Audio Ignorance is bliss (rant)

[cantholdanymore]

After building the rig in my sig I decided it was time to indulge myself with a good pair of headphones. Went to my favorite’s store website (B&H), look for the pair with the highest number of positive reviews and ended up with the Sennheiser HD280 for $80. WOW… Best sound I’ve experience at the time. The problem was that those turned out to be very uncomfortable. Returned those an after some reading I ordered the Sennheiser HD380 for double the price; very comfortable and great sound. BUT… by the time I got them the damage was done, I already knew about the “Sennheiser veil”, saw Dave Rat “mighty headphone quest” videos, the “loudness war”, read head-fi.org way too much. How come did I order those “flawed” sennheisers when I could have ordered the Shure’s SRH840 for $200! Getting ready to pull the trigger on the $500 sennheiser HD650 I learned about the shure’s SRH940 and ordered both shures for a shootout.
I decided to keep the 940’s ($300) BUT WAIT, Am I going to drive those “cans” with my crappy realtek inboard audio!! After some more head-fi reading I ordered the Audioengine D1 ($160). When I received it, I was ready to have an eargasm…… but nothing really happened. I convinced myself that the sound was better than with the inboard audio, but couldn’t get around the fact that the some bass was lost. OFF COURSE, these crappy USB powered dac’s are useless so; I ordered the real deal: NuForce icon HDP ($450) with a 15 volt external psu. Again getting ready for the big bang…………… NOTHING. This time I convinced myself that the icon was all around better than my inboard audio but not $450 better. Actually most of the differences “I think I noticed” were with classical music performed by symphonic orchestras, but I don’t really listen to that type of music. To add insult to injury the icon comes with a very cheap external power adapter but they sell an “audiophile” one for $350! I felt sort of shortchanged , so the icon when back.
After much headache of buying and returning and paying for shipping, re-stoking fees, etc; I’m finally at peace with my inboard audio. Now I know that my listening pleasure, doesn’t really benefit from better amps /DACs; or maybe the Shure 940’s are really that good.
I’m only wanting some extra volume when I listening to old recordings not suffering from the “loudness war’ syndrome. For that I’ll probably buy the asus phoebus when it comes out IF it is close to $200. Lots of money I know but at least I’ll be at peace with that internal voice….

 

[dma0991]

I am quite pleased with Sennheiser headphones. I don't think I would spend anything more than a HD558 + Asus Xonar Essence STX. Anything more than that is just out of my capacity to spend on a pair of cans. Being an audiophile can be a very expensive and obsessive hobby. You'll end up changing the wires eventually just for that minute difference.

Now, can I persuade you into buying a tube amp?

 

[Porter_]

just a testament to the fact that everybody's ears are different. nice job OP not succumbing to audiophilia-itis when your ears can't discern a difference. that's the sweet spot we're all striving for; spending just enough to improve the listening experience and stopping when you no longer hear an improvement. personally i hear a noticeable difference between onboard and dedicated sound cards. i've settled on the Titanium HD and a set of Beyer DT770's. i'll eventually try out the Denon D2000's. they're supposed to be phenomenal headphones for the price.

 

[General Kenobi]

I've got Sennheiser HD 555s and X-Fi XtremeGamer. I swear it makes a difference in games, even if the higher end Asus/Auzentech cards are better for entertainment.

I should mod the HD 555s into HD 595s though...

 

[cantholdanymore]

Now, can I persuade you into buying a tube amp?

Sure, Eddie Current pls

personally i hear a noticeable difference between onboard and dedicated sound cards. i've settled on the Titanium HD and a set of Beyer DT770's. i'll eventually try out the Denon D2000's. they're supposed to be phenomenal headphones for the price.

I'm coming to think the maximus iv realtek audio is probably the top in that category.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/Maximus_IV_Gene-Z/11.html
And good luck with the denon's. I found a total of 1 store that had them in stock but I never heard of them before.:'(

Edit:
WTF, I just checked amazon and the have 16 denon's ah-d2000 in stock

 

[alkemyst]

Man it's cool and all you did listening tests, but many local shops have 'take-home' stuff that wouldn't have cost the online vendor so much.

Return policies are getting more and more tough because of this mindset, they include a return label for problems...not so people can do double-blind tests with products.

 

[videogames101]

Embrace the veil man, although it may be an acquired taste.

 

[gorcorps]

I've had several different Shure models and didn't care for them. Way too much focus on the high end leaving them tinny and harsh in my ears, and overall too big and uncomfortable (I use IEMs). Overall I think SQ is very personal, and everybody has a different level of hearing loss, musical taste, and sound they're looking for. For this reason I usually discount most people's opinions when they say flat out that one brand is "worse" than another. Unless it's build quality or something, comparing sound as "better" or "worse" is stupid. You need to compare sound signatures, what frequencies the headphones are made for, and what makes them special.

 

[zidan]

I actually recently ordered the NuForce icon HDP and a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 990 600 ohm headphones. I currently use Beyerdynamic DT 770 250 ohm headphones with an Astro Mixamp for an amplifier. I know that when I upgraded to the DT 770's back in the day I noticed the difference, and am hoping for a slight improvement in this next upgrade as well.

But I'm not really looking to be blown away by the sound I am going to hear. I am expecting there to be diminishing returns on the money I spend on audiophile gear. I justify it as a bling purchase .

 

[cantholdanymore]

I actually recently ordered the NuForce icon HDP and a pair of Beyerdynamic DT 990 600 ohm headphones. I currently use Beyerdynamic DT 770 250 ohm headphones with an Astro Mixamp for an amplifier. I know that when I upgraded to the DT 770's back in the day I noticed the difference, and am hoping for a slight improvement in this next upgrade as well.

But I'm not really looking to be blown away by the sound I am going to hear. I am expecting there to be diminishing returns on the money I spend on audiophile gear. I justify it as a bling purchase .

Just be careful with the volume pot. I snapped one just playing with the unit right after taking it out of the box. I was careful with the second unit but it feels very flimsy. QC issues I say. Oh! and the packing itself is a PITA if you're planning in returning the unit.

 

[iamlilysdad]

I'm a big fan of IEM's myself...but I don't have the $$$$ to really indulge my lust for high quality audio. Right now I have Ultimate Ears 700 and I love them. I've also had the Shure 330's (whatever set was $350 about 5 years ago), which were nice, but seemed too flat for my taste. Not as lively as the Ultimate Ears IMHO.

I'm really into car audio, and am running all of Hybrid Audio's best stuff (Legatia SE). They have said that they are working on some high-end cans, and I absolutely can't wait for these. Of course, no ETA (and I won't rush for perfection).