[nikongod]

 
Quote:

End game rig = when you don't care anymore about finding something better. I've concluded this is impossible until you stop showing up on head-fi lol.
 
 

Edited:
Reread what you wrote, and understood it better. Cant reply to that. I wish I knew how to help the OP though. 

 

[our martin]

Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!

 
no end game yet unless krell and westlake audio pull something out of the bag..

 

[nikongod]

 
Quote:

no end game yet unless krell and westlake audio pull something out of the bag..

Krell already made a headphone amp. Its pretty awesome. 
 
Would you buy a speaker from Sennheiser/Grado/AKG? 

 

[our martin]

Quote:

 

Krell already made a headphone amp. Its pretty awesome. 
 
Would you buy a speaker from Sennheiser/Grado/AKG? 

something that sounded like the cypher sacd.. evolution one amps and westlake audio sm1s set up would be an end game..(ancient) i mean the headphone amp that they have got out at the moment isn't in that territory but something might be in the pipeline..fingers crossed..
 

 

[wavoman]

Quote:

Common sense ends up having it that one should be spending more money on music and less on gear, since that is the source of our satisfaction.
 
Many people end up bailing off the merry-go-round. We don't notice this as we only see posts from people still on it.

IMHO the best (and most important) post I have ever read on Head-Fi.  It certainly describes me now, and I wish it described me years ago but no, I had to ride the carousel, didn't I?
 
Just want to add a few more wrinkles:
 
(1) Age plays a role.  Hearing acuity declines for most of us unfortunately as the years roll on, rendering the tiny differences in SQ among high-end rigs meaningless.  I strongly suggest getting you hearing measured periodically by an audiologist and saving the charts.  Seeing the various dips in certain frequency bands really helps understand why you like certain set-ups, and why further upgrades might not pay back.
 
(2) For "satisfaction" in the quoted post I would substitue "happiness and joy".  AND: if you come to realize that owning the gear itself becomes more a source of joy than listening to music, stop.  Then congratulate yourself on your self-awareness, and change. 
 
(3) In second place, just after music, are the people you meet here at Head-Fi.  They bring me way more joy than owning gear.  I have been so lucky -- I was able to transcend the virtual world and have these relationships blossom in to real-world friendships.  My life is so much richer for being able to hang with with a number of you (you know who you are, and I love you all).  Last year a NYC Head-Fi'er who is now a good friend and I had lunch in Manhattan with an Australian Head-Fi'er we had never previously met, and one of his relatives -- one of the best times I have ever had.  Remarkable.  All of you -- go to meets.  And do what it says -- meet people.  Follow-up, make real-world friends.  You will thank me later.
 
(4) I think I agree with another poster that for now, 009+BHSE is the end of the current road, based on listening at meets. I don't have this rig, but I know I don't care, I am so blessed with the amazing rigs I do have that essentially sound as good as that day in and day out.  BTW, this applies to today's existing recorded music -- the surround effects of Smyth Realiser are amazing, and show us what the future will be (recordings have to catch up).  And this just in -- Sony is funding big time research that will fundamentally change the game in this area (you heard it hear first), acoustic spatial reconstruction using HPs.  That I might upgrade to!
 
Gotta go -- a stack of new recordings await ...
 

 

[estreeter]

 
Quote:

 

Edited:
Reread what you wrote, and understood it better. Cant reply to that. I wish I knew how to help the OP though. 

Relax - the only person who can help me is me. Some entry-level electronics and a couple of mid-fi cans : I dont think I've overcapitalised ...... 

 
If anythng, spend enough time reading threads here and I find I can talk myself out of most prospective upgrades. I can read a hundred posts from ecstatic owners, but it only takes a single negative to sow the seed of doubt in my tiny mind.   

