[sirnice]

EDIT: Warning, this is a fairly long reading but I think it's fun. Please excuse my grammatical errors and typos.

I must say this forum is extremely influential/addictive yet very educational and fun. The environment is very friendly where everyone is welling to help and offer their opinions.

I joined Head-Fi in Aprl of this year when I was searching for an headphone for my iPod on the net (I think I did a search on google) and I was ultimately lead to this place.

To keep this short,

after reading a bunch of posts on the headphone I was intersted in (E2c), I bought it the week after.

After a few weeks later --> Upgraded to the E3c.

After more Head-fi reading, another week later bought the Ksc75 (influenced by all the praise on it).

few more weeks later - purchased the UM2.
about the same time I also ordered the new E4c which has just came out.

I also wanted to buy the SuperFi Pro but someone (Jmmmmp - not sure how many m's

) on the forum was kind enough to let me borrow them first but I end up not liking them. Prefered the E4c.

a month later, started to get intersted in full size headphones and bought a pair of HD497.

Wanted something better so I purchased the Grado SR-60 a week later.

But I didnt' stop there, by this time I'm on Head-Fi almost daily reading new posts. Sometimes checking for new posts 3-4 times daily.

Read about the Alessandro MS-1 and Sennheiser HD595 and bought both within the same week. (now it's getting addictive)
Also replaced the iPod with Cowon X5.

For the first few months I'm mainly browsing on the Headphones forum, I haven't even been to the Amplifier and others yet ( which lead to more purchases later).

I've never heard about headphone amps unit I read about them on this forum.
after about a week of reading up on headphone amps, I purchased a Cmoy based amp off eBay which should be here shortly.

Then I went to check out the "Computer as source" forum and read about how much improvement the sound is if I upgrade my sound card (audigy2 zs platinum pro) . The next thing I know, I have the E-Mu 1212m running in my computer.

Now, at the present time 8-13-05. I'm about to upgrade my MS-1, HD595 to the RS-1 or the Sony SA5000 (hopefully in the next 2 weeks). I don't think my MS-1 and HD595 even burn-in yet. What can I say? I have the upgrade disease.
I've also started to read up on external DAC (ohh man this one is going to be even more expensive).

Well this is my audio journey so far and I'm sure I'm not even half way there yet (to my satisfaction that is, if I'll ever reach that point). I don't even know how much money I've spent in these few months since I've join Head-Fi, I don't want to know!!!!

Now let me hear about yours head-fi adventure

heeheeeheee (evil laugh)

 

[Zuerst]

In order...

Sony DEJ-925
Sony EX70
iRiver iFP-180T
Sony EX71
Sony V6
***Joins Head-Fi***
Audio-Technica A900
Audio-Technica EM9r
Sony E888
XEN EMP-200
Grado SR325
Creative Muvo Slim
Audio-Technica EC7
Shure E5c
Shure E2c
Shure E3c
Etymotic ER4p
Sennheiser HD555
Sony HD1
Sony EX81
Philips DVD 963SA
Gilmore Lite
Zu Pivot
Zu Oxyfuel
Sony D77 Eggo
Sony SA5000
Audio-Technica W100
Koss KSC35
Echo Indigo DJ
Shure E4c
Sony HD3
Shure E4

All in about a year and a half's time.

Shure E4 is currently the only phone I have in possession.

 

[akwok]

