[lindrone]

I bought both my Shure E2c (from some reviews on iPodLounge) and Shure E5c blind... I also bought my ATH-A900 blind... Oh wait, the HD590 was blind too.

Seems like I haven't owned a pair of headphone that wasn't a blind purchase. Not like I didn't have a chance to audition other headphones, but I bought the E5 and E2 when I was just getting into Head-Fi. A900 & HD590 both turned out to be what I expected based on reviews and feedbacks on Head-Fi.

So far it's worked out pretty well for be, but I've got the chance since then, to try out of plenty other headphones as well.

I've never bought an amp blindly though, I always had a chance to listen to amp/source before I decided to purchase them.

 

[gpalmer]

I've pretty much bought all of mine blind, but usually they've also been used so I could dump them without losing money if need be...

 

[TheMuffinMan_01]

everything i currently own

i have auditioned my soon to be hd580's though.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

I've also bought mainly blind, having only auditioned the HD600 before buying it (otherwise I may never have bought it, based on the descriptions of it here).

Bought blind:
HD590
DT770
SR325

All of which I liked a lot, at least until I found something better

 

[aphex944]

Goes to show you how helpful reviews and opinions on this forum are. I based my DT 880 purchase on what was said here, and was very satisfied

 

[Chinchy]

Everything I have was bought blind, but given the appropriate amount of research into other people's opinions.

Grado SR-60 started it all, pre-head-fi.
Audio Technica ATH-M40fs
KSC-35
Sony Eggo D-66
SR-225
SR-100
HP-2
Ety 4P

Actually for that matter, my cables, amps, sources were all bought blind too. What can I say, I'm a lemming.

Out of these, the only one I really regret buying is the Eggo D66. Sigh.

 

[bubsdaddy]

All of my headphone purchases have been blind. A decent method for me appears to be find a few reviewers/frequent posters who's tastes mirror my own. I then give a little more weight to their thoughts on phones.

 

[Jasper994]

I've bought serveral headphones blind as well. I think the thing to do is to try and get advise from people that seem to have similar taste for headphones as you do. Since a lot of people here have serveral pairs (or have owned many) it's fairly easy to judge if someone's opinion will be useful to you. For example, if you were considering the HD590 and someone that liked the Senn house sound (580/600) told you they were bright but they didn't own any Grado headphones you might consider that they prefer a headphone that is more laid back and less edgy. If someone likes very bassy headphones tells you a headphone has no bass, you might consider that the bass might be neutral rather than boosted. So the thing to do would be to continue asking and see if there are opposing opinions. Then try to make associations, you should be able to guess fairly close as to what a headphone will sound like. I think that you'll find if a headphone is really bad it is generally hated by everyone (or nearly everyone) here.

Another good example would be the HD280 Pro if you read between the lines of people that bash them and the complements that they get you'll probably figure out that they don't have a ton of bass but the bass isn't really "missing" and that they are very analytical if not slightly warm. They have fairly good positioning for gaming and movie watching but the soundstage is not huge like some other headphones. They're also very durable but the coiled cord can be a large pain in the ass.

 

[Mr.PD]

I have bought everything I own "blind"
I only have two regrets, that total to about 40 bucks wasted. I figure I aint doin too bad.
The two pairs of phones I got that weren't good were ones that nobody here had tried. A couple cheap AT clip ons.

Now, if I can just find a review of those AT EW-9's

 

[D-EJ915]

I've gotten...everything blind :-D, especially since 3 of my things are Japan-Only models...lol (A500, D66, Q55Sl Black-Solid)

 

[john_jcb]

Being able to buy blind with some confidence is one of the big advantages of being a Head-Fi member. If you are willing to do a little research you can find reviews of headphones you can listen to. If you then find a reviewer that hears things similar to the way you hear them you can buy with a little more assurance that you will like what you get.

It takes a bit of time and reading but you really can reduce the risk. This also works for sources, interconnects and amps and is extremely important as the price reaches a level that is significant for you.

 

[Chefguru]

Don't you mean deaf?

 

[strohmie]

I always buy headphones with no prior knowledge of what they sound like. I have yet to attend any meets thus far, and unfortunately there aren't many good local audio stores to audition headphones. So I'm basically stuck buying blind, which is why I exclusively buy used phones. Much much cheaper if I don't like them to sell them back.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Here's an idea of what I've bought/auditioned:

Senn HD600 - never heard before buying
AT W1000 - never heard before buying
Sony CD3000- listened to them for about 5 minutes before buying
Stax SR404 - never heard before buying
Stax Omega II - never heard before buying

 

[wallijonn]

This is the place to head to first when joiningg head-fi:

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=13854

the review section is nice, but a mini review area would be better (what the above was intentioned for. unfortunately personal comments were added).