Was in a shop called Dynamic Audio in Akihabara Tokyo many years ago, where they have every TOTL headphone on display for customers to try, and reclining chairs for you to sit in and listen (not to mention a variety of amazing sources to plug into).
Sat down to test out a set of Stax SR-009 for the first time and they literally freaked me out. I had to keep taking them off to see if there was music playing in another part of the store that I was hearing.
Was in a shop called Dynamic Audio in Akihabara Tokyo many years ago, where they have every TOTL headphone on display for customers to try, and reclining chairs for you to sit in and listen (not to mention of variety of amazing sources to plug into).
Sat down to test out a set of Stax SR-009 for the first time and they literally freaked me out. I had to keep taking them off to see if there was music playing in another part of the store that I was hearing.
This sounds similar to the shop in Singapore I heard the Meze Empyreans in. It’s simply called Stereo and specialises in headphones. You can sit at the listening bar and listen to any of dozens of high-end headphones. stereo.com.sg.
It's probably happened more often but there's three distinct instances I can recall. The first time was the Senn HD580 that was my initial this is what good headphones can sound like moment. The next time was the Stax SR-009, the unbelievable resolution and speed and quite recently the Abyss 1266 TC which are a truly unique headphone experience.
Hifiman Sundara
At the time I owned several headphones in the 500€ bracket all being equal but with their own sound signature. Then the Sundara opened my eyes and showed me that better is possible.
I didn't own them for long since they started a huge upgrade Spree into higher Tiers.
And the second "wow" effect came with the Meze Empyrean, which are close to perfect to my ears.
Hifiman Sundara
At the time I owned several headphones in the 500€ bracket all being equal but with their own sound signature. Then the Sundara opened my eyes and showed me that better is possible.
I didn't own them for long since they started a huge upgrade Spree into higher Tiers.
And the second "wow" effect came with the Meze Empyrean, which are close to perfect to my ears.
Any “upgrade” of gear that results in greater enjoyment of music is worth it. The question becomes: where do the resources for the “upgrade” come from?
My first wow moment came from listening with the HE-400i, which I bought on a whim for $170 from Amazon. Up to that point I couldn't stop raving about MDR 7506, and decided to take a chance on planar technology. I remember showing them off to a room full of people at a party. Each person who got a chance to audition them said they wanted a pair.
On a similar note,. Upgrading from decent Sennheiser earbuds to getting Kaiser Noble Encore, was another wow moment
Yes absolutely.
There was still a lot of potential to be unlocked and I had the funds to invest into the hobby.
One thing I find absolutely true in Audio is "You don't know better until you hear it".
Right now I am again at a point where I can't imagine much better, luckily I also have no urge to try more things right now.
Same! There are things you can fix with EQ... but you can't get the 800S' soundstage with EQ. That and they scale really out as I slowly upgrade parts of my chain.
I'm now trying to find a nice pair of IEMs to complement them...
Same! There are things you can fix with EQ... but you can't get the 800S' soundstage with EQ. That and they scale really out as I slowly upgrade parts of my chain.
I'm now trying to find a nice pair of IEMs to complement them...
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