[MuppetFace]

Quote:

Let us know how they work. I've thought back and forth on Omega-style stands before but my concern always comes back to whether they're heavy enough to keep from flipping over when trying to hang the headphones on 'em (or take 'em off).

 
By biggest concern over the Omegas is that they stretch some headphones do to their shape. Ideally I'd like one with a broader top which would be better suited for a lot of headband types. Still, it's an improvement over the Stax-type block stands which stretch headbands even worse and the wire-type that cause indentions.

 

[ardgedee]

Yeah. I actually have a crocheted cushion on my rack. The two current in-use headphones rest on that while everything else is stored away.

I've seen criticisms that this is for the ear cushions, on those headphones that close enough to press them against each other. I think that's a bit hair-splitty, at least for headphones that don't have an extremely aggressive clamping force. There's ultimately no perfect way to store these things; my main concern is that it's not as attractive as having them on a stand.

I'd have to use a Woo-style stand for the CD 3000, though. The leather on those phones are already a lost cause, but it's still valid to worry about an Omega-style stand stretching out the coiled springs that retract the head cushion strap.

 

[Vuroth]

Quote:

On a completely unrelated audio note are there any Doctor Who fans in the house?

 
I am a fan, but alas can not help.
 
Quote:

 
Ever consider getting into "summit-fi" via portables?

 
Wasn't aimed at me, but I would assume full cans would be a cheaper, more reasonable path.  I use my IEMs on the bus, but they have to compete with a ton of rumble and background noise from the bus and traffic.  Seems like a less than ideal environment.
 
When I listen for fun, it's usually sitting at my pc, with closed headphones.  I can totally see upgrading, though due to marital considerations I'd probably have to stay with a closed setup.
 
Quote:

Yeah I can imagine Steam being a culprit for a lot of folks that should be doing better at school than they are. 

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

Wasn't aimed at me, but I would assume full cans would be a cheaper, more reasonable path.
 

 
Actually, in my experience the opposite is true.
 
There's a misconception that IEMs are going to always sound inferior to similarly priced full-sized headphones, and that's just not true. If anything, $200 will get you better sound in the IEM world than with their larger counterparts. As you move up the ranks into summit-fi the gap closes, however. Seems like $1k headphones and IEMs are pretty close in many cases. Like most things in this hobby, it comes down to preference as each form factor has its respective strengths and weaknesses. IEMs do some things better. Headphones others.
 
However IEMs tend to be cheaper overall because they require less upstream. You can get some CIEMs and a DAP that will perform on part with headphones and an amp for double the price.

 

[ardgedee]

Yup. $3-4,000 is around the maximum budget possible for an end-game portable headphone system, end-to-end -- you can spend more, but mostly on the cosmetic attributes rather than the signal chain.

That wouldn't be enough for either an amp or a headphone in a home system, nevermind a complete home system.

(This mental exercise assumes more dollars inherently mean more quality. Which isn't true. Let's roll with the conceit for the moment and quibble about it later.)

Of course, since high-end portable audio is becoming the new hotness, the madness is slowly encroaching. Expect more announcements of >$3,000 in-ear monitors and $2,000 portable amps and so on.

 

[ardgedee]

I kind of pulled those numbers out of a hat, but after thinking a little, I don't think I'm too far off...

Most expensive IEMs I can think of are in the $2k range (eg, UE PRM) -- the Monets might be more, I can't recall, but I don't think they're up to $3k.
Most expensive headamp I can think of is $800 (Triad)
There aren't many portable DACs, and they're mostly in the $500 range (CLAS) -- the CLAS -dB costs more, I guess.
Source hardware is mostly in the $500 range or less -- there are plenty of more expensive ones, but the premium goes towards the DAC and headphone amp, circumventing the need for a headamp and portable DAC. This is going to change sooner or later but I'm sticking with that number for now.

So: $3800. Roll in some specialty cables and you might hit $4,500 -- unless you completely lose your mind and hire somebody to make you a bunch of piccolino interconnects and headphone cables.

 

[jgray91]

OH Tyll covered the nice metal-and-lambskin headphones on CES here http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/ces-2013-aedle

This one:

Another new headphone....

Aëdle VK-1 Valkyrie ​

 

[eke2k6]

The bestest thing ever just happened to me. 
 
I was in a pawn shop trying to sell an old watch, when I spotted a lonely Beyer DT880 in a corner display. It was kinda dirty, and the pads were lifeless, but all it needed was a good cleaning.
 
An hour later, I have $225 in my pocket, plus a new pair of awesome headphones!

 

[KevinWolf]

Quote:

I kind of pulled those numbers out of a hat, but after thinking a little, I don't think I'm too far off...

