We Love Great Cans . . . but the world has changed.
When I started Nice Cans in 2007, a revolution in hi-fi audio was still in the future. But by 2015, for under two grand, you could achieve a level of fidelity undreamed of previously in the highest-resolution systems. Now, the newest breed of active speakers (monitors), headphones, headphone electronics, digital preamps, and class-D switching amplifiers produce sonics so pristine, you feel as though you're listening in on the recording session. Devices in the chain are being driven down to inky-black levels of noise and distortion equating to 19 or 20 bits of resolution — easily -120db down. That constitutes a revolution.
Sadly, however, traditional headphones more or less stalled out. Only a very few traditional headphones were demonstrably accurate transducers, and they were (and are) extremely expensive. Now, however, a pair of $50 in-ear monitors (IEM's) from Truthear or Hidizs kick the tar out of any traditional headphone, with almost perfectly accurate reproduction and almost no audible distortion. I see no reason to pay thousands for headphones anymore. I've gotten out of that game.
Separately, on the electronics and speaker side, many older, established names continued to produce equipment no better — and often worse — than the best equipment of 20 or 30 years ago.
Now, however, measurement websites like AudioScienceReview.com and even manufacturers like Genelec and Neumann, in publishing their products' Spin-O-Rama measurements, prove the clear superiority of some brands of speakers and electronics, almost without exception new companies. There is no reason to pay huge sums for superbly engineered equipment, though it is true that the top-performing equipment, such as RME, Matrix Audio, ATI, and others, are not dirt-cheap. Adjusted for inflation, however, they are far cheaper than quality electronics of two decades ago.
The biggest problem is, it's hard to get your hands on the equipment before you buy it. That's a shame. The top-tier speakers from Dutch & Dutch, Genelec, Neumann, KEF, and other new manufacturers are extraordinary, yet the economics of the hi-fi industry have dictated that listeners take an expensive plunge without trying out the products.
By working directly with the makers of premier audio equipment to reach an under-served market of audio enthusiasts, Nice Cans is pioneering a personal approach to getting the best equipment into the hands of listeners.
Call or email in advance to visit our NEW location and listening room near downtown Bellingham, Washington.
Sadly, however, traditional headphones more or less stalled out. Only a very few traditional headphones were demonstrably accurate transducers, and they were (and are) extremely expensive. Now, however, a pair of $50 in-ear monitors (IEM's) from Truthear or Hidizs kick the tar out of any traditional headphone, with almost perfectly accurate reproduction and almost no audible distortion. I see no reason to pay thousands for headphones anymore. I've gotten out of that game.
Separately, on the electronics and speaker side, many older, established names continued to produce equipment no better — and often worse — than the best equipment of 20 or 30 years ago.
Now, however, measurement websites like AudioScienceReview.com and even manufacturers like Genelec and Neumann, in publishing their products' Spin-O-Rama measurements, prove the clear superiority of some brands of speakers and electronics, almost without exception new companies. There is no reason to pay huge sums for superbly engineered equipment, though it is true that the top-performing equipment, such as RME, Matrix Audio, ATI, and others, are not dirt-cheap. Adjusted for inflation, however, they are far cheaper than quality electronics of two decades ago.
The biggest problem is, it's hard to get your hands on the equipment before you buy it. That's a shame. The top-tier speakers from Dutch & Dutch, Genelec, Neumann, KEF, and other new manufacturers are extraordinary, yet the economics of the hi-fi industry have dictated that listeners take an expensive plunge without trying out the products.
By working directly with the makers of premier audio equipment to reach an under-served market of audio enthusiasts, Nice Cans is pioneering a personal approach to getting the best equipment into the hands of listeners.
Call or email in advance to visit our NEW location and listening room near downtown Bellingham, Washington.
