[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

snake oils, bang for bucks == ...Seriously, is it important when you listen to music? Placebo effect? huh, oh well my policy is 'listen and (better don't) purchase'.. Sometimes I was really no wish to buy anything before trying certain things..
and whenever I purchase something without listen, I'll know I'm just 'conforming' myself and thus won't purposely seeking for 'improvement'..
 
yeah sound signature (I'll assume this as the tonal balance here) may be quite critical in judging a headphone, but there are some other qualities that are difficult to show up in cheap ones like level of details, soundstage presentation and separation etc.. Btw, comfy is actually more important than sound quality to me ==
 
...oh ya, the zx700 is actually a very nice headphone, you can actually find that one of our moderators is using it in portable setup..

really? i have yet to hear any new details in my shure srh840 that i can't hear in my pioneer se m390. face it i don't feel this hobby is worth it. you know how much money i have wasted on thsi hobby?
 
$80+$130+$124+$20+$13+99 = $466
 
all this and i still am no where. i will await my alessandro ms1. if it doesn't satisfy me i am done. all i wanted was a pair of headphones that i could listen to music in peace so i don't disturb others around me. yet if i were to tell the truth i rarely use my headphones as they just aren't as good as my cheap $30 speakers. why can't headphones be as good as speakers?
 
well rant over. i think my posting will most likely tone down over the next while. i just don't see a point. i wish i would have just bought those beats when i had the chance and not researched at all. everything i researched that was praised turned out to be a disappointment. my fiio e7 is the epitone of rip off. what does it do other then have a screen and by pass my on board audio. sure it amplifies the sound but full volume on my computer is just as loud as the fiio at full volume. and worst of all the sound is exactly the same as my on board sound. in the end i have spent way to much money on this hobby and i think i should back out before i actually start believing i am hearing a difference. sound signatures do make a difference but headphones that are to revealing are just headache creators. give me something that sounds great with everything i through at it (like my speakers) and i will be more then satisfied. but if i need to spend more then $300 for it then forget it.
 

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

I guess people love the warm fuzzy feeling you get from knowing you have a $200 headphone that has a "$500" level of audio quality, or something like that =P.

believe it or not but i would rather have headphones that cost $500 but sound like $200 headphones. at least then i can make people think i am rich for owning such expensive headphones. i just don't hear any differences.
 
in the end though i refuse to spend more then $200-$300 on headphones.

 

[deadlylover]

Quote:

really? i have yet to hear any new details in my shure srh840 that i can't hear in my pioneer se m390. face it i don't feel this hobby is worth it. you know how much money i have wasted on thsi hobby?

I always considered different headphones as simply different flavours. It's really hard to quantify something that's so subjective, especially if you are trying to put a price tag on what it's worth.
 
I've dropped over $4K on a Stax setup, are they 40 times better in terms of detail than my old $100 AD700? Nope
 
And I'm not talking about diminishing returns and all that, I just never gave a crap about hearing "MOAR AND MOAR DETAILS" and all that, I just really like the way the Stax sounded, but unfortunately, they were pretty expensive =P. Hell, I don't even know what 'detail' is supposed to sound like, am I supposed to be more happy that an instrument sounds like it's placed 2 inches more to the left?
 
Because, I listen to music. I never cared for detail, realism, 'staying true to the recording' or any of that crap. Some people find greater enjoyment with their music with higher end gear for all those reasons, and that's perfectly fine (and probably the right way of doing it, heh). And that's probably why I still love and listen to the modern day mainstream crap, because I was never chasing "high quality sound" to begin with.
 
It's funny when people have to chase high quality recordings to make their headphones sound good, you'd think it's the recording doing all the work and not the headphone eh?

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

I always considered different headphones as simply different flavours. It's really hard to quantify something that's so subjective, especially if you are trying to put a price tag on what it's worth.
 
I've dropped over $4K on a Stax setup, are they 40 times better in terms of detail than my old $100 AD700? Nope
 
And I'm not talking about diminishing returns and all that, I just never gave a crap about hearing "MOAR AND MOAR DETAILS" and all that, I just really like the way the Stax sounded, but unfortunately, they were pretty expensive =P. Hell, I don't even know what 'detail' is supposed to sound like, am I supposed to be more happy that an instrument sounds like it's placed 2 inches more to the left?
 
