*warning....
this post is going to be a dull boring thorn in the side of any reader who prefers that i write only about charts, modifications, or only about the headphone that generated this Thread. So, if that is your need, just hit the scroll control and go to the next post...
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I've purchased, own, etc.... over 200 sets of headphones.
I have not updated my bio list here in quite a while, or i'd have about 40-obo more sets to add to it.
Seen my bio here? ???? Its the work of a person who has a Youtube Channel, that has about 1050 videos on it, and i made over 400 of them. So, i'm deep into music, music making, and this creates me to be a little something different then most people here who are just into headphones or gear. I actually created a channel for people who are, like me, headphone addicts.
Who does this?
Just me.
so.....
Years of buying gears.
I do the same with guitars, cameras, basically anything i love to explore that is related to TECH, i will own a lot of it.
So, my method regarding performing this madness is to think of a headphone, each model, as a "voice"...... and in this way, i dont try to find the best, or try to compare them or rate them, as this only leads to frustration and never being able to enjoy each set.
See....when we are able to realize and think of headphone sound , each one, as "different", instead of "as compared to"....then we can begin to really find some happiness with what we buy because this is the best way to approach this game.
The best idea, when getting into whatever it is you obsess on, is to let each gear-product be itself, and enjoy it for what it does, and not compare it >against< what all others sound like as the final analysis, as doing this is the expensive way to always be unhappy with your stuff.
Others approach this in a different tho valid way, and that is to just modify until satisfied, and its all good as long as you are happy in the end, as if this is not happening, then what you are doing is paying for unhappiness, and is that a good idea?
No, so, you have to find a way to love what what you end up with once the payment is processed.
Like so many things in life.....its not the thing or the situation that is causing our unhappiness, its our perception of it. See, so often...."Misery, is our inner resistance to what IS"..... So, if we can learn to control our own minds, or as someone said.. "learn to see with new eyes", then we can find the good by looking for it instead of always only seeming to find what is wrong with everything, which is really just an issue with ourselves, more then likely.
If you read any of my posted mini reviews, or any i'll post in the future, i will never say a headphone sound's "bad", and this is because what i consider to be good sound, is my preference, and this does not mean its going to be yours, or anyones.
There are singers in the world.......Katy Perry, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Elton John, Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, The Beatles, Freddie Mercury, Lady GaGa, Sarah Jarosz, or people who sing using an instrument like Chet Baker, or Bill Evans, or Yuja Wang, ......and each has a unique voice, and each of these voices has millions of fans, worldwide.
But not everyone is a fan of every voice that sings or plays on the Radio or on Cable Music Channels, and this is the same idea regarding each headphone model and their "voice".
For example there are many who love the HD800, and just as many that can't stand it......hate it.....yet its a very expensive headphone that sells and sells and keeps on selling, even tho Sennheiser modified it into the "S" v2.
1000 years after the HD600 was created, and after Planar mania and Eletrostatic this and dynamic driver that.....the HD600 is still there smiling, winning fans, and selling like gold coins, until forever.
Is it the best headphone sound?....No,... but it is a voice inside cups that works its magic on you, and so.......... thats a good voice.
Listen, anytime you are emotionally carried away by sound, then you should not be worrying about if the headphone has "more treble then" .......or is it a "mild V" .....or "does the 8kHz shout".
Many people try to make math out of listening, instead of just listening and getting lost in the joy of it.
"well, i can't keep these because they dont sound like".....
C'mon !
Stop !
So... as a person continues to become excited about some new gear and they pull the trigger $$$$$ and make the purchase..........the best way to enjoy this trip is to think of each new gear as a brand new journey into the world of a brand new voice, and let the joy of the journey be the joy.
My next journey will be on Tues , 4/9/2019, when i'll be opening a brand new set of Sendy Audio Alva's. (If im still breathing)... And will i like their sound?....Yes, and that is because im not going to compare them to all my other headphones. Im just going to smile as i unpack them, smile as i unbox them, smile as i unwrap the cables and glance at the case. Then i'll smile as i plug them into my Monoprice THX AAA, then continue to smile as i listen to all my usual "headphone test" CDs, just before i go to my UTUBE channel and listen more.
I will be euphoric, blissful, and completely immersed in JoyLand because something i wanted has arrived and i feel so fortunate to be able to experience, again, something that i love and love to do.
So, how can i, or why would i,
ruin all that joy by worrying about if they dont sound like whatever else it is i own?
Not going to happen....
Then i'll smile as i take photos and write a mini review of them here, and some will like what i write and some will ignore it, and some will eventually buy them.
Its all good.
Not every person is going to like every headphone's sound, but, every person can allow each headphone's sound to be what it is, and appreciate it for itself, vs needing it to compete with the others.
The safety net is.......there is always someone who wants the set of headphones you dont love, so, buying headphones is, for the most part a reasonably safe obsession to support with your money.
Someone says...."well, they cost $600, and i sold them for $525".......... and i say.....well, you spent $75 for the experience of learning about them, becoming interested in them, buying, waiting, unboxing, listening, considering".......all this.
So, was that worth $75, or whatever it is that you will lose to sell them used?
I think it is, and if it isn't to you, then stop buying headphones, or learn to love all you buy which is accomplished by not driving yourself crazy by comparing them all until you are confused and frustrated and sad .
So, to your question.. UPTo11 :
Beyer headphones, to my ear, have a sibilant top end that i hate, and i generally find them to have a "cuppy" midrange.
Yuk.
Sennheiser headphones tend to have a more overall pleasant tone, and i prefer their open headphones.
If you are thinking of the Mackie's or the AKG 275s then buy the Cooler Master that i reviewed recently, as they are going to satisfy more ears.
I dont usually enjoy the sound of most HIFiMan headphones, as i find them too "treble energy" dominant, tho the X2s are interesting, and the Ananda's are also, but they fatigue me with their unique sound.
If you have $750 and want something amazing then get the Stax i just mini reviewed. They have an energetic sound, are incredibly immersive, are not comfortable to wear, but there is nothing that competes with what they provide as sound, unless its another Eletrostatic Set, as this type of sound is a must hear to understand it and appreciate it.
A used-affordable set of LCD-Xs, later version, without the case, is a good idea.
The HiFiman HE500s are going to please a lot of ears, and are usually selling used for a lot less then they should cost, actually.
But see, once again, all this is what i like, and until you hear them all, you are not going to know if YOU like them....no matter what headphone model it is you are craving to hear.
The actual experience is the final analysis, and the review is just the inspired invitation that leads you to the experience, or leads you away from it.