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How was Your 2011 HP Experience? aka.. Holy Moly! Did I ever go overboard..

post #1 of 21
12/12/11 at 9:10pm
Thread Starter 

So  this is how my day went after a long day at work..

 

- Got home, kissed the wife and decided I needed a nap. So, on go the v-moda M-80's with my iPod Classic U2 and fell asleep to Enigma

- Dinner, some shopping and in front of the TV - wife had the remote - nuff said - so plugged in my FiiO E10 & Sennheiser HD25's into my MacBook Air and put on my HeadFi playlist (favorite well recorded music), surfed and enjoyed.

- Wife in bed, now in the office with glass of single malt scotch (Aberlour A'Bundh) and am listening to the Senn HD650's through the Matrix Mini-i

 

Then I think to myself, holy moly, have I spent a lot on Head Gear this year.  Started out a newbie in January (Grado SR-80i & iBasso D10 - yuck) and have come a long way - bought and sold some stuff and finally have a system near completion. Here's what I did this year...

 

- purchased the HD25-1 II and FiiO E7 - nice so sold the Grado and iBasso

- missed my big Senns from years gone past so purchased the Senn HD-600's - not bad - need more power

- Added the FiiO E9 - not bad with the HD-600's but lacking soul - have to audition the HD650's

- purchased the HD-650's of eBay - ahhh - that's better - bye-bye HD-600's

- hmmmm - given the experience with my HiFi/HT setup, need better DAC and power - read a bunch of reviews and 

- purchased the Matrix Mini-i - nice! bye bye FiiO E9

- got into the hype with the new v-moda M-80's - oh heck, why not - purchased them - Nice!

- got into the hype with the FiiO E10 - oh heck, why not - great with the HD-25's

- went to New York, lost my Etymotics - replacements hard to find in Canada so got the B&W C5's - not bad but love the Ety's so ordered a pair from eBay

- Now - how do I make this stuff work for me - back to how the day started (and see my signature)

 

Holy !!!! what a year?  If you asked me in January what I was going to do with my HP setup, I probably would have said, not much, it works for me.. yeah, right.

So, what's ahead for 2012 - Schiit Lyr and maybe the LCD-2 or mythical Senn HD700

 

 

So.. what's your 2011 story and what do you have planned for 2012?

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post #2 of 21
12/13/11 at 9:23pm

 

 

Quote:
So.. what's your 2011 story and what do you have planned for 2012?

 

2011 was a big year for me but it won't hold a candle to 2012.

 

Purchases in 2011: (Bold means I still have it)

 

- Headphones

 

LCD-2
Sennheiser HD 598
Koss Pro DJ100
UE TF10
Creative Aurvana Live
Sony XB700
Ultrasone Proline 750
Klipsch S4
HiFiMan HE-500
Denon D7000
AIAIAI TMA-1
Ultrasone Pro 750
Sennheiser HD 25-1 II
Sennheiser HD 25-13 II

 

- Amps

 

Audio-gd NFB-10SE
Rx Mk II
FiiO E9i
Peachtree Decco2
Schiit Lyr
Arrow 12 HE 3G
ZO Personal Subwoofer
NuForce Icon Mobile
FiiO E9

 

- Sources

 

Audio-gd DI (Model B, PSU+, Clock+)
Marantz SA8004
iPhone 4 16gb
Apple iMac 27" (2011)
Gateway Netbook
Pioneer PL-518
HP Touchpad
AlgoRhythm Solo
Yulong D100
iPad 1G
Sanza Clip+ 8GB
Cowon J3 16gb

 

- Misc

 

FiiO L9 (LOD)

FiiO L8 (Interconnect)
FiiO L2 (Interconnect)
Blue Jeans BNC (w/ Coax Adapter)
Q Cable (LCD 2) - Black & Purple
Whiplash CLAS Interconnects (Silver)
Ultrasone Short
KitSound 1m 3.5mm Cable

 

I also made almost all of my posts this year. So roughly...5000. 

 

-----

 

Plans for 2012? The completion of my audio journey (equipment) for a long time

 

Cavalli Liquid Fire

Wyred 4 Sound DAC 2

Wyred 4 Sound STP-SE

Wyred 4 Sound SX-500 (Monoblocks)

Magnepan 1.7 Speakers (Or Monitor RX8s. Haven't decided)

HD 600

Thunderpants

A&H Xone 53

V-Moda M80

Brickwall Power Conditioners

iPad (2, maybe 3 if there is one)

iPhone 4S 64gb

MacBook Pro (of some sort)

Various Upgrades (Tubes, Power Cables, Interconnects, Speaker Cables, etc.)

