The "Wow" moment.

Foobar2000 --> m903 vis USB --> DT990 ( 250 Ohm )--> Playing

 

Bonobo - [Live Sessions EP CD1 #02] Dismantling Frank (live)

 

It is so relaxing and delicate.

 

Cowon S9 -> JH16

 

When m-flo - orbit-3 came on I was astonished at the clarity and realism of the music I was experiencing.

 

Classical music is what keeps me sane when studying. Hooray for us Biology majors

 

I have 'wow' moments every time I listen to music in a dark, quiet room and I just let the music speak to me through my GR07

Edited by eke2k6 - 9/26/11 at 10:51pm

Can't remember the song, but one day I received the Westone 3s as a gift (mind you, I've only been listening to apple buds at the time and would never spend $100 on earphones) and WOW. I had never experienced music like that before. Not exactly a "Wow, this is why I'm an audiophile moment" but more like "Wow, I never knew music can sound so good and I can't believe how much I've been missing!!"  

And that was the start of an expensive hobby. 

That moment first came when i first bought my Beyerdynamic DT230 and listened to them for the first time. 

 

Nowadays it comes when im listening in the train or late at night.  

Ultrasone PRO550 unamped, at a volume suitable for testing but fatiguing after an hour. The bass is amazing at high volumes 

Speaking of the WOW moment...I have had my Atrio's for over 4yrs now. I pretty much only listen to trance and some chillout.

I had never listened to Electro House as I don't like plain House music.

 

Tonight, I listened to Electro House for the first time and I am blown away. The way the Atrio's are following the intense bass lines of Electro House "Minimal Mix" is just absolutely amazing. The complex bass notes along with that renowned Atrio sub-bass is just FREAKING AWESOME!!!

 

The mids and highs are crystal clear and perfectly placed.

 

WOW is an understatement!

Edited by navmau - 9/27/11 at 5:02am

The first WOW moment I had was with my Samsung P3 -> UE700

wasnt an audiophile back then, and had been using earpieces that cost around 20...tried my colleague's classic -> d10 -> ie8, sounds nice but too bassy

so I decided to go to a local shop to try out, wanted to keep my budget low since im just starting out, was aiming for any of the single BA iem, then the salesman passed me the ue700, holy cow!

went back home, got more cash and bought the 700 ...even got a pair of super-fi 5 for free from the UE lucky draw haha! That was 2years back, how time flies, now the value of 700 has dropped significantly and i have also mostly upgraded, but I wont forget the moment the first time I heard the UE700

I was WOWed when i first listened Shure E4c with my iPod Mini(2G) and the music sounded so good with micro details which i never heard before with iBuds.

Any music on PX100's  (my first wow,  as in "Jeez, I've been listening to crappy headphones all my life!")

 

Trentemoller - "Take me into your skin" on ATH-CKS70   (I was amazed that such huge bass impact was possible in an IEM, even more than my Senn 212pro full size)

 

Radiohead - "Everything in it's right place"  on Shure SE530  (blew my mind on how amazingly sweet and detailed mids and highs can be)

 

Just about everything on JH16pros  - (realizing that every other "wow" moment was crappy by comparison)

I was amazed at the difference ASIO made when I first tried it. It was also amazing when I bought the HD 555 and the Asus STX at the same time and had my first listen. The HD 650 and HD 800 as well as the SPL Phonitor did not make such an instant impact. That appreciation took a little time.

I'd have to say my  moment was during my first listen with the EX1000 coupled with the Zo amp. It literally felt as though one was designed with the other in mind. Their synergy is simply incredible.

Huge WOW moment last week when my Cowon J3 arrived, and I plugged in my Ety ER-4P, turned on the J3 BBE and Mach3Bass (both to about 5 setting, out of 10).  Seems like it didn't matter what song came next, it was just WOW!!

 

No amp, just J3 -> ER4P.

Two wow moments - first was er4s amped with uha4 on iPhone 4.

That wow was topped by the W4 plus the iPhone 4 a few months later.