How did you become an audiophile? - Page 2

i started with listening to music and thinking that it would be more enjoyable if i have an good IEM to listen to it because i usually use an IEM that come free with an game that i purchase.  so the next day i went into some shop and the guy recommend me the sennheiser IE7 based on my budget. after that i become hooked to head-fi until now.

I am not an audiophile.

I am a musician that likes listening to music. ;)

With that said, I have been through many speakers in my life.

Started with Magnepan's 1.6QR, and the last system I have (currently just not installed due to not having a house and in an apartment, I would get evicted quickly ;) ) Is a Klispch Ultra THX 2 package with 2 subs.

For in ears. my first set where a set of Monster Miles Davis Tribute IEM. I used to work for best buy Corporate so the Price was not retail. I ended up losing them to someone that wanted them more than me.

(I was one of the engineers that worked on the Rocketboost products for the Exclusive brands section of Best buy ;) )

I wouldn't call myself an audiophile but I started by looking for speakers for my computer and then eventually realizing I wanted headphones. My first head-fi related headphone purchase was the Sennheiser HD25-1 and loved it so much that I decided to go through with the purchases. Then along came the Koss, the Grados, and now the Denon D2000s. Working my way up to an LCD-2 but I have temporarily stopped ever since.

My dad.  As far back as I can remember, he's always had amps, preamps, and nice speakers.  Records players and CDs too.  I spent a lot of time hanging out in hi-fi shops with him.  I didn't get the bug as a kid, but about the time I hit 16 years old I saved up for my first nice stereo.  I've been tinkering with audio gear ever since.  :) 

I don't think I can qualify as a real audiophile but I'm about mid-fi gear wise and really enjoy analytical listening.

In early high school, I was using $30 dollar IEM's because I couldn't stand crappy ear buds. Then I got a pair of Bose in ears as a present and I actually started analytically listening to the music, separating out the different instruments and such. That endorphin high you get when closing your eyes and being sucked into the music was amazing. I did band for 6 years so I guess I had more appreciation for it than most people.

Next step was kilpsch s4 I bought in high school. A year into college and after a purchase of the beats solos (immediately returned) I stumbled into these forums and quickly bought a m50 with e7 with money I got back from the return.

Aaaand there goes my wallet---->

bose in ear (broken)

klipsh s4(broken)

solos (returned)

m50s (sold)

e7(sold)

e9 (SOMEONE PLEASE BUY IT OFF ME)

AKG701

HD598 (sold)

Fostex T50rp (sold)

XB500(returned)

klipsh s4 (as a replacement)

NFB5

m50s/LE

(to be continued)

PS: I agree bose and monster products are way overpriced and not very good in the sq department but they got me into head-fi so its not all too bad

My story is quite simple. Ever since I first heard my AD-700, using my home theater receiver as a DAC/amp, things just changed forever. I was finally hearing...everything. Every frequency seemed to reside at its own level, instead of mixing and muddling with others.

And from then on, I wanted this level of clarity or nothing at all.

...And later on, I got my Klipsch speakers, which punched the AD-700 in the face.

Went on headfi to find a replacement for my trusty sennheiser hd280s, and less than a year later, I have a full-blown magnepan setup in my living room.

I am not a classical audiophile, not a gear collecter or not a "my gears beat your gears" man. I am listening music since 1985, till the day never give up.

Simply I love music and reliable sources/mediums. I love talking about recordings and playback philosophies. I try to experiance live listenings/concerts and try to build my sense of Hi-Fi reality.

I also tried some equipments both for Hi-Fi and Head-Fi listed below.

PrimaLuna Prolouge 2

Hegel HD25 DAC

Lead Audio La-100

Jadis Orchestra Referance

PMC OB-1

Def. Tech Studio Monitor 450 and BP8

Sflo2

HM-602

Rocoo Studio, BA and Power

PFE 111

CK10

AKG K601

SM3

Grado RA-1 and SR225i

etc. etc...

I don't consider myself an audiophile. I doubt I will ever be one.

So here's my little story

I got the Munitio Billet as a gift, it sound awesome, the bass was loud and the music sounded great.

