[Eargasmo]

I have quite a few cans personally, but I feel 4 cans fill my ultimate needs.  I'll break down my logic:
 
2 cans for home:
HD650: laid back, "fun" pair.  For super long listening sessions.  A bottle of cabernet/scotch and a comfortable chair.  Sit back and zone out.  Wake up in the middle of the night and realize you are not in your bed cans.
Beyerdynamic DT990 Pro: analytical pair.  For when you want to be an active listener.  When sitting back ain't enough.  When you want to hear the things you never heard before in a recording.  For when you want listen for the scratch of a pick.  When you want to hear the break in a voice.
 
1 for the gym:
Sennheiser CX500B: highly underrated  b/c of all the fakes.  Great with my cowon z2.  Good jogging, mountain biking, skiing, et. al.  Much smoother, laid back, and fun than the Klipsch S4.  I hated the S4s.
 
1 sealed pair for the road:
AKG K550: great sealed cans with amazing soundstage.  Awesome for plane rides.  A bit bulky, but packs away safely in my UDG case.  Great neutral pair for home, as well.
 
So for me, 4 is enough.  Most of my future purchases will be towards replacing the holy quadrology.  I may add a 5th, aka a rock-oriented pair or a planar pair like the HE-6/HE-500.  But 4 is enough.  5th pair is just vanity.  I'm not a huge headphone roller like many on head-fi.  Once I love something, I hold onto it for a LONG time.  I'm not looking around the corner for upgrades.  I've had my mdr-v6 forever.  I only replaced them finally when a closed can with great soundstage entered the market, the K550s.   And i won't be selling the MDRV6s with Pearstones...too much nostalgia.  And I'll pop them in every once in a while just to see why I loved them so much.
 
I am curious how many is enough for you?  What brand/model do you keep, and why?  Is it vanity?  pack-rat?  are you a collector?  or b/c they fill a void in your listening habits? 
 
Do tell.  

 

[Tangster]

I'd agree with you there, 4 cans is enough. I do have different criteria to you though.
 
Home:
D2000 for bass heavy music and gaming.
Shure SRH 840 for detail listening.
 
1 for gym(happens to be an IEM):
Shure SE215
 
1 for the road(also an IEM):
Shure SE425
 
However, I tend to gravitate towards my T50RPs at home, simply because they're pretty good at everything and seriously comfortable, just pop them on and relax. 
 
Future upgrades for me would be a pair of portable cans and a pair of Heir Audio 4As. Cans that are probably going to be leaving my collection soon would be the ATH A700X and possibly the SE425s when I get customs.

 

[planx]

Currently, I have 4 headphones and 3 main IEMs. My Grado SR225i are my bright cans, HE-400 are all rounders, Vintage K141 is for neutrality and monitoring, and HD-25-1-ii is for portable use. I like using my Audeo PFE232 w/iPhone mic for iPhone use, UM CIEM for home/transportable, and my ER4S for the same purpose. I find my setup to be sufficient with the different sources I have and difference uses.

 

[stevenlongs]

Very close to being the same for me.
 
1 for home use. Currently using the HD650.
 
1 for commuting. Alternating between PFE 121 and EPH-100 running through a bare ipod.
 
1 for gaming/studying. Something to just plug directly into a cpu headphone out. Needs to be isolating/collapsible. 
Still looking for this one but I think I might settle with the SRH-840.

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
There's never enough.
 
But all I need is one.
 
I'm confused.
 
Very best,

 

[planx]

Quote:

Heya,
 
There's never enough.
 
But all I need is one.
 
I'm confused.
 
Very best,

 
All you need one Mal? Coming from you? LOL

 

[MalVeauX]

Quote:

 
All you need one Mal? Coming from you? LOL

 
Heya,
 
I know, it's ridiculous. I'm actually in the process of down sizing and getting rid of most of the ones I don't ever touch. And most of my gear too. End of the day, there's only a few headphones that I use that really just suite my tastes. And they're not even high-ends. I'm getting rid of those too actually. I just don't use them enough, as I use my speakers more. My headphone passion, after all the journey, still ends up being the D5000 & DT770 (600ohm). Kinda silly. But it's just the signature that I like, and I prefer closed back (and style is a must!).
 
Very best,

 

[planx]

True very true Mal. No matter how highly a headphone may be "rated" and priced, at the end of the day, the headphone you just keep coming back to are the ones you should keep. I love my HE-400 and I couldn't be happier with the HE500 and HE-6 IMO. Same story with my Grado SR225i, I dislike the SR325i and dislike the GS and PS500. All about what sounds "right" to me.

 

[mudo]

Three are enough:

- A full size open headphone for home usage (HD650 for me)
- A portable closed one with low impedance to use it anywhere (I have an ATH-ES55 coming!, hope I get it fast! )
- An IEM for when you really need portability and isolation (PFE121 in my case)

 

[jerg]

The HE400s and modded KSC75s keep me happy enough, 1 for portable, 1 for home-use, isolation be damned, final destination.

 

[Arvan]

I have way to many for my own good..
 
Not all of them are expensive, right now i am on a budget killer hunt and the contestants stack up rather quickly

 

[GeorgeStorm]

I reckon 2 will be fine for me, currently use DT770 pros at home which are nice, then just need to find a nice pair for when I'm on the move I guess.

 

[Trogdor]

For women, two. For men, two, perhaps three (for dancing).

 

[viralcow]

I have 5, and none of them are real hi-fi stuff. Maybe I should sell them all and just stick to one.

 

[HalidePisces]

Only two.
 
1 open for the soundstage. Depending on your usage and tastes, you may need two: one for games, one for general listening. But generally, one should suffice.
 
1 closed when isolation is needed such as outdoors, late-night gaming, and/or porn. An IEM could function here, but I'm not a fan of them as they hurt my ears.