Gil Schwartzman
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2006
- Posts
- 868
- Likes
- 12
Call this the realization of an addiction....
I have known it for a while now, but never put it in writing. My adventure started earlier this year, around the end of July. I have, for a while, been a fan of headphone use, but really was quite content with my HD497's. Heck, when I bought them some time ago, I remember thinking that $50 was a damn lot of money to spend on headphones. Around the same time, a friend of mine spent $100 on a pair of Koss headphones. I thought he was insane.
Fast forward a bit, and I have approximately $1500 in gear, and much, much more on the horizon. What triggered the change? New cables. You see, I went to use my 497's one night, and to my dismay, the right channel was no more. The wire had torn near the right earcup. Thankfully, Senn's cables are are replaceable. While I ordered a replacement pair off Sennheisers website, I also got to thinking. I wondered to myself, what if I could afford a pair of HD595's? They looked absolutely amazing. Before then, I had seen them, but always thought they were just way to expensive. However, for some reason, when I found myself without headphones, I realized how much I enjoyed them. Maybe $200 wasn't so much for headphones after all.
Then... the competition started. I couldn't afford them then, so I just got my new cables and left the HD595 as a pipe dream. Maybe some day, maybe a few paychecks later... but not now. Then, a friend of mine ended up in the market for a pair of headphones, and he discovered head-fi. Apparently, he researched well, and decided on his budget, the SR-60 was for him. Well, come the time when I had enough money to afford a $200 pair of headphones, he tried to pass his love for Grado onto me, as well as the knowledge of head-fi. Initially, I wanted nothing to do with it. My mind was made up on the HD595. We argued profusely over it, but Grado's just did not appeal to me. I was focusing on the wrong aspects however. I thought to myself, they looked ugly and uncomfortable, and I wanted nothing to do with them.
Then, indecisiveness hit me like a brick. Still (for some reason) against the thought of looking at head-fi, I turned to my own favorite forum, [H]ardForum. I made a thread there, asking about Grado's. Since I really never researched them beyond looks, I was really fishing for someone to tell me they aren't what I wanted so I could shut my friend up about them. Well, that didn't happen. All I heard was how awesome Grado's were for rock. As time went by, something changed. I don't know why, but I sort of did a 180 on the biggest thing I had against Grado's, that being looks. I soon found the retro look quite snazzy. They still looked uncomfortable, but I was willing to chance it. So, my plan was to maybe pick up an SR60, but then, I needed something to game with. All sources pointed to it being bad for gaming, and I was going to have a pretty 50/50 use of music and gaming. Well, it was then that I caved even further, and joined the ranks of head-fi. To this day, I still think that may have been a mistake
.
I was still new to high end headphone equipment, and largely confused on most of it. Amps, DAC's, impedance, and all the other things that should influence a purchase, were all foreign to me. But, I was eager to learn, and researched away. I was almost immediately attracted to A900's. But, I thought to myself, those for $200 and the $70 SR60 was more than I wanted to spend. So, I thought, I would take a step down, the A700 should do me nicely.
But I suppose, once again, indecisiveness hit me. How could I spend $130 on a gaming headphone and only $70 on a music headphone, when I would probably actually listen to music more than game. I really didn't want to pass on the A700, so instead it was time to allocate more money to the project. It would seem I had upgraditis before I even owned anything to upgrade. I originally thought SR125's, but research soon turned me off to them. No... If I was going to do this, I wanted to do it right. I gave myself a $400 budget. I bought a pair of SR225's, a Grado adapter cable, and the A700's. I also got an X-Fi XtremeMusic sound card. I went over my budget by about $30, but at this point, that didn't seem like much.
It seemed a little crazy, but I really thought that was the final frontier. It was a ton of money for headphones as far as I was concerned. But, I kept reading head-fi, kept learning... and kept dreaming. I decided not long after, maybe I should splurge on a cheap amp. A week later, I ordered a PA2V2 from Garry. At this point, I was $500 in. I was beating my friend, that was for damn sure
. But, he seemed to be a formidable adversary. Not long after me, he also ordered a PA2V2. Thanks to an oddly long transit for me, he actually got his first. It was the beginning of a silent competition. I was ahead, but I was in a better financial situation thanks to a well paying job. I am young, in school, and living on my own, but I have a nice enough job to pay for all of that and still have a decent amount more of spendable cash.