3 years ago : Sony MDR-V700DJ out of Altec Lansing speakers (poo poo)
May '05 : I ask for opinions regarding the SA1000 on Head-Fi - new member. gsferrari and a bunch of others suggest the SA5000 instead.. after careful consideration I go for it for $380.
May '05 : People tell me I need an amp too, so I buy the PAV2 for $60 and run it out of the iPod's line out.
May '05 : To upgrade my source, I buy the Onkyo SE-90PCI for $175.
May '05 : People say the PAV2 isn't enough, I upgrade to a Gilmore Lite at $299
June '05 : After getting a bit more money, and while the Gilmore Lite is still being built, I foolishly enquire about the GS-1 vs. Gilmore Lite. I try to change my Gilmore Lite order to a GS-1 ($749) but it was too late, so I eventually had to send the Gilmore Lite back to Justin and trade in for a GS-1.
June '05 : During this time, I decide to upgrade my source and go for the Channel Islands VDA-1 + VAC-1 for $500. I also decide to get some nice cables, so I go with the Zu Oxyfuel for $99 and a Glass TOSLink for $50
June '05 : I decide I need a better portable setup, so I purchase the Shure E4C for $300 (sigh.. what we Canadians have to pay for a verified reseller).
June '05 : All my stuff arrives, I'm still not happy. I buy the HD650s for $335 after curiosity regarding the Senn sound. At around the same time, I order the Blue Dragon II cable for $150. Also placed an order for a Headphile stand for $85. I also buy the iAudio X5 at $299 to let the E4C's shine to it's full potential.
June '05 : HD650s arrive.. LOVED them. Then the BDII arrived.. LOVED them too.
July '05 : After using the HD650s for about 2 weeks, I hear all the shebang over the Headphile K3000 Hybrids.. I sell my HD650s and SA5000, shell out some extra money, and place an order for the K3000 Hybrids for $1300.
August '05 : Uncle gives me a pair of MIT MI-330 interconnects, so I sell off the Zu Oxyfuel.. I upgrade to the Veda Audio Dynahi-SA and sell off the GS-1 after speaking to a couple of guys (namely tkam).

There's my story.. SO FAR.

 

[sirnice]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akwok 3 years ago : Sony MDR-V700DJ out of Altec Lansing speakers (poo poo) May '05 : I ask for opinions regarding the SA1000 on Head-Fi - new member. gsferrari and a bunch of others suggest the SA5000 instead.. after careful consideration I go for it for $380. May '05 : People tell me I need an amp too, so I buy the PAV2 for $60 and run it out of the iPod's line out. May '05 : To upgrade my source, I buy the Onkyo SE-90PCI for $175. May '05 : People say the PAV2 isn't enough, I upgrade to a Gilmore Lite at $299 June '05 : After getting a bit more money, and while the Gilmore Lite is still being built, I foolishly enquire about the GS-1 vs. Gilmore Lite. I try to change my Gilmore Lite order to a GS-1 ($749) but it was too late, so I eventually had to send the Gilmore Lite back to Justin and trade in for a GS-1. June '05 : During this time, I decide to upgrade my source and go for the Channel Islands VDA-1 + VAC-1 for $500. I also decide to get some nice cables, so I go with the Zu Oxyfuel for $99 and a Glass TOSLink for $50 June '05 : I decide I need a better portable setup, so I purchase the Shure E4C for $300 (sigh.. what we Canadians have to pay for a verified reseller). June '05 : All my stuff arrives, I'm still not happy. I buy the HD650s for $335 after curiosity regarding the Senn sound. At around the same time, I order the Blue Dragon II cable for $150. Also placed an order for a Headphile stand for $85. June '05 : HD650s arrive.. LOVED them. Then the BDII arrived.. LOVED them too. July '05 : After using the HD650s for about 2 weeks, I hear all the shebang over the K3000 Hybrids.. I sell my HD650s and SA5000, shell out some extra money, and place an order for the K3000 Hybrids for $1300. August '05 : Uncle gives me a pair of MIT MI-330 interconnects, so I sell off the Zu Oxyfuel.. I upgrade to the Dynahi and sell off the GS-1 after speaking to a couple of guys (namely tkam). There's my story.. SO FAR.

Wow your progress is certainly a lot faster/costly than mine. So how do you like the K3000 Hybrids? I also want to know if you like the SA5000 or the HD650 more since I'm about to purchase the SA5k.

 

[akwok]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sirnice Wow your progress is certainly a lot faster/costly than mine.

Yeah.. I think I'm almost hitting the $4k mark. Eeeh.. never had the balls to count it all up.

