[Don Quichotte]

I own the Stax 3030 combo, the K1000 + T-amp (still waiting for a better amp) and the K501, and have owned the HD600. Now, the Stax and K1000 are better and I currently enjoy them more, but the AKG K501 is the "magical" headphone among them. It's musical in itself, no mater if I plug it into a lowish soundcard or whatever, it always puts the music above sound / information, so to speak. If it only were as technically proficient as the other two!

 

[St3ve]

I know they aren't loved by everyone, but my RS1s really hit the spot for me. They are glued to my head whenever i can feasibly manage it. Similarly my LDI+ has shown itself to be an astounding value-for-money purchase (particularly when you have swapped some better opamp/tubes in it). I am able to get very involved in my music, and that is exactly what i want.

 

[cck5]

my sr80's clean out of ipod. with allman brothers songs.

 

[elcarajo]

I have really been enjoying Headphile-modded HF-1's like nothing else. They seem to run best for me through the C&C XO amp vice the Beresford built-in headphone amp on the 7520. I haven't much else here with me to compare against, in the way of amps.

If HF-1's are making me [very] happy, what's a logical procession from there?

 

[KingStyles]

Isabellina HPA into LA7000 is an awesome combo. It can really emotionally involve me in the music on any given day.

 

[k3oxkjo]

To me, the criteria is a system that gets out of the way and lets the musicians/engineers do their business. So:

Sony R-10 driven by just about anything good. But alas, I will probably never own them (though I have had two extended loans). So far, there are two "that got away", the R-10's and the delicious Ms. C...

Back on earth, the HD-800 driven by my Revox integrated amp (especially for classical music). Beyer T1? We will see...

And a shout out to the Beyer DT-48.

Kevin

 

[hawat]

Emotionally involving for me would be 840c>rpx-33>edition 9 until the ed9 gets to hot and I have to switch to another can.

 

[grokit]

I would have to say that my HiFiMAN HE-5/EF5 combo easily "takes the cake" for emotional involvement in my collection.

 

[vo_obgyn]

It is older gear but hear is mine:

Mark Levinson 37 CD Transport > Mark Levinson 36S DAC > RSA Raptor > Senn HD600's

Unbelievable sound.

 

[grokit]

I would have to say that my HiFiMAN HE-5/EF5 combo easily "takes the cake" for emotional involvement over the rest of my collection.

For me, the "emotional involvement" comes from the music one is listening to, not the headphones. The best the headphones can do towards toward this end is to get "out of the way" completely.

 

[Napilopez]

I don't have as much experience as most of you guys, but I have to say my PX200-II. Compared to the RX700 and FC700, they're more laidback but still get me involved. They reproduce timbre beautifully, and their impressively 3D soundstage really helps me get into the music.

 

[Amarphael]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grokit /img/forum/go_quote.gif For me, the "emotional involvement" comes from the music one is listening to, not the headphones. The best the headphones can do towards toward this end is to get "out of the way" completely.

+1

Whixh is why i appreciate my MD5000 so much.

 

[Palpatine]

Captain's Magic Buttons by The Wiggles out of my iPod and HD25 I II.

No... not really.

Perhaps Vangelis' Conquest of Paradise soundtrack through my HD650.

 

[David.M]

my DT990/600ohm, Little Dot DAC_1, Little Dot MKIII tube amp /w the 5.1 foobar config is truly truly musical

it's not high end prosu gosu equipment, but i have found something that i can really enjoy for a very long time.

 

[AudioDwebe]

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) I'm beginning to realize that emotional involvement, for me, is more "mood" dependent than "equipment" dependent. How I'm feeling at that precise moment goes further toward musical involvment and enjoyment than the rig itself.

I come to this conclusion based on this: Sometimes, I'll listen to my system and think the music is just sublime and I can't imagine it sounding any better. At some point later, I'll listen to the same exact rig and often the same CD/record, as I generally don't remove a recording after a listening session, and the music will sound, well, like a humongous turd.

Same system, same music, same time; different results.