[Captain Magenta]

I've been aiming for a pair of HD600's for the past year but now don't think it is worth it.  I do not earn a huge salary and It would be really stretching my budget and not sure I could justify the £240 they retail at. Even on Ebay they still go to nearly that price used (Talking of Ebay I say a used pair of K701 up to £155 with 3 days to go - you can get them new for that price if you look hard enough)  From what I've read the FA-003/Lindy sound similar and come pretty close so I've settled for them.  Trouble is this hobby is strangely addictive.  I had to really resist bidding on a pair of K340's today on Ebay.de and was actually proud of myself when I did not bid.  They went for 100 euros which I guess is a good price but could not justify it because I was not willing to spend on a high end amp and My e9 would probably not have done them justice. 
 
At the moment I'm loving the K240S with my E7 though I know from owning the 668B that they do lack some qualities eg. imaging/seperation for the price but they still sound nice with anything I play through them and though they are not the most detailed cans I don't feel I am missing any detail.  I guess buy what you can afford.  At the end of the day its all about the music and as long as the headphone is decent and you like the sound signature then I really don't think its a problem.

 

[catscratch]

You're no doubt looking at this from a Childs Point of View, if you're only earning a few dollars a week then $100 is a lot of money. The other side of the coin is knowing how much something is worth to you, a headphone costing 10x more than another isn't going to be 10x better. It's those little incremental additions that make small changes to your audio that are worth it to many. Likewise you can take pictures for free these days with the use of Cell phones, I just spent $3k on a new camera setup which would be absurd to some. Also take cars into consideration, we don't all drive the cheapest, most affordable car even though they all go the speed limit.

This.

A lot of folks with the megabuck rigs are older, and for them spending $1k+ on headphones is not a big deal. A lot of the high-end headphone market isn't made for teens and young adults even though right now on HF they are the biggest demographic.

In terms of what's worth it in my mind: I think balanced armature canalphones are getting so good that a lot of the lower and midlevel headphones really don't make much sense to me. With a good custom-molded IEM you're getting better sound than a midlevel dynamic + mid/cheap amp, together with infinitely more practicality, so I don't really see the need to bother.

However what is very much worth it is electrostatics, especially high-end ones. They simply do things that no other headphones can, regardless of price. Headphones cannot beat speakers when it comes to linear frequency response, sub-bass reproduction, and natural imaging, but they can and do beat speakers convincingly in resolution and phase coherency - and when it comes to resolution (and to my ears most things really) high-end 'stats are king. Now, will they give you better sound than the already reasonably high-end speakers that you could get for the same money? That's debatable, and I don't want to get into it, but a lot of people in summit-fi-land are using headphones out of necessity, and there high-end 'stats again make sense if you want to maximize a headphone rig.

Also, if you have some DIY skill and are willing to go vintage, high-end 'stats can be had on a decidedly mid-fi budget, so again, they are even more worth it.

Again, to use a car analogy: is an M3 worth it if all you're ever going to do is sitting in traffic? You really can't get anywhere near its limits on a public road. For a lot of people the answer would be no, but then again, a lot of older folks have the means for it, and for them it's very much worth it. You spend 4 years of your life in a car on average, so you may as well try to get the most enjoyment out of those years that you can reasonably afford to get.

 

[yawny]

Quote:

I've been aiming for a pair of HD600's for the past year but now don't think it is worth it.  I do not earn a huge salary and It would be really stretching my budget and not sure I could justify the £240 they retail at. Even on Ebay they still go to nearly that price used (Talking of Ebay I say a used pair of K701 up to £155 with 3 days to go - you can get them new for that price if you look hard enough)  From what I've read the FA-003/Lindy sound similar and come pretty close so I've settled for them.  Trouble is this hobby is strangely addictive.  I had to really resist bidding on a pair of K340's today on Ebay.de and was actually proud of myself when I did not bid.  They went for 100 euros which I guess is a good price but could not justify it because I was not willing to spend on a high end amp and My e9 would probably not have done them justice. 
 
