GrandNagus50
100+ Head-Fier
I have been out of "the market" for audio gear for a few years and now I sort of have the itch again (being sheltered-in-place has something to do with this). Since I have been forced (!) to save money on vacation travel this year, I feel I have some disposable income for some nice new stuff. I would like some really good IEM's or headphones--TOTL stuff or close to it. I know that top of the line for audiophile headphones goes wayyyyyy up there cost-wise, so let's say I would not spend more than $3000. That seems like a lot, and I fantasize I could get some darned good IEM's or (germane to this forum) full-sized headphones.
My reservation is this: at present, I mostly play my music on either an iPhone XS with a Dragonfly Red, or from my Astell & Kern SR15. I also have a small TEAC portable headphone amp. I actually own a pretty good full-sized amp, one of the first-generation Cavelli Liquid Carbon units, but I have to be honest: I don't like having to sit in one place to listen most of the time, so I have this idea that any headphones I get had better perform well enough with portable gear.
My question, therefore, is whether it is unwise (that's a nice word for foolhardy) to invest in top-notch headphones if I don't really intend to invest also in top-notch gear to create the input to drive the headphones? If foolhardy I am being, then how much realistically would I need to invest in upgrading my portable gear to where I am doing first-rate headphones justice?
There are lots of parts to this question; I welcome answers to parts of what I am asking, you don't have to tackle the whole query. Thanks.
Doug Greenberg, Berkeley
My reservation is this: at present, I mostly play my music on either an iPhone XS with a Dragonfly Red, or from my Astell & Kern SR15. I also have a small TEAC portable headphone amp. I actually own a pretty good full-sized amp, one of the first-generation Cavelli Liquid Carbon units, but I have to be honest: I don't like having to sit in one place to listen most of the time, so I have this idea that any headphones I get had better perform well enough with portable gear.
My question, therefore, is whether it is unwise (that's a nice word for foolhardy) to invest in top-notch headphones if I don't really intend to invest also in top-notch gear to create the input to drive the headphones? If foolhardy I am being, then how much realistically would I need to invest in upgrading my portable gear to where I am doing first-rate headphones justice?
There are lots of parts to this question; I welcome answers to parts of what I am asking, you don't have to tackle the whole query. Thanks.
Doug Greenberg, Berkeley