Show off your new purchases!

[Kaamos_Llama]

I'm a lover of consumer tech in general as I'm sure many of you are. So I'm interested, what have you all been buying lately? Post it up here if you like so we can marvel at your latest acquisition.

A new TV? PC or component, peripheral. Some retro tech like an old console? Are you an audiophile? Show us your new amp/DAC, speakers or headphones! Did you hack a water chiller into your water cooling loop. Did you get a new Roomba that also empties the bins? RGB socks? A temperature controlled sofa? I want to see it, no matter how humble, weird (within forum guidelines :O) ) or large.

I'll start off. Just received a new Antlion Modmic Uni. I dont really play online games where I have to use a mic, but a friend has been bugging me to play something with him. The old Zalman clip on mic I had before barely worked for me, and I mainly listen to music through my headphones so I didnt want to pay out for a gaming headset. Works well so far. Attached nicely with a small sticker that takes an hour to cure. The mic itself attaches via a magnet, which makes it handy to store on the side of my case when not in use.

Just a little one, but its neat and I like it.

So what have you been buying ? Leave a mini review if you want as well.

 

[Zoid]

I love that the mic connects with a magnet! That's so convenient. Are you happy with the sound from the cans?

I'll share a pair of speakers to stick with the audio theme. I've been using these for 4 months or so now so they aren't brand new, but they're the newest part of my setup. I've been using them as front L/R in my gaming and movie setup but I intend them to be more for music, so I'm going to move them over to a dedicated stereo at some point.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Eh, the cans are fine. I dont think my hearing is that good as I can't tell the difference between high quality Itunes and Spotify at very high. To my ear the sound isn't quite as good as my old cheap and cheerful Superlux HD668b's, I guess because they are closed back as opposed to semi open. They are much more comfortable though, and I like the neutral sound. Any recommendations for another set?

Nice speakers though! How do they sound?

 

[Zoid]

Eh, the cans are fine. I dont think my hearing is that good as I can't tell the difference between high quality Itunes and Spotify at very high. To my ear the sound isn't quite as good as my old cheap and cheerful Superlux HD668b's, I guess because they are closed back as opposed to semi open. They are much more comfortable though, and I like the neutral sound. Any recommendations for another set?

I'm afraid I am not much of a headphone connoisseur since I just don't use them that often, but I use a pair of Sony MDR7506's that I put better ear pads on. I love them for what they are: cheap and cheerful industry-standard reference headphones with really flat, clear response. They aren't the most musical ever, but they're awesome for the price.

Nice speakers though! How do they sound?

Thanks! I love the way they sound. They turned out exactly how I wanted. The low-end is tight and well represented, the mids lean a little towards the warm side and really shine with acoustic music, and the highs are crystal clear. I don't know if I've ever heard highs this clear on any sub-$1,500 speaker.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Thanks! I love the way they sound. They turned out exactly how I wanted. The low-end is tight and well represented, the mids lean a little towards the warm side and really shine with acoustic music, and the highs are crystal clear. I don't know if I've ever heard highs this clear on any sub-$1,500 speaker.

Nice, sounds like you know what youre talking about, I'm just an amateur I would like to get into putting together a proper audio set up but we don't have that much room at the moment. Its a large part of the reason I use headphones now, I just have a pair of self powered Audioengine A2's here, theyre fine for what they are but they seem to lose a lot of the mid range. However the wife is happy with the way they look, so that was the compromise I had to make!

 

[Zoid]

Nice, sounds like you know what youre talking about, I'm just an amateur I would like to get into putting together a proper audio set up but we don't have that much room at the moment. Its a large part of the reason I use headphones now, I just have a pair of self powered Audioengine A2's here, theyre fine for what they are but they seem to lose a lot of the mid range. However the wife is happy with the way they look, so that was the compromise I had to make!

Audioengine A2's are cool! Definitely better than your run-of-the-mill computer speakers, and your wife is right, they do look pretty snazzy.

I've enjoyed home audio as a hobby for the last several years, but I'm still small potatoes compared to die-hard audiophiles (who can actually afford to buy lots of fancy speakers). I'm also very familiar with space issues, especially if you are trying to work surround sound into the mix. These new speakers have been challenging since they're too big for a bookshelf and too heavy for my existing speaker stands.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

the A2's are pretty good for what they are, and they do look neat. The problem is the 3"(?) cones can only do so much. I looked into a sub woofer briefly but I have headphones on half the time now anyway so I decided to put my money there.