At the moment I'm loving the K240S with my E7 though I know from owning the 668B that they do lack some qualities eg. imaging/seperation for the price but they still sound nice with anything I play through them and though they are not the most detailed cans I don't feel I am missing any detail.  I guess buy what you can afford.  At the end of the day its all about the music and as long as the headphone is decent and you like the sound signature then I really don't think its a problem.

If you're worrying about the E7/E9 combo not doing justice to the 600s, don't. I order HD650s about a week ago (waiting for them to come in) and have since found out that a TON of people on Head-Fi use an E7/E17 to get great results on 600/650.
 
It's hard to justify spending the bux on new phones when our current ones sound fine to you. It's one of those deals, that you may not know what you're missing until you spring for something new. The 600s should definitey be an upgrade though, and for 155 Euro (about $200 USD for me) they're a pretty good deal. I got my 595s for more than that a year ago, and they're a fair step down. An amp can always be upgraded and from what i've come to understand, at least with the 600/650, they benefit greatly from any amp and will eventually suffer from the same diminishing returns that phones do.
 
Buy what's worth it to you is the clearest message that can be brought across on this topic. Sure, past a point, high end phones are diminishing returns. But past a certain point, only the people looking for that incremental increase will be buying them, so it doesn't really matter.
 

 

[sANDEKERU]

If everyone could afford the top of the line models right here and now, then where would the fun be?
 
Also, the people who going "OMG, YOU SPENT 1000€ ON HEADPHONES" are often the same people who buy 60" plasmas to be used in a confined space with bad lighting/window positioning making the TV reflect the whole room.
 
I'm guessing 300-400$ is a good place to start, allthough I'm no expert (ofc, you can do bargains on used ones on ebay or find good offers).
The price range where you get the best value will vary, as alot of headphones have unique qualities that make them shine.

 

[AltairDusk]

I used to think $100 for headphones was crazy, then I got the Sennheiser HD555s and listened to them.  After that I would have told you spending over $200 was nuts, then I got the Ultrasone HFI-2400s for $250 and I don't regret a single penny spent on them or the Fiio e7/e9 I use them with.  I've just been blown away by what I'm hearing out of them with each upgrade and suddenly spending a little more doesn't seem so wild.  I'm looking at spending somewhere between $350-400 for some the Ultrasone Pro 2900 now and part of my mind is going "this is insane" but I have a feeling I won't be thinking that after I hear them.  
 
Everyone's budget is different too, in my case other hobbies have sacrificed some of their budget to fund this one and like I said it's been worth it.  If I were spending more than I can afford then that really would be insane.

 

[Draygonn]

Again, to use a car analogy: is an M3 worth it if all you're ever going to do is sitting in traffic?

Haha, I had an M3 convertible when I moved to LA and sold it after a year for that reason. Stairmaster clutch and traffic hell do not mix.

On-Topic: Since headphones are a hobby I think a reasonable plan of action is to buy what you enjoy but don't borrow $ for a headphone rig. There are plenty of great cans and DIYs that a college student can afford, and plenty of expensive toys for those who have the discretionary income.

 

[mr burns]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nizi123 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
What i'm worried about is that i will spend $100 and get the hp's, and they turn out to be just a tad bit better than the hp's that my friend bought for half the price. So, if anybody has any experience with either of the hp's i mentioned, are the ath a55's going to be twice as good as the ath at400? And what's the difference between ath a55's and the ath a500/a700?
 

 
Seems nobody wants to answer this part of your question. I don't have experience with these, but my only feedback is at that price, surely you can find them somewhere online that has a good return policy. Pick up the more expensive ones and give them a side by side with your friends. Then, you decide if the difference is worth the $50, keep 'em. If not, then ship 'em back and save yourself $50.

 

[pyrokid]

You can get good sound on a budget, and you can get awesome sound without one. It's just a matter of how you want to spend your money. 