Now that I had dropped a good bit of cash on what, to me, was an instantly high end setup, it was time to get critical. The A700 was incredible for gaming, and not to shabby with music either. The Grado's took me a week to warm up to, but when I warmed up to them... oh boy did I. They were perfect... except for one thing. That fear I had from the start... they were rough on my ears. Before I even knew was had happened to me, I had found my next purchase. I had caught wind of Larry's C-Pads, and fell in love. I had to had them. By my next paycheck, I was up to $630 spent. I was in for a long wait on the C-Pads though.
I thought to myself... ok, enough, this should be all I need. This is starting to get ridiculous. But no sooner than I wanted to quite, I wanted to keep going. I wanted to work on a portable setup. Fine.. I could justify that, it is a different setup. But, I soon found myself justifying the purchase of a home amp so that I could migrate the PA2V2 to a portable setup when the time came. One paycheck later, I was researching amps, and decided the Headfive would make a good all-arounder for me. It was decided.
Well, new amp meant new cables right? I had to have that. However, up until they, I also had a somewhat ghetto headphone mounting setup. I was deeply in love with Larry's stands over at headphile. So I said fine, this will be my last splurge. I ordered a stand for $60 and an IC for $80. Since I was still waiting on the C-Pads, I figured I would ask Larry if he could sneak them in. He said he would try. Soon after, he told me all was good, they would be done together. I waited on the amp until I was closer to my order date, that way I didn't have an amp without cables. Well, the time came soon enough. About two months into the experience, I was just past $1000. I thought to myself... you have got to be kidding me. Three months ago, $200 sounded like a large, just barely justifiable amount for headphones.
Well, I fell in love with the amp. It was incredible. I was finally hearing what it was all about. I was in audio heaven, and it was immediately justified. I wish I could have said the same about the C-Pads. Larry's work is amazing, and the comfort was fantastic, but it was at the wrong time. I had finally adjusted to the Grado feel. There was still some discomfort, but for the most part I was over it, all the while, I had fallen in love with the sound. The C-Pads fixed all comfort issues but in return I got a sound I did not like. I was willing to deal with the comfort. I used the C-Pads for a week, and since, they have sat. I may use them again, but not right now.
Soon after, I started working on a portable setup. About a month and a half later, I had a 60GB Ipod 5G, the same PA2V2, and a pair of iM716's. The whole setup cost me around $320.I was at nearly $1350 in head phone relegated purchases now. Somewhere in there, I also spent $10 on a pair of Koss KSC-75's, just to see what the fuss was about.
At this point, I figured I was done. But, remember that unspoken competition with my buddy? Well, until this point in the story, he still had his same setup. It was time for him to best me. It took him a good while of saving, but he managed to get a good deal on a pair of recabled 325i's. It was my opinion though, that even if he had the highest value can, I was still winning the war
.
Well, the battle came to a slow until just recently. I needed more, he needed more. We both had the addiction... and Christmas was going to help. For me, I decided I was going to finally get a pair of high end Senn's, which is really what started all this. But... not 595's. I decided 580's were a better choice. I told my parents that is what I wanted for Christmas, as they were more than happy to oblige. Now, I know I didn't buy the, but I am adding them to my total anyways. At this point it has been about 5 months, but I up to nearly $1500 in equipment. I managed to break that barrier just recently with a $50 order of supplies to delve into the world of making my own interconnects. In addition to my endeavors, my buddy, who previously only had a portable setup, was moving to the word of desktop equipment. The building of a new computer ushered that in for him. For Christmas, the plan is to get a Millet Hybrid amp from his parents, and he purchased an X-Fi himself. He still needs some gaming cans though... and since I have more choices, I still say I am winning
So.. there you have it, the adventure so far. If you had told me this time a year ago I would have $1500 in headphone equipment, I would have said no freakin way. Now just look at me. I am in deep, and I want to taste everything the hi-fi world has to offer. Just looking at my signature should be a good indication to that. I reckon I will have spent atleast $5000 before I have all the equipment I want. I don't know what is more insane, the fact that I may one day spend that much on headphone equipment...or the fact that I can justify it.
Needless to say, it has been one hell of a ride, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more. As we approach the new year, I look back... and wouldn't change a thing. As far as the future goes... there is a lot of time to figure that out, but I will have many many more headphones coming my way next year. And, the most ironic part of it is... think back to the beginning of the story... I started the adventure dead set against Grado's. At this point, I am in love with them. The Grado sound is for me, there is no doubt about that. If all goes as planned, my next purchases will be, in this order, a pair of MS-2's, a pair of HF-1's to be woodied and recabled by Larry, and then an RS-1. I will no doubt sneak an Millet Hybrid into their somewhere I think. Incredible... isn't it. I owe a lot to head-fi, and even more to my good friend who brought this experience upon me. I have reached audial bliss I never thought possible... and I know it's only a fraction of what's to come.
