[forbigger]

i dont collect headphones. for me when I found the best headphone that I like I stick with it. Thats why I have streamlined a lot of my headphones. Used to own like 6 headphones, now streamlined to 3 only (009/007 and HD580 - my favorite dynamic). Even with this conditions I rarely rotate. I put the HD580 inside its box most of the time and once in a blue moon I take out the 007 and give it a spin...... for me its simple, if you already have the best, why settle for less.......

 

[obobskivich]

Personally I can agree with the "if you have what suits you, stick with it" philosophy, but I also find myself liking variety - a lot of my cans spend most of their time in their travel cases, but I like having the option of various alternatives to whatever I'm currently listening to.

 

[forbigger]

depends on the person. like said, 009 gets 80% of my listening time, 19% 007 and maybe 1% of hd580, even that ,its only to make sure that its still working, nothing more nothing less. i cannot imagine in reality that people rotate their headphones on a regular basis. Most of the time only 1 headphone that gets majority of the listening time.....

 

[CrazyRay]

I have multiple headphones for use with my different sources.
I noticed that one headphone will sound better with my reel-to-reel, another will sound better with vinyl and then another with tapes and cd's.
And then you also have the different genres, Rock, Blues, Jazz.
I pick the right headphone for the source/music that I am playing.
I'm actually thinking about getting a fourth headphone.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Moostrkraaft]

First off...NICE!! ˆˆˆˆ
 
I do firmly believe different headphones perform better with certain songs and perhaps genres with some exceptions for particular songs within that genre. That being said, I have found myself gravitating toward the same headphones (Rough estimate...75% LCD-3, 15% HD-800, 10% rest). Given my experience, I believe our tendencies to choose that one great headphone result more from our preferences in music than our preferences in perceived fidelity. In other words, I choose the LCD-3 most frequently because I frequently listen to the same type of music, which I find the LCD-3 suits best.
 
It is rare when people listen to multiple genres with relatively different sounds in an equal amount. There always seems to be a preference in the moment.

 

[Sahara]

Quote:

 
Hi, I was curious if you have owned an 07? I dive bombed (no pun) into Stax with an 09/727 hoping to ease my mind. I had similar thoughts of acquiring a headphone that could outperform anything else and be done with the search. The thought of collecting less capable headphones has never been appealing, I knew that I would always reach for the "best" pair while the others collect dust. 
 
To my ignorance, I recently acquired an 07mk1/323s for the Wifealiser, lets just say, it has really thrown me for a loop. I am finally seeing why people have an array of headphones, especially these. To just have one pair though.....I never thought it would even be a question. For now, I will love them as my children from different mothers until my BHSE arrives, then make some decisions.

Hello:

I have not had the SR-007, but I have tested and also compared them with the 009 and really the SR-009 are a fairly major upgrade. I think that really is a shame to take several pairs of headphones and always use the same.

I've seen very large headphones collectionse and they are really impressive, but I cannot find the utility. It is difficult to see amplifiers or sources collections. As a rule people use only an amplification or loudspeakers
Why should be different with headphones?

Objetively there is a serie of parameters that make us prefer a few models to others and globally I think the best that I have tried in these aspects are  the SR-009.
They are a perfect compendium between balance and naturalness
 
The sound preferences is a mixture of objective and subjetive factors.. and is very easy to get to the subjective match SR-009. Objective parameters -except for the soundstagee that is slighty less to the HD800-like resolution or balance are all for the Stax, Really with those conditions  I don't need a new headphones..
It is very difficult that we can be disappointed with these characteristics
 
Cheers

 

[forbigger]

both Moostrkraaft and sahara - spot on. i believe the notion of one headphone for one genre is just plain silly. besides the different between each phone with different genre is simply exaggerated . Its not like listening on classic on hd800 is much much better than say lcd2 or even 009. So collecting headphones serve 2 purposes : sentimental value and showing off........

 

[Sahara]

Quote:

 i believe the notion of one headphone for one genre is just plain silly. besides the different between each phone with different genre is simply exaggerated

 
I think the best headphone is that qualified to make everything -objetive parameters- right. There is not a specific headphones for a particular music genre. That are simple subjective questions.
I think the ideal would be that there is one that faithfully reproduces what is recorded in the support.The only element of judgment we have is recording Some listeners like exaggerated bass and other restraint bass...some like the analytical headphones and other dominant midrange.
The reference to follow is always recording.

For me the high-fidelity concept is always based on more accurately reproduction of the signal recorded on support. If something doesn't exist in a recording, headphones -or loudspeakers - must not invent it...
 
Cheers

 

[TheAttorney]

Quote:

So collecting headphones serve 2 purposes : sentimental value and showing off........

That 2nd purpose is an unkind way of putting it - I doubt if that is the primary reason for most collectors.
 
Another purpose: the actual collecting of headphones is an intgral part of the hobby. Enthusiasts may be interested in the different ways designers have approached the problem and the resulting sound characters tics of each design. An extreme example of this would be a museum.
 
Personally, I'm a one-headphone kinda guy, but I don't begrudge anyone who likes collecting them. People like collecting things of interest to them.
I've gone for one main headphone (SR-007 mk1), one rarely used back-up (Senn HD600), and one portable (v-jay).  
 