 

[obobskivich]

I don't think you need to spend an absolute fortune, but I will say that there isn't a headphone available under $200 that doesn't have some fatal flaw in my opinion (at least, new headphones - ten or twenty years ago this was different). I think that modern headphones have had their prices artificially inflated due to market trends; in other words, to get something "good" today you'll spend $300-$400, whereas even a few years ago you could get out the door for $200. Maybe I've just lost touch with "value shopping" - who knows. Of the kilobuck (or greater) class headphones I've heard, only two actually did anything for me to justify the price (and I own both) - one is from 1978 and one is from 1990. 
 
 
 
 

 

[DeadMan]

I can't get on with IEM's. They are the most discrete and probably one of the better options on the train but I can't stand hearing my own internal organs (Like swallowing, chewing and my own footsteps or even the rubbing of the cable against me). Buds could be great for indoors if they did not fall out of your ears. Probably more useful if you want to go to sleep with them on (and get strangled in your sleep perhaps). On ears are only so good if you don't mind having your ears crushed (closed) or noise leaking (open). Around ear cans are heavy and cumbersome. I guess there is no ideal unless you shell out megabucks but even then they only go so far towards meeting the criterie between comfort, convenenience and sound quality. the best pair of cans for home listening are speakers if you don't disturb anyone with them but much like cans you need to have good speakers to hear the full spectrum and good room acoustics.
 
Like anything though there are diminishing returns on high end gear. I suspect there is a point where most people would say it's 'good enough'. But for those with the cash to splash and 'golden ears' there will  always be that next level of purity of sound to attain.

 

[sinphase]

So far I've spent about $400 - $500 on my gear. I've got the fiio e7/e9, the ath m50's and a pair of shure se210 earphones. And thanks to a very generous godfather I'll soon have the HD650's for free. =D I really can't wait to try them out. If I had the foresight to know that I would be getting the 650's as a gift, I would have probably not bought the fiio combo and saved for the schiit asgard and bifrost. 
 
But so far I can't say I regret any of my purchases. I love taking the e7 out on the go, and the e7 with the e9 definitely brings out a lot of subtle nuances from my m50's and I love using the se210's of my iPhone in bed because I can lay my head down unlike with headphones.  
 
Once I get the 650's I'll probably pick up a pair of grado's after that I don't see myself buying headphone's for a really long time. But I certainly see myself looking into some higher end equipment in my distant future, probably when I'm not in school anymore and close to paying off my student loans lol.

 

[GL1TCH3D]

I'm going to be plunging into the Ultrasone Edition 8s within the next couple of weeks which will bring my total spent on audio equipment well over 1000$

 

[Sanity]

My friends all thought me to be dumb when I said I spent 2000 dollars on a set of headphones and a cheapie rig that included a Schiit Valhalla. They think now, I am even more dumb for going off the deep end and buying a Lavry DA11 and a Woo Audio WA2, but, I think it's worth the price. Initially I thought it was a bit ridiculous, but because of the fact that I almost always have headphones on outside of work, I figure dropping the money for a nice system that would last me a long time is a good investment. Time will tell when I receive my two new components next week!

 

[VALIENTE]

How much is too much? You can buy $5000 headphone setup anytime. Conditions: (1) Provided you still eat three times a day, with the right nutrition, right exercise, you can still support the needs of your family, therefore you are healthy and fit and listen to your headphones everyday, go out now and have that headphone setup.

 
I will buy even the $10,000 headphone setup, provided I will listen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. But it's impossible. If I will win the lotto, I will buy even its a $100,000 headphone setup. If I own a headphone manufacturing company, I will buy $1,000,000 headphone setup cos its my right and opportunity.

 
Did i say something good today? I don't know. Sorry.

 

[Ajax]

Lets be realistic. The best pair of headphones are free. That's right. Free. Of course what I'm suggesting you do is Google the lyrics of your favorite song. In the case of instrumentals just mimic each instrument. Its like a live concert with no one else.