[jeffmangum]

Ok im not really an audiophile and i dont even know how to know what a good sound quality is. Which makes me mad cause my friends are always telling me to buy good headphones and the way they describe a good sound quality is just beyond. Like they're speechless. And im like "whats the big deal its all the same". Or maybe because i never even tried any expensive headphones before. 
 
I have a sansa clip + and even asked the forums and they told me to not use the earphones that came with it and use a good headphones cause it will blow my mind. So i wanna know what the big deal is. 
 
The thing that comes to my mind when i think about good headphones/earphoines is the Sennheiser. But theyre pricey as hail. My brother said he got one VERY cheap but i dont know if its actually sennheiser.
 
edit: are soundmagics any good? theyre available here and theyre cheap, the possible choices are: PL11, ES10, ES18

 

[billybob_jcv]

Sound is not something that can be described to someone that has not heard. It's like trying to describe "Blue" to someone that sees only in Black & White.

However - it is also true that many people go way over the top in describing the differences in headphones. Do different headphones sound different? Yes. Do good headphones sound "better" than bad headphones? Yes. Will any headphone make your head explode, allow you to see angels and cause you to begin speaking in tongues? No.

There is a reason the traditional greeting at head-fi is: Welcome to head-fi, sorry about your wallet... There are zillions of choices in headphones, digital audio players, amps, DACs, cables, etc, etc at every price range. There is no "best" - and everyone prefers different aspects of the sound and the gear. Some are here because they love the tech involved, some are here because they love the music, some are here because they love collecting gear and some are here because they have no where else to go!

What you hear is not up to us and not up to your friends - it is up to you. What you are experiencing is called peer pressure. Your friends have decided that buying headphones is "cool", and they have done it, so anyone that doesn't buy headphones must not be cool. That's rubbish. You don't have to do what they do and you don't have buy things because they buy them. Do what you want to do and spend your money on the things that are important to *you*.

Sorry - my kids are 22 & 17 - sometimes I can't stop being a Dad...

 

[jeffmangum]

Thats a really great point. Thanks for that.