[manbear]

  I saw a girl walking around the other day with some K701's, I asked her about them and she was like yeah...they don't sound as good as I thought they would for $300.  I noticed she had no headphone amp...(facepalm) so I handed her my RSA P-51, sure it's not ideal for the K701's but better than the iPod she was using.  Suddenly her face lit up, she asked me how to get one of them and I told her ideally she'd need a bigger amp that can swing more voltage to fully drive the K701's to their max potential.  About that time her eyes glazed over and she walked away.  Sigh...so close, and yet, so far...

ROFL. Should have just told her the RSA website. Some people don't want to hear about teh volts. 

 

[Nomad Girl]

I just happen to be a girl, and I just happen to be married to a guy who sells High end audio [size=small]equipment for a living.  So, for over 10 years I've had all that fancy "in-home" audio equipment slowly consuming my living room, and when that was full...he started a system in the bedroom! I've always tolerated his crazy high end audio obsession to the best of my ability.  I've learned not to set my keys on the Vandersteen's, not to move the amps or pre amps just to dust underneath, not to ask why the speakers can't be placed against the wall so I don't trip over them, and those huge obnoxious giant cables...yes, they need to be that big, no they can't be moved...and no they can't be "hidden"!!  Ok, ok I get it...it's fancy stuff. It's EXPENSIVE stuff, and I get in trouble if I don't turn on the equipment in the correct order!  Too much work...too much stress..too much to remember (IMO)!  I rarely have time to sit down, and dedicate an hour or two to listening to music in the living room, sitting in the "sweet spot", getting up every time I want to change records or change the volume...that sounds like a lot of work!!!  I'm the girl who listens to music in the car, by the pool, at the gym (I've gone like 3 times...that counts right?), on vacation, at starbucks...I want to be able to sit down and relax...and honestly, the last place I want to do that is my living room!!  Then one day, it happened...my husband brought home some stuff for me to check out.  The Chord Hugo and OMG....wait for it...the Audeze LC-2's!  Best night of my life!  I finally found my "audio love"....I had to sit my husband down and break it to him gently.  I'm not the Hifi wife. I'm not the audiophile wife. I Love you, and I respect and support the passion you have for 2 channel, analog, that "old school Hifi setup that takes up the whole living room"...but head-fi is my "sweet spot", and I'm taking my "sweet spot" wherever the heck I want to, because I CAN!  So if you need me I'll be on head-fi.org researching why the heck I like this stuff so much...and...oh, those Audeze's you brought home, yeah they're mine now... [/size]

 

 

[bonbonq]

I'm a college girl relatively new to the scene and has found head-fi to be quite valuable.

 

[JK1]

Women  in every age group on average have better hearing than men. It is our society that tends to discourage women from getting obsessed with audio devices.

 

[Ira Delphic]

My anecdotal, non-scientific observations...I'm seeing women walking around with brightly colored over the ear headphones. Mostly beats and not such great brands. Over the ear are really in now - I think thanks to Beats. People wearing quality (not just fashion) over the ears are mostly guys.  This is true in most of NYC. In parts of Brooklyn and the Lower East Side many women wearing quality cans.
 
Why many more men than women on Head-Fi? 

 

[JK1]

  My anecdotal, non-scientific observations...I'm seeing women walking around with brightly colored over the ear headphones. Mostly beats and not such great brands. Over the ear are really in now - I think thanks to Beats. People wearing quality (not just fashion) over the ears are mostly guys.  This is true in most of NYC. In parts of Brooklyn and the Lower East Side many women wearing quality cans.
 
Why many more men than women on Head-Fi? 

Some women will buy high quality headphones, however very few seem to want to discuss them publicly.

 

[thatBeatsguy]

  Some women will buy high quality headphones, however very few seem to want to discuss them publicly.

IMO most women just don't care about sound quality. And apparently men tend to be crazier (radical) than women. 

 

[Nomad Girl]

  Some women will buy high quality headphones, however very few seem to want to discuss them publicly.

I know, for me, I have a love and passion for portable audio...and headphones are probably what I'm fascinated with the most right now.  But, I'm new to the game, and the knowledge and experiance most of the Head-fi people have blows me away!  I love to read, and learn from it...but I feel like I can't join in on all the discussion because I'm not to "that level" yet...but it's coming...I'm sure it's coming.  This whole head-fi thing is starting to look like less of a hobby, and more of an addiction

 

 

[JK1]

"But, I'm new to the game, and the knowledge and experience most of the Head-fi people have blows me away! "
 
Many of us have experience since we are old. 8)
 
I bought my first decent headphone, the Sony V6 over 25 years ago. The problem is that once you get used to decent sound, you will keep wanting higher quality sound. In the late 90s I saw the legendary Sony MDRCD3000 headphones on sale and bought it. I was disappointed by it. Not that it didn't sound good, as it sounded excellent, however its sound wasn't 5x as good as the best $80 headphones I had. It was perhaps only around 1/3 better. 
Since 2000, I have been focusing on lower priced headphones and earphones that offer great sound for the price, and so far haven't bought any since 2000 that were over $100. I might raise my limit to around $150, as there are some headphones in the $100-150 range that seem very interesting. I doubt that I will ever again spend over $200 again for ones though. The CD3000 has been sold, and it was sold for more than I paid for it.

