Audiophile and gears

Black_Hawk said:
I think I made a mistake late last night. I went over to the Head-Fi Forums and started browsing the "Show us your Head-Fi station at it's current state" thread.

My jaws fell to floor after seeing some of those setups. I think I'm going to be broke way earlier now than I thought. The dark side is telling me to give in.
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Did you see those system with bass horns?
Just before the lockdown last year, we went to a party hosted by some big ice hockey player (ice hockey is like cricket in India here)
Before this, I didn't have any idea about the lifestyles of super rich people. Saw many strange things in that party ( wish I didn't) along with a pair of crazy speakers.
Thought I knew everything about speakers... apparently I know nothing...Those were
Ceasaro Horn Acoustics Omega 1 with Bass Horns (just 1 million USD)
Though I couldn't really appreciate the sound (as it was a really noisy party).
DrkLord said:
Sorry this is too long but are planars better, hifiman he 400 se is planar, does being planar make it better than hd 599?
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Nope, they are just different. HD599 are very nice and comfortable headphones with an inoffensive sound signature ( not as laid back as HD598)
400SE are slightly brighter in overall tonality.
Both have above average soundstage, SE is slightly more resolving in the treble, 599 has better midrange.
But these things are very subjective. Both are good headphones.
 
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quaratineinthesejeans said:
Nope, they are just different. HD599 are very nice and comfortable headphones with an inoffensive sound signature ( not as laid back as HD598)
400SE are slightly brighter in overall tonality.
Both have above average soundstage, SE is slightly more resolving in the treble, 599 has better midrange.
But these things are very subjective. Both are good headphones.
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Thanks man! I will go with 599s then. Will I be able to drive it decently without amp?
 
quaratineinthesejeans said:
I'm really sorry for making you people curious about this hobby.
If you have self control, yes, a good headphone is great. But some of us loose it completely and keep on buying headphones/ dac/ amps/ speakers one after another for years.
Please don't make this stupid mistake. All the headphones discussed here, are good enough and should be sufficient for years to come.
I'm trying really hard not to buy any new headphones for months now and ended up buying only 3 ( it used to be about 2-4 every month)
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I completely agree with you mate and I believe I'm on right track. Still looking to sell all my CD's LPs etc.
Why waste money when we're happy with our headphones or gears. Sometimes the urge is strong but I try to refrain myself buying and trying new headphones,
if there's any technological advancement then it's ok to try something new.
It's good to be rich but some people just buy for show off or status symbol, buying more high end gears doesn't makes an audiophile.
Happiness and satisfaction should be our priority.
There is no limit to addiction. Take it to the extremes and everyone's familiar what happens: end result is the same, either it's country side liquor or some very expensive scotch.
 
Nitendra Singh said:
I completely agree with you mate and I believe I'm on right track. Still looking to sell all my CD's LPs etc.
Why waste money when we're happy with our headphones or gears. Sometimes the urge is strong but I try to refrain myself buying and trying new headphones,
if there's any technological advancement then it's ok to try something new.
It's good to be rich but some people just buy for show off or status symbol, buying more high end gears doesn't makes an audiophile.
Happiness and satisfaction should be our priority.
There is no limit to addiction. Take it to the extremes and everyone's familiar what happens: end result is the same, either it's country side liquor or some very expensive scotch.
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That's one way to look at it, but I think more often that not its the curiosity to try out new things which drives these pursuit. Status symbol in audio is much more difficult amongst masses unless you go for the Bose/Sony series which are popular across the households and the brands which most of us end up with are something not many are aware of outside this small circle. Also to add most of us never reveal the actual gear prices. You dont need top end gear to enjoy music, but it certainly does help you further appreciate various nuances of the same and the very fact is what drives you into an infinite loop till you decide to stop.

But yes ultimately happiness and satisfaction is important regardless of the hobby you are in. Curiosity is good till it interferes with either. Between I did see your OLX post for the CDs, quiet a nice collection you own presently.
 
Both of you're right..... I know a little bit about addiction...where "one is too many and a thousand is not enough"
May be I'm getting older, but I had the exact same experience with Deva.
However Josh is a young man with much better ears..
His experience is completely different!!
 
