[bagwell359]

I was brought into it early by my father. I got my first good stereo at 15, better at 17. Went to college and we had a Stereo CO-OP, and if you put in 4 hrs a week you got everything at cost, so I would buy stuff NIB and bring it back every spring and sell at a profit. Never mind what I got for myself and flipped. Then graduated and got a job at a high end shop, and bought everything at 50% - except Nakamichi (60%), and churned equipment like underwear. Got sick of the money and being forced to sell jubk, so I got a real career, and the churn cooled. Then bought into another outfit later and got deals and access to everything overnight and weekends.

Then marriage and kids and the musical chairs really got quiet - just bought and kept classics. Kids grew up, retired, and I'm back in on short money. I just decided unless I hit the lottery, just one more killer can and one more killer speaker, and that's it... Wife retires in 2 years. We'll get a small house in coastal R.I. or CT (close to the kids), and there won't be much room for panels...

Helps to ignore sales people and reviewers. Most of my audio pals are retired from it, or just gone....

 

[AnalogEuphoria]

The main thing I think about when reading audio reviews is that, quite often, "different" is perceived as "better."

Everyone should let this sink in hard because this man speaks the truth.

 

[AnalogEuphoria]

Personally I think it comes down to not buying something because you feel like you need it to enjoy music fully. If the emotional connection is there you can enjoy it on $1 earbud.

 

[DenverW]

There is definitely a “collecting” aspect for me as well. It’s the only was to explain why I want to have headphones that would get little to no listening time.

I have a caldera, so why does that $399 adorama he6se sale tempt me so? I just want to have things, I guess.

 

[shwnwllms]

There is definitely a “collecting” aspect for me as well. It’s the only was to explain why I want to have headphones that would get little to no listening time.

I have a caldera, so why does that $399 adorama he6se sale tempt me so? I just want to have things, I guess.

Accurate af

Also regarding the collecting aspect, tubes are cheaper than headphones (or amps). You can satisfy the collecting aspect without spending a ton (unless you go crazy which is entirely possible) and get enough variation in sound to keep from buying the newest shiniest toy. Plus if you’re hunting for those rare unobtainium tubes it pretty much takes up all your time anyway so you aren’t tempted to buy something you don’t need.

Like any hobby, know your budget, your priorities and plan ahead. It will keep you from buying every shiny new toy along the way.

 

[chesebert]

There is definitely a “collecting” aspect for me as well. It’s the only was to explain why I want to have headphones that would get little to no listening time.

I have a caldera, so why does that $399 adorama he6se sale tempt me so? I just want to have things, I guess.

HE6se when amped and sourced well is like a $2k headphone - that's why you get it and put it away until you have the gear to drive it.

 

[chesebert]

Everyone should let this sink in hard because this man speaks the truth.

I would first separate out "review" from "ad" and then separate out reviewers who can actually hear a difference and others who can only read a graph and can't actually hear the difference. Critical listening is a skill that you train over time to get better at and not something that anyone can just pick up in a short period of time.

 

[Spork67]

I have been good for ~6 years, enjoying the gear I had and not buying anything new (apart from music)
But although I love the sound of my older Stax gear, the robustness of the HP's leaves something to be desired.
I wanted the SR-007's - but that would necessitate a new amp too, from all accounts my T1 would not do them justice.

So I bit the bullet and bought a modified 006Ta from Mjolnir audio, and some '007's from here.

These were not frivolous purchases. I've felt '007's would be my end-game HP for 5-6 years, and I knew an amp upgrade would be required (and it's a "good enough" amp - I expect I will upgrade that as well one of these days.)

This got me thinking about my DAC.
It doesn't have balanced outputs, but the 006ta has balanced inputs.

Maybe I would be missing out there?

I asked the question on this and other forums, and got all sorts of answers. many of them suggesting Chi-fi (current DAC is a grace m9xx).

There were a couple of factors that saved me spending yet more $$$ on a new DAC.

One was an admin on another forum (I won't name it - but it's high on technical knowledge, while perhaps a little lacking in social niceties) telling me I had GAS and there was absolutely nothing wrong with the DAC I had.

The other thing was reading reviews for my existing DAC.

Each and every one was glowing! They were probably ones I had read back when I bought it.

TLDR? - Ask people who know their stuff and will be blunt and to the point.
- Read reviews for the stuff you're thinking of replacing. Not just the stuff you're thinking of replacing it with.

 

[rlanger]

Meditation. Gratitude.

The urge to get another headphone, amp, DAC, whatever, is usually just that... an urge. If you meditate, you learn to let things like that pass, then return your focus to something else. In this case, for me it's the music. So once I find something that works for me (in any of my hobbies; cycling, music, headphones, running, and more), I focus on my appreciation for what I've got, and just enjoy the music.

Right now, I have a Hifiman Edition XS and Mojo 2 (that's it... no multiple headphones for me). And, I live in Japan so I often visit some of the big headphone shops in Tokyo and listen to whatever I want. And while I can easily afford more expensive gear, my setup sounds fantastic. So, I just enjoy it, especially with the realization that many on this site would kill for what I've got.