[johnanderson]

For me it was the $200 mark. 6 months ago I couldnt even imagine spending $100 on a pair of headphones and was perfectly contempt with my pair of A130's and HD201's. Now within that time I've gone through alot of headphones and amps. Heres what my journey started with and heres what I have now.

Before November 2007:

HD201
A130
Go-Vibe 5

November 2007:

AD700 (Thanks to Asr)
Head-Six (Thanks to Asr)

Sold A130, gave away HD201 and GV5

Time between November and Now

Bought HD650, DT770, D2000, SR60, W1000, Little Dot II
Tried CKKIII (Thanks to Stephen from Rockhopper)
Sold AD700, HD650, DT770, SR60, Little Dot II, Head-six

So I went through alot of demoing in less than 6 months, all because I got a taste of what better audio was like. For me the turning point was when I bought my D2000. After that I went crazy looking for the perfect sound. So I'm wondering what everyone elses price point was before starting to binge on headphones.

 

[gp_hebert]

I figured I was addicted when I started thinking about my "setup" instead of just about headphones.

 

[bashot]

$50 - PX100 were my gateway drug. I'm sure many people started as low as $20 with the KSC75.

 

[Uncle Erik]

I don't know if it's a price point so much as getting a hit of that performance crack. Once you get a taste of high-end sound, you keep chasing the dragon, fall in love with gear, and so on. And once you're immersed in it, the prices begin to seem reasonable.

Another hobby is woodwork, and increasingly, metalwork for my amps. I recently bought a good scrollsaw for about $250 and kept thinking 'that's all?' Audio warps your sense of prices, as well.

 

[Dominat0r]

Ya, i agree with Uncle Erik...you can buy 10 different pair of headphones for cheap...still makes you a addict. A very poor choice for a addict, but a addict none the less.

However, you will find yourself wanting more. Its like crack really...the more you use it the more you want it. You start putting other stuff aside to save up for a amp upgrade. You start actually being able to tell people you spent 500$ on headphones with a straight face.

I guess i could say the KSC75s got me to headfi...about 15mins after that i bought a pair of HD555s, then a govibe v3, then a pair of MS1s, then so on and so forth. Well over 1.5k$ in just headphone audio gear.

 

[crappyjones123]

started with a 100 dollar hd 555. continued with a 170 dollar hd 595. followed on with a hd 650 + ld mk v + auzen prelude. sold the above gear due to logistic reasons. purchased an igrado to "hold me off" for the time being. didnt like the forward and the bright sound so shipped that off just an hour ago.

i think uncle erik hit it on the head..."Once you get a taste of high-end sound, you keep chasing the dragon, fall in love with gear, and so on. And once you're immersed in it, the prices begin to seem reasonable."

last night when i was packing up the igrados a pair of phillips earbuds fell out from right next to the packing tape. i put them in and pulled them out instantaneously. it was just THAT bad...once you know theres "good" sound out there, regardless of the price (igrados are only 50 bucks, i got them for 35 and i purchased those phillips earbuds for 25...the difference is MASSIVE) you just cant go back. i think for me the addiction started when i dropped my 595s and heard my roommates crappy rat shack headset. i just knew i couldnt settle for anything less and i just never went back. even now that i am without headphones and cant listen to music, id rather just not listen to anything than listen to bad headphones.

uncle erik, i have to give a power point presentation for one of my classes and i picked headphones for my topic. do you mind if i use that quote in the presentation?

 

[Hopstretch]

Parkinson's Second Law: "Expenditure rises to meet income."

 

[Dominat0r]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopstretch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Parkinson's Second Law: "Expenditure rises to meet income."

INDEED!

 

[sid311]

Haha, "performance crack" that's some great stuff, excellent analogy. That is exactly what lead me down my road of addiction, I got a little taste of better sound then what I had previously heard and couldn't stop. It started with a pair of Sony EX71s, then to Shure E2Cs, next ATH-A900s, Portaphile Amp, new computer built around X-Fi Elite Pro, UE SuperFi.5 Pros, Zhaolu 2.0 DAC, Shure E500s and most recently Sony MDR-EX700LPs. The best part is that the journey is nowhere near complete!


-sid

 

[crappyjones123]

i think all economists should be shot for saying things like that...and their salaries should be given to us so we can buy more shiny things

 

[Tetromino]

I wouldn't say it was a price point, more the point when you hit "submit" for your membership to this site. There's no leaving...

 

[-=Germania=-]

For me - it was spending more than $100 on a single component!

Now.... it has been about 1k invested just on the headphone-fi end!
*not speakers...etc.*

 

[Namrac]

Dec. 2006: Bought HD555s for $95 from amazon
Feb. 2008: Bought DT770s, sold HD555s
March 2008: Bought 0404 for $150
April 2008: Bought Headfive for $200


I began liking audio more with the HD555s, but I didn't lose grip until I bought the DT770s.

 

[orkney]

For me it was when I began thinking about "thirty-year amortization" as a reasonable budgeting strategy for headphone-related purchases.

Now that seems...prudent.

o

 

[Kees]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hopstretch /img/forum/go_quote.gif Parkinson's Second Law: "Expenditure rises to meet income."

They met some time ago......