Have someone help you do a blind test. I’ll almost guarantee you that you won’t be able to tell any difference between Spotify and Qobuz. The placebo effect is very real.

Anything past 44.1 KHz is completely pointless, not a single person on the planet can tell the difference between 44.1 and 96 KHz.

Some can tell the difference between Spotify 320 Kbps Ogg Vorbis and lossless but that’s very few people and only trained listeners. The differences are extremely subtle.

So yeah blind test before you make any conclusions here. I think you might be surprised.

Dan Clark Stealth. Sooooo comfortable!

I use DCA Stealth as my daily driver, it’s the best headphone I’ve ever heard but maybe that will change if I get a chance to try Sennheiser HE 1 at some point.

I listen to a lot of different genres, here’s my top 10 artists for the last 6 months:

1. Edwin Rosen
2. Rammstein
3. David Guetta & MORTEN
4. Die Antwoord
5. Kings of Leon
6. Nils Frahm
7. Joyhauser
8. Klangkuenstler
9. Phoebe Bridgers
10. Liz Huett

Focal make mediocre quality products, their headphones are too cheaply made to ever make it onto a list like this.

DCA Stealth and Expanse. New but quite unique.

I suspect Dynaudio is high on the list, if it’s anywhere near the quality of their various speakers.

Exactly. Should be the same.

Most people are not trained listeners so they can’t tell the difference. Even with training the difference is tiny and you’d have to listen very carefully to spot any differences. So it’s not a misconception.

I use Spotify with my 4000$ DCA Stealth headphones.

Why? Because the difference between 320 Kbps Ogg Vorbis and lossless is almost zero, very few people can tell the difference. I can’t. Spotify has nice apps that works well.

Last 180 days I’ve listened to these quite a bit:

• Edwin Rosen - Vertigo
• David Guetta & MORTEN - Kill Me Slow
• David Guetta & MORTEN - Dreams
• Joyhauser - C166W Edit
• Mt. Wolf - Cry Wolf
• Jessie Ware - Wildest Moments
• ill.Gates - More Tea (Liquid Stranger Remix)
• Imogen Heap - Hide and Seek
• Phoebe Bridgers - Garden Song
• Mogway - The Sun Smeels Too Loud
• The Temper Trap - Sweet Disposition

That’s pretty disappointing but not really surprising, Focal headphones are made to look good but they’re still cheaply made. Would be nice if they started to make things properly even though it would of course hurt their profit margin a bit.

If you want to make these look good again and last longer too you could disassemble them and give them a new coat of paint using for example Cerakote or DuraCoat. If done with patience and care you can make them look good as new.

Here’s an interesting read: https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Audio/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1987-01.pdf (Starting on page 80)

It suggests that there’s almost no audible difference between amps which I believe is mostly the truth. Not saying there’s no difference but more often than not the difference is either so small it doesn’t really make a difference or the difference is simply in the imagination of the listener.

One with enough power.

This. People need to accept that digital is digital and that’s more or less all there is to it.

You may like Beyerdynamic DT770 32 ohm.

The album “The Last Resort” by Trentemøller. For example the tracks Miss You, Vamp or Evil Dub.

Looks like it’s been glued. Maybe hotglue? If so you can probably gently remove it with a sharp knife or similar tool.

If it isn’t hot glue your best bet is to cut the wires and solder them to the new battery. Make sure you don’t short the wires and properly insulate the area you soldered.

There should be zero effect on the output, unless some sort of EQ is enabled.

These days I almost exclusively use Spotify, but if I play local files I use foobar and that’s what I’d recommend.

I like active speakers, it’s convenient and I don’t really see any downsides as long as you’re not into some fancy tube amp or something along those lines. I’m really pleased with my active Dynaudio floor speakers.

Soak the headband in vinegar for a few hours, then wash with water and soap.