I have been meaning to write this post for a while but never got round to it for a plethora of reasons (read excuses) but I just wanted to confess to the addiction that has developed over the last few years to headphones that has seen my collection grow to nearly 20 pairs. This is nothing more than a long winded post about my obsession but it might be something someone can identify with.
It all started about 5 years ago when I put my apple ear buds through the wash for the upteenth time and decided it was time I investigated some alternatives to those little white buds. After much research and trepdition I bought a pair of Sennheiser cx 300 ii from Richer Sounds, who agreed to price match a (dubious) Amazon seller and sold me the buds for a tenner. I was instantly hooked, music immediately sounded better, more detailed with fuller bass all that was missing was a microphone for taking calls, so the Sennheiser MM 30i soon followed before long I reaslied they were fake. My father returning from Las Vegas with a pair of Sennheiser Hd 515's were my first over ear headphones but these turned out to be a massive disappointment however I wasnt put off, more research soon followed as did my first pair of on-ear cans, the Alessandro Ms1 imported from the States. Once more I was in love, the forward presentation was brilliant, I couldnt take them off for weeks. Unfortunately they were too open and I couldn't take them to work, so an alternative had to be found.
The alternative came from an unusual source in the form of a set of Goldring NS 100's bought for me by a friend after I mentioned my burgeoning headphone obsession to him. An under rated but uterly brilliant pair of noise cancellors I thought at the time but not quite what I was looking for.
A need to loose weight soon pushed my focus back to in ear phones as I needed phones for the Gym. A pair of gym friendly sennheiser pmx 80 became my latest choice. Again disappointment followed as I was left very underwhelmed by both their performance and comfort. Not sure where to turn next a Fiio E5 amp became my next purchase. The improvement versus the price was marked for all my headphones and once again I was hooked. I needed good quality in ears and an Amazon lightning deal obligied allowing me to pick up a pair of Phonak 232 for £120. I had finally moved to the next level in terms of heaphones but once again I grew tired of in ears.
Days spent scowering eBay found me buying a custom set of Beyerdynamic DT 770's which whilst good (particularly for anything with a lot of bass) were impossible for me to drive with the equipment I had at the time as I had the 600 ohm version. More research was needed until the choice came down to a Zero Dac or a Beresford Caiman. I went with the Zero Dac and what a great choice that was, bass became tighter and detail more obvious in all of my headphones. Paired with a Sonos ZP 90 I thought I had reached the zenith for the money I was willing to invest.
Christmas that year saw the arrival of the AKG K701, a great headphone for all types of music and they would soon become my go to pair of cans for years to come despite more purchases. I picked up a lovely set of Grado 325i's soon after which whilst great for rock music, stuggled with the other music I liked. A pair of Q701's were bought to replace the K701's which had been damaged by a girlfriend who mistook the headphones for a very quiet set of speakers and maxed out the volume on my AC reciever trying to watch friends. They've never quite lived up to their predecessors. A set of Klipsch on ears were purchased, disliked and hastily given to the girlfriend who quickly broke those too.
I was done for nearly 18 months I was happy with my collection, then last May I went on holiday to the States. A few weeks before I went to locate the Phonak 232's but to my horror could not despite an exhaustive search that saw me turn my house upside down. With no alternative a set of Shure SE 215's were purchased to do instead. They were a pleasant surprise and better than I expected but I felt I could do better. On holiday I met the first shop assistant to share my passion for headphones and he introduced to the slightly modified B & O H3 and I was in love again, a seriously underrated in ear. Upon returning home my now fiancee's sister found the Phonak's leaving me with more entry/mid level IEM's than I knew what to do with.
Another return to the gym lead to the purchase of my 13th pair, another Amazon deal this time for a set of AKG K 375 but they were too undetailed for my liking so number 14 soon followed, a set of SoundMagic E10's that I dont mind sweating into. Once again I was content with my collection, that was until last Thursday when I went to Dublin. There in a high end HiFi shop I came accross the Sennheiser HD 650 connected to the Sennheiser HDVD 800. My word this was unlike anything i had ever heard, simply breath taking and I was on the verge of a very expensive purchase only to spot a giant reduced sticker on a set of Grado RS2's available for £290. Pair 15 would soon be mine. Since getting them home though I feel something is missing not from the cans but from the Amp and so it begins. Saving starts in earnest to purchase the HDVD 800 in an effort to recreate what I heard in that shop last Thursday.
