[beeman458]

I've asked similar questions and received a boat load of answers but I keep coming back to these basic question;
 
Where does it go?
 
When are you there?
 
How do you know you've arrived?
 
When is good enough, good enough.
 
Is this an eternal climb where there's no end like golf?
 
Buy this expensive driver, it'll shave at least two strokes off your game.  Now, I've got just one more of these putters that'll do wonders for your short game and you'll be breaking into the eighties by next week.  And I'll let you have these two beauties for seven hundred and fifty dollars but don't tell anybody I'm letting you have them for so cheap.  I don't want to start a run.
 

 
(Oh, and I don't play golf.)
 
So, for everybody's efforts to answer my questions in the past, I just don't seem to be getting it.  Been playing with this question for some twenty years, so it's not like I'm a noob to the question.  I know, a long time for some and for others, it's just the beginning so get use to it and submit.
 

 
I get a new rig, marvel at the sound quality, slip into headphone Nirvana and then I find myself wanting more.  Crap, when did I turn into such a junkie?  If I buy/do this, I can have better.
 

 
I just finished listening to a song by K.D.Lang and like a junkie on a hook, felt myself being tugged to the heavens wanting more.  The point, I got decent sound yet I closed on a used HPA in need of a new home (Burson HA-160) and looking to spring for a NuForce, OPPO BDP-83SE, as both transport and Blu-ray player for the man-cave.
 
Maybe the question should be rephrased to read: How crazy is crazy and then you're really crazy?  I mean come-on, you have all this crazy good sound in your ears.......and you find yourself wanting better?  And that's not being crazy?  And based upon what I've read on Head-fi.org, after twenty years of dancing with this beast, I'm just a beginner.
 

 
Maybe if I got a divorce, lost the kid, the house, my mind and got a cold water, studio walk-up on the seedy side of town, I could afford better.  And then again, maybe if I got intense, interventive counseling, think of all the money I could save.
 

 

[reiserFS]

Sky's the limit when it comes to audio, whether it's really audible or not is another thing.
Quote:

I get a new rig, marvel at the sound quality, slip into headphone Nirvana and then I find myself wanting more.  Crap, when did I turn into such a junkie?  If I buy/do this, I can have better.

I know that feeling very well. For example, I really like the sonic characteristics of my Stax rig, but still miss things only dynamic cans can deliver, thus I'm looking into buying one again.

 

[kool bubba ice]

To be honest.. When I get the original DT48 from 1937.. A HD800/010, the Nuforce upgrade.. & the A1 for my 5-8ohm DT48's.. Games over.. I might even delete my account afterwards.. This is more of a passion of frustration then anything else.. I know what I want, but don't have the funds NOW.. When I get them.. It's game over.. I don't want to hear about anything new or better.. I will finallly be able to Fully enjoy my music without thinking of what if's & upgrades..

 

[joelpearce]

 
Where does it go?

Hopefully, it goes until it's no longer about enjoyment of the music, at which points it stops.  Ultimately, I think it's about trying to find the best match for your hearing and needs, and about refining your ears and ability to hear and understand what you're hearing.  

 

When are you there?

Although I'm not trying to spout simple truisms, it's the journey, not the destination.  If the goal was to get the best, each of us would have 2 or three choices of top-end, flagship products, and we'd be set forever.  But it's different.  It's more like going to different restaurants, to hear what different chefs can do with songs you like.  We like to test the boundaries of our musical palates, the same way that we enjoy food at a variety of restaurants, even if we do have one or two favourites that we frequent most often.

 

How do you know you've arrived?

I think I will have arrived when I'm no longer drawn to several different headphones that I have yet to try every time I scan the for sale forum.  I think I have now arrived in terms of sources (though I do have a vintage amp to restore and test), but I have a few more headphones to try before I've reached that point.  At this point, though, I'm trying to break even--that is, to trade directly or indirectly headphones that I'm done with for ones that I have yet to try and genuinely believe they could be better.  Once I'm able to succeed at maintaining that balance, I will have arrived.  I will still probably change up my inventory sometimes, but I will be done the quest that I'm on now.

 

When is good enough, good enough.

I think we reach good enough when music sounds to your ears exactly how it should.  That means that good enough is different for different headphones, and I suppose the holy grail of headphones would be the one that makes everything sound to my ears exactly as it should.  Pretty sure that one doesn't exist, but if it does I wouldn't mind if it could be one that would toggle from open to closed while I'm asking the impossible.  I now have several headphones that are good enough for most of my musical listening, which means I'm back to the last answer--it's not about finding good restaurants anymore, but rather about exploring different ones to compare with what I'm used to.

