Quote:
Originally Posted by Xeon [09] /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Is there some type of rule stating you must gradually work your way up the chain? It's illegal to leave out the middle products and go for the top? A HiFiMan will be my future source since I know my laptop won't cut it.
|
There is no rule preventing you from jumping straight for the top in any hobby. It is however, a bad idea to jump straight for anything without knowing what you are doing.
I think I can speak with at least a small amount of knowledge on this since I was thinking of doing the exact same thing at one point. I am relatively new to the audiophile hobby myself.
The main problem is that you have little experience with audio components in general. You yourself have stated that you don't own any high end headphones, and that your laptop is your only source for the time being.
In just a few months, I have learned so much about this hobby. How the individual components (monitors, sources, transports) work, and what qualities to look for in my listening, what constitutes a "good" and "bad" recording, what complements which genres - to sum it all up:
how to get what I'm looking for.
You may buy the JH13's and find out that you like headphones more than earphones. You may listen to some vacuum tube amplifiers and become attached to the warm, smooth sound (have you even heard a tube amplifier yet?). You may listen to a large SS amplifier and you will probably find it superior to your HifiMan. Same goes for an outboard DAC. Do you want a tube DAC? NOS? Crossfeed options?
It's very likely that you will also like other headphones for different music. Headphones that are amazingly spacious may not go well with some laid back jazz. I'm sure you've noticed that it's common for many people on this forum to own multiple pairs, which they use for different genres of music.
You will also find out about music in general, and what a good recording is. Audiophile level components often breathe life into obscure genres. Who knows, you may end up liking types of music that you never thought you would. If you end up buying a lot of rare CD's like me, that's also costly, and you may end up waiting for other monitors to come along (like me).
There's nothing wrong with getting the best. I myself am jumping straight into Hi-Fi source territory (I don't have a DAC yet). But I waited first, and I'd probably considered buying at least a dozen DAC's or CD players so far. I learned what I wanted in my music, and I actually
heard the DAC that I want to buy.
I suggest just waiting a little bit and exploring more. Go to a meet if you can. Really think about what you want in your music. You may end up getting the JH13's anyways, but you will have so much more knowledge, and that peace of mind that you are absolutely sure you know what you're looking for. Sorry for the long post, hope that helps.