I wanted to step it up, but the only brand I knew about was beats, so I went and spent $500 on a beats tour and beats pro. My wife got very angry......  very angry.

They sound good, yes to me the beats sounds good when EQ to your preference, especially the pro. Not $400 good though.

A few weeks later I stopped buy a guitar store with a friend and saw a pair of audio technica (I think it was the 700 something), I tried them and they blew me away.

Came home and research headphones, all google search kept leading me here, so I joined and bought my Pioneer HDJ500 based on Dsnuts's review. And a FiiO e6.

I can't buy expensive headphones because I don't want the wife angry and I don't want to make the "beats" mistake, so I'm slowly working my way up.

I just bought the Panasonic HTF600. 

Here's my list of phones to buy in order. I should have all this by the end of the year.

1- ATH WS55i

2- ATH M50

3- Pioneer HDJ2000

4- The headphones that lead me here, the Audio Technica PRO700mk2

5- A portable amp, not sure which one yet, maybe the E7.  Just bought a FiiO E11 from a fellow head-fi'er.

All this happened in the last 2 months.

I've never taken headphones seriously until now. I used to think people who buy headphones that cost $50 or more are crazy, now look at me.

Always listened to music with cans in my youth, I had some old RatShack's that the ear pads started to peel and cable broke...

I moved onto some Sony's MDR-XD300... didn't sound bad (didn't know any different) just looked bad...

Over at a friends house I listened to his Denon HP700's and wanted more.

Then I found Head-Fi... Much reading and drooling and reading later, I decided new cans were needed! A shiny new set of Ultrasone HFI-780's landed on my doorstep from B&H, and what a world of difference from those Sony's. The quest has begun! 

I need some Grado's and some Senn's and some Beyer's and some... and some... 

I had a 20 dollar radioshack headset for which I communicated on fps games over psn.  It broke apart and I thought it'd be nice to have a headset I could use to listen to music on top of communicating and listening to game sounds, so I bought a turtle beach.  It was only because of its lack of comfort that I was led down the inevitable path that is canophilia.

I owned a pair of hd202's about twelve years ago. They had pretty much been worn to the bare metal frame. I didn't want to spend any more on headphones but knew that they had to be replaced. Then a friend gave me a pair of the hd280's as a gift. I was blown away by the improvement in SQ. So then I thought...hmmm, if the 280's sound this good I wonder how much better a pair of hp's could sound. And so it began.

I was born into from my dad.  My first stereo for my room was some hand me downs: McMintosh Integrated amp, Rega turntable, and JBL 3 speakers.  I was in the first grade.  I was the person in college with Magneplan speakers and a 200 watt amp.

My first pair of headphones was a pair of Grado 60s.  I moving full time into headphones now that I three small children which makes it really hard to use my loudspeaker based system.

I grew up in a household of hi-fi stereo lovers.  Used to get dragged down to a local store called RogerSound Labs for hours on end.  Before you know it, you get used to a certain standard in sound quality.  Since I live a more mobile lifestyle than my ancestors, this translates into cans for me.  Remember this lesson folks, good audio begins in the home.

My dad had a decent NAD/B&W stereo that he loved while I was growing up, so while I didn't hear a lot of different equipment I at least got to hear the difference between stuff like ****ty computer speakers and a good stereo, and always preferred the good sound.

Then I was able to inherit an old Technics system (receiver/amp and some floorstanding speakers) which was okay, but I would forever be comparing it to my Dad's system which was far better.  It then started off with me purchasing some new parts for that system, and then deciding headphones were a better choice because I could listen at a decent volume at night without disturbing people.  So my first step was going to JB HiFi and fortunately, not walking out with beats for my $200, but rather just their overpriced Senn HD 515s.  I knew enough then to realise Senn were an 'audiophile' brand, just nothing about headphones or how that model wasn't really worth it.

But those lasted a few years, and then I decided that now I have a bit more money I'd get a semi-decent head-fi setup.  I now have an Arcam FMJ CD-23T and DacMagic as sources going into a Little Dot Mk1+ and have a Grado RS1i and Beyerdynamic T70 for my open/closed headphone needs.