 

Is this an eternal climb where there's no end like golf?

No.  I mean, it can be for people who want it to be, but we all have a threshold of what we're willing to and able to pay.  That creates a boundary to the audiophile playground--it just means that some of us end up with less or more toys to play with.  While I have yet to hear any flagship products, for me there is simply too much value in the $200-$500 range for me to bother seeking out anything higher.  As with the golf clubs, there comes a point when you're no longer playing for performance, but rather paying for prestige and recognition.  I'm not trying to bash high-end headphones when I say this, but I'm sure the placebo effect must kick in somewhere along the way.

 

[beeman458]

riserFS wrote:
 
For example, I really like the sonic characteristics of my Stax rig,
 

 
No, no, sticks his fingers in his eyes.  All your above makes me want to do is go after a pair of electrostatics and vinyl.  Nooooooooooo!
 

 
kool bubba ice wrote:
 
This is more of a passion of frustration then anything else..
 
Amen.  And what's the logical end of this road?  So many passions and so little time and money.  Makes me think of Bon Jovi: "Living on a Prayer."
 

 
joelpearce wrote:
 
While I have yet to hear any flagship products, for me there is simply too much value in the $200-$500 range for me to bother seeking out anything higher.
 
And there's no curiosity of better?
 
???
 
...the same way that we enjoy food at a variety of restaurants,...
 
And FWIW, here's my next restaurant pick waiting to be explored: "Q"
 
"Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives"
 
This chef flat out loves his food and I can't wait to eat.
 

 

[JeckyllAndHyde]

still got sex?... or golf already?

 

[beeman458]

still got sex?... or golf already?
 
???
 
Got the wife as I'm not allowed to stray and on the links I'm a no talent 140, not counting multiple mulligans.
 

 

 

[Uncle Erik]

Pull up a few articles on satisficers and maximizers. That goes a long way towards explaining what happens to people here. The maximizers really get the screws put to them by audio merchants.

It also helps to take something of a technical approach to audio. It helps you see the point of diminishing returns and sort through the barrage of claims. Knowing how to build gear helps, too. Aside from saving money (well, sort of), it lets you build exactly what you want, which helps kill upgraditis.

Aside from needing to build a few things, I haven't bought any new gear for a good 15 months. I don't know when I'll buy again; something revolutionary will have to turn up. I'm just going to work on buying more music and getting what I have ripped into lossless.

 

[beeman458]

Uncle Erik wrote:
 
It also helps to take something of a technical approach to audio.  It helps you see the point of diminishing returns and sort through the barrage of claims.
 
Agreed, very helpful.  And where does that line of diminishing returns begin as I don't have your technical background.  According to posted specs for all the available different gear, pretty much, everything is beyond my hearing ability yet those sonic nuances keep leaking through, leaving me wanting more.
 
I went through a serious case of audio-nervosa with rack mounted Hi-Fi gear in the 90's and found a rational middle ground between esoteric and reality before it fiscally sucked me under.  But I'm yet to be able to apply those rules to headphones as I don't have enough headphone experience.  The quality of sound I'm currently hearing is out of this world and yet, even though it's crazy good, I know there's better gear and better sound to be had out there.  So, I find myself like a junkie, wanting more.  And sans total experience, how's one to know when good is good and better is just wishful (or deluded) thinking?
 
Knowing how to build gear helps, too.
 
Good point but in truth, I'm not wanting to take on building my own gear as doing so becomes another learning curve where I'm not wanting to go.  I'd rather get my electronic gear the old fashion way, work my butt off and buy it from somebody else.  I want it to end (this is not a case of lacking personal discipline) but I know that even with this new round, there's better.  Does it end with a fully upgraded WA2, dedicated CD transport and a fully broken in set of HD800's?  To what level of sonic quality can one go before they're throwing good money after bad when it comes to headphones and diminishing returns?
 

 
I do find that in listening to more complex pieces, I become more and more demanding of the music presentation as I'm more easily dissatisfied when the music presented isn't up to par.  This, knowing full well that the piece has so much more to offer.   And FWIW, what do I want or expect out of this exercise, less clipping and smoother highs with chords opened up further than they already are.  In short, what do I want?  In plain terms, I want the gear to get out of the way of the musical experience.  Oh, and no this isn't a whine as it's a serious question that's trying to lose the veil of ignorance.  Why?  Spending money is easy.  Being smart about spending money is hard and requires an education.