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No argument here. Although, from a critical listening perspective, I would rather listen to my Meridian or my SOTA Comet over the iPod any day. I use my iPod only when I travel or, soon, in my car. But when I am sitting at home I would much prefer listening to my other sources. Even with the selection challenge.
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I don't know about "therapy," but I really missed the WOW factor that I used to get when I listened to my main headphone rig. Perhaps it was getting caught up in journey rather than the destination, a "form over function" crisis if you will. Please don't misunderstand my musing, I thoroughly enjoyed each headphone, amp and source that I owned. But I think a lot of things got in the way of the basic love of music for me. To the point where I experienced a quasi implosion, from a listening standpoint. My new toys were the perfect diversion and just what I needed. I am at the point of reevaluating my audio outlook and still trying to figure things out.

jmt,
i also still have the cha and meta you built me. here is the meta in my analog stack:

there is a grado sr125 plugged into them, for which i had you build the amp. you do not still have the specs do you?

JMT, this was a very fascinating read for me because it's practically the exact same situation for me. My interest in high end audio just simply died off about a year ago. I have literally not fired up my Arcam CD23T in over a year. And there's been so many times when I've comtemplated selling off my audio gear...I'm a big believer in "if I don't use it, I probably won't miss it". I've instead diverted money to other hobbies, with a big one being to simply keep my RX-8 maintained properly. My main source of music nowdays is simply whatever CD I happen to have in my car's CD deck, and at work with an Ipod Nano with Sony MDR-E888s. And to be honest, that to me is NOT a bad thing at all...it is in a way going way, way back to my roots of this hobby. The way I first got into high end audio was with a Sony discman, and a pair of Sony MDR-E888 earphones that I'd listen to every night in bed to lull me to sleep. It was simple, sweet, and sounded good. Then I found Headwize, read about the Etymotic ER-4P and 4S, and completely freaked out over the $200+ cost for a pair of earphones. And why the heck would you ever need a headphone amp??? I eventually got the 4Ps though, and it all went downhill from there...

When I look at the energy, money, and time I spent over the years in the audio hobby, I find myself really wishing my "big rig" is just simply the way I started, just a portable player and a nice set of earphones. I seem to be headed in that direction though. I am just amazed at how hard I once tried to wring that last ounce of detail out of my music. My settling in with the Sennheiser HD650 as my current pair of headphones was really an effort to get away from all that...to make the listening experience as smooth and effortless as possible, and to leave all that intense scrutinizing behind.

When I took my "break" from Head-Fi the only amp I had was a JMT Penquin. It's nice to take a break and rediscover the music.

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I'll check and see if I still have your file.
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And I benefited greatly from that belief. I am just glad that my Max didn't sell and I had the chance to re-evaluate everything.
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I couldn't agree more Bob. For me, it was rediscovering the process of "listening to the music" in addition to the music itself.

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Same thing happened to me with photography a couple of decades ago. Sorry about your new wallet.

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Tell me about it. I am trying to put together an audio system for my car and keep it under two grand. I'm not having much luck.

Good to have you "back" JMT. Enjoyed the Meta for quite some time, and of course...

Wow Rick, I haven't looked at those logos in a loooong time. Sure brings back some fond memories.

Jon,

It's good to hear from you buddy.

I think this stuff goes in cycles. I haven't listened to headphones in almost 18 months. I put together a much simplified speaker rig that gets frequent use but I sold my Max, HP1 and a pair of my HP2. I still have a Blockhead and a bunch of other phones but they are all collecting dust. I do still listen to vinyl a lot but I haven't purchased any new music in over a year.

I did buy a few "upgrades" to my VPI table late last year but I think the only one I ever actually installed was the dust cover.

As far as the other hobbies go, I still have a few cars, my Trans-Am, the 65 Malibu and the S-10 pickup but the expense of divorce and an early retirement have seriously eaten away at my pocket change. I lease my every day driver and take public transportation often.


I did just remodel my kitchen and bought some very high end appliances. I got lucky and purchased my range, ovens and fridge as show samples. Perhaps we can do a Kitchen-Fi thread? Or maybe a cooking or recipe thread? I know that sounds strange coming from me but such is life.

Tubes!!!

Good to hear from you too man. So what have you been doing to keep yourself out of trouble since retirement? You still have your side business going? Have you talked to Todd lately? Give me a call sometime.

JMT,
Welcome back! I have been away from Head-fi since 2003. I got into photography very seriously and ended up diverting my monies in similar fashion. Then, I picked up a new pair of Grado sr225's "just for the heck of it," plugged them into my ipod through the META 42 you built for me, and, well, I am back lurking around here, currently listening to a new pair of rs-1s through that very same amp. I actually own three amps you built for me, all of which I still have and use. It's a pleasure to see you post. Hope you continue to enjoy your music and phones.

Daniel