What's Your Rule of Thumb in this Audiophile hobby?

Source is key. If your collection mainly consists of compressed shit don't spend big bucks on your audio chain because it's gonna be a waste.

 

Keep a KSC75 or Portapro to remind yourself of one thing: good sound can be affordable, super affordable.

 

find good reference point , doesn't have to be uber expensive system but a competent one that you understand the characteristic well as it will help you on the audition (in my case, hd600).

 

Just bought these babies

 

It's very easy for any system to achieve a neutral frequency response like in the case of iphones, onboard realtek soundchips or even the sansa clip.

But it will take a more exceptional system to render all the other very tiny nuances in the music like accurate imaging(where background instruments have their own positional space), small details(like inhaling or exhaling of the singer's lungs, the flipping of the conductor's music book)and to make music sound mentally engaging or even very real(as in fooling your brain totally to the point where you don't feel as if you are listening to recorded playback).

In a nutshell, an excellent audio system will sound very natural and authentic to the ears, a very believable sound.

 

Try to go attend live concerts of your favorite band or singer. It will give you a basis of how real life sound should be like and how it differs from the flac/mp3/pcm is being playbacked in a system.

 

Hopefully some find these helpful:

• If you've spent more than a few hundred dollars on audio gear but aren't saving regularly for retirement, you're doing it wrong.
• Give yourself a set budget for gear and stick to it even if some deal or product seems like a once in a lifetime opportunity. 99% of the time, it's not. Don't overextend yourself, and never buy gear with a credit card you can't pay off completely that month.
  • Anecdotally, most of us appear to get into the hobby during or right before college. If you're in school and have spent more than a few hundred dollars on audio gear, but have student debt or, worse, are using grant/scholarship/etc. funds to buy audio gear instead of minimizing your debt, you're doing it wrong.
  • Your budget may be increased responsibly over time, but no gear makes music sound as good as being debt-free feels.
• Buy well-established gear at a discount, either new or used (from reputable sellers), after you've auditioned it. If auditioning is not possible, buy well-respected gear (like that featured on our leaderboard) at a discount.
• Edit: forgot one after perusing others' advice. Noise-induced hearing loss is real. Get a dB app for your phone to do quick checks when listening, and buy a pair of Etymotic earplugs to always take with you to concerts, musicals, and movies (especially IMAX).

 

Hm, variations on what others have said but:

• Neutral doesn't jump out and grab you. It's more of a "feeling right." I find if it holds up to a bunch of different genres or "test tracks" without any heavy colorations, it is quite good and something in which I'm interested.
• If something does jump out and grab you at a meet/during a quick audition, it's probably fucked up or majorly emphasized.
• Try to hear other people's gear to help you calibrate what you consider possible. It will help you know what "good" sounds like to you, and aid in pursuing it.
  • Related, I heard a bunch of TOTL stuff by chance at a couple micro-meets and it set the bar (HD800 out of an ECP tube amp for high end, Magni/Modi stack with HD600 for budget setup) as well as made me question WTF these nerds were on about (a couple Stax setups including with custom KGSSHV, HD800 out of the wrong amp or with wrong source). More recently, heard a bunch of Hifiman stuff at a local meet and pretty immediately identified notable weirdness that I did not desire. Which leads me to...
• Be honest about your own tastes! Stick to your guns! Don't be rude, don't be overconfident and closeminded, but talk honestly about what you are hearing, liking or disliking. So much more can be gained from these conversations. Hopefully fellow enthusiasts are receptive to these, even if they have spent a few thousand dollars on the rig you just weren't feeling. Hell, it might enable the right one to suggest other gear more to your taste or help you hear what makes the item unique even if you don't prefer it in the end.
• Echoing Zonto on fiscal responsibility: spend what you can afford to spend, when you can afford it. 20% off something that is twice what you should be spending is not a deal. It's you being a dummy. Do not be ashamed. Many on this site and in audio circles in general make handsome livings as engineers, IT people, etc. or are older and have had time to increase wages, buy a house, pay off their debts. What other people can afford is not what you "need" to be able to afford. As Zonto said, nothing sounds as good as financial security feels. I sure as hell haven't sat around listening to my rig when things have been tight as of late. I'm out there hustling, and if I had more than a couple items, I would have sold them off by now.
• As Zonto said, buy known good gear. Do some research with knowledge of where your preferences lean and look for a good used deal from a fellow SBAF-er or an Amazon/Massdrop discount. I always buy items that are reasonably priced and can resell for similar prices. If you buy used, you can probably sell for almost exactly what you got it for. If you lose $30 for a year of enjoyment, you are doing just dandy.
• When you've reached "good enough," even when you know there is better out there, step off the treadmill and enjoy that setup. When enjoyment wanes and your funds are up, start looking around. Carry your fistful of salt to sprinkle on others impressions. My best setup (headphones, dac/amp) cost maybe $700. I am very happy here. I use expensive gear at work and know what it sounds like. This setup still has the same essence. When I'm in a position to make purchases, I will. I have my eyes on certain pieces. But that is not as important as having my finances in order, which is especially important when you're married and/or are building a life with someone.
• Be honest about how much you actually sit down and listen to music! I spend a lot less time with my setup than I once did. I have several band rehearsals each week, play and attend shows, read, spend time with SO and friends. Listen to earbuds on walk to and from work and at the gym, listen through a good pro audio setup at work. I don't spend that much time just sitting down to listen. This keeps me from fantasizing about all the money I need to spend to hear "great sound" when there are other things I could spend money on that I would use every day, or would buy me more free time or peace of mind.

 

More advice, based on recent experience going from Shozy Alien/GO450 and Flare IEMs to ZX2 and CA Andromedas. If you've been venturing into mid-fi and can afford hi fi, just go for it so you can stop agonizing about how much better it could sound and get back to enjoying music. This is only true after you've learned your SQ preferences. Better to just jump in than inch your way incrementally towards hi-fi. You'll arrive at the same place earlier and more cost effectively, being able to spend more time discovering new music than deliberating about marginal gear upgrades as you trudge through mid-fi to hi-fi.

 

Here's a great piece of general economic advice which applies to this field as much as any other: It is always cheaper to buy once.

So, if there is something you really want, whether it is for the sound, the functionality, or even just the damned looks, if you can afford it, buy it.

It saves having to buy it later.

 

My rules of thumb will sound like "don't wear white after labor day". Of course you can still wear white, but you are safer wearing darker colors.

-open is better then closed
-under $150 the best sound comes from IEMs
-more power is always better
-as long as there is enough power, low output impedance works with all headphones
-high gain is only if low gain isn't loud enough

 

1. fuk bitches
   
2. get $$$$$

 

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women.

 

So... the higher regions of the vocal frequencies are very important to you then? I can understand that: those lamentations should never be strident or fatiguing.

 

Only the smoothest lamentations. Never zingy.

 

Above all else, trust your own ears.

And know that you'll never be satisfied, always looking for the next big score.

More power to you if you know when to be happy and stop reading the forums, which is what keeps fueling that irrational need to try the next Big Thing.

 

I joined you and my PortaPro arrived today. This is a mini HD650 with an infectious mid-bass boom. Funk sounds extra funky. Prince's "Batdance" sounds like I have a disco sound system on my ears yet the midrange and some highs are still there. Even the guitar solo sounds outstanding.

This headphone is so well tuned for Pop music.

 

- Keep an open mind with what you're going to audition.
- Only trust your ears.
- Do not trust any review.
- You're not going to get used to a particular sound if you don't like it, just cut your losses and sell.
- Never preorder anything!
- Buy used as much as possible.
- Try to make sure all your gear is being used somehow. Unused gear should be sold.
- Synergy is important.
- Popular gear are popular for a reason, don't discount anything without hearing.
- Buy an HD800 and change your life.