You can go nuts with amps and speakers for sure, headphones too. One of the ideas I like about audio equipment is that you can hunt and find some pretty amazing second hand gear too, and it doesnt really age.

 

[Inspireless Llama]

I'm just collecting boxes. Everything above my mobo boxes is less than a month old (with exceptation of my RAM box haha)

How it looks like, there's a picture in Show Your Setup.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

@Inspireless Llama

Very nice! I do love a good box. Did you build an HTPC or is the second system for someone else in the house?

 

[Inspireless Llama]

@Kaamos_Llama no haha. I had a PC with a B350 but built a new one with the X470 motherboard. I have the B350 mobo with case & Ram still left. I changed it becaue I stripped a screw in the mobo, rendering it useless for new use, and that case was too small for the parts I wanted in it. So I replaced it. Last time I used the mobo it still worked.

I broke my Ryzen 2600 CPU and because I really needed my PC but didn't have funds to proper replace it, I got a Ryzen 2200G. Then I replaced it with a R5 3600.
So now I have my current PC and the following parts:
Case, RAM, CPU, GPU and PSU. Now I'm wondering if I should sell it (there's no factory warranty on it anymore) and for how much haha. Someone suggested I should turn it into a streaming pc but I don't stream and it's probably not strong enough. (R3 2200G, 16gb RAM @2400mhz, GTX1060 3gb).

If I resell it to someone I know at least I want to replace the PSU since it's a CM 500W I don't trust. And then it needs an SSD


I also have boxes for my monitor (the 32" one), headset, old mouse and keyboard lying arround haha. Always can come in handy for either storage or warranty purposes.

 

[Zoid]

the A2's are pretty good for what they are, and they do look neat. The problem is the 3"(?) cones can only do so much. I looked into a sub woofer briefly but I have headphones on half the time now anyway so I decided to put my money there.

You can go nuts with amps and speakers for sure, headphones too. One of the ideas I like about audio equipment is that you can hunt and find some pretty amazing second hand gear too, and it doesnt really age.

Yeah! Older speakers that had foam surrounds have usually had those rot away by now, but it's not hard to replace them. The ones with rubber, paper, or cloth surrounds can last ages! Every now and then I'll skim through Craigslist just to see what's out there.

I'm just collecting boxes.

It'll look like the back room at Microcenter in no time!

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

You had a bit of an adventure there

I keep all boxes for everything I own, I always sell or gift stuff on when I've upgraded it, apart from hard drives. I think you probably get more back overall for that rather than a whole system. I'll price it by looking at local pricing for something of comparable performance new, then take a fair chunk off of that for lack of warranty. Finally I'll search the places where I'm selling it for listings for the same model, sold and active to see if I'm in the ball park. My stuff is usually in mint condition though to be fair

There's something nice about boxes anyway, looking at them reminds you of the feeling of having something new somehow. I guess that's why I started this thread, so I could live vicariously through other people new shinies !

 

[Inspireless Llama]

I do have a friend who wants a PC though. She's not really a gamer, but plays some games, her friend does as well (like Football Manager). I think if I can convince her to buy this PC I can give some kind of warranty myself because I'd feel like a scammer if I sell that PC and then it breaks in like a month .

On the other hand, I would like to sell stuff apart from each other, but I can't sell my mobo seperately (stripped screw, it's stuck into my mobo) and I think if I don't sell it as a whole I won't sell those things at all, which would be a shame.

As for boxes, sometimes I end up throwing them away. Warrantly for my keyboard should run out and since I won't be selling it ever there might be not much point in keeping it since it's not great for storage either. My mobo box / PSU box, Cooling box etc I keep for storage of cables, extra bay drivers, Cooling Paste etc.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

@Zoid We dont have Craigslist here, but i'll often scan through the electronics section of local sites and Ebay and be tempted by stuff. I'm with you there. If only I had space for a little soldering station and a decent amount of storage, the things I would completely fail to repair!

