“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s [REDACTED]. I’m outside the Google Map address. Where is this supposed to be?”

“Hey man.” Says the mystery figure behind the phone, “It’s inside the gray building.”

I look around and see… 10 different buildings in slightly different tones of gray.

“Yeah, uh… which one??” I say in total confusion.

He sighs, “Alright let me go get you.”

I stand around looking for the mystical gray building when…

Bang Bang Bang

The sound of a door getting punched from the inside plays behind me.

I look around to find that I am in front of the right building.

I don’t know what’s going on with the banging, but it seems he’s having some trouble opening the door.

5 minutes later and a man greets me from a door on the other side of the building.

“Hey! It’s here, but I have a problem. The door is stuck.”

“No worries!” I tell him. Surely, he'll fix this later.

Right?

And so I stand outside with this new friend for 5 minutes while he battles the door trying to get it open.

After realizing he can’t open it he looks at me and goes “oh well I guess we can just take the side door.”

(… So we couldn’t have done that this whole time?)

I nod and follow him inside the building.

“Take a seat,” he says “Let me figure out this door situation.”

And so I sit there for uh…

20 minutes.

It’s always at your lowest that the worst financial mistakes happen.

For some it’s a sports car, designer clothing, a DoorDash binge, or an expensive trip.

But for your Trashmaster Hz that is:

Expensive audio equipment.
(And trips. I’m NGMI)

In case you missed it, my addiction to the accursed album (which is entering its 28th day!!!!!) has driven me to get hooked on the music equivalent of drugs:

HiFi Audio.

And so I find myself at a dealer’s house 5 days into this new addiction.

Not a crack house in the traditional sense (yet).

But an audio house.

As I sit there listening to the smoothest Jazz on what looks like $10,000 speakers, I also hear my man fighting against the door (and losing).

While waiting I look around and see all sorts of foreign, expensive-looking machines.

My wallet is crying in pain just from sitting in that room.

Frankly, I’m there escaping the new reality I’m in. I know it’s going to catch up eventually but until then, it’s pay2feelbetter baybee.

“Okay, the door is broken.” He says while panting, “I’ll figure something out later. So, what are you here for today?”

I explain the crippling addiction to electronic music and analyzing songs to their most minute details.

Then I tell him I’m gonna need headphones for that.

He -understandably- looks at me like I told him I want to smoke crack.

“Alright. Usually I recommend big speakers. But I may have something for you. Come with me.”

He takes me to one of the audio rooms.

It’s small but has a row of headphones, a very complex audio setup, and gear that will charge you for looking at it.

He pulls out a box with a pair of basic-looking headphones. Then, he plays around with the alien technology he calls DAC and Amplifier.

It’s as if he’s turning on a jet. He’s fiddling with cables, buttons, and… he also just looks confused.

He looks back at me after five minutes of pressing buttons.

“Try these on. Play whatever you want” he says, handing me a pair of Grado SR80s and an iPad to play songs.

Then he walks out.

Aight. Fair enough.

I take a seat and start playing a barrage of tester songs.

I’m talking Strobe. Odesza. M83. Lorn. The Accursed Album™ And many more artists that focus on production.

AND WHAT DO I HEAR?

Is it something that forever changes my outlook on music?

Something that blows my mind and makes me lose sense of reality?

Close enough.

But…

It’s… alright.

Definitely sounds better than whatever I am playing with at home.

The audio quality is high and I can find more details in production.

But it’s all over the place and I find it hard to actually analyze the songs.

In other words

Of course, I have no heart to tell my man that this isn’t quite what I’m looking for.

But he must have seen the look on my face through the wall.

Before I can say anything, he walks back in with what looks like headphones I can’t afford to touch.

“You said you liked electronic. These will be up to your speed.”

He carefully plugs them into the setup and…

It breaks.

There’s no more audio coming out. (This guys luck is not looking to be the best tbh.)

So five more minutes of fixing stuff and I’m back in the cockpit.

Here I go again. Same tester songs.

And what do I hear this time?

Everything sounds alive. Every kick, every synth, every hint of bass.

It. Is. Pure. Ecstasy.

THIS IS THE WAY IT MUSIC SHOULD BE ENJOYED.

It’s like being REBORN. Every song feels like the first time. Even those I have listened to for DECADES.

It’s as addictive as it is fulfilling.

But just as its getting good, my man taps me in the shoulder (I had my eyes closed)

“Hey bro. I’m sorry but uh, I got another client out here. Feel free to stay and listen to some more stuff.”

But before he leaves he looks at me and says “You’re getting the headphones right? The invoice is ready just let me know”

And well…

You know I wasn’t gonna try crack once and forget about it.

No sir.

So even though this was a terrible financial decision made at my lowest mental stability…

I am now the proud owner of hardcore drugs (high-quality headphones)

If you thought the selection these past couple of days was unhinged…

It’s about to get worse.

I’ve been given the keys to the kingdom. And now everyone won’t stop hearing about how superior pure sound is.

And what better way to show it than with a song that sounds infinitely better with a good pair of headphones.

Yes, I’m highkey cheating by sending an Odesza song. They are unbeatable at the production game

It took a good pair of headphones to realize why it takes them 5 trillion years to make an album. Every song is a labor of love.

Today’s pick is probably one of my favorite songs from them. Everything about it is clean, energetic, and masterfully produced.

This is what landing in a foreign country and exploring it sounds like.

It’s full of awe, wonder, mystery, and energy.

And hey, if I have to describe the production we are going to be here for another 20 minutes. All I can say is that they invest 80% of the time in drums because they got no business being THIS GOOD.

So do yourself an mf favor and PLAY THIS.

It’s one of those songs that only get better the more you listen to and analyze.

And hey, it’s also the perfect warmup for the weekend.

Njoy.

Genre: Audible MAGIC.

Hz

P.S. What headphones did I end up buying? That is a mystery for another time. I’m still trying them out before doing any official recommendations.

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