 
Edit : for an example of the kind of phenomenon I'm talking about, Donald's new amp looks every inch the kind of high-end component that most of us would be proud to place on top of a rig, but I have the distinct feeling that the majority of his customers will be folk who already own the Sonett and other high-end tube amps. More power to them, and I look forward to the listening impressions, but again we have people spending $2500 repeatedly where our speaker rig guy might have spent 3 times that on an amp, but that amp stays in place for years. Happy to hear otherwise. 
 
http://www.dnaudio.com/DNA-Stratus-2A3-headphone-amplifier.html
 
 

 

[Magick Man]

I don't know, I think I'm just not feeling it. People keep telling me that SR-009s are the end-all be-all, but overall I don't like them as much as my O2s.

I just don't think I can have an end game rig, I like different headphones and amps for different genres of music. I can pick and choose and dial in exactly what I want, and that means more to me than some setup that is supposedly excellent at everything.

no end game yet unless krell and westlake audio pull something out of the bag..

What would you say if I told you that Krell is looking hard at the headphone market?

 

[El_Doug]

Can't stress enough the "spend more money on music!"  Every time I read that in the past, it came off as some kind of false epiphany from someone who lacked sufficient experience to appreciate the high-end.  I took the phrase for smugness at best, and ignorance at worst. 
 
Now that I've owned nearly every set of $1000+ headphones, I finally realize what these people were trying to say.  It was nice hearing a more detailed, dynamic, and spatially accurate presentation of my 200 or so CDs... but I have found even more enjoyment by listening for the differences between various pianists' interpretations of Chopin's concertos. 
 
 
Not that one is more important than the other, when it comes to music and gear.  Indeed, part of what draws us into hi-fi is our technophilia, and acquiring/testing/building gear is gallons of fun!  Still, there is definitely a sweet spot between focusing solely on music or gear - it's just too bad the optimization point cannot be pinpointed by any formula. 
 
 
 
Quote:

People keep telling me that SR-009s are the end-all be-all

 
They are  

 
Quote:

What would you say if I told you that Krell is looking hard at the headphone market?

I'd say bring it on!  Krell's old headphone amp is remarkable, I'd love to hear anything new they develop! 
 

 

[Mkubota1]

Quote:

I just don't think I can have an end game rig, I like different headphones and amps for different genres of music. I can pick and choose and dial in exactly what I want, and that means more to me than some setup that is supposedly excellent at everything.

I'm so with you there.  I can understand if you listen to one artist or maybe one recording label.  But there is almost zero consistency in recording and mastering out there that I don't see how you can expect one headphone to cover them all.  It's like looking for one glass to drink all beverages.
 
 

What would you say if I told you that Krell is looking hard at the headphone market? 

 
Skeptical until I hear them.  While the B&W P5s are okay for what they are, they don't carry the same weight in the headphone world as their Nautilus speakers do in their world.

 

[Magick Man]

They are  

Too bright for me. I can appreciate how amazing they sound, but going to the symphony doesn't make my ears as fatigued as listening to the SR-009s. That doesn't happen with my Mk1s, I've had them practically glued to my head for several days now.

I'd say bring it on!  Krell's old headphone amp is remarkable, I'd love to hear anything new they develop! 

Who said it's an amp (or just an amp)?

 

[Mkubota1]

Quote:

Who said it's an amp (or just an amp)?

If their approach to headphones is anything like their speakers, are we talking about a 7lbs set of cans?  

 

[Maxvla]

Too bright for me. I can appreciate how amazing they sound, but going to the symphony doesn't make my ears as fatigued as listening to the SR-009s. That doesn't happen with my Mk1s, I've had them practically glued to my head for several days now.

Who said it's an amp (or just an amp)?

That's interesting since the SR-007 MK1 has spikier treble than the SR-009.

 

[Magick Man]

It's the "I know a guy who knows a guy" and the scuttlebutt is stats with accompanying dual monoblocks. Not sure about the weight of the cans, but you know the amps wouldn't be lightweights. Overall, it sounds compelling, it could be an interesting product. Think the Orpheus system was pricey? Heh.

 

[Magick Man]

That's interesting since the SR-007 MK1 has spikier treble than the SR-009.

I know, in the graphs that's what it shows, but on my head it's a different story.

 

[Maxvla]

You must hear differently than I do. I've heard both as well and concur with the graphs.