 

[daba]

Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1
M-Audio Revolution 7.1
Sennheiser PXC-250
*Head-fi*
Etymotic ER-6
Sennheiser HD-650
Gilmore Lite
E-MU 0404

 

[Jasonharkin]

Last month I bought a Jungson Moon Harbour HDCD/CD Player an Earmax Pro, Senn HD650's and Cardas Cable, also I bought a nice pair of interconnects. I wasn't happy... so this week I sold my earmax pro, sold my cardas and interconnects and sent my HD650'S back. Once I did this I bought an RSA Raptor and I am now deciding on whether to splash the cash on a pair of Grado RS-1's or PS-1's. Total cost in 6 weeks approx $2k +.

 

[fante7]

See my other similar thread.

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...dphone+journey

 

[DrOctagon]

Ehh, long story short:

-over 3 years ago: discovered these forums, posted under a different name, found the Beyer DT250-80s to suite my needs best, bought them, contacted a guy named JMT from around these parts and had him build me a spiffy lil CHA47 amp that along with the Beyers and my crappy little Sony discman kept me happy for a long, long time.

-year and a half agoish: needed some ultra portable phones for school, ended up with the ER-4P. Couldn't tell if I disliked the comfort or the sound more...they didn't see much use.

-half a year ago: started lurking these forums again, looking for a way to spend a whole buncha moolah I'd managed to save. Slowly began the process of picking out components for my new system.

-two months ago: all hell breaks loose...I've ended up with a source I spent over $1200 on (fully tricked out CD-25, with the spiffy ZapFilter), a Gilmore GS-1, a pair of Senn HD650 with the Zu Mobius, and some Audiogeek Nitrogens (two pairs, actually, due to a mix up...). From then on I've accumulated a pair of Beyer DT770-80 Pros, and some Grado RS-1s with Headphile ported Zeta C-Pads. Since tweaked my system by adding a VH Audio Flavor 1 power cord for my source, which made such an impact that I had to try out the VH Audio cryo'd Pulsars, which replaced the Nitrogens. Haven't totalled up all I've spent in the last two months or so, since it's sure to make me feel really, really ill.

-planning: Grado PS-1s. And possibly a tube amp of some sort.

 

[jjcha]

November 2002: Got to Japan and picked up some EX70 for the iPod because they looked good and had good comments on ipodlounge.com. Enjoyed the additional isolation they gave. Eventually upgraded to the EX71 when those came out.

October 2003: On a trip back home, picked up a HD600 because I was feeling guilty blasting the 5.1 system at 2 in the morning for late night movie-watching. Basically went into a high-end audio/home theater shop and asked for the best headphones they had.

February 2004: Joined head-fi, found the links from ipodlounge.com. Around the same time, picked up the Shure E5c as an upgrade to the EX71, based on reviews here and on ipodlounge. Wondered how good it could really be. Three weeks later, relegated the EX71 to the dustbin forever.

March 2004: Visited an audiophile colleague's apartment to listen to his vinyl and speaker rig. Was so impressed, decided I needed to move apartments and get a speaker rig of my own.

June 2004: Researching speaker rig, selected the Sonus Farber Cremona Auditor, Pathos Logos and Chord Blu/DAC64 based on good reviews and very sexy looks.

Chord Blu + DAC64

Pathos Logos (faceplate)

July 2004: Found appropriate apartment in Daikanyama area of Tokyo. Set-up speaker rig.

October 2004: Convinced by the reviews, I finally got a SR-71 and Cardas cable upgrade for the HD600 from Todd the Vinyl Junkie. Pathos Logos had issues, so sent back to distributor for repair. Picked up a used Pathos Classic One as a temp solution.

November 2004: Getting tired of the feel/bass of the Shure E5c, decided to upgrade to the Sensaphonics 2X-S. Borrowed Sony MDR-R10 from fellow head-fi'er tk_suki and Cary 300SEI from aforementioned audiophile colleague.

Cary300SEI, R10 and other gear

December 2004: Sony MDR-SA5000 came out in Japan. Purchased it the first day. First head-fi'er with these phones.

