Before you buy headphones: A hopefully helpful guide for newbies - Page 3

One should learn from one's mistakes certainly. But the best education is one which brings to a minimum mistakes made in the first place.

One thing I'd like to add is that I firmly believe that gear recommendations should be taken in light of one's *primary* music genre preference. I tried a lot of gear out in the early days and just couldn't understand what the heck people were hearing. It took a year or two for me to realize this, and then I began implementing this extra dimension to my search criteria, by looking at a person's profile or asking directly before taking stock of what they said. Taken to the logical extreme, I even began seeking out people with similar music preferences and believe it or not, I found a much, much better "match rate" when trying out new gear.

Anyways, what an excellent thread!

Posting in a sticky thread OMGBBQ etc.

Wish this was up when I joined, mainly the post count bit. I've since learned that and find it funny that some of the people referenced have posted in this thread. I won't say any names, but they know who they are.

In before arguing for more posts! I'll be on my way out then....

Awesome work Boo, I want to have your babies!

hehe

While I think Meets are a good thing, I think tha if you really want to hear what a certain piece of gear sounds like it's much better to arrange some sort of in your own system demo or micro meet of some kind. I really don't think a large meet is a good way to go for that.

QFT.

excellent write-up. concise and clear.

x5

This should also be posted on the Portable Headphones, Earphones and In-Ear Monitors forum, and ALL equipment forums.

Point #2 should be in bold CAPITALS and underlined, particularly in the Portable Headphones, Earphones and In-Ear Monitors forum as well as in the Portable Headphone Amps forum.

Nice write up But I still want an amp for my IE8s lol

Really nice guide!
Clear and straight to the point. Sure hope new members read it and take it into consideration...

Thank you for this!

Totally agree, luvdunhill. Newbies should assess their listening preferences and music genres and then map their profiles with other folks sharing similar profiles. Reading gear reviews from people that have ears for classical when the newb primarily listens to techno is not a good match.

Comfort is another important criterion and the listening experience should never be compromised by physical discomfort from poorly fit plugs, headband pressure, excess heat, etc. Of course, people have different shaped heads, ear sizes, canal openings, so maybe these measurement fields should be in the profiles.

Great guide, boomana!

Truly an excellent post and I'm glad it has become a sticky.

My .02 cents:

Keep in mind how you will use your headphone
I always stress to people, be realistic about how you are going to use your headphones and the primary environment. For example, if the main purpose is to use something whilst commuting, it doesn't make sense to spend $300+ on earphones, incorporate a portable amp and load your DAP with nothing but lossless files which take up a heck of a lot more space than V0 MP3s. No matter how isolating IEMs can be, noisy environments will drown out subtleties that high-end earphones can offer. Not to mention the added risk of losing or damaging equipment in public situations and the tendency to increase volume levels to drown out said background noise which is not good for your precious hearing. Same thing goes for open headphones in a constant noisy environment such as a dorm room - not the ideal type of headphone.

Keep in check the tendency to overspend
As Boomana mentioned, there are plenty of terrific choices to fit all budgets. I've seen a number of FS postings of people selling equipment because they ultimately couldn't afford it (credit cards are very dangerous with this hobby). It is oh, so tempting to get the newest amp or the latest closed headphone or the much talked about this or that. I've read a number of posts stating something to the effect they shouldn't be spending this money but they just had to get a pair of X headphones or that amazing Y tube amp. The temptations are strong - believe me, I know - but with a bit of homework, you can find some gems with a relatively friendly price tag.

Never forget the main reason for this hobby
It is easy to get caught up in the equipment and lose sight of the main reason we got involved in this crazy hobby - the music. You can enjoy music equally as much on a $80 pair of headphones as an $800 pair.

True, but many don't.. With audio it's even harder since it's based on opinion and preferance.. But, yes. Learned from my parents mistakes.