 

Oh, and something to start DJing with again. I miss it a lot...

 

-----

 

How's that for crazy?

 

EDIT: The ride has been great Head-fi, but after 2012 I hope to not be left wanting again for a long time...

 

 

 


Edited by MorbidToaster - 12/13/11 at 9:25pm
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post #3 of 21
12/13/11 at 9:35pm

Bought an LCD-2.

Bought a Benchmark DAC1.

Bought an ASUS Xonar Essence STX.

Returned the DAC1.

 

So in total I was out nearly $2200 at one point, ended up spending $1200. Twice as much as I've spent before now.

 

2012 is going to be a quiet year for me. Objective2 desktop amp built more as a project than anything, maybe some new IEMs, maybe a V-Moda M80 with custom pony shields evil_smiley.gif


Edited by Head Injury - 12/13/11 at 9:36pm
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post #4 of 21
12/13/11 at 10:14pm

2011

 

- Got an UE600 

- Bought a Westone 4  - very impressed with the new toy, very balanced.

- Shure se425 - loved its fit and neutral signature

- TF10 (loved it so much I got two pairs)

- Purchased my first pair of headphones DT880 Pro - I realised that headphones are way better than IEMs so this is the time when I stopped getting IEMs $100+

- Amp: Go-Vibe Peak to drive the beasts

- bought the UE700

- Listened to 10+ headphones at addicted2audio and am wowed by the DT880 Premium 600 Ohm (they sound so different to the Pros), HD600 and the one and only HD800.

- DT880 Premium 600 Ohms - Yeap, I got them. Goodbye Pros!

- ADDIEM - a "clean sounding baby IEM". Nuff said.

- Purchased the SRH940 and returned them due to a massive bass hole.

- purchased the HD600 - no regrets at all, they compliment the DT880. Classical beast.

- HTF600 is on the way - figured I would need fun headphones soon + they cost almost nothing.

 

Out of all those purchases, here are the survivors:

- DT880 Premium

- HD600

- UE700

 

Oh and the adventure started just months ago when I started foruming in Head-Fi. I'm done with headphones/IEMs and is very happy with what I currently have.

 

Possible purchases in 2012

- Better DAC / amp

- HD800 

- MS1i - I trust Brooko's recommendation

- Grados? - unexplored territory

 

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post #5 of 21
12/13/11 at 10:32pm

It was a great year in audio and I didn't buy anything!  I spent lots and lots and lots of time listening.

 

You could call it the payoff.  :)

 

A few things have crept in and might force me to spend, though.  I still want a JH13.  The new Shure open flagship has my attention.  Then rumor has it Sennheiser has a new pair coming; who knows what it is?  But a new high-end Sennheiser would very much interest me considering my feelings for the HD-800.

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post #6 of 21
12/13/11 at 10:42pm

@nikp: Oh my, I just realised you've only been here since August. Heckuva post count you've racked up in that short time!

Do try getting a good tube amp for the 880. I've mucked around with entry level SS for years (Edge, MavAudio D1, Tascam mixer, M-Audio interface), but since I got my friend to build me an Aikido everything just sounds right. I do think I'm losing a bit of details and the highs are slightly rolled off, but know what? None of it really matters.

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post #7 of 21
12/13/11 at 10:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric_C View Post

@nikp: Oh my, I just realised you've only been here since August. Heckuva post count you've racked up in that short time!

Do try getting a good tube amp for the 880. I've mucked around with entry level SS for years (Edge, MavAudio D1, Tascam mixer, M-Audio interface), but since I got my friend to build me an Aikido everything just sounds right. I do think I'm losing a bit of details and the highs are slightly rolled off, but know what? None of it really matters.


Yea, I might have posted too much. I'm not too familiar with tube amps - advantages, maintenance, life span - and I'm still researching. It's a bit absurd that tube amps cost more than the headphone itself. tongue.gif

 

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post #8 of 21
12/13/11 at 10:55pm

^ Haha, if you own the headphone for a year or so it doesn't matter as much. If I was buying pre-built, I'd just stick with the one amp that's been recommended for years for the DT880: the Bottlehead Crack

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post #9 of 21
12/13/11 at 10:58pm

I bought boatloads of music and added at least 100 CDs to my collection, if not more than that.

