[bahamaman]

My adventure at head-fi started nearly two years ago. Like so many others, I was just looking to upgrade my stock earbuds. And then the bug bit me, big time.

Earbuds, to PX200s, to PX100s, to DT880s, to Ultrasone HFI 700s, to HD600, to HD595, to 770/80s, to HP3000s, and now I find myself the pride owner of some woodied/recabled CD3000s.

You remember the CD3000s? The thoroughly discredited, hopelessly old schoool, non-FOTM CD3000s?

If you're like me, you have a voracious appetite for knowledge and will thus read every thread/post that is even remotely relevant to your next upgrade. And, if you were to read everything available on the CD3K, you wouldn't even consider buying them (unless, of course, you only read posts from Sovkiller

). Why? Well, the consensus seems to be that they're way too bright, unlistenable unless you've got a great source, and have a weird/exagerated soundstage. After such observations get published once or twice, it becomes almost like a mantra around here. Pretty soon, even people who haven't heard the CD3000 will start reporting it.

And so, accordingly, I wouldn't have considered buying the CD3K in a million years. At least not until last month. What happened? I decided to stop reading and start listening. First, I attended (actually hosted) my first meet. And then, virometal and I had a mini-meet. And you know what? I actually got to listen to some CD3Ks and fell in love with them on the spot.

I fell in love because they sounded great to me. Forget the naysayers, forget the critics - they're perfect for me. And so, I did something that would be considered pure, unadulterated idiocy. I sent my HP3000s back to Larry to downgrade to the CD3000 drivers.

Does that mean that I disliked my HPs? No, I loved them. It's just that, for me, for my tastes, and given my ears, they weren't what I needed.

And so, the moral of the story is simply this: stop reading and start listening. Get to a meet, find a store, and find what sounds good to you.

Unfortunately, what will probably happen if anyone replies to this thread is that it will turn in to a discussion of the merits and shortcomings of the Sony MDR-CD3000. Which, of course, would totally miss the point.

 

[Feanor]

Great post. I'm happy you found the phone to fit your needs.

 

[tyrion]

What I've learned since coming to head-fi (besides how to buy and sell stuff over and over again) is that you have to trust your own ears. Not only do we all hear different but we also all describe what we hear different. It is for this reason that buying gear, living with it for a period of time is the only way to know whether it is for you. Head-fi, because of the active for sale forum affords us the opportunity to buy/try/sell. Meets are great but not ideal for making determinations on what you like and don't like. What they do provide is an opportunity to get an idea on what you may like and look to buy so you can make the ultimate determination on whether the particular peice of gear is for you.

 

[bahamaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrion Meets are great but not ideal for making determinations on what you like and don't like.

Absolutely true. OTOH, two or three person mini-meets seem to be particularly well-suited to doing meaningful auditions.

 

[tyrion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bahamaman Absolutely true. OTOH, two or three person mini-meets seem to be particularly well-suited to doing meaningful auditions.

Not the ones I've hosted. I spend way too much time talking.

 

[Sovkiller]

Well it seems that at the end I'm not so wrong as other members beleive right?.....

Welcome to the CD3KLF, send the fee when you got a chance....LOL....BTW if you like just PM me, I will give you some recos for good amps for it....

 

[bahamaman]

Sovkiller - I was wondering how many nanoseconds it would take before you joined the discussion

Oh, and YGPM.

 

[elmoe]

The CD3000 were FOTM here a few months ago back when I was still lurking about, and I can only remember reading positive reviews and opinions myself... may be wrong tho...

 

[virometal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller I will give you some recos for good amps for it....

I tell ya, bahama's headcode sounded fantastique with the CD3K; really good with the SA5k too. Or was it the Stello? That source was superior to my 555es in almost every aspect with the exception of detail and speed.

Spending time with a headphone in one's own system just cannot be replicated and "trust your own ears" really is the best advice.

Any newb, who gets into headphones, should seriously consider buying and selling used to save some bucks and try stuff out. That is the only way to really know.

 

[Sovkiller]

If you have the dualmono Headcode, there is no much to reco there, maybe another flavor or the like, but it is a wonderful amp, and an amp ot retire with....hats off to uncle Phil there!!!!

 

[blessingx]

While I agree with your point, making it with the CD3Ks gives the opposite argument some weight. I mean most people would never have heard of them except a place like this (and the resulting discussion fueled meets that result), and it's impossible (at least in the U.S.) to walk into a store and try them. The Head-Fi hype/buzz is the only thing keeping them in readers awareness at this point. While the very pro CD3K Head-Fi discussions were what made me pick up a pair and the listening is what made me return them, I don't see how hardly anyone outside of Japan is going to get to even that point without reading, reading reading. Now if you made the same point with Bose QuietComfort 2's, discussions of bitperfect soundcards or why transcoding makes newborn babies cry, now I'm with ya'.

 

[kramer5150]

IMHO its just plain wrong to post subjective oppinions on something you have never heard before. That more than anything is what the readers here have to be carefull of.

 

[tradja]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bahamaman ...stop reading and start listening.

An excellent idea. Instead of reading headfi until I go to work, I am going to turn off my computer right now and just go listen. Thanks!

 

[mow_the_hawk]

Good advice.

I guess your opinion isn't the same as someone else's after all.

 

[markl]

Quote:

And, if you were to read everything available on the CD3K, you wouldn't even consider buying them (unless, of course, you only read posts from Sovkiller ). Why? Well, the consensus seems to be that they're way too bright, unlistenable unless you've got a great source, and have a weird/exagerated soundstage. After such observations get published once or twice, it becomes almost like a mantra around here. Pretty soon, even people who haven't heard the CD3000 will start reporting it.

Really? Is that the "image" they have nowadays?

That's really too bad, they're fantastic headphones.