SA5k

Somewhere, got curious picked up the ATH-EW9 because they looked so cool and wanted another portable solution.

ATH-EW9

Grace m902 released in Japan. Picked it up for the bedroom rig. Picked up iHP-140 as a transport for the Grace m902. Finally completed my first head-fi goal (rig based upon iHP-140 and DAC/headamp). Borrowed tk_suki's HD650. Liked it, ordered the HD650 + Zu cable.

January 2005: Loved the SA5k, wondered how much I'd like the Qualia 010. Picked one up. Forgot when, but saw a used SA3k for sale, so I picked one up for kicks.

Qualia 010, SA5k, SA3k & Grace m902

Early 2005: Saw the audio-technica ATH-ES5, thought they looked cool, picked up a pair for casual usage.

February 2005: HeadRoom Coda and Overture introduced. Wanted to upgrade the portable rig, so I picked this up. Picked up another iHP140 as a backup as it had been discontinued.

Headroom Coda/Overture, SR-71, iPod, iHP140

March 2005: Organized a SA5k group buy on head-fi. Curious about other portable headphones, picked up a Senn HD25-1 and PX200. Held a Tokyo mini-meet and was introduced to the AKG K 1000. Also tried the ETY-ER4P/S and liked it a lot. Was really impressed by the K 1000, so bought Neilpeart's K 1000 rig when it went up for sale.

Chord DAC64 in the background, K 1000 and Pathos Classic One (not a good amp for the K 1000, BTW)

April(?) 2005: Realized I was moving from Japan, so decided to sell a few cans. EW9, HD650/Zu sold. Eventually gave HD25-1 and HD600/Cardas to friends. Had ordered the Qualia earbuds (Sony MDR-EXQ1) and finally received them. Liked it. Gave it as a gift to a cute work colleague.

May 2005: Swapped SA5k/Qualia with another head-fi'er to try out the Grado PS-1 and RS-1. Liked both a lot.

June 2005: Mr. headphoneless! Shipped all my gear to New York for move from Tokyo. Only had the iPod and no cans. Bought the KSC75, Sony MDR-EX81, Panasonic RP-HJE70 to remedy this. Ordered a Shure E4c, which I had enjoyed at the Stereophile show in NYC in April. Randomly came across an excellent condition ATH-W10VTG. Picked it up for another head-fi'er but decided to keep it for myself.

ATH-W10VTG and iPod

Really liked the ATH-W10VTG. Went on an audio-technica woody phase. Decided to get a W2002. Helped a bunch of headfi'ers get the L3000, but decided in the end not to keep one. Heard the PS-1 was nearing the end of its production run, so picked one up. Opportunity for the ATH-W10LTD came up, so picked one up as well. Re-release of the HE90, thanks to Jan Meier. Ordered one.

July 2005: Got to NYC. Curious about how the super.fi compared to the Shure E4c, so went to Guitar Center and bought one.

August 2005: San Jose meet coming up. HeadAmp AE-1 released. Kind of curious, wanted to bring one to the meet, so bought one.

HeadAmp AE-1, SR-71 and Hornet.

Decided not to keep the W10LTD, but find a good home, so it's currently up for sale...

ATH-W10LTD

That's it so far. I think the next step is a turn-table, amp for the HE90. We'll see, I need to upgrade the dynamic amps and maybe a source change sooner or later.

Phew, what a journey...

Best,

-Jason

 

[Wmcmanus]

A long time ago and far, far away, in a gallaxy called Audiogon, I bought a pair of HD600's and a Creek OBH11-SE headphone amp. By the time it had arrived, I had poked around other headphone-related threads at Audiogon and learned about the ASL MG Head and the David Berning microZOTL, as well as a number of headphones, and then made the (very fortunate) mistake of following a link to head-fi.

Once here, I bought some more stuff, and then started posting, then bought some more stuff, posted more, bought more, posted more... then went to my first meet, then another, then another. Not much of a story, really, but I've had a lot of fun and have met a ton of cool people along the way. The gear is kind of cool too, but knowing that I'm not the only headphone geek on the planet means more to me than any of that ever could. Other headphone geeks include: nah, I'd better not do that. Let them speak for themselves! BTW, nice post, Jason (you headphone geek)!