 

Some of the major gear that I bought:

 

- Headphones: Audeze LCD-2 r2, Senn HD800, Stax SR-507....and the V-Moda M-80, Creative Aurvana Live, Sony MDR-ZX700, Etymotic HF5, & PureSound ClarityOne

- Amps: HeadAmp KGSS and silver GS-X (technically arrived in Dec 2010 though), Schiit Lyr

 

I attended only 2 meets this year though, down from 7 that I attended in 2010. I did however go on 5 out-of-state trips for fun to balance things out. tongue.gif

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post #10 of 21
12/14/11 at 12:25am

To much money gone especially in the last 3 months.

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post #11 of 21
12/14/11 at 9:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bcasey25raptor View Post

To much money gone especially in the last 3 months.


Unfortunately, this:

 

October 2011:

 

-Audio Technica ATH-M50

-Denon AH-D2000

-Beyerdynamic DT 880 250 ohm

-Fiio E7

-Fiio E9

 

November 2011:

 

-AKG K702

-Beyerdynamic T1

-SOHA II hybrid amp

-HRT MS II

 

December 2011:

 

-Meier Corda Concerto

 


Still have the bolded items but man, did I sink into audio gear quickly.  At the start, I debated for quite a few days on whether or not I should spend $160 on the M-50s.  It's been a wild 3 months and I look forward to the coming year on Head-Fi.

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post #12 of 21
12/14/11 at 9:42am

I sold absolutely everything... started over (see profile)

 

Now I thinking of selling some of that to simplify even further. (getting rid of home DAC already, and maybe home amp too)

 

Simple has made me happier. 


Edited by markkr - 12/14/11 at 9:43am
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post #13 of 21
12/14/11 at 4:15pm

Let's see...

 

-bought an X-Fi Forte (specifically to move an X-Fi Prelude to an older desktop while not depriving my flagship of a competent sound card)

-traded the X-Fi Forte for an X-Fi Titanium HD

-bought a vintage Stax Lambda and SRD-7/SB

-bought a Panasonic HTF600

-bought a Stax SR-202 and SRM-212 (along with a step-down transformer for the SRM-212's adapter)

-just bought a JVC/Victor SU-DH1

 

-sold the Audio-Technica AD700

 

This place isn't good for my financial sense. I even sold some really high-end flight sim gear just to afford the SR-202 and SRM-212. Still, this year marks the time I started learning about electrostatics and that delightful sound they present.

 

As for what 2012 will bring...probably more funds from selling the vintage Lambda system (assuming it doesn't get sold before year's end), and maybe another Lambda (Nova Signature?) or an amp. That'll probably be the year where I'll finally get to upgrading my PC some more, thus less money for splurging on headphones. (As if I need to go farther beyond the point of diminishing returns...)

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post #14 of 21
12/14/11 at 5:45pm
Thread Starter 

Wow.. some pretty awesome equipment here.. Auditioned the LCD-2's at a HeadFi meet.. lust.. Anyway, would love to have a year of 'just listening and enjoying' but there's too much out there to try and enjoy.  I'm hoping that for me, next year will be a little lighter on the wallet.

Listen well! M

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post #15 of 21
12/14/11 at 5:58pm

Well I only became interested in good headphones this year so I guess I can describe my journey. I had Ultimate Ears Superfi 4s and thought they were pretty good, but the longer I had them the more I noticed their flaws so I decided that it was time to upgrade. Not wanting to just spend money on a shot in the dark I actually got to a head-fi meet in March. That was tough because there was everything from Grado SR-60s to Stax SR-007 MkIIs. Having no experience it was definitely difficult to differentiate performance to value and I initially only had a budget of $500. Tons of fun and glad I went, ended up deciding on a Beyerdynamic DT990 and an appropriate amp. So I saved up some money, scoured the For Sale forum and in the span of about two months grabbed:

 

Sennheiser HD251-II

Phonak PBE 022

Beyerdynamic DT990/600

AKG K701

HRT Music Streamer II+

Schiit Lyr

 

Doubled my budget, but have been very happy for the last half year. I also tried the AKG K601, but sold it. Went to another meet so that I could listen to the high-end stuff and appreciate it more, though the prices are still out of my range. Next year I'd like to upgrade and simplify a bit. Would like the Vsonic GR07 and maybe the V-Moda M80 for portable stuff. Between the two headphones they pretty much cover any genre, but I would also like to find a single headphone that is good for everything within my price range and stick with just that. Looking forward to the new Shures coming out, (and maybe a new Senn?) and might go with a solid-state amp.

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