Most expensive IEMs I can think of are in the $2k range (eg, UE PRM) -- the Monets might be more, I can't recall, but I don't think they're up to $3k.
Most expensive headamp I can think of is $800 (Triad)
There aren't many portable DACs, and they're mostly in the $500 range (CLAS) -- the CLAS -dB costs more, I guess.
Source hardware is mostly in the $500 range or less -- there are plenty of more expensive ones, but the premium goes towards the DAC and headphone amp, circumventing the need for a headamp and portable DAC. This is going to change sooner or later but I'm sticking with that number for now.

So: $3800. Roll in some specialty cables and you might hit $4,500 -- unless you completely lose your mind and hire somebody to make you a bunch of piccolino interconnects and headphone cables.

I'll do a small list here:
 
Grab the iBasso DX100 and you have already $830 player, if you want you can get a nice amplifier and it can go up to $700~800.
There you go for the IEMs, the SE 5-way are about 1700 usd, the PRM is 2k and the PP6 and FitEar options are about 2300 usd.
 
The DX100 + an $800 amp + PRM are already $3630, if you go and get a FitEar and get their 000 cable, its $4230...and dont forget shipping and audiologist costs!
Now add the ridiculously expensive Reference 8 mini-to-mini cable for more $265 and you already hit the 4,5k mark.

 

[MrViolin]

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Some news on the JVC DX2000:
 
 

 
 
Apparently the cups aren't matte black as in JVC's renders, but rather a dark red wine color? They look lacquered. TH900 on the left, DX2000 on the right.
 
Someone who has heard them purports the sound is an improvement over the DX1000.

dark wine color is from the reflection :3

 

[Maxvla]

I'll do a small list here:

Grab the iBasso DX100 and you have already $830 player, if you want you can get a nice amplifier and it can go up to $700~800.

There you go for the IEMs, the SE 5-way are about 1700 usd, the PRM is 2k and the PP6 and FitEar options are about 2300 usd.

The DX100 + an $800 amp + PRM are already $3630, if you go and get a FitEar and get their 000 cable, its $4230...and dont forget shipping and audiologist costs!
Now add the ridiculously expensive Reference 8 mini-to-mini cable for more $265 and you already hit the 4,5k mark.

Now add $700 and you'll have yourself a Sr009 you can't do anything with.

Ah the differences between home and portable summit-fi.

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

dark wine color is from the reflection :3

 
Yes, I see the reflection of the TH900 in the gloss cups. I was referring to the cups themselves which remind me of the black mamba shells Heir uses (dark purple-red to the point of being almost black) in certain shots. It's hard to determine the actual color of things on a monitor, though under direct non-ambient lighting they seem lacquer-black, which still differs from the matte black look of JVC's official renders.

 

[jgray91]

Every time I glanced at any one of Dsnut's Hype Train-thread 9001S MK.XII I felt tired of mind and let out a sigh. I wonder why.

 

[MuppetFace]

Quote:

I'll do a small list here:
 
Grab the iBasso DX100 and you have already $830 player, if you want you can get a nice amplifier and it can go up to $700~800.
There you go for the IEMs, the SE 5-way are about 1700 usd, the PRM is 2k and the PP6 and FitEar options are about 2300 usd.
 
The DX100 + an $800 amp + PRM are already $3630, if you go and get a FitEar and get their 000 cable, its $4230...and dont forget shipping and audiologist costs!
Now add the ridiculously expensive Reference 8 mini-to-mini cable for more $265 and you already hit the 4,5k mark.

 
 
The whole point of getting a DX100 is that it's an all-in-one solution, hence it being the size of a brick. Why would you get an additional amp? The external one suffices. However even if you wanted an external amp, $800 for a portable amp is ridiculous. The Leckerton UHA-6S is $350 and you'd be hard pressed to see huge gains over its performance without sacrificing portability. You've also listed the most expensive CIEMs around. The UERM is still summit-fi grade and costs under a grand. The JH16 Pro Freq-Phase is around $1300. The FitEar TO GO! 334, one of the best universals ever made, is $1300. A reference 8 cable? Unnecessary. Stuff from BTG is much less and just as good I bet.
 
So here's my more reasonable take:
 
Sony F806 Player: $300
Leckerton UHA-6S: $350
FitEar TO GO! 334 or JH16Pro Freq-Phase + shipping and audiologist costs: $1300
 
Which comes out to under $2000 and is most definitely summit-fi.

 

[MrViolin]

Quote:

 
Yes, I see the reflection of the TH900 in the gloss cups. I was referring to the cups themselves which remind me of the black mamba shells Heir uses (dark purple-red to the point of being almost black) in certain shots. It's hard to determine the actual color of things on a monitor, though under direct non-ambient lighting they seem lacquer-black, which still differs from the matte black look of JVC's official renders.

Looked at heir's color and I know what you mean now! yeah, and it looks better imo with the gloss! I thought all black + matte would be going beyond clean cut to too plain. I think this would be a first for me seeing a high tier circum aural phone w/ that dark red/purple color if that's the case :0