How much are you likely to pay for headphones in the near future?

[Jasonovich]

How much would you spend on a good pair of headphones 🎧?

Headphones had always been the poor cousin to speakers, possibly the last consideration on the list of upgrades but for many, a pair of cans is the only option, due to lifestyle choices or living in a flat with thin walls making it impractical to have speakers.

Much of my music listening is predominantly on headphones and I live in a detached house!

My Hifiman Edition XS Planars opened the door for me, l liked what I was hearing, this was on a budget level and I was curious how much better it would sound, were I to upgrade to their costlier models.

The He1000V2 Stealth were on another plane. The Ed Xs lacked tampere, the vocals were clear but on a micro level, the Hexi's you can hear the supple changes in the voice, it's almost like a speaker experience, those cans disappear. I'm still evaluating them, so far, they're amazing.

It'll be great to have your feedback, is it the least significant part of the HiFi chain or do you rate them more highly and happy to invest a significant amount to get the best sound?

 

[R2D2]

My B&W PX8 headphones cost just under £300 from Amazon Germany and I still think they were a great buy, not so good at lower volumes but I have owned them nearly a year and listen to them quite a bit. I live in a detached house too with my dad and niece and my niece when she is not working likes her lay-ins so I listen to the headphones then. And generally just enjoy listening to them as a good quality alternative to my speaker system.

RRP they were £600 which is a lot for me and would’ve bought them unless they were just under £300, then I traded in my B&W P7’s that cost around £280 brand new. My B&W PX2 that went faulty after nearly 2 years were something like £260, so that’s how much I roughly spend.

I will now only have one pair at a time, so if I bought another pair I would sell my B&W PX8 headphones to help fund them. And I really like them so I am not going to do that at the moment but I was tempted by WHF’s recommendation for a wired pair because I know that they are better quality, but buying all the Apple adaptors again didn’t appeal to me, and now just listen to Apple Music instead of no cost Spotify to get a better sound quality from the headphones, and that’s proving to be enough for me.

 

[Angle Poise-Lamp]

I'm not likely to have enough money in the near future but, if I did, I think I'm looking at north of a grand to see a meaningful upgrade over my Elegias.

I don't see the point of spending money to get a tiny, incremental improvement, that I can only hear on certain pieces of music, when the wind is blowing in the right direction.

BTW, I have had the Elegias for a little over 5 years now and, still happy with them.

 

[Jasonovich]

I'm not likely to have enough money in the near future but, if I did, I think I'm looking at north of a grand to see a meaningful upgrade over my Elegias.

I don't see the point of spending money to get a tiny, incremental improvement, that I can only hear on certain pieces of music, when the wind is blowing in the right direction.

BTW, I have had the Elegias for a little over 5 years now and, still happy with them.

I really enjoyed the Focal Elegias when I had them. You're not wrong!!!

 

[RTHerringbone]

£500-£1,000 for me, because my current set are definitely the weakest part of the chain for me, and I've learned with my approach to upgrading all the other parts of the system that I end up costing myself more in the long run if I just go for an intermediate jump.

As ever, I feel that what you're prepared to spend should align with what your wallet permits, and ideally so there's a level of parity with the other parts of your setup.

It does feel like replacing my aged and average Audio-Technica ATH-ANC7b should be "easy", so it's just a case of getting on with it. I just don't really listen through headphones in the warmer months, but now that we're on the turn in the UK, it might be time to start compiling a shortlist to try and listen to.

 

[Gray]

Things really have changed when it comes to headphones.
I remember thinking the HD-600 was the ultimate, unachievable luxury when they first came out.
Then later, at a show, I tried a valve- amped Sennheiser pair that cost 4 times the price of the car I was driving 🤑

I think WHF sum up my attitude with this article:

I’ve been testing audiophile headphones for 20 years, and these are the two pairs I would recommend for most people

Two over-ears that tick all the boxes

www.whathifi.com

 

[DougK1]

I'm hoping I've finally settled on my end-game kit with Marantz Ruby pair and Harbeth. Headphones wise, HD650, HD800s, Topping A90D, with balanced and unbalanced options.

 

[Jasonovich]

There's no thinking about upgrading to Susvara Unveiled or RAAL 1995 Immanis or even the Meze empyrean II (It'll will have to be open box or second hand!)

My Hexi's, that's it!
Not going to spend any more on headphones, I'll die with these 🙂

 

[DougK1]

I wouldn't mind trying some planar's at some stage, but as headphones just aggravate my tinnitus it's probably a waste of time and money 🙂