[penmarker]

I visited an Apple store back then around half a year ago. At that time I was carrying my portable rig Sansa Fuze > FiiO E11 > JVC HA-S500. I've heard mountains of praises for the Brainwavz HM5 so when I saw the store was putting up Fischer Audio FA 003 as a display testing unit I didn't hesitate to drop by.
 
It was running through an iPod Nano 6. I listened to a few test tracks and I immediately noticed something wrong. The music sounds horrendously compressed and bad. I figure the employees had uploaded their own downloaded low bitrate tracks in the iPods and iPhones because they all have the same sound quality. I browsed until I found a familiar band and track (coincidentally was in my Fuze too) and I had a listen. 
 
The store employees got curious as to why am I particularly interested in the headphones alone while other people would mostly play with the Macbooks and iPads. Polite bunch of people, love them. So one of them offered to give some information about the headphones. So I asked him to listen to the music and detect what's wrong with it. At first his face was just straight and said "They sound fine..?". So I offered him to listen to the same song through my Fuze+E11 with the FA 003.
 
Immediately his facial expression changed as if he was transported to a different world. After some moment he opened his eyes and said "That this is good" pointing at my rig.
 
What ensued was a small talk about bitrates and stuff.

 

[lin0003]

I let a friend listen to my Brainwavz B2 which are pretty good and he said What where's the bass? He uses apple earphones so I'm not sure what he's on about. 

 

[autoteleology]

I actually went to the Apple Store a few days ago in order to try out the Beats Pro, Executive, and Mixr (can't hate them if you don't know them, right?).

So I'm listening to the Mixr (which, by the way, feels like wearing an itchy, overly tight sweater on a hot day in the Caribbeans), and one of the Apple Store employees comes by. Our conversation goes something like this:
 

EM: So, what do you think of those?
ME: Eh, they're pretty mediocre. My home rig (referring to my Stax SR-303) is a lot better than this.
EM: Oh, yeah, I understand. These are totally overpriced crap.
ME: I know, right? Here, let me show you what I have at home... *goes to Stax USA page*
EM: Whoa, those look totally crazy. What do they sound like?
ME: It's a completely different way of listening to music. *tells a little about the history of Stax and my headphones*
EM: Wow, that's really interesting! *goes on to talk about his experience with audio*

 
We talked about the Monster Diamond Tears and the Parrot Zik (which another audiophile had come in to audition shortly prior) after that. It's always really cool to meet someone who has a casual interest in the hobby.

 

[buttons252]

Perhaps im a "non audiophile" because my first reaction to HD650, ATH-A900X, or beyerdynamic T1 was "Meh" powered by an aune T1 amp, using spotify extreme quality
 
I would say if you trying to flame the fan of audiophile-ism it would be best to let them listen to them in their environment with their own music.  Especially back to back with whatever they normally use.  With my headphones i like to listen to a few genres and then start tweaking the EQ.  With these denon AH-D600s though i almost always leave them flat because they are just right out of the box.  My friend let me borrow his Fiio E10 amp while i sampled some stuff and it was a lot different impression then a quick 30-45 second listen in his office with his setup.  

 

[streetdragon]

It is quite important to use your own music when auditioning gear (or at least something you like) because if something unfavorable is played, high quality or not we are not going to like it and thus cannot enjoy the music. (and the gear)

 

[ThinkAwesome]

It's important to use your own music and source. 
 
Not even about liking or disliking the music. It's about keeping things constant. If you love or hate a headphone that isn't playing your music from your player, how are you supposed to know that its the cans and not something else in the chain? 

 

[MonoMood]

Most of my friends and even my swimming coach freaked when I told them I spent a total of $380+ on my GR07s and HD598.

Everyone agreed they sounded better than most of the stuff they used, thougg

 

[kuhchuk]

Quote:

Whatever you do, DON'T jump on your headphones. They're to be treated very nicely and their place is on your head.

Haha, good job.  You got me to chuckle.

 

[ssrock64]

Quote:

Everyone agreed they sounded better than most of the stuff they used, thougg

Most?

 

[genclaymore]

Quote:

Most of my friends and even my swimming coach freaked when I told them I spent a total of $380+ on my GR07s and HD598.

Everyone agreed they sounded better than most of the stuff they used, thougg

People tend to give you the "your crazy look" when you spend allot of money on things, that they see as a waste. Just like my mom think when ever I sell and buy another headphone. Thinks the headphone at the dollar store is good enough just because you can hear the music.  To her she figure if it breaks get another one. Wheres I rather spend that money on a more durable headphone that also way better then those cheap dollar general headphones that made outta thin plastic.
 
Kinda how my dad think me owning a high end graphics is silly and think that the cheaper ones are good enough for gaming and some reason thing cards like GTX 670s and HD 7950s are just for card work. I always get sick of trying to explain to him the reasons why I don't get a cheap GT620 or HD7570 or whatever to game with.

 

[Hellbishop]

Quote:

People tend to give you the "your crazy look" when you spend allot of money on things, that they see as a waste. Just like my mom think when ever I sell and buy another headphone. Thinks the headphone at the dollar store is good enough just because you can hear the music.  To her she figure if it breaks get another one. Wheres I rather spend that money on a more durable headphone that also way better then those cheap dollar general headphones that made outta thin plastic.
 
Kinda how my dad think me owning a high end graphics is silly and think that the cheaper ones are good enough for gaming and some reason thing cards like GTX 670s and HD 7950s are just for card work. I always get sick of trying to explain to him the reasons why I don't get a cheap GT620 or HD7570 or whatever to game with.

 
My friends and relative are a bit more kind just telling me ' Yea thats alot of money to spend on headphones but your good with your finances so its alright '. Then when i change my mind they tell me they're happy that am using my money for what i really need

 

[penmarker]

Got a few of my friends shaking their heads when they know how much I've spent. And then they continued smoking cigarettes.

 

[streetdragon]

Got my friend hooked on grado sound when i let her try out my ms1i.
Looks like she might consider an sr-60i sometime soon

But all she said about the cans was: DAT BASS! 
me: *facepalm*.
(and i could not stand her ibud when she asked me to listen to a song on her iphone though... and i can't hear it on my own source because it has not blutooth compatible.)

 

[westinlennox]

I had a friend take my SR80i for a test run, and he sat on the couch for about 15 minutes, listening to song after song.  It was extremely satisfying having somebody appreciate my hobby instead of making fun of the cost, for once! 

 

[2pocketdeuces]

But those Grados SR80i only cost $99, why would someone make fun of the cost of those when others are dropping $200-$400 on Beats