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@quaratineinthesejeans : I had to tag you on this. So, today morning as I was going about my daily tasks at home I was listening to music over Spotify play on my speakers via the Marantz PM5005. I usually have the music running over the entire length of the morning as it helps me relax and work at the same time. Anyways, so after work I gently saunter over to my couch with my cool glass of fresh lemonade and a bright idea hits me... I pick up my HD599 and plug it into the PM5005's headphone-out port. I had been meaning to do this because I had read on a thread on Head-Fi forums a while back that the PM5005 has a really well rounded headphone amplifier inside it. About time I tried it out!

I was playing an 80's playlist on Spotify and REO Speedwagon's "Keep on Loving You" came on. Holy Mother of Christ... I couldn't believe my ears! It was like someone took the HD599 and completely transformed it. All these days I was using the HD599 with my FiiO E10K but I was casually listening to songs on Youtube but this sounded so good! The vocals sounded lovely, forward, and there was not a spot of hiss or noise in the track. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed listening to the song. The FiiO E10K definitely isn't bringing out the true potential of the HD599. I need to use my Marantz or get another Headphone Amplifier for this beauty of a headphone.
 
Glad you found the greatness of the HD5XX series accidentally!! Love my HD598, they are very underrated. This upscalability is pretty unique to some Sennheiser models.
People think I'm shillinng for HD25, I had a similar happy accident with them. Hooked them with Sprout 100.
Some of these stuff have very good headphone out. Marantz HD1 Amp was also very good in this thing.
I've an old IEM ( IE800) It's generally considered as a overpriced POS, but very few actually know how much can they upscale. I've tried them with high gain in A90, and it sounds almost like a headphone.
 
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Guys HD 58X is available on MassDrop, some say it's even better than 6XX tonality wise. Imo king of all HD5XX series headphones and should be considered if open to importing.
 
quaratineinthesejeans said:
Glad you found the greatness of the HD5XX series accidentally!! Love my HD598, they are very underrated. This upscalability is pretty unique to some Sennheiser models.
People think I'm shillinng for HD25, I had a similar happy accident with them. Hooked them with Sprout 100.
Some of these stuff have very good headphone out. Marantz HD1 Amp was also very good in this thing.
I've an old IEM ( IE800) It's generally considered as a overpriced POS, but very few actually know how much can they upscale. I've tried them with high gain in A90, and it sounds almost like a headphone.
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Yes absolutely. I definitely need something better than the FiiO E10K on my desk. Options under 15k are:

IFI ZEN DAC V2
FiiO K5 Pro
xDuoo - MT-602

I really like the xDuoo - MT-602 but it says Delivery Expected within 3-4 weeks on HPZ website. Is it safe to place a Pre-order with HPZ?
 
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Black_Hawk said:
Yes absolutely. I definitely need something better than the FiiO E10K on my desk. Options under 15k are:

IFI ZEN DAC V2
FiiO K5 Pro
xDuoo - MT-602

I really like the xDuoo - MT-602 but it says Delivery Expected within 3-4 weeks on HPZ website. Is it safe to place a Pre-order with HPZ?
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Seem to be in stock here - https://www.theaudiostore.in/produc...0&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign

You should have stayed with your speakers and never crossed over to our world. Now your pockets are going to bleed even more.

For everyone else - I've no idea if it is a good deal or not but wanted to post this over here. Headphones.com have exclusive rights to the last run of the Focal Clear and they are selling them for a supposed discount of $500. I have no idea if that discount is true or like those Amazon discounts where the price is same as the street price and the discount is only on the MRP.
www.headphones.com

Focal Clear Open-Back Headphones

The Focal Clear open-back headphones brings you 95% of the legendary Focal Utopia flagship. Enjoy 365-Day returns & FREE Next Day Air shipping!
www.headphones.com www.headphones.com
 
It's a genuine discount..I've never seen Clear goes below 1200 EUR in these areas.
Open box deals are sometimes available @ less than 1000 EUR
 
$1000 + tax + custom duties will come up pretty close to 90k mark it is going on currently in HPZ. Plus there will be no warranty that also hammer resale value if you decide it's not for you. Unless the same model is not available here, buying a $1000 non warranty headphones is a sick idea.
 
