[MarkJnK]

On Jan 13th, I was not an audio guy, just a casual listener. Then I joined Head-fi on Jan 14th after buying some Sony MDR-150 headphones at walmart and finding that I liked the idea of wearing headphones while working in my art studio, and not waking our infant daughter, but realized the Sony's left much to be desired.

So lets look at 3.5 months of my obsessive smoking wallet 24-7 journey...
Sony MDR-150... bleh, nothing special.
K701 sparkling, need an amp.
Lars and Ivan tube amp and iPod dock combo... nice unit, convenient, remote, tubes, inputs, not enough power...

Returned.
RW Amp 1 ... better, nice power, excellent value... Sold
Meier Corda Headfive... great, smooth, powerful and warm... Sold
Onkyo ND-S1 ipod dock... fantastic product.
Cambridge Audio DacMagic... perfect mate for the ND-S1, completes the chain to give me the quality I need from my iPod lossless files.
Musical Fidelity X-Can V8p... Love it, airy, bass, power... Sold
Woo WA6SE... the ONE, the KEEPER!
HD650, came as a package with the Woo, preferred the K701's so I sold the HD650's.
Darth Beyer V3 Deep Cups, too bassy for me, but quite nice overall, SOLD
Grado 325i... really like them, but they were replaced with the GS1000 and sold (see below)
GS1000... terrific headphones, the sound really appeals to me. Still have them. The GS1000 finally beat the K701 for me, sold K701.
HiFiman EF-5... also terrific phones, but the weight became an issue since I'm looking down when I work... Sold.
EF-1 Amp, probably the bargain of all the gear I owned, awesome sound for $400, but sold in favour of the WA6se.

Beyer T1... and this is where it ends... the T1 is spectacular and sounds incredible after only 48hrs of burn in. Clearly this is a phone that will not offend many people and handles just about any genre I throw at it. I can't imagine another headphone being as versatile. Paired with the WA6se, I have found my nirvana and am ready to move on to other things. This jouney has been fun, I learned ALOT in 3 months, have aquired a system that is truly spectacular sounding IMHO, and the best part is I've become a born-again music junkie. I'm hearing my music like I've never heard it before. And I love it. Thanks to all for your help, and while I'm not leaving for good, I am going to try to limit my time spent here and get out on the river to catch a few fish this summer.

 

[kboe]

Thats what I call the perfect story. Congrats.

 

[wali]

That's what I call, the best way to burn yourself out of any hobby.

 

[MarkJnK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wali /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's what I call, the best way to burn yourself out of any hobby.

For me this was more of a task than a hobby, although I have learned enough on Head-fi that I can carry this knowledge forward and apply it to my future musical endeavors. I have too many hobbies as it is (cycling, fishing, watches, photography, archery, r/c) so I am happy to have achieved my goal of a great sounding listening station in my studio. Now I can focus on the music again and hope to enjoy this for a good long time before requiring further attention and expenses.

 

[gknix]

Wow. Excellent journey there. Wish I could end with a T-1 right now too...but prices just went up:/

 

[KingStyles]

Congrats on finding a satisfying setup that you dont feel you need to upgrade. See you next week when you figure out about tube rolling.

 

[JeckyllAndHyde]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingStyles /img/forum/go_quote.gif See you next week when you figure out about tube rolling.

or the curiosity about HD800 arises

 

[MarkJnK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingStyles /img/forum/go_quote.gif Congrats on finding a satisfying setup that you dont feel you need to upgrade. See you next week when you figure out about tube rolling.

Haha, nope, done that already. Princess Sophia is glowing as I type, and Sylvania 6DE7's in the drivers seat.

 

[MarkJnK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeckyllAndHyde /img/forum/go_quote.gif or the curiosity about HD800 arises

Nope... I've already done the analytical thing with the k701's and if the HD800's are even more resolving (and according to reports they are), then they will start to pull apart my older recordings.

From what I've read (alot) I've decided the HD800's are not for me. I'm looking for a warmer richer presentation. If I thought they were a possibilty, I would have had them already LOL!

 

[pyramid6]

Don't forget Stax.

 

[Deep Funk]

Congratulations, I am still looking for a good DAC and amplifier to complement the listening set up. But first some CDs to make the additional gear useful. Just for curiosity's sake I bought a cMoy, could be fun.

 

[Bilavideo]

MacedonianHero, you were right about the T1!

 

[Head Injury]

Damn, I knew I should have bought a T1 before the price went up.

Guess I'll just wait for the T2.

 

[eucariote]

Great story, nice ending.

Now lock up your wallet.

 

[momomo6789]

just got some o2s and i see no need to pick up another headphone again