[chesebert]

Porta Pro

 

[genck]

Samson SR850, bought in 2013. It was a revelation for me at the time, to know what $50 could get you.

 

[Mhog55]

I've only been at this for 3 years. It was the 99 Classics (original pads), that opened my eyes to better sound potential. Still listen to them on the regular, but those 1st generation pads are starting to scare me a bit.

 

[ThanatosVI]

The Hifiman He-400 were my entry into high end audio. The original Version had a really special tone, way better than the butchered 400i snd 400s

Took me like 7-8 years of upgrades until I found my endgame in the Meze Empyrean.

 

[KPzypher]

HD650 got me into this hobby, although it took about 2 years to really like and appreciate them.

Still one of my all time favorite cans.

 

[Mhog55]

The Hifiman He-400 were my entry into high end audio. The original Version had a really special tone, way better than the butchered 400i snd 400s

Took me like 7-8 years of upgrades until I found my endgame in the Meze Empyrean.

Never heard the original. 400s was my 1st open back. I kinda regret selling them at times, though I have better gear now.

 

[ThanatosVI]

HD650 got be into this hobby, although it took about 2 years to really like and appreciate them.

Still one of my all time favorite cans.

Yeah "ear training" is real.
I bought several portable amp/dacs in the beginning of my journey, just to return them because I couldn't hear a difference.

Few years later I bought the same Model again as 2nd try and was schicken how I could "miss" this the first time

 

[ThanatosVI]

Never heard the original. 400s was my 1st open back. I kinda regret selling them at times, though I have better gear now.

Soundwise I wonder how far they would have scaled, but in terms of comfort they just can't compete anymore (that aspect improved dramatically on the 400s)

 

[pluplog]

My first pair of cans was actually the Beyer DT150... I had them for a long time before I hear a friend's Stax setup and got curious about headphones in general

 

[easo91]

Sennheiser Urbanites were the first headphones that made me go “just how much better can sound sound?” And now I wouldn’t really recommend them to anyone, even as an entry can.

 

[YCHANGE]

Koss Pro35A from RadioShack. Hope to get them recabled someday.

 

[yolosauce]

Monster Turbine Pro Copper edition. I still miss them despite the drivers dying every 6 months. Smooth treble with good bass.

 

[ryanmatic]

I remember picking up a pair of B&W P5s right out of grad school, then listening to Violator and being like "wow this sounds way more detailed than I'm used to." Down the rabbit hole I fell.

 

[ozz]

Koss Pro 4AA in 1970.

 

[Mightygrey]

Grado GH-1 was my first dabble into better sound back in 2015/16.