Because, I listen to music. I never cared for detail, realism, 'staying true to the recording' or any of that crap. Some people find greater enjoyment with their music with higher end gear for all those reasons, and that's perfectly fine (and probably the right way of doing it, heh). And that's probably why I still love and listen to the modern day mainstream crap, because I was never chasing "high quality sound" to begin with.
 
It's funny when people have to chase high quality recordings to make their headphones sound good, you'd think it's the recording doing all the work and not the headphone eh?

the opposite happened to me. by getting better headphones i have been listening to less music. i just can't sit down and enjoy my music anymore.
 
 

 

[kn19h7]

 
Quote:

really? i have yet to hear any new details in my shure srh840 that i can't hear in my pioneer se m390. face it i don't feel this hobby is worth it. you know how much money i have wasted on thsi hobby?
 
$80+$130+$124+$20+$13+99 = $466
 
all this and i still am no where. i will await my alessandro ms1. if it doesn't satisfy me i am done. all i wanted was a pair of headphones that i could listen to music in peace so i don't disturb others around me. yet if i were to tell the truth i rarely use my headphones as they just aren't as good as my cheap $30 speakers. why can't headphones be as good as speakers?
 
well rant over. i think my posting will most likely tone down over the next while. i just don't see a point. i wish i would have just bought those beats when i had the chance and not researched at all. everything i researched that was praised turned out to be a disappointment. my fiio e7 is the epitone of rip off. what does it do other then have a screen and by pass my on board audio. sure it amplifies the sound but full volume on my computer is just as loud as the fiio at full volume. and worst of all the sound is exactly the same as my on board sound. in the end i have spent way to much money on this hobby and i think i should back out before i actually start believing i am hearing a difference. sound signatures do make a difference but headphones that are to revealing are just headache creators. give me something that sounds great with everything i through at it (like my speakers) and i will be more then satisfied. but if i need to spend more then $300 for it then forget it.
 

....I've spent much more that I don't even dare to sum them up ==
 
/sigh I'm not you nor I know you well so I don't know what's going wrong with you. Like what I've mentioned, its the listening experience that makes me want to buy something. I'm still a student and not rich, spending money in this hobby implies that I'll have to cut budget for others (eg. my beloved anime stuffs ==), I must be pretty damn sure that I want it.
 
As for headphones vs speakers.. I've heard some six-digit pricing speaker setup before, I know what I'm doing now ==
 
Anyway, just find what sounds pleasant to you and be happy..

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

the opposite happened to me. by getting better headphones i have been listening to less music. i just can't sit down and enjoy my music anymore.
 
 

So stop listening to the gear, and start listening to the music again.  And maybe stop trying to conform to everyone else's expectations.  If current headphones are not doing it for you then sell the gear and either go back to speakers, or sell and just buy the beats.  No-one will think any less of you.  You have to do what is right for you.- otherwise you just keep beating yourself up.  If you really think it's snake oil - why do you persist?
 
At your age I never worried about the gear - it was all about the music.  Almost 30 years later, it's still all about the music for me - but now I can appreciate the refinement and added detail the gear brings.  But if I wasn't getting enjoyment from the music, I'd be leaving this hobby in a heartbeat.

 

[bcasey25raptor]

Quote:

So stop listening to the gear, and start listening to the music again.  And maybe stop trying to conform to everyone else's expectations.  If current headphones are not doing it for you then sell the gear and either go back to speakers, or sell and just buy the beats.  No-one will think any less of you.  You have to do what is right for you.- otherwise you just keep beating yourself up.  If you really think it's snake oil - why do you persist?
 
At your age I never worried about the gear - it was all about the music.  Almost 30 years later, it's still all about the music for me - but now I can appreciate the refinement and added detail the gear brings.  But if I wasn't getting enjoyment from the music, I'd be leaving this hobby in a heartbeat.

im not getting it from my current headphones. that is why i ordered the alessandro ms1. i dearly hope it's worth it.
 

 

[deadlylover]

Quote:

the opposite happened to me. by getting better headphones i have been listening to less music. i just can't sit down and enjoy my music anymore.
 

