I don't remember too much from back then, but what I do remember was that I originally planned on going with a 5.1 or 7.1 speaker setup when I had the money, never mind that the room that my desktop was in wouldn't have any ideal places to mount the rear speakers given that there are other desktops in the same room. Surround sound would help with positional imaging in games, that was for sure, but all I could ever hope to afford were cheap computer speakers at best.
In fact, my family did keep a very cheap set of 5.1 speakers around for use in the computer room, but I never really did get the sensation that I had precise surround sound. The fact that the rear speakers were unevenly placed didn't help with that, and the fact that they were really cheap computer speakers made it all worse. Still, the idea of using headphones as the primary sound output never crossed my mind; I only used some cheap Logitech headset when it came down to that. Pitiful quality, pitiful comfort, but it had a mic and didn't annoy everyone else in the house. Plus, I still had the notion of having the speakers play the game sounds and the headset play voice chat only, much as the Xbox would do it.
Then I started reading up on CMSS-3D Headphone and how to set it up properly. I already had the X-Fi card necessary to use it, but never turned it on for whatever reason. I just used some of the headphones lying around here to try it with (mostly a Sony MDR-CD180 I picked up at a yard sale for a few bucks and my stepfather's Sansui SS-20)...and found it somewhat convincing, if a bit too closed in with those headphones.
After that, I did my research (some of it just lurking this place) and picked up some AD700s. (This was before all the Superlux/Samson hype; had I known about the SR850, that might have turned out a little differently.) Suddenly, the surround sound I was getting out of this set of headphones was so convincing and precise enough that I no longer wanted a surround speaker setup. Binaural was the way to go-it provided me with precise imaging from any direction, and as a bonus, I didn't need to annoy everyone else in the house with the sound. (Music sounded a bit nicer, too, so long as I remembered to turn CMSS-3D Headphone off when I wasn't gaming.)
That was the catalyst right there. Now I stopped lurking and actively join in the discussion here, and all of a sudden, everyone else thinks I'm an audiophile in spite of my lack of trained audiophile ears and experience with ultra-high-end equipment I can't hope to afford on the other places I frequent. In other words, I'm the go-to guy for audio advice now in certain circles. On top of all that, I bought a set of vintage Stax Lambdas to further help learn what my ears have been missing, simply out of sheer luck that they were within my budget. I'm even enjoying music much more now with the way these electrostatics sing, and I'm almost certain it isn't placebo.
Oh, and I did buy a pair of iBuds a few years ago, I'll admit that. But it wasn't under any pretense of them sounding hi-fi, but because of the simple fact that they were the most comfortable earbuds I had ever worn, and I wanted something portable and comfortable for long periods of time. I've since lost them, though before that, the rubber started peeling off and a sharp edge revealed as a result suddenly made them UNcomfortable, defeating the whole purpose of owning them specifically. (This was before the MDR-CD180s came into my possession, and I'd still use those for portable listening if a critical part that holds the left cup on the headband didn't snap off.)