 

[Ira Delphic]

 
I know, for me, I have a love and passion for portable audio...and headphones are probably what I'm fascinated with the most right now.  But, I'm new to the game, and the knowledge and experiance most of the Head-fi people have blows me away!  I love to read, and learn from it...but I feel like I can't join in on all the discussion because I'm not to "that level" yet...but it's coming...I'm sure it's coming.  This whole head-fi thing is starting to look like less of a hobby, and more of an addiction

 

 
I think you don't have to have any deep knowledge to have an opinion and contribute. I don't and still try to contribute some useful stuff. Also, you have to qualify much of the opinion here. I'd like to see blind tests. It's kind of like "wine experts" that when blindfolded turn out not to be experts. Don't get me wrong - some of the folks here have an incredible ability to discern the nuances among headphones/IEM's. Others - like most - who knows? I do know that my GR07 sound amazing. But not sure how I'd do with a blind test which I'd imagine is challenging to do with IEM's!

 

[Argo Duck]

Big +1. Particularly, if you look at the level of disagreement among us all...our "knowledge and experience" is contradictory and sometimes leads to major fights, hence the need for moderators. I wonder if this 'male'-style infighting is not attractive to our potential sisters? Who may instead just be getting on with enjoying their LCDs, Sennheisers etc?

I know for sure that my wife cares little about the vocabulary of "dry", "warm", "bright" etc but she cares a lot about the result for our speaker system (she loves the sound-stage, clarity and "gravel" in various male vocals) and is always able to offer a valuable second opinion on component changes in my hp rig when she has the time.

I think you don't have to have any deep knowledge to have an opinion and contribute. I don't and still try to contribute some useful stuff. Also, you have to qualify much of the opinion here. I'd like to see blind tests. It's kind of like "wine experts" that when blindfolded turn out not to be experts. Don't get me wrong - some of the folks here have an incredible ability to discern the nuances among headphones/IEM's. Others - like most - who knows? I do know that my GR07 sound amazing. But not sure how I'd do with a blind test which I'd imagine is challenging to do with IEM's!

 

[JK1]

Big +1. Particularly, if you look at the level of disagreement among us all...our "knowledge and experience" is contradictory and sometimes leads to major fights, hence the need for moderators. I wonder if this 'male'-style infighting is not attractive to our potential sisters? Who may instead just be getting on with enjoying their LCDs, Sennheisers etc?

I know for sure that my wife cares little about the vocabulary of "dry", "warm", "bright" etc but she cares a lot about the result for our speaker system (she loves the sound-stage, clarity and "gravel" in various male vocals) and is always able to offer a valuable second opinion on component changes in my hp rig when she has the time.

Which color is best, blue, green, or red? Let's debate it. 8) 
I say blue is best, followed by green and then red. 8)
 
 
While many will disagree about which headphones are best at each price point, or if a certain $200 headphone is that much better than a certain $100 headphone to justify double the price. How much better should it be for double the price? Some might even prefer the sound of the cheaper one. Often when people ask which headphone to buy, I might suggest a few, however I then say listen to them with your own ears, and decide which you prefer. It isn't just about sound though it is also about comfort. Since people vary so much in size and other attributes, what is comfortable for one person might be very uncomfortable to another. Some are very sensitive to headphone clamping force, while others are very sensitive to their ears overheating when using closed headphones.

 

[Nomad Girl]

   
I think you don't have to have any deep knowledge to have an opinion and contribute. I don't and still try to contribute some useful stuff. Also, you have to qualify much of the opinion here. I'd like to see blind tests. It's kind of like "wine experts" that when blindfolded turn out not to be experts. Don't get me wrong - some of the folks here have an incredible ability to discern the nuances among headphones/IEM's. Others - like most - who knows? I do know that my GR07 sound amazing. But not sure how I'd do with a blind test which I'd imagine is challenging to do with IEM's!

OMG, I want to do a blind test!  I'd love to have someone else put the headphones on me, hooked up to the same gear, playing the same song....and see which one is my favorite!  There has to be a head-fi meet somewhere that does that!?!?

 

[Brooko]

  OMG, I want to do a blind test!  I'd love to have someone else put the headphones on me, hooked up to the same gear, playing the same song....and see which one is my favorite!  There has to be a head-fi meet somewhere that does that!?!?

 
Actually - if you want top start with something simpler - just try different containers of music (from the same master) - eg lossy vs lossles vs "high-res".  Best part is that all you need is a PC, headphones, time and an open mind.  If you're interested - try this thread ..... http://www.head-fi.org/t/655879/setting-up-an-abx-test-simple-guide-to-ripping-tagging-transcoding

 

[ericr]

Nomad Girl,

Like your husband, I too am fortunate to be married to a very lovely woman who allows Vandersteens in her living room!