It has been a while. With a while I mean that since September I was too grumpy to write about anything. Work, studying and then taking in some set-backs took its toll. It was hard to relax and simply write about interesting topics. This month I can finally relax.

In the past months I listened to a lot of music and I read more books. Some days all you want is silence. Some days all you want is a song that makes breathe a sigh of relief.

Well, in the audio hobby there is one thing still defies technological progress as we know it. A good song can sound badly produced but we accept it over mediocre speakers. Think of the album “Californication” by  the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Then there are tubes. It is 2018, and people still pay money for tubes? Yes, once you have listened to a good audio system with a tube amplifier that suits your sound (the way you prefer music to sound) you understand. You match every component of your audio system to the sound you like and enjoy it. Even on a low-budget it  is possible.

If you want to go low-budget get a Koss PortaPro and plug it in so you can stream Tidal or Spotify. For a bit more you can get DJ headphones that isolate more or go wireless. For tubes you spend a bit more but you gain something special. A Sennheiser HD580 or HD600 and a simple Schiit Vali 2 cost around 350 Euros. A good CD-player can be found for next to nothing and used CDs are cheap. After that you enter the realm of bigger budget audio-systems but you can take it slow in building that more expensive audio-system.

The essence is this: whether you want to spend little money on your audio-system (ear-buds & Spotify) or a bit more you need your favourite song to carry you through the day.

That one good song can make your day better again…

P.S. I finally feel like writing again.