One day, I may replace the SR-007 with an SR-009, but if I do, the new phones will be used for everything and the old ones will go into storage as a backup. I'd rather focus my efforts on getting the best out of one rig, than spread my energy on having lots of alterntives, none of which will ever be quite right.

 

[SteveM324]

Quote:

 
 
Personally, I'm a one-headphone kinda guy, but I don't begrudge anyone who likes collecting them. People like collecting things of interest to them.
I've gone for one main headphone (SR-007 mk1), one rarely used back-up (Senn HD600), and one portable (v-jay).  
 
One day, I may replace the SR-007 with an SR-009, but if I do, the new phones will be used for everything and the old ones will go into storage as a backup. I'd rather focus my efforts on getting the best out of one rig, than spread my energy on having lots of alterntives, none of which will ever be quite right.

 
I had a small collection of about 8 headphones (SR-009, LCD 3, LCD 2r2, LCD 2 r1, HE6, ANV3000, LA7000, and a Headphile modded K340).  I've been selling them and concentrating on optimizing my SR-009 headphones.   Ray Samuels has made changes to my A-10 amp that has greatly improved the sound of it driving the 009.  I'm now happy just listening to the 009 and I have no regrets of selling the others.  I also sold off my dynamic headphone amps including the Liquid Fire, DarkStar and Luxman SQ-N100 and I haven't looked back.  For me, the 009 does it all so I figure why should I spend time listening to my 2nd or 3rd best.  I understand different headphones offer different flavors but in my system, the 009 is so much better than the rest why bother with the others.  In the last 2-3 weeks, I sold off all the equipment above along with some DACs and I used the cash to upgrade my digital system to the Bricasti M1 and I have about $6K left over to buy music and other things.

 

[Sahara]

Quote:

 
I had a small collection of about 8 headphones (SR-009, LCD 3, LCD 2r2, LCD 2 r1, HE6, ANV3000, LA7000, and a Headphile modded K340).  I've been selling them and concentrating on optimizing my SR-009 headphones.   Ray Samuels has made changes to my A-10 amp that has greatly improved the sound of it driving the 009.  I'm now happy just listening to the 009 and I have no regrets of selling the others.  I also sold off my dynamic headphone amps including the Liquid Fire, DarkStar and Luxman SQ-N100 and I haven't looked back.  For me, the 009 does it all so I figure why should I spend time listening to my 2nd or 3rd best.  I understand different headphones offer different flavors but in my system, the 009 is so much better than the rest why bother with the others.  In the last 2-3 weeks, I sold off all the equipment above along with some DACs and I used the cash to upgrade my digital system to the Bricasti M1 and I have about $6K left over to buy music and other things.

Your posture is quite logical.
The RS/009 combination must be impressive. I have a  new digital streamer / tube AudioNote DAC 3.1x / GES and the combination is masterful.I had thought about an upgrade for the amplifier, but really I don't know if it is necessary...
 
The Stax SR-009 are a  "breaking hobby". Once you know them quite possible to stop interest the rest of headphones..


 

 

[Jamesy1969]

I don't belong here, I stumbled in by mistake when I lost my way from the mid-fi threads.
 
However, I might as well throw in my tuppence worth, having listened to the arguments.
 
I also think the "one 'phone for one genre" argument a bit silly: however, what about the "one 'phone for one situation" argument?
 
I have only a few headphones, but they all have their purpose. My K702s would be my version of your summit-fi 'phones: the best you possess, so why would you listen to anything else? 'phones. Except when anyone else is in the room - then the closed '770s go on. Or when the recording is poor, so I turn to the '595s, which are more forgiving. Or when I'm travelling, then I use the HD25s, unless I have to wear my glasses, at which point I'll turn to IEMs.
 
etc...
 
Money no object, I doubt that one headphone can do everything everytime. I can, therefore, understand small headphone collections.
 
Huge collections, though? That man's either emotionally connected to his kit and can't sell when upgrading or is just a confirmed, dyed-in-the-wool collector. Nowt wrong with that?
 

 

[CrazyRay]

Thanks for making me smile Jamesy1969!

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

 
I had a small collection of about 8 headphones (SR-009, LCD 3, LCD 2r2, LCD 2 r1, HE6, ANV3000, LA7000, and a Headphile modded K340).  I've been selling them and concentrating on optimizing my SR-009 headphones.   Ray Samuels has made changes to my A-10 amp that has greatly improved the sound of it driving the 009.  I'm now happy just listening to the 009 and I have no regrets of selling the others.  I also sold off my dynamic headphone amps including the Liquid Fire, DarkStar and Luxman SQ-N100 and I haven't looked back.  For me, the 009 does it all so I figure why should I spend time listening to my 2nd or 3rd best.  I understand different headphones offer different flavors but in my system, the 009 is so much better than the rest why bother with the others.  In the last 2-3 weeks, I sold off all the equipment above along with some DACs and I used the cash to upgrade my digital system to the Bricasti M1 and I have about $6K left over to buy music and other things.

 
While I still have my other cans around, my SR-009s get the majority of my head time and I can totally understand selling off everything else.

 

[bareyb]

I thought my HE500s would be my one and only (based on the reviews), but in the end, I still wanted a set with dynamic drivers and better bass so I got the Th-900s. Neither of those is particularly suited to travel, thus my Signature DJ's.