 

[jjcha]

I think if Wayne posted picts and the details of his journey like I did, this thread would crash most web browsers...

Comeon, at least tell us the story behind the Edition 7!!!

Best,

-Jason

 

[MrXpress]

Mine is horribly humble compare to you guys.

August '04... The beginning of the infamous FL hurricane season last year, I purchased an iRiver iFP-890t to help pass time during power outages and to have a small battery radio for news updates

September '04... After the hurricanes, I enjoyed having a DAP so I bought a 30GB Creative Zen Xtra to hold more music...it was then that I realized there was a fairly substantial difference between the iRiver earbuds and the Creative earbuds (i.e., the iRiver ones were far superior...I think they are based on Senn MX-350's?)

(sometime late '04)... While in Best Buy getting my parents iPod shuffles, I wandered over to the headphone section and figured I might as well upgrade my sound, so I bought the Sony MDR-V300 for $50. I got home, put them on and was a little disappointed, so I went online and searched "MDR-V300 review", where the reviews were either hit or miss. Someone mentioned to me in a chat that Koss Portapro's were the best headphone under $50, and I naturally tended to disagree with that.

(sometime late '04)... The very next day, I got fed up with the sound, so I returned them and went to Circuit City and saw the PortaPro2's for $30, so I picked them up. Went home, plugged them in my PC, and was very happy with them. I did a little online research and everything seemed to back up my hearing, and it was then that I found HeadWize, the discussion boards there.

I don't know how I didn't find this site earlier, but I enjoyed HeadWize but was disappointed in how slow the forums moved. Another person in chat soon mentioned how "Grados" were good headphones, so I searched and liked the look.

(early '05)... I found Head-Fi (oh how I rue the day) and was overwhelmed with how much discussion and information there was about headphones. I think I saw the SR-60 appreciation thread and was convinced enough to order the SR-60's from Amazon. They came in and I was quite impressed with the sound.

I used the SR-60's for about a month and a half constantly, but for some reason I got off of headphones for a while and they never saw any use. I did need some portable headphones for time in between classes, and at this point I was at the "I'm above using stock headphones" level, so in an impulse (stupid) buy I got the EX71's from CC for $50 (yeah yeah, I know).

(it gets really quick and impulse-like from here on..and this is about 2 months ago) Everything was fine for a while until I read Head-Fi one day and noticed the HD201's getting rave reviews. I figured I could use a set of closed phones, so I ordered them and was adequately satisfied with the sound. I also saw that the KSC-75's were a good value and figured I could use an upgrade from the EX71's at work so I ordered them from Amazon. At this point I figured I had peaked with the SR-60's, but then I started reading the Computers-as-Source forums, so I bought an M-Audio Revolution 7.1 from eBay. Since I sold a bunch of stuff, I had a ton of money in my PayPal and unfortunately too much time to browse what was for sale/auction. I bid on a pair of HD212's because I was curious about the bass (at this time I was looking for HD280's or MDR-V6's), I bid like $21 because I never thought they would go that low, but lo and behold I end up winning the auction for $31 shipped insured.

I'm babbling right now, so let's just say I've had way too much time to browse head-fi and in the last 2 weeks I've bought a rather expensive cMoy from eBay, and HD-280's and DT-770-250's from the FS forums. Thankfully, I don't really have the funds to make any more impulse audio purchases, so I'm hoping there won't be any additions for a while.

 

[sirnice]

Note: extended quote removed by mod staff. No offense intended, but it disrupts the flow of the thread.

Jason,

You sure have been thru a lot of gears. Tell me what do you like the most out of all the equipments you've owned. Which Headphone, Which Amp?
I like to hear your opinions on the SA5000 since I'm deciding on buying one right now.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha I think if Wayne posted picts and the details of his journey like I did, this thread would crash most web browsers... Comeon, at least tell us the story behind the Edition 7!!! Best, -Jason

Jason, I've edited my post in your honor! Hope you like it, geek boy!

