Ever since I got to know Head-Fi, I've been fascinated by the many different types of headphone addicts (headdicts?). I've tried categorizing them in three broad and admittedly overly generalized types. See below. Recognize anything? 
| character and type | a: the lyrical headdict | b: the epic headdict | c: the adoring headdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| slogan |
So many headphones, so little time
|
There can be only one | There is only one |
| tendency to: | Try as many as possible, keep as many as possible, while falling in love with new cans all the time that do something the others didn't | Try as many as possible, grow disappointed and discard old phone and replace it with new one that does everything it should. Then grow disappointed and.... | Has one pair of headphones (ueberheadhones) that are the best there are. No need to try other pairs if you have the perfect headphone, now? |
| sonic prefences | All over the place, changes with each headphones, song and amp | Can be anything, but the epic headdict knows what he is looking for, even if he has never quite heard it (not for long at least, there were moments he was tantalizingly close to hearing his arual ideal) | What preferences? his headphones are completely neutral and accurate! |
| (too) sensitive to: | fotm | fotm |
You not being impressed by his headphone |
| it's all about: |
Trying as many as possible and appreciating the unique qualities of each headphone. Looking for yet another type of headphone.
It's about the road travelled, not about the destination.
|
Trying to find the one headphone that makes all other headphones superfluous.
It's about the destination, but he is enjoying the road while travelling. |
Convincing you he's got the one and only.
What road? |
| posting behavior |
Curious, easily stimulated, enthusiastic, euphoric at the thought of discovering yet a new headphone. Slightly depressed at realizing how many he hasn't tried yet.
|
Curious and slightly breathless if there is the chance of finally discovering the One. Slightly depressed at the thought of how many he still has to try before finding it. | One word: fanboy |
| drawbacks |
Costly affair and slightly messy due to all the transactions needed to keep the lyrical headdict satisfied. He is easily bored! |
Costly affair, because the One deserves a dedicated set-up built around it, which of course has to change with each change in perception of what headphone is the One | No drawbacks, he is completely satisfied and happy. Just drawbacks for the people who aren't convinced like him, because they cannot share his satisfaction and happiness. Oh, and his smugness gets to them as well. |
|
d. the moddict
|
|
Nothing is so perfect, I can't make it better
|
|
Pull apart just about every headphone, no matter its value, to get a peek at its inner workings, tweaking, adding, subtracting and replacing until the desired sound is achieved. |
|
Very diverse. If a headphone doesn't reproduce the desired sound sig by itself, he'll make sure some rewiring or damping will do the job.
|
|
Modding opportunities lurking just about everywhere! |
|
Teasing the best possible sound out of just about any headphone by soldering, recabling, damping et cetera. It's about the road: about building it yourself.
|
|
Supercurious, always ready to make th emost of opportunities to tweak and mod others don't even realize are there. Very helpful towards the unfortunates who couldn't tell a soldiering rod from a clothes hanger.
|
|
Costly affair because the road to becoming a meistermodder is paved with unfinished DIY projects.
|
Edited by REB - 2/3/11 at 4:00pm
