Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Do you listen to headphones out of your price range?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Do you listen to headphones out of your price range? - Page 2

post #16 of 29
1/27/10 at 2:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tisb0b View Post
I'd say the sales clerk is right as once you get accustomed to high end audio there is no going back. If you have heard the D7000 the flaws of the D2000 will be that much more evident whereas if you get the D2000's w/o hearing the D7000's you can stay in a state of ignorant bliss provided you stop reading these forums.
Not his decision to make. I know I looked like riff raff (wearing a beat up wool cap and carhart dirty jeans, just came from work) in BB the other day demoing the speakers, but now I'm eyeballing a $1000 set of speakers (as opposed to a cheapo all-in-one box solution).
Reply
post #17 of 29
1/27/10 at 2:22pm
no because i become less satisfied with what i can afford
Reply
post #18 of 29
1/27/10 at 2:34pm
I think you're safe to listen to a headphone that you can't afford. I can switch from my Edition 8 to my PortaPro in an instant and still be quite satisfied.

I think you have to go in it with an open mind and temper your expectations. Heck, you might stumble on a can like the M50 that's hundreds of dollars less than, say the D5000, and be happier with them.

Like I said, keep an open mind. I know people that have a 50 dollar set of phones and wouldn't trade them for a thousand dollar phone even if you bought them.

I'd tell that sales guy to stuff the D7000's (insert location here) and sample them all. It's your money to spend. Whether it's at his shop or somewhere else. If it's 10 dollars or 1000 dollars, you still earned it and have the right to spend it the way you want to.

Sigh....sorry, arrogance bothers me.
Reply
post #19 of 29
1/27/10 at 3:27pm
^^^ Agreed.
Will you want to upgrade... eventually.
Will it make the 2000's unlistenable... highly doubtful.
I can listen to my 990's at night, and ear clips at work without pouting like a baby at the lack of detail and PRAT.
Nothing wrong with seeing what is left to offer, and working your way up. What I've been doing over the last few years.
Reply
post #20 of 29
1/27/10 at 3:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcus_C View Post
Last time I listened to some headphones out of my price range I walked out of the shop with them...
LOL yeah, it's just a question of how to keep them hidden from the salesmen on the way out
Reply
post #21 of 29
1/27/10 at 4:12pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by dclancy View Post
What a (expletive deleted) move!
I thought so too. I won't name names, but won't go back to that shop again. It was kind of ridiculous actually. At first he said he couldn't let me listen cause he wasn't sure if someone had bought them or not????
A) How are you not sure if they're sold
B) If sold, why are they still unboxed on display
C) Why would they even be in your store if sold, they're headphones? Did they guy have to line up a truck to move them or something??

Anyway, I asked again and that's when he said I shouldn't.

But actually what triggered this poll was less this salesman as it was devin_mm who let me listen to his HD650 & HD800 both balanced and unbalanced. Up to that point I thought the stock 650's were utterly amazing. Then I heard them balanced and thought they were noticeably better. But it was the 800's where things got weird. When I first tried them, I could tell they were great but probably didn't give me the same s*#t-eating grin that the 650's did (which surprised me). But when I went back to the 650's, they were all of a sudden so much less than they were before trying the 800's. I honestly checked that I didn't have a bunch of hair caught between my ear & the driver, cause they just sounded muffled in comparison.

And that's when I thought maybe I was better off leaving Pandora's box (cans?) closed.
Reply
post #22 of 29
1/27/10 at 5:04pm
And in 10 days when you forget all about the sound of the HD800 you can have the same face expression again with the hd650. It's always good to audition headphones just to get the idea what are you looking for in a pair of cans.
Reply
post #23 of 29
1/27/10 at 5:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nutric08 View Post
And in 10 days when you forget all about the sound of the HD800 you can have the same face expression again with the hd650.
x2. You won't remember the D7000 sound forever. I compared my Grado 325is's with a friend's HF-2's. The HF-2's were definitely better, but a few days later I couldn't actually remember the sound. A lot probably just depends on if you're a person who gets obsessed with upgrading...like I do.

Unfortunately, I have to buy before I try. Not many places to demo high- or even mid-fi gear. Though I'd love to hear how good things could be.
Reply
post #24 of 29
1/27/10 at 6:00pm
JonJeffman,
I'm sure that with time your trusty HD650 sound will come back to you as your ears reacclimatize to their signature. I can also see that I'm not the only one who finds improvements in sound to be far more noticeable when you listen for a while to the new sound and then switch back to the old or another, rather than when switching from the old to the new and better. It makes A/B'ing such a pesky thing to do.

It's from that new to old test that made me realize the difference a cable could make to the a headphones sound. It's that test that makes me realize that the Ed8's are really good unamp'd.
Reply
post #25 of 29
1/27/10 at 6:01pm
If you're a hobbyist like the rest of us, then yes, try as much gear as you can! The more you try, the better the understanding what your tastes are, and what the reality is behind achieving "perfect rig" is for you.
More expensive is not always the answer anyway. Some of my favourite albums are tough to listen to on good gear, because the recordings were shoddily done, or the sound sig does not match the musical style.
You're lucky enough to have a place to audition some "good" headphones, many of us aren't as lucky. Too bad it comes at the price of bad customer service.
Reply
post #26 of 29
1/29/10 at 4:56am
Depends if you have discipline.

Yes - go ahead and explore.
No - Don't unless you bring your financial controller a.k.a wife along.

But in rare cases it may help you save money - if you cant take those "cheaper sound" anymore and you cant afford the "right sound for you", then only way out is quit

Anyway I always set a budget for purchase, and give a 20% allowance and see what "slightly over the bar" can offer. But if you break your budget and explore the 21st% percent... Then ready for 500% budget blow :P
Reply
post #27 of 29
1/29/10 at 7:36pm
i would if i had the opportunity - not many good shops sell nice headphones in australia
Reply
post #28 of 29
1/29/10 at 7:40pm
I want to change my vote, I'll be able to listen to two over 1000 dollar headphones in the next month or so.

I'm pretty excited.
Reply
post #29 of 29
1/30/10 at 12:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dclancy View Post
Not his decision to make. I know I looked like riff raff (wearing a beat up wool cap and carhart dirty jeans, just came from work) in BB the other day demoing the speakers, but now I'm eyeballing a $1000 set of speakers (as opposed to a cheapo all-in-one box solution).
I AM riff raff lmao
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Headphones (full-size)
Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › Do you listen to headphones out of your price range?