced the iPod and iTunes - they wanted to make sure people got ‘well ripped’ music onto their new gadgets.

My serious headphones (Sennheiser HD 555): amazing sound quality and size. I feel like an Easter bunny wearing these. But with these good music is a revelation - they really make you LISTEN. Most excellent sensation my friends …

The Sound of my Laptop

My machine actually comes with an acceptable SoundMax HD chip and some software based SRS sound. It is actually amazing how well this machine sounds WITHOUT external speakers. This little machine is enough to keep my small room filled with a decent sound - although not too much bass.

I use the small earplugs and earphones only with my iPod for portability reasons. The big Sennheiser is made for more serious audio - the pricetag of over €100 makes that painfully clear. The Sennheiser also mercilessly kicks the digital setup in the butt: every little hiss or frequency distortion is played back in it’s lousy inadequacy. Thank you so very much you overpriced set of ear muffs!

High Quality MP3s make a big difference here. Never mind the extra space they eat on my hard drive - it’s worth every minute of smooth sound.

With cheaper headphones you will hardly notice the differences, because they blur the sound anyway.

Small is beautiful! A note to Apple - please don’t sell me an overpriced MP3 player with such shitty earplugs. Everyone I know has thrown them away after unpacking …

iPodding

The big Sennheiser sure sound great with the iPod as well, but is unpractical for the road. Plus the plug is made for big hifi equipment and therefore needs a ‘bridge’ for the smaller plug. The whole thing as actually big and clunky - and almost the same size as the iPod. Not something you want in your pocket.

My earplugs (Sony MDR-ED 31) - small, easy to carry around and quickly stuff into my pockets if needed. Good sounds, lacks a bit bass. Feels a bit like someone sticking fingers into your ears.

All iPods have a built in ’sound barrier’ - which especially annoys kiddies, since you can’t crank up the volume. You can ‘improve’ the sound a bit with the different equalizer settings, but once again low quality MP3 will hiss at you like a bunch of mad snakes. So once again it pays off to rip your music at a higher setting.

The Sony earplugs are nice to wear and don’t seal up your ears like so many other similar products. They sound good and very convenient for traveling.

My travel setup (AKG Acoustics K 412 P): for some good sounds and keeping the public noise out of my ears. Excellent sound quality - and they can be folded together, so they use less space in my messenger bag.

The AKG headphones are the best compromise between transportability and sound quality. You can actually fold them together, so they get even smaller. The audio quality is very good and they even have a warm and pleasant bass.

As a good consumer I have bought all the right products for each audiophile situation. Perfect - until we finally get some decent and usable Bluetooth headphones and iPods with built in Bluetooth as well. Then I can FINALLY get rid of all the cables and go wireless … and buy new headphones!