Oh yes!! The dreaded import duties!! Everything Nalin mentioned is very logical. It will be a risky deal.
@rdst_1, if you want an upgrade from the HD650, Hifiman Ananda is a good option. Very smooth but detailed headphone and definitely not a sidegrade.
I already made a mistake by suggesting you HD25, but this time I'm not wrong. Ananda is possibly the only reasonably priced significant upgrade from HD650.
 
Upgrading from HD650/HD6XX is very tough, just like upgrading from my current IEM ie. Andromeda. People say only logical step up is either Clear or Arya. Everything else is side grade. Better get full size desktop or a tube amp rather than changing transducer.
 
Nalin said:
$1000 + tax + custom duties will come up pretty close to 90k mark it is going on currently in HPZ. Plus there will be no warranty that also hammer resale value if you decide it's not for you. Unless the same model is not available here, buying a $1000 non warranty headphones is a sick idea.
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Didn't even check Indian pricing thinking it would be way more expensive, but this HPZ pricing is very very good and probably same or less than what it would cost from the deal I posted above.

quaratineinthesejeans said:
Oh yes!! The dreaded import duties!! Everything Nalin mentioned is very logical. It will be a risky deal.
@rdst_1, if you want an upgrade from the HD650, Hifiman Ananda is a good option. Very smooth but detailed headphone and definitely not a sidegrade.
I already made a mistake by suggesting you HD25, but this time I'm not wrong. Ananda is possibly the only reasonably priced significant upgrade from HD650.
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I'll definitely audition them if I can. But QC of Hifiman is what concerns me. The Sennheiser may be only plastic but they are so good when it comes to durability. Anyways, like Nalin suggested, my next splurge will be probably on a good desktop amp or probably speakers. I am sure I can eke out some more performance/synergy from the 650s.
 
Ananda with a SS felt much more detailed with wider/deeper soundstage , better imaging and much more faster but HD600 with OTL was much more engaging, very intimate vocals and suited my genres very well. An upgrade from HD600/650 retaining its characteristic means going for ZMF Auteur or higher ,Arya & Clear are good complements to the ZMF Auteur with different signatures
 
I have the 2021 revision of Ananda with me and honestly the detail retrieval is as good as Focal Clear.
However I'm driving them with different amps. The Clear sounds a little too bright with A90 and the Drop THX 789 ( finally got them fixed, the power button somehow got damaged and turning it on became kind of a gamble...that was my excuse for A90) But it sings with tubes ( WA7, stock tubes)
Ananda however is completely different, it's very easy to drive, but scales up wonderfully
( In the 789 I tried with the highest gain..zero distortion)
After one particular level (HD6XX) a lot of things depends upon the amp in the "audiophile" headphones. Can feel the upper limits of the HD600 with the amps I have. The Topping A90 has 3 gain modes just like the 789, but at the high gain of A90 distorts HD600 if I roate the potentiometer by few degrees ( of course I am listening from the outside of the cup, as the real sound is crazy high and will blow any eardrum and/ or destroy the headphones)
But this doesn't happen with planars (even entry level stuff like Deva) and typical studio headphones like HD25.
Please don't try these things with your gears. I have seen this thing being done in a Sennheiser service centre ( they were using some sort of an amp with multiple headphones out..7-8 possibly) the engineer explained something about why they use paper or felt instead of foam to stabilize the drivers of non consumer/ non audiophile headphones like HD280/300/25 etc.to prevent driver blow outs/ quick repairabilty of blown out drivers.
If you remove the earcup and the thin spongy membrane in HD25, you will be able to see the paper in front of the driver membrane.
Hifiman's QC is a very serious issue. I don't know about India, but in EU, their service is also decent.
They will never defend a weird bass or mild channel imbalance as " specifically designed feature" like Audeze.
Moreover many people don't know how to take care of planars. They will store them in bulletproof cases, baby them, but while changing the earpads will press on the thin magnet strip membrane cracking them instantly. Or press the earcups against their ears forcibly to get a better fit ( thousands of Audezes got destroyed by this)
But hifiman has improved their headband designs considerably specially in their entry level line up along with the internal wirings. The balanced wiring with single entry is just awesome. I know audiophiles in general love dual sided connection, but as a studio guy, always hated them ( loved the brilliant dual entry single hanging cable design on the HD25...Hifiman took it forward further)
 
