[OnlySoMany]

I were surprised by how much difference I could hear, going from the Ananda to the HE1000 Stealth, I did not expect that. However, the Arya is quite close to the HEKS, so if there where a big difference in price, I would have selected the Arya. So this is the sweetspot for me, with the gear I've heard so far. I haven't heard 3K+ sets, but I would be very surprised if I would think the sweetspot would be in that range.

The Caldera and Atrium Closed are the best 2 headphones I have ever heard. Both are over $3k. I've owned almost every single high-end and low/mid headphone set at some point (Hifiman/Focal/DCA/Audeze/Sennheiser, etc), and these are my go-to for enjoyable reference listening. I have not listened to my Susvara, Utopia, HE1000, etc in months for more than an hour.

Also, Susvara is very different than HE1000 or Ananda. Holographic presentation, with incredible clarity. I sold the Ananda a while back. It was good, but not great. Reminded me of a more open HD650.

I'm not trying to be arrogant or tell you to spend more money. I am speaking from experience as someone who moved from the very low end of headphone gear to higher up the chain over time. If you want a killer mid-fi setup, then I'd look at spending around $3-3.5k total, accounting for used prices.

 

[Lindholdt]

The Caldera and Atrium Closed are the best 2 headphones I have ever heard. Both are over $3k. I've owned almost every single high-end and low/mid headphone set at some point (Hifiman/Focal/DCA/Audeze/Sennheiser, etc), and these are my go-to for enjoyable reference listening. I have not listened to my Susvara, Utopia, HE1000, etc in months for more than an hour.

Also, Susvara is very different than HE1000 or Ananda. Holographic presentation, with incredible clarity. I sold the Ananda a while back. It was good, but not great. Reminded me of a more open HD650.

I'm not trying to be arrogant or tell you to spend more money. I am speaking from experience as someone who moved from the very low end of headphone gear to higher up the chain over time. If you want a killer mid-fi setup, then I'd look at spending around $3-3.5k total, accounting for used prices.

I have no doubt there is a lot of amazing gear higher up in the price range, but for me and my economy, that will never be a "sweetspot". Better, for sure, but also a point where diminishing return is starting to hit hard. I'm not even sure my ears can keep up with the upgrades as I move higher up in price. Luckily, I'm very content with what I have, and now I'm exploring a few things in the signal chain, but once that's done, I figure I'll settle with the HE1000 for many years to come

 

[Shane D]

Id go with either the edition xs by hifiman or focal elex. I managed to get an open box Arya stealth for £600 so I think that would be hard to beat for me.

Not sure about Europe, but headphones.com is selling open box Elex's for $449.00US.

 

[gazzington]

Not sure about Europe, but headphones.com is selling open box Elex's for $449.00US.

Bargain. The elex is a fantastic headphone

 

[FlyingFungus]

I paid under a $1000 Canadian for my setup in 2015. Schiit Asgard, Audioquest Dragonfly Black and the Fostex THX00 Mahogany. I was definitely satisfied with that setup for a long time. I still love the Fostex and Schiit combo (dragonfly is basically dead).

If I was rich, I'd get the Sennheiser HE-1, which is best headphone setup I've heard so far. But that costs $75,000 Canadian. Or something else in a somewhat similar price range like the Warwick Aperio ($41000 Canadian).

I also heard the Focal Utopia 2022 connected to a Chord Mojo 2 and absolutely loved it. That's under $10,000. But I also loved the Sennheiser HD800s which is cheaper than the Utopia by more than half.

It's hard to say what the real sweet spot is. All the headphones I own are less than $500. I've definitely, as mentioned above, heard much better headphones than what I own.

The Sennheiser HE-1 as amazing as it sounds, is too expensive. I don't think it's worth the price tag despite being the best sounding headphones I've heard.

So maybe the sweet spot is the $2-6000 headphones. The Focal Utopia, DCA Expanse, Final Audio D8000 Pro, Stax X9000 (ok those are around $8000) all sounded amazing and while still expensive...much more attainable compared to the Sennheiser HE-1.

 

[mshea0001]

Brand new here but offering my experiences:

It took me a lot of trial and error (and a lot of awesome headphones in the house!) but I think my Sennheiser 6XXs with a Modi / Magni stack or a Modi / Linsoul XDUOO MT-602 really sounded awesome. That's now my bedroom listening setup but it sounds awesome.

I just got a set of Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noirs hooked up to my Jotunheim / Bifrost stack (Jason Stoddard would be proud) and it sounds amazing but is probably $2000 which is about 5x the price of my bedroom setup.

 

[bagwell359]

Yes, but 10k and over is insane.

IMO a great setup does not need to be equalized.

Very few headphones don’t need EQ imo to be their best - and that doesn’t mean perfect adherence to Harman.

