That is the collective "understanding" of audiophiles. Still, at minimum, a healthy debate as to actual impact if any.
I certainly wouldn't prioritize those over headphones. And I certainly wouldn't spend money there that I could have spent purchasing better headphones.
Better headphones are a waste of money if you don't have the front and back end to drive it well. 99% (proabaly an exaggeration) of the HD600/6xx/650 owners are not using their HD6xx to their full potential - I see people dumping thousands into different headphones with arguably mid-fi front/back end. OP's front/back end are pretty much lower mid-fi - I would start there.
Better headphones are a waste of money if you don't have the front and back end to drive it well. 99% (proabaly an exaggeration) of the HD600/6xx/650 owners are not using their HD6xx to their full potential - I see people dumping thousands into different headphones with arguably mid-fi front/back end. OP's front/back end are pretty much lower mid-fi - I would start there.
We are definitely going to disagree on this. The differences in electronics are orders of magnitude lower than variations in transducers.
I'll let you have the last comment, as going further really should be done in the Sound Science subforum where we can separate the factual operational model from subjective opinion.
Hindsight is always 20/20 at Head-Fi. Yet the one single thing about this hobby is knowing your sound-signature. The way you learn it is by trying lots of gear. The biggest issue is it takes days at times to truly know. I mean you can read 1000 posts by really great and qualified people who know their business; but you’ll only know your happy until owning gear for a month. I wish it was not such a trajectory but it is. Still in an afternoon you can get close to knowing what sound you like. It’s just after owning gear you start to have love affairs with certain headphones. Once you find the headphones and amplifier/DAC combination you like, the gear becomes less important as your only left with music to explore. If you have chosen your two headphones then they may be complementary and allow you to have them delineate and reflect their own true attributes. Still if chosen well, there is no reason why one headphone alone could, in the end........actually to do all genres and let you forget about equipment. If I could do this all over again I would have slightly less gear; but you have to buy stuff and live with it to know what you really want.
Always start from the transducer (headphone). Then search the matching amp. Having one high end DAC could be a good idea too for based of set-up. But DAC is digital thing, they move faster in technology than amp and headphone, so need to be aware.
Based on how you like LCD-X character, perhaps can start from LCD 4/4Z, of course only if you think Audeze fit and weight are just fine.
Then get another flagship headphone that good as complementary, such as from Hifiman (HE1000 SE and Susvara indeed solid choices) or Focal (Utopia has one of the best transparency and imaging quality for dynamic driver).
The last but ofc no the least, get headphone that you want to buy just because you want it. Usually this kind of headphone has stronger character that may appeal you for few songs, but in these particular songs nothing can beat them. Something like Final Audio D8000 (I haven't tried the PRO) or Meze Empyrean or Grado PS2000e, or perhaps (I haven't tried tho) Mysphere (3.1/3.2). Verite camphor burl also good idea, as they are extremely beautiful.
Can not giving much reccomendation for amp, as I think you need to decide which headphones first.
Still if chosen well, there is no reason why one headphone alone could, in the end........actually to do all genres and let you forget about equipment.
I remember hearing the HD800 with a 100K vinyl rig and it was amazing but it wasn’t for me. Strange too as I feel that if you really do find some world-class bad-Azz system you may have psychological issues (due to the price) that don’t even let you like it? We all have different hearing and we all have different ideas of what is a good response. I’ll never forget when I made purchases simply due to how good the bass was. I’m pretty sure that even a two day demo of really good bass in a system would get a person to purchase only on emotion. The problem is after a while you realize what’s not right. Stuff that’s not clear ends up boring in the end. The other extremely strange thing is headphone personality. I’m 100% certain color is fun. Too much color is obviously wrong, but just the right amount of spice never gets old year after year. It may even be that some headphones allow all genres to be fun, but still are not totally technically correct. I would rather have musical with a slant than flat out boring conservative.
I’ve actually had some setups that were amazing with only a few genres. Then there are setups which do everything. It seems to always be a balancing act. Thin headphone with thicker amp. Thicker amp with thin headphones. Warm amp with brighter cables and source. And going to shows just goes to prove how different systems can be. When your at a show and hearing the rigs; your actually at times witnessed to a purchase trajectory. You may see the same person 6 months later with different gear. Also shows will have whole groups gravitating to one side or another on the sound spectrum. There is no right or wrong.
OP's LCD-X is good enough. What's the point of buying ever more expensive cans that are marginally better when OP needs to revamp his amp/source. The transducer first argument kind of goes up in smoke after HD650/600 because it does mid range better than almost all other headphones regardless of price (save for a few mid-range champs in LCD range if you are lucky enough to find good copies). To put bluntly, HD6xx/650's midrange is not that far from HE-1, when properly driven with front/back end gear. Also, people may not want to hear this, but no headphone is perfect all around and all headphones need EQ to sound correct - this is my own experience after 20 years in this hobby.
What I found was everything is important. There is no way to leave out one aspect. Meaning your end result is always going to be a quantitative addition of all components. Crazy as it seems at times one component will not allow another to shine. I found too that the last 10% can be super expensive. And it’s a learning process too. How much do you want to spend on that last area. Also there is no headphones of the month that’s good. Any hyped up cheap giant killer is a thread that fizzes out eventually. Of course there has never been a better time to be in this hobby. Mid-priced gear has never had better value.
I love these philosophical debates. It helps to keep my mind open.
I'll mention also that I don't like streaming, or file downloads, or using a computer/phone/DAP as a music source. I deeply dislike that trend. I'm strictly an old-school disc-spinning guy who has a high-end player with an outstanding DAC and analog circuitry built in (Oppo UDP-205). I therefore am not considering the purchase of any outboard DAC or USB-related device. I firmly believe that no properly made DAC that supports the media being played should impart any sonic signature of its own, and should simply do it's technical job of conversion.
I love these philosophical debates. It helps to keep my mind open.
I'll mention also that I don't like streaming, or file downloads, or using a computer/phone/DAP as a music source. I deeply dislike that trend. I'm strictly an old-school disc-spinning guy who has a high-end player with an outstanding DAC and analog circuitry built in (Oppo UDP-205). I therefore am not considering the purchase of any outboard DAC or USB-related device. I firmly believe that no properly made DAC that supports the media being played should impart any sonic signature of its own, and should simply do it's technical job of conversion.
Well, I think without addressing the obvious shortcomings in your source you can buy whatever cans you like but you may just be running in circles and chasing the next FOTM cans.
I mean if you want to stick with CD, you can grab the 10yr old EMM stack or other equivalent stacks from back in the days. The old Playback Design one box SACD sounds good as well. I mean Linn KlimaxDS matched/surpasses the EMM stack and PD over 10yrs ago and then all the top players caught up. But I understand the nostalgia for physical medium.
Well, I think without addressing the obvious shortcomings in your source you can buy whatever cans you like but you may just be running in circles and chasing the next FOTM cans.
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