Need a suggestion. Miss being blown away by my setups.
Aug 24, 2017 at 5:25 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 39
chef8489

chef8489

Headphoneus Supremus
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I really miss being blown away by my setups. I no longer get my breath taken away while listening to music. I have had some pretty high end portable setups and still have some high end iems and player. Currently use the Westone es60 and pioneer player for portable use and they do sound amazing. I have moved to desktop setup most of the time and really dont get any where the sound. Now even with portable setup I have had those for some time and they dont take my breath away any longer so my mid fi setup on my desktop comes nowhere close. My amp nad dac are great, so that is really not the issue I dont think, but my cans are just not cutting it. None of the 3 are( k7xx, hd650, th-x00 purplehearts) really doing it for me. So what would sound similar to the es60 but kick it up a notch of a few and blow me away? I really miss the feelings the got me into this hobby. I miss the awe every time I discovered an amazing new level.
 
Aug 24, 2017 at 8:38 PM Post #2 of 39
Do you listen to music to hear your devices? If you've fallen into that paradigm, that could be the problem. There is always more money to spend but a new car is eventually just a car and where it takes you is what's more important.
 
Aug 24, 2017 at 9:25 PM Post #3 of 39
I have been at this for a long time. I have had a lot of gear over the past 20 years or so. I guess I am looking for full cans that give me what custom iems have done over the years. The last time i had a pair of full sized cans that were in the league of my custom iems were the t5p and the t1 and I really did not have a desktop setup worth them so I sold them as I was more into portable audio at the time. To answer your question. There are times I use music to listen to the gear and that is usually to do reviews or compare tubes or evaluate equipment. Then there are times I listen to music for the enjoyment of the music. Today was a day I was listening to just for the enjoyment of the music when I realized I was not really getting the wow factor with anyt of my headphones like I used to with my portable setup. I would get lost in the music and get chills with some music and even goose bumps. I really miss that and I want that again.
 
Aug 24, 2017 at 9:59 PM Post #4 of 39
My Audeze iSine20 do that to me every single day. I can't believe the details from these things. It's one of the most active threads in head-fi and they're generally compared more to open back headphones than IEMs but they're a bit of both.

If you want extra goosebumps, look at the Audeze LCD-i4 for TOTL madness.
 
Aug 24, 2017 at 11:33 PM Post #6 of 39
chef8489 said:
I have been at this for a long time. I have had a lot of gear over the past 20 years or so. I guess I am looking for full cans that give me what custom iems have done over the years. The last time i had a pair of full sized cans that were in the league of my custom iems were the t5p and the t1 and I really did not have a desktop setup worth them so I sold them as I was more into portable audio at the time. To answer your question. There are times I use music to listen to the gear and that is usually to do reviews or compare tubes or evaluate equipment. Then there are times I listen to music for the enjoyment of the music. Today was a day I was listening to just for the enjoyment of the music when I realized I was not really getting the wow factor with anyt of my headphones like I used to with my portable setup. I would get lost in the music and get chills with some music and even goose bumps. I really miss that and I want that again.
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I understand exactly what you mean. Honestly never found the HD 650 chill-inducing unless on an amazing system otherwise it sounds kinda blunted and dull, the K7XX never did it for me though the K712 did on occasion. Haven't heard the TH-X00 and I know next to nothing about IEMs sadly(not fond of things going into my ear canal). Honestly I found many high-end Beyers to do that for me, send chills down my spine fairly often. Of the headphones I've tried extensively that didn't push past $1000 recently that did that were the T1.2, Focal Elear, DT 1770/1990, and Amiron Home. A bit higher up I found a few more that did it for me but haven't spent any extensive time with any of the newer ones. Honestly it's my heavily and properly damped DT 480(25 ohm) that wow's and awes me without fail every time I use it even straight from an iPhone or laptop, it's what is killing any urge of upgriditis for me. But it's not a viable option due to its age, rarity, and it's proper dampening/modding requirement to sound right.
 
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Aug 25, 2017 at 8:59 AM Post #7 of 39
AlwaysForward said:
My Audeze iSine20 do that to me every single day. I can't believe the details from these things. It's one of the most active threads in head-fi and they're generally compared more to open back headphones than IEMs but they're a bit of both.

If you want extra goosebumps, look at the Audeze LCD-i4 for TOTL madness.
Click to expand...
Not really looking for an iem, looking for full cans. I need to try the lcd x or the lcd 2 and 3. Maybe rent a pair if i cant make it to a meet. I can get a paid of dt1770 but will it do it for me or be a waste of money as I have about 1k already in the 3 pairs I have now? I am thinking of selling these as well.
 
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Aug 25, 2017 at 9:12 AM Post #8 of 39
chef8489 said:
Not really looking for an iem, looking for full cans. I need to try the lcd x or the lcd 2 and 3. Maybe rent a pair if i cant make it to a meet. I can get a paid of dt1770 but will it do it for me or be a waste of money as I have about 1k already in the 3 pairs I have now? I am thinking of selling these as well.
Click to expand...

Honestly look at the Amiron Home and DT 1990 over the DT 1770. I've owned all three, settled on the Amiron(cleanest sound and smoothest treble and most treble extension) with the DT 1990 being a close second. Do you have an idea what about the sound caused you chills? What type of music do you listen to?
 
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Aug 25, 2017 at 9:22 AM Post #9 of 39
I listen to so many different genres from classical to christian to classic rock, gothic metal, classic r&b, blues and jazz, techno to bluegrass and more. Pretty eclectic amount of music tastes. Pretty much anything but modern country. If I had to save up for a 2k pair of headphones I would be willing as my iems are in that price range.
 
Aug 25, 2017 at 9:34 AM Post #10 of 39
chef8489 said:
I listen to so many different genres from classical to christian to classic rock, gothic metal, classic r&b, blues and jazz, techno to bluegrass and more. Pretty eclectic amount of music tastes. Pretty much anything but modern country. If I had to save up for a 2k pair of headphones I would be willing as my iems are in that price range.
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So an eclectic taste like I have then. Probably the Amirons of the new Beyers. The DT 1990 has two sets of pads and is more forward and robust sounding but not quite as clean. Otherwise you can save for something like the HD 800S, etc.
 
Aug 25, 2017 at 10:57 AM Post #11 of 39
I can relate to this thread so much. I know the feeling of being blown away and then missing that high. I was first blown away when I upgraded to Skullcandy Hesh and upgraded to DT770 Pro and again when I upgraded from DT770 Pro to THX00 PurpleHeart. I missed the feeling for a year after that. I did own a LCD 2 but that didn't blow me away over the THX00 so I sold it and the THX00 as both were not cutting it for me.

Then, I was using the LCD 3 but was not pairing it properly so still underwhelming. It was clearly better than everything else I had but not mind blowing.

Recently, I got a CMA600i to pair with the LCD 3 and I really liked it. Then I borrowed my friend's extra pair of THX00 Ebony and listened to it for like an hour trying to remember why I was blown away when I first heard a THX00. After an hour, I put back on my LCD 3.

It was that moment that I was blown away. I could feel that LCD 3 paired perfectly with the CMA600i. Everything was better than the THX00. It was like I had transcended in headfi. I listened to my entire library once again. Everything was clear. I could feel everything. I could engage in every tap, every rhythm. It feels great to feel that feeling of being blown away and this was it.
 
Aug 25, 2017 at 11:34 AM Post #13 of 39
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