$2k and up range is significantly different with the right sources and amp. Most people think they will get endgame sound with a $2k headphone, running off $700 of gear, and that just isn't realistic. There is so much more to be had once you have a proper dac, source, and amp that can properly control bass response, treble, and micro dynamics. When you finally get it right it's like someone lifting a blanket off your head. And you can't go back.

It's true that some elements are overpriced but that's why you need to be careful and do your research.

Best midrange setup imo for the price is Chord TT1 or Hugo 2 and ZMF Auteur Classic.

 

[bagwell359]

Isn't that just a lot of snake oil?

From what I understand the most part depends on the headphones drivers and on the bitrate from your music source.
If they are good then there is no need for amps / dacs in that price category.

Depends. Certainly transducers is where most money should be spent but not all cans with run off .2 wpc.

I mean I never heard stuff that is that expensive but in general an amp amplifies and makes everything louder while a DAC converts the audio quality into an analog signal.
Would be interesting to know why and what exactly expensive devices are doing better/differently compared to let's say 200$ devices.

Not a single answer

 

[bagwell359]

Compare it to wine, scotch, wrist watches, cars, etc.

There is a difference between a $12 bottle of Taylor red and an Amarone for $150.

OTOH there are “better”watches than a Patek Phillipe Calatrava. So it’s an preference/satisfaction thing sometimes.

Like most here I know what I like and what I can afford. Sadly they don’t intersect that often. C’est la guerre.

 

[Kukuk]

To me, I'd say the sweet spot is about $200. Maybe $400 on the high end.

My go-to recommendations for the $200 price point are the AKG K612 and Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80. Both of those give you so much headphone for the money, and they're pretty easy to recommend based on how balanced they are. Pushed over $200, the Hifiman HE5XX is a killer deal, besting the other two headphones in a lot of ways, but losing some overall consistency.

On the higher end of my price range, the Sundara is getting you like 80% of the way toward the Arya or HD800S. They do a little bit of everything extremely well, and that's reminiscent of legitimately high end headphones. The Sundara isn't my favorite sub-$400 headphone, but they're probably the easiest to recommend because they're so well-rounded. They're also very easy to drive, so they don't incur more cost upstream of them.

 

[Tanalasta]

Easier to find the sweet Spot in IEM’s. It’s difficult to define the sweet spot … as the DAC (foremost) and amplifier play a significant role in the overall performance. At the top end, it’s impossible to define sweet spot on headphone alone. Better headphones scale better with better sources. Utopia driven out of a MacBook Pro (M3, current model) was disappointing compared to the Hugo2.

Before the rabbit hole, I’d say somewhere around the $1000 mark.

As for watches, there are many watches better than the Calatrava. That’s why I went for A Langhe and Sohne

 

[HWB3]

Brand new here but offering my experiences:

It took me a lot of trial and error (and a lot of awesome headphones in the house!) but I think my Sennheiser 6XXs with a Modi / Magni stack or a Modi / Linsoul XDUOO MT-602 really sounded awesome. That's now my bedroom listening setup but it sounds awesome.

I just got a set of Dan Clark Aeon 2 Noirs hooked up to my Jotunheim / Bifrost stack (Jason Stoddard would be proud) and it sounds amazing but is probably $2000 which is about 5x the price of my bedroom setup.

Which set up do you prefer?

 

[bagwell359]

As for watches, there are many watches better than the Calatrava. That’s why I went for A Langhe and Sohne

To each his own, but I Iike thin and classic - chunky with multi-functions not for me. Probably generational. My father had a '66 Calatrava. My sons have these battleships on their wrists.

 

[Kevintj604]

Depends on your financial circumstances and how far down the rabbit hole you are. When I started in this community five years ago my sweet spot was $500-$800. Now that I’ve heard way more products and upgraded for multiple years my diminishing return window is very different from someone just starting out on their audio journey.

That being said you can get mind blowing sound for around $1000 especially when you factor in the second hand market. I’ve dabbled a bit in the Hi end to Summit-Fi tier and I wouldn’t say the enjoyment that I get from those products changed drastically from the lower tiered products.

Like many others have stated in the thread the price to performance ratio jumps in huge margins when talking about synergy with Headphones, DACs and Amps. I’ve heard HD600 destroy other headphones five times their price when driven on the right source equipment.

 

[DaveStarWalker]

When I asked I was thinking just the headphones, but it seems a lively discussion has emerged around all parts of the listening chain.

Ok,

For the headphones alone, I would say (brand new) : 500-800$.

Example : Final Sonourous VI. Excellent choice.

Then disminushing returns.

And, second hand, with this rule and the same prices, you have some serious chances to get some very, very very good and competent products.