Recaping your journey: Good enough system for the rest of your life

[surfgeorge]

I have been a music lover for most of my life and during the last 3 years I got into portable hifi. I just came to the point where I am happy with what I have and would not mind having to spend the rest of my life with this system.
I spent around €5000 over 3 years, but what I really use all the time cost me less than €2000 (1-5 in the list) and I could still be happy with only the first 3 items on the list.

So this is the system I can live with, and I would love to hear from others what is YOUR essential gear you'd choose to live with for the rest of your life?

1. CHORD Mojo - I don't want to listen to anything without it! Tried other sources, this is the one for me.
2. JVC FD02 IEM (modded), with ALO Pure Silver cable - not my very best IEM but if I had to choose only one of my collection, this would be it. Smooth, clear, natural, just lets me enjoy music!
3. HiBy R3 DAP - Adding the offline capability and touch UI to the CHORD Mojo with my 3D printed case and box
4. Sony EX1000 (used) - amazing bass, clarity, stage and detail - just not for all music and all times
5. Astell & Kern T8iE MKII - great sound but a little hard to fit and driver flex is annoying, combines many strengths of EX1000 and FD02

Honorably mention: Moondrop Kanas Pro: eye-opener that got me into IEMs

 

[DaddyWhale]

I have been a music lover for most of my life and during the last 3 years I got into portable hifi. I just came to the point where I am happy with what I have and would not mind having to spend the rest of my life with this system.
I spent around €5000 over 3 years, but what I really use all the time cost me less than €2000 (1-5 in the list) and I could still be happy with only the first 3 items on the list.

So this is the system I can live with, and I would love to hear from others what is YOUR essential gear you'd choose to live with for the rest of your life?

1. CHORD Mojo - I don't want to listen to anything without it! Tried other sources, this is the one for me.
2. JVC FD02 IEM (modded), with ALO Pure Silver cable - not my very best IEM but if I had to choose only one of my collection, this would be it. Smooth, clear, natural, just lets me enjoy music!
3. HiBy R3 DAP - Adding the offline capability and touch UI to the CHORD Mojo with my 3D printed case and box
4. Sony EX1000 (used) - amazing bass, clarity, stage and detail - just not for all music and all times
5. Astell & Kern T8iE MKII - great sound but a little hard to fit and driver flex is annoying, combines many strengths of EX1000 and FD02

Honorably mention: Moondrop Kanas Pro: eye-opener that got me into IEMs

I like your thread. Like you, I think I'm close to the end of my journey with with respect to hps and iems.

Unlike a lot of people, I skipped intermediate stops and went directly to my endgame. I don't have major regrets, particularly because I've limited my purchases to a few great bits of equipment.

1. Stax sr-009s .The jewel in my crown! I've loved the electrostatic sound for the last 35 years. So I was pretty confident I would like to stax flagship
2. Audeze LCD-i4. This is a keeper for me because of the convenience factor. If I DIDN'T have the sr-009s, I might have considered selling the Audeze and getting the Shure kse1200, because it's electrostatic. As it is, I like the fact that I have a planar magnetic in my stable. Also, I got these during the black Friday sale (here in the US), so I was ok with taking a risk on them
3. Shure se846. I bought these 5 years ago. An iem keeper because a) it adds a BA to my portfolio and b) I can be rough with them and not worry
4. Chord mojo. This is my portable DAC/amp. Keeper
5. Chord Hugo 2. It's a keeper because I spent so much on it! In retrospect, I think I could have been perfectly happy with a less expensive desktop DAC
6. Stax srm-d50 amp to drive the electrostatics. This is probably not endgame, because of expensive-equipment-envy on my part! It's hard not to think: could things be better if I spent a lot of $$$ or €€€ or £££ on something more high-end

The only bit of portable audio that I own but do not use is my Audeze lcd3, which I bought 7 years ago. I don't see any need to use it when I would rather listen to my sr-009s.

 

[buke9]

There are several setups I have that I could probably be happy with but not giving up yet as there is something else coming out that might change my mind. There is a couple of things that I might let go of but probably not as soon as I do I would want to hear them case in point letting go of my Alpha Dogs just hate that I don’t have them anymore. Log story short I don’t think I can pick something .

 

[surfgeorge]

@DaddyWhale
Wow - you certainly got yourself some really nice equipment!
And I think you made a wise choice going straight to your end game. I have to say I was a little shocked how much money I spent along the journey.

