By Clay Valarezo
Introduction
You finally have your favorite DAP in hand. Great. You
have your favorite pair of kick-ass headphones. Fantastic! So, what next, who
do you listen to for a truly unforgettable experience?
Time to go on a journey for this blog post. Are you
ready? Let’s start!
Two Steps from Hell
I didn’t start really becoming a DAP-a-holic until I
started listening to trailer music. And the good news is that there aren’t too
many artists out there for us to discover. Yet, there are maybe a handful of
artists who have close to 10 albums or more. So where did I begin?
I began my trailer music listening experience on my
old beat up FiiO X1 (second generation) and my first album was Two Steps
From Hell’s SkyWorld. I knew that in order to have the best
listening experience, I needed a device that could power my headphones
effectively, and that the internal components needed to be engineered in a way
where music listening could be optimized.
If you aren’t blown away by the first track of this
album, then you either need a new DAP, a new set of headphones, or simply new
ears. Ha, I only kid! But seriously. The Bass Drop (yes, I capitalized “bass
drop”) in the middle of the song is enough to get you on your feet and
“spartan-yell” that sh&t.
My second album from this group is album called Battlecry,
another EPIC album. Then I discovered Archangel, and finally, the mother-f-er
of all EPIC trailer albums, Unleashed. Check these albums out before you
continue to with this post. And don’t come back until you do. Ha, just kidding.
Let’s press onward my fellow DAP-a-holics!!!
Audiomachine
Why am I focusing on trailer music in this post? The
reason is simple. Trailer music has so much going on; there is usually an
entire multi-dozen piece orchestra recorded one each track; accompanied by
bombastic classical percussive instruments that give the music punch galore.
If Two Steps from Hell is too epic for your ears to
handle—I know because sometimes this is the case for me—then you should check
out Audiomachine. The first album that I heard from this group is called
Epica. What makes this album so special is the apocalyptic chorus of
vocalists in almost every song, adding a new dimension to the listening
experience.
This album is a handful of years old, and one of their
first, so if you want something more modern, I recommend Volturnus, and Ascendance.
Really Slow Motion
By now your ears are pretty worn out from listening to
such epic masterpieces, but wait, there’s more! We are almost finished with our
DAP-a-holic worthy journey. The last artist that I wish to bring to your
attention is Really Slow Motion, another trailer music group.
I was late to the “really-slow-motion” party. I only
learned about them after the release of one of their most recent albums, Miraculum,
which is stunning in every regard. If you like aggressively angelic orchestral
music, you will love this album.
When I was studying in Chicago for my master’s degree,
I would often walk in snowstorms blasting this album in my ears with my Beyerdynamic
DT 770 Pro 32 Ohms. The headphones would block out the slight noise of the
snowstorm and all I could hear was music, with chaos unleashed around me. (I
don’t recommend walking in a snowstorm during one of Chicago’s famous polar
vortexes. Don’t do that, don’t do that!)
If you want some mo’ dub in your DAP, I recommend the
album called Charged. If you prefer a menacing sounding album, I
recommend Fiery the Angels Rose.
Conclusion
Look. You can’t tell a DAP-a-holic to STOP buying
DAPs. That’s like asking a fish to survive outside of an ocean. Not possible. But
what I CAN tell you is to enjoy your DAP’s in various contexts. Doing homework,
exercising, studying, even planning world domination are great ways to use your
DAPs. And with the artists listed above, you can certainly do that.
Let’s continue to control our music listening
experiences with our DAPs. People may look at us funny for not using a super
sleek iPhone from Apple (I won’t even put a link here). People may ask us
seemingly silly questions, like, “Who even uses such devices? They are just
older less-flashy looking iPods!” F-Them! We KNOW that our music listening experiences
are far superior. They are the silly ones.
If you are reading this and you don’t have a DAP. I
recommend the FiiO M3 Pro, or the Hiby R3 Pro, if you have the
funds. Until then, stay listening!
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