Someone recently asked "How do you know when you're at the endgame?"
I was tempted to reply "When you've run out of money"
I'm not out of money yet, so I want to make a serious shot at assembling some phones and amps that will satisfy me for years to come.
I want two or three headphones and two or three amps that will provide a variety of experiences, while staying close to what I like. What do I like? Smooth, articulate, extended bass response (but I'm not a bass junky), clear, smooth midrange, silky, airy treble, great imaging and spacious soundstage. Pretty much the best of all the attributes. I know that's difficult to achieve, and one must part with some cash to get it. But the most important thing is the fun factor. I'll accept technical flaws if the thing sounds musical and puts a permagrin on my face. I think a budget of $10-15k oughta be plenty.
I've had the LCD-X for a couple of years and I like them, but they don't do enough of the things I want well enough to stop there. I plan to keep them though. I've had a modded HD 800, and though it was impressive, it had no soul. I sold it after about a month.
I listen to about 50% classical, 40% prog rock, and about 10% acoustic jazz. I'm 55 so don't laugh.
I've assembled a working short list that I think would be appropriate for the kind of music I listen to:
Hifiman HE1000se - Tyll fell in love with the original HEK, and he was so pleased he said it made him suck his thumb while floating on a cloud. Or something to that effect. He declared it one of his desert island headphones. Given how much love they get from everyone else too, I simply have to try them. From all accounts they ought to be a stellar choice for classical, especially smaller ensembles.
ZMF Verite (open back) - reviewers describe these as though they're on a really good acid trip. Seriously, they're so good people are having seizures. Please, they can't be THAT good, can they? I want to find out what "3D holographic soundstaging" sounds like. And boy, they do look nice. That's important.
ZMF Pendant tube amp - made Apple TV 4by Ampandsound for ZMF, reviewers seem to universally love it. Apparently Zach chose the stock tubes to specifically complement ZMF headphones, so it seems like a good place to start. I've never had, or even heard, a tube amp. I've always been a SS guy. But this amp is reported to provide a mild tube sound, so probably is a good choice for me to get my feet wet in the toob pool.
Headamp GS-X Mini - One of Tyll's favorites, and is reported to be pitch black quiet and has all the great attributes of it's bigger brother, but in a single chassis with a more reasonable price tag. I want a neutral SS amp to serve as a benchmark when I start (inevitably?) playing with toobs. Plus, it will drive just about anything quite well. To top it off, it comes in a variety of candy colors.
I also plan to build a Bottlehead Crack w/Speedball, just because it will be fun as hell to build.
Yeah I know, I know...get a Glenn OTL. I can't wait that long, and frankly they don't have the looks to match the performance. Maybe that's part of why they're so affordable. I might change my mind at some point, but for now I'm considering other options.
So, do you like my choices? Feel free to point me elsewhere if you have some better ideas. Don't suggest Abyss though, as I don't like those at all.