But I made few purchases I feel were a waste of money, I learned from each of them.
One of the most intriguing realizations for me was what a big role the Mojo plays in my musical enjoyment. It's good to see that this jewel also has a place in your system!
I may be tempted by additonal IEMs or headphones, but I feel that with the Mojo I have all I need as a source.

 

[GuyForkes]

This is a great idea for a thread. Good Job!
I too started to get into head-fi around 3 years ago. Like a lot of people, my first headphone was the Massdrop 6xx. I soon moved up to the HD800S, then Focal Utopia and finally the Hifiman Susvara. There were other stuff I bought and sold along the way but these were the milestones.

I don't think I've reached my end game system yet but I'm quite sure it would include the Susvara. It's almost sentimental at this point. For on the go use, the Fiio BTR5 is probably my best discovery to date, offering a really nice proposition of convenience and sound quality

 

[Whazzzup]

can't imagine I'm not at end game. my equipment is now 2-7 years old. I only gave up my sure846 to my wife, otherwise keepers

 

[OriginalAudioBandit]

I like your thread. Like you, I think I'm close to the end of my journey with with respect to hps and iems.

Unlike a lot of people, I skipped intermediate stops and went directly to my endgame. I don't have major regrets, particularly because I've limited my purchases to a few great bits of equipment.

1. Stax sr-009s .The jewel in my crown! I've loved the electrostatic sound for the last 35 years. So I was pretty confident I would like to stax flagship
2. Audeze LCD-i4. This is a keeper for me because of the convenience factor. If I DIDN'T have the sr-009s, I might have considered selling the Audeze and getting the Shure kse1200, because it's electrostatic. As it is, I like the fact that I have a planar magnetic in my stable. Also, I got these during the black Friday sale (here in the US), so I was ok with taking a risk on them
3. Shure se846. I bought these 5 years ago. An iem keeper because a) it adds a BA to my portfolio and b) I can be rough with them and not worry
4. Chord mojo. This is my portable DAC/amp. Keeper
5. Chord Hugo 2. It's a keeper because I spent so much on it! In retrospect, I think I could have been perfectly happy with a less expensive desktop DAC
6. Stax srm-d50 amp to drive the electrostatics. This is probably not endgame, because of expensive-equipment-envy on my part! It's hard not to think: could things be better if I spent a lot of $$$ or €€€ or £££ on something more high-end

The only bit of portable audio that I own but do not use is my Audeze lcd3, which I bought 7 years ago. I don't see any need to use it when I would rather listen to my sr-009s.

I am on my 2nd pair of iem and have purchased a DAC which I sold and replaced with a DAP. I really to get to my endgame with my next 2 or 3 purchases. Happy to spend a few thousand to get there.

 

[dunring]

I've got two stacks I've been going back and forth on trying to decide on a permanent daily driver. They're good for different reasons.

SMSL H400 amplifier and DO100Pro DAC. Flawless performance and unlimited power, simple to use with no remote controls needed at the desktop. Displays are easy to read from all angles and digital volume control for perfect matching. Noise floor silent for 16 ohm 126db sensitive IEMs, and the HE6SE is fully powered.

Topping A70Pro E70 9028Pro DAC. It's the same performance level and noise floor, but the menus and displays are more complicated. The programmable presets make it easier though. I'm a big fan of putting the most money into an amplifier, and $200 (used) or so on a DAC that doesn't match exactly, but looks good enough to blend in.

Tanchjim Ola are my keeper IEMs, and Audio-Technica ATH-AD1000X headphones. The Hifiman Edition XS with Custom Cans thick support strap is a close second (only problem is weight on them, the AD1000x are light as a kite).

 

[bagwell359]

Yes, very fine thread idea!

Bought my first good stereo in 1974, so over 50 years now. Due to having a number of roles in the hobby, and not dropping my hobby when the family came along I've owned a lot, borrowed a lot, and certainly did a lot of building/designing/buying/selling/up&side grading along the way.

I've had some long settled periods too when I was happy with the gear, more as time went on. Given how big a sell off I did in 2016 I thought I'd never have another great system. But given the excellence of some gear these days, and adjusting for inflation over 50 years, could be the best per dollar yet. It's always best when you can listen w/o plotting future moves.