[Claritas]

  I used to enjoy listening to music in my car.  No more.  Now I drive in silence.  Guess I'll need a new car now.

 
Still easier than needing a new world.

 

[CharlesC]

  I use a Dragonfly for my laptop ($99), a Little Dot 1+ and ODAC variation when I'm at home (~$220) ..... !

 
My mobile rig is my home rig. In fact I never really take it anywhere, but there is not a single place in my house that I like to listen.  Actually there are 4 and being mobile helps.

 

[JoeDoe]

   
My mobile rig is my home rig. In fact I never really take it anywhere, but there is not a single place in my house that I like to listen.  Actually there are 4 and being mobile helps.

Mine is similar. I close the laptop and run it to a larger monitor when I'm at home - this is the only time the DF get's disconnected. As soon as I need it for school or mobile use, the DF goes back in and I'm out the door!

 

[manbear]

I actually kind of like listening in the car, because it allows me to get familiar with a song over the car stereo. Then once I listen to that song on my home rig, I hear the song in a new light. Something about the juxtaposition of familiar and new blows my mind, because I'm hearing more than I expected to. The comparison to the old reference helps me really appreciate my system. 

 

[PointItZoomIt]

See I'm just getting into this, but the "good enough" approach makes sense. I'm looking at headphones around $300, and just one pair of them. I might add a single dac/amp and that's it. 320k MP3s FTW. I'm sure these will be better than typical and, most importantly, sound very good. So if they sound very good, why look at anything beyond?

 

[aamefford]

  So you came over here looking for ways to improve the sound of your system but after looking around a bit you find that it's kind of easy to become obsessed with this stuff.  You're noticing that audiophilia is a disease, and a very expensive one.  My advice is to set some ground rules for yourself and stick to them as long as you can.  Here are mine:
 
1) Stick to 256k mp3s.  These are the files you've already got.  They can sound awesome.  Resist the urge to even try some hidef. You will receive offers to try out hidef files for free.  Ignore them. 
 
2) Stick to $200 headphones.  There are plenty of great $200 headphones.  I want to try them all.  That's another problem.
 
3) Since I use a Surface 2, I'm sticking to portable, USB powered DAC-Amps, also under $200.  This is an interesting segment of the market with great new products arriving every 6 months. Possibly yet another problem.
 
I know it's tough to stick to these limits.  About a week ago I became obsessed with getting some HD650s and a Bottlehead Crack.  Fortunately, a quick look at my credit card balance brought me back from the edge.
 
Good luck and good (enough) listening.

I actually got the tongue planted firmly in the cheek...
 

  Is saving over time - to eventually get what you want - not an option?  It used to be the go-to method when I was growing up.  What about buying used? 

 
If you discount electrostatics and the purchase of a PC, you can have a literally world-class headphone system for maybe $2,000 or less.  There are very few hobbies/occupations where you can achieve that for that small of an investment.
 
Or, never plan ahead with anything and stick with your 256K mp3's.

Heresy! No, wait, that's actually a good idea....

 

[JoeDoe]

  See I'm just getting into this, but the "good enough" approach makes sense. I'm looking at headphones around $300, and just one pair of them. I might add a single dac/amp and that's it. 320k MP3s FTW. I'm sure these will be better than typical and, most importantly, sound very good. So if they sound very good, why look at anything beyond?

It certainly made sense to most of us at the beginning, just don't read too many of the forums regarding the summit-fi equipment and you'll be fine! 

 
I still enjoy auditioning new gear just to hear how the sounds change, but I only keep one amp/DAC setup at a time - no matter which headphones I'm using. 
 
Can't go wrong with 320. Something like 90% of the public CANNOT hear a difference between 320 and FLAC so to me FLAC is a little unnecessary. Plus the file sizes are huge - space is cheap, but it ain't that cheap! (specially when you're library is approaching 22k songs)
 
My thinking is based on how I'm able to listen (I'm a full time grad student with lots of other commitments so I'm rarely able to sit down in a silent room and listen to symphony on vinyl [or anything of the like]). Since that's the case, I've tried to find a good medium between my budget limitations and sound quality preferences. For me, sinking a little change into a desktop was feasible, as was buying a decent DAP and amp. So that's what I've done and I'm stickin' to it!

 

[CharlesC]

  I actually kind of like listening in the car, because it allows me to get familiar with a song over the car stereo. Then once I listen to that song on my home rig, I hear the song in a new light. Something about the juxtaposition of familiar and new blows my mind, because I'm hearing more than I expected to. The comparison to the old reference helps me really appreciate my system. 

 
This is a good point and driving around silently is kinda boring.

 

[mald]

How can I delete this message? 

 

[CharlesC]

Watching the v1 Dragonfly drop from $250 to $99 overnight was a revelation.  In the mobile space you never need to buy anything more expensive. Just wait around for a year.

 

[aamefford]

  It certainly made sense to most of us at the beginning, just don't read too many of the forums regarding the summit-fi equipment and you'll be fine! 

 
I still enjoy auditioning new gear just to hear how the sounds change, but I only keep one amp/DAC setup at a time - no matter which headphones I'm using. 
 
Can't go wrong with 320. Something like 90% of the public CANNOT hear a difference between 320 and FLAC so to me FLAC is a little unnecessary. Plus the file sizes are huge - space is cheap, but it ain't that cheap! (specially when you're library is approaching 22k songs)
 
My thinking is based on how I'm able to listen (I'm a full time grad student with lots of other commitments so I'm rarely able to sit down in a silent room and listen to symphony on vinyl [or anything of the like]). Since that's the case, I've tried to find a good medium between my budget limitations and sound quality preferences. For me, sinking a little change into a desktop was feasible, as was buying a decent DAP and amp. So that's what I've done and I'm stickin' to it!

My theory - If you are buying digital music - buy in lossless.  I listen to lossless the slight majority of the time, save for stuff I wish I'd ripped in lossless but didn't, a long time ago.  The rest of the time - 320 mp3's from MOG.
 

  How can I delete this message? 

I usually just type a period, or something that seems funny at the time.  Like maybe "How can I delete this message?"
 

  Watching the v1 Dragonfly drop from $250 to $99 overnight was a revelation.  In the mobile space you never need to buy anything more expensive. Just wait around for a year.

Bingo!

 

[CharlesC]

  My theory - If you are buying digital music - buy in lossless.

 
How does one buy lossless?  I'd be open to that. I just ain't doing hidef.  Not gonna buy one album for the price of two.

 

[JoeDoe]

How does one buy lossless?  I'd be open to that. I just ain't doing hidef.  Not gonna buy one album for the price of two.

Depends on where you buy. For instance if you purchase from an artists storefront on bandcamp.com you can choose what format you want your download: FLAC, ALAC, 320, etc. also, many artists who sell through their own site offer lossless downloads.

 

[manbear]

You can also buy used CDs for cheap and rip in FLAC.

 

[62ohm]

You know why we do what we do, right? It's like what Sennheiser said, "Because good enough, is never good enough"