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quaratineinthesejeans said:
I have the 2021 revision of Ananda with me and honestly the detail retrieval is as good as Focal Clear.
However I'm driving them with different amps. The Clear sounds a little too bright with A90 and the Drop THX 789 ( finally got them fixed, the power button somehow got damaged and turning it on became kind of a gamble...that was my excuse for A90) But it sings with tubes ( WA7, stock tubes)
Ananda however is completely different, it's very easy to drive, but scales up wonderfully
( In the 789 I tried with the highest gain..zero distortion)
After one particular level (HD6XX) a lot of things depends upon the amp in the "audiophile" headphones. Can feel the upper limits of the HD600 with the amps I have. The Topping A90 has 3 gain modes just like the 789, but at the high gain of A90 distorts HD600 if I roate the potentiometer by few degrees ( of course I am listening from the outside of the cup, as the real sound is crazy high and will blow any eardrum and/ or destroy the headphones)
But this doesn't happen with planars (even entry level stuff like Deva) and typical studio headphones like HD25.
Please don't try these things with your gears. I have seen this thing being done in a Sennheiser service centre ( they were using some sort of an amp with multiple headphones out..7-8 possibly) the engineer explained something about why they use paper or felt instead of foam to stabilize the drivers of non consumer/ non audiophile headphones like HD280/300/25 etc.to prevent driver blow outs/ quick repairabilty of blown out drivers.
If you remove the earcup and the thin spongy membrane in HD25, you will be able to see the paper in front of the driver membrane.
Hifiman's QC is a very serious issue. I don't know about India, but in EU, their service is also decent.
They will never defend a weird bass or mild channel imbalance as " specifically designed feature" like Audeze.
Moreover many people don't know how to take care of planars. They will store them in bulletproof cases, baby them, but while changing the earpads will press on the thin magnet strip membrane cracking them instantly. Or press the earcups against their ears forcibly to get a better fit ( thousands of Audezes got destroyed by this)
But hifiman has improved their headband designs considerably specially in their entry level line up along with the internal wirings. The balanced wiring with single entry is just awesome. I know audiophiles in general love dual sided connection, but as a studio guy, always hated them ( loved the brilliant dual entry single hanging cable design on the HD25...Hifiman took it forward further)
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I have seen a lot of people say Clears are sidegrade to Ananda , dont have a lot of experience with Clears. Arya are a clear cut upgrade over the Ananda , but are not as flexible as Ananda when it comes to compatibility across wide range of genres and are much harder to drive (had Arya's on loaner for almost 3 weeks but decided to go for Ananda ultimately due to above reasons). Agree that Ananda are easy to drive and sound decent out of a portable source too although not as good as they do with a good SS desktop amp.

Also I dont think distortion figures matter a lot at our listening levels even for people who like to crank it up, HD600 scale crazy with higher end gear , have experienced it personally running it with amps from 16k to 1.5L and they behave differently with each amp I have tried and unless you do an A/B you wont feel like you are missing anything due to the intimate presentation. Infact just yesterday I ended up listening to LPs over the HD600 and the warmth made me ignore all the pops and crackles. Here by scale I am not referring to the volume at all , but mainly to the dynamics / soundstage/ vocals and the overall listening experience itself, my 16k Cla;ss A SS amp (matrix HPA-3B) reacted similarly with HD600 and made them sound dry and distort at high gain. Then I tried them with Sapphire (DIY amp built by a fellow audiophile) , Auralic Taurus MKII , Feliks Elise and Auris Euterpe , I frankly could not believe I dismissed these initially. But yes it doesn't make sense for people who buy based on these recommendations as one needs to spend a fair bit on an OTL amp to get these to sing (Anode Acoustics OTL can be had for 20k which again are known to do well with HD600).

Hifiman service in India is top notch , the distributor are from Bangalore and I got my Ananda directly via them , really sweet and accommodating people. They lent their demo Ananda for a week , had their loaner tour Arya for almost 3 weeks and could do A/B and settle down on the gear which suited my setup back then.
 
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