Multiple Pair of Headphones That People Consider Sensible To Own

[ryder78]

I am aware some of you may have an impressive collection of headphones, perhaps few boutique ones kept in display shelves. I am just curious, how many pairs should be considered as adequate, enough to be swapped around and enjoyed? If there are too many pairs the poor sounding ones won't get much use and therefore wasted.

Currently I have one pair and am thinking to add a good one, hoping it will be my endgame. My budget is around $1k at the moment and I'm not sure if it's wiser to go right up to the top, say a $2k model and call it a day, or get several cheaper pairs.

 

[Morph]

If we're not talking collecting, then for me the ideal number would probably be:

3-4 for the main rig (halfway there ):
- a solid allrounder (currently T1)
- an Ultrasone for electronic music
- something that excels in hard rock/metal (yet to be found, likely Ultrasone E11)
- something soothing, used to love ATH woodies for that

2 for the bedside setup. Another Ultrasone for electronic, and something like ATH woodies for the more organic sounds, acoustic, etc.

Then a solid allrounder IEM, two tops, I don't go mobile too often nowadays.

 

[scoobiedude]

I have more than one pair, but I find that my favorite pair get pretty much 100% of the listening time unless I'm evaluating another pair for replacement consideration. My HEKse handle everything I throw at them and do it well. About the only think I don't listen much to is hip hop and classical.

 

[dunring]

My approach is one pair of headphones and multiple equalizer profiles. With Autoeq and Peace it's really easy. Unless you need closed back isolation, or wireless for being on the go, buying one pair is a really good idea.
The law of diminishing returns is brutal though. I've had $1.99 wireless ear buds up to the $4,000 Dan Clark Stealth and hundreds of models in between. Would focus on one pair personally.

 

[Kammerat Rebekka]

I’m not sure an adjective like sensible is something I’d describe this hobby with unless you’re one of those who’s perfectly happy owning one set. Anything more is not sensible but more in the vein of having fun with different sounding cans.
Stay here long enough and the collection exponentially grows bigger or you end up having something for sale constantly.
I do enjoy having multiple different sound signatures in the house and I freely swap between my 7-8 pairs on a daily basis. The key to that though is digging X headphone for what it is and not ending up comparing a vs b vs c etc. It’s not a contest. It’s about the music in the end…or it should be.
There can also be mood swings and a shift in taste so as one day you prefer X and the next day Y suddenly is the best. That’s why, if you plan on owning more than one, it is smart to hang onto headphones you really like…because chances are you’re not going to find that exact same sound anywhere else and also why it’s hard to upgrade from a specific sound. This also transcends price tags imho. In this hobby price has absolutely nothing to do with actual sound quality. You pay more for exotic woods, metal, nice looking designs and so forth…but just because a headphone looks like the bee’s knees and costs the same as a used car doesn’t necessarily mean that it tops your old plastic Sennheiser.
As with everything else in hobbys that rely on personal tastebuds, it’s only you who can decide whether or not it is sensible owning more than one headphone. If you always end up a/b’ing the two/three/four in order to find out which is best…probably not the smartest idea. If you on the other hand dig the headphones for what they bring to the table and just relax in that whilst enjoying the music, then sure get a bunch of them