[RaghavSomani05]

For years, I have had the pleasure of experiencing music. I have been able to take on multiple headphones, earphones and speakers and I have been able to experience truly wonderful things. From noise isolation to cancellation; from basic headphones to 7.1 surround sound

But if there has to be one products that stood out was the E10C. It was my first set of earphones with some actual quality of production. Although it was pretty cheap and simplistic I really fell in love them. These earphones were the ones that actually allowed me to fall in love with music.

It was the basic functionality like the volume control and the media control that I got that made me want more form my earphones.

My point is, I just wanted to know which earphones changed the definition of music for you?

 

[voxie]

The Klipsch x10i was the game changer for me together with the AKG 601's. Have moved on from them at this stage but they set me on the road. Nice post.

 

[Cruelhand Luke]

Funny, Klipsch was my first too... I bought an S4 and shortly after that some Koss Porta Pro based off of CNET reviews.
I was OBSESSED with music my whole life, and I had some decent speakers over the years (I really miss my Infinity Reference Ones those were such great little units) but those two were the headphones that opened my eyes to the possibilities.
I was blown away with the details I heard in the music with the Klipsch that I had not picked up before...and the Koss gave me a sense of soundstage that I hadn't experienced before...that's what really got me on the path of wanting better headphones, the concept of instruments/artists existing in a 3 dimensional space, not just a flat plane in front of my face. I still have and use the little tin that the Klipsch came in! (it lasted FAR longer than the gossamer thin cables of the S4)

 

[HBen]

My biggest impact in that sense was the Sennheiser HD580. Was in my teenage years - must have been around 15-20 years ago ... Still own it and use it from time to time and still impressed with the sound quality - especially on singer songwriter type of music.

Second one probably the HD800 a few years ago.
If I needed to name two, these would be it.
Most other new headphones were kind of side grades compared to those steps , and there were a lot of them.

 

[SimBenedict]

Hmm, then it's the "Klipsch" for me as well. Thanks for sharing, guys!

 

[JamesCanada]

Sure E2.
These were my 1st ''high end'' pair.
I used to spend hours with these on and just enjoy my jams.
I went back to them a few weeks ago and they almost ripped off my eardrums!! haha
I think it's the nostalgia more than anything.

 

[13gsc13]

I was just using cheap earphones when I bought a pair of Koss Porta Pro
Not expensive but the sound quality got me hooked on better quality sound

 

[megabigeye]

Great thread!

My story is slightly convoluted. I think the headphones that made the biggest impact on me were actually the really bad ones because they pushed me to find something better.
When I graduated high school, my mom got me the JVC HA-RX500 (or something very similar). Of course, at the time I really had no idea how good they were, I just knew they worked for making mixtapes for my girlfriends.
Unfortunately, the plastic was cheap and one of my college friends knocked the headphones off of a table not once, but twice, breaking the headband once and the yoke the second time. By the time I finally gave up on those headphones they were held together with electrical tape and wire.
I was embarrassed to be seen wearing such a janky looking headphone, so I replaced them with a pair of SoundLabs. Oof. This was my first realization that not all headphones are created equal. Those were bad enough that being constantly embarrassed was preferable.
When the JVCs finally gave up the ghost, they were replaced by a pair of Sony MDR-EX71SL. I remember bopping down the street, listening to Gnarls Barkely, amazed that such tiny "earbuds" could produce so much bass. This was before I knew IEMs were a thing.
Those were lost or stolen and replaced with MDR-V300 that belonged to my ex. I thought replacing Sony with Sony was the right way to go. I was wrong. These were at least as bad as the SoundLabs. I actually stopped listening to music because these were so bad. If you see somebody wearing these, you should grab the headphones off their head and smash them on the street. You'd be doing them a favor.
This led me to perusing Amazon, lusting after Audio Technicas (ATH-ESW9: wood headphones! Who knew!) and AKGs (I still think the K701 is a gorgeous piece of industrial design) and Grados (Eh, I don't know why I thought those looked great), when I discovered Head-Fi and the NuForce NE-8 and NE-7M. Things have never been the same since.

Writing this out makes me wonder what important pieces of information have been displaced from my mind to have been replace not only by the make and model of every headphone I've owned for the last twenty years, but also the ones that I've lusted after.

 

[serman005]

Cary 805C monoblocks for me. The realism was astonishing. Changed my life. ---)

 

[ProtegeManiac]

My point is, I just wanted to know which earphones changed the definition of music for you?

None really, for two reasons:

1. It isn't music that will have its definition modified, but the standard for playback quality...

2. ...and the ones that did that for me was the Focal Stella Utopia and Sonus Faber Stradivari Homage.

 

[fianbarr]

The Sennheiser Momentum over ear (V1). I clearly remember first day I wore them, waiting on the train listening to Dark Side Of The Moon and hearing details in the music that I never knew were there. It was the first tumble down the rabbit hole of great music reproduction.