I just hope that finally I can stop there.
It all started about 5 years ago when I put my apple ear buds through the wash for the upteenth time and decided it was time I investigated some alternatives to those little white buds. After much research and trepdition I bought a pair of Sennheiser cx 300 ii from Richer Sounds, who agreed to price match a (dubious) Amazon seller and sold me the buds for a tenner. I was instantly hooked, music immediately sounded better, more detailed with fuller bass all that was missing was a microphone for taking calls, so the Sennheiser MM 30i soon followed before long I reaslied they were fake. My father returning from Las Vegas with a pair of Sennheiser Hd 515's were my first over ear headphones but these turned out to be a massive disappointment however I wasnt put off, more research soon followed as did my first pair of on-ear cans, the Alessandro Ms1 imported from the States. Once more I was in love, the forward presentation was brilliant, I couldnt take them off for weeks. Unfortunately they were too open and I couldn't take them to work, so an alternative had to be found.
The alternative came from an unusual source in the form of a set of Goldring NS 100's bought for me by a friend after I mentioned my burgeoning headphone obsession to him. An under rated but uterly brilliant pair of noise cancellors I thought at the time but not quite what I was looking for.
A need to loose weight soon pushed my focus back to in ear phones as I needed phones for the Gym. A pair of gym friendly sennheiser pmx 80 became my latest choice. Again disappointment followed as I was left very underwhelmed by both their performance and comfort. Not sure where to turn next a Fiio E5 amp became my next purchase. The improvement versus the price was marked for all my headphones and once again I was hooked. I needed good quality in ears and an Amazon lightning deal obligied allowing me to pick up a pair of Phonak 232 for £120. I had finally moved to the next level in terms of heaphones but once again I grew tired of in ears.
Days spent scowering eBay found me buying a custom set of Beyerdynamic DT 770's which whilst good (particularly for anything with a lot of bass) were impossible for me to drive with the equipment I had at the time as I had the 600 ohm version. More research was needed until the choice came down to a Zero Dac or a Beresford Caiman. I went with the Zero Dac and what a great choice that was, bass became tighter and detail more obvious in all of my headphones. Paired with a Sonos ZP 90 I thought I had reached the zenith for the money I was willing to invest.
Christmas that year saw the arrival of the AKG K701, a great headphone for all types of music and they would soon become my go to pair of cans for years to come despite more purchases. I picked up a lovely set of Grado 325i's soon after which whilst great for rock music, stuggled with the other music I liked. A pair of Q701's were bought to replace the K701's which had been damaged by a girlfriend who mistook the headphones for a very quiet set of speakers and maxed out the volume on my AC reciever trying to watch friends. They've never quite lived up to their predecessors. A set of Klipsch on ears were purchased, disliked and hastily given to the girlfriend who quickly broke those too.
I was done for nearly 18 months I was happy with my collection, then last May I went on holiday to the States. A few weeks before I went to locate the Phonak 232's but to my horror could not despite an exhaustive search that saw me turn my house upside down. With no alternative a set of Shure SE 215's were purchased to do instead. They were a pleasant surprise and better than I expected but I felt I could do better. On holiday I met the first shop assistant to share my passion for headphones and he introduced to the slightly modified B & O H3 and I was in love again, a seriously underrated in ear. Upon returning home my now fiancee's sister found the Phonak's leaving me with more entry/mid level IEM's than I knew what to do with.
Another return to the gym lead to the purchase of my 13th pair, another Amazon deal this time for a set of AKG K 375 but they were too undetailed for my liking so number 14 soon followed, a set of SoundMagic E10's that I dont mind sweating into. Once again I was content with my collection, that was until last Thursday when I went to Dublin. There in a high end HiFi shop I came accross the Sennheiser HD 650 connected to the Sennheiser HDVD 800. My word this was unlike anything i had ever heard, simply breath taking and I was on the verge of a very expensive purchase only to spot a giant reduced sticker on a set of Grado RS2's available for £290. Pair 15 would soon be mine. Since getting them home though I feel something is missing not from the cans but from the Amp and so it begins. Saving starts in earnest to purchase the HDVD 800 in an effort to recreate what I heard in that shop last Thursday.
I just hope that finally I can stop there.
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