[biggbenn74]

Well, I don't really consider myself an audiophile. I just like the way music sounds, and I love listening to music. So, nice music needs nice headphones. Bear with me on this one.
 
It all started 6 years ago. Samsung YPT9J MP3 Player and Samsung Buds. I wanted more.
 
5 years ago. iPod Classic 80 gig and iBuds. More still.
 
JVC Earbuds. Nice upgrade. Kept buying cheap headphones and earbuds for the next 4 years. UNTIL!
 
Last September, got myself a pair of Sony MDR-V700DJ's. My ears were opened... And that's when my wallet started to roll with the punches...
 
Numark Red Wave. Good bass... I wanted more bass...
 
Sony MDR-XB500. Ok, now I want less bass, more clarity.
 
AKG Q701. Perfection... But, I want to have a pair of headphones just to mess with...
 
Monoprice 8323. Excellent... But now, I miss having earbuds... And bass...
 
JVC HAFX101 Xtreme Xplosives. (2 weeks ago) Still trying to decide what comes next. Maybe save up for a pair of AKG K601's. Like I said, IDK.
 
But, whatever. I like headphones.

 

[mister skinner]

I grew up with a friend whose dad owned a car audio shop and introduced me to accurate SQ built audio. After getting my first stereo just out of high school I went to college for Audio/Video production where I began to gain a trained ear on how to really analyze audio.
 
 
Never was big on headphones but I had some Klipsch S4s that were satisfactory for portable use, until I lost them. I figured if I was gonna spend another $100 on headphones then I might as well spend at least $300 and get some real cans. Couple weeks ago I bought some HD598s for home use and some new Klipsch Earbuds for the ipod stuff. Only to find my old Klipsch s4s that I had weren't lost but buried in my laptop bag.
 
 
Oh well, I love what I've bought so far. Thinking about buying a amp and maybe another set of cans

 

[AxelCloris]

I got started into audio at a young age. Around 10 years old way back in 5th grade, I started running sound for my school's theater group. That branched out into local events and such. So I've had an appreciation for sound since I was little. In 7th grade I started getting into mixing music for different church groups. This continued through high school. Come college, I started selling high end audio systems. Brands like Martin Logan, Vienna Acoustics, Definitive Technologies etc. Did that for a few years, while going to school for broadcast audio. Now I'm going to go back to school to narrow my focus into becoming an ADR Engineer.
 
I've also been a trombone player since I was 10 and music has been a passion of mine since as far back as I can remember. I grew up  starting young on jazz, ska, big band and symphonic music. So when you grow up with a major music influence it's very easy to fall into this hobby.

 

[genclaymore]

I started using audiophile grade headphones, when I got tired of buying into the hype of 5.1 headsets with all of there cons.  While paying alot for less. That's when I bought my first good headphone the AD700's. Since then I never Went back to over hype and marketed gaming headphones. Because I know they are trash from experience. Besides trying to listen to music on 5.1 headsets which didnt sound right.

 

[SixthFall]

my path started with gaming. I wanted to find some nice cans for gaming, and that lead me to the senn. HD558. I guess it just took off from there.

 

[wuwhere]

It was inevitable.

 

[SixthFall]

Quote:

It was inevitable.

Are you following me?? (Music game IX)

 

[wuwhere]

Quote:

Are you following me?? (Music game IX)

 
I was here before you

  , actually just saw the thread so I replied.

 

[bigheadhifi]

it all started when I was lookin for a new iem (cheap ones) and I came across quite a few different earphones and it got me started collecting cheap earphones.. then I tried these earphones from Razer 'something', I forgot what it was, but it was pretty good and gave me goosebumps as well as the akg k313.. and then I upgraded to HiFiman RE-zero LE.. and moved to headphone with ultrasone HFI680, and took off from there...

 

[MrDom1nation]

I wanted some Beats at first, but after I did some research on my own, I stumbled upon Head-Fi. Afterwards, I got myself the M50s, but I wanted a more open sound and a headphone that wouldn't make me sweat so much, so I eventually decided on the Ultrasone HFI-2400. Then, I bought Harmon Kardon Soundsticks III when my old computer speakers died on me. I also upgraded my IEMs after losing my Apple stock buds, which I hated because they sounded tinny and were uncomfortable. I've still got a long way to go 

 

[JonnyRocket]

I was always into car stereos and home theaters systems. I didn't get into headphones until about a year ago. I bought a pair of Diddy Beats to replace my Bose IE2 and I wasn't really happy with them. I figured there had to be better options. I did some research and found the turbine golds, read some reviews on Amazon and bough them. I had no idea sound from IEMs could possibly be this clear. I did some more research and came across this site and was hooked. One thing I like about this hobby which you can't do with car stereos or home theater systems is listen to a great pair of headphones on one day and the next, listen to the same music with a different pair of great headphones and hear your music in a completely different way.