Pictures of the entire adventure can be found here. Starting from the front... you can see new pictures from each time my equipment grew and moved around.
(P.S. - Kudos to anyone who reads all that. It's a lot longer than I thought it would be.)
I have known it for a while now, but never put it in writing. My adventure started earlier this year, around the end of July. I have, for a while, been a fan of headphone use, but really was quite content with my HD497's. Heck, when I bought them some time ago, I remember thinking that $50 was a damn lot of money to spend on headphones. Around the same time, a friend of mine spent $100 on a pair of Koss headphones. I thought he was insane.
Fast forward a bit, and I have approximately $1500 in gear, and much, much more on the horizon. What triggered the change? New cables. You see, I went to use my 497's one night, and to my dismay, the right channel was no more. The wire had torn near the right earcup. Thankfully, Senn's cables are are replaceable. While I ordered a replacement pair off Sennheisers website, I also got to thinking. I wondered to myself, what if I could afford a pair of HD595's? They looked absolutely amazing. Before then, I had seen them, but always thought they were just way to expensive. However, for some reason, when I found myself without headphones, I realized how much I enjoyed them. Maybe $200 wasn't so much for headphones after all.
Then... the competition started. I couldn't afford them then, so I just got my new cables and left the HD595 as a pipe dream. Maybe some day, maybe a few paychecks later... but not now. Then, a friend of mine ended up in the market for a pair of headphones, and he discovered head-fi. Apparently, he researched well, and decided on his budget, the SR-60 was for him. Well, come the time when I had enough money to afford a $200 pair of headphones, he tried to pass his love for Grado onto me, as well as the knowledge of head-fi. Initially, I wanted nothing to do with it. My mind was made up on the HD595. We argued profusely over it, but Grado's just did not appeal to me. I was focusing on the wrong aspects however. I thought to myself, they looked ugly and uncomfortable, and I wanted nothing to do with them.
Then, indecisiveness hit me like a brick. Still (for some reason) against the thought of looking at head-fi, I turned to my own favorite forum, [H]ardForum. I made a thread there, asking about Grado's. Since I really never researched them beyond looks, I was really fishing for someone to tell me they aren't what I wanted so I could shut my friend up about them. Well, that didn't happen. All I heard was how awesome Grado's were for rock. As time went by, something changed. I don't know why, but I sort of did a 180 on the biggest thing I had against Grado's, that being looks. I soon found the retro look quite snazzy. They still looked uncomfortable, but I was willing to chance it. So, my plan was to maybe pick up an SR60, but then, I needed something to game with. All sources pointed to it being bad for gaming, and I was going to have a pretty 50/50 use of music and gaming. Well, it was then that I caved even further, and joined the ranks of head-fi. To this day, I still think that may have been a mistake
I was still new to high end headphone equipment, and largely confused on most of it. Amps, DAC's, impedance, and all the other things that should influence a purchase, were all foreign to me. But, I was eager to learn, and researched away. I was almost immediately attracted to A900's. But, I thought to myself, those for $200 and the $70 SR60 was more than I wanted to spend. So, I thought, I would take a step down, the A700 should do me nicely.
But I suppose, once again, indecisiveness hit me. How could I spend $130 on a gaming headphone and only $70 on a music headphone, when I would probably actually listen to music more than game. I really didn't want to pass on the A700, so instead it was time to allocate more money to the project. It would seem I had upgraditis before I even owned anything to upgrade. I originally thought SR125's, but research soon turned me off to them. No... If I was going to do this, I wanted to do it right. I gave myself a $400 budget. I bought a pair of SR225's, a Grado adapter cable, and the A700's. I also got an X-Fi XtremeMusic sound card. I went over my budget by about $30, but at this point, that didn't seem like much.
It seemed a little crazy, but I really thought that was the final frontier. It was a ton of money for headphones as far as I was concerned. But, I kept reading head-fi, kept learning... and kept dreaming. I decided not long after, maybe I should splurge on a cheap amp. A week later, I ordered a PA2V2 from Garry. At this point, I was $500 in. I was beating my friend, that was for damn sure
Now that I had dropped a good bit of cash on what, to me, was an instantly high end setup, it was time to get critical. The A700 was incredible for gaming, and not to shabby with music either. The Grado's took me a week to warm up to, but when I warmed up to them... oh boy did I. They were perfect... except for one thing. That fear I had from the start... they were rough on my ears. Before I even knew was had happened to me, I had found my next purchase. I had caught wind of Larry's C-Pads, and fell in love. I had to had them. By my next paycheck, I was up to $630 spent. I was in for a long wait on the C-Pads though.
