Are High-End Headphones Addictive?

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif They can be very addictive but I like the older, cheaper models just a much the big shots. People who listen to headphones are also as a whole, much more down to earth then out speaker counterparts and that's what makes this hobby fun.

People like to call me a liar (amongst other things) when I say I prefer the older, cheaper models to the latest expensive FOTM. Headphone loonies can be just as elitist as speaker loonies.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif People like to call me a liar (amongst other things) when I say I prefer the older, cheaper models to the latest expensive FOTM. Headphone loonies can be just as elitist as speaker loonies.

The older models (especially pre-digital) sound very different to the current models and it is the same with speakers. The older models have their charm but the newer TOTL are better at the end of the day.

Headphone nuts are more open minded and don't get dragged down in the endless flamewars about cables, magic rocks, magic clocks and others like it. Here it is common knowledge that cables matter and upgrading caps and resistors will improve the sound. The endless FOTM craziness here is a bit tiring though

 

[3x331m]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitz /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not addictive at all.

It's true... when you don't need air, water, and food.... what's cans are for ?

 

[smeggy]

It's funny but here I am sitting next to my K1000 rig listening to Pandora in ternet radio on a handheld PC with a pea-sized speaker that sounds horrid. Sometimes I guess I just don't care what it sounds like, it's the music that counts most

 

[adanac061]

It's not just headphones...once you go amp ...you don't go back.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif The older models (especially pre-digital) sound very different to the current models and it is the same with speakers. The older models have their charm but the newer TOTL are better at the end of the day. Headphone nuts are more open minded and don't get dragged down in the endless flamewars about cables, magic rocks, magic clocks and others like it. Here it is common knowledge that cables matter and upgrading caps and resistors will improve the sound. The endless FOTM craziness here is a bit tiring though

This isn't the humour thread.

 

[thrice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif The endless FOTM craziness here is a bit tiring though

Sometimes I feel this wouldn't be so bad if we actually got a new headphone from manufacturers more often. But when 2006 is the year of the K701, K601 and GS1000....what can you do?

Senn hasn't put out anything is a long time. Sure there have been some IEMs, but they're not full sized cans. And does anyone here even remember when a new electrostatic headphone hit the market?

On topic: Yes, in my Chez lounge with my dog...headphones and some good tunes are almost better than my hammock and headphone/good tunes:

 

[porschemad911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blinx /img/forum/go_quote.gif the real headphone addiction test is to stop using your hifi for a week. and listen to crappy stuff like ibuds and my car stereo. if you cant handle it and you cant last a week, then you are addicted

*sigh of relief* Phew! I guess I'm not addicted then. I just love the music. Whether it's listening with stock buds on some dodgey MP3 player, through an onboard sound card, my stock car audio system in my '98 MR2 or my (a lot) better portable setup or my (hugely) better home setup, I'm not fussed. I just love the music.

I think that's why I must intensely dislike cans with too much bass! It gets in the way of my music!

 

[Duggeh]

Being lucky enough to have the Omega 2, Ergo AMT, TakeT H2 and JVC DX1000 here at the same time, I'd give a definite and resounding yes to the high end headphone addiction.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif Being lucky enough to have the Omega 2, Ergo AMT, TakeT H2 and JVC DX1000 here at the same time, I'd give a definite and resounding yes to the high end headphone addiction.

I think you transcend addiction, what with you floating in the clouds surrounded by esoteric headphones and all. I can only dream to achieve such high levels one day.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thrice /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sometimes I feel this wouldn't be so bad if we actually got a new headphone from manufacturers more often. But when 2006 is the year of the K701, K601 and GS1000....what can you do? Senn hasn't put out anything is a long time. Sure there have been some IEMs, but they're not full sized cans. And does anyone here even remember when a new electrostatic headphone hit the market? On topic: Yes, in my Chez lounge with my dog...headphones and some good tunes are almost better than my hammock and headphone/good tunes:

Though they can be a bit tiresome it's always fun to see the fallout of the FOTM insanity. People buying in mass and then selling them again without really giving them the chance they deserve and then moving onto the next target. I remember some weird ones back in the day with JVC (I think) phones that were covered in mold and dirt when people received them. Still they were a hit...