 

[RushNerd]

I'm probably no where near "audiophile" level, that's a LOT more involved than I really want to go. I just like cruising the forums and gathering opinions (and tech data) on products and hopefully choosing the ones for me. Though I have played instruments since I was 16.
 
But really the moment I became completely aware and interested in the specifics of sound characteristics and how audio exactly works was when I played Prodigy's 'Fat of the Land' out of my Fisher receiver out to my 100w Pioneer tower speakers. Needless to say, the bass was out of this world and I had never heard anything like it. From there I had to find out everything I could on the new found world of low frequencies.

 

[machoboy]

I'm currently enrolled in university, so I don't have enough money to be an audiophile. When I think "audiophile", I think of the stuff they sell in Stereophile magazine. $10,000+ speaker cables and whatnot. They don't even use that stuff in top recording studios, it's just intended for retired investment bankers. They're too old for Pokemon so they collect absurdly expensive/fragile audio equipment and argue about whose is better.
 
Maybe we can steal M-Audio's headphone name, "studiophile", and coin it as someone who is obsessed with quality recording/playback and doesn't really care about much else. I'm a firearms enthusiast as well, but I'm not one of those guys who buys custom-engraved elephant rifles for the price of a Ferrari when I could buy something 10 times as accurate for 1000 times less money. It's the same with audio gear.
 
How did I get into professional audio? A combination of playing with my dad's stereo system as a kid and a natural love of composing music. Once you start buying instruments and recording software, you know what happens; your newly acquired sense for audio nuances leads to replacing all of your listening gear with the high-end stuff. I think the transitional moment is when you realize what "mud" sounds like. After that, you wage eternal war against anything muddy.

 

[NZtechfreak]

Wouldn't consider myself an audiophile, being a fairly recent entrant into all of this.
 
For me it started with Voodoo Sound on the original Galaxy S i9000, when I installed that it opened my eyes to a new world of sound quality. I still remember my first road trip with my Voodoo'd S1 connected to the car stereo, probably lucky I didn't have an accident I was enjoying it so much.
 
Then I saw the HE-400s mentioned online and thought I would get a set as my first set of serious headphones, since they seemed to offer excellent quality for the asking price. Still remember the first time I heard them, was staggering, like hearing my favourite tunes for the first time again - hearing so much new detail, and for the first time truly experiencing sound stage and imaging. Unfortunately I had one of the faulty sets from the first bunch of pre-orders to ship out, so returned them and looked elsewhere, picking up first the HD25-1 II, which I enjoyed for some time before wanting more.
 
It's funny (or not at all funny, depending on your point of view), I recall agonising over spending the money on the HE-400s at the time, but once bitten I haven't looked back. Didn't even blink when buying my LCD-2, GS1000i, T5p, and my 'buy now/add to cart" finger is getting mighty itchy looking at a few more headphones even now!

 

[planx]

I can only think of less than 5% of total Head-Fiers that comes close to fitting the "Audiophile" description. Audiophiles are a rare breed of humans. It's quite the laughable subject because there is no such thing as this "perfect sound" and you see these "Audiophiles" continuing their endless search for this "perfect sound". They might come close, but they cannot be absolutely 100% satisfied. There is no such thing as true satisfaction. There's always something wrong, even a flaw worth 0.001% of importance can throw off the 100% satisfaction guaranteed. But I tell you this people, once you find this new piece of "Audiophile" gear along the journey, it may be the greatest sounding product your ears has ever heard of. You might stop there and say that it is "good enough", or simply lie to yourself that this is the perfect sound, but sooner or later you will advance onto another great sounding product. Nothing is perfect, neither are you. But once you get this "connection" between you and (a) certain product(s) (let it be an Amp, DAC, Turntable, Headphone, Speaker, IEM, ETC...) the feeling is just nostalgic. Every memory of every single IEM, headphone, Amp, source, cable, you attatch to, listen to, insert in, purchase, sell, regret... It all comes at once and all you say is... "To Head-Fi it is..."
 
So I'm not an Audiophile, nor can I be at this time (student life people... constantly short on money). But right now I'm happy. I love inserting a different CD into my Marantz 5003CD and I love flicking on both power switches on my Hifiman EF5. Plugging in my Grado SR225i almost completes it, but nothing beats me pressing "Play" on the remote and immersing myself into this new world of mine. That's the magic Head-Fi brings to me. Ever since I joined this community, I can strongly say that I am happier and smarter. Just wished my wallet could say the same, or at least retain it's weight...