Your Audiophile Journey. Let me know what I'm getting into.
Sep 24, 2013 at 5:59 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 7

sngltrac

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Hey Head-Fi,

I recently picked up a some Sennheiser Momentum on-ear headphones and I like them a lot. All of my old headphones have been $30 or less. In the past, I could not justify spending anything more than that.  That's obviously changed. It was money well spent and I looking to spend some more. I use the Momentums on my iPod, phone and desktop PC at home and work. I was using iTunes. Now I'm using Foobar and higher quality rips. I've done some online research and found some things I am interested in owning based on reviews. I currently looking at the HD 598 for home use on my PC. For a portable rig, I like the reviews of the FiiO E12. Not sure which DAC yet.
 
I'm interested is how others came to be an audiophile and experiences they've had, good and bad.  What got you started? What equipment did you buy first? Second?  Recommendations on where to start. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
 
Sep 24, 2013 at 8:55 PM Post #2 of 7
Unless you have thoroughly auditioned the HD598 you may want to look elsewhere.  That headphone is overpriced for what it is considering you can mod a HD558 to get the same results as the HD595.
 
Both of those headphones are bass shy and may not be what you like for music.  For movies they may work fine although I think other headphones out there may be more pleasing and less bright sounding.
 
I would recommend the AKG Q701 over the HD598 in that price bracket.
 
A friend of mine brought me to HeadRoom Corp. years ago and that started my long road on the map of headphone listening.
 
I started with a pair of Sennheiser EH-150 headphones, then the ATH-M50, later the HD650, and now onto the AKG K712 Pro, Denon AH-D2000, and JH Audio 10 x3 Pro for my in-ear.
 
From there I experimented with a few amps and liked the Total Bithead because it was portable and had a DAC in it making my PC sound much better.  I know use the Grace Design m903 as a DAC and the HeadRoom BUDA as an amp.  The combo is awesome, fully tested, measured, and enjoyed.
 
I hope your journey is a fun one.
 
Headphones I would shy away from are the beyerdynamic DT990 and Grado SR line.  The DT990 is really colored and I invested in it after the HD650.  The SR line of Grado headphones have been the same for 20+ years and although once worth their current price, remain uncomfortable, very bright and pretty narrow sounding when it comes to soundstage.
 
Sep 25, 2013 at 1:24 PM Post #3 of 7
Thanks for replying and the advice on the HD598. I was getting ready to pull the trigger on those.  I really need to do some research before my next purchase. I now know that I could have gotten something better that the Momentums for what I paid, but I am happy with them. 
 
Ideally, I would like to own two on-ear, two over-ear and one IEM. The AKG's you suggested look nice and have some great reviews. 
 
The Headroom website has a Learning Center page with a few articles and other resources. I'm gonna send some time there and browsing Head-Fi.  
 
If anyone else has some info. they would like to share, please chime in. 
Thanks for your time.
 
Sep 26, 2013 at 9:57 AM Post #4 of 7
I'm interested is how others came to be an audiophile and experiences they've had, good and bad.  What got you started? What equipment did you buy first? Second?  Recommendations on where to start. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.

All my headphones broke. I found this website and started searching. Only knowing about Skullcandy headphones, I was a bit disappointed with them. I had a friend who owned PortaPros, and soon bought them because they had great reviews. I was extremely impressed and started working my way up. Next I bought Sony MDR-V6, I thought it was kind of harsh sounding; then popped up the Koss ProDJ100/200/TBSE on sale for $50 at Tuesday Morning. Bought those. After that I wanted a better open headphone, and bought the Sennheiser HD558, which is my last headphone for now until I get a job. My HD558's are by far my favorite, and I found out I like Mid-Centric headphones. The last headphones I hope to own are the HD600 or HD650, AKG Q701, beyerdynamic headphone, a high end VModa for portable use. 
 
Try looking at local audio stores to see if you can audition headphones. When you find the right headphone you'll know. 
 
Sep 26, 2013 at 5:05 PM Post #5 of 7
If anyone knows of a store other than Best Buy and Fry's in the Phoenix area where I can audition some headphones, let me know. I should also check the forums for an AZ meetup.
 
The HD600 would be nice to have for an open back pair.  Right now I'm reading up on the ATH-M50. Amazon has them for $150 with a free FiiO E6.  I think they would be a great pair of over ear headphones for the price. Plus it would give me a chance to get into protable amps.  Still considering the E12 aswell.
 
Sep 27, 2013 at 8:35 AM Post #6 of 7

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