I thought to myself... ok, enough, this should be all I need. This is starting to get ridiculous. But no sooner than I wanted to quite, I wanted to keep going. I wanted to work on a portable setup. Fine.. I could justify that, it is a different setup. But, I soon found myself justifying the purchase of a home amp so that I could migrate the PA2V2 to a portable setup when the time came. One paycheck later, I was researching amps, and decided the Headfive would make a good all-arounder for me. It was decided.
Well, new amp meant new cables right? I had to have that. However, up until they, I also had a somewhat ghetto headphone mounting setup. I was deeply in love with Larry's stands over at headphile. So I said fine, this will be my last splurge. I ordered a stand for $60 and an IC for $80. Since I was still waiting on the C-Pads, I figured I would ask Larry if he could sneak them in. He said he would try. Soon after, he told me all was good, they would be done together. I waited on the amp until I was closer to my order date, that way I didn't have an amp without cables. Well, the time came soon enough. About two months into the experience, I was just past $1000. I thought to myself... you have got to be kidding me. Three months ago, $200 sounded like a large, just barely justifiable amount for headphones.
Well, I fell in love with the amp. It was incredible. I was finally hearing what it was all about. I was in audio heaven, and it was immediately justified. I wish I could have said the same about the C-Pads. Larry's work is amazing, and the comfort was fantastic, but it was at the wrong time. I had finally adjusted to the Grado feel. There was still some discomfort, but for the most part I was over it, all the while, I had fallen in love with the sound. The C-Pads fixed all comfort issues but in return I got a sound I did not like. I was willing to deal with the comfort. I used the C-Pads for a week, and since, they have sat. I may use them again, but not right now.
Soon after, I started working on a portable setup. About a month and a half later, I had a 60GB Ipod 5G, the same PA2V2, and a pair of iM716's. The whole setup cost me around $320.I was at nearly $1350 in head phone relegated purchases now. Somewhere in there, I also spent $10 on a pair of Koss KSC-75's, just to see what the fuss was about.
At this point, I figured I was done. But, remember that unspoken competition with my buddy? Well, until this point in the story, he still had his same setup. It was time for him to best me. It took him a good while of saving, but he managed to get a good deal on a pair of recabled 325i's. It was my opinion though, that even if he had the highest value can, I was still winning the war
Well, the battle came to a slow until just recently. I needed more, he needed more. We both had the addiction... and Christmas was going to help. For me, I decided I was going to finally get a pair of high end Senn's, which is really what started all this. But... not 595's. I decided 580's were a better choice. I told my parents that is what I wanted for Christmas, as they were more than happy to oblige. Now, I know I didn't buy the, but I am adding them to my total anyways. At this point it has been about 5 months, but I up to nearly $1500 in equipment. I managed to break that barrier just recently with a $50 order of supplies to delve into the world of making my own interconnects. In addition to my endeavors, my buddy, who previously only had a portable setup, was moving to the word of desktop equipment. The building of a new computer ushered that in for him. For Christmas, the plan is to get a Millet Hybrid amp from his parents, and he purchased an X-Fi himself. He still needs some gaming cans though... and since I have more choices, I still say I am winning
So.. there you have it, the adventure so far. If you had told me this time a year ago I would have $1500 in headphone equipment, I would have said no freakin way. Now just look at me. I am in deep, and I want to taste everything the hi-fi world has to offer. Just looking at my signature should be a good indication to that. I reckon I will have spent atleast $5000 before I have all the equipment I want. I don't know what is more insane, the fact that I may one day spend that much on headphone equipment...or the fact that I can justify it.
Needless to say, it has been one hell of a ride, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more. As we approach the new year, I look back... and wouldn't change a thing. As far as the future goes... there is a lot of time to figure that out, but I will have many many more headphones coming my way next year. And, the most ironic part of it is... think back to the beginning of the story... I started the adventure dead set against Grado's. At this point, I am in love with them. The Grado sound is for me, there is no doubt about that. If all goes as planned, my next purchases will be, in this order, a pair of MS-2's, a pair of HF-1's to be woodied and recabled by Larry, and then an RS-1. I will no doubt sneak an Millet Hybrid into their somewhere I think. Incredible... isn't it. I owe a lot to head-fi, and even more to my good friend who brought this experience upon me. I have reached audial bliss I never thought possible... and I know it's only a fraction of what's to come.
Pictures of the entire adventure can be found here. Starting from the front... you can see new pictures from each time my equipment grew and moved around.
(P.S. - Kudos to anyone who reads all that. It's a lot longer than I thought it would be.)
