[xformulax]

the next time you need to buy some more earbuds, do yourself a favor and pick up some KSC75's instead.... they're a whopping $15, but 1000% better than those maxell buds.

and if you cant tell the difference, consider yourself lucky.

 

[Audio Jester]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Earbuds /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not sure, Audio Jester. I'm not really into cars.

Whether you like cars or not my statement still applies. You can get a really nice car for 50,000. So why spend more??
Because others may be made of better materials
They might be faster
They might have better handling
They might look better to you

Generally speaking if something costs more you expect more from it...
(even if sometimes that "something" may be purely psychological)

 

[Trysaeder]

So I was a budding audiophile with my AD700s for gaming, (they made a HUGE difference over the $20 logitech internet chat headset I used to talk with) and I was on a trip to Japan. I listened to the HD800 and Edition 8 + Luxman P-1u combo, and I was blown away.

I've been working my way up to higher end headphones ever since.

 

[Ypoknons]

Only you can determinate what's worth it for you.

The benefits from high-end equipment are measurable and tangible. More detail (you can hear more stuff that's going on in your record), spacial imaging (whether each instrument is relative to others, in cheap headphones it's all mashed together), frequency response (how 'accurate' is the sound reproduced? does it 'sound real or pleasing?'), amongst many other things...

We can spend pages talking to you about this stuff, but there's no alternative to actually listening to some good setups for yourself.

 

[Blasto_Brandino]

Great, I'll give them a try, Thanks!

 

[Raguvian]

Well then maybe you're not meant for this hobby? (Not meaning this in a mean or rude way).

I don't consider myself to be a huge audiophile. In fact, all throughout high school I thought my $15 Sony MDR V150's were the best cans ever until I got better ones. I enjoy hearing things in music I've never heard before, and I love being astonished by new equipment playing the same music I've heard over and over.

If you're not into the audio hobby then no amount of explaining would help. I know people are into jeans and shoes as well, but someone would have a tough time explaining to me why their $200 jeans are better than my $15 ones. There is a certain joy people get from their equipment but not everyone will feel the same way.

 

[plonter]

anyone who is not an audiophile will be satisfied from a lousy sound,and that's because they don't care about the sound AT ALL! only about the music.
I see many people in my country walking in the street while listening to their cellular phones...with the built in speaker non of the less! well..the really don't care about the sound,which is not a bad thing...but some people are not audiophiles or havn't yet exposed to audiophilia.

to the OP,you can try a 150$ headphone and you will see that the difference is night and day from cheap earbuds or any other cheapo headphones...the difference is really huge in this price range.
I can imagine you some time from now getting the PS1000

 

[scytheavatar]

All you need to know is, ignorance is bliss

.

 

[Mr Joboto]

Totally second that statement

 

[Nagasaki_Kid]

this is a difficult question to answer. It's like describing to someone who has hamburger what steak tastes like. in simple terms good headphones will make your old headphones sound like you've been listen to music with ear plugs. you'd get more lows and highs. basically a better experience.

 

[swbf2cheater]

if you went to a movie theater, and the screen were terrible quality and small, blurring the image, would you be fine? The movie plays, doesn't it? Blurred and distorted, but it plays. Thats the same as you using and saying the dirt cheap earbuds are "acceptable"

If you pay a few hundred for a TV in today's world, you are only getting half the experience. Audio is the other half and without good headphones, you miss everything in music. You miss "the experience" we audiophiles seek, what the artist intended you to hear, and much more.

 

[Spud of Doom]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plonter /img/forum/go_quote.gif to the OP,you can try a 150$ headphone and you will see that the difference is night and day from cheap earbuds or any other cheapo headphones...the difference is really huge in this price range. I can imagine you some time from now getting the PS1000

This is a pretty valid statement. Try something cheapish like the Creative Live! Aurvana or Denon AH-D1001.

 

[plonter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by swbf2cheater /img/forum/go_quote.gif if you went to a movie theater, and the screen were terrible quality and small, blurring the image, would you be fine? The movie plays, doesn't it? Blurred and distorted, but it plays. Thats the same as you using and saying the dirt cheap earbuds are "acceptable" If you pay a few hundred for a TV in today's world, you are only getting half the experience. Audio is the other half and without good headphones, you miss everything in music. You miss "the experience" we audiophiles seek, what the artist intended you to hear, and much more.

well puted!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spud of Doom /img/forum/go_quote.gif This is a pretty valid statement. Try something cheapish like the Creative Live! Aurvana or Denon AH-D1001.

ofcourse... there are very serious "bang for the buck" products out there that provides much better sound quality than stock earbuds. but ofcourse the "Real" great sound usually starts from the 250- 300$+ range of headphones.

 

[JDGAFFLIN]

I think you guys are being a bit to rough on the OP, if in fact, he is being serious.

Damn, think about why you got into this hobby in the first place. You weren't born with golden ears. Some of the level of pretentiousness here is ridiculous. I mean I'm reletively new. And I do my fair shair of research. But how about actually helping the OP out, instead of the snobbish attitudes?

To the OP.. I've decided to take the path of experiencing the different ranges of items avaliable, to find a sound that suits me. But I can tell you this: If the music you dig sounds good with cheapo $5.00 buds, imagine the enjoyment you'll get from that same song with the music encoded at a decent bit rate, through a decent source, with a set of cans specifically developed to let you hear the detail that is actually present in the music you love. So yes, there is a difference. But the fun of it all is discovering the sound signiture that suits you.

Happy listening.

 

[Earbuds]

For my first headphones, what do you think of this? Amazon.com: AKG K 701 WHITE HEADPHONES: Electronics

I'd rather not buy the cheaper ones first, since I'd be throwing $100+ away if I decide to buy the better ones.

Also, for an amp/dac, how about this? iBasso

I read that it takes A LOT to power the AKG K701s, but I don't really need the best of the best, I just need something that sounds at least 2x better than my earbuds. Will the iBasso D10 and the k701s combined be at least 2x better than my earbuds?

EDIT: JDGAFFLIN, no worries, everyone here has been more than helpful. I did sound kind of rude in the original post(even though I didn't intend for it to sound rude), so I can kind of understand why some people would be a little angry at me.