[Failed Engineer]

The end arrives when you ban the head-fi domain at the router level at home and tell your spouse to change the router password and promise to never tell you.

But then you go on your cellular connection and check on your phone...so there is no end.

 

[Kevintj604]

No. I don't think endgame exists. At least not in the way that many audiophiles define it. I have quite a few pairs of headphones that I would never sell with matching cables that I love. In that sense I guess those are endgame but I haven't found any piece of gear that I would comfortably end the hobby with.

With that said I'm finally in a place in the hobby after four years where I know what I like and what I still want to add to my collection but I'm super happy with what I currently have.

 

[jonathan c]

And then the question - when the same company where you have the flagship of their products as your end game, comes up with a new flagship, what do we do then?

If the then-flagship which you acquired still performs as you hoped / expected, you do nothing. If you are driven by ‘gearaphilia’, you are drawn as ‘a moth to a nightlight’…

 

[Kevintj604]

If the then-flagship which you acquired still performs as you hoped / expected, you do nothing. If you are driven by ‘gearaphilia’, you are drawn as ‘a moth to a nightlight’…

It’s not only about flagships. Eikon and Aeolus are in ZMF’s entry level and I think they’re endgame.

Radiance is the best tuned in all of Focal’s lineup.

Flagships are worth noting but the hobby doesn’t end on only the TOTL’s.

 

[XVampireX]

If the then-flagship which you acquired still performs as you hoped / expected, you do nothing. If you are driven by ‘gearaphilia’, you are drawn as ‘a moth to a nightlight’…

But, what if it adds extra features, for example, the successor to May is supposed to have a better OS feature?
Or maybe the successor to Bliss will have even more power on tap for driving hard loads better?
What if I want to add more stuff to the chain for a different sound?
Lots of different reasons why this is a never ending journey, I'm in a comfortable spot atm to actually not change my stack except for additions to headphones maybe just for flavors, or maybe playing around with tube amps / estats.
It's not about gearaphilia, it's about actually improving.

 

[Ilomaenkimi]

I have.
EDIT: +maybe some Grado flagship model in addition when i retire.

 

[mbjbass]

FTFY…[Reg. TM; © bcowen: 2021.]

Hah! Yeah I know, “famous last words.” But I am serious, I don’t look at more expensive headphones or amps or dacs and wish I had them. I’ve owed expensive gear in the past but have more important things to spend $ on these days. After these two purchases I am done done done. Honestly I’m very happy with what I have today. If the Modi chassis was the same size as my other pieces of Schiit I am not sure I’d bother with a dac upgrade. But I like my components to match…oh, well. You can feel free to give me grief if I go back on my words above.

 

[HWB3]

There might be a pair of better Grado headphones (RS2X's) and another tube amp in my future. But for right now I have a modest set up that keeps me pretty happy.

 

[xeizo]

I have a lot of headphones, I could live with several of them as my only can, but I will probably never reach a "endgame" as I'm curious by nature

My current favorite chain is:

Tidal HiFi on PC 44.1kHz -> EAPO + PEACE, Oratory1990-profile balanced pads -> S.M.S.L D-6 in prD-mode -> TRS to RCA cable -> S.M.S.L SH-6 -> Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro w. balanced pads

This setup sounds just right in the right way and the 1990 Pro is a joy to use, awesome build quality and a snug fit.

The 1990 matches the best of my other cans in being clean and having very high resolution, treble needs to be tamed though that's why PEACE is essential, but the singular quality that stands out with the Beyers are they sound more lively and punchy than any of my other cans. They have the chops. Closest competitor would be the Sony MDR-Z7M2 which are also very punchy.

Apart from treble needing to be tamed, they can't play back at as high levels - while keeping distorsion low - as planars which is a objective weakness. But they can play loud enough to get your hearing damaged so essentially a non-issue.

 

[MrMan]

I feel like I'm in a completely different world on my desires.
1. Light headphones. I use them upwards of 8 hours a day.
2*. Dynamic Dac. Able to plug in 3.5, 1/4 and xlr and has a tremble and bass switch
3. Looks. I know this sounds weird but I find when I look at the headphone prior to putting them on It puts me a slightly better mood. Some headphones look so goofy that I can't take them seriously on my head.

2* This might not be the best amp/dac soundwise (Hifi m8) but it allows me to use any headphones and I can shape the sound however I want. I can go from piercing treble to booming bass and everything in between. I've found it doesn't really matter what headphone I use due to that. So for looks and comfort I love HD700's, even over HD800's which I own too.

 

[JerseyD]

This might not be the best amp/dac soundwise (Hifi m8) but it allows me to use any headphones and I can shape the sound however I want. I can go from piercing treble to booming bass and everything in between. I've found it doesn't really matter what headphone I use due to that. So for looks and comfort I love HD700's, even over HD800's which I own too.

Hey, I still have my OG CEntrance HiFi M8. Need to get it out and see how it holds up... Michael Goodman at CEntrance was always a good guy to deal with. He let me sell his gear when I was a know-nothing newbie online retailer.

 

[MrMan]

Hey, I still have my OG CEntrance HiFi M8. Need to get it out and see how it holds up... Michael Goodman at CEntrance was always a good guy to deal with. He let me sell his gear when I was a know-nothing newbie online retailer.

So I also needed to add that it's portable. I can bring it to my work and easily use it. I can also travel with it. There isn't many high end audio setups you can say this.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I'm very close!
Still waiting on a few last pieces.

 

[dynavit]

Endgame is not a question of gear but a question of mindset.
At least that is, what I am trying to learn.

 

[xeizo]

Endgame is not a question of gear but a question of mindset.

Quite true, that's why I'll never reach endgame as I always wants to test new stuff. Applies to every gear not audio gear only. Everything changes, always.