Oh, the Edition 7. They've been one of the most interesting items along the journey. I mean, the biggest mistake I made (really) was buying them. But a very close second was taking them to head-fi meets before they were AT ALL broken in. As (nearly) everyone who heard them at the time "mentioned" (and I put that in quotes because it was far more than a mere mention by some of them) the Edition 7's sounded like absolute crap (if you'll pardon the term) when they were brand new! There was this awful reverb thing going on and the bass region dominated the entire presentation. Really bad and hugely disappointing.

So after crying in my spilled milk for a while (hummm... what does milk cost these days? It was probably at least 1,000 gallons worth of spilled milk)... I finally decided that I'd at least get them recabled by Larry at headphile.com. This turned out to be an excellent idea! But although they were greatly improved sonically and even more so physically (gone was the cheap 3M white lamp cord looking "cable" that came with them, and in it's place a nicely done 2M silver stranded cable with a lovely black casing)... they were still "off" in many respects. The reverb was toned down but still very much present. But, if nothing else, at least I could look at them without getting so upset that I'd get ill. It just irked me to no end that Ultrasone would put such a cheap cable on these headphones with their Madison Avenue marketing (if you've never checked out the Edition 7 segment of their website you owe yourself a good laugh) and the prestige image they are trying to convey. All in the name of creating a demand for an ultra high priced headphone that wasn't stacking up in any respect.

So after a while, they just sort of sat there unattended, and it got to the point where I wouldn't even entertain offers for them (very few, but one in particular) who was still interested in buying them despite all of the nasty (and deservedly so) things that had been said about them. I was kind of proud of myself, because at that time it would have been easy to take $1,500 for them and cut my losses. But I didn't feel in good conscience that I could sell them to someone who hadn't at least heard them first and still wanted to but them. So I kept them and there they sat.

Then one day I got the (not so brilliant and terribly obvious) idea of trying to break them in to see if that would help! Mind you it had been at least 6 months of spilled milk time by now, maybe more. Then after maybe 20-30 hours I picked them up and said "Huh? What is this? They're actually starting to sound pretty decent..." After 50 hours, much better. Then again at 100 and 200 hours. Wow! These things really rock!

I'm not one to be making stuff up, I just couldn't believe they were the same headphones! Are they at the HE90 or R10 level? No, not even close, or at least not most of the time. But there is a certain something about them that is, in fact, very special. They are, to my ears, intensely detailed and ever so transparent, but without any edge in the upper frequencies. There is still, at times, with certain music, something funky going on with that reverb thing. It's not 100% gone, nor do I expect it ever will be, but I don't mind so much now because it's WAY WAY toned down compared to what others heard right out of the box.

They've become my roadhouse blues phones. They give me a front row seat much like the Grado PS-1 but the Edition 7's have a much wider (almost wrap around) soundstage and more precise instrument placement. They're not the last word in frequency extension either in the highs or lows, but do both well and have a very forward midrange. They're utterly fantastic with Nirvana at high volume levels. Yet, they're nowhere near my first choice for female vocals. Go figure.

So at this point I'm digging them and happy to have them. The money is long since gone, so I'm sure that adds to my enjoyment. I've found that cognitive dissonance does eventually dissipate, but in the case of the Edition 7's it's more than time that has healed; they've actually become one of my favorite headphones. Which makes it hard now to sell them, and I do have an attractive offer on the table. Still waiting to see what happens there. Oddly enough, I stewed about them for so many months when I could have been enjoying them had I just broken them in and fit them to the types of music they work best with. But instead I stewed. Now that I'm really digging them I'll probably end up selling them. Go figure again.

Would I recommend them at their asking price? No way. No headphones are really "worth" that much and as much as I now honestly do enjoy the Edition 7's, they're still not anywhere near the best headphones to have as an "all arounder." Using them in the genre specific way that I do, I can enjoy them tremendously each and every time I reach for them. Just not for Sarah Vaughn...