[silent-circuit]

With my third cross country move in the last year and a half looming in the near future, I'm motivated to part with some of my collection. We'll need the money, and I probably won't have the space for everything.

Trouble is I love basically everything I have of value for one reason or another and am having a terrible time picking what to let go.

There are a few things that are completely off the table - the Hyland Audio Jupiter One are never going anywhere; they're easily among my favorites for sound and comfort, plus they're so rare I'd probably never be able to replace them.

Similarly, I love what the Koss ESP/950 can do (and electrostats generally), got a great deal on them, and will never get rid of them.

Beyond that, I guess everything is on the table to one degree or another.

I'd want to keep at least one full size closed back, between the DCA Aeon Closed X and Focal Elegia. I prefer the sound of the Aeon, but the Elegia is more comfortable for long term use. Given one is a dynamic and the other a planar part of me wants to keep both, but it's hard to justify. It probably makes more sense to sell the Aeon, but I'm afraid I won't be able to get what I paid for it.

Similarly I'd like to keep the Sendy Aiva because it's my only open back planar and I love the build and feel of it, but again, hard to justify - how often will I really reach for them when isolation isn't needed. I've got the Jupiter One and the ESP/950, and generally prefer them for fun/relaxed listening and more technical focus, respectively. Both are more comfortable, too... So this is probably one to let go.

The Audio Technica ATH-R70x doesn't get much use vs. the main 2, and apart from being very comfortable and not requiring EQ for a reference tune, doesn't really add much. I hate that everyone seems to think they're worth so little now, though.


On the IEM side, the Empire Ears Bravado Mk2 are staying for sure - nothing touches them for bass, or detail when EQ'd. I think I'd also like to keep the CFA Vega 2020 since I really like how cohesive the single DD is and they're very comfortable. Might also keep the Custom Art FIBAE 4 to represent an all BA set, since they're also my most comfortable IEM by far. Everything else can go - I'm clearly not as attached to them as I am the full size stuff. Still regret selling the Denon AH-D7200 and Sennheiser HD700, and if I'm honest it's at least half because of how pretty they were.


Thoughts? Suggestions? Pleas that I get over myself?

 

[msing539]

If it makes you smile when you listen to it, it's a keeper. If you find yourself picking out flaws or don't know when you might reach for it again because it only does one thing well, then sell it.

Start with something cheaper, once you've sold one, it's easier to let go of others. Also, if it's easy enough to get another down the line, don't hesitate to sell it. Most headphones aren't going up in value. A $500 headphone today will likely be $350 in a year or two.

 

[dunring]

Make a 1 hour playlist and cycle through each one and it's an easy way to decide which are the keepers. I volume match with a phone decibel meter to keep things fair when picking through the collection on what to sell.

 

[IkSak]

Whenever I have a choosing decision between two headphones I ask myself: which one would I take to a desert island?

Another rule that I try to follow is accounting how much idle time and item has. If I have an item that I don’t use in let’s say, at least once per month, it’s time to let it go, donate or gift