@Inspireless Llama I've always sold my hardware as separate parts. If there's any damage that doesn't affect the main function its fine if you are up front about it and price it accordingly. I sold my last mobo, RAM and CPU to three different people. You might be surprised. Also then, you have effectively recycled it

 

[Inspireless Llama]

I just realized, but I have most of a 3rd system catching dust too lo. That one's been catching dust for 2 to 3 years now so I don't think I'll sell it anymore. Besides I think it's only good for custom browsing and not for gaming anymore (FX6300 / 8GB of DDR3 RAM). No GPU, no PSU, no SSD / HDD .

I rarely throw stuff away and I am too lazy to sell things so I'm just collecting things here. I still have 4GB of like 1600mhz DDR3 lying about catching dust between my pencils somewhere else. Also, this has nothing to do with showing off purchases, so I'll try to get back ontopic with my next post haha.
In about 2 months time I hope I'll be able to replace my 4 year old Corsair VOID with a HyperX Cloud 2. I need to replace some PSU cables as well. And if I manage to save up enough near the end of the year I'll get a 2nd 32" monitor I hope <3.

 

[Alm]

https://imgur.com/xYbwGfc

View: https://i.imgur.com/xYbwGfc.jpg


These aren't high end by any means but they arrived today and are a step up from my old Sennheisers that were falling apart.

 

[Zoid]

These aren't high end by any means but they arrived today and are a step up from my old Sennheisers that were falling apart.

High end is relative! Those sure do look pretty sweet to me. How are you liking the sound?

 

[Alm]

I've been listening to Amazon Music HD with my Audioquest Dragonfly Black and I really like them. You can tell they have more depth than what I had before.

Makes me interested to see how much better things get. This is the best setup I've had for headphones.

I'm guessing quite a bit.

 

[Zoid]

I've been listening to Amazon Music HD with my Audioquest Dragonfly Black and I really like them. You can tell they have more depth than what I had before.

Makes me interested to see how much better things get. This is the best setup I've had for headphones.

I'm guessing quite a bit.

The world of audiophile headphones is one that I would like to explore as well. I've enjoyed exploring the speaker side of things, but I haven't done much with headphones.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

@Alm Those look very nice. Are you using them both mobile and at home? I remember the Audioquest Dragonfly being recommended a few years ago, I wonder if it would get more out of my current cans then the Fiio 10k I currently have. I think I'll have a look into it.

 

[Alm]

@Kaamos_Llama They are just for home use as they are open back headphones.

The dragonfly is very good. They've released a couple of newer and more expensive models since I got it (red and cobalt). But compared to the standard motherboard out I definitely notice a difference for hi res music.

I don't know much about the comparison with the Fiio I'm afraid.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Well the Dragonfly Red comes in a 200 Euros over here so I dont think I'll give it a try just yet. The Fiio is definitely better then my on board, but there are a few other options for 100-150 to look into it seems. Thanks for sharing

 

[0BsessioN]

iv been building a new PC bit by bit, cant afford to hit it all at once at the moment with coronavirus my job is iffy, i5 4960K 8gig ram i do alot of photoshop / video work as well as game so was just not cutting it anymore, upgraded to Ryzen 3900x 16gig ram still keeping my 980 in it which feels weird but its playing everything i throw at it right now, its something ill upgrade down the line eventually, still saving for case fans as my current ones are getitng abit worn iv got 6 lined up for probably next week.
I drove to my mums on mothers day to give her my old i5 because she does photo work and its alot better then the 10 year old laptop she was using so when i replace my gfx card il probably just put that in hers aswell, its a 980HOF its done me good i cant get rid of it lol.

https://imgur.com/KbOMqYQ

View: https://i.imgur.com/KbOMqYQ.jpg

https://imgur.com/Idc7XCq

View: https://i.imgur.com/Idc7XCq.jpg

https://imgur.com/R8fIf6g

View: https://i.imgur.com/R8fIf6g.jpg

 

[xgrvaeli]

I just bought about $300 in D&D 5E sourcebooks and accessories. I haven't actually got them yet but as far as I'm concerned it was totally a no-brainer.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

@0BsessioN Nice ! I've been tempted to go with Ryzen for a while now, but I've not been able to justify it for my uses. However as I've rediscovered Folding at home, its a good excuse to upgrade everything on the regular, because its a good cause, you know. Waiting for the tax return.

@xgrvaeli I suspect there's a lot of hours of entertainment for that 300, enjoy.