That sucks man, these days it's all about what headphone is more detailed and stuff. But what about the few people who don't want their headphones to make a kick in the fuss?
 
It looks like some of the new manufacturers are finally getting a clue, it's all about sounding detailed without pissing you off. The new ortho's are a good example, they're getting there. And it's about time too, Stax have remained unchallenged in this regard for something like a decade now.
 
I hope this 'relaxed clarity' sound signature pops up in the $200-$300 mark, because there are so few choices for headphones out there that sound like that.
 

 

[Brooko]

So what would an entry point ortho / stax setup set you back Deadly?  Cans and amp - or could an E9 power them?  Just taking notes for the future

 

[il1us10n]

@bcasey25raptor: i think the reason you are not happy with your gear is probably because you had your mind set on the beats before coming to head-fi. if thats how you still feel, no matter how good or (in)expensive the gear that is recommended here, you'll still feel ripped off. i suggest you go back to demo the beats again and see whether you still prefer them after spending so much time with (technically) better equipment and if you do like them, sell off the gear and you'll make a decent amount of money towards funding your beats

 

[steven_1026]

Even if we assume that this hobby isn't subjective, and that your impressions of the E7 are 100% accurate, you can't say everything in this hobby is snake oil. No improvement from ~$20 (your onboard DAC) to $100 (E7) does not mean there is no improvement at $200 or $400 or $500. Diminishing returns certainly exists but unlikely in your case. At the ~$100 level you're mostly moving sideways, I feel you really have to step into $200-$250 territory to really notice an improvement. When you compare products don't use the MSRP, instead use their street price or how much they go for on head-fi which gives a more accurate sense of their value. For example, the MSRP of AD700, M50 and SRH840 are $150, $200 and $250; their price on head-fi is $60-80, $75-$100, $100-$120 (much closer than their MSRP would suggest).
 
Also, it seems that so far you've been buying a bunch of entry level products. You can't expect to get top sound by getting a bunch of entry level products. It just seems that you haven't found a headphone with a signature you like, it's important that you realize it's the sound signature that you don't like, not "there's no point in spending this much money". I absolutely couldn't stand the HD800 when I tried them, but it'd be wrong of me to write off all $1000 headphones. I tried an LCD-2 recently and absolutely loved them, thought they were definitely worth the price. My advice for you if you were to make another purchase after the MS1 is when you read reviews don't just go looking for positive reviews. Get a general sense for the sound signature of the product and then seek extra hard for the bad reviews so you know whether you'll be ok with it's shortcomings. 

 
Regarding "bang for buck", I've always found it funny how often it's been suggested that a $100 phone sounds like it's $200. You'd think that there have been so many of these claims that the "$200 sound" should be the new standard for $100 phones.

 

[labrat]

Delete

 

[Ra97oR]

Err, I thought after you bought the E7/E9 you are happy once more? You changed your mind again?

 

[RPGWiZaRD]

It's probably true that many popular headphones here are often brought up and there's probably quite a few underrated/undiscovered offerings to the broad masses. Superlux headphones were a good example, no1 had heard about them until some1 started a thread about them and suddenly they get quite a recognition. There are probably quite a few more "bang-for-the-buck" offerings than the typical suggestions around here if you really started looking around, that I won't doubt.

 

[dhaarbrink]

It's a general trend I see here (yeah, I've been here for a week, but it's pretty obvious), the majority is looking for high-priced gear that is supposedly good (and I don't doubt it (mostly) is). Looking at those great reviews, they MUST be good. But let's be honest: not everybody's hearing is equally good.
I think there are few people who can hear the rumbling in the, let's say, sub 20Hz range, or above the 20kHz. And so what? What does it matter? 
 
To be blunt, I think you're quite stupid when you spend hundreds of bucks on gear and you say you 'can't enjoy the music anymore'. It totally negates the purpose of the gear you buy. The only, and I really mean ONLY, reason you should spend even a single buck on audio gear is to ENJOY the music even MORE. 
 
If, to you, your $30 buck phones sound better than $100+ ones, by all means get those $30 cans. If you are 'lured' into buying expensive gear by guys/gals here on the forum, well tough tomatos. I don't sympathize for you.