The newest stat is the 4070 and I was just starting this insane journey when they were released. I don't dare to think about the FOTM insanity that would hit Head-fi is Stax came out with something new and radically different...

Btw. Beautiful dog. It was a challenge to listen to headphones when my bunny was alive. He was a bit too interested in the cables for my liking...

 

[jsaliga]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cotdt /img/forum/go_quote.gif high-end gear makes the music more addictive. at least i think so.

High-end gear makes you addicted to buying even more high-end gear.

--Jerome

 

[kool bubba ice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music065 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is the interaction of quality headphones/iems and the human body kind of like drugs, in that our body quickly develops a tolerance to it, and it keeps taking more and more to give us that "high?" Anyone else had the experience that: you used to feel so great listening to your low-end equipment, but after you had a chance to try some better stuff for a significant length of time, your lower-end stuff not only no longer made you feel good like it used to, but it almost seemed unbearable to listen to, would give you a headache, etc? It makes one wonder. What if one was stuck on an island or something and they had to listen to their lower-end stuff forever, and never were exposed to higher end equipment? Perhaps the lower end equipment would keep giving them that great feeling forever, as long as they weren't exposed to more quality equipment? I used to feel a natural high when I listened to my Sony Walkman & buds in the mid 90s. But then something better came along that I started to use, and then the Walkman no longer got me high. Same thing happened just recently. Had the Creative eps630 iems, and they made me feel great when I listened to music. After my friend let me borrow his UM1's they got me high, and the eps630 no longer did anything for me. I had to buy some UM1s. Then I got turned onto some Superfi.5Pros, and now they will give me that natural high, but the UM1s don't do much for me. None of the former iems above will do much for me now, when I try to revert back to them. Human physiology is interesting. Anyone else had this strange experience of owning equipment that you used to really really enjoy listening to, but now its almost unbearable to listen to and actually gives you a headache, etc?

You aren't being serious are you?
So people think headphones are addictive & we are 'addicts'? No.. A true addict will do anything to get their fix.. How far would YOU go to get some quality headphones..& there are no physical withdrawl symptoms or 12 step programs.

 

[Fitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif You aren't being serious are you? So people think headphones are addictive & we are 'addicts'? No.. A true addict will do anything to get their fix.. How far would YOU go to get some quality headphones..& there are no physical withdrawl symptoms or 12 step programs.

Spoken like someone who hasn't seen what happens when a Head-Fier falls on hard times. Not a pretty sight, let me tell you that. The things they'll do to get their fix... absolutely degrading.

 

[neilvg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kool bubba ice /img/forum/go_quote.gif You aren't being serious are you? So people think headphones are addictive & we are 'addicts'? No.. A true addict will do anything to get their fix.. How far would YOU go to get some quality headphones..& there are no physical withdrawal symptoms or 12 step programs.

Most headphone listeners are music lovers (most). So really we are addicted to listening to our music with perhaps finer and finer instruments of reproduction. The true test would be to take away the music completely. I for one would lose it after a few weeks. But alas, all I need to do to abate the withdrawal is start humming to myself and singing in my head, etc... In fact I've noticed that when I stop listening to headphones, I actually become quite a bit more creative musically since, well, in reality the music never stops! Whether it is internalized and created by myself, or listened to externally, at some point it doesn't matter, I just love music (and the effects / feelings it produces in me).

Better headphones are like better drugs. An addict will choose anything if the best isn't available, but its not the drugs they are addicted to, it is the effect produced by the drugs (so here the corollary would be the effect of music and the feelings it produces I for one cannot seem to reproduce some of the states that listening to good music imparts in any other way). I believe a lot of people confuse this. They think drugs themselves are inherently addictive. Not really. It's just that if you take a shot of heroin, the experience you get is something that most people would not ordinarily experience. If you get addicted to this effect, you might find that the only way to reproduce it is by doing more heroin. It's sad, but I feel it is true. That is why one way to help abate the addiction to drugs is by finding some very legitimate ways to get high in non-self destructive ways...

...like music! Although my ears at times would disagree.

Neil