[Scarred Taka]

Sigh...

I'd been doing do well. Left here 2 years ago with a pair of DT-880's, and DT 250's. Found their sound amazing, and loved the way they sounded with the type of music that I listened to.

I'm happy with my setup and the way it sounds with the type of music I listen to. It's all good.

Fast forward 2 years. Off to college, and the DT 880's are not with me, due to a incident on a plane that broke my DT 250's headband, in 2 places.

As the 880's are 2003 models, I don't want them broken, so they stay at home, for now. Anyway, got by on some higher end Sony's and Senn. PX 100's.

Found that my musical tastes did a quick 180 degree turn to encompass rock and metal, and many other new sounds.

Recently, I sold off a laptop I never use for a cool grand. Was planning to use the funds to build a new desktop. However, I have had trouble justifying the purchase. My current desktop works well enough. I found that all I was trying to do was justify something I really don't think I need. Sure, it would be faster, but my current desktop does everything I want it to do. A new desktop would just speed up the process.

So, I turned to audio. I recently upgraded my speaker setup, but have been lacking in the headphone department. A bit of browsing of the forums here solved that fairly quickly.

In the past 48 hours, I have purchased...

A pair of AKG K271 Mk II's
A FiiO E3 Amplifier (An experiment really, but one I couldn't refuse for the price)
A pair of Grado SR-60i's.
And $150 worth of rock and metal albums.

Obviously what this tells me, is that I was far overdue for an installment of head-fi, and that small, regular doses may be a better proposition for my wallet.

I'll likely be posting impressions once everything arrives.

-ST

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Ouch! I've been spending money like a madman myself. An ExactPower EP15a, SP15a, $250 worth of music, and $160 in power cords.

Amazing at is may seem - this acted like aversion therapy and cured me. The music now sounds so good I just listen to it for hour after hour. Now to disappear once again...

 

[dave650]

Please please try the HD580s for rock and metal. Guns n Roses piani on songs like "Breakdown" are simply loveable.
Garage days rerevisited has THE most natural sounding, and tastily compressed drums I will ever hear in my life. In "helpless, before the solo, the snare goes tatatatata ching ching ching ching, and the hits are soooo hard, as to pierce my ear while I wait.

 

[Scarred Taka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave650 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Please please try the HD580s for rock and metal. Guns n Roses piani on songs like "Breakdown" are simply loveable. Garage days rerevisited has THE most natural sounding, and tastily compressed drums I will ever hear in my life. In "helpless, before the solo, the snare goes tatatatata ching ching ching ching, and the hits are soooo hard, as to pierce my ear while I wait.

Not really sure where I'd be able to demo them. I'm in AK, and all my headphone purchases are/have been sans hearing a pair. The 580's are discontinued, I think, and that alone would make them harder to find, not to mention that I can't think for the life of me where I would be able to demo "good" headphones anywhere in AK to begin with...

There are no guitar centers, musicians friends, BH Photo, etc type places up here. There is a Mammoth Music in Anchorage, but even there, I'm not sure what I'd be able to find.

I don't know of anyone else who shares this crazy passion up here, and that doesn't help. Most people just give the blank stare, or start asking all sorts of questions involving "why?"...

 

[dave650]

^^ haha yeh I cop that blank stare here in Perth, Western Australia.
Um....I can't just tell you they are worth the gamble, and they do want a good amp to drive them..Second hand here is great. Throw some songs at me, and if I have them on vinyl I will describe how they sound?
That would be fraught with inaccuracy, though.
One day I just took a gamble on the HD650s, and was very happy to have done so, I got them new for $440au from a place in New Jersey that I don't remember, and then I decided, since everyone says the 580s are a different sound and certainly not a downgrade, got a second hand set right here. If you get a better than ya thought tax return, consider doing the crazy thing and purchasing a set of 580-600-650, and maybe a Little Dot MKIII second hand right here. You will immediately love them, and won't notice any shortcomings until someone comes to town auditioning....HD800s or something.
I mention the LD MKIII without ever having used one. I just know these babys want to be driven by an amp.

 

[twylight]

I bought so much stuff, listened to so much music...my ears are ringing non stop now...talk about epic fail.

 

[dave650]

sometimes I think ya just gotta send ya money out into the world and see what it brings back for you. If you really don't like them, you will only lose the price of postage. Dedicate 500US to the cause, and with a tiny bit of patience, you can churn your way through many sets of second hand cans right here, and only ever losing the price of postage.
This is a completely possible scenario, up to you if you want to float that half grand for....the hobby.

 

[dave650]

Quote:

Originally Posted by twylight /img/forum/go_quote.gif I bought so much stuff, listened to so much music...my ears are ringing non stop now...talk about epic fail.

Talk about awesome hobby more like it.
I've blown 20 grand easily on hifi and cans in two years...simply cos I dont want to churn, I keep what I like. I drive a 1991 toyota, and listen to the finest audio I can muster. But it is hard on the ears and I have learnt to limit my listening time a little. Only a little haha. A moving coil cartridge hits my Benz micro preamp, thats 62db right there, straight to my Darkvoice 336se, and off to the 650s or 580s or whatever. My ears are being assaulted!

 

[Germancub]

Congrats on the K271's, and welcome to the AKG family!

You'll love them, they are certainly some of the finest closed headphones you can get in my opinion, especially for the price!

 

[Magnum22]

i was gone a while too. thought i got out with merely a pa2v2 and sr60.

just came back to get the hd485, es7, penguin royal, hfi-780, and a bunch of vintage pcdp's. considering the RE0.

think i'll go listen now.

 

[Scarred Taka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave650 /img/forum/go_quote.gif sometimes I think ya just gotta send ya money out into the world and see what it brings back for you. If you really don't like them, you will only lose the price of postage. Dedicate 500US to the cause, and with a tiny bit of patience, you can churn your way through many sets of second hand cans right here, and only ever losing the price of postage. This is a completely possible scenario, up to you if you want to float that half grand for....the hobby.

Someday, maybe. Right now I don't have the time, or energy, to spend that much time A/Bing. I am at college full time, and while I spend a lot of time listening to music, I don't often have the luxury of spending many hours at a time to devote only to music, to allow myself to be fully lost in the music.

Also, the price of postage up here is pretty expensive. But, as you're in Australia, I have the feeling you know what that's like...

And finally, I fear for my wallet should I ever find "the pair" of headphones that make my music sound like it's being piped to me from heaven.

For now, I think I'll stick with "close enough".

Thanks for the suggestion though. I hadn't really thought of that idea, although I've heard of it before.

-ST

 

[Scarred Taka]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Germancub /img/forum/go_quote.gif Congrats on the K271's, and welcome to the AKG family! You'll love them, they are certainly some of the finest closed headphones you can get in my opinion, especially for the price!

Thanks! Yes, from the descriptions I've read here, the 271's sound like they are going to be good. I'm excited. It's like christmas, in...August.