What would you tell to someone trying to get into this hobby?

Make friends and try a lot of gear. Buy used from people with good feedback.
Open > Closed if you dont need the isolation.
Stay away from expensive planars, they lack the resolution of the good dynamics and aren't worth the $$$.

In my opinion the best starting point are the he400s. They are hugely under appreciated by people deep in the game. Phenomenal mids, clean bass with good slam and decent extension with leather pads. Light cheap and better than the he400i due to better behaved highs and more slam in the bass. Also very neutral and while they benefit from amping sound great from phone or leckerton/geek out. Can be had for under $200 used.

If you want more than that or different flavor the next step is probably hd600 and hd650. But you will need an amp.

 

the wise louis c.k. suggests that, if you're 70% happy with a decision, just go for it. just because i fail to heed his wisdom doesn't mean you should too

 

Never go full retard.

 

TT + record cleaner and cleaning accessories + deionizing gun + carbon fiber brush + record clamps + IKEA cutting board + extra tonearms and carts for diff flavors + tubes, somewhere + KSC75 = end game

 

Quoted for truth. This will either ruin you or your wallet.

 

Go to as many meets as you can. Not only will you hear great gear, you will meet great people!

 

hello,

@TMoney, just beware the testosterone poisoning.

 

Spend a bit of the budget on actually attending live music.

If you're a student, see if your local symphony/orchestra/etc has student pricing (mine has a stupid good deal: $75 for a season pass). Sit yourself in the super close cheap seats, close your eyes, and just listen as the instruments come in and out. Immerse and breathe in the ultrawide soundstage and learn how sounds translate to position. Feel the cellos/bass coming from the right resonate through the floor, hear the violins sweep overhead from the left, the woodwinds drift in from the middle, the mellow brass just off of centre, the shouty brass to the right of them. Even if you don't like classical music, just sit there and soak in that spectrum of sound and space.

Then go to the store and try on some headphones and ask yourself... does the bass actually resonate or is it just humping my ear? is that a sparkly defined top end or is it secretly shrieking at me? when that voice comes, is it singing at me or coming from a fairy inside my head?

Listening to music is a hobby. Buying gear isn't. (Unless you're a nutbar like some of us).

If you're gonna spend money on reproducing music, then maintain some of the budget to keep you acquainted with the real stuff rather than chasing that last 5%.

 

1. Start with a modest HD650 and don't be afraid to mod it. Your headphone is now already better than 95% of the shit pushed as TOTL that are above $1K. Might even be your end-game for less than $300 used. It's my 2nd favorite headphone after my modded HD800S.

2. Try out the OOYH software. Some people like it while others don't, but at least give it a listen. For me, the OOYH has spoiled me to the point I can't listen to my music without it anymore. Basically a sub-$200 software version of the $3K Smyth Realiser A8 minus clipping issues and frills with using HDMI and optical input/output.

 

I would tell them to f**k off because that's just who I am.

But then I'd tell them that the best way to know what they like is to go to a meet and listen to different headphones, or try out some of mine.

 

1. Buying headphones and listening to them is not really a 'hobby'
2. There is a lot of odd psychology around how we hear things
3. Trust your common sense - if it sounds like bullshit it probably is, no matter how many people claim real differences (see point 2)
4. There is a significant fraction of the industry that are either knowingly exploiting people or have bought into their own fantasies (see point 3)
5. Demo before you buy!

 

Are you the Hulk? I did not know he was into fish.

 

Get to know what makes a great sounding record. Listen to many good records. Be careful when you buy rock/metal records from >'94 because they are propably compressed to shit.

 

First thing that counts is first hand experience. Any hobby should be about first hand experience. The ranting in internet is a different hobby itself.
Not all 'trues' are common for everybody.
After a while (years!) one can trust and carry over other people experience for one's aid.

 

Get Koss PortaPro.
Buy a soldering iron, learn how to use it, build some RCA interconnects.
Buy a Pete Millett Butte. Build it.
Buy second hand HD 600. Replace pads and headband pad.
Buy BottleHead Crack. Build it.
Buy Speedball upgrade for Bottlehead. Build it.
Then enjoy. Don't buy anything until it makes you happier than the above stuff.
First year...done.

 

No point of meddling around with mid-fi gear. A lot of people don't get this and buy 20 mid-fi cans.

 

Always confirm the head-fi hype before purchasing. Mainly check here too...

And trust your ears first. Go to meets and listen listen listen...

 

General:
1. Ignore hype trains, ignore the new shiny object midfi hell gear pile as well.
2. If you haven't already, learn active listening. The greatest system in the world isn't going to impress much if the music is just background noise to you.
3.Listen more, buy less. Be it at meets, friends, loaners, stores, hear a wide variety of things before making up your mind. Learn what it is YOU want.

Post Purchase:
1. Don't intentionally look for cracks in the armor, seriously this leads to chasing the dragon of an ideal sound you will never find.
2. Understand no matter how much you might love this, most people at best won't give a shit, and at worst think you're insane. Don't bore people who don't care with your hobby.
3.Understand where your good enough lives and don't let others experiences or persuasions make you feel like you are missing out. The differences between the tippy top of this hobby and very good are, despite all the colorful prose, fairly small. Like any hobby, too often those deep in it take the route of the "Perfect as the enemy of the good."

General Gear Advice:
Listen to the following cans as soon as you can.
HD6x0
HE-400/S
Fostex TH-X00
AKG K7XX
Beyer DT880

Honestly Ignore the DAC for a while, on a sufficiently resolving systems DACS can help, but IMHO it's a last few percent kinda thing. Most modern PCs have a more than decently transparent DAC if you are just starting out.

If you are interested in DIY, and learning some